On Saturday, August 26 we attended the Tokyo Calling 3 event hosted by Breakfast Club Rally. Z Car Garage participated with a group of client cars and enjoyed a wonderful day of driving through the foothills of Northern California. The event also featured 200+ Japanese classics and 90’s-era wonders to appreciate during the morning social gathering and rest stops. Enjoy our report with mega-photo gallery and video!

 

Breakfast Club Rally

 

The Breakfast Club Rally (BCR) started 3 years ago as a small group enjoying weekend drives. It blossomed into a monthly event with one hour of hanging out drinking coffee, followed by two hours of driving on the second Saturday of the month. Registration is free and always open to all makes. I highly recommend it for anyone looking to enjoy the beautiful Northern California roads and scenery. You can see our previous BCR reports HERE!

 

The initial BCR Tokyo Calling event and Tokyo Calling 2 follow-up were a huge success. We did not want to miss their third all-Japanese, mostly-vintage rally so I assembled a group of Z Car Garage clients and friends to participate in TC3. We left the shop at 6:15am heading to Sonoma, here is a preview of our cars:

 

Beau’s 1976 Datsun 280Z

 

Beau’s Datsun 280Z is fresh from  Z Car Garage full cosmetic and mechanical restoration featuring Recaro Specialist seats, our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels) and Z Car Garage CV Axles!

 

Ken’s 1970 Datsun 240Z

 

Rob drove our client Ken’s 1970 Datsun 240z. This is VIN#1762 Series 1 features our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels), Z Car Garage CV Axles, L28 with Jenvey ITB EFI and KA24 5-speed transmission.

Vince’s 1973 Datsun 240Z

 

Vince’s 1973 Datsun 240z is Enjoying The Ride with our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels) and Z Car Garage CV Axles.  He scored this Z from our friends at Bring a Trailer and regularly drives it on rally events.

Mrs. Butters

 

Cooper was in Mrs. Butters, our Series 1 shop 240z. This Series 1 S30 features a 3.2L with triple-Mikuni induction, Z Car Garage Big-Brakes, Z Car Garage CV Axles, ZCG Heat Shield, 6-speed transmission and full KW suspension (releasing soon).

Armon’s 1973 Datsun 240Z

 

Armon’s Z has a great story we will share in its own feature. He got this car running on his own and even performed rust repairs. He’s running our  ZCG Heat Shield on his triple-Weber carb’d L28:

Rob’s 1971 Datsun 510 Wagon

I drove Rob’s Datsun 510 Wagon. It features a 2.4-liter KA24DE engine with five-speed manual transmission sourced from a Nissan 240SX. The car is a wonderful driver and it is FOR SALE.

Linda’s 2023 Nissan Z

 

Linda Williams drove her 2023 Nissan Z. This is the special,”Proto Spec” edition limited to just 240 units. We love her “1OF240Z” tribute license plate. Linda joined us on the last two Tokyo Calling events in her 1972 Datsun 240Z OMS Pace Car Duplicate. She loves driving it everywhere.

Nick’s 1972 Datsun 510

 

Nick drove his 510 Wagon with recently added L18/twin mikuni ph44s and dyno tuning. In true rally-style, Nick and co-pilot Ben wore their headsets to communicate. This Dime has so much character!

Bluebird

 

Our client drove this Bluebird Coupe. It is a RHD example that was not sold here. Built by our friends at RacecraftNW it features an S15 SR20DET with 6-speed transmission, TSR Brembo brakes and VOLK wheels. Full feature coming to zcarblog.com soon!

The Z Car Garage Nissan Z

 

Josh drove our shop 2023 Nissan Z with Fast Intention TDX cat-back exhaust system. Full report with audio coming to zcarblog.com. Our morning caravan of 11 cars enjoyed cruising up I-280 through the Golden Gate Bridge. Nothing beats driving with fellow Z car owners!

 

Tokyo is Calling before the Rally!

 

Our crew arrived at the rally start in Sonoma and it was already filled with fabulous J-Tin nestled between the vineyards of Gundlach Bundschu winery. BCR hosted a “social gathering” from 7:30-9am so we could take in all the glorious cars. The vibe was tremendous, and as usual it went by too quickly. Let’s go through some of the highlights, with more photos in the gallery below!

