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Glenn’s NISMO Edition Skyline GT-R

Filed under: Featured Cars and Projects,Performance
by Alvin G @ 5:19 pm on January 31, 2018

 

Our friend and fellow Datsun enthusiast/racer Glenn Chiou recently acquired this R32 GT-R. Before we describe what brings this Skyline to Z Car Garage let’s hear how Glenn found the dream car of his youth:

“As a teenager growing up during the Fast and Furious days it was not hard to get caught up in the import car craze. Amongst the boy racer fantasies of owning RX7’s, Supra’s and R34 Skyline GTR’s, I developed a strong interest in the R32 GTR. The simple design, yet brute power intrigued me. It was always a car that was unobtanium to me. After hearing that I would be able to federal legalize one after 25-years I had to pursue one. Although the car was technically legal in the United States, the wonderful state of California hindered ownership. It was then I learned about International Vehicle Importers run by Skyline aficionado Sean Morris. On a whim, I headed down to IVI in Long Beach, California to take a peek at what they had to offer…”

“As with all my cars, I always look for a unique factory offering during the selection process. After further research I learned that there was a version homologated for racing – the NISMO edition. Nissan built a total of 560 NISMO BNR32 models for homologation purposes to compete in the FIA’s Group A racing class. A total of 60 of the 560 cars were destined for Group A racing in Japan and Australia. NISMO models included twin steel fan turbos (opposed to ceramic), an additional lip spoiler, front brake cooling ducts, side skirt aero splats, removed ABS, and a rear wiper delete. Being a racing junkie, I knew this was the car for me. I took delivery of the car #459 in November 2016 and could not have been more excited. The car provided a unique experience like none other. As an owner of both vintage and modern cars, I was amazed at the fact that this car was designed and built in the late 80’s!”

 

After a year of ownership Glenn was yearning for an even more enjoyable driving experience. He decided to take a period-correct approach of modification using high quality parts from the era when possible. Shown below are a full Trust Titanium exhaust, authentic NISMO steering wheel and the crown jewel of period-mods: 400R-spec NISMO LM-GT1 wheels! Sized 18×10 with stickier tires all around paired with Ohlin DFV’s coilovers:

 

 

Fast forward to November 2017. Glenn was prepping the Skyline for the R’s Day track event at Laguna Seca. With the 12/9 date fast approaching we discussed his GT-R and switching over to the Haltech Platinum Pro Plug-in for engine management. Glenn was excited and Godzilla visited Z Car Garage:

 

 
 

Whenever we install the Haltech Platunum Pro on a GT-R we switch from a mass air flow (MAF) to a manifold absolute pressure (MAP) based setup. The dyno graph shows how we were able to make more power and area under the curve while keeping the car safely tuned on 91 octane:

“To put the cherry on top, we had Z Car Garage work their magic with a Haltech ECU and tune. In short, the car WOKE up. The superb handling coupled with the drivable power made for a perfect track day car and canyon carver.”

 

Where better to test the R32’s newly found limits than on the race track? We had a blast driving with Glenn and friends at R’s Day in December. He was stoked:

“The car performed beautifully and stuck like it was on train tracks! The car was incredibly predictable and just all-around very enjoyable to drive fast. I look forward to more improvements to the car in the near future, as it will serve as my fun toy between vintage race days!”

Thanks for letting us tune your special R32 Glenn! If you haven’t experienced R’s Day here’s a neat video and coverage from Speedhunters.

UPDATE: Glenn’s Datsuns

 

 

Glenn is an avid Datsun enthusiast having owned and raced several cars. You might remember his VIPS 240z vintage race car from the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion last year where he ran the Z alongside our hero John Morton. We also dyno-tuned the Z in preparation for race week. Look for #39 at various events this year!

 
 

Next up for restoration, Glenn has located IMSA GTU/Trans Am 260Z, chassis # 000024, formerly driven by Greg Sorrentino of Different Drummer Racing. We know Glenn will do it justice by the amazing work he performed bringing back the Loren St. Lawrence Z:

 
 

Glenn loves his vintage race cars and he recently added this B-sedan Datsun 510 to his stable! We should be dyno-tuning it soon. Look for it on the track at this year’s B-sedan races with SVRA:


Let’s not forget Glenn’s street car, his RHD 240z-L is well known in the Datsun community and the subject of a nice feature film on Petrolicious.

