Are you ready for Z Day 3/18?!
The Z Owners of Northern California (ZONC) are running a caravan down to Atascadero for the event on 3/17:

 

“Love cars. Love people. Love life”
-Mr. K

Here is a memorable throwback that inspires us at ZCG, enjoy!

 

To Rob and team of Z Car Garage,

Thank you for being a big part of reuniting me with my 1971 240Z on my 50th birthday.

I’m not sure whether you know, but this was my very first car, purchased for me by my father when I was 16 years old. Did I have a cool dad or what? He paid $4700 for the car in 1978. Although it was about 7 years old when I got it, it was in great shape and probably the most awesome car I could have had during high school. After a year, the seller experienced seller’s remorse and actually contacted my Dad to buy the car back. Of course, there was no way I was giving that car up, and over the next 20 years, my 240Z was my pride and joy.

Besides being a reliable means of transportation, I have numerous fond memories of this car, most notably proposing to my wife in this car 19 years ago. On that night, we had dinner in SF and afterward, I drove to the Marin headlands. With a romantic view of the City, Golden Gate Bridge and some champagne and strawberries, I proposed to my then girlfriend, who might very well have said yes because the car made me so cool.

 
But, after 20 years, I unfortunately started to notice exhaust fumes seeping into the car, and by this time, it was no longer my primary mode of transportation (more of a weekend car). With the exhaust issue and the fact that I didn’t have room at my new home for three cars, I decided to store the Z at my father’s place. My plan to temporarily store the car until I had time to address the exhaust issue turned into a 12 year separation between me and my 240Z.

  
For my 50th Birthday, my cousin, Trent coordinated with my wife to get my car running again and secretly moved the car from my dad’s place to your garage. Along with many assorted relatives, they planned to surprise me with the restored car during a party we held at my house. Of course, it was a HUGE surprise to walk out my front door and see the Z sitting on my driveway after 12 years in storage! It’s amazing how good it looks, and I especially appreciate how the restoration is not “over-the-top”- as close to stock as I maintained it.

 
Everywhere I drive now, someone comments on how good it looks. Besides looking great, it also runs great. The carburetors are perfectly tuned, the clutch is tight, and the suspension has greatly improved the handling. And it’s not bad for my ego either.

It’s great to have my 240Z back and I can’t help but smile whenever I get in it.

Thank you again to you and your team,
Ken M.

As you can imagine we were very eager to help Ken’s family bring the Datsun back to life and back on the road. ZCG focused on making this car sharp looking with an emphasis on driver enjoyment. Cosmetic upgrades included re-chroming and straightening both f/r bumpers with fresh OEM rubber trim:

   

Requisite 16×7 Panasport wheels shod with Bridgestone Pole-Position Re760(225/50/16) tires are at all four corners:

  

Underhood the engine bay received some serious attention with a full clean/detail, all new coolant bypass hoses and upper/lower radiator hoses:

  

The intake manifold was removed, cleaned and de-smogged. New intake/exhaust manifold gaskets installed along with a new header and full exhaust system. Driveability being a priority Rob and the crew tuned the carbs to perfection: steady idle, crisp throttle response, and smooth power delivery in all gears. I drove the car briefly to take photos and even I fell in love with it 🙂

   

The chassis also got some serious love with a complete front/rear suspension rebuild that included new bushings throughout, 5-way Tockicos, Eibach springs, sway bars, and new steering rack bushings. The interior on this 240 is incredibly clean. We added a Kenwood head unit and an MSA rear speaker box: Nothing flashy in this handsome cabin!

  
Thanks to Ken and his family for letting ZCG be a part of their Z Car passion. This is what we live for!

Please view more pictures of the restoration in the original gallery HERE

 

Mike W has been a Z Car Garage customer for many years and he decided it was time to go forced induction on his 350z with a Vortech supercharger kit. It is very important at ZCG to offer packages that are proven and a customer can count on us to do the homework for them. All they need to to is enjoy the ride…

 

We installed a V3 supercharger kit with JWT S1 cams, Bosch EV14 1000cc injectors, Aeromotive 340 fuel pump, DC Sports headers, ART pipes, and Stillen oil cooler:

 

 

We also added a few ZCG refinements including our cold air intake kit,  silencer bypass (quiets the race gate from Vortech), and a ZCG heat shield to protect fuel lines from header heat.

 

On the dyno we UPREV tuned using a GT MAF and saw gains of 169hp/98tq for a total of 419hp/341tq to the wheels:

 

Even though Mike’s Z is a 2003 it only has 30,000 miles!  While the car was at the shop we performed 30k services including replacement of all fluids, drive belts and going over the entire suspension and brakes. We also performed a fender roll:

   

DEFI gauges were installed in the dash:

  

Mike wanted us to take care of a few things that were bothering him like a failed passenger side window motor. This is common in Z/G35s and we have fixed it many times. Thanks for letting us work on your Daytona Blue Z33 Mike. Volk SF Challenges are sweet.  Enjoy The Boost!

 

 

 

Our friend Patrick Chio has been racing his Nissan 350z competitively for several years and we’ve had the pleasure of helping him tune/maintain the car for events.  Last year he campaigned the Z in the USTCC (US Touring Car Championship series) with impressive results.

  

The final race of the season was a double header weekend at Thunderhill Raceway and Patrick won both! The last race on Sunday was won by just a bumper:

 

Congratulations Patrick we are proud of you!

 

For past updates on the Z and Patrick’s race results please follow the links below:

Time Attack

Vortech Supercharger

USTCC Round 3

 

 

 

Rasheed B has been testing his 2015 NISMO 370z at the track since the addition of a twin-turbo kit (full report soon) and sent us a few pics from Thunderhill Raceway. We’ve been battling high engine bay temps and the vented hood dramatically lowered them. A summer testing session is next.

 

 

Several Sacramento Z/GT-R guys also attended the track day and it is really awesome to see a bunch of cars we worked on (Eric T and Ruben G) with their owners enjoying them!

Thanks Rasheed, Z You At The Track!