The new year is 14 days old and ZCG is back from the holidays with a vengeance. We hope all you Z car fans had a great holiday. The first week of the year was spent prepping for the Silicon Valley International Auto Show. Each year, Z Car Garage has been lucky enough to have a spot in the Tuner tent. The display consisted of Z’s of all generations from early S30s to the new 370Z model.Thanks to all our customers for their support and allowing us to share their Zs with all the San Jose locals.  Stay tuned… a great year lies ahead.

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Things are progressing with the build as we speak and I was able to grab a few shots of the suspension while it was being mocked up for the final time before being sent out for powder coating.  Hopefully I will have the finished suspension shots for you shortly.  These are just a teaser.  RB power for life!!

240Zs rule.  They are lightweight, handle amazingly well, and are easy to work on; but what do you do when the reliable L-series engine runs out of breath?   Simple, bring it to Z Car Garage and install a set of 44mm Mikuni carburetors, new header, and a slightly larger exhaust system…. and hold on!!

The amazing change in the dyno numbers only tell half the story.  The fun factor of this car is now light years ahead of where is was when the car first came to us.  The torque now stays strong through the entire rev-range and the increased breathing capacity now allows the engine to spin freely to six grand if you so desire.  There is an increase of FORTY horsepower and the same in torque through the last 1,500rpm.  This is a life changing difference.

One of the reasons this looks so drastic is the inefficiency of the semi-odd dual carb setup that this car came to us with, but the results prove that that this is one huge step in the right direction to making this car about as much fun that the owner can handle.  The car is now using three individual ITG filters to make sure that the newly found airflow is clean enough for government work so please don’t think that we sent this car on it’s way with no filtration.  Sorry that I don’t have any pictures.

On the horizon for this car is a possible camshaft change to get the last bit of power out of this engine so expect a post in the future if this comes to fruition.  The smile on the owner’s face hasn’t left since we gave the car back and it seems we have lit the fire under another early Z enthusiast, we are happy to help.  ZCG

There are a few more photos after the ‘read more.’

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What a busy day here at ZCG.  We went to William’s Autobody around lunch today and took a few photos of the first exterior paintwork to be done to the RB28 240z.  The paint looks amazing and there are still more coats to go with tons of color sanding in between to make sure the finish is perfect.  I’ll have more photos soon!

Rob and I were also out driving the ZCG 370z and a white 240z that is here to get triple Mikunis (see above photo) and we decided to stop by the scales and weigh the newly acquired 370z.  The car tipped the scales at 3,320 lbs with no passengers and almost a full tank of gas.  Not too shabby.  (For reference the ZCG G35 Twin Turbo came in at 3,600 lbs.)

More to come tomorrow.  Long Live the Z

Z Car Garage is once again in the spotlight with a beautifully restored 240z.  In the November issue of Sport Compact Car there is an article titled “Zip Code” featuring Kurt Ikerd’s Z.  Throughout the five page spread is a well done write up and some amazing photos taken by the infamous E. John Thawley III.  This issue is worth buying for this article alone.

Within the last week this car is beginning a new phase in it’s life.  The wheels have been changed and the entire drive train has been removed.  Kurt and the entire Z Car Garage crew has huge plans for this car in the near future so stay tuned right here as I will be documenting the entire rebuild.  All I have to say is wow.

Note:  These photos are just a few that I have taken this year, THEY ARE NOT FROM THE ARTICLE.  John Thawley’s are much nicer.  ENJOY

Sport Compact Car Magazine

John Thawley, Motorsports Photographer