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RACING: Dyno tuning vintage race Datsuns

Filed under: 510,Events,Racing
by Alvin G @ 5:10 pm on April 3, 2026

Happy Friday! We are Dyno tuning vintage race Datsun 510s and a Bluebird Coupe at the shop. Turn those speakers up and Enjoy the L-Series music!

Getting prepared for the David Love event 4/17-19 at Sonoma, join us:
CSRG David Love Races April 17-19

 




EVENTS: David Love Vintage Races April 17-19

Filed under: 240z,510,Events,Racing
by Alvin G @ 5:10 pm on March 22, 2026

 

On April 17-19, Classic Sports Racing Group (CSRG) is hosting the David Love Vintage races at Sonoma Raceway. Z Car Garage will be racing and supporting several client’s Datsun 510 race cars running in the B-Sedan Group. Spectators are FREE, and ZONC will be hosting a Datsun Car Corral on Saturday April 18th. Come out and enjoy a weekend filled with competition, camaraderie and plenty of Alfas, BMWs and Datsuns sharing the track.

 

Z Car Garage Races Ands Supports Four Datsun 510s!

It is our pleasure to bring more enthusiasts into the world of vintage racing. Our services do include full race support and car-preparation to help make client’s race days seamless and worry-free so they can focus on driving. One of our specialties is dyno tuning. Before a race weekend we confirm that your car is running well and make necessary adjustments while on the chassis dyno.

Video of two Datsun 510 B-Sedans (Rob and Tom), Enjoy the sweet L-series music!

Here is a preview of the Z Car Garage clients running at the David Love Vintage races:

#64 Kenny Tse

 

#68 and #30 Noah’s 510 and Bluebird Coupe

Noah will be driving his #6 Bluebird Coupe and Danny will be in the #68 510:

 

#7 Rob Fuller

ZCG owner Rob Fuller, Bay Area Datsun Dealers tribute car

Photo by Jim Rose

 

 
 

Vintage Spec Miata

 

 

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. Tom Dockery will be racing in “Little Butters”:

“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.

 
  
 

We will also be supporting Randy Pobst’s first National Championship-winning Miata (1992), currently owned by Ross Lindell. If you have any questions regarding prep and presentation, reach out to Rob Fuller: rob@zcargarage.com.

 
 

ZONC corral

 

Our friends from The Z Owners of Northern California (ZONC) will host a car corral on Saturday to support the David Love Vintage Races at Sonoma Raceway! Join your fellow fellow Nissan/Datsun owners! Turnout has been great and this CSRG event is free and family friendly, giving everyone the opportunity visit the pits and drivers up close.

 
 

Join us for the 2026 Vintage Racing Season!

Z Car Garage is amped for vintage racing this year. View our race schedule listed below, and follow the CSRG website and zcarblog.com for more information. Check out last year’s David Love race report.


Z Car Garage Trackside Support Services

 

It is our pleasure to bring more enthusiasts into the world of vintage racing. Our trackside services include full race support and car-preparation to help make client’s race days seamless and worry-free so they can focus on driving. From arrive-and-drive service to on-track support and coaching…we love to help. Check out the Z Car Garage experience with our client Todd and his B-Sedan Datsun 510

 

One of our specialties is dyno tuning. Before a race weekend we confirm that your car is running well and make necessary adjustments while on the chassis dyno. Here is a video of the race cars we prepared this week with dyno passes and a walk around the shop. Enjoy!





 

John Morton was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame on March 9-10, 2026 in Daytona Beach. The official induction ceremony was held during the 38th Annual Induction Celebration Presented by Toyota Gazoo Racing. Z Car Garage was honored to attend this milestone for our hero and inspiration to motorsport enthusiasts worldwide.

 

From the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America:

“The ageless Morton first made headlines in the early 1970s as lead driver for 2022 MSHFA [Motorsports Hall of Fame of America] inductee Peter Brock and his BRE Datsuns, winning consecutive SCCA C Production national championships (1970, 1971) in the outfit’s 240Zs and consecutive Trans-Am Under 2.5 titles (1971, 1972) in BRE 510s, winning 12 of 19 starts. Nevertheless, Morton didn’t attract many top professional rides until the late ’80s. He won twice in 11 starts in 1987 in underpowered Group 44, Inc. Jaguar XJR-7 GTPs owned by 2018 MSHFA inductee Bob Tullius and four times in eight starts in the top-rated Electramotive Nissan GTP cars in 1988. Other noteworthy results include a stunning second overall and first in IMSA GTO at the 1979 Rolex 24 at Daytona in a Ferrari 365 GTB/4, first in Group C2 at the 1984 24 Hours of Le Mans and first overall in the 1985 L.A. Times GP in a Porsche 962. He continued winning into the 2000s. At the 50th annual SCCA Runoffs in 2013, Morton, age 71, started 13th and finished 10th despite having only a few practice sessions in the car.”

 

Highlights from the event included the unveiling of the John Morton display case, which will be showed for one year and the John Morton bronze portrait which will be permanently displayed in the MSHF.

 

Video

It was great to see John (currently 84 years of age) up on the stage giving his speech. Watch the induction ceremony with words from John and his peers in this video:

 

Reception Highlights

ROB: It was announced last year that John Morton would be joining the class of 2026 Motorsports Hall of Fame, alongside luminaries including Peter Brock (2022). Our client and friend  Randy Jaffe also attended the event, bringing both the BRE Datsun 510 and 240Z race cars to the track and museum for display:

 

Highlights for me: Rusty Wallace was a one of the key speakers and I also recognized ESPN/NASCAR commentator Marty Smith. Lots of famous people were there like Nissan driver Elliot Forbes-Robinson, Kenny Roberts Sr. and Jr. both MotoJP champs when 2-strokes kind of ruled that series. It was really cool.

 

Mike Debbie Rogers brought their narrow-bodied Cobra which is 1 of 32 ever made and it was a real spectacle. People were freaking out, taking photos with John since considering his connection to Shelby American.

 

We also spotted a few Z cars at the event!

 

It was a blast to have drinks with Randy, Joe Cavaglieri, Steve Johnson, Charlie from Honda R&D and a bunch of awesome people. We heard amazing stories of other inductees as the MSHF not only recognizes automotive motorsports: winningest driver in Unlimited Hydroplane history Dave Villwock (Powerboats) and NHRA competition director Steve Gibbs (Drag Racing). Incredible time and we loved seeing John Morton recognized for such an amazing career.

 

Please join us in congratulating John for this achievement!

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Happy Birthday John Morton

Filed under: 240z,510,Automotive History
by Alvin G @ 5:10 pm on February 17, 2026

 

Happy 84th Birthday to our hero John Morton!

 

An amaZingly talented driver, Morton brought Brock Racing Enterprises (BRE) four National SCCA Championships from 1970-1972: two C-production championships in the Datsun 240Z and two Trans-Am championships in the Datsun 510. Morton will be inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in Daytona Beach, FL this March 9-10. Enjoy our photos with John Morton over the years and let’s all wish him the best birthday!

Rob and John at the Velocity Invitational 2022

 

 

Morton, Pete Brock and Steve Millen at Laguna Seca 2018

 

Road Atlanta 2010, with the John Morton Army (JMA)

 

 

BRE Reunions in 2008 and 2010:

 

The Mitty, 2018:

 

Honored to spend time with John Morton on the racetrack. Happy Birthday!

 

 

 




EVENT REPORT: R’s Day 2025 at Laguna Seca

Filed under: 510,Events,r32,R35,Racing,Skyline
by Alvin G @ 5:10 pm on December 15, 2025

 

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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