We love to see our parts installed and used on client’s cars. Race car driver and restoration specialist Jim Froula of Racecraft is running our ZCG CV Axles in this Nissan IMSA GTU 300ZX race car!
Jim installed CV Axle set #269:
The George Alderman Z31
Over a 49-year competitive career, George Alderman was one of America’s most successful sports car drivers, racing in Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) events.
In the 60’s and 70’s George would race a variety of cars. He won the IMSA Baby Grand championship in 1971 in a Datsun 510 and in the 80’s he drove Z cars in the Camel GT series. His Z31 would run both turbo and NA classes for IMSA.
Out of 70 starts he had 50 top-tens, 27 top-fives, and 5 wins, all while successfully running his Datsun/Nissan franchise. (Below) a 1988 promotional photo of the Z31 in front of Alderman Nissan, in V6 IMSA GTU class trim. Find more history on this Z as documented on Alderman Machine.
Restoration at Racecraft
Jim and the RacecraftNW crew restored the George Alderman 300ZX. As usual, Froula’s painstaking efforts and diligence result in a faithful restoration. Original frame (left) and restored with chassis parts:
ITB induction on the NA VG30E powerplant:
Bodywork going on, and look at those Panasport C8 wheels!
Thanks for your support Jim! We are excited to see the Z31 back on on the track.
Z Car Garage CV Axles
Over 150 sets of our ZCG CV Axles are installed in client’s cars all over the world. For more information please visit our detailed post our HERE. Below are just a few examples of race cars running out CV Axles:
Race car driver and restoration specialist Jim Froula of Racecraft is running ZCG axles in several of his cars:
Set #246 – installed May 2018 on the “Harry Stewart #52” Datsun 510:
Set #247 – installed April 2018 on the 260z
Set #248 – installed on Adam Carolla’s “Greg Sorrentino #90” Datsun 510.
Filed under: 240z,Events,Racing
by Alvin G @ 5:10 pm on January 17, 2022
Dear Zcarblog readers, it’s been a busy year and we are catching up on blog posts, so please enjoy our belated race report from November 2021.
WE LOVE RACING! On November 11-14 we attended the Velocity Invitational at Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca. Z Car Garage had a blast racing and supporting several client’s IMSA GTU Z cars running in Group 7A (1966-1977 IMSA GT). This vintage racing event was just as fun for spectators with a friendly, immersive vibe. Enjoy our report from the weekend with photos and in-car video of the action.
Photo by Larry Chen
Z Car Garage IMSA Race Car Support!
If you missed our earlier post, we prepared and supported three IMSA race cars for the Velocity Invitational (VI). Here’s a quick review:
We supported our client Randy Jaffe who recently acquired the Transcendental Racing Datsun 240Z. This famous 1976 IMSA-GTU Championship-winning 240z will be driven by ex-driver Brad Frisselle’s son, Brian Frisselle. Randy recently had the Z re-painted by William with correct graphics and hand-applied livery by the Real Ralph.
#93 Different Drummer Racing Datsun 260Z
Race car driver, restorer and Datsun Historian Glenn Chiou raced his Ex-Greg Sorrentino IMSA 260Z. Glenn built and prepared this race car by himself, ZCG simply dyno-tuned it prior to race week.
Ready for some L-series music from these historic race cars on the dyno? Check out the video below and turn those speakers up!
We also prepared our client Kelvin Tse’s Porsche 911 RSR, because if it’s not the Z-car, it’s the P-car!
Epic Racing With Group 7
Photo by Kristina Cilia
Group 7’s IMSA GT and FIA race cars (1966 and 1977) was dominated by big-power Porsche 911 RSRs with a few BMS CSLs and 4 S30 Datsuns. Speaking of powerful Porsche’s, the organizers did not allow turbocharged cars to run so we thought an NA motor race would make things interesting. Read more about Group 7 here with driver Jeff Francis in Larry Oka’s 1970 Ex-Glemik IMSA Datsun 240Z (#54):
Friday’s qualifying race was eventful. Rob and Brian Frisselle were doing well and putting down some great lap times. Unfortunately, a Porsche oiled down the track between turns 4 and 5 and both Z cars skidded off the track. They recovered under their own power but the Frisselle Z sustained minor body damage from hitting the tire barrier. Good news: Glenn, Jeff and John Murray avoided the mess and Rob Fuller qualified on Pole Position!
