With just 1 week to go before the 2018 Classic Motorsports Mitty April 27-29, ZCG has been preparing several Datsun race cars. We are very excited to participate in this event as it celebrates Nissan’s racing heritage. Make sure to view the race schedule to catch all of the Datsun/Nissan action and activities in the paddock! Here is the roll call for your West Coast vintage Datsun racers making the trip to Road Atlanta in Georgia.

Introducing SORABIRD

 

Alex McDowell is racing his Bluebird SSS Coupe for the first time since it arrived at Z Car Garage after winning from our friends at Bring A Trailer. Unfortunately, the Bluebird was never raced for several years under previous owner Adam Carolla’s ownership. This will change in 1 week!

 

While retaining the two-tone color scheme of the Bluebird we changed it from orange to our favorite color Sora (“Sky” in Japanese) Blue. This is a factory paint color from the beloved ZCG Datsun 2000 Roadster:

    

Jim Froula of Racecraft built and raced this Bluebird throughout the PNW with SOVREN so it is excellently prepared. We dyno tuned the Rebello L18 sporting twin 50mm Mikuni carbs and it is ready to rock! More information and pictures on the Bluebird can be found HERE.

 

The Hakosuka Skyline

 

Alex is also racing is 1971 Nissan Skyline. The L-series powered Hako received extensive dyno tuning and some chassis upgrades. Catch Alex piloting the Hako in group 5 Big Bore Production with  Boss 302s and 911 RSRs!

 

 

The VIPS Datsun 240z

 

Our friend Glenn Chiou will be racing his Loren St. Lawrence 240z.  Coming off a stellar performance at the
2017 RMMR Glenn will be back and faster than ever after some dyno tuning at ZCG.

 

All three cars can be seen on the dyno demonstrating their L-series power in this video, enjoy!

The Frellsen B-Sedan Datsun 510

  

Avid Datsun racer Dave Stone will be running his Frellsen 510 in the highly competitive B-sedan field. All of the car featured above will be joining  Jim Froula’s 73 Datsun 260Z  on board the RacecraftNW race-transporter for the journey to The Mitty!

 

ZCG will be ready to support all of our customer race cars:

 

 

The Rock Vest Datsun Roadster

 

Michael Anderson’s recently acquired Rock Vest 2000 is already on the way to The Mitty! We are stoked to see this historically significant roadster brought back to life winning at the race track!

 

The BRE Datsun 240z driven by John Morton at The Mitty

We are extremely thankful and stoked that owner Randy Jaffe invited us to The Mitty. John Morton is Grand Marshall of the event AND he is piloting the #46 BRE 240z once again! The entire ZCG crew will be running pit crew beginning 4/23 for testing through the race weekend ending 4/2. Following the 2017 Historics, we performed post-race maintenance to prepare #46 before sending it off to Atlanta:

 

For all Datsuns particiapting in the race you can view the entire Race Entry List.

We have more pictures in the gallery to enjoy. See you at the track!

Thank you to RacecraftNW and  Remy for the photos!
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For classic car enthusiasts across the globe, visiting the site BringaTrailer.com is part of our daily routine.  Z Car Garage has been a big fan of BaT since its inception in 2007, having referred our customers and serviced several BaT auction vehicles. We happily obliged when they reached out to us for help in finding a Z-car to drive cross-country for a historic racing event.

 

Roadtrip to The Mitty

  
ZCG recently announced our participation at The Mitty April 27-29 at Road Atlanta in Georgia. Nissan is the featured marque at this historic vintage racing event, so naturally a Datsun would be the ideal driving partner, right? For BaT founder Randy Nonnenberg, taking a roadtrip to the Mitty in a Datsun goes further than just arriving in style:

“The Mitty has been an event I’ve personally been interested in attending for a long time. I love seeing new racing venues and meeting BaT community members in different parts of the world. I have never been to Road Atlanta so this seemed like a great opportunity to host a BaT Alumni Gathering at the track. The teams from HSR and Classic Motorsports run some very fun events, so we are thrilled to join.

