We are lucky to be part of a great Datsun community that extends into the Pacific Northwest. About five years ago our friends from Oregon and Spriso Motorsports visited Z Car Garage, and I had always wanted to visit them. Last week my family rented an RV and drove up the Oregon coast from San Jose, CA. Part of the two-week trip in Oregon included a visit with Michael Spreadbury (Spriso Motorsports), Eric Straw and Anthony Schwisow.

 

Spriso Motorsports

When we arrived at Michael’s I was pleasantly surprised to see a car show in his front yard along with some local friends! He even arranged a BBQ. The evening was filled with cool cars, food and good times.

The Cars

Keri’s 1964 SPL310
Michael built this 3-seater 1500 for his wife! This was the first time I got to see it in person and it is amazing from the SR20 engine swap to the OEM interior and custom built steelies.

 

Michael’s 1966 SPL
His personal roadster with S15 NA SR20DE, 16″ Watanabe RS-8 wheels and brilliant beige grey paint.

 

Dave Joliff’s 1966 SPL
I remember Dave from Shasta 2004. His Daytona Blue S13-powered roadster has been driven hard over the last 13 years! Still looks fantastic.

 

Diamond Dave’s SR20-powered Miata
That’s right! With Michael and Eric’s help they installed an Autech SR20DE/6-speed drivetrain into his NA Miata. It’s a perfect match and I got brisk ride in it (thanks Diamond!). In the video, you’ll see Michael zooming past us in the opposite direction!

Eric Straw’s 1984 DR30 Skyline
Eric drove down from Salem with his RB26DETT-powered R30 Skyline. If you haven’t already read about this incredibly built rarity, check out my write-up on it HERE

  

More cars showed up throughout the evening, including Neil’s pristine 1988 Mazda RX-7. 30k miles and original paint!

  

The 80’s were alive!

Dave Lum, a long-time 510 owner (Z32TT engine swap!) brought his son’s 410 wagon:

 

The Shop

Home of Spriso Motorsports and where those magical SR-powered roadsters are built!

Michael’s Bluebird project!

During the shop tour I noticed this door with signatures on it. Michael asked me to sign it but a requirement was that you list what vehicle you drove. I need to replace the “RV” with “roadster” soon.

 Around this time I was surprised when Michael told me that Brian from Berkeley, CA was coming in his freshly restored 1967 Datsun 2000 #427!  A little context…Brian and I are both from the Bay Area with only ~40miles separating us. We have corresponded by social media and tried to meet up locally but never met in person out side of one Solvang Show. And here we were, some 600+ miles from home! We will dyno his roadster soon as it has a hopped up Hasslegren-built U20!

  

Sadly our good friend Anthony broke down in his 510 coming from Portland. Good news is that he mended his radiator, made it home safely and completed a track day at PIR with zero issues! His 2JZ-powered Datsun 510 wagon:

 

And eventually we hooked up for after-work cocktails in the RV in Lake Oswego 😀

Thank you Michael for organizing the get together, it was memorable!

 
The next morning we visited Silver Falls and headed to Salem where Eric’s family welcomed us to stay for the night.

Eric’s Shop

Eric is an extremely talented fabricator. His 510, roadster and Skyline showcase his skills, style and ingenuity but I was really impressed by the kitchen table he fabricated for his home. Sunset Magazine stuff. His shop is actually next to the house with enormous roll-up doors. This is where the magic happens:

  

That epic DR30 Skyline.
So. Much. Goodness.

  

I could easily spend hours in his shop, but it was getting late. We enjoyed a nice sunset picking blackberries with the kids and the next morning we headed north to Multnomah Falls.

 

Thank you Eric for your graciousness and it was nice to meet your family!
More pictures in the gallery, enjoy!

*Special Note to all magazine feature writers/photographers*

There is an absolute treasure trove of cars that deserve features in the Oregon area. Broaden your scope and check these guys out. The talent is impressive and the owners are humble.
…[read more]

 

John Morton and the BRE Z return to track for the Monterey Pre-Reunion races at Laguna Seca! Z Car Garage will be there this weekend in Row D, Group 6 so please stop by and say hello.

 z 

LONG LIVE THE Z

 

Just 4 days after we listed this 1973 Nissan Kenmeri Skyline it found a new owner in Southern California.

  

The new owner, Joe:

“Just want to say thank to Rob and the guys at Z Car Garage.  Had a great experience purchasing my 73 Skyline Kenmeri from them. Class act all around and I would recommend them to anyone looking for a quality top notch classic JDM car!”

Here is the Kenmeri arriving:

 

The best part is that Joe is already Enjoying The Ride in his Skyline making appearances at local events!

 

Congratulations Joe!

 

Our local Datsun Roadster owners enjoyed a great Sunday drive yesterday. I’ve been organizing these “Fun Runs” for several years and it always makes me smile to see fellow Datsun owners Enjoying The Ride on our backroads here in the Bay Area. We began in downtown Saratoga with a meeting point just before Big Basin Way. By coincidence we spotted ZCG customer James S in his 240z coming down the mountain!

  

The first stretch of HWY 9 down to Boulder Creek was exhilarating. We picked up another roadster on the way to our next meeting point in Felton:

  

 

The cars and participants

The six cars represented an assortment of colors, years and trim level. Everything from SU and Solex-equipped U20s to R16s and SR20 drivetrains. Shown above are 1970, 1969 and 1968 with their distinct rear end treatments.

John B’s 1969 SRL

John B recently moved from SoCal to the Bay Area and has yet to explore the fantastic backroads here so I was excited to have him join us. His ’69 2000 is a prime example of how a Datsun 2000 would have looked back in the day. Sporting period-correct parts and even vintage tires John’s SRL was featured in Automobile Magazine driven by John Morton!

 

 

I drove my 1967.5 1600 with SR20:

 

Joe and Lisa’s 1968 SPL

Joe is an avid rally driver participating in this year’s Faultline and Snowball events with the roadster.  He purchased it recently and it has a 5-speed from a U20. Lisa got some seat time in today’s run too!

 

 

Stacey’s 1970 SRL

Stacey joined us in Boulder Creek with his recently refreshed ’70 SRL. This car got engine/chassis overhaul and a host of upgrades. It was great to see stacey enjoying his new mods.

 

Aidan’s 1969 SRL

Aidan is the youngest roadster owner I know being a high school student.  He is restoring his ’69 SRL by himself and recently completed the 600 mile journey to the Mt. Shasta Datsun Roadster meet. We are proud of him.

 

Eddie Wu’s E9 BMW

Ed is no stranger to Datsun Roadsters. He owns the famous “SAKE RKT”, an SR20 swapped ’66 SPL. He didn’t drive his roadster, but instead graced us with another silver beauty, this E9!

 

Mike B’s 1967.5 SPL

Mike B has been my go-to roadster driving buddy for a long time. His ‘67.5 SPL is built with period looks and modern conveniences. He was our fearless leader/hot shoe.

 

After we met Aidan in Felton we headed back up 9 to Skylinetowards Alice’s restaurant. Then we took 84 down to Pescadero. It was fairly warm even at the coast.

 

After a quick lunch break at Arcangeli’s Bakery we took Alpine Rd to Skyline and ended at the vista point.

 

Here’s a short video of us Enjoying The Ride:

Our route:

You can see past fun run event reports here:
HERE

Thanks to all that came out it was a blast! More pictures in the gallery, enjoy!

 

…[read more]

 

This 1973 KGC110 Kenmeri Skyline is for sale. It is well sorted and ready to be enjoyed!

  

For more details, videos and pictures please check out our For Sale section HERE.