The Classic Sports Racing Group (CSRG) is excited to welcome Vintage Spec Miata (1990-1997) to all of their events! This is a fun, affordable way to get into vintage racing. If you have any questions regarding prep and presentation, reach out to Rob Fuller: rob@zcargarage.com. Please see below for more information and rules.

 

Why Vintage Spec Miata (VSM)?

Why VSM? It’s a great way to get into vintage racing at an affordable price point. The nice folks at the CSRG have a strict no-contact policy as part of their racing philosophy: this ensures the safest environment for you to race competitively while sharing the track with traditional cars.

 

Lastly, CSRG events are known for their camaraderie and undeniably cool eye-candy. If you want to mix it up with classic race cars of the 60s and 70s in your Spec Miata, this is the ticket.

 

Did we mention it is Fun! See what vintage racing with CSRG is all about in one of our race reports HERE!

 

Fellow Spec-Miata racer Ross L in front of Randy Pobst’s first National Championship-winning Miata (1992). Below, Rob Fuller’s Spec-Miata at the shop:

 

 

CSRG Rules for VSM

 

The first race event is March 15!

 

Register your Vintage Spec Miata for CSRG’s first event, the 2024 David Love Races at Sonoma Raceway March 15-17. Registration details HERE. It will be a blast on Sonoma’s NEWLY PAVED surface with plenty of vintage cars and good times. See you there!

 

 

Join us on Saturday, February 24 for Cars and Coffee at SIM Racers Group in San Jose. Z Car Garage would like to gather a group of vintage cars to attend. Bring out your Datsun, BMW, Alfa or any old-school marque. Stay tuned for caravan details on zcarblog.com Thanks to Classic Sports Racing Group (CSRG) for hosting!

 

 

 

 

Congratulations to our client Dan F on achieving his personal goal of sub 1:40s lap times at Laguna Seca in his Nissan 350Z. Z Car Garage has worked with Dan for several years to fine-tune this Vortech Supercharged Z33 so he enjoy it on the track.You can see the build history HERE:

Chasing 1:30s

 

Dan is an avid track-enthusiast and we love working with him to optimize his Z. Let’s hear about his triumphant ‘Seca experience from November with SpeedSF:

“It was a very satisfying weekend at Laguna running both Sat & Sun 11-25/26. I came still looking for sub 1:40’s with my best time to date a 140.1. It’s only the second time I’ve been there since the re-pave but I have been running here testing and tuning for over a dozen years now. 1:39’s however have always been elusive so when in my second session on Saturday morning, I finally broke through and did a 139.2 on 1.5 year old Toyo RR’s (red wheels in the pics), I was ecstatic. That was apparently just some foreshadowing for the weekend. By day’s end I was consistently running low 1:38’s. The track is faster than it’s ever been with extra run off at T5 & T9 and a smooth surface that has now been rubbered in nicely and the weather was perfect around 62 with zero moisture.”

 

“My plan Sunday was to try some pirelli scrubs (black wheels) from the World Challenge Series. I was excited to try them on this car because it is set up as a race car at this point so it makes sense real race rubber might work well, it did. First session I blew by the 1:37’s and finished with a 1:36.1, next session 1:36.0 then finished with my best being a 1:35.8 on a lap compromised by traffic. Scrubs were good for 2.4 seconds over the RR slicks. Some pretty unbelievable gains all weekend and especially with these tires.”

 

“Still can’t quite believe it took me about 4 years to go from 1:44 to 1:40 and only 2 days to drop the next 4+ seconds but it’s days like this that make you want to keep trying for that perfect lap. Sometimes all the stars align and I’ll be looking to match my optimal lap of 134.8 next time out…”

Enjoy this in-car video of Dan’s fastest lap time in the Z:

Recent Updates

Dan’s Z received a few updates to the interior and aero package. Extensive caging inside, new front splitter and rear wing:

  

We are super stoked for you Dan! Get that 1:34 at ‘Seca and LONG LIVE THE Z!

 

We love to see our products being installed and used on client cars. Armon is running our Z Car Garage Heat Shield in his 1973 Datsun 240Z that he rescued and restored on his own.

 

ZCG Heat Shield

 

We are excited to offer the Z Car Garage Heat Shield for your triple-carb’d L-series Z car. This is a one-piece 304 stainless unit with laser-etched serial number. Proven on all of our L-series engine builds and dyno testing.

  

This heat shield will fit Mikuni, Weber, Dellorto and Jenvey induction with several intake manifolds like the Harada. Also available for 4-cylinder L-series applications as well!

 

The ZCG Heat Shield is available for purchase with product information below. View this product and other ZCG parts on the new “products” page of our website HERE

 

Save Classic Cars

Armon is a car enthusiast passionate about keeping classic cars on the road. “Save Classic Cars” is a platform he created to share his love for vintage metal and foster the DIY spirit in others. You can catch his adventures on Instagram. Let’s hear from Armon himself about the rescue of this 1973 Datsun 240Z…

 

The Rescue

ARMON: “I actually remember looking into 240z’s when I was 16 years old- I’m 28 now. At the time, I wanted something classic that I could tinker with and drive throughout high school. Most of the Z cars listed for sale had some level of rust, which in hindsight, was nothing compared to what I would eventually get my hands on. I eventually gave up and ended up buying a classic mustang (then another, and other, etc). I still wanted a Z car, but didn’t actively search for one due to the price- the days of the “cheap” 240z were long gone in my book.”