 

As for the car, I have wanted a Datsun for a long time and even though I like the roadsters and 510s, the 240z has always spoken to me the most. Once we found out that both the Mitty and Monterey would be featuring Nissan/Datsun, it was clear that we needed to have one to help celebrate. It also seems like a very useable classic for a road trip and driving events, so we are excited to put it on the road and document its travels on BaT.”

 

Finding the right Z

A few weeks ago Michael Emery from BaT reached out to ZCG looking for a car to make the journey to The Mitty. Rob immediately had the perfect car in mind, our customer Kevin F’s 1973 240z finished in 112 Yellow and affectionately known as the “Gimlet”. This is a Z we have serviced, maintained and modified over several years.

  

After Randy and Michael visited ZCG to inspect the Z, a deal was struck. Kevin had passed the torch on to BaT for the Z’s next chapter in life. We asked Randy what brought him to Z Car Garage:

“We are lucky to have many Datsun fans in the BaT community, so we reached out to them to see who might know of a good 240Z for sale. We checked out a few cars, and the ability to buy one from a specialist clearly became the most attractive option. Rob at Z Car Garage knew of a car that was not only in great condition, but he had done much of the work on the car and knew the history and build very well.
I tend to want to sort out some details to my liking on almost any car I buy, and his ability to make some key changes was a huge benefit. He had the wheels I wanted in stock, had the know-how to make some components swap quickly, and most importantly was able to ready the car for immediate use. All this plus the car was terrific in person!”

 

Preparing the Z for BaT

 

As Randy mentioned, he was particular about how he wanted the Z to be set up. We addressed his list of needs and performed a total vehicle inspection to ensure the Z was ready for the long journey from California to Georgia.

 

By request, the front valance was returned to stock, 16″ Panasport wheels mounted and stock steering wheel installed.  Kevin had kept the original front valance parts making installation straightforward:

  

16×7 Panasport wheels with 225/50/16 tires:

 

A stock steering wheel replaced the aftermarket unit:

  

The car was mechanically sound needing only a new clutch M/C and slave. We flushed and replaced fluids with Stoptech 600f. The exhaust was adjusted to increase clearance near the larger R200 diff cover. A new windshield and stainless trim pieces were installed:

 

A few detail items like underbody coating and cleanup:

 

Finally, the Z’s ride height was adjusted and engine health confirmed on our dyno. Looking perfect! More pictures in the gallery:

 

On the dyno the 2.7L made a stout 191p/181tq to the wheels:

  

Listen to that triple-carb’d L-series sing in the video below! You can also see Randy driving off from the shop:

 

 

We were curious how Randy felt about his new Z car, asking him how it compares to his Euro/US cars of the same era:

“I drove the car away from the Z Car Garage shop and was instantly pleased with the purchase. The modified 2.7L in this car has great power and sound, and I like the low seating position and long hood to peer over from the driver seat. I’ve spend plenty of time in early 911s, BMWs, and muscle cars from the same era and with these modifications the S30 can run with any of them. I can’t wait to enter this car in some fast road events with my buddies who all drive European stuff. I think they will respect this car quickly.”

 

 

My last question for Randy was to see how Z fits into BaT’s very own car collection:

“Just like you can see on our website, we have very diverse (skitzophrenic?) tastes in cars, trucks, projects, and types of vehicles. We wanted to add a car that was turn-key, could run well on road events, was an iconic design, would represent BaT well, and was in impressive condition. This 240Z checked all those boxes. Plus we don’t currently have a fast 70s coupe in the stable, so our team was excited for this one to arrive.”

Follow The Z!

 

The BaT 240z has already begun its journey to The Mitty! Look for real-time updates along the way from Michael and Randy as they visit BaT buyers, sellers, and community members to hear their stories:

 

Pictures and videos will be posted on BaT’s main site, Facebook and Instagram accounts. We are looking forward to seeing BaT at Road Atlanta with fellow Datsun enthusiasts. Big thanks to Randy and Michael for letting us be a part of their trip.

