Our customer and friend of the shop Bill Clark just reviewed the 2014 Nismo 370z for eBay Motors Blog. In addition to giving readers a taste of the 370z, he also compares it to his slightly modified 350z. Bill’s 2007 350z was one of the first HR-powered cars at ZCG to receive a Bassani exhaust and minor bolt-ons resulting in just over 300whp. Time does fly and these mods were installed six years ago! Good news is that Bill is still Enjoying The Ride in his beloved 350z and he was kind enough to think of Z Car Garage when writing his eBay article. We happily dyno’d both the Nismo 370z and Bill’s 350z so check his review out for the results!

 

Thanks again Bill for giving ZCG a shout in your review!

 

We love to hear about Datsuns that stay in the family. Geri R has been a long time customer with Z Car Garage and we performed a full OEM suspension rebuild(plus many other items) on her Datsun 260z.

After 30+ years of ownership, Geri decided to sell her Z and Scott W is the lucky new owner. Here are a few before/after pics of the suspension refresh with freshly powdercoated a-arms, T/C rods, subframes, zinc’d hardware… so clean!

 

 

After taking a ride in Lou’s RHD FairladyZ, Scott wants to add full coil-overs, triple-carbs, the ZCG throttle cable mod, and Panasport C8 wheels:

 

We are excited to see the next chapter in this 260’z life with a new home!

 

We worked on Dannie P’s Infiniti FX35 last year adding GTSpec bracing and a custom Bassani exhaust system. Dannie came back to ZCG recently for more mods. We installed additional bracing from Summit/GTspec and Fast Intentions resonated high-flow cats (HFCs) followed by on-road tuning.

 

Here is the front crossmember brace:

 

HFCs, in place of stock cats (L):

 

We did on-road tuning to make sure the A/F and timing were safe. Enjoy The Ride Dannie!

Greg S came to Z Car Garage for some bolt-ons on his HR-powered 350z.  We installed JWT dual pop chargers and a Bassani cat-back exhaust:

 

Intakes before/after:

Bassani exhaust:

 

Let’s take a look at what the bolt-ons do on the dyno. Starting with a baseline of 253hp/223tq the JWT intakes alone slightly increase peak hp/tq, with significant mid and upper rev range gains:

 

Adding the Bassani exhaust yielded greater gains throughout the rev range, netting +8hp/6tq over baseline:

 

An UPREV tune further optimizes these bolt-ons. Look at the huge low to mid-range gains of over 20hp/20tq! Peak numbers are 264hp/246tw to the wheels, a +11hp/23tq improvement over baseline with more power everywhere!

Enjoy the newfound power and sound Greg!

 

Datsuns Are Driven! On Saturday I joined two roadster friends and we made a quick run up Hwy 9.  We began our fun run 3-cars wide on Hwy 85 enjoying some early spring-like weather:

 

Once we got through downtown Saratoga we twisted our way up 9 just past Skyline to a vista point:

 

Here is a short video of me chasing Raul in his 1967.5 1600:

 

 

People love the roadsters. Folks were quick to snap pictures and ask questions.

 

A couple came up to us with a Polaroid they had just taken. These cars really stir the soul!

 

Raul pointed out how the cars show three levels of restoration. Mike’s gorgeous silver 1967.5 SPL is an unmodified factory stock example with whitewalls and OEM interior. Raul’s white 1967.5 SPL is a total sleeper with a 2L power plant/5-speed and upgraded suspension. Finally, my black 1967.5 SPL is considerably modified with a full SR drivetrain, suspension and custom interior.

You can see more of Raul’s pictures HERE

Here are a few pictures from our last fun run:

 

Stay tuned to see where The Three Roadster-teers venture next!