  

Over 25 S30 Z cars were present!

 

I am always on the lookout for Nissans and Datsuns, and roadsters get my attention. There were at least 7 in attendance including a genuine 1967 2000. One of the most sought after Datsuns, these “half-year” models were introduced mid-1967 offering a 5-speed transmission and 150hp twin-Mikuni carb’d 2L engine…hot stuff for the era.

 

Ian’s SRL is #601 (out of ~1000 cars) and it was fully restored years ago by Les Cannaday in San Diego. Ian is meticulous about maintaining this car, but it is no garage queen, attending monthly rally events. The (655) Off-white paint with red interior is one of my favorites. Yes, it even sports a factory Nissan hardtop with all the stainless trim!

   

This familiar Honda S2000-powered ’69 2000 is now local with current owner Mark, nice meeting you!

 

A right-hand drive ’69 2000:

 

High and low-windshield roadsters models were present:

  

There were 15 Datsun 510s in wagon and sedan form. Our client Jay installed a set of our Z Car Garage CV Axles on his Green 510. Jay is a hardcore rally driver  and also brought his mint wagon with family!

  

Back to Z cars, Pratibha and Andre recently acquired this ’73 240Z, welcome to Z family!

 

Our client Cameron’s Z32 Twin Turbo visited Z Car Garage for maintenance work, downpipes, inlet piping, larger intercoolers all from Specialty Z. Cameron has been bringing his 300 to us for many years and we we are really glad to see him driving again. More Z32s were on the rally!

 

Leo’s Nissan Pulsar GTi-R

 

We were pleasantly surprised to see Leo and his Nissan Pulsar GTi-R at Tokyo Calling 2 and he returned again for TC3! This RHD, JDM hot-hatch is known as “Baby Godzilla”, sporting all-wheel drive and an SR20DET drivetrain. What’s wild is that this Pulsar used to be owned by our very own Gary at Z Car Garage! Leo purchased it back in 2017 and drove it all the way from Reno, NV.

 

There were a handful of S14 and S13 240SX:

   

Nissan Skyline

 

Race car driver, restorer and Datsun Historian Glenn Chiou has been a friend and client of Z Car Garage for many years. He drove his R32 Skyline GT-R with BBS LeMans wheels and period exhaust/aero. It was great to see our R32 Skyline clients Miles (Rays wheels) and Kurt W. (in his GC8 Subaru). All will be getting zcarblog updates:

  

The lone S130, with T-tops off for proper Napa motoring!

 

Enjoy this walk-around and driving video from Tokyo Calling 3:

 

So many cool cars please check the gallery for more photos! Next, let’s check out some non-Nissan/Datsun action…

Kei Classics

 Suzuki Cappuchino and Autozam AZ-1 and mesmerizing the crowd with their size and neat features.

Honda

  
There were no less than 25 Honda S2000 sports cars on the rally!

 
Honda was well-represented including late model DC2 Integras, a few NSXs, CRXs and EF/EG hatches rounded out the display:

 

Toyota

 

Some of our favorite Toyota’s including Supra (A60, A70, A80), first gen MR2s, and AE86s! The Lexus IS300 SportCross with A80 Supra wheels was sweet!

      

Trucks and Vans

Let’s not forget the Japanese classic trucks and vans! Pajero Evolution, HiACE, REPU and Nissan:

   

The wildest car I found was this 4th gen Toyota Corona Coupe:

 

Rally On!

The rally started at 9am and I was tasked with leading our group. There was no cell phone reception but I was armed with a turn-by-turn rally printout. I enjoyed hustling the green 510 Wagon through the backroads:

 

One of the perks of BCR events is their team of professional photographers at various stages capturing epic rolling and detail shots so people can focus on enjoying the drive. I encourage you to visit each of these SIX photographer’s photo albums to see shots of your rides:Blaine Olguin, Ben Kim, Alex Nibyt, Vijay Sankar, Everett Lederer, and Zack Hubbell.