LONG LIVE THE Z!

 

UPDATE

4/8/18: We are happy to report the BaT 240Z is now in Tempe, AZ attending the Copperstate1000 event on chase-car duty!

  

More pictures in the gallery below:
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Z Car Garage is expanding to support our vintage, late model and motorsport work. We are seeking an experienced and skilled automotive technician to join our team.
This is not an average automotive job. The position is for a special candidate that wants to be part of a shop that is growing and always striving to set the bar a little higher. We offer competitive pay/benefits and the best working environment.
Requirements: Experienced with a good set of tools, willingness to learn, and be part of a team.

Interested or know someone who might be a good fit? Please contact rob@zcargarage.com or call us at (408)452-0350.

 

 

 

Glenn is an avid Datsun enthusiast having owned and raced several cars. You might remember his VIPS 240z vintage race car from the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion last year where he ran it alongside our hero John Morton:

 

We also dyno-tuned the Z in preparation for race week. Look for #39 at this year’s RMMR!

  

Glenn loves his vintage race cars and he recently added this B-sedan Datsun 510 to his stable. He plans to race it this year with SVRA, and it also got accepted to the 2018 RMMR event!

 

In preparation for the upcoming RMMR, Glenn visited Z Car Garage to have the B-sedan dialed-in with chassis dyno tuning.

 

Chassis dyno tuning is extremely beneficial for race cars. You simply can’t run your race car up and down a city street to emulate race conditions and “guess” how your engine settings are performing. In most cases our customers have their engines built and tested on an engine dyno, so it is prudent to confirm performance on the chassis dyno before heading out to the track.

 

We run a series of dyno tests for the customer, including fully heat soaking the engine to ensure it can perform throughout the rev range. Glenn’s 510 was optimized for drivability in his desired powerband and like all race cars that get dyno’d at ZCG, his 510 left with more hp/tq! Enjoy the video of a few dyno pulls and listen to that L-series sing:

 

 

We can’t share numbers as racers like to keep them close to their heart, but you can count on the 510 being ready to rock in the B-sedan group at big race. Thanks for letting us tune your Datsun, Glenn!

 

This is the moment we have all been waiting for as Nissan/Datsun enthusiasts! For the first time ever, Nissan will be the featured marque at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion August 23-26. Now in its 45th year and commonly known as the Monterey Historics, the Reunion is a highlight of the famous Pebble Beach “car week” in August. This event features the best of every decade of racing history, all condensed into four days of qualifying and competition at Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway.

 

  

Even if you are a seasoned race car fan or hardcore Datsun nut this is the event you don’t want to miss. To make it even sweeter the good folks at ZONC are proudly sponsoring the Nissan Car Corral AND a Parade Lap around the world famous Laguna Seca Raceway!

 

Datsun & Nissan Exclusive Car Corral Parking

At past RMMR events our Nissan car corral has been mixed with the other marques. Not this year. We have the incredible spotlight and desirable PAVED parking between Turn 2 and 5. It will be our time to shine, let’s make a strong showing by bringing our beloved cars out! Have a Nissan Skyline GT-R from the 90’s? Bring it. Got a Datsun 510 Wagon? Bring it. Nismo R35 GT-R? We want that too. Remember, this is THE best place to park your car, enjoy the races AND proudly represent!

  

To participate in the Car Corral and Parade Lap you must buy tickets through ZONC, details can be found by clicking HERE. Take advantage of discounted general admission through ZONC and let’s make this a superb showing of our Nissans and Datsuns! Please spread the word to fellow owners 🙂

In case you missed it, here is our coverage of last year’s RMMR:
RMMR 2017

We plan on bringing the #49 Joel Anderson IMSA 240z to participate in the race! We are really excited for our fellow racers this is going to be an EPIC event. Enjoy a few photos from past RMMR events. LONG LIVE THE Z!