Mike R sent us his 1971 Datsun 240Z from North Carolina for mechanical sorting, Z Car Garage-style. Our Z Car Garage CV Axles, Z Car Garage Big-Brakes, Z Car Garage KW V3 coil-overs and CD009a Six-Speed transmission transformed this 919 Sunshine Yellow S30.

 

ROB: We’ve been very fortunate to work with many clients from the East Coast. One of them is Mike Rogers, you might remember a few years back we did a really early 1970 Datsun 240Z for him and it turned out wonderful:

 

He purchased an RB25-powered 240Z and called us asking ‘hey do you think we could kinda do what you guys typically do to these cars?’ and I said absolutely. The Z was shipped to San Jose, Ca and we installed our ZCG Big-Brakes (Stoptech), our private label KW V3 coil-over setup and ZCG CV Axles. We just did as much as possible to correct things with the install of his RB25 and it was a fun project.

Drivetrain

 

ROB: The RB25DET engine swap was already installed by a previous owner. We left the engine bay aesthetics as is and focused on getting it running well. The goal was to make it as close to a Z Car Garage-style RBZ chassis-wise with decent power. We did not turn it up, as Mike is not about big power with this one. 

 

CD009a Six Speed Transmission

A game changer for this RB Z car was to replace the RB five-speed and install a new CD009a Six-speed speed. It works so well together and this transmission is definitely our go-to choice whether you have a powerful or just-for-fun street car S30. We really enjoying doing these swaps behind L-series engines. You might remember our first application of Austin Hoke’s custom 6-speed adapter kit on the OS Giken TC24B1Z-powered 240z, Trevor’s 280Z and Frank’s 240Z:

  

Using the 6-speed conversion kit from Hoke Performance we installed a new CD009a transmission from the 2003-2008 Z33 behind the RB25DET in Mike’s 240Z:

  

Here is the brand-new transmission from Nissan being unboxed. Hard to tell from the interior once it is installed:

   

Driveline Upgrades

We built Mike an R180 rear diff with 3.54 OS Giken LSD, a perfect upgrade for anyone doing spirited driving. All done in-house with new bearings/hardware by our very own Joshua Corwin:

 

Dyno Tuning

Ron dyno tuned the Z, making 261hp/227tq at the wheels. Enjoy the RB25 sounds in the video below!

 Z Car Garage Big-Brakes

   

As fellow S30 owner/racer Glenn C mentioned in his review, on top of braking performance, pedal feel is extremely important and our Big-Brakes deliver. This is a direct result of working with Stoptech to create a totally bolt-in solution requiring no M/C change or additional proportioning valve/adjustments. All fitting behind a 15″ Watanabe or Panasport wheel and retaining factory emergency brake lever! A few details below:

Calipers: Stoptech ST42 4-piston front & rear race calipers (Alum 6061 mil-spec Type III anodized)

Rotors: 280mm x 20.6 with Alum 7075 hats

Pads: Stoptech 309 sport street pads

  

Big-Brake Kits Available For DIY Install!

Z Car Garage is proud to offer our Big-Brake Kit to Z-Car owners that want to perform the installation themselves (sorry this is NLA). We can ship worldwide and each kit contains everything needed with a comprehensive installation guide. Blog posts documenting all of our customers running the ZCG Big-Brakes can be found HERE. Mike’s RB25 240Z ZCG Big-Brake installation below:

   Our ZCG Big-Brake kit ships with everything needed to install and retains the factory parking brake function. Beyond ease of installation and quality components, our Big-Brakes perform by offering superb pedal feel…everyone that drives our demo Z confirms! This is a direct result of working with Stoptech to create a totally bolt-in solution requiring no M/C change or additional proportioning valve/adjustments.

Panasport Wheels

 

Our ZCG Big-Brakes also look great behind the new 16×7  Panasport wheels in our offset allowing us to run 225/50/16 tires. These were a welcome replacement for the Rota wheels on the car. The Z was fully aligned afterwards:

  

Suspension

 

Mike’s chassis was treated to a full suspension rebuild with new parts from Techno Toy Tuning. T3 finishes the suspension in our signature color and we really appreciate Gabriel and his staff. They make some of the best suspension parts out there for Z cars.