Racing in to the Night
Saturday’s Group 7 would start at dusk, a rare exhibition for both drivers and spectators. I zipped up to my favorite vantage point at Turn 6 to catch the sunset. Auxillary lights were placed at each apex and few cars had headlights of their own to navigate the evening’s race. It was magical to watch. Here is Rob Fuller re-capping his sessions from the #49 Joel Anderson IMSA GTU 240Z:
“We had a great first session, made some adjustments to the cars and clicked-off good times. The qualifier was pretty scary as I lost control from a Porsche’s oil spill but I made it out ok. Brian Frisselle is an ex-IMSA professional driver and he safely negotiated the oil slick, avoiding a potentially severe impact with the sitting Porsche and softly hitting the tire barrier. I was surprised to make Pole-Position. Saturday’s evening race was intense. Though I started on Pole, by Turn 2 the Porsche gapped me 3-4 car lengths…
…We were racing our Datsuns with skilled drivers like Ned Bacon, Alan Terpins, and Martin Lauber in their multi-million $ Porsches. I was able to hold on to 2nd place, trying hard to reel Ned in but caution struck again, another Porsche had oiled down the track between Turn 5-6. Now its really dark and I’m trying to stay with Ned then I see these lights coming up hard on me and I know it’s Terpins. Tried to defend but he got around me. Honored to be amongst these guys who never let up. We finished the race in 3rd place.”
Enjoy this video we made highlighting the Group 7 races with in-car, Turn 6 and Goodwood livestream footage mixed in. Volume up!
You can see full, in-car footage from Rob in the#49 Joel Anderson IMSA 240Z over on his YouTube Channel, check out the Qualifying and Saturday Evening sessions. Here is Rob recapping the Sunday race from Group 7:
“Final race was midday with plenty of sunshine. Frisselle started 4th. Three lead Porsches took off, while Brian and I battled for P4. He then got around me and we both enjoyed the magic of driving our IMSA cars. Drivers around me were in expensive machines giving it 100%. Really happy to see 4 Datsuns in top 10 places. Honorable mention to John Murray (narrow body 260Z), Glenn Chiou did a really good job (Greg Sorrentino IMSA 260Z) and Jeff Francis (Ex-Glenn Klemik IMSA Z).“
Joel Would Be Proud
You might recall the story behind this special, 1972 IMSA GTU 240z as it was owned, built and raced in the 70’s by none other than Joel Anderson. ZCG restored #49 back to its former glory and it debuted at RMMR 2014. John Morton would drive #49 at RMMR 2015. Rob Fuller would drive #49 for the first time at the RMMR 2018. Joel was present at all of those events but sadly passed away March 2021 and we miss him dearly.
“This was unbelievable…driving the Z without Joel around was so emotional. Thinking about the fact that all of the vintage race support and seat time we have is all because we met Joel. He taught us how to be racers. His memory was shared by us all at the race.”
Privateer Spirit
Photo by Larry Chen
Our friend and Datsun Historian Glenn Chiou raced his Ex-Greg Sorrentino IMSA 260Z. It’s worth noting that not unlike privateers of the period, Glenn builds his Z cars, maintains and manages his racing efforts himself. Not an easy task so we applaud his work ethic.
A Fan-Friendly Race Event
Photo by Kevin Ehrlich
Formerly known as the Sonoma Speed Festival (2019), the Velocity Invitational re-imagined the vintage race experience with a Goodwood-inspired vibe. One of the best experiences for spectators is the paddock and organizers made access to drivers and their machines seamless. Fans could get up close and personal with race cars without the typical ropes or 45-foot RVs in the way. It was a dream come true for me to share vintage racing with my family, they loved it!
The hot pit area where all run groups stage before heading out to the track is an amazing place to be. Typically, access is only granted to pit crews and media. At the Velocity Invitational however, organizers staged a “false grid” where any spectator could walk amongst the race cars. Our family loved the artificial turf and hay bale seating lining the grid:
Though the fresh format was immediately enjoyable for spectators, it did come as a surprise to drivers and race teams. Rob’s initial reaction was met with eventual praise:
“Upon arrival to ‘Seca we knew this was going to be a different kind of event. All race cars were displayed together under white tents in the paddock for a Goodwood-like experience. It allowed spectators to see all cars within each race group but it was challenging for the team as our tools and support vehicles are usually near us. Initially we were intimidated but got the hang of it with just our essentials. The layout encouraged interaction and it was super fun to meet other racers, new folks and see old friends. Kudos to the organizers for doing something new and absolutely knocking it out of the park!”
