We had a blast at the 34th Annual Z Car Convention (ZCON) hosted by ZCCA in Colorado Springs. This is the largest Z-car event in the US and we were stoked to be a sponsor. Coming from the 8/17 New 2023 Z Reveal in New York, Rob and Meghan attended the the 8/21 People’s Choice Show at ZCON. Enjoy photos these from the event!
Congratulations to our client Bob Russell on his 1st place award for Stock 240Z! We will have a full report on Bill’s S30 on zcarblog.com soon
Both of our clients Jack and Linda made it to ZCON with their recently finished Z’s and had a great time:
Jack won 3rd place for Ultra-Modified Z32 with his LS3-swapped, Primadonna Z:
The largest Z show!
ZCON was a Z car lover’s fantasy… with every generation represented. There were even non-Z cars welcomed!
S30
S130
Mike Rogers 12-mile 1980 ZX. Here is a great video and walk through on this time capsule!
Z31
Z32
350z
370z
Nissan/Datsun Gems
ZCON welcomed all members of the family and there were some great cars on display:
Roadster, 620 and S13
Best of the 90’s!
Midnight Purple R33, Z32 and R32 all at gas station just outside of ZCON!
People
The legendary Pete Brock, Hiroshi Tamura and Larry Chen were just a few of the big names at ZCON:
Christopher Karl and Mark Lambert both received Lifetime Achievement Awards, congrats gentlemen!
Thank You!
ZCON was a success. Big thanks to Christopher Karl of ZCCA for an incredible week of friends and Z cars. Z you next year!
The iconic, 1976 IMSA GTU Championship-winning Transcendental Racing Z is at Z Car Garage! This early 1970 production 240Z has an exciting history battling against factory-backed teams with names like Jack Scoville, Brad Frisselle and John Morton behind the wheel.
The chassis was also highly-developed by a team of All-Stars including Joe Cavaglieri (Crew Chief), John Knepp (engine), Trevor Harris, Mac Tilton (suspension) and Yoshi Suzuka (chassis, roll cage and body). Current owner Randy Jaffe has commissioned Z Car Garage to bring this Z back to period livery, refresh the chassis and drivetrain components, and re-assemble the interior before traveling to its new home in Atlanta.
The Z came with many spares, period photos and even original molds for the bodywork!
Getting the livery sorted has begun, with a proper “Frisselle” windshield banner (left) based on period photographs (right)
Here is a short video of the Z as it arrived to the shop early this week. Dyno testing with video coming soon!
Always Meet Your Heroes
The “Frisselle” car captivated us for many years. We watched it race locally and and eventually shared track time with previous owner David Martin (RIP) at major historic events. (Below, Left) David Martin and Rob Fuller (#49 Joel Anderson car) in the Corkscrew and (Right) Rob with David and Brad Frisselle at the RMMR 2018.
You can imagine how excited we are to have this iconic race car at Z Car Garage. Big thanks to Randy for always believing in us. More photos from my brief visit:
Enjoy these videos we’ve captured over the years racing with David Martin piloting the Transcendental Racing 240z:
In a moment of sheer happiness, Rob Fuller can be seen driving the #47 Brad Frisselle Z through the paddock back in 2015!
A David Vs. Goliath History
Ever wonder about the history behind this famous 1976 IMSA-GTU Championship-winning 240z? Check out www.my240z.com. Our friend Glenn Chiou created this website to document the racing provenance for previous owner David Martin (RIP):
Glenn’s impressive knowledge of historic Nissan/Datsun racing is bolstered by hundreds of scanned photos, some never seen before along with stories from ex-drivers Brad Frisselle, Jack Scoville and John Morton. We are even given new insight on the R&D effort that went into the Frisselle car making it by far, “the best race engineered 240z in its period”.
So if you want to know “what’s it all mean?” check out www.my240z.com!
The stories behind every Z car and their owner play a huge part in our love for keeping them on the road. The Nunes family has owned this 1978 Datsun 280Z 2+2 from new, starting with Gilbert and soon to be passed on to his son Dillon. This S30 was treated to a ZCG-style mechanical restoration including a new drivetrain, engine bay restoration, our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes and Z Car Garage CV Axles, total suspension rebuild and more.
