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On Saturday, September 24 the Breakfast Club Rally is hosting Tokyo Calling 2, their second All-Japanese car rally in San Rafael, Ca.
To register and see more details, please visit their website HERE
We have run several rallies with Breakfast Club and it is a total blast, you can see my previous event reports HERE.
Stay tuned for caravan information from Z Car Garage.
Z you there!
The Golden Week Kyusha Festival is returning to Northern California again May 9th! This will be a fantastic gathering for Japanese classic cars at the Crane Way Pavillion in Richmond, Ca. Registration will open March 1, for more information visit www.gwkfest.events.
Z Car Garage is a proud sponsor of the show, check out my report from last year’s event, and don’t miss this one!
The 2019 Japanese Classic Car Show was held on September 21, in Long Beach, CA. This is the original vintage Japanese-car event in SoCal and in its 15th year, JCCS has grown incredibly. Over 10,000(!) spectators enjoyed 400+ cars covering the lawn of Marina Green Park. The vehicles themselves remained a fantastic blend of stock, modified and restored. This is the most important show for Japanese cars, and the Z Car Garage crew keeps coming back every year to soak up the sun, see old friends and drool over some spectacular vintage builds.
We had the joy and honor of delivering Mr. K’s 1972 Datsun 240z to owners Johnnie Gable and her son Kenny Ueda at JCCS. In true “Datsuns Are Driven” form, Rob drove Mr. K’s Z 400 miles from San Jose to Long Beach and it ran flawlessly.
Joining us were ZCG customers John B and James S in their Z’s. A few pics from the road trip South:
We had lots of traffic at the ZCG booth. Mr. K’s Z definitely created a buzz, and enthusiasts checked out our Big-Brake kit for small wheels, CV Axles and picked up some free swag. Thanks to customers, fans and friends that stopped by! We met many great Datsun fans and enjoyed talking cars.
James’s 1972 S30 was displayed with fellow Z car owners in the show. At the heart of this beast is a turbocharged L-series managed by Haltech. Chassis upgrades include custom full-length subframe connectors, our ZCG CV Axles and Big-Brake Kit (328mm) behind RS-8 wheels restored by Love20bee.
A stack instrument cluster was integrated into the gauge pod, viewed from leather Recaro Pole Position seats. This Z has a very unique sound. We recently tuned it on E85, dyno results and videos coming soon. We are very happy for James as he won the award for 2nd place for Best Z!
Delivering Mr. K’s Z to a very happy Johnnie Gable and Kenny Ueda:
Expect a full report on our work performed to get this precious Z back on the road.
Enjoy this video I made highlighting the sights and sounds of JCCS 2019:
Why do we keep coming back to JCCS? Each year the bar is raised for the show cars, and this year was truly impressive. With over 400 cars and 80 vendors it was almost impossible to see it all in the 9am-3pm show time. Here are our favorites, starting with Nissan/Datsun.
Here are few of my favorite Nissans and Datsuns, starting with that not-so forbidden fruit commonly known as the hakosuka Skyline. Roy De Guzman’s Hako sported a new look with the premier Pandem Rocketbunny flare kit and Cross Fever wheels:
Patrick S’ Kenmeri Skyline and Mikey C’s sedan both Rb26-powered and sitting on Watanabe Gotti wheels:
Mel’s R30 4-door on Watts, next to Jay’s DR30:
I didn’t expect to see a large gathering of R32 Skylines, even a 4-door!
With the 50th Anniversary of the Z cars from all generations were in full force spanning the crested lawn of the Marina Green Park. I’m a big fan of subtle modified Z’s but I can also appreciate pristine, bone-stock examples and the occasional shakotan build.
Stock is good: beautifully restored ’72:
So. Many. Z’s!
The winning Z:
1975 280Z 2+2 on Epsilons from Love20bee:
Larry Chen’s freshly-painted S30!
Good old triple-carb’d L-series power!
RB25DET-powered:
S130!
You can find more S30s in our gallery!
Z31s were plentiful too, in both stock and modified examples:
The Nissan S12 chassis has been growing in popularity. Known as the “200sx” stateside there were some cool examples of both hatchback/coupe bodystyles.
At the JCCS it is always great to see old friends and meet new enthusiasts! Thanks to everyone that visited the ZCG booth!
Our friends at BringaTrailer.com
The Datsun Roadsters came out in full force this year, running 6 cars strong!
Raymond Lim’s 1963 1500 was the oldest car present. This 3-seater SPL310 model was driven, not trailered to the show!
