The Z Owners of Northern California (ZONC) is one of the oldest Z car clubs in the nation. In its prime they had over 600 members with close ties to Yutaka Katayama (“Mr. K”) and Nissan USA. We had a wonderful time attending their Meet and Greet event at the Blackhawk Museum in Danville, Ca on June 11, 2023.

 

We left Z Car Garage in our 2023 Nissan Z, 1971 Datsun 510 Wagon and  Randy’s 1972 Datsun 240Z (For Sale). Joining the caravan were Alex in his 1968 Datsun 510 Wagon and our friend Geoff in his BMW 2002. Despite some morning fog the turnout was impressive for a relaxed gathering. No judged car show or awards, just Z-Car fans catching up with old friends and meeting new enthusiasts.

Highlights from the show

Still to this day, 240Zs are the most represented model in the club. Expansion over time currently includes all recent Z models and the GT-R, but also reaches back in time to include the Datsun Roadsters and 510s. Both upper and lower parking areas were packed with cars and people having a great time.

  

The New Nissan Z!

 

Linda Williams’  proudly displayed her 1 of 240Z special edition Nissan Z “Proto Spec” in the upper Museum area. Our RZ34 was in the lower lot and we will have a full report on the recently installed Fast Intentions exhaust system!

 

Z’s, 510s, Roadsters and More!

 

Here are a few of my favorite S30 Z cars from the gathering, starting with this flared beauty on custom 17″ early S30 hubcap-inspired wheels. This is the creation of Hoover Chan from Turbohoses R&D and it sports an L28ET. Rob and Hoover go way back many years!

  

We were pleasantly surprised to see many Z Car Garage clients so let’s take a look at what they drove. Garrett drove his 1972 Datsun 240Z featuring our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes, Z Car Garage CV Axles combined with a suspension rebuild improved the chassis. Power comes from a Rebello 3L with our Z Car Garage Heat Shield  and in-house dyno tuning to make it sing. His latest addition are new Recaro leather seats!

 

Ken’s 1970 Datsun 240Z also has our Z Car Garage CV Axles:

  

Stoked to see Hazel’s 1970 Datsun 240Z featuring our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes, Z Car Garage CV Axles. Looks like Hazel just added a mint set of Watanabe R-Type wheels to her Z!

 

 

It was great to see Steve and Kevin’s Nismo Z33s. Full reports on both coming to zcarblog.com!

 

Here is a video from the event, enjoy!

 

Blow-thru Fantasy

 

We met Francisco and his S30 had a really neat HKS blow-through turbo system. Rob was impressed with his enthusiasm and love for the Z!

Twice the Beauty

  

Joey Bautista drove two of his immaculate Z cars.  The engine bay on this blue car looks factory right? A closer inspection reveals a bespoke factory-style triple carb  air cleaner, complete with OEM-style emissions stickers! The B-speed “LY” vintage valve cover was a nice touch as well. Really love d the aesthetic.

 

 

The silver S30 also sported triple carbs with a vintage SK air box and “triple” emissions stickers:

 

Z32

 The Z32 300ZX was out in full force with both NA and TT examples. We enjoyed seeing familiar faces like Kevin Neely’s TT with fresh TE37 wheels and Joe’s show-winning red Z32:

 

Z33 and Z34

Strong showing of Z34s including V1 and V2 Nismo models:

     

510s

 We love to see Datsun 510s and there were many examples of both stock and modified. Andy’s SR20DET-powered 510 was my favorite with Gotti wheels and rear-mounted A/C system. This was another creation from Hoover at Turbohoses!

 

SSS Bluebird was the only RHD 510 model at the show:

 

 

Jay’s 510 Wagon on Longchamp XR-4 wheels. Jay also has a 510 2-door featuring our Z Car Garage CV Axles.

  

Matt’s 510 with turbocharged KA24DE:

   

Alex’s 1968 Datsun 510 Wagon is a total sleeper with an LS3 V8 drivetrain!