 

The Z has a powerful Rebello stroker motor with triple-mikuni’s and runs perfectly sized Watanabe wheels. On that wheel-related note, we are really excited to report that Glenn will be running our ZCG Big Brakes for small wheels behind those magnificent 15″ Wats! Look for a full report soon. You can catch Glenn putting it through its paces on the 2018 Coastal Range Rally hosted by the good folks at DrivingWhileAwesome.

 

 

Good luck at the races this year Glenn!




FUN RUN: Datsun Roadsters 1/28/18

Filed under: Events,Featured Cars and Projects
by Alvin G @ 1:30 am on January 29, 2018

 

Sunday was a beautiful sunny day in the Bay Area, perfect for a quick drive in our Datsun Roadsters.  Our destination was Uvas Reservoir and I joined Rob and his family in Sora while I drove my ‘67.5 SPL. Leaving our meeting point of 76 on Foxworthy/Almaden:

 

Z Car Garage shop dog Kane loves riding in the roadster!

 

Despite being only 25 miles from the heart of Silicon Valley, the landscape near Uvas Reservoir is entirely different with farmlands, rolling hills and idyllic bridge crossings:

 
 

At the reservoir we flagged down this Datsun enthusiast, also out Enjoying The Ride! It was none other than David Carroll in his beastly 1975 280z:

 

 

You might recognize David’s Z as a contestant in the Optima Batteries Ultimate Street Car Competition and numerous road course/autocross events. Dubbed “570Z” when he initially ran a LS1, the  Z now sports an LS3 with over 500whp. Those are 315/30/18 tires at four corners! He gave us a nice fly-by check out the video below:

 

 

We snapped a few more pics of the cars and headed back home, it was fun to “exercise” the roadsters:

 

More pictures in the gallery below and remember, Datsuns Are Driven!

…[read more]




Suspension for Bill’s 350z

Filed under: 370z,Featured Cars and Projects,Performance
by Alvin G @ 6:18 pm on January 16, 2018

 

Bill C has been a long time customer of Z Car Garage. You might remember his 2007 350z as one of the first HR-powered cars at ZCG to receive a Bassani exhaust and minor bolt-ons resulting in over 300whp. That was in 2008! Over the years Bill has enjoyed his Z on fun runs and track days. He even wrote an Ebay article reviewing the 370z and enlisted us for dyno measurements!

 

 
 

The stock OEM suspension on the Z33 had always bothered Bill:  the relatively spongy ride along with ride height and wheel gap over his amazing Volk LE37 wheels had to improve.  We wanted to make sure that he had the ability to autocross, enjoy back roads and daily drive the Z. Bill picked up a very nice set of Ohlins DFV coil-overs for us to install:

 

 

Here is the Ohlins setup installed front and rear:

 

A great complement to coil-overs is our favorite sway bars from Hotchkis:

 

Sway bars installed front and rear:

 
 
 

The Z now sits with a great stance and Bill is very happy with the new suspension setup:

I love the Ohlins!!!  I got EXACTLY what I was hoping for.  Daily driver comfort (Wife couldn’t discern it from stock), but take it into some twisties and it’s a monster. Also, I did not expect my braking to improve so much from the coil-over install.  

 

Enjoy The Ride Bill!

 

 

 

 




Original owner Series 1 240z!

Filed under: Featured Cars and Projects,Maintenance,Performance
by Alvin G @ 12:06 am on January 12, 2018

 

 

We couldn’t wait to share this with you! Owner Richard W. trailered his 1971 Datsun 240z all the way from Eureka, CA to Z Car Garage. He is the original owner of this 60k-mile Series 1 S30 and it hasn’t run since 1985. We fired it up for the first time yesterday. Full report on the blog soon. Long Live The Z!

 




EVENTS: Blackhawk Z Gathering Featuring BRE/Pete Brock 4/7/18!

Filed under: Events
by Alvin G @ 12:55 pm on January 11, 2018

 

The Z Owners of Northern California (ZONC) are hosting the annual Blackhawk Z Gathering Saturday, April 7. Special guest Pete Brock will be giving a talk at the Blackhawk Museum on the same day! Register your Nissan/Datsun and get admission to the museum to see Pete Brock on ZONC’s website below:
Registration HERE

 

This is always a fun time and a beautiful venue, legendary Pete Brock is not to be missed. Z you at Blackhawk!

 





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