 

New parts included the T3 adjustable T/C rods, T3 rear control arms, T3 front/rear strut tower bars, new ball joints, new front bushings, all new bearings and seals and ST sway bars. Mike wanted a fantastic driver that was worry-free. We replaced all of the hydraulics and front/rear suspension assemblies to match the new driveline.  All suspension was either zinc’d or powdercoated. Before/after show below:

   

Front Suspension refresh with T/C rod, crossmember and steering rack detail before/after:

  
Rear end with T3 lower control arms and ST Sway bar, before/after:

 

Z Car Garage CV Axles

  

Our Z Car Garage CV Axles help transmit power to the ground and ensure smoother operation compared to your standard half shafts. We have over 250 CV axle kits on customer cars and we are stoked with all of the positive feedback.

 

ZCG CV Axles installed on Mike’s 240Z shown below with more pictures in the gallery:

  

KW x Z Car Garage Coil-over Suspension

 

Our Z Car Garage KW V3 Suspension is available in limited quantities. These coil-overs offer game-changing performance suitable for street, track and daily-driving for your S30 Datsun Z car.

   

View the suspension installed on Sung Kang’s RB26DETT-powered Datsun 240Z, Larry Chen’s SR20DET-Powered Datsun 240Z, James’ turbocharged L-series powered Datsun 240Z, Mrs. Butters, our Series 1 shop 240z and more client cars in the photos below. For more information on ordering and pricing please contact RobATzcargarage.com.

 

We installed the KWs on Mike’s RB25 240Z:

 

Details

The little things are what we excel at. We handled some weatherstripping around the cabin and installed a SpeedHut speedometer box. More photos in the gallery below.

 

 

Enjoying The Ride

We received some flattering feedback from Mike after the Z was shipped back to him in NC:

MIKE: Hey my friend, I drove the RB25 to Cars and Coffee Saturday morning. Best damn 240 I’ve ever driven. Absolutely love that car. Gonna be my own “Mrs. Buttersworth” Gonna call it “Mrs. Lemonade” in your honor. Great job!!!

Thanks for your support Mike and Long Live The Z!

 

The Last Stop in Braking for your Z

 

 

Z Car Garage Big Brakes are one of the best systems available for your S30 Z Car with over 200 kits sold worldwide and unanimous positive feedback. See our ZCG Big-Brakes on client cars HERE and enjoy the photos below:

 

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R’s Day, one of the largest gatherings of Nissan Skylines on the West Coast was held on December 7, 2025 at Laguna Seca Raceway. Z Car Garage attended the event and supported our client Kurt in his R32 GT-R. Rob brought out the Bay Area Datsun Dealers 510 and several ZCG clients all had a great time. Enjoy our report with photos and videos!

 

Kurt’s R32 GT-R

We prepared Kurt’s R32 Skyline GT-R for the track day. Earlier in the year it received a fresh RB26 motor and turbo upgrade to complement the new KW coil-over suspension and Stoptech Big-Brakes….

  

Dyno tuning Kurt’s R32, volume up!

 

Kurt enjoyed driving his R32 at Laguna Seca with fellow GT-R owners. Photos by gtrx.app, and you can see more of Kurt’s R32 on his Instagram

 

Rob’s Vintage Racing Datsun 510

We also dyno’d Rob’s B-Sedan vintage racing Datsun 510:

 

Here’s Rob’s report from R’s Day…

ROB: Cooper and I loaded the BAAD car to Laguna Seca, our home track during the vintage race season. It was really fun to bring out my Datsun 510 race car with all those cool street cars. We had Dirk stoop in his 1973 Datsun 240z, Amy in her RZ34, Joseph in the RZ34 # 49 car, and a few others including Miles’ R32. Our main focus was to support Kurt in his R32 GT-R which has been modified and tuned by ZCG, full report coming to zcarblog.com soon.

 

I’ve been to a few R’s day and this was the first time I’ve driven. Each event has seen a steady increase in attendance and it was the most R32, R33 or R34s I’ve ever seen. It was incredible to be in a paddock filled with lots of cool Nissans… There was Pat’s RB-powered Pat’s Kenmeri (featuring our ZCG CV Axles):

 

All kinds of really cool cars and kudos to the R’s Day team as they were just super organized: the meetings and downloads were quick and informative. I love their grid process. Everything was just wonderful and we will definitely be back next year. Kurt’s car rocked. There were some pretty fast cars  including Charles Park from Powertrix with their time-attack R35 tuned by SpecialtyZ. Sean Morris and Brian J from Top Rank, people from all over the California GTR scene. Todd Lapin from Norcal Skylines cooked HotPot in the garages! It was just a very festive, community-oriented vibe and I had a blast.

