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This Diamond Black Pearl Z32TT has been modified and maintained by Z Car Garage since 2015. With 67k miles, original paint and interior it is ready to be enjoyed.
Click for more pictures and details HERE on our For Sale page.
Don T is the long time owner of this 1992 Nissan 300zx Twin Turbo finished in one of our favorite Z32 shades, Sapphire Blue:
Don felt the need to find a Z car enthusiast shop and last summer he visited Z Car Garage for routine maintenance on this 34k original-mile beauty. We offered our inspection services because he’s a new customer. During the inspection we fixed his coolant temp sensor, allowing the gauge to show correct coolant temperature.
We performed a full 60k service including timing belt replacement. Whenever we do the timing belt service, everything proximal to this is taken care of so you don’t need to come back for another 60k miles.
Timing belt service parts and front end coming off:
Old vs new timing belt:
The factory T/C rod is a sore spot on the Z32. Silicon gel that is inside the bushing leaks out after the T/C develop cracks.
To give the Z a precise steering feel we only use SPL T/C rods. We also replaced the rack bushings and performed a full alignment:
The one thing that totally sets this whole car off (besides the pristine status and Sapphire paint) is one of my favorite wheels of all time, those Manaray Sport MS-6s.
These wheels are 90’s rad with their 3-piece construction, 6 spokes and exposed hardware. They look so good rolling in 17×8/9 sizes. Let’s not forget those super intense locking center caps!
We might be biased but we feel the Z32 is the best Japanese sports car of the 90’s. Keeping them on the road is our passion and even in 2019 there are still some real gems out there. Thanks for bringing your 300 to us Don!
To our dear Zcarblog readers, our last few posts have been throwbacks as we catch up on customer projects. Please be patient we want to share your stories with our followers. We appreciate any/all feedback and suggestions, let Z Car Garage be your shop! Long Live The Z!
Z Car Garage is expanding to support our vintage, late model and motorsport work. We are seeking an experienced and skilled automotive technician to join our team.
This is not an average automotive job. The position is for a special candidate that wants to be part of a shop that is growing and always striving to set the bar a little higher. We offer competitive pay/benefits and the best working environment.
Requirements: Experienced with a good set of tools, willingness to learn, and be part of a team.
Interested or know someone who might be a good fit? Please contact rob@zcargarage.com or call us at (408)452-0350.
The 2018 Japanese Classic Car Show was held on September 15, in Long Beach, CA. This is the original vintage Japanese-car event in SoCal and in its 14th year, JCCS has grown incredibly–over 430 cars covered the lawn of Marina Green Park. The vehicles themselves remained a fantastic blend of stock, modified and restored. This is the most important show for Japanese cars, and the Z Car Garage crew keeps coming back every year to soak up the sun, see old friends and drool over some spectacular vintage builds.
Z Car Garage displayed two customer cars at the show: Randy Jaffe’s 1970 Datsun 240z and James Stevens’ 1972 Datsun 240z. Randy’s Z was completed in time to be our booth car. This Series 1 S30 started as a project car 4-years ago with paint/bodywork performed by Bryson Richards of Classic Livery. The Z was shipped to us from Georgia for finishing Randy’s vision of a wild show/go race car:
Inspiration for the Jagermeister livery came from Randy’s obsession with Porsche, and the Max Moritz Racing Porsche 934.
We will take an in-depth look at this Z in separate post, but here are a few key details. Providing room for the 275/315-width tires is an authentic Pandem Rocketbunny aero kit. Randy channeled his passion for racing into this build and the chassis is virtually identical to his #46 BRE Datsun 240z, using zinc’d DP Racing suspension parts. The engine is a big displacement L-series running 13:5:1 compression, triple-Mikuni ph44s, a Fujitsubo header and glorious BRE-style exhaust. Running gear includes a close-ratio ZX transmission, OS Giken LSD for the 4.11 R180, our ZCG CV Axles and ZCG Big-Brake Kit (race version).
We are happy to report that Randy’s Z won 1st place, Best 240z in a class filled with incredible Z cars!
James’s 1972 S30 was displayed with fellow Z car owners in the show. At the heart of this beast is a turbocharged L-series managed by Haltech. Chassis upgrades include custom full-length subframe connectors, our ZCG CV Axles and Big-Brake Kit (328mm) behind Volk TE37V wheels.
A stack instrument cluster was integrated into the gauge pod, viewed from leather Recaro Pole Position seats. This Z has a very unique sound. We recently tuned it on E85, dyno results and videos coming soon!
