We first met Jonathan in 2021 while visiting Nissan Headquarters in Tennessee to preview the Z Proto. In addition to being a proud Nissan North America employee, he is an avid car enthusiast with a passion for Nissans and Datsuns, having owned a 240Z, 350Z and Hakosuka Skyline. Jonathan recently acquired this QM1 White R34 Skyline GT-R from our friend Sean at Toprank International Vehicle Importers, and came to Z Car Garage for upgrades and dyno tuning.

 

JONATHAN: My history with Nissan and Z cars started before I was even born. My dad had purchased a 240Z in Ojai, California in 1978 while in the Navy and daily drove it until 1998. There are pics of me as an infant of me in it and when I was old enough to go to daycare, he would take me in the Z. Growing up around it, helping him work on it and wanting to ride in it as much as possible shaped my love for not only cars, but the Datsun/Nissan brand and especially the Z. When I got old enough to start thinking about my first car, my dream was to get the newly launched 350Z to go along with my dad’s 240Z. I was drawn to the Le Mans sunset orange launch color and fell even more in love with that color when I got to see it in person at my local grocery store.

 

As it so happened though, on my 15th birthday, my dad surprised me by gifting me the 240Z! I was in shock but so excited to work on it with him, restoring it to this level I had built up in my head for years. The project took 3 years and by the time I was a senior in high school, we had finished it… Painting it my favorite Le Mans sunset orange and building it out just as I had imagined as a young kid. Read more about the Father and Son duo in Japanese Nostalgic Car and GrassrootsMotorsports.

 

Fast forward to 2023, after enjoying it for so many years, my wife and I were involved in a really bad accident in it. It was totaled and was a huge loss for myself and my family. I knew I needed to find another special Nissan. Below you will see how this situation shaped how I got into the Skyline’s, specifically my Hako and now the R34 GT-R. However, between the ownerships of the Hako and the R34, my wife found this beautiful 2003 Z33 350Z in my favorite color, Le Mans Sunset. I had always wanted this car since I was 13 and it was the spitting image of (a newer version) of my old 240Z. A great bookend to a Z journey that lasted over 34 years.

 

GT-R Dreams

 

JONATHAN: My love for the R34 Skyline started I believe with the rest of my generation, 2 Fast 2 Furious. That scene where Brian drives through Miami to get to the race at the beginning will forever be reason for my Skyline love. I also remember watching old Hot Versions on YouTube with the MINES R34 GT-R going against the Amuse MK4 Supra. The sound from the exhaust and the feedback from the drivers made it clear that not only was it the winner in that episode, it was the winner of the JDM legends of its time. It was only natural to want one growing up, but as prices increased, it became clear that it would just be a dream.

 

My journey really began on a vacation just after the Z accident, my wife and I were looking at the back of one of my JDM Legends t-shirts that had a Hakosuka Skyline on it. We looked at each other and said “Thats the car”.  At that point, we had no idea where to even begin to look for a Hako but we both knew that was the direction we wanted to go. She knew I had always loved the Skylines, but the Hako (aside from the R34 GTR) always was a favorite. 

After a few months, Jonathan reached out to friend (Randy Jaffe) with a collection of Nissan’s and Datsuns including a 1971 Nissan Skyline that Z Car Garage had worked on! They discussed for a while, and one afternoon the Hako was headed to TN.  Jonathan was excited for the opportunity to be the next caretaker of this beloved Skyline. He enjoyed the car for several months, driving it to shows, and really getting to know the chassis.

 

JONATHAN: Just when I was getting comfortable though, I received a call from the sales director at Toprank International Vehicle Importers, who I had built a good relationship with. He asked if I would be interested in selling my Hako to a big Skyline collector in Texas (the Hako returned to Z Car Garage, full report coming soon!). After talking it over and coming up with a good deal, I made the decision to sell the Hako and purchase a bone stock, 1-owner R34 GT-R from Top Rank’s inventory in Japan.

Top Rank brokered the deal and made the process so easy. I knew though that I would have to wait until June of 2024 before it could be imported due to the 25-year law but it was so worth the wait and I cannot express how grateful I am to have been in a position for such an opportunity to be realized.

 

Upgrades and Dyno Tuning at Z Car Garage

 

ROB: In the fall of 2024, Jonathan acquired his dream car, an R34 Skyline GT-R, from Top Rank Importers. They were having some issues and shipped it to Z Car Garage for minor sorting and upgrades…

JONATHAN: One of the very first videos I saved on YouTube was a video of Rob driving the green 240Z with the RB25 swap. I knew then that Z Car Garage was the best and I always wanted to have a build done by them!  After the R34 GT-R arrived stateside, I knew it had to go directly to ZCG. There was no other place I wanted to go and now having the car for a few days, driving it and really enjoying it, I made the absolute best decision.

(Below) Jonathan visited us in 2022 for the Tokyo Calling Rally. We had to snap a photo with the Go Green RB25DET-powered 240Z that inspired to build one of his own…and 1/24 scale the model I made 🙂

    

At the shop we installed a Haltech Elite 2500 with plug ‘n’ play adapter, dual wide-band controller, one-step colder NGK plugs, ID 1300 injectors, Wallbro Hellcat Fuel pump, Z Car Garage Bosch relay kit and KOYO Race radiator:

   

More upgrades included an HKS FMIC,  Greddy BOV