The Z Car Garage Drag Racing Series continues for 2010. Z Car Garage is hosting a drag competition for all-years Nissans and Datsuns at Sears Point Raceway. Come join us for the next event of fun and Z-ing “in a straight line” October 20, 2010. Walt (Fowlman) won the last series in his supercharged 350Z with his consistent 12.9s runs. We’ll be continuing through November 11th with 5 events in total . We had a good showing of Zs and Gs at the drags our last drags event on July 7th. For anyone that missed it, Chuck’s TT 350Z ran an amazing 11.75s 1/4 mile on low boost! We look forward to seeing the wick turned up on this beast at the next event, and a sub 11.5s run! Rob made the overall Top 25 as well as the Top 25 for twin turbo cars lists for all models of the 350Z in the drag racing portion of my350z in Chuck’s TT 350.

He currently sits at 23rd overall for all 350Zs, and 18th for all twin turbo 350Zs. Congrats to Rob for his great run and to Chuck for the fantastic car! They need to go another 1/2s faster to crack the top 10 for the TT list.
my350z Top25-1/4mile times Stay tuned for a better run at the next event when we turn the boost up and see if Rob can move up the list! It could be a good showdown, as Scott Smith has talked about bringing his high-HP 300ZX TT for the next event to tangle with Rob in Chuck’s TT 350Z.

The August and September dates were canceled due to excessive heat in the Sonoma area, and we’re hopeful things will be cooled down for our 4th event of the year on 10/20.

General information: The Wednesday Night Drags events are held at Sears Point Raceway on most Wednesday nights during the year. The gates open at 3:30 and racing is from 5-10pm. One typically gets a few practice (non-competitive) runs in before the racing starts assuming you get there early. All the information you need about the track and racing itself is located here: http://www.infineonraceway.com/racew…y_night_drags/

Prizes!
1st Place: One Pair of New BF Goodrich Drag Radials courtesy of Z Car Garage
2nd Place: $100.00 Gift Certificate at Z Car Garage

Points:
Sears Point Wednesday events are bracket racing. If you show up early, each driver gets 4 or 5 practice runs before the sessions begin.

1 point: Once the sessions begin, each time you advance
(Sears Point staff puts a smiley face on your slip), you get one point. The goal is to NOT run against each other until absolutely necessary (i.e. everyone stages in the same lane until the final brackets)

3 points: Runner-up (loss in the finals) – trophy awarded

5 points: Winner of class – trophy awarded

Points are only valid on the dates ZCG goes to Infineon (4/7, 6/2, 7/7, 10/20, November date TBD ).

All competitors must sign waiver @ Z Car Garage before entering competition (or sign at track and give to Rob).

So put your excuses to rest and join us on October 20th for the 4th event of the year.

 

New products continue to enter aftermarket for the 370Z, here is Rob to tell you about a new supercharger kit for the 370z!

ZCG was traveling south to the JCCS show we decided to take a detour and visit Rancho Cucamonga to visit GTM to check out their new Supercharger kit for the 370Z. Sam was nice enough to meet with us on a Saturday afternoon and give us a tour of the facility and it was impressive. The shop is amazing with late-model Nissans everywhere!!

This shop also includes an in-house machine shop, dyno, and alignment rack. After showing us around Sam allowed me to take the Shop Demo car for a ride. Having installed a Stillen supercharger already it was nice to check out Stillen’s competitor in the Forced Induction battle. First impression was quiet, nice driveability, and nice torque once the engine hits its sweet spot.
The boost takes over and seems like it keeps getting stronger as the rpms increase. Sam was surprised when I requested we throw it on the dyno.
Here is a short video Alvin took of the dyno run:

 

With the engine heat soaked and the temps in the shop close to 100 degrees the Z put down some good numbers: 380hp/305tq

Sam also shared some plots of pervious pulls with cooler temps, with readings of ~425hp/340tq.
Nice power and big torque.

Impressed! Excited to install one of these soon! Any takers?
Long live the Z
Rob

 

The first time I saw this pretty Datsun 510 was at the BlackHawk Nissan show last year, but I never met the owner. Fast forward to the TurnZ event in June. Finally spoke to owner, Matt G about his car very briefly. And only 2 weeks ago we hung out at the JCCS show and drove back up to Norcal together for almost 400 miles…I had to share his 510 and the story behind it with you.