 

Dirk’s 1973 Datsun 240Z

 

Dirk’s 1973 Datsun 240Z features Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (StopTech), Z Car Garage CV Axles, Silvia 6-speed transmission and a host of chassis and driveline upgrades. Rob dyno tuned the 3.0L Rebello L-series engine with triple-Mikuni ph44 carbs, making 265hp/231tq at the wheels.  We prepared the Z for R’s Day and Dirk had a great time:

DIRK: Yeah dude, massive difference! Work done by ZCG just before the day:
1. New rear sway bar (ST suspensions), car did not have one before, last Sonoma track day, being able to rotate the car on entry was difficult, this change was made to help that
2. New RE-71RS tires, Rob found old tires were pretty much spent, Dirk ordered tires, car stayed at ZCG an extra day so that they could be installed before the track day
3. Suspension and brake inspection
4. Change diff and trans fluids

Car rotated much better with the new rear sway bar, now able to rotate just by lifting off throttle in turns, quicker, and more fun. Felt great, very predictable and forgiving at the limit.

Photos by sflcks and Cooper:

 

 

Joseph’s 2023 Nissan Z

 

Joseph’s 2023 Nissan Z proudly wearing the Joel Anderson-inspired #49 livery:

JOSEPH: It was a beautiful day at Laguna Seca (as if anything else is possible) with GT-Rs from every era, as far as the eye could see! There was also a very famous 510 in the mix…The #49 new Z ran great on its new 18×10.5 SSR wheels (275-35-18 Nitto NT01), but the day was cut short by cleanup of an oil spill from turn 6 to turn 10, and one of my brake pads deciding to delaminate in the heat on the way into turn 2. We’re putting race pads on next time! I made my goal of breaking 1:50, so I left with a smile on my face anyway.

Check out his R’s Day session at Laguna Seca (in-car video HERE)

  

 

Amy’s R34, Rob’s 510 and Kurt’s R32 GT-R….more photos in the gallery below!

 

 

 

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Classic Sports Racing Group (CSRG) hosted the Sears Point Challenge at Sonoma 10/3 and Finale event at Thunderhill 11/1.  Z Car Garage participated  in both events, supporting several client’s Datsun 510 race cars running in B-Sedan Group. Great weekends filled with competition, camaraderie and plenty of Alfas, BMWs and Datsuns sharing the track. Enjoy our race reports with photos and video!

 

Sears Point Challenge 10/3-5

 

ROB: Beautiful weekend at historic Sonoma Raceway (which will always be Sears Point to me). We had a a few bitchin’ 510s including Tom Dockery and Kenny. Super excited to test out the suspension fresh and adjustments on Noah’s Bluebird coupe.

 

Everything seem to be working well with Tom, Kenny everyone up to a really good pace, it was fun.

 

Lots of cool hardware in the paddock:

VIDEO

Turn the volume up and enjoy the sounds and sights from the paddock at Sonoma Raceway!

Vintage Spec Miata

 

ROB: 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. Each event we see more really clean VSPs coming out to race. Season high for us in Sonoma, with I believe 10+ cars out there:

 

Speaking of glorious…we would like to introduce you to “Little Butters”, our 1991 Vintage Spec Miata that will be available for rental throughout the vintage race season. Contact Rob at ZCG for details. Since this is a new build for I drove it for the weekend to make sure it was sorted and ready to rock for any client that wants to enjoy it. It has a competitive race engine, Penske shocks which are the current suspension for SCCA Spec-Miatas. Just to pay tribute to how wonderful Mrs. Butters Z (our Series 1 shop 240z) is,  we painted it Safari Gold. It’s nickname is Little Butters,  Josh likes to call it “I can’t believe it’s not Butters” and then we picked the number 23 because we are Nissan dorks.

 

Anyway it was fantastic to have the car out and then honorable mentions are Lora B, she keeps kicking ass in her Spec Miata and Allison as well. Also on Saturday and Sunday we had Ross Lindell in the Randy Pobst National Championship-winning Miata (1992)…pretty cool that Miatas are old enough to have their own vintage class and then also have one of the their own ambassadors:

  

Super excited for the season to play out at Thunderhill. Huge thanks to Josh and Cooper for keeping us safe all weekend , Meghan and Oliver for taking care of the snacks and the tire recycling. I love that event. CSRG is magical. If you haven’t been to one those events you ar emissing out, so come on out! WE’ll be posting out race scehule soon after the holidays.

 

CSRG Finale 11/1

ROB: Every year CSRG ends their season with the Finale at Thunderhill. This event is lightly attended and results in tons of track time. There’s an Enduro on Sunday with with a faux LeMans start… and it is just rad. The Saturday night dinner is a special event and we are seeing more and more people showing up. It’s been two years since I have had my Datsun 510 out and it was a great way to end the season racing it. 