  

Arriving at Sam’s General Store in Calistoga was another opportunity to see cars I missed at the starting point. Folks took a snack/coffee break here in the quaint town. I was just admiring each vintage ride cruise by…like this Isuzu Vehicross!

  

The rally concluded back at the Gundlach winery where BCR arranged for lunch from Kinoko Japanese Home Cooking. Folks enjoyed Donburi surrounded J-Tin everywhere. It was a superb venue to enjoy cool cars and great company.

 

Thanks BCR!

  

Many thanks to the organizers, we had a blast and I urge you to register for their next event, especially if you are in the South Bay area like me and want to see what driving bliss lies North.  Here are a few thoughts from Rob re-capping the Tokyo Calling 3 event:

“We headed out from Z Car Garage with our clients and friends and made the 100-mile drive up to Sonoma wine country. Saw familiar faces and new ones it was really cool to see the Non-Datsuns. There was a REPU rotary-powerd truck which I really love. I grabbed some coffee, chatted and had fun admiring the variety of cars with friends.  We got on the road and the routes BCR selects are really fun with great scenery and people along the way. “

  

“We met up in Calistoga, had lunch with friends. Loved seeing our clients on the drive… and one car had an exhaust weld failure. I took one of my shoelaces to secure it and this temporary exhaust bracket got us back on the road. I love Datsun adventures and we do anything to keep driving! Highly recommend the Tokyo Calling events, actually all the BCR events are loads of fun. They are a great group and we will Z you at the next rally!”

 

The Drive Home

Our adventure was not over as we had to travel another 100 miles South to the shop. We caravanned back, traveling through the iconic Golden Gate Bridge and through San Francisco.

 

Thank you to all of the Z Car Garage clients that made the journey with us. Huge thanks to BCR for extending their hospitality to our crew, everyone was thrilled. Here’s to the next rally and always, always #DoitInADatsun! More photos in the gallery below…

 

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Everything we know. Everything we love. Everything we live for. In one letter.

The New Z Car. By now many of you have seen Nissan’s Z Proto in the media or even in person as it tours the car show circuit. On May 2, Nissan invited us to their headquarters in Tennessee to get up close and personal with the Z Proto, still very much in pre-production form. After seeing, hearing and feeling this car in person we are thoroughly stoked for the new Nissan Z. Enjoy this report from our trip, complete with photos and video.

 

Nissan is Back

Z car enthusiasts worldwide have been awaiting a successor to the current Z and many were satisfied when Nissan officially unveiled the Z Proto on September 16, 2020. The live-streamed event featured Alfonso Albaisa (senior vice president of global design) and Hiroshi Tamura (chief product specialist of the Z Proto) both very enthusiastic and assuring that while the Z Proto is only a development model, we will get a new Nissan Z.

Fast forward almost six months after the unveiling…Nissan debuted this commercial that gave me chills. I immediately texted Rob that Nissan is back. This brilliantly-executed advertisement was exactly what we needed and shows a direction that we are totally on board with:

 

With our New Z car anticipation growing stronger we just had to see it for ourselves, in the metal. You can imagine how happy we were when Nissan Corporate reached out to Z Car Garage and invited us to their headquarters in Franklin to spend some quality time with the Z Proto. Rob and I hopped on a plane to Tennessee…

  

Arriving at Nissan HQ, our hosts were Jonathan Buhler (Sr. Specialist Corporate Communications at Nissan) and industry veteran Dan Passe (Director, Corporate Communications). Both gentlemen are hardcore automotive enthusiasts (see Jonathan’s personal Datsun 240Z) that proudly wave the flag for Nissan. The kind of minds you want at a car company, and very gracious. Rob and I were in for a treat, and and we were blown away. First order of business: see the Z Proto inside Nissan HQ…

The Nissan Z Proto:

We were given the opportunity to get up close and personal with the Z Proto. To be concise, this car has a presence that simply isn’t captured in photos. A small disclaimer: the details we admired and discovered on this car may not transfer to the production car, but based on leaked photos, and as mentioned in the unveiling by Alfonso the Z Proto’s design is extremely close to what consumers will be offered. After sitting in the car and taking in its design, both Rob and I were enthralled and eager for the new Nissan Z. Let’s take a closer look…

Exterior

 

 

Our visit with Nissan only begun with the Z Proto. Before heading to our next destination we stopped by legendary Z shop Crawford Z Car Service in downtown Nashville. Owner Doug Stewart is an accomplished  Z-car racer and you night remember the creator of the Crawford intake plenum for Nissan’s 350z VQ engine.

