It was really great to get over to LeMans Karting in Fremont to meet with all of you and see the cars that everyone brought out.  This was the 10th annual Freakmont show which says a ton about Team Driven who hosts this event.  I have only attended the last two years at the LeMans Karting venue but this is an event that I will continue to attend in the future.

Anyways… on to the days happenings!!

Devon and I left the shop at around 12:30 pm after washing the two cars we were taking (Rob’s 300zx TT and my 1971 Datsun 510.)  By the way Devon is a new mechanic for ZCG and he rocks.  He’s definitely helping us get the cars back into the owners hands sooner, win-win situation!!  So we leave the shop at I’m excited to see cars on the freeway that are obviously heading to the same show.  This usually means a good turn out was in order, and we were not let down!

There were cars already lining the entire front parking lot and even all the way up to the entrance.  My 510 was the second one there but there were already a host of really clean 300zx’s around.  After we parked I made my way to the event staff to hand out the four gift certificates that Z Car Garage was putting up for the raffle, two for 3 free dyno pulls and 2 for $100 off parts/labor.  Not bad huh?  Do you wish you had gone now?

We made our way to the back of the show and were instantly caught off guard by how many Nissan Sentra/Infiniti G20s were in attendance.  These cars featured all sorts of SR engine swaps and every form of preparation from track-only race to show-quality.  Nice turn out indeed.  The other few random cars included a few Altimas and Maximas with some tasteful changes as well a slammed mid-nineties Infiniti sedan that looked like the springs had just been cut.  I’m not knocking it, it was just random.  There were also a couple of clean 200SXs one which had a clean CA18T swapped into it.  I like.

On to the 240sx section.  There multiple cars from most generations and the drifting theme carried over here very heavily as one can imagine.  There were carbon doors, hoods, trunks, spoilers, everything.  If someone makes it in carbon it was probably bolted to one of these 240s.  There were a couple of clean stock looking cars and even a convertible that looked like it had been taken care of!!  The 240SXs usually get beaten on and sent to the crusher so it was nice to see at least a couple of originals.  The nicest car in my eyes though had to be an S13 Silvia, right-hand-drive and all.  I’m not sure if it was a conversion or an actual non-USDM car but it was clean, nice owner too.

Right next to the announcing booth was all the FREE food.  Plenty to go around with beverages to match any taste.  Well done Team Driven, Devon and I approve.

On the other side of the announcing booth were our friends at PhotoShootMyCar.com.  They were out promoting their site as well as showing off the new-to-them R33 GT-R.  This car rules.  We installed a set of upgraded turbos on this GT-R just over a year ago and it put down nearly 450whp without breaking a sweat.  (If you are wondering, on the early GT-Rs you can simply remove the front drive shaft to tune them on a 2wd dyno.)  Anyways the car looked great.  They also brought out their Toyota Matrix car that was featured at SEMA a couple of years ago.  Check these guys out if you want any sort of professional pictures taken of your car.

Heading back up to the front I find that two more Datsun 510s have joined the group as well as a 610 and an early four-door skyline with the appropriate “SKYRINE” license plate.  The front of LeMans Karting is now thoroughly packed with Zs and Gs of all sorts.  I spot our ZCG 370z in the corner parked next to a really cleanly modded G37.  Everything was blacked out on this car, see photos.  I’m in love.  Next I moved the 370z along side the R33 GT-R just to bring it into the front of the show to bring a little more attention to it, side note on the ZCG 370z: we have a track event coming up very soon!  Wicked!

Its now about 4pm and things are starting to wind down so we start to say our good byes and gather our things.  The show was a tremendous hit in my eyes and that people and atmosphere were amazing.  I really enjoyed talking with all of you so don’t be shy if you see us at a show!

Until the next event, Keep the Nissan faith!!

Most of the decent photos can be seen by clicking the “continue reading” below!

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The BEHEMOTH has returned!!! The Paintwork is amazing.

After being sent to the talented hands at William’s Autobody this black beauty has come back to Z Car Garage.  While it was away we have been amassing enough spare parts to complete two cars so the next assembly stages should go pretty quickly, remember that the goal is to unveil the two RB powered cars at the Historics at Laguna seca in just a few months.

I really hope that the pictures you see here help you to understand how much work was done to get the car to this point.  A few of the reflection pictures that I took ended up looking like the car had been chrome plated.  The mirror-like finish carries over into the engine bay where every hole, bracket, and weld that was’t necessary was smoothed or removed entirely.  Special attention was paid to the frame rails to make sure that they were as straight and as perfect as they could be.

The 2.8L stroked RB engine is patiently waiting in the back shop for it’s new throne in the engine bay.   We will be putting a smooth coat of black paint on the engine block to match the rest of the car.  This project is going to need to move really quickly from here on out to make our self inflicted deadline for the Historics.