Ed’s sharp 1970 SPL sporting Enkei Compe wheels:
The Desirello’s also displayed their SR20-powered beauties:
More roadster pics in our gallery!
Datsun 510s dominated the field as the most represented model again this year. From sedans to wagons and a single Bluebird Coupe!
Andrew’s RHD tribute 510 won Best of Show!
TSR-built 510:
Brian Holloway’s Coupe with Recaro seats…and the coolest socks
Our friend Troy’s customer won Best 510!
13B and CA18DET:
Dogs Love Trucks!
Kenny’s NL320 pickup:
Toyota always has a huge corporate involvement with an assortment of race cars. They even had the new Supra on display and a 2000GT!
Great showing of RA29 (Liftback) Celicas!
Trucks:
I personally love going to JCCS because I get to see very rare Japanese/tuner wheels and parts. Preservation of authentic wheels and appreciation of the time and effort spent to find certain specimens that most folks have never heard of in this generation is what I admire most.
Variations on the mesh wheel from BBS, Epsilon, SSR, Volk, Bahn and more. You can’t go wrong!
Many more pictures from JCCS in the gallery!
Here are a few great sites with more coverage of the show:
Bring a Trailer
Autoweek
Jalopnik
Super Street
It is difficult to run a car show and keep up the quality and interest levels but the folks at JCCS have managed to do exactly that for 15 years! No other show gives you the chance to see obscure, pristine, modified Japanese classics…and we look forward to next year’s entrants. Koji and Terry the new venue is great, almost overwhelming with the number of cars! We hope you have enjoyed our coverage and please visit our mega-gallery for more pictures.
The Golden Week Kyusha Festival is coming to Northern California May 4th! This will be a fantastic gathering for Japanese classic cars at the Crane Way Pavillion in Richmond, Ca. We are proud to be a sponsor of this event and look forward to hanging out with friends and appreciating some J-Tin! Registration closes April 20, so sign up fast, details can be found HERE. You can also follow the event updates on Facebook and Instagram.
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“Great Drives” is a Zcarblog series highlighting scenic routes and destinations we have enjoyed from the past and present. Whether it is a nice cruise or thrilling adventure, we hope to inspire Bay Area vintage car owners to Enjoy The Ride! Have a great drive of your own that you want to share? Feel free to contact us on Facebook, Instagram or by e-mail.
There are several fun routes reaching Alice’s from San Jose. This drive was organized by Lotus 7 owner Geoff W and we all met in Almaden to begin:
The 11-car group was diverse with both vintage and modern sports cars with great Nissan/Datsun representation!
The cars:
Daniel’s Nissan 240s (S13) with an RB25DET swap. He is the man behind the lens of BayRoadsAP. Naveed Yousufzai’s R32 Skyline GT-R:
Lane Skelton of DrivingWhileAwesome in his Porsche 944. Eric in the 911 Targa
TWO Z cars! Michael’s Series 1 240z (with patina) and Andrew’s Series 1 Fairlady Z (RHD!)
Geoff (organizer) in his Lotus 7, featured on Petrolicious! Mike in his 993 Porsche:
The route:
Driving through Almaden to Mt. Umunhum:
The climb up to the peak is filled with freshly paved road and switchbacks. At the top:
In the lower lot we had a few minutes to chat and check out the cars
I really dig Michael’s S30, it has a warmed-over triple-carb’d L-series:
We left Mt. Umunhum towards 17 and exited on Bear Creek Rd. for lunch in Boulder Creek. This was a fun stretch I haven’t been on.
Heading up 9 to 35. It was fun chasing Michael in the Z:
We had a little scare when his oil pressure gauge started reading low….it checked it ok and we were off again:
The route changed a bit and we took Alpine Rd. (lots of loose gravel) to Pescadero Creek Rd, then Stage Rd. After re-grouping we hopped on HWY 1N:
From 1 we turned right onto 84. This stretch was amazing. SO much fun connecting the turns and chasing Geoff in the Lotus. This is a road that made me love my roadster even more. Thanks Geoff for an exhilarating drive!
All of the Roadsters at Alice’s Restaurant. An “Aero Cycle” joined:
We also got a closer look at Geoff’s go-kart. One look at the driver’s seat tells all: this is a wild ride!
After drinks we departed. Alice’s never disappoints.
Here’s video I snapped showing the action, enjoy!
After drinks we split up for home, and i took 35 back down 9. I was treated to some great coastal and bay arae views:
Big thanks to Geoff for organizing the drive. It was a fantastic run with great company! More pictures in the gallery below.