 

Troy Ermish brought his 510 and we had a really nice B-Sedan field with a ton of Dimes out there. Most important 510s to us obviously include Tom Dockery and the return of fire captain Todd R,  Noah, Tom, Alison and Rob was out stable for the weekend:

 

It was just awesome having so much track time. Everybody was kicking ass and taking names, and by Sunday afternoon I think we’d all kind of figured that we’ve had enough track time which is unbelievable for us to say. Once again Josh and Cooper kept us all safe all weekend long and we rocked it. Oliver was on tire recycling duty and Meghan on snacks while enjoyed the small town feel of Willows.

  

We enjoyed Saturday night dinner with CSRG and it was so much fun to see everyone. I hadn’t seen Josh Moriarty in a long time and he was out there kicking ass in his 510. There was a really great group of these ex-GT3 cars (tube frame/ fiberglass bodies).  Jim Froula was in one (240SX) and a kid I run Spec Miata with (Joseph Carl) was out there with his Dad in a super cool vintage 1st-gen GTU RX-7.

 

VIDEO

Turn the volume up and enjoy the sounds and sights from the paddock at Thunderhill!

 

ROB: We had perfect weather and another race reason in the books.  Can’t wait for 2026 we are super excited and will be traveling this year. There will be a big Japanese big-bore/bash with Sovren in the PNW and I’ll be going to the Rose Cup at PIR in my Miata. Get out there and race! If you have any questions/thoughts about racing with us please contact Rob at rob@zcargarge.com

Tom Dockery

 

Tom Dockery continues to enjoy racing in his Ex-Norm Balzer B-Sedan 510. Here is his report from both CSRG events along with some great in-car footage

TOM: The Sears Point Challenge was a fantastic weekend filled with learning and improvement. With Kenny, Noah, and me as students, Rob skillfully coached, challenged, and encouraged each of us to push our limits. As a result, I managed to improve my lap times with each session, achieving a new personal best at Sonoma.

 

The CSRG Finale at Thunderhill was fun, although it had its frustrating moments. We shared track time with the higher horsepower group 8 machines during all 10 sessions. The frustration stemmed from some group 8 drivers opting to start from the back of the field despite their qualification times. As they worked their way through the field, they didn’t always take the easiest path, requiring slower drivers like me to let them pass, which affected my race pace with competitors I hoped to stay with.

VIDEO

Volume up and enjoy. in-car video action from Tom Dockery’s Datsun 510!

 

TOM: There were positive aspects too. I learned the freight train signaling method to coordinate with teammates at the start. Noah and I used this technique to block a NASCAR Cup car that tried to prevent the faster B-Sedans from overtaking in the corners. Josh and Cooper provided excellent support on both weekends. At Thunderhill, Josh performed a fuel pump swap while Cooper replaced a lower radiator hose, ensuring we didn’t miss any sessions.

 

See more photos in the gallery below (Thanks Meghan!) and stay tuned for our 2026 race schedule!
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On Saturday, November 8, Breakfast Club Rally hosted the Mechanical Mystery Tour. Known for their wonderful Northern California events, the MMT is especially exciting because it is held in our backyard near the Santa Cruz Mountains. We love attending BCR events. They are always well-organized and the variety of cars is tremendous.

 

Our client Jim H attended the MMT rally with his 1971 Datsun 240z. It is now sporting a Rebello 3.2L with Jenvey ITB EFI, Recaro Specialist seats, CD009a 6-speed transmission, our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes and Z Car Garage CV Axles!

 

Jim had a great time driving on the event and kindly shared these photos. Also attending were our clients Miles and Kurt W. in  their R32 Skyline GT-Rs:

 

More photos in the gallery below!

 

Thanks Breakfast Club Rally! More MMT event photos from BCR’s professional photographers can be seen HERE.

 

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Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Z Car Garage! We hope you can find time to Enjoy The Ride over the holidays. Please note our hours of operation below:

Week of Thanksgiving:  We are open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday 11/24 to 11/26 and Closed Thursday and Friday 11/27 and 11/28

Week of Christmas: We are open Monday, Tuesday 12/22 and 12/23 and Closed Wednesday ,Thursday, and Friday 12/24, 12/25, 12/26

Week of New Years: We are open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday 12/29 , 12/30, 12/31 and Closed Thursday and Friday 1/1 and the 2nd

*A gentle reminder on visiting the shop: No “Drop-in” please, must have an appointment. Not accepting phone calls during business hours-please leave a brief voicemail or e-mail rob@zcargarage.com

Thanks!