Photo by Emma Lai
On Saturday, August 30 we attended the Tokyo Calling 5 event hosted by Breakfast Club Rally. Z Car Garage participated with a group of client cars and enjoyed a wonderful day of driving through the foothills of Northern California. The event featured 280+ Japanese classics and 90’s-era wonders to appreciate during the morning social gathering and rest stops. Enjoy our report with mega-photo gallery and video!
Breakfast Club Rally
The Breakfast Club Rally (BCR) started 5 years ago as a small group enjoying weekend drives. It blossomed into monthly events with one hour of hanging out followed by several hours of driving. I highly recommend it for anyone looking to enjoy the beautiful Northern California roads and scenery. You can see our previous BCR reports HERE!
The initial BCR Tokyo Calling event, Tokyo Calling 2, Tokyo Calling 3 and Tokyo Calling 4 were all a blast. We did not want to miss their fifth all-Japanese, mostly-vintage rally so I assembled a group of Z Car Garage clients and friends to participate in TC5. We left the shop at 6:15am heading to Sonoma, here is a preview of our cars:
Jim’s 1971 Datsun 240Z
Jim’s 1971 Datsun 240z is now sporting a Rebello 3.2L with Jenvey ITB EFI, Recaro Specialist seats, CD009a 6-speed transmission, our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes and Z Car Garage CV Axles!
Frank’s 1978 Datsun 280Z
Frank’s 1978 Datsun 280Z features our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes, full suspension refresh, 240Z bumper conversion and Panasport wheels.
Mrs. Butters
I drove Mrs. Butters, our Series 1 shop 240z. This Series 1 S30 features a 3.2L with triple-Mikuni induction, Z Car Garage Big-Brakes, Z Car Garage CV Axles, ZCG Heat Shield, 6-speed transmission and full KW Suspension.
John’s Datsun 240Z
It was great to see our client John Enjoying the Ride in his 1971 Datsun 240Z featuring our the Z Car Garage Big-Brakes and Z Car Garage CV Axles.
Linda’s 1972 Datsun 240Z
Linda Williams drove her 1972 Datsun 240Z OMS Pace Car Duplicate. Z Car Garage revived this historically-significant Z from its slumber to make it a nice driver for Linda while retaining its survivor status. She loves driving it everywhere.
Our morning caravan of 6 cars enjoyed cruising up I-280 and the Golden Gate Bridge. Nothing beats driving with fellow Z car owners!
Tokyo is Calling before the Rally!
Our crew arrived at the rally start in Sonoma and it was already filled with fabulous J-Tin parked at a local airport. BCR hosted a “social hour” from 7:30-9am so we could take in all the glorious cars. The vibe was tremendous, and as usual it went by too quickly. Let’s go through some of the highlights, with more photos in the gallery below!
Over 20 S30 Z cars were present!
I am always on the lookout for Nissans and Datsuns, and roadsters get my attention. There were at least 10 in attendance including a genuine 1967 2000. One of the most sought after Datsuns, these “half-year” models were introduced mid-1967 offering a 5-speed transmission and 150hp twin-Mikuni carb’d 2L engine…hot stuff for the era.
Ian’s SRL is #601 (out of ~1000 cars) and it was fully restored years ago by Les Cannaday in San Diego. Ian is meticulous about maintaining this car, but it is no garage queen, attending monthly rally events. The (655) Off-white paint with red interior is one of my favorites. Yes, it even sports a factory Nissan hardtop with all the stainless trim!
Another ’67 2000, this one is #072!
Mark’s right-hand drive ’69 2000:
High and low-windshield roadsters models were present:
Datsun 510
There were several Datsun 510s in wagon and sedan form. Our client Jay installed a set of our Z Car Garage CV Axles on his Green 510, and this time he brought the entire family in their mint 510 Wagon!
More 510s:
Back to Z cars, Lora joined us with her recently acquired 1971 Datsun 240z. This one-owner Series 1 S30, affectionately known as “Buttercup” has been with Z Car Garage for many years. Excited to share her Z-car journey on zcarblog.