Enjoy this video we made showcasing the sights and sounds of the Velocity Invitational. Rob Fuller gets interviewed by the Goodwood Livestream just before the evening race, and I included the lineup from my favorite vintage race group (other than IMSA), the Trans Am cars!
If you want to see action from the event in its entirety, check out Goodwood’s live streaming coverage Day one and Day Two.
Paddock Finds
At each corner there was something special in the paddock to see like exotics, Muscle Cars, personal sports cars and even Ragtime racers. The paddock never disappoints. Here’s a few of my favorites, more in the gallery! Where else can you see a brace of McLaren Speedtails, Lamborghini Mirua, Mercedes Benz 300 SLR and Lotus Cortina in one place!
Exotics abound with Bugatti and McLaren hypercars:
Really excited to spot this Datsun 240Z in the car corral…it is Z Car Garage client Matt K. Full report soon on this pretty Z car that features our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels) and Z Car Garage CV Axles!
We have more photos in the gallery below. ZCG would like to thank the following photographers for sending us photos from the event, you can click on their name to see their photo albums or Instagram handles: Kristina Cilia, Larry Chen, Pall Kornmayer, Todd Lapin, PnutProductions and Paul and Ann Devor, enjoy!
ZCG Race Crew
Huge shoutout to the Z Car Garage race crew including the Corwins, Meghan, Nick and Josh. We are grateful for your support, keeping us safe and on the track!
RADWOOD
Photo by Pall Kornmayer
The weekend of racing also included the popular RADWOOD car show. On Saturday and Sunday they are took over the famous island in the center of all the action at Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca with a curated display of 50 of the most iconic, unique, and RADical rides of the era. Check out ZCG client Pall Kornmayer’s coverage in his photo album HERE:
People
We enjoyed spending time with friends and meeting new folks. The Velocity Invitational really helped create such a friendly atmosphere. Below: Larry Chen, Randy Jaffe with Brian Frisselle. Rob, Anna, Randy Jaffe, Brian Frisselle and his Dad Brad Frisselle. Brad is the original builder/racer of the Transcendental Racing IMSA GTU 240z!
Racing Legend John Morton and Sylvia Wilkinson were both present and having a blast. Yes, that’s Jim Froula of Racecraft photo-bombing us in back:
Meghan sporting the #49 Joel Anderson IMSA GTU livery shirt. More pictures in the gallery below!
Racing into 2022!
Z Car Garage is amped for this year’s race season. Here is list of events we will be attending. Please join us!
April
4/1-3 Sonoma with CSRG
4/21-24 Laguna with SVRA
4/28-5/2 Sonoma with SVRA
May
5/21-22 Laguna with CSRG
August
8/13-14 Laguna with HSR Pre Reunion ( NOT CONFIRMED)
8/17-20 Laguna with HSR Reunion ( NOT CONFIRMED)
October
9/30-10/2 Sonoma with CSRG Charity Challenge
9/13-16 Laguna VI
November
11/4-6 Thunderhill with CSRG
Thank you Velocity Invitational for an incredible event. We look forward to running with you again! LONG LIVE THE Z!
It is always great to see friends over the holidays. Gary Savage stopped by Z Car Garage from Florida and shared these photos from his visit, enjoy!
(above) Randy Jaffe’s BRE Datsun 240Z.
One of the real joys this holiday season is the opportunity to say thank you and wish you the very best for the new year. From all of us at Z Car Garage we thank our friends, family and customers again for another exciting and productive year! Enjoy our 2021 recap and upcoming projects. Please note our holiday closure below:
ZCG will be closed from 12/24/21 and we will re-open for business on 1/3/22.
We had a busy year and though the shop will be closed, we won’t leave you hanging for the holidays. Many zcarblog features have yet to be published like our belated race report from the 2021 Velocity Invitational in addition to client stories.
