On Sunday I joined a group of vintage sedans for the Super Drive event in Pacifica, CA.  Now in its 16th year, SuperDrive Sunday is a single day road rally open to any and all vintage vehicles. Our friend Geoff assembled a group of classic cars I couldn’t help resist calling the “B-sedan Squad”. These models were competing in the heated vintage race groups of the late 60’s/70’s: I drove Rob Fuller’s 1971 Datsun 510, Geoff in his Inka BMW 2002, Cameron in a BMW Neue Klasse 1800, Ramon and Chris in their Alfa Romeo Berlina 1750/2000, and Diego in the E30. We left San Jose headed to Sea Bowl via 280N:

 

Rob’s Datsun 510 with S13 SR20DET sporting Go-Green paint and 14″ Panasports:

Euro Vibes

 

The scene at the pre-rally gathering was filled with cool cars, mostly Euro/Italian. I’m always on the hunt for Japanese metal and spotted an S30, ITR and Mitsubishi 3000GT. I was the lone Datsun 510.

 

There were at least 9 Alfa Romeo Berlina/Giulia sedans of all years. These are very pretty, capable vintage saloons. Many Alfa GTVs and Giulia Spiders:

 

More cool cars, some I’ve never seen before. like this Fiat Abarth 750 “Double-Bubble”:

  

A few familiar favorites:

 

 

Rad wheels abound too!

 

More pictures in the gallery, enjoy this short video:

 

Let’s Drive!

 

The group left Sea Bowl and headed south on scenic HWY1 with great weather and good company. Geoff and I split off from HWY 1 for a blast up Tunitas up to 35/Skyline. This was a fun stretch and I had to focus and keep the 510’s boost in check through the twisty bits!

 

From 35 we made a quick stop at Alice’s Restaurant. It was pleasant to see everyone enjoying their cars. We even ran into our friends like Naveed and met Alex, organizer of the Berkeley Cars and Coffee.

 

Alex (in his Berlina) joined myself, Chris and Geoff for a stretch down HWy 9 to Boulder Creek.

 

 

From Boulder Creek we ended the trip with a drive to 17 via Bear Creek Rd. This is a very technical section, again mostly free of traffic so we could have fun! All had a great time and I highly recommend getting out next Super Bowl Sunday to Super Drive! #DOITINADATSUN

More pictures in the gallery below!
…[read more]

 

We have several exciting projects at the shop that will get full reports on zcarblog.com. This is only a brief sample, please tune into our Instagram story for more sights and sounds.

Return of the #46 BRE Datsun 240Z!

 

The BRE #46 Z is back from paint by our man William and it is finally getting the hand-painted livery applied at the shop as I write this. You may recall that the Z was flipped on to its roof with John Morton at the wheel racing at the 2019 Classic 24hr race at Daytona International Speedway

 

The Z will be re-assembled, dyno tuned and tested in a few weeks at Sonoma with our hero John Morton and Rob Fuller! Super amped to see #46 back in fighting form and very happy for owner Randy Jaffe. Check our IG story to see the livery being applied by hand, this is a lost art and incredible to watch.

 

1970 Salt Flat Racer Datsun 240z

This historically significant 1970 Datsun 240z was built by a team of Nissan employees to compete at Bonneville in the F/GT class. In 1976 their efforts resulted in a new land speed record of 166.037 mph, which stood unbroken until 1985. This Z resided in the Nissan Museum and is now in the care of Randy Jaffe. Lots of neat details the Z 432R seats and G-nose. More to come! Big thanks to Randy and Nissan for letting us bring this Z back to life. We just finished the exhaust and dyno tuning,

 One of many Z32s we are working on, Steve’s will get a full report soon as well as the Stillen SMZ:

 

Jim’s 1971 Datsun 240z returned for a Rebello 3.2L with triple-Mikuni carbs on a Harada intake and CD009a 6-speed transmission:

     

Several S30 Z cars are getting our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels) like these two 280zs:

Ed B’s 240z and a pretty 280Z

 

Khang’s Z getting a 3.2L with Jenvey ITB EFI and our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels) plus our Z Car Garage CV Axles.