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We admire the 280z cars (see Cece, Greg and the Roth’s builds) and met with Gilbert to discuss his needs. Updating the Z while preserving the exterior patina was the vision. First, let’s take a look at the Nunes’ family history with their Z.
From Father to Son to Grandson
Gilbert recalls how he got the Z:
“It was Christmas of 1977 and my parents decided to reward me for doing good during my first year of College at San Jose State. On Christmas Day by surprise I was handed a little box with keys in it. They knew I wanted a sporty car, but they had their own requirements. My dad wanted it to be an automatic, and he wanted a back seat so our whole family could fit in the car. The first attempt at buying a 280z didn’t work because of a dumb salesman at Downtown Datsun…
…They went there and asked to look at the Z’s however the salesman didn’t want them to buy a Z thinking they were too old for one. So they went to Stevens Creek Datsun and found a salesman who was dying to sell a car since Christmas was close. So in no time at all they found a automatic 280Z 2+2. I had no idea of the color or exactly what I was getting when I pulled up to the dealership, but I was very happy with the car.”
Gilbert would daily drive the Z that he got from his parents for 30+ years. His son Dillon grew up in the back of the 2+2 and has fond memories:
“My dads 280 is actually still in his possession, it will be left to me some day. I have a lot of stories from growing up in this car, mainly being a little kid and my dad letting me ride in the backseat with no booster seat because the seats are small enough. I remember of my dad driving my sister through a decent sized flood making sure she made it to her piano recital, all in the Z…
…I was very excited about getting my Dad’s car restored (it’s something we have literally talked about for 20 years). I’m not sure how he heard of Z Car Garage but I know I have been going there almost all my life. My earliest memory at ZCG was at a Friday car meet (Our 5th Anniversary gathering) where bbq burgers and hotdogs were being served. I was about 12 years old, and loved seeing all the Z’s and other Nissans, especially the GT-Rs.”
The Nunes family dropped off their beloved 280Z at the shop and the transformation started.
Drivetrain
Gilbert’s Z received a total engine bay restoration along with upgrades to the driveline for smoother driving and improved torque. Please visit the gallery below for more pictures documenting the engine bay restoration work, it’s where our efforts shine!
Engine
A fresh 2.8L “street” engine with replaced the tired L28 (above), new L28 below:
With the engine/transmission removed we focused our efforts on restoring the engine bay. Everything was zinc plated or powdercoated. New parts included brand new injectors, all new fuel system, hoses, fuel filter and all the drive belts.
Intake manifold cleaned up and powdercoated:
An MSA exhaust header was installed. Powdercoated and plated parts laid out for installation. We bag/tag every nut and bolt:
All new hydraulic lines, emissions plumbing and more engine bay clean-up (full re-paint by our man William) before/after. More pics in the gallery!
More detail work:
Engine bay restoration, before/after:
Suspension
Gilbert 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:
We installed KYB strut inserts with lowering springs, Suspension Techniques sway bars, Techno Toy Tuning adjustable rear lower control arms, TC rods, and rack bushings, all new wheel bearings and new ball-joints. We do offer a full coil-over setup for track day/performance-oriented customers, and this spring/strut upgrade for those that want a better stance with improved handling without getting beat up.
Suspension refresh with T/C rod and steering rack detail:
Rear end with T3 lower control arms in:
ZCG Big-Brakes and CV Axles
We are proud to have several of our ZCG products on Gilbert’s 280z. We installed our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels) and also upgraded to Z Car Garage CV Axles! These products have been standard on numerous ZCG builds.
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 went ahead and got Gilbert dialed in with the ZCG big-brake kit for small wheels with parking brake and a new brake booster/master cylinder. More pics in the gallery!
Front brake installation:
At the rear, the factory drum brakes were replaced with our ZCG Big-Brakes. Factory handbrake functionality IS retained!
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 130+ CV axle kits on customer cars and we are stoked with all of the positive feedback.
Gilbert’s standard half-shafts shown on left and ZCG CV Axles on right. Also note plated brake lines:
Panasport Wheels
Our ZCG Big-Brakes also look great behind Panasport wheels in our offset allowing us to run 225/50/16 tires (Bridgestone S-007a). Gilbert really wanted black so we had the spokes powdercoated in black with the polished lips cleared…they look sharp!