 

Nissan Heritage Collection

 

A visit to the Nissan Heritage collection was next on our tour. Nissan’s production plants in Smyrna and Dechard and HQ in Franklin, TN are pretty well-known but the Heritage Collection is hidden inside the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville. The museum itself is open to the general public and it’s a must see:

 

Undeground and beyond closed doors, we entered paradise. Both Jonathan and Dan have dedicated their time-on a volunteer basis to preserve, maintain and promote this vintage Nissan/Datsun collection. Without them it wouldn’t survive, and in part they rely on enthusiasts (like Randy Jaffe) to help carry the torch. These are cars that would have been scrapped by Nissan or left outside to rust. Rob and I were literally in heaven. So much history in one place with wicked metal at every turn. (Below) The actual Black Gold TV commercial 280ZX and 2021 TV commercial Z31 that actress Brie Larson was in:

 

Everywhere we looked there were”JOB #1″ vehicles, race cars, movie/commercial cars and even concept cars…we could have spent the night with the collection. What sets this collection apart from others is that all cars are accessible and drivable (or meant to be driven). No roped-off cars or locked doors. I even got to sit in the race car!

 

Forgotten concept cars. Some were old. Some were shockingly recent(See that Q50 Eau Rouge?!)

 

 

This 1200 truck needed some attention and this was recently shipped from the Heritage Collection to ZCG for some love!

 

There were way too many cool cars to mention so please check out the photo gallery and video below!

 

Here is a video of our visit to the Nissan Heritage Collection, enjoy!

 

Datsun Roadsters

 

The Datsun Sports (310/311) or affectionately known as “Datsun Roadsters” are some of our favorite models. We were both surprised and happy to find that Jonathan and Dan had recently rescued a few from a barn. All of the cars they recovered were interestingly “2000” models from 1968 to 1980. Thanks to their efforts these gems will be restored and driven!

 

 

Thank You

We thank Nissan, Dan Passe and Jonathan Buhler for the opportunity to visit. The Z Proto is a winner and we were throughly impressed with the Heritage Collection and your efforts to keep it alive. Looking forward to working with you in the future, LONG LIVE THE Z!

 

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We love to see our products being installed and enjoyed on customer cars. Dustin is running our Z Car Garage CV Axles in his 1972 Datsun 510 4-door. This Dime is powered by a Nissan KA24DE/5-speed and wears a sweet set of NOS 15×7 Longchamp XR-4 wheels:

 

 
Do you remember your first car? For Kevin M, his first car was a 1967 Bluebird RL411 that he purchased as a teenager. For his 50th birthday he bought a Bluebird just like the one he had in high school and came to us for mechanical help.

 

Kevin is a long time Z Car Garage customer with his pretty Cherry Red Pearl Slicktop Z32 300ZX, so we happily obliged to take on the 411 project. We knew that it would be a challenge as his 411 was the very rare, “SSS” model. Not familiar with the 411? It is a hybrid of sorts with a body designed by the Italians and mechanics built in Japan by Datsun.

 

The Bluebird had a 1300 cc engine and its body was designed by Italian coachbuilder Pininfarina. The SSS was a high performance sedan version of the Bluebird that used a slightly modified version of the engine from our beloved Datsun Fairlady 1600 sports car. Let’s take a look at Kevin’s history with the 411…

Bluebird Beginnings

 

In 1978 at the age of 16, Kevin’s first car purchase was this 1967 Datsun Bluebird 411 sedan. He had many fond memories in it as a teen:

“I drove the car all through my time as a student at Cupertino High School and at De Anza College. The 1980s! It was kind of a funny looking car, but I just adored it. I drove it to my high school Junior Prom, as you can see from the photos. My brother and I once even drove all the way from Bay Area up to Sweet Home, Oregon to visit our mom. A bit gutless going over the big grades, but we made it there and back without many issues. 