I will have many many more posts on this car as we make progress into this huge project.  Until then enjoy these pictures.  Z Cars Rule.

More photos after the “read more.”

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We can’t thank everyone who attended this event enough!  The entire crew at ZONC was amazing and we look forward to the next event with them very soon, Jack and Yolanda special thanks to you.  The caravan down to Laguna Seca on both days was a real blast and I’m happy to report that we had no serious issues.

Another special thanks needs to go out to all of the people who drove some very long distances to join up with us for the races this weekend.  A few of you came from the Sacramento area which is a good drive but there were others who came down from Oregon and Washington.  A good friend of ours brought his ’71 Datsun 510 wagon down from Oregon after a few serious modifications.  The radiator was recently relocated to the rear of the car to make way for a new air-to-air intercooler for the turbo’d drivetrain that came from a Toyota Supra.  (Feel free to leave any comments about putting a Toyota drivetrain in a Datsun in the comments section.)  The kicker here is that he only put on 15 miles before making his way down to meet us.  Talk about commitment.

Like I said earlier,  the drive to the track went great on both days but when we got to the track on Sunday we were blown away at how many Zs were there.  I believe the final count was near 65 cars for the corral.  The Porsche club only had 20ish!  Awesome!!

Our parade lap took place right around noon.  It is always a good experience to get to drive on a track but Laguna Seca is a whole different animal.  The racing history here is immense and Nissan has certainly had its fair share of the limelight here.  The look on people’s faces after the TWO parade laps were over brought a smile to my face, especially for those who have never been on track.  There were so many people interested in doing a track day after this event, it’s a good thing that the Z is up to it!

For me the racing took a back seat to spending time with all of the Z owners that attended.  The MX-5 race on Saturday didn’t produce the carnage that I had predicted, those guys can really drive in close quarters.  The Mustang Challenge race was arguably the most exciting event of the weekend.  Lots of door to door racing and that  V8 rumble will really get your heart going.  I didn’t stay for the entire Rolex Daytona Prototype race so that we could get back to the bay area a bit early but I can’t wait to catch it on one of the greatest inventions ever, the DVR.

We will be hosting more and more Z events at Z Car Garage and ZONC has quite a few shows coming up so make sure to check back here for all the info.  Thanks again to all who attended and to all the readers of ZCarBlog.

Long Live the Z

Follow the “read more” for all the pictures that I took at the event.  The pictures from both days are in the gallery and they are in the order that I took them.  I know that there were a ton of friends with cameras at the event so I will try to get some of their pictures too.  Enjoy

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The drive from Solvang to our hotel in the LA area was fairly uneventful except for the hour of inexplicable traffic that we sat in for no apparent reason on a Saturday afternoon.  After we checked into the hotel we went out for some dinner at a sports bar so that we could watch the San Jose Sharks game, they won in OT.  Most of us then decided to turn in so that we could be rested for the show on Sunday.

We checked out bright and early and made our way to one of the quaint little towns that speckle the LA area, if you know where to look, to get some breakfast.  With our tanks full we venture on.  When we finally arrive at the venue we are not surprised to see what seems like hundreds of cars in line waiting to get in.  Good thing we ate.  After a good forty-five minutes of inching forward (some of it just coasting down hill with the cars off) we arrived at the front gate.  Every car in sight was a Z.  All years, every possible combination of mods, mild to wild paint jobs, you name it and a Z had it.  This was like a pilgrimage that had reached its destination.

The entire event report and a ton of photos are after the “read more.”  So click and read more.

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Here it is friends… the final schedule.

Saturday 5/16

Meet at Z Car Garage between 8:00-8:30am

Depart for Laguna Seca at 9:00am

We decided on this time so that we would be able to catch all the fender-bashing action of the Mazda MX-5 Cup (Miatas.)  These MX-5 races are some of the most entertaining events that I have ever seen and they should not be missed.  I hope that all those planning to join us from outside the Bay Area will be able to make the 9:00am departure time.

Sunday 5/17

Meet at Z Car Garage at 6:30am

Depart for Laguna Seca at 7:00am

I know it’s early but we do need to make sure that we are at the track and settled by 9:00am.  Raceday traffic can be a hassle here so leaving at 7:00am makes sense.  If you know how these caravans go we probably won’t get underway until near 7:30, but please try to be prompt.

Z Car Garage is only hosting the caravan down to Laguna Seca so any questions/comments can be addressed here or by email to Rob at rob@zcargarage.com

All other concerns about the corral or other track related events need to go through the appropriate channels at ZONC.  Check ZONC.org for contact information.  I believe that Yolanda Atkinson is in charge of this event if that helps at all.  See you Saturday morning!!!

Long Live the Z!!!!!