Details
The little things are what we excel at. The rear differential was refurbished. All electrical connections re-done. The original A/C system was retrofitted to use R134a refrigerant and made to blow super cold. New battery cables and wiper blades. We also replaced all of the fuel vapor hoses in the hatch. Please check the gallery below for more detail shots, there are too many to list in this blog post!
Enjoying The Ride
Gilbert’s son Dillon came down to ZCG pick up the 280. He was impressed:
“As far as how the car performs, its amazing. I have taken the car on a few drives and from my perspective the car corners like its on rails and stops on a dime. I took it up Sierra road and had a blast, still waiting to take it up highway 9. I was also surprised by how smooth it was driving on the freeway to a car meet at the USS hornet. With the stiff suspension I expected an unpleasant ride all the way to Alameda but was pleasantly surprised at how smooth it was cruising at 85mph on 880. My only complaint is the auto trans, I would personally prefer to have it converted to a 6 speed that I have seen on your blog but my dad hates manuals:(“
Dillon and the Z at the local VALT Cars and Coffee in Alameda:
Here is a short video from Dillon shortly after picking the Z up:
Gilbert is enjoying the Z as well!
Thank you Gilbert for letting us re-birth your Z car. It makes us happy to see it being driven and soon passed on to your son Dillon. ZCG is honored to help keep the family Z on the road.
We love to see owners installing our Z Car Garage CV Axles on their Datsuns from all over the world! Darius installed a set himself on this 1982 Datsun 280ZX in Los Angeles, CA. 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 130 CV axle kits on customer cars and we are stoked with the positive feedback.
Darius has CV axle set #0359 and we are happy to report that he installed them with ease:
“Hello Rob this Darius your customer from Los Angeles that purchased a set of your CV Shafts for my 280zx. Well I had them installed and they look awesome. When my mechanic and I opened the box we both were impressed with how well designed they were and also how strong they looked, excellent craftsmanship. They were so easy to install it took about 20 to 30 minutes for installation. Thanks for everything, long live the Z Car.”
Darius sent us a few pictures of the installation. Nice work!
A Forever Z Car
We love being a part of a Z car build with a great story behind it. This S130 was Darius’ first car and he’s continuously improving it…
“I have had my 1982 280ZX since 1993 and it is my FIRST CAR, purchased it from my friend, he was the 3rd owner and I am the 4th. The car was first purchased in 1981 at the still there Nissan dealership in Torrance, CA, so this car has never left the south bay area. It had a 3.1 liter stroker with a black cherry Lacquer paint job on it. I almost sold the car in 2012 to a friend before the rebuild but he decided not to buy it and I still loved the car even though things were not right with it.”
“In that same year of 2012 I decided this car is going to be my project how ever long it takes and I am going to bring it back to life by channeling my inner Christine magic. First task was to find a black dash board that was in good condition and not cracked. I found one on EBay that came out of a car that had only 98,000 miles on it original black and I knew then I was on trail of something special. It took me about a year of junk yard diving and EBay shopping to pull all the parts together.”
“The engine was built by Bobby of Original Garage Builds in San Diego, CA. It’s a stroker with ported and polished N42 head and accessory parts from Motor Sports. Other parts are Racing Cam from Schneider Racing and 40mm Weber Big Throat Throttle Body. A polished aluminum radiator, lightened flywheel, Center Force dual friction racing clutch, stock transmission, Quaife LSD in my R200 rear installed by an excellent mechanic Howard at Moto IQ in Gardena.”
Suspension upgrades include Z Car Garage Custom made CV Shafts, Tie Rods from Techno Toy Tuning, front Shocks Tokico HP’s and rear T3 coil overs, sway bar upgrade front and back along with polyurethane bushings. Stock braking system with drilled slotted rotors. Interior is well preserved new carpet from long ago, Flow Fit Seats and Nardi leather and chrome spoke steering wheel. Body and Paint KANDY color (Wild Berry-House of Colors paints, Down to the Metal) by R Rated Motor Sports.
“This car is a life long project for me that I will continue to build on and to keep the 280zx not forgotten. Thanks for your service to the Z car nation.”
Thanks for your support Darius! We love your passion and determination to keep the S130 alive. Long Live The Z!
