At some point in time everyone’s vintage Datsun was in a “work-in-progress” phase. Either the bodywork needed finishing or the interior wasn’t quite together, yet we still kept driving and improving things here and there.  Chris R. has been a customer since a teenager and his 1971 240z earned the nickname “Skittles” from it’s rainbow of multi-color body panels it has acquired over the years.
Starting with the interior, the dash was pulled to re-do the wiring and gauges:

New Auto-Meter gauges were custom flush-mounted in factory locations along with a pair auxillary gauges in the center stack:

Underhood lies an L28 conversion bored .060 over with a ported head, cam , triple Mikuini 44s, electronic ignition, and a Clifford header. ZCG added an MSA aluminum radiator and catch can.

Skittles was built with the intention of track duty and canyon carving so over the years it has accumulated Porsche 993 “Big Red” calipers at all 4 -corners, with Tociko/Eibach coilovers, AZC control arms, and ST sway bars.

The sexy flares were done by Williams. Panasport C8 wheels with the rears widened to 17X10 give a mean lip and fill the flares quite well. Viewers will also notice the carbon fiber front/rear bumpers and rear tail light panel.

Don’t be fooled by the primer and mis-matched exterior; Chris has put alot of love into his Z and almost feels torn between painting it or leaving it as is…

Mike V. came to ZCG to add a little more pep to his Juke. It’s no secret that turbocharged cars can benefit from  simple bolt-ons, especially in the breathing department. We stated with a new Injen intake:

With the intake alone we saw a gain of +3hp/3tq at the wheels on an awd dyno:

A Stillen cat-back exhaust replaced the heavy, restrictive OEM system:

 The exhaust produced even more hp/tq for a final output of 128hp/117tq at the wheels: modest gains but power that can be noticeably felt above 3000rpm to redline:

 

 

Dan F. comes from a car-crazy family mostly obsessed with vehicles of the German persuasion. Not that there’s anything wrong with it, especially when his weapon of choice for speed is his NISSAN 350z!
Dan is a hardcore track junkie with many road courses under his belt. He is also an avid autocrosser running with the Lockheed Sports Car Club which you may remember our very own Scott Smith winning in 2010.

 

Dan came to ZCG for you guessed it: More Power. Forced induction in the form of a Vortech supercharger fit the bill and a host of supporting mods with tuning completed the package for this track-happy car and owner. Below are the V-3 std  trim blower, GTM oil cooler and Deatschwerks injectors:

 

FMIC, oil cooler mounted , intake plumbing and ART pipes with the finished install:

 

An Aeromotive 340 fuel pump provided sufficient go juice and there was an immediate increase  in power with boost, +121hp and +83tq at the wheels:

Rob UPREV tuned for more power with 91 and 95 octane maps, (368hp/333tq and 388hp/337tq, respectively).

 

To cope with the noticeable increase in power the rear diff got an upgraded LSD and DEFI gauges help monitor engine vitals:

 

A hardcore-enthusiast just got a substantial boost in the power department…lookout for Dan at a track or autox near you…I’ve already spotted him tearing the backroads up Skyline Blvd 🙂

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

Last year we helped Randy M finish restoring his ultra nice 240z and we are pleased to report that the Z was featured in the July 2012 issue of Classic Motorsports Magazine.

That’s Randy in the driver’s seat. Congratulations!

Lora and her husband Chris are motorsports fans. Chris has a dedicated rock/crawler and Lora loves her Z33. Since she enjoys trackdays and twisty roads her husband gave her the gift of boost: a Turbonetics single turbo kit! ZCG installed the kit and added a GTM oil cooler plus a few other goodies.

Before boost and after boost!

JWT clutch/flywheel, old exhaust system, and  modified exhaust with new NISMO muffler.

Below you can see more details of the kit including turbo placement, exhaust crossover pipe, FMIC, and intake routing:

At just over 7lbs boost Lora’s Z made 376hp/390tq to the wheels!

We can’t think of a better gift to give your loved one, especially if they are like Lora and love to Enjoy to the Ride!