I drove this car all over the Silicon Valley, to school, to work, Santa Clara Vanguard rehearsal, ‘Tino football games, to midnight movies, to KOME where I volunteered, to KFJC, my college radio home, to the beach in Santa Cruz via the Old Santa Cruz Highway, and especially up and down Highway 9.

 

Birthday Bluebird

 

At some point while going to college, the head gasket blew and Kevin decided to sell the car. He regretted selling it, considering all the memories the 411 gave him. On his 50th birthday Kevin remembered the soft spot he had for his Bluebird and purchased one in 2013 from noted 411 expert Tom Neely:

“I was so excited to have this car in my hands. It was very nostalgic driving the car once again. The sounds, the smell, the look and feel were all too familiar. The difference is that this was the RL411 SSS, a more powerful version of the Bluebird I once new. I drove it all around the San Francisco neighborhood where I live, picking up loads of smiles and thumbs up.”

 

Getting The SSS Back On The Road

 

Kevin was able to enjoy his “new” Bluebird until the engine made a horrible noise. He visited Z Car Garage in 2014 and we diagnosed the R16 with a rod knock. Kevin and Rob discussed a restoration with premium replacement and NOS parts at the heart of the build. We knew that finding parts for a car like this would be very difficult and accepted the challenge. Early stages of the build included a hot-rod R16 engine from Rebello, refurbished brakes/hydraulics, upgraded ignition and gaskets.

  

Unicorn Parts

The original exhaust manifold crumbled to dust once removed so another one was sourced and replaced.  The custom exhaust system built by Neely gets great reviews from other RL411 owners. Note the downpipe is routed through the fender:

 

“Rob Fuller and Z Car Garage’s vast network had somehow found one last RL411 water pump! The unicorn! I could not believe the news. The part was installed, and I received the car shortly thereafter.”

The engine was treated to new upper/lower radiator hoses and a new Nissan gasket set:

 

Chassis

With the hot-rod parts being installed into a chassis from the 60’s, everything needed to be gone through to make it road worthy. The braking system was overhauled with new calipers, F/R wheel bearings and new rear wheel cylinders. We also rebuilt the suspension:

   

What vintage Datsun would be complete without a set of Panasports?! We couldn’t resist fitting some 14×6 Panasports with Star Spec tires. Lowering blocks in rear make it look sharp! More pictures in the gallery below:

 

Interior

 

We really dig the interior on the 411s as they have a very classy look and feel. The dash was worked on with attention to the gauge cluster and trim. The heater core was removed/rebuilt and the control valve pressure tested to ensure the heater/defrost was functional:

 

New seats sourced from another 411 with a matching rear bench and new carpeting were installed:

 

 

Details

We convinced Kevin to breathe some life into the old paint with a cut and buff…the results were impressive.  The car was undercoated and detail painted, here is a before/after:

 

 

While buying some parts for Meghan’s 312 Bluebird we got a set of NOS 411 bumpers and hooked Kevin up.

 

Tuning

We replaced all the fluids, installed an upgraded East Coast Datsun distributor (Thanks Tom!), upgraded alternator and brand new set of factory plug wires. Rob dyno tuned the R16 with Z Therapy SU carbs making 79hp/95tq at the wheels:

 

Kevin took delivery of his refreshed 411 and he was stoked:

“I headed down to Z Car Garage. Rob handed me the keys and said, ‘take it around the block. Tell me what you think.’ I did so. The car was like another beast. The engine roared to life. It seemed was fresher and angrier. That extended out to the test drive. What performance! The Bluebird was was back! More performance than before and zero backfiring. I could really wind out the R16! “Well?’ asked Rob. ‘Amazing!’ I exclaimed.” 

 

 

Enjoying The Ride

Kevin was so excited that his Bluebird was fresh and ready he made the long journey to attend the 2018 Japanese Classic Car Show. There, he was recognized for his long drive in the Bluebird from San Francisco to Long Beach:

“I received an “Iron Butt” award for distance traveled to the show. Even more importantly, the Bluebird made the trip home, as well. Since JCCS, I’ve shown the car locally at the ZONC show and got a lot of interest in the car. Again, it’s so odd that even Datsun enthusiasts had never seen one before. It can’t really win car shows, as there is no category for these oddball 411s!”