Learn more about our Z Car Garage CV Axles and see other customer cars running them HERE.
We promised our readers a full, zcarblog.com report on Trevor’s 280Z after it was featured on Hoonigan Autofocus with Larry Chen. Let’s take a closer look at this fantastic daily driver+canyon carver showcasing our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes, Z Car Garage CV Axles, CD009 Six-speed transmission and more.
The Next Big Thing
It’s no secret that S30 chassis values have skyrocketed in the past few years. While the 240Z commands top dollar it has become out of reach for many enthusiasts. Not to worry, Datsun offered the 260Z/280Z models and both are great, attainable chassis in the S30 world. Trevor shares how he found his 280Z:
“I met my Z in almost completely stock form with 94k original miles. I travel for work, ending up in a new town every 6 months or so. As soon as I had an inkling of where I was going to be sent next, I would start hitting the internet classifieds for a 280z. While the 240z had seductive weight savings over the later versions, my attention turned to the 280z for its fuel injection (with constant travel I didn’t want to have to tune carbs), it’s price/ availability, and they are easier to find with air conditioning.” Below, left is the night Trevor bought his Z:
“I found my silver Z in Phoenix, Arizona. The only things it had on it that weren’t original from the Hiratsuka factory were the wheels, springs, and Toyota 4×4 front brake calipers. The rest of it was stock, and most importantly, complete. I did a little work to get it running smoother, basically replaced all maintenance items and swapped out a few sensors that weren’t working, and then drove it as much as I possibly could.”
Trevor was looking for a shop to take care of his 1978 Datsun 240z and heard about ZCG from a shop tour with Larry Chen on this episode of Hoonigan Autofocus (Thanks Larry!). Trevor brought the Z in last summer and we performed a full inspection before upgrades.
“I chose to send my Z to Z Car Garage after watching Larry Chen’s Autofocus episode on the shop. I could really tell that Rob had a ton of passion for what he does and I knew I could have confidence with him at the helm. Before I had showed up at the shop, Rob and I had talked on the phone about doing the brakes, control arms all the way around, and a couple of other smaller things. I wanted it to handle as best as it possibly could and that meant stopping when it should and having the adjustability in the control arms to set up a proper alignment. ”
ZCG Big-Brakes and CV Axles
We handed Trevor the keys to “Mrs. Butters”, our 1971 Series 1 240z shop demo car and he was sold on our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels) and Z Car Garage CV Axles! Butters has a way of doing this to our customers 🙂 Read below for a brief description of these parts:
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 engineers at 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 some 14″ wheels) 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 Trevor’s existing brakes and installed our ZCG Big-Brake kit. The stock suspension (with Tokico struts/Eibach springs) was replaced by Apex Engineered parts, as supplied by Trevor. Shown below are front/rear control arms and T/C rods being installed, more pictures in the gallery:
Front control arms and TC rods:
ZCG Big-brakes replacing the Toyota 4×4 caliper setup:
At the rear, the factory drum brakes were replaced with our ZCG Big-Brakes. Factory handbrake functionality IS retained!
Trevor is impressed with the braking performance:
“I quickly found out that even after just a short spirited mountain drive, the Toyota brakes would get hot and fade. It didn’t help that after getting a taste for driving her quickly, I wanted to do a few track days in the future. I knew I wanted a brake upgrade, one that I would only have to do once. After getting back to Southern California I was really able to put the car through its paces on the canyon roads. The ZCG Big-Brakes proved their worth and were consistent and didn’t fade even after a few good rips up and down the mountains. This car sticks to the road insanely well. With the alignment and new tires it just carves.”
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 130 CV axle kits on customer cars and we are stoked with all of the positive feedback.
Trevor has CV Axle set #335. Stock half shafts (L) and ZCG units:
More pictures of the ZCG axles installed, also visible is the ZCG Exhaust system:
Panasport Wheels
Complementing the new Big-Brakes on Trevor’s Z are Panasport wheels! We replaced the aftermarket wheels with 16×7 Panasports and sticky Bridgestone RE-71R tires in 225/50/16. The Z was fully aligned:
Engine
We knew the car would be stopping and handling better than before, so we installed a Moroso oil pan and Koyo aluminum radiator to keep temperatures in check. Other than cooling and fuel system work, the engine was largely untouched to maintain factory reliability.