It was a pleasant surprise to see our client Geoff in their rally-inspired 1972 S30 . Over 5 years ago we installed our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes and Z Car Garage CV Axles!. They are returning to ZCG for a 6-speed transmission swap and triple carbs!
Jason Dove’s 280z featuring Z Car Garage Big-Brakes. Jason is a long-time friend and client, full report coming to zcarblog.com.
See the gallery below for more S30 Z car photos!
A Z31 300ZX attending, in turbo form!
Our client Cameron’s Z32 Twin Turbo visited Z Car Garage for maintenance work, downpipes, inlet piping, larger intercoolers all from Specialty Z. Cameron has been bringing his 300 to us for many years and we we are really glad to see him driving. There were several Z32TTs in attendance!
Paul’s B13 Sentra S-R
There were a handful of S13, S14 and S15(!) 240SX:
Leo’s Nissan Pulsar GTi-R
Super happy to see Leo and his Nissan Pulsar GTi-R at Tokyo Calling 5. This RHD, JDM hot-hatch is known as “Baby Godzilla”, sporting all-wheel drive and an SR20DET drivetrain. What’s wild is that this Pulsar used to be owned by our very own Gary at Z Car Garage! Leo purchased it back in 2017 and drove it all the way from Reno, NV.
Nissan Skyline
It was great to see Miles (Rays wheels) and Kurt W.. Both will be getting updated zcarblog features.
Mike’s R32 is looking sharp, now wearing silver TE37s:
Fred’s R34 GT-R in Bayside Blue:
Photo by Emma Lai
A Hakosuka (C10) Skyline:
Enjoy this walk-around video from Tokyo Calling 5:
Rally On!
Photo by Zack Hubbell
The rally started at 9am and I was tasked with leading our group. I really enjoyed hustling Mrs. Butters through the backroads. This route was a bit longer than previous TC events at a 130+ miles.
One of the perks of BCR events is their team of professional photographers at various stages capturing epic rolling and detail shots so people can focus on enjoying the drive. I encourage you to visit each of these SIX photographer’s photo albums to see shots of your rides:Nathalie Mossberg, Kevin Lee, Alex Nibyt, Zack Hubbell, Emma Lai and Chris Friske.
Photo by Emma Lai
We took a midpoint break from the heat in the historic town of Winters. Lots of cars to see and great chatting with fellow enthusiasts.
The rally concluded back in Sonoma airport, where BCR arranged for lunch from Kinoko Japanese Home Cooking. We enjoyed Japanese comfort food surrounded by J-Tin and vintage aircrafts.
Photo by Kevin Lee
There were so many cool cars, please check the gallery for more photos! Next, let’s check out some non-Nissan/Datsun action…
Honda
Honda was well-represented including late model DC2 Integras, a few NSXs, lots of S2000s, CRXs and EF/EG hatches rounded out the display:
Mazda
A rare Mazda Cosmos was a real treat to see. First-gen, FC and FD RX-7s, and many Miatas attended:
Toyota
Some of our favorite Toyota’s including Supra (A60, A70, A80), first gen MR2s, and AE86s! The Lexus IS300 SportCross with A80 Supra wheels was sweet!
I don’t think I’ve seen this many 2nd-gen A60 Celica-Supras on one place!
Trucks and Vans
Let’s not forget the Japanese classic trucks and vans! Generations of Land Cruiser:
Thanks BCR!
Many thanks to the Breakfast Club Rally organizers, we had a blast and I urge you to register for their next event, especially if you are in the South Bay area like me and want to see what driving bliss lies North.
Photo by Chris Friske
Thank you to all of the Z Car Garage clients that made the journey with us and braved the heat! Huge thanks to BCR for extending their hospitality to our crew, everyone was thrilled. Here’s to the next rally and always, always #DoitInADatsun! More photos in the gallery below…