 

Roadsters

The lone Datsun Roadster was John Baker’s ’69 2000. This is a Concours-level restoration with lots of rare, NOS Nissan Competition parts like passenger foot rest and oil cooler.

 
Rare Everwing fog lights and day/night mirror:

R32 Row

 

R32 Skyline GT-Rs in a variety of colors! Race car driver, restorer and Datsun Historian Glenn Chiou displayed his recently acquired Crystal White R32 on BBS LeMans wheels:

 

A familiar R34 GT-R also showed up!

 

 

R35

A handful of R35 GT-Rs

 

People

It’s why we keep coming back to ZONC events. Thank you to everyone that took the time to say hello!

 

Thank You ZONC!

We had a great time spending the day at the ZONC Meet and Greet. It reminded us to (in the words of the late Mr.K), ” Love cars. Love people. Love Life.”  This is a club that keep the Z community together year-round and we are excited for their next events. Don’t forget to check out our picture gallery below!

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Join us this Sunday, June 11 for the Z Owners of Northern California (ZONC) gathering at the Blackhawk Museum! See flyer below for more details:

 

Z Car Garage will be attending with our new 2023 Nissan Z, 1972 Datsun 240Z (for sale) and 1971 KA24-powered Datsun 510 Wagon:

 

We had a blast at last year’s ZONC event (their 50th anniversary) with a fantastic turnout:

 

You can see our report from the 2022 event HERE, and Z you this Sunday at Blackhawk!

Z Car Garage is featured in Nostalgic Hero’s coverage of the Z Owners of Northern California (ZONC) 50th Birthday Celebration at the Blackhawk Museum in Danville, Ca. You can view the article HERE.

 

We had a great time attending the event and Rob Fuller displayed his #49 Joel Anderson IMSA GTU Datsun 240Z. Our client and fellow racer Glenn Chiou displayed his FAR Performance 240Z while Linda Williams displayed her 1972 Datsun 240Z OMS Pace Car Duplicate:

 

Z Car Garage also displayed the 2023 Nissan Z!

 

You can see our full report from the ZONC celebration with even more photos and video in this blog post HERE. Thanks to Hisahi Masui from Nostalgic Hero!

Jack Atkinson, friend, extraordinary designer, fabricator and creator of the Primadonna Z, left this world on July 15, 2022. He was 68. Jack and his wife Yolanda have been a part of our lives since the beginning of Z Car Garage. We send our deepest condolences to Yolanda and their family.

 

Being lifetime members of The Z Owners of Northern California (ZONC) and supporting our shop along the way, we are forever grateful to them. This is our tribute to you, Jack. We miss you and know you are out there Enjoying The Ride!

Design and Fabrication

 

In the automotive space, Jack was a visionary designer and self-taught fabricator. Many enthusiasts in the Nissan/Datsun community to this day are still impressed with his iconic “Primadonna Z” based on the 1970’s Datsun 240Z sportscars. This is a very special Z car with a history that will be shared in a (deservedly) separate blog post. Briefly, Jack Atkinson built three totally custom 240z cars in the early 80’s. In 2021, Z Car Garage helped reunite Jack and Yolanda with his first Primadonna Z build:

 

Heavily influenced by the wild IMSA Z ‘s and Porsche 935 bodywork, Jack hand-fabricated the body pieces and affectionately named the cars “Primadonna Z’s”. Only three Primadonna Zs were made. This red car is the first one Jack built, here is a period photo of it:

 

Jack would go on to build and eventually sell the Primadonna kit, spawning black and white versions:

 

The whereabouts of the black and white cars have been fairly well-documented over the years, eventually landing (and thankfully) in the hands of caring owners. The white car (known as Jettlag) and red car (known as Z Bait) are currently with Eric and Allison Knutsen of Southern Florida Z. We have so much to tell you about this car’s history, from its current whereabouts back to inception in the skillful hands of Jack. For now, a nice primer can be seen HERE.