We replaced intake and exhaust manifold gaskets with factory Nissan parts and few ZCG tricks including a certain exhaust nut and exhaust stud.The exhaust manifold was replaced with a Pacesetter header ( to clear six-speed) leading to our ZCG exhaust system with stainless resonator and slash-cut tip.
Dyno Tuning
Rob dyno tuned the L28 with OEM EFI. Baseline was 133hp/149tq and with Rob’s tuning it made 143hp/159tq at the wheels:
Enjoy the dyno run video below:
Driveline Upgrades
We built Trevor an OS Giken LSD, a perfect upgrade for anyone doing spirited driving.
“As with the brakes, I figured the best way to do the driveline was once so I also went with an OS Giken LSD and Z Car Garage CV axles.”
We changed the final drive, installing a R180 4.11 OSG LSD built in in-house:
The clutch hydraulics were replaced to work with new aluminum flywheel/JWT HD clutch combo:
Six Speed Transmission
Next on the update list, we were really excited to install a Nissan 350z 6-speed manual transmission behind the L-series in Trevor’s Z. You read that right! S30 owners can now bolt-in this robust, 6-speed manual behind their L-series engine! You might remember our first application of Austin Hoke’s custom 6-speed adapter kit on the OS Giken TC24B1Z-powered 240z:
Using the 6-speed conversion kit from Hoke Performance we installed a new CD009a transmission from the 2003 -2008 Z33 in Trevor’s 280Z:
Here is the brand-new transmission from Nissan being unboxed:
The kit necessitated exhaust header changes and after testing a variety of headers we found the Pacesetter 6-2-1 unit provided enough clearance. Serial 9 provided the shifter relocation assembly and we are really happy with its performance. Also shown is the aluminum driveshaft.
It fits! More installation pictures in the gallery. It’s a very discreet look from the cockpit…until you feel the amazingly direct and precise feel of the CD009a!
Trevor is in love with the six-speed, we are as well:
“I had done my absolute best to convince myself that I didn’t need a transmission swap and my wallet and I were on the same page as I went to drop the Z off at Z Car Garage. Where my wallet and I started to have a disagreement was after Rob let me take Butters for a spin. After feeling the CD009 perform there was zero chance I was going to get my car back without one on the back of my L28. However, the more I was driving the car in the twisties, the more I started to become unhappy with the uneven gear ratio gaps between shifts.”
Details
We sorted out little things for Trevor like making his Speedhut tach and speedo functional. The car was fully detailed:
The Z was cut/buffed with a detail from JB mobile detail. We’ve worked with Veto at JB for years and he’s a big Z car enthusiast:
Driving is Believing
When Trevor picked up car, he was blown away:
“The car I got back is a totally different machine from the one I had dropped off. The result of the perfect combination of driveline parts is a sore face caused by either smiling the entire time or from your face almost leaving your head as Rob shows you just how well the brake kit works. Rob also threw her on the dyno and finally got the stock system performing perfectly. I’m sure it’s making more power than it did even new back in ’78.”
The Z was recently featured on Hoonigan Autofocus with Larry Chen. Larry and Rob discuss the work ZCG performed and take it for a spin. Watch the video to get an idea of the six-speed and power from Trevor’s280Z:
We enjoyed working with Trevor and he’s been Enjoying The Ride in his Z:
“I had flown up from the LA area where I was working to the shop in San Jose. My plan was to drive the car back down the PCH to get a feel for my new machine. I couldn’t believe how much fun the car was to drive on curvy roads. The CD009 feels great behind my L28. The shift pattern is short and precise, it’s fantastic. The rear end has no play and pairs nicely to the race feel of the CD009. One of the best parts of the combo is how easy it is to drive. It feels like you have a race car transmission but with the ease of use of a street car.”
“She’s back at Z Car Garage right now as my job has me in Omaha for the rest of the year. I have been talking to my wallet about coil overs and maybe an engine build while the car is in San Jose. My Z and I are apart right now but I cannot wait until I’m able to eat up more miles with her. She is a wicked joy.”
Thank you for entrusting us with your S30, Trevor. We are so fortunate to work with owners that appreciate the Z and believe in our ability to make them better! LONG LIVE THE Z!
