What sparked your interest in Z Cars? For Scott W it began when he was about 15 years old, and eventually led him to Z Car Garage:

“My best friend’s brother’s friend had a silver 240z. He would take us to lunch and we had to lay down in the back. From that time on I wanted a Z! I started reviewing zcarblog.com and found a very nice 260z for sale that was owned by an older retired couple. Based on all the work performed by ZCG I met with Rob and I purchased it. The 260z was originally gold with the 5mph bumpers.”

 

Indeed the gold 1974 260z was our very own customer Geri R’s. When she retired and moved to San Diego she told Rob, “If you are not in SD my Z car can’t come with me…please find it a new home.” Scott W visited ZCG in 2013 and purchased the Z, well before the S30’s garnered high prices! He had a very clear vision of building the ultimate Z Car:

“I told Rob my plan was a car that was great to look at but I’m going to drive it! And drive it hard. My goal was to keep it looking 1974-ish on the outside but modern under the skin.”

So we began the process of upgrading an already solid, clean chassis that Geri lovingly maintained.

Drivetrain

The first item we discussed was the engine. Scott wanted more power and Rob suggested a Rebello 3.2L Stroker engine. Supporting parts included an MSA 6-into-1 header,  ZCG exhaust system, KOYO race radiator (custom upper hose) and ZCG heat shield. A few pictures of the engine build/installation with many more in the gallery:

 

Induction is handled by Jenvey individual throttle-body fuel injection, managed by a Haltech Elite 750 standalone system.

 

A NISMO Competition oil pan was installed to cope with high cornering loads from road course driving. Also shown is the Nissan 240sx 5-speed transmission. This “KA24” unit is significantly stronger than early S30 transmissions. It handles the 3.2L’s extra power, and we offer this conversion to customers.

 

When we upgrade the transmission we also install a JWT HD clutch with aluminum flywheel. Helping put the power down efficiently is an OS Giken LSD. The R180 houses a 4.11 R&P and the assembly is setup in-house (by Joshua Corwin). Rounding out the drivetrain upgrades are a set of ZCG CV Axles(shown below)

 

The ZCG Exhaust system using 2.5″ piping to a stainless resonator and Magnaflow muffler with slash-cut tip. Listen to the sound in the video below!

   

The completed engine bay. All hoses, hydraulic lines, fittings etc were removed and restored/replaced with new parts. Zinc plating hardware throughout:

 

On the dyno, Rob tuned the Z with the Haltech making 257hp/229tq to the wheels. An improvement from the stock 121hp/130tq:

Chassis

 

Suspension upgrades were next, focusing on the ideal setup for open track days while remaining comfortable on the street. Scott outgrew the Tokico 5-ways and now has Koni Yellows with our Ground Control coil-over setup from back in the day. Techno Toy Tuning control arms, T/C rods and more complement the total suspension restoration. All parts were powdercoated and hardware plated.  We really appreciate Gabriel at T3 and his staff. They make some of the best suspension parts out there for Z cars.

 

Panasport Wheels

 

Custom sized 17×9 Panasport C8 wheels allow us to run a wide 255/40/17 tire at all four corners, without flaring the fenders:

 

Bridgestone RE-71R tires are shown below. The 17″ diameter wheels also give clearance for our ZCG Big Brakes!

  

ZCG Big-Brakes and CV Axles

After driving our customer Lou’s Fairlady, Scott was sold on our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes.

  

Not to be confused with our familiar Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels) that we currently offer, this Big-Brake kit was our initial setup from many years ago. Our first collaboration with Stoptech, this 328mm sized kit requires 17″ diameter wheels and the massive ST-42 calipers are finished in bright red. This kit was installed on our OS Giken TC24-powered 240z and a few other customer cars.

 

 

The ZCG Big-Brakes framed nicely behind the black-spoked C8s. We are currently re-vamping this kit using Stoptech’s latest ST-43 caliper.

    

Our Z Car Garage CV Axles help transmit power to the ground and ensure smoother operation compared to your standard half shafts. We have over 70 CV axle kits on customer cars and we are stoked with all of the positive feedback.

   

Scott’s 260z received ZCG CV Axles set #250

  

More pictures of the ZCG axles installed, also visible are the T3 control arms and ZCG exhaust system:

  

Comfort

 

Scott’s 260z had an interior in fair shape. We gave it the full ZCG treatment with a refurbished dash, new carpet and creature comforts like Bluetooth, radar detection and functioning HVAC. In-progress shots below with more in the gallery:

 

New carpet throughout, integrated speaker box in hatch:

 

The stock seats were in bad shape Scott was sliding around on them so we upgraded to leather Recaros. Perfect for keeping him locked in place during track days.

 

The heater system from core to blower was completely restored:

 

Full A/C setup using a smaller Toyota compressor with existing A/C parts:

 

Performance

 

Balance. This Z has power and the chassis upgrades to transform it into a well-rounded sports car. Remember Scott’s goal of building the Z to drive really hard? He has been taking his S30 to Buttonwillow Raceway every month, putting our ZCG products to the test on the track.