 

Datsun Destiny

 

Thirty-six years later Jack was reunited with his first creation, Primadonna Z #1. The Z arrived at Z Car Garage and we were able to get it started and take both Jack and Yolanda for a spin. It was incredible to see this Z in person and even sweeter to witness the reunion. This would be Jack’s last ride in the car he built by hand before he passed.

 

Here is short video of Rob and crew getting the Z started and rolling on the street:

 

Back in Z Game

After a 20 year hiatus, Jack’s creative mind and passion urged him to get back into modifying Z cars. This time he chose the Nissan 300ZX (Z32) as his canvas, building two “Primadonna Z32” sportscars.

 

The first Z32 was a 1993 convertible (above) that was transformed into a widebody with several iterations of livery, wheels and color schemes. That was Jack: always seeking to improve his designs:

“I wanted to take an already nice looking Z and make it look like a super car. Even though this car is a one off, my insurance is the complete set of molds, from which the components you see were made. I made the fiberglass molds from the hand-sculpted prototype body of wood, aluminum, styrofoam, fiberglass and bondo. Body components were constructed using hand laid S-Fiberglass, Carbon Fiber and Kevlar and rolled out with a high temperature resin.”

The build started in July of 2005 under a canopy in his backyard and took 6-months to complete-including paint. Below, build documentation and the Primadonna Z32 in all-black:

 

The second Z32 was a 1996 Twin-Turbo with only 13,400 miles on it. This stunning ZX was one of the last Z32s to roll off the line (#247 of the last 300) and Jack’s hand-made body-work highlighted the car’s lines, while leaving the ‘looks-new’ interior in full view through the windows and t-top. Jack garnered many awards for both Primadonna Z’s including Best of Show and First Place at ZDay in Pismo Beach:

 

Jack’s LS3-Powered Z32

 

Jack developed a love for Corvettes and we helped him bridge his passion for the Z by performing an LS3 engine swap into his Primadonna Z32 Convertible. This was a dream come true for Jack, earning him a prize in the Z32 Ultra Modified category at ZCON 2021. Here are a few photos of us wrapping up the LS3 swap with road-testing and dyno tuning. Full report soon!

 

It even sports full A/C and OEM shifter for the automatic transmission. The Z was loaded up with the OMS pace car and heading to ZCON 2021! You can hear Rob discuss Jack’s LS-powered Z on this episode of Hoonigan Autofocus with Larry Chen from the 34th Annual Z Car Convention (ZCON) hosted by ZCCA in Colorado Springs.

  

Fellow Z car enthusiast and ZONC board member Ann Devor on Jack’s creative work. Jack inspired many Z-car enthusiasts, including younger folks:

“Jack, with Yolanda’s assistance with fiberglass molding, designed and fabricated all manner of auto body parts – fenders, noses, tails, splitters, wings, all to accommodate the bigger wheels that were necessary for his aerodynamic designs. And the wheels were big! Wheels for Jack’s cars were custom made and it was always one of his favorite jobs to put his new wheels on for the first time. And to his last days, he wanted a set of new wheels for one of his cars. Jack was always thinking about the next big thing he wanted to do, whether it was a road trip or a new design for a car.”

“When Jack started working with vinyl applications and graphics, a whole new world opened up and added to Jack’s already respectable number of design innovations. Jack’s cars visually popped with their huge wheels covered by muscular fenders, big wings, splitters just barely clearing the asphalt, and car paint clothed in colorful spears, stripes, arrows, and emblems. There is nothing else like Jack’s cars.”

Roadtrip Leader

 

Some of our greatest memories of Jack are the numerous roadtrips he led (with Yolanda’s help, of course) with ZONC. These memorable drives would kick-off at Z Car Garage, with Jack briefing a large group of enthusiasts. You could also count on seeing Jack’s car equipped with a CB radio antenna, whether it was a Z car or NSX. This desire to share the road and its adventures carried with him later in life to the Santa Clara Corvette club where he would lead them on epic cross-country drives.

 

Datsun Family

 

Jack and Yolanda have supported Z Car Garage since we opened our doors in 2004. They helped us design and produce special t-shirts and swag (more on the way!) that you may have seen at various race events and gatherings. We are forever grateful for their friendship.