 

The OMS Pace Car

This is a 1972 Official OMS Pace Car Duplicate. It is at present one of only two known survivors. Fifty were originally produced by Nissan Motors to commemorate the DATSUN 240Z being selected by the Ontario Motor Speedway to Pace the 1972 “U.S.A.C. California 500 Championship”. This one belongs to our long time customer and friend Linda. More to come!

B-Sedan Datsun 510s!

 

Larry Oka’s B-sedan is getting built and prepped with our Z Car Garage CV Axles. The Corky Bell 510 is also scheduled for a full restoration:

 

R32 Skylines!

 

Mike’s R32 GT-R is back for turbo, fueling and exhaust upgrades, full report soon! #TETUESDAY

 

We just got this really clean R32 GTS-T in:

Dyno Tuning your 350z/370z/Q/G

We have been dyno tuning your late model Nissan/Infiniti sports car daily. Bolt-ons, UPREV tuning, “popcorn” maps. Our customers leave happy with more performance. Call us to schedule an appointment! Here are just a few cars:

 

LONG LIVE THE Z! Check out our Instagram story for more updates!

 

We live a charmed Datsun life. The Primadonna Z arrived at Z Car Garage today and we couldn’t be happier for owners Jack and Yolanda Atkinson. 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. 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. After Jack sold car #1 decades ago its ownership became somewhat of a mystery until recent events unfolded.  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 has been reunited with his first creation, Primadonna Z #1. Today 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.

 

 

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

 

Datsun Family

Jack and Yolanda have been a part of our lives since the beginning of ZCG. Being long time members of The Z Owners of Northern California (ZONC) and supporting our shop along the way, we are grateful to them. ZCG will be restoring the Primadonna Z back to its former glory this year! We are also helping the couple finish their LSx V8 engine swap into their “Primadonna” Z32 Convertible. Yes, Jack had to get back in the game after building those 240z cars so he built a Z32 body kit from scratch. Like the S30’s he built, this widebody Z32 has evolved over time:

 

We are super excited for you both Jack and Yolanda. Long Live The (Primadonna) Z! More updates to come!

 

It takes teamwork to make the Dream work. We want to thank Love20bee for sourcing and re-finishing these SSR Watanabe RS8 wheels for James’ 1972 Datsun 240z.

 

It has been said that “wheels make the car”. Matt and his team nailed it with these RS8s sized 10.5 (F) and 12.5 (R) on massive 275/315 width Nitto NT-01 tires.

 

While they look killer standing still, they are even sweeter in motion as seen in the video below:

 

Rob and owner James are proudly wearing Love20bee hoodies. We highly recommend Love20bee for your wheel needs. Check them out on Instagram and Hoonigan Autofocus.

 

You can see more of James Stephens’ turbocharged 1972 Datsun 240z on Hoonigan Autofocus and Speedhunters.

 

This Z also packs parts and support from numerous folks we are happy to work with including KAD Models, Stoptech, Haltech,Rebello, Os Giken, Skillard, TechnoToyTuning, Hoke Performance and Retro-Spec Carbon.

Stay tuned for a full report on zcarblog.com. More pics in the gallery below!

 
…[read more]

 

Happy New Year! Today we drove our cars to Mt. Umunhum for the first cruise of the year. Our group included:

Mrs. Butters, our Series 1 shop 240z

 

Rob J’s 1970 Datsun 240z (Full story soon)

 

Marks 1972 Datsun 510

 

I drove my 1967.5 Datsun Roadster

 

Datsun enthusiast/racer Glenn C brought his FD RX-7, with fresh Volk TE37 wheels:

 

 

It was great to get out and drive our Datsuns. Many of us have not seen each other in person for months.

 

At the summit, Mt.Umunhum’s parking lot was at capacity. We chatted for a bit while many folks admired our cars.

 

Here’s a short video of the drive:

 

Thanks to everyone that came out.We hope you get to the Enjoy The Ride this year, let’s make 2021 amazing. DO IT IN A DATSUN!

More pictures in the gallery below:

…[read more]