This 510 was purchased on eBay in 2005, and during the 4 years following has undergone a complete restoration. Virtually every nut, bolt, bushing or seal has been replaced with new or like new used parts. The normal body rust that existed was
replaced with like metal, welded in place and rust proofed. The body was then seam sealed and rust proofed from the inside out and professionally prepared and painted by William’s Auto Body. All work done by Matt except for a few things!

 

The drive train and brakes were improved over stock equipment and a 1995 240SX 2.4L(KA24DE) engine and transmission where swapped in and a Greddy turbo kit added. Matt prepped the engine with oversize 9.0:1 forged WiseCo Pistons,  Forged Connecting Rods, and the head received a mild port and polish and early 1992 Intake and Exhaust Cams (longer duration).  ARP Head and Main studs, and a Cosmetic Metal head gasket keeps things tight.

 

The Greddy Turbo Kit(12psi) is made for the 240SX.   Custom piping, a proper recirc’d BOV, custom BMIC(that’s right bottom mount!) Bell intercooler with super trick air scoop (spring loaded for driveways, speed bumps, etc). The exhaust system is 2.5”  done in stainless by none other than Dan Gallmeister of DGR Fabrication and is finished by a dual-tipped Magnaflow muffler. Fuel duties are handled by custom bent 3/8 “ aluminum supply and return Lines, 300zx in-tank pump, Aeromotive regulator, and Nissan 370cc injectors.

 

Matt’s hard work paid off when he dyno’d the 510 at ZCarGarage on one of it’s Dyno Days. It made good power, spinning the rollers to the tune of 262hp/264tq to the wheels!

~300hp in a 2000lb car must be fun:)

 

To put all the power to the ground Matt modified the suspension both front and rear. Up front there are Energy Suspension bushings, 280ZX Struts with Tokico adjustable coilovers and adjustable camber plates.
In rear,  a penultimate rear crossmember with Proshock adjustable coilovers.
Braking is accomplished with 4-wheel discs, 280ZX fronts with vented rotors and 280zx rears with solid rotors. A 280ZX 15/16” master cylinder and custom e-brake handle complete the setup.

When we drove down from JCCS show I noticed the awesome stance on Matt’s 510. Great job restoring it and driving it because DATSUNS are driven!

ZCarGarage is building this ’67 Camaro Pro-Touring style with a modern powertrain and running gear but nearly stock appearance. Think “old soul” with modern “go”! Power will come from a GM LS1 V8 with a T56 six-speed manual transmission. Full suspension upgrades, modern wheel/tires and a BAER braking system will help control the added power. The first phase in the resto is to literally breakdown the car in preparation for paint, which will be black with white rally stripes after Williams performs his magic

Like all ZCG restorations, each item that is removed from the car is individually bagged an labeled, then placed on a separate rack for the owner.  Here are a few photos from the interior removal:

Say goodbye to the straight-6! Old suspension will be replaced with new pieces throughout:

Stripped and ready for paint…check back for updates!

 

That is what the license plate reads on this 240z that belongs to Mark and Michelle G. Although the Z may have ate money it has been loved and fully supported by the family for about 10years. The Z is at ZCarGarage getting a full mechanical restoration before going to Williams Auto Body for body/paint. It is being built for the street with occasional track use, so brakes and suspension had to be upgraded. ZCG installed a full Arizona Z Car suspension from front to rear including robust control arms, sway bars, and bushings.  The entire underbody was also prepped and undercoated:

The 200rwhp L31 engine features triple Mikuni 44 carbs, a rare Clifford 6-2 exhaust header, and a ZCG triple-carb heat shield. The stock transmission was replaced with a 240sx gearbox with a JWT flywheel and heavy duty clutch. In back an R200 LSD diff along with a Porsche 930 CV conversion round out the drivetrain modifications:

 

The rear portion of the exhaust was made to be removeable making adjustments/work easier:

 

The Z featured Porsche 993 Twin-Turbo calipers at all four-corners and though it is an incredible braking system it needed some work/proportioning so ZCG did some fine tuning.

 

Soon these gorgeous brakes will be encased by shiny new custom made 17″ Panasport C8 wheels!

Finally, a nice touch that is both functional and good-looking are some new pedals. Let the Heel/Toe boogie begin!

 

Stay tuned for more updates after the Z comes back from Williams with fresh body and paint!

Lots of detailed pictures of the suspension below:
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