Before we take a look back at highlights from 2021, here are several exciting projects coming along at the shop:
Jeff and Ryan B’s LS3-powered Z came to us for mechanical sorting. It’s now sporting our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels) and Z Car Garage CV Axles. Ryan successfully ran the Targa California Rallye in blistering summer heat. He recently got a new set of VOLK TE37V wheels full report soon!
The OMS Pace Car
This is a 1972 Official OMS Pace Car Duplicate. It is at present one of only two known survivors . Fifty were originally produced by Nissan Motors to commemorate the DATSUN 240Z being selected by the Ontario Motor Speedway to Pace the 1972 “U.S.A.C. California 500 Championship”. It really is a small Datsun world, as the official OMS pace car is none other than our very own Joel Anderson #49 IMSA GTU 240Z .
This OMS duplicate belongs to our long time customer and friend Linda. She acquired it from a family in SoCal and tasked ZCG with making it a nice driver. Full report soon but it got loaded up today for its journey to Colorado!
Jim’s 1971 Datsun 240z returned for a Rebello 3.2L with triple-Mikuni carbs on a Harada intake and CD009a 6-speed transmission:
David’s 240Z
Long-time friend and client David attended a track day at Laguna Seca. This Z was built over 15 years ago and sill running strong. We prepped his Z for the track, full report soon!
Dyno Tuning your 350z/370z/Q/G
We have been dyno tuning your late model Nissan/Infiniti sports car daily. Bolt-ons, UPREV tuning. Our customers leave happy with more performance. Call us to schedule an appointment! Here are just a few cars:
Aaron’s Q50:
Randy’s 1970 Safari Tribute Z lived an eventful life this year. It was in Los Angeles to be filmed for Nissan’s commercials and also served as Randy’s ride for cruising around Monterey Car Week. We installed a new engine and made some suspension changes. Though it’s back at home in Georgia it will get a full ZCG-style feature.
One of many Z32s we are working on, Steve’s will get a full report soon:
Highlights from 2021
Even though 2021 was crazy year for all of us we still managed to have fun on and off the track. The shop made some really great progress as well.
Enjoy these highlights from the year and Z you in 2022!
Datsunworks
Z Car Garage is excited to collaborate with Datsunworks and develop their brilliant KN20 dual-overhead cam (DOHC) cylinder head designed for the Nissan inline-6 L-Series engine. You can read all about it HERE
2021 was a development year for this drivetrain setup. We continue to extract more power and run longevity testing with owner Gary who has the pleasure of living daily with this beast. More updates to come, but for now enjoy the music this KN20 head provides in the video below!
Filed under: 240z,Parts,Racing
by Alvin G @ 5:10 pm on December 17, 2021
We love to see our parts installed and used on client’s cars. Race car driver and Datsun enthusiast Brad H is running our ZCG CV Axles in this IMSA GTU 240z race car!
Brad is preparing his Z for the next race season and a half shaft failure is not something he wanted to worry about while racing so he replaced them with ZCG CV Axles. He installed set #312 with ease, stock half shafts (left) and ZCG CV Axles (right):
“The rear end is a LSD R200 with a 3.70 gear. I’m not really sensitive to the rear gear ratio because of all of the variability I have in the gear box. It’s connected to the rear hubs by Z Car Garage CV axles. I had been looking for options on axles simply because the thought of going into Nascar 4 at Daytona with 50 year old U-Joint technology made me nervous. I heard about Z Car Garage from Randy Jaffe. We are both in Atlanta and I was at his shop one day because he was kind enough to let me borrow a rear diff to carry as a backup to Daytona. While there, he showed me the CV axles and I reached out to Rob to order a set the next day. We have kept a great relationship ever since.”
Check out Brad’s installation of the ZCG CV Axles and see the Z in action in the video below!
Brad’s IMSA 240Z Build
Let’s hear how Brad found and built his 240Z race car:
“The story of my car starts with a poster I had on my wall as a kid of the Bob Sharp Racing GTU Z that was campaigned in 1976. We raced ITS Z cars back in the late 80’s, but I had always said that if the situation presented itself, I would build a tribute to that car. The original was destroyed in ’76 at the Camel GT at Road Atlanta when Sharp blew a tire coming up to the bridge and hit the embankment hard on drivers left. That left a tribute as the only option.”