Indeed, we were stoked to see Kevin and Bluebird at the ZONC Annual Classic Car Show:

 

He joined us on a local Holiday Fun Run through the Santa Cruz Mtns:

 

He even attended the Route 66 Classic Car Show in Williams, AZ where he joined a few other 411 owners, again driving all the way there and back!

The Bluebird is being daily driven in San Francisco:

 

We enjoyed the journey to bring Kevin’s RL411 back to life and it makes us happy to see him Enjoying The Ride:

“I thank the Datsun gods for putting this project into Z Car Garage’s hands because they came through for me in the end. I don’t believe I would be driving the car if it weren’t for their knowledge and persistence. Here’s how the car looked after I picked it up from Z Car Garage.”

 

Big thanks to Kevin for sticking with us through the build and everyone in the Datsun community that lent a hand like Mike Young. Datsuns Are Driven!

More pictures in the gallery below:

 Dear Zcarblog readers, this is our belated race report from the 2019 Rolex event. Long overdue but a good reminder of the 2020 Rolex coming this August! Enjoy the picture gallery, paddock finds and our video footage with in-car action…

We had a tremendous week racing at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion August 14-16.  More commonly known as the “historics” at Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca, this epic vintage race is part of several events occupying the week-long Monterey car festival leading up to the Pebble Beach Concours. Every year the RMMR highlights a featured marque but for 2019 the International Motor Sports Association, better known as IMSA , was celebrated.

 

Typically we would be joining a large group of fellow Nissan/Datsun owners on the race track but it was a bit different this year. Despite IMSA being the featured marque many of us did not gain admission.  Fortunately, our customer Alex McDowell got his Nissan Bluebird and Datsun 280ZX accepted along with newcomer Doug and his DeKon Monza. As a service offered to our customers, we provided full trackside support in addition to race preparation/tuning for the RMMR event.

Serious recognition for Japanese Classics

 

The Reunion is a highlight for race fans, but it is also part of Monterey Car Week which is filled with classy events like auctions and the famous Pebble Beach Concours d’ Elegance.  The Japanese Automotive Invitational hosted by Infiniti returned since its inaugural event last year. While I did not have a chance to visit the JAI, our friends at Japanese Nostalgic Car did. We are proud of several Datsuns displayed:  Steve Tetreault’s  stunning ’64 Datsun 1500 (from Florida!), John Baker’s 1969 Datsun 2000,  Brian Kippen’s 1972 Datsun 240z and Nissan Patrol and the Jim Froula-restored Ex-Greg Sorrentino 510 B-sedan:

Epic racing

The IMSA GT group (5A) was a fantastic mix of our favorite cars like the Z car, Porsche 911, BMW CSL and American muscle like the DeKon Monza and Corvette.  Z Car Garage supported Alex McDowell in the 1979 Datsun 280zx and Doug Stevens’ in the 1976 DeKon Monza.

 

Alex McDowell in the Jim Fitzgerald Datsun 280zx

 

Alex did really well this year, having run the RMMR a few times now. The Fitzy 280zx received a fresh engine with more power and performed flawlessly.

 

It was unfortunate that our familiar Datsun buddies were not on track with us:  only Alex and David Martin in the Friselle 240Z were out there repping Datsun.  The two had a great battle with Alex eventually pulling away from David, enjoy the in-car footage from the 280zx below.

 

The DeKon Monza

 

Z Car Garage supported three race cars at the 2019 RMMR and the biggest challenge was a new kid in town…Doug Stevens and his DeKon Monza. He hails out of Bakersfield, CA and came to ZCG for a dyno session on referral from Chad Raynall of Impeccable Inc..  Doug wanted to get the DeKon dialed in after it been mothballed for years. It’s always been a goal of his to run the RMMR, so we fully prepared this car, having to change many parts.

 

Our first race was at the Sonoma Historics where Doug lost a wheel causing him to go off track. The left rear flare and bumper/taillight were damaged. So there we were in late June with the Rolex approaching in August. Doug sourced a fender flare and we called upon our man William to fuse it into the existing bodywork…the damage was undetectable and patina retained!