 

Love. Jack and Yolanda were in love for 43 years. Their partnership was inspirational, doing everything together including working side by side as business partners and enjoying automotive hobbies. Indeed, it was tough to get a picture of them apart, so most of my photos are of them together 🙂 Here are Jack and Yolanda in 2008 at a Z Car Garage dyno day, in their NSX:

 

We Miss You Jack

 

On October 22, Z Car Garage attended a Celebration of Jack’s Life in Bakersfield, Ca. There was an incredible outpouring of love from friends and family at the event. Jack’s passion and love for sharing spanned across different marques, eventually reaching NSX and Corvette clubs.

 

The celebration of life also brought people together. We met Eric and Allison Knutsen, current caretakers of the Primadonna Z cars all the way from Florida. The parking lot was a mini car show with Jack and Yolanda’s cars as well as friend’s rides. We think Jack would be right at home seeing the gathering of cars and people. Enjoy the photo gallery below:

 

Jack is at peace, and his story will continue to be told. We were fortunate to be in his presence and cherish the time we spent Enjoying The Ride. He truly embodied the words Mr. K said best, “Love cars. Love people. Love life.” Our sincerest condolences go out to Yolanda and Jack’s family. We will miss you Jack!

 

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Love for the Z is strong in Northern California

The Z Owners of Northern California (ZONC) is one of the oldest Z car clubs in the nation. In its prime they had over 600 members with close ties to Yutaka Katayama (“Mr. K”) and Nissan USA. We had a wonderful time attending their 50th Birthday Celebration at the Blackhawk Museum in Danville, Ca on June 5, 2022.

 

Despite some morning rain the turnout was impressive for a relaxed gathering. No judged car show or awards, just Z-Car fans catching up with old friends and meeting new enthusiasts. (above) Aerial photos by Bryan Delohery.

Highlights from the show

Still to this day, 240Zs are the most represented model in the club. Expansion over time currently includes all recent Z models and the GT-R, but also reaches back in time to include the Datsun Roadsters and 510s.  For their 50th Birthday Celebration, ZONC assembled a “generations” display in front of the museum with samples of S30, S130, Z31, Z32, Z33 and Z34. Sitting front and center was the 2023 Nissan Z!

 

Racing History

 

A selection of Datsun race cars also joined the “generations” display. Datsun 510 guru and racer Troy Ermish displayed his 1971 B-Sedan 510 “Penny”:

 

Race car driver, restorer and Datsun Historian Glenn Chiou displayed his FAR Performance 240Z. This Z has a very rich racing history, driven in the 70’s by Loren St. Lawrence in VIPS Restaurant livery.

 

Glenn has vintage raced this Z at several high-profile events. He turned a track-mishap into an opportunity to perform a total-restoration (again) and bring this Z back in “Bay Area Datsun Dealers” livery as raced by FAR Performance privateer Walt Maas.

 

Rob Fuller of Z Car Garage displayed his #49 Joel Anderson IMSA GTU Datsun 240Z. An interesting note, both Glenn and Rob’s race cars have ties to ZONC gatherings decades ago.

 

Linda Williams’ 1972 Datsun 240Z OMS Pace Car Duplicate was staged next to the #49 IMSA GTU race car (the original OMS Pace car). Z Car Garage revived this historically-significant Z from its slumber to make it a nice driver for Linda while retaining its survivor status. She loves driving it everywhere.

 

The New Nissan Z!

 

ZONC teamed up with Nissan to display the new 2023 Z as part of the “generations” display in front of the Blackhawk Museum. This is the Performance model sporting a 6-speed manual and Passion Red paint. And Z Car Garage got to drive it back to our shop at the end of the event!

 

Z’s, 510s, Roadsters and More!