We are very happy for James as he won the award for Best of JC Speed!
Stay tuned for in-depth reports on both of these Z cars coming to zcarblog.com.
Our friend and talented racer Troy Ermish transported both of our Z cars (and his 510) down to Long Beach Friday afternoon. Below is a video of the Z’s loading from the shop:
We unloaded early Saturday morning from the expansive parking lot near the new venue in Marina Green Park. Immediately we could tell this location was larger and more vendor-friendly than The Queen Mary of past shows. Our booth was situated in a great spot, at the mid-point of the show with our neighbors from OS Giken.
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The Z Owners of Northern California (ZONC) hosted their Annual Car Show in Brisbane, CA on July 28, 2018. Attendance was down from last year’s show, but didn’t stop Nissan/Datsun fans from bringing out their rides on a warm Saturday.
This was a relaxed, relatively small gathering of enthusiasts that I joined with my Datsun Roadster. I left San Jose and drove ~40minutes just past SFO to the Brisbane Marina. I stopped for a quick photo op near my office before rolling into the show after 10am:
Still to this day, 240Zs are the most represented model in the club. Expansion over time currently includes all recent Z models and the GT-R, but also reaches back in time to include the Datsun Roadsters and 510s. 37 cars were displayed this year, each one of them special and showing pride of ownership. The only models missing from the show was the S130 280zx and GT-R.
From showroom stock to wildly-modified the S30 selection was diverse. This was a wild one: an IMSA-bodied Z!
Two showrooom-stock examples:
Check out the period EMPI split-rim wheels on this Safari Gold S30:
Modified Z’s with trick suspensions, triple side-draft Mikuni’s/Weber’s and modern paint schemes. This Sunshine Yellow Z was the only car sporting fender flares:
A solo 1970 Series1 Z:
ZCG customer Joe A showed his pretty 260z (full report on the blog soon):
Linda W’s 1978 280z
Winning Best 280z and Best of Show was this ultra-clean fully restored example:
We like this show because of the laid-back atmosphere and good folks that organize it. There was a great raffle, awards presentation and having banners for each model was a touch of genius. The banners will be displayed that will be carried on at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion next month!
4 Z32 300zx cars were displayed, all in different colors. Joe K and Kevin N’s Z32 Twin Turbos are both top-level examples of highly modified yet tasteful machines.
Old-school Racing Hart wheels house massive Brembo calipers on Kevin’s silver beauty:
The lone Z31 300zx was a 1984 Anniversary Turbo model!
Five 350z and 1 Z Roadster were in attendance. It was a pleasure seeing ZCG customer Dan Fulton and his track-prepped 350z:
6 370z cars including 1 wild NISMO Z:
Three Datsuns 510s showed up, each sporting different powerplants and body styles. The crowd favorite (and winner) was Matt’s 510. This boosted KA24DE Dime also won Best Paint:
Jose’s SR-pwoered 4-door with an S13 SR20DET (note S13.5 valve cover!) 18″ SSR SP3 wheels and Brembo brakes from MArio of TSR:
The last time I saw Jose we both attended the Spocom Show in 2015. Since then he has added many titanium parts to the engine bay from ChasingJ’s and had the SR tuned by our friend Sebastian at SpecialtyZ. It’s now making 410whp!
Our customer Kevin M brought his 1967 411 sedan, we will have a full story on this build soon!
This year we had three Datsun Roadsters. My 1967.5 SPL/SR20, Dave Premo’s 1967 2000 and John Baker’s 1969 2000. Dave’s SRL is car #406 finished in Turquoise sporting a full Mikuni-Solex “competition” package and 4:11 rear end. He is also Solex-tuning expert offering Mikuni parts and service:
John Baker’s 69 SRL is a concours-level example with rare parts like a day/night mirror. The diminutive 5.60 bias-ply tires look just right! This roadster was featured in Automobile Magazine with John Morton behind the wheel!
A few more of the cool details. John won Best Roadster!
I had to get some rolling shots of this roadster, it looks so good on the road!
It’s no secret Z car owners have the best vanity plates! Some notables:
The beautiful venue is also a public park so plenty of folks stopped by to check out the Z’s. I spotted two S-chassis rolling through:
Spending the day at the ZONC Annual Car Show was a welcome experience that reminded us to, in the words of the late Mr.K, ” Love cars. Love people. Love Life.” We look forward to the next show keep an eye on our event updates and Z you soon! Don’t forget to check out our picture gallery below. Big thanks to the ZONC organizers!