Brad found a solid chassis that was running as a track day car in Ontario Canada. Peter Skillins had built the car (www.datsunzcars.com) and had done a fantastic job. The cage was done by Blaise Csida (www.bcracecars.com) who is a well respected Trans Am driver/car builder. In addition to a very robust cage, several additional reinforcements were installed like additional shock tower structures and additional stiffening structures on the front frame rails.
“The car was then sent to Burtin Racing (www.burtinracing.com) here in Atlanta for final assembly and installation of the IMSA GTU body kit that John Washington at ZTrix puts together. It’s a great kit that requires minimal modification to the body panels themselves, but the fabricators at Burtin when a bit further by putting together some additional components to support the kit under my application. Specifically was a new nose frame and airbox set up as well as new customer rear fender inner liners. All body panels are removable with 1/4 turn fasteners and the car can be stripped in less than 3 minutes. The Burtin fabricators (Terry and Damon) work daily preparing/maintaining a top tier Trans Am team (Tomy Drissi and Simon Gregg), the work they do is top notch and highly recommended. All along the way the fabricators at Burtin Racing made small suggestions on performance and safety ideas.”
The motor was built by Steve Nelson at Top End Performance in CA (www.racetep.com). It’s an L28 with a 2MM stroke add that runs at 13.1:1 compression.
“It has a race cam and is fed by 3 Mikuni 44PHHs. Steve and team do a great job on the bottom end, but the reason I went with TEP was that they use Slover head porting. Slover has long been one of the best head preparers in the L series motors going back to the origins of L series racing engines. If you’ve ever seen the work they do you would quickly understand why. Steve also recommended running the Electromotive crankfire ignition system. I was hesitant at first, but was sold very quickly when you get to see ease of timing adjustments and the complete elimination of timing slop you get at over 6-7,000 RPM. That was a great call.”
“The gearbox is a Hewland STA wide the came out of one of Burtin Racing’s TA cars. They upgraded to sequential, so Claudio (the team owner and good friend) recommended we install the Hewland behind the L28 because of its reliability and optionality with gear sets. To do so required a custom adapter that the Burtin guys made on the CAD and removal of the existing tunnel. We went with a Quartermaster dual clutch set up that connected to the 28 spline shaft of the Hewland. With this box installed, I have access to no less than 50 gear sets which lets us gear the car for each track we go to. For Road Atlanta, which is my local track, we run a 2.20/1.88/1.44/1.23/1.09 configuration with a 1:1 spur gear.”
Brad enlisted Andrew at Wheelflip (www.wheelflip.com) who was able to find him 2 matching sets of late 70’s BBS centers with the stock 4X114 bolt patter. After taking many measurements they ended up with 2 sets of gold 16X11 fronts (5.5 outers/5.5 inners) and 16X12 rears (6.5 outers/5.5 inners). Brad runs Goodyear Eagle slicks with the 430 compound:
“The car was fully wrapped in the Bob Sharp Racing livery from 1976 by the same folks that wrap the Burtin Racing TA cars, AAA SignCrafters (www.aaasigncrafters.com). Huge thanks to the folks at Harris Decal (www.harrisdecals.com) for putting together all the special decals that were required to get the look correct”
In mid 2021, Brad moved to his own shop in Buford, GA under the operation of BPH Motorcars, LLC. The car is currently maintained by Jason Howe of Howe Custom Fabrication. Jason was a former fabricator at Burtin Racing as well as for the Panoz racing operation and does fantastic custom work. You can follow Brad’s racing efforts on Instagram. More pictures in the gallery below!
Thanks for your support Brad! We look forward to seeing you on the track for the 2022 race season, LONG LIVE THE Z!
Z Car Garage CV Axles
Over 140 sets of our ZCG CV Axles are installed in client’s cars all over the world. For more information please visit our detailed post our HERE. Below are just a few examples of race cars running out CV Axles:
Race car driver, restorer and Datsun Historian Glenn Chiou is running our ZCG CV Axles in this IMSA GTU 260z race car!
Race car driver and restoration specialist Jim Froula of Racecraft is running ZCG axles in several of his cars:
Set #246 – installed May 2018 on the “Harry Stewart #52” Datsun 510:
Set #247 – installed April 2018 on the 260z
Set #248 – installed on Adam Carolla’s “Greg Sorrentino #90” Datsun 510.