 

Here are a few of my favorite S30 Z cars from the gathering, starting with this flared beauty on Watanabe wheels:

 

Flared Series 1 Z with G-nose and Works-style wheels:

 

We were pleasantly surprised to see many Z Car Garage clients so let’s take a look at what they drove. Ed B is the original owner of this 1971 Datsun 240Z ZCG has maintained for almost two decades:

 

Bob Russell is the original owner of this S30 we will have a full report on zcarblog soon!

 

Representing the G35s were our clients Larry and long-time client Jason:

 

Eugene and long-time client Craig showed their 350Zs:

 

 

Richard M’s ZCG-modified 370z was representing Z34s

 

Here is a video from the 50th Birthday Celebration with load-in of the #49 IMSA Datsun 240Z, walk-around of the displays and the new Z leaving, enjoy! More highlights below…

 

260z and 280z

 

S130

Who could forget the S130 280zx! We spotted 4:

 

Z31

Three Z31s, including David’s sweet 25th Anniversary edition. This was his first ZONC event, welcome and thanks for bringing your Z out David!

 

The Works Rally Z

 

In the middle of freshly painted/detailed Datsuns and Nissans was this rather dilapidated S30. Upon closer inspection viewers were treated to the tremendous revival of this real-deal Nissan WORKS rally car. Recently I had just posted a blog report on Randy’s East-African Rally Tribute, so seeing an actual, surviving rally car in person blew me away. We all geeked out pretty hard on the details, and they were impressive:

 

This is chassis #2 of 4 that were built by Nissan for the 1971 Monte Carlo Rally.  It is the project of Tom K and noted Datsun expert Steve Pettersen and their restoration website is a must-visit for history and feature documentation (as shown above). The Z remains largely intact with original parts like the Nissan competition exhaust manifold and roll bar. Period-correct parts like the Ikeda Bussan rally seat and reclining navigator seat were sourced. Check out the heater-port to defrost the headlight covers, Nissan-branded acrylic windows and more:

 

 

Authentic Magnesium rally wheels and Kanto Seiki 8krpm tach! Thanks Tom and Steve for bringing it out to the ZONC event!

 

 

This Z deserves its own spotlight, but enjoy this walk-around video until we can visit Tom and take some proper coverage:

 

Z32

 

Z33 and Z34

Our client Steve’s Nismo Z33 and a brace of 350Zs in the generations display. Good to see a build from way back, Tom’s supercharged 370Z.

 

510s

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Jay’s 510 features our Z Car Garage CV Axles. We will have a full report soon as he just completed a DWA rallye in the Sierras!

 

Matt’s 510 with turbocharged KA24DE:

 

Andrew’s 4-door Hakosuka Skyline and Josh’s 620 truck

Roadsters

The lone Datsun Roadster was Hotep’s ’69 2000 with L-series drivetrain and factory, OEM hardtop!

  

This rad little B13 Sentra b13 packed a full SR20VET engine from a Nissan X-Trail and 6-speed transmission!

 

 

S12, and S14 Nissans:

 

 

R35 Row

A very large showing of R35 GT-Rs parked together

Plenty of cool, modified cars but this one caught our eye, it is a GT-R “T-Spec”.

 

Only offered in two colors, Millemium Jade and this Midnight Purple finish made iconic by special-edition R34 Skylines. Inside, a Mori green interior and alcantara touches really set it apart from other models. Best part? The owner drives it everywhere despite being an ultra-rare and pricey variant.

   

Driving the New Z to Z Car Garage!

 

I had the opportunity to drive the 2023 Nissan Z from the ZONC show back to our shop in San Jose with a group of die-hard Nissan fans. Huge thanks to Nissan! We had the Z for a few days to enjoy so stay tuned for a full report!

Happy Birthday ZONC!

Spending the day at the ZONC 50th Birthday Celebration reminded us to (in the words of the late Mr.K), ” Love cars. Love people. Love Life.”  This is a club that keep the Z community together year-round and we are excited for their next events. Don’t forget to check out our picture gallery below! Big thanks to the ZONC organizers and Nissan for bringing the new Z out. Stay tuned for a full report our time with the 2023 Z!

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