I finally attended DrivingWhileAwesome Cars n’ Coffee last weekend and it was a great time. This is a gathering with a wonderful and eclectic mix of cars hosted by the DWA crew in Davenport, CA. Our group of friends left San Jose just before 7am, and it was a chilly 41 degrees. We joined Glenn and Pat in their NA Miata, Rob in the SR20DET-powered Datsun 510, Lloyd brought his S2000-powered AE86, customer Rob J in his 1970 Datsun 240z and William in a (964) 911:

 

We bolted up HWY 17 to reach Davenport. I threw my hardtop back on the roadster after a topless summer of fun. Joe decided to brave the cold sans top in his 1968 Datsun 1600 roadster.

  

Arriving at the parking lot in front of Whale city Bakery cool cars were already lining up. We parked next to DWA member Lane Skelton of DrivingWhileAwesome in his Porsche 944.

 

A short video of Rob in the 510, as well as an F355 taking off:

In Search of J-Tin

Although attendance was mostly Euro/Italian, many Japanese gems showed up. I was pleasantly surprised to see Eddie Wu in his #SAKERKT, a 1966 Datsun Roadster with an S15 SR20DE:

 

Lloyd’s AE86 Corolla was a crowd favorite (mine as well) sporting a complete Honda S2000 (F22C) drivetrain and full suspension:

  

More J-Tin goodness: NSX, First gen Acura Legend, FC RX-7 and Kei Truck (Honda Acty)!

   

Not Japanese at first glance, but underhood of this Mini is B-series VTEC!

 

TWO R32 Skylines and DWA member Art C’s Toyota Celica All-trac:

 

Andrew’s Datsun 510 RHD SSS tribute looking fantastic:

 

Euro Classics

Yearning for Porsche’s? Or something a bit less “mainstream”? DWA CnC did not disappoint. Check out these Porsche 914s, from flared to bone-stock:

 

Early Porsche 911’s, including a REAL Carrera RS:

  

Ferrari F355 (manual!) and a Doka:

  

I spotted a Dino 246 on the way back, this couple was doing it right!

American Muscle was also present. Here is a C5 ZR-1, recently won from our friends at BringaTrailer.com! Pretty C3 Vette, and a GM wagon displaying some power…

  

Cool cars could be found outside the main lot as well!

 

 

DWA CnC was definitely my kind of cars and coffee. It’s a great venue right on the coast across from a bakery/cafe and the cars were so diverse. They spark emotion and memories that new cars just can’t match. We highly recommend checking it out! Thanks to the DWA crew for hosting. If you haven’t already, listen to their podcast and make sure you give them a follow on Instagram.
More pictures in the gallery below!

 
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Jose N is the owner/operator of JB Mobile Detailing and he has been detailing ZCG’s fleet for many years. One of the reasons why he’s our detailer is because he is a Nissan/Datsun enthusiast. This is Jose’s turbocharged 260z running a fuel-injected 3 liter L-series backed by a 240sx 5-speed, R200 rear end, full suspension and 3-pc Panasport C8 wheels…but what was he lacking?

He had a Porsche 993 Turbo brake-kit installed over a decade ago at Scott Performance in Santa Clara. Although this kit worked well, it required a master cylinder change:

 

This was common with many big-brake kits on the market: a host of custom pieces, aftermarket proportioning valves, items needing infinite adjustment, and no parking brake.  That’s where ZCG Big-Brakes for small wheels come in:

  

We replaced Jose’s 993TT brakes with the ZCG Big-Brakes and parking brake option:

   

We also installed a set of ZCG CV axles.

 

The CV axle installation is straightforward, Jose’s existing CV axles were replaced with ZCG units L and R:

   

Jose is Enjoying The Ride with the ultimate brakes and CV axles on his boosted Z!  You can see more ZCG customer cars running our Big-Brakes and CV axles below:

ZCG Big-Brakes for small wheels

Erich C

 
Glenn C

Sam C

  

Z Car Garage CV Axles

Randy Jaffe’s #46 BRE Datsun 240z

 

Frank B

  

The Bluebird SSS Coupe and Hakosuka Skyline are both running ZCG CV axles on the race track:

   

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

  

Gary’s 430whp LS3-powered 280z:

  

Scott W’s EFI stroker L-series:

  

James S’ L28ET:

  

Finally, Gary’s “Behemoth”  OS Giken TC24B1Z powered S30:

Interested in a set of ZCG Big-Brakes or CV Axles? Contact Rob at the shop or send him an e-mail robATzcargarage.com

“Great Drives” is a new Zcarblog series highlighting scenic routes and destinations we have enjoyed from the past and present. Whether it is a nice cruise or thrilling adventure, we hope to inspire Bay Area vintage car owners to Enjoy The Ride! Have a great drive of your own that you want to share? Feel free to contact us on Facebook, Instagram or by e-mail.

 

Pescadero Beach, 7/8/18

Starting from San Jose, there are several fun routes reaching Pescadero State Beach.  Sunday’s Fun Run was organized by fellow Datsun owners, beginning in Downtown Saratoga heading up to Skyline via HWY9.

 

We had 11 cars in the group and joining us as Guest of Honor was Josh Martin, star of the successful Utah-based JDM Legends TV show.

Three Datsun Roadsters: my 67.5, Aidan’s ’69 SRL and Stacey’s 1970 SRL:

 

Three S30s: Dirk’s silver ’73, Andrew’s ’77 280z and Brian’s ’72:

 

Brian’s S30 was freshly restored, sporting a Rebello 3L, our ZCG Big-Brakes for small wheels and
ZCG CV Axles. Full report on his Z including dyno results soon!

  

Representing the finest from Nissan in the 90’s was Josh in the ZCG 300zx Twin Turbo and Naveed in his splendid 1991 Nissan R32 Skyline GT-R:

 

Our friend Matt drove his F2oC-powered Datsun 510 and we also had this STi(Tim) and 911 (JR) come along:

   

The blast up HWy 9 to the 35 junction was fun. After a brief photo-op at Sempervirens lookout we headed to Alice’s Restaurant at the 84/35 junction.

  

Alice’s was quite busy and the car show there was impressive.

  

BMWCCA was holding an event/rallye so parking was a challenge. I spotted this clean, Kouki S14:

 

From Alice’s I led the group down 84 towards the coast. This was my favorite part of the drive. We were blessed with zero traffic and an opportunity to open up the throttle and enjoy the turns. Linking each apex one after another was addicting, like the esses at Buttonwillow. Brake dust was wafting in the air from running hard!

  

Instead of taking 1 South we turned left onto Stage Rd (a route I learned from Glenn Chiou). Stage was bumpy but the reward was a nice, eucalyptus-lined stretch in farmland. Another photo-op session and my first time seeing Naveeds’s R32 in person to study the details. It’s the perfect amount of JDM style with the re-barreled Nismo wheels and subtly aero from Top Secret:

 

Sensing the mass of cars from the BMWCCA rallye headed our way we promptly headed into town and reached our destination at Pescadero Beach:

  

Here’s a short video of the Fun Run, turn up those speakers!

Weather at the coast was perfect and we departed via 1 and back up 84 for lunch at Alice’s. Again, 84 was clear and we Enjoyed The Ride:

 

 

Thanks to the organizers everyone had a blast! It was also nice to give Josh a sample of our beautiful driving roads here in the Bay Area. Stay tuned for the next Great Drives feature and enjoy more pictures in the gallery below!
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