 

“Last August (2021), I went on a walk in my neighborhood with my Dad. We spotted a Z car tucked away behind a pile of firewood just 800 feet from my house. I came back the next day and introduced myself to the neighbors- the gentleman who owned it bought it in 1989, paid someone to tune it (which made it run worse), and subsequently parked it in 1991. The car sat there for 30 years and became one with the earth- it had sunken into the ground, a tree had grown up next to the door, there was moss growing on the paint, rodents living/dying in it- the poor thing was a mess. The owner told me he wanted to sell it- I got excited and bought it on the spot (in hindsight, I probably should have at least opened the hood).”

Bodywork

 

“With the help of a few buddies and a truck, we dragged it out of the ground and down the street to my house. It turns out the person who did the tune up didn’t gap the points. It was running the next day, I actually drove it to the previous owner’s house the following week. The car ran incredibly well- someone had swapped in an L28, regeared it with 3.90’s and added the Mulholland suspension package.”

 

“Beyond that, it was an absolute mess. Floors, firewall, frame rail, floor supports, toe boards- all toast. It had been hit hard on the passenger side and poorly repaired. I fell in love with this car after driving it, I decided that I wanted to keep it and fix it. I stripped the car down to a shell, built a frame jig, and made the car whole again; literally. Oh, all of the metal work and mechanical restoration was done in THREE months. As fun as that was, I think I’m going to need a little break before I take on something like that again.”

Drivetrain and Chassis

 

“The cylinder head was rebuilt with a more aggressive cam and larger 280z valves, triple-Webers, and then completely resealed. Many Z enthusiasts mentioned adding a heat shield- I didn’t think much of it until I watched one of my Weber’s drool some gas onto the headers. A quick email to Z Car Garage and I was on my way home with a new heat shield! It looks great and keeps the Webers cool.”

Close-up view of the Z Car Garage Heat Shield beneath Armon’s triple-Weber induction setup, this unit is serial#00258:

 

With the engine taken care of, Armon added T3 front control arms, T/C rods and ST springs (courtesy of ZCG) along with replaced bushings throughout:

 

“I then sourced a 280z 5 speed and some Datsun comp style seats- my crusty (but solid!) go kart was ready to take on the world. Future plans? Continue flogging it! I’ve been driving my 240z every chance I get. I’d like to grab some stickier tires and hit some track days, it’s been an absolute blast to drive around town and in the mountains.”

Enjoying The Ride

 

We love that Armon drives his Z everywhere. He’s joined us on local events and gatherings like the Breakfast Club Rally. Their “Tokyo Calling 3” event (above) was ~300miles of fun through beautiful Sonoma backroads. (below) Meeting up with our client Dirk and his 1973 Datsun 240Z:

Armon followed through on his plan to track the Z, enjoying it an HPDE at Thunderhill Raceway. He also took the Z to an Autocross event at Sonoma Raceway.

 

Enjoy this video of Armon’s 240Z in action…

 

More photos of Armon enjoying the Z after rescuing it are in the gallery below…happy to see him at Nick’s birthday party:

 

Alexey Orlov captured the sound and experience of driving the Z in this video below:

It’Z a Small World

 

Z-car ownership often comes with some interesting stories from previous stewards. Armon was reunited with a former owner of his Z and it’s neat story:

ARMON: “That’s not just any 240z. That’s MY 240z! I recently met with the gentleman who owned my 240z from early 70’s to 1989- it turns out he lives half a mile away from me. He gave me the full story and sent me a few pictures from back in the day- it’s incredible. He [John] bought the car from the original owner not knowing of all of the hidden accident damage, then had a buddy weld it up (he never looked back, the car drove fine). Every few years, John would get bored, strip the car down to bare metal, and repaint it a different color in his parents garage. It’s been metallic brown (original color), red, yellow, green, black, and white- all with psychedelic 70’s stripes and graphics. He swapped in the L28 short block when the original L24 died and he would go to the legendary FAR Performance to buy his parts.⁣”

⁣
“John was very excited to see his 240z in person after parting ways with it over 30 years ago. Every time he’d see something on the car, he would remember another story- it was incredible. ⁣The best part? He’s a Bay Area local and used to take this 240z up highway 9 and Alice’s regularly. It’s truly come full circle. This car is a textbook example of why classic cars are more than just…Cars! I’ve been an advocate for these things for a long time and I will never stop spewing my classic car propaganda. They bring people together, build communities, and remind us of good times. SAVE CLASSIC CARS and keep them on the road where they belong!⁣”

 

Thank you for your support Armon we are happy to see our Z Car Garage Heat Shield on your S30. Long Live The Z!

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