 

Enjoy the sounds of Scott’s Z in this short video below:

 

 

Exterior

 

You didn’t think we would forget to mention the total paint color change, did you?  About six months into his build Scott called to request a color change from gold to a Mercedes-Benz shade of Gun Metal. Our man William painted the body, retaining all side-markers to maintain a stock look:

 

Scott however was adamant about changing the stock impact bumpers. Rob located Euro-style 240z bumpers and had them sectioned/re-chromed:

 

Thank you Scott for letting us build your Ultimate Z Car! We are proud to see you enjoy it on the track and street.

LONG LIVE THE Z!

More pictures in the gallery below!
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Keith Y came to Z Car Garage for dyno tuning on his Datsun 510 “Brock Buster” tribute. This Dime was a complete build performed by our friend, fellow racer and Datsun guru Troy Ermish.

 

Troy’s restoration of this car was fantastic and we love the 13″ Libra-style VTO with white-letters-out tires:

 

Underhood lies a Rebello 1700cc L-series with dual-Mikuni carbs and the chassis treated to a host of Troy’s suspension goodies:

 

When Keith brought the car to us it was not running correctly. Baseline numbers were 94hp/106tq. With Rob’s tuning the L-series now screams past 7ooorpm, making 125hp/114tq to the wheels. Gains of 31hp/8tq!

 

Enjoy the L-series music on the dyno, we included both engine and exhaust points of view:

 

Keith is happy and we are impressed (as always) with another Ermish creation. Coincidentally, the original real-deal Brock Buster 510 is being restored back it former glory as we speak at Troy’s shop! Looking forward to seeing it on the road.

DO IT IN A DATSUN!

 

We met Kenin in 2012 when he visited ZCG with his Infiniti G37 IPL. After working on the G,  years passed by and Kenin reached out to us having purchased a 2018 Infiniti Q50S sedan. He saw that we were working with other customer’s Q50s and asked if we would be down to tune his. We happily obliged, especially since Kenin’s Q50 was rear-wheel-drive.

 

Straight from the factory, the VR30DDTT is an impressive motor. The Hi-Output version is rated at 400 hp and 350 ft-lbs tq, underrated as we have seen with dyno testing. With a few bolt-ons and tuning, even more power can be unlocked from the VR30. Kenin’ Q received several parts from AMS Performance including their AMS Heat Exchanger, AMS Coolant expansion tank and AMS Air intakes. We also intalled his strut tower brace:

 

The new heat exchanger compared to the stock unit and installation:

   

AMS air intakes compared to OEM:

  

AMS expansion tanks compared to OEM:

 

Intakes and expansion tank installed:

 

Rob was eager to tune the Q using Ecutek. Baseline power was 359hp/374tq at the wheels. With the AMS parts and tuning final numbers were 400hp/449tq, gains of +41hp/75tq:

 

Enjoy the Boost Kenin!

Special thanks to Seb at SpecialtyZ for helping us!

 

 

Yesterday we dyno tuned Glenn Chiou and Taz Harvey’s B-Sedan Datsun 510 race cars. Both will be running at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion in just a few weeks!

 

Glenn is an avid Datsun enthusiast having owned and raced several cars. You might remember his VIPS 240z vintage race car from the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion last year where he ran it alongside our hero John Morton. We also dyno-tuned the Z in preparation for race week. Look for #39 at this year’s RMMR!

 

Taz is a veteran Datsun racer, having completed the Carrera Panamericana in both a 240z and 510, built by our friend Troy Ermish. You might find the #51 510 familiar as the previous owner was Wayne McAttee!

 

Like all race cars that get dyno’d at ZCG, these 510s left with more power and peace of mind! Enjoy the dyno video below and listen to the L-series sing!

 

 

Glenn is an avid Datsun enthusiast having owned and raced several cars. You might remember his VIPS 240z vintage race car from the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion last year where he ran it alongside our hero John Morton:

 

We also dyno-tuned the Z in preparation for race week. Look for #39 at this year’s RMMR!

  

Glenn loves his vintage race cars and he recently added this B-sedan Datsun 510 to his stable. He plans to race it this year with SVRA, and it also got accepted to the 2018 RMMR event!

 

In preparation for the upcoming RMMR, Glenn visited Z Car Garage to have the B-sedan dialed-in with chassis dyno tuning.

 

Chassis dyno tuning is extremely beneficial for race cars. You simply can’t run your race car up and down a city street to emulate race conditions and “guess” how your engine settings are performing. In most cases our customers have their engines built and tested on an engine dyno, so it is prudent to confirm performance on the chassis dyno before heading out to the track.

 

We run a series of dyno tests for the customer, including fully heat soaking the engine to ensure it can perform throughout the rev range. Glenn’s 510 was optimized for drivability in his desired powerband and like all race cars that get dyno’d at ZCG, his 510 left with more hp/tq! Enjoy the video of a few dyno pulls and listen to that L-series sing:

 

 

We can’t share numbers as racers like to keep them close to their heart, but you can count on the 510 being ready to rock in the B-sedan group at big race. Thanks for letting us tune your Datsun, Glenn!