Shop Talk for
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Join us on Sunday, June 14 for the Z Owners of Northern California (ZONC) gathering at the Blackhawk Museum! See flyer below for more details:
We had a blast at this ZONC event with a fantastic turnout. See our report from the 2023 event HERE, and Z you at Blackhawk!
On June 12-14, Classic Sports Racing Group (CSRG) will host the Corkscrew Classic vintage race at Laguna Seca. Z Car Garage will participate and support several client’s Datsun 510 race cars running in B-Sedan Group 3. It will be a great weekend filled with competition, camaraderie and plenty of Alfas, BMWs and Datsuns sharing the track. Remember to bring your family and friends as admission is FREE for spectators!
CSRG will be featuring the Hoosier 2.5 Challenge TA/BS. This is an action-packed race group with B-Sedans battling for points in the series!
Want a glimpse of what it’s like to see Datsuns racing at Laguna Seca? Check out our 2025 race report with video and photos: HERE, and view a sample of cars expected to race June 12 at the Corkscrew Classic:
Race car driver, restorer and Datsun Historian Glenn Chiou in 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.
Z Car Garage is amped for more racing this year. Please check the CSRG website and zcarblog.com for upcoming race events. Do not miss the next event: The Monterey Motorsports Reunion at Laguna Seca August 12-15th.
Z Car Garage is excited to participate in the Velocity Invitational at Sonoma Raceway May 29-31. This is a must attend historic racing event for Nissan/Datsun fans with IMSA GTU Z cars, exotics and more to enjoy. Tickets are still available, to purchase simply click HERE, and read below for a preview.
Z Car Garage is excited to be racing and supporting 6 cars in the 1972-1980 IMSA GT, GTX, AAGT and 1966-1979 Historic SCCA B & C Sedan groups. We are stoked for the return of the #49 Joel Anderson IMSA GTU Datsun 240Z, driven by Rob Fuller:
Z Car Garage restored it back to its former glory with Trans Am livery and Corky drove it for the first time in 52 years at the 2024 Velocity Invitational. This year, Rob Fuller will pilot the Corky Bell 510! Full feature coming to zcarblog.com
We have helped Tom build and prepare his Ex-Norm Balzer/Koobation 510 for several years. Z Car Garage restored this 510, making a triumphant return to this year’s Velocity event.
Kenny is a steady ZCG trackside support client, running the Ex-Ted Gruner 510.
Lifelong car guys Sung Kang and Larry Chen are bringing the spirit of Daikoku PA to Sonoma Raceway for a one-of-a-kind Friday night meet. Bring your ride, or just revel in the atmosphere. Z Car Garage will also have #49 Joel Anderson IMSA GTU Datsun 240Z and Corky Bell U2.5L Trans Am Datsun 510 on display!
Sung will be on-hand at Velocity Invitational Friday during the day (and well into the evening) to meet fans, and show off Lola, his AE86 Trueno drift car, his co-star in DRIFTER.
Sung will be presenting the Northern California debut preview of his upcoming feature film, DRIFTER, at Velocity Invitational, and will be doing a special Q&A with fans following the preview.
Formula Drift champion and Hollywood stunt driver Dai Yoshihara will be on hand as well to meet fans and do demo drift laps in Lola.
With more than two decades of experience documenting car culture around the world, Larry’s work captures the people, passion, and stories behind the machines.
Larry is the host of Capturing Car Culture on the Hagerty YouTube channel, where he explores the global car scene through in-depth features and behind-the-scenes access. He is also a contributor to Turnpike, where he shares long-form editorial pieces focused on automotive lifestyle and culture.
Larry is known for his longstanding role as an official photographer of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb and Formula DRIFT series.
As a veteran photographer of Velocity Invitational, Larry will be on-hand to both capture the 2026 event, as well as meet fans, and host the Friday Night Meet with Sung Kang.
Load in starts at 5pm!
Sonoma Raceway – 29355 Arnold Dr, Sonoma, CA 95476
Get your tickets HERE
Photo by Kris Poulin
Historic B&C Sedan has partnered with Velocity Invitational to gather a collection of 30+ real historic B and C sedan cars this upcoming weekend! Several cars among them have real Trans Am Under 2L and Two-Five Challenge history like the Datsun 510s of Corky Bell and Bob Finn.
The Historic B and C Sedan race is one of the most exciting run groups so don’t miss out! Race car driver and Datsun Historian Glenn Chiou will be racing his Ex-Bob Finn U2.5L Trans-Am Datsun 510! This car features our Z Car Garage CV Axles
We also provided dyno tuning services for the fresh Rebello L18 with Solex/Mikuni 44phh induction and BRE intake:
Listen to this 510 make sweet L-Series music on our dyno in the video below. There is also race/paddock action with Glenn behind the wheel:
View the Race schedule (TBD)
Z Car Garage is amped for more racing this year. Please check the CSRG website and zcarblog.com for upcoming race events. Do not miss the next event: CSRG’s Corkscrew Classic June 12-14.
Larry Chen’s 1970 Datsun 240Z featuring Z Car Garage Big-Brakes , Z Car Garage KW coil-over suspension., dyno-tuned SR20DET and full engine bay restoration. Photos by Larry Chen from the recent gathering in Los Angeles…
“My oldest project car, Ole Orange Bang 🍊
1970 Datsun 240z number 2868, I bought it on my 21st birthday for $3000. It’s gone through so many revisions and modifications. It’s not near its final form, but as it sits this car is so much fun to drive. It’s a rocket ship just weighing in at 2150 lbs and it makes 300whp.”
John B has been with us for many years. We featured his 1971 Datsun 240Z back in 2013 when he visited Z Car Garage for a mechanical overhaul, dyno tuning and Panasport wheels:
In 2020 he returned for our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes and more sorting. Since then he’s been Enjoying the Ride and recently completed his first track day at the world-famous Laguna Seca. Enjoy his track day report and read on for a summary of work we performed over the years.
JOHN: Here’s a report on my Track Day at Laguna Seca on 29 Nov 2025, with some history of my Z cars.
The event was hosted by Turn8 Racing on Saturday 29 Nov. It was my first time, so was a member of the Beginner run group. I brought both of my Z cars but only drove the 1971 240Z on the track. There were many other types of cars in the run group, some new ones like a 911 G3 and a new Ferrari, but there was one other 240Z.
The first couple of runs were “lead-follow”, where we followed an actual race driver around the track to learn the proper race-line through the curves. For the remaining runs we were free to attempt to find the race-line on our own, which happened occasionally for me. It’s pretty obvious when I did not have the race-line since I was either in the dirt or was quickly approached by traffic from behind. I found the slower I went the easier it was to find the race-line. The Beginner run group only allowed passing on a couple of the straights (for this event), it was my track during the turns and my chance to learn to find the race-line so I felt it as ok to go slow.
Of course, once in the straights, everybody passed me. By “everybody” I mean EVERY car on the track. They may have been going faster, but I was having a blast with my 240Z on the track. My smiles per mile was high.
My favorite turn was turn 9, the sweeping left-hander out of the corkscrew. Probably because it’s challenging to judge the brake/coast/accellerate adjustments since the next turn (10) is slower right turn. It’s nice to “have” the whole track during the turns at the Beginner run group to try different approaches. The whole track is great, it’s Laguna Seca man! What fun.
I want to go back with my 1977 Lotus Esprit to see if I can beat my lap time in the 240Z. I expect that the Esprit will have faster laps since it seems to accelerate quicker out of turns and is closer to a race car than the Z. I had ZCG inspect the 240Z the week before the event to ensure that the brakes were up-to-snuff. They performed well, as expected since both of my Zs have the Z Car Garage Big-Brakes.
ROB: John asked me about doing his first track day in his 240Z. I think the interest came from attending our Vintage Racing Events with his girls, eating snacks and hanging out at the track. I said why not? You’ve got brakes that can handle it and we know the car is safe. We did a tech-inspection on it, made sure everything was good to go and yes, John Bunker drove his S30 on the world famous WeatherTech Raceway also known as Laguna Seca. Good job John keep on loving the Z we can’t wait to work for your girls someday.
ROB: We met John around 2012 and did a bunch of work to his 240Z. He later acquired a 280Z and 280Z 2+2 so his daughters could ride with him. Both of these S30s have our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes. John and I have the same passion for music and he is just exactly why I love my job: he’s passionate and spends time enjoying and driving his Z cars. He also has a vintage Lotus that we’ve done some work on.
JOHN: The 240Z is a 1971 model built in Oct 1970. My mom bought it in 1978 and I’ve been driving it since 1980 (45 years, yowza). My siblings and I used to ride in the hatch. (Why a mother of six bought a two-seat sports car is a point of discussion amongst us). It was her daily driver until about 2000 when she started having trouble getting in and out of it. She put about 250K miles on it and replaced the L24 engine with a rebuilt one from a 260Z. I bought it from her in 2005. In 2013 ZCG went through it and made it run as it should. We installed the Big Brake Kit, Panasport wheels, new tires, new headers, exhaust, and a suspension upgrade including Techno Toy T/C rods. It now has about 275K miles on the road and about 40 on the track.
The other Z is a 1978 280Z. It was originallly owned by my mom’s neighbor. He traded it to my brother for some custom furniture in 2000. I bought it from my brother, then sold it to my niece, who sold it to her brother. It sat in the driveway of his mother (my sister)’s house for a few years until I bought it from my nephew in 2019 where it went straight to ZCG for a Big Brake Kit, new Panasport wheels, tires, and a suspension upgrade. It has about 195K miles.
Both are daily drivers, mostly. I can’t take my two daughters in them (well, not legally), so it’s usually just me in the car going to work. There is a third Z car, a 1976 2+2, intended to take the whole family, but we will not talk about that here. These are multi-generation family cars. The goal is for my girls to continue the Z-car tradition when they get older.
In 2020 we installed our ZCG Big-Brakes on John’s 240Z, giving him the ability to brake on a dime, perform well and daily drive. This is the same brake kit as seen on “Mrs. Butters”, our 1971 Series 1 240z shop demo car (above).
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
Blog posts documenting all of our customers running the ZCG Big-Brakes can be found HERE.
A few closer detail shots of the calipers, rotors and hardware:
We removed John’s stock brakes and installed our ZCG Big-Brake kit. The Z also received suspension parts from Techno Toy Tuning including their adjustable T/C rods.We really appreciate Gabriel and his staff. They make some of the best suspension parts out there for Z cars.
ZCG Big-brakes up front:
T3 T/C rods and new brake master cylinder/booster, clutch hydraulics:
At the rear, the factory drum brakes were replaced with our ZCG Big-Brakes. Factory handbrake functionality retained!
We love seeing John in his Z cars locally, doing kid drop-offs and other daily driver duties:
He also joined us on Tokyo Calling 5 event hosted by Breakfast Club Rally. More photos in the gallery below.
Thanks for your support John and Long Live The Z!