 

At RMMR, more problems arose. Rob recounts the events at the Pre-Historics (a “practice” weekend proceeding RMMR):

“The way the rear suspension is designed it loads rear wheel bearings heavily. The combination of a wide 15″ tire, high power and grip allows the seal to wallow out. A few hot-rod fixes were not applied to this car b/c it has a real vintage setup, yet to be updated. We fought that over the weekend, sorted it out and Doug was able to finish the session.”

Then, in the last practice session of Pre-Historics weekend we lost a brake line and caliper which resulted in a fire in both front wheels.

  

We were stranded without a wheel or replacement front brake setup. Missing the big show was becoming a possibility. We towed car back to the shop Sunday afternoon. Josh and the ZCG team helped sort the front braking system with new brackets fabricated and last minute work from Brian Kippen.  By 9pm the car was back together and now the backup wheels won’t fit over the new brakes. We looked all over for a replacement wheel including racers and the BBS factory with no luck. Success: Chad Raynall called us with old wheel centers and Larry Oka had the old hardware.

 

Doug finished the final Group 5A race at the RMMR, Rob:

“After sorting issues the Monza ran wonderfully at RMMR. Doug’s family and parents came out and it reminded me of when Joel Anderson first went out. We are lucky to help someone realize their goal, a shared dream that we also have. It was rewarding to be with his family with hugs all around, so gracious. Doug will return this winter for a full teardown/inspections.”

 

We will have a zcarblog full feature on the Monza, for now here is a nice one from Stanceworks

Alex McDowell in the Bluebird

The Group 4B (GT cars under 2.5L) had some heated battles between Alex in the Bluebird and John Wilkins in the Ex-Bob Studdard Datsun 2000. Watch them mix it up with Porsche 911s and an Alfa GTZ piloted by Gunnar Jeaneatte in the video below:

   

Notes from Rob:

 “Alex and Bluebird really work well together. That car finished 5th in the race. We had a few issues with a hit and the right front strut got damaged. With help from Jim Froula we were able to weld it in their bay and get Alex back on the track. Adding to the drama was more car contact as got bumped a little.”

Watch this extended in-car video below of Alex piloting the 280zx with extra footage of the Bluebird and DeKon Monza:

 

 

You can see more IMSA race coverage on Speedhunters.

 

Paddock Highlights

The best part of the RMMR has to be the paddock. Home to all the race cars and their teams, massive car transporters and an all-around pure sensory overload. At every corner there is wicked metal with history begging to be told.

 

Rob displayed his 1967 Datsun 2000. Everyone loved it:

Bring a Trailer

Our friends from Bring a Trailer hosted a really cool car corral near turn 3. Filled with cars won through BaT, this was so much fun to walk through. We hope they do it yearly!

 

A few S30s including our customer Jim H’s 1971 240z

 

Paddock finds

 

From massive transporters, to exotics and downright crazy vehicles the paddock never disappoints. Here’s a few of my favorites, more in the gallery!

   

Sights and Sounds!

Enjoy this video from the paddock and starting grid

 

 

People

Contributing to the fun were family and friends. Our customer Jim H got acquainted with the previous owner of his Z, Les Cannaday:

 

We were humbled by the number of people that stopped by including fellow Datsun owners and Randy Jaffe, Kurt Hafer and Jan Trondsen:

 

   Ace photographers Naveed and Courtney:

 

Thank you!

We hope you have enjoyed our recap of the 2019 Monterey Historics! Please browse our mega-gallery of pictures from race weekend below. Big thanks to our friends and family members that helped us make this possible including Larry Oka, Chad Raynall, Brian Kippen, Jim Froula and the ZCG Crew: Josh, Nick, Keith, Cory and Meghan Fuller. We certainly enjoyed the company of friends and visitors in our paddock, here’s to another year of vintage racing in Monterey, California.

 

Long Live The Z!

Z CARS RULE ONCE AGAIN at Laguna Seca at the next RMMR! That’s right we have submitted our race car applications for RMMR 2020, featured marque announced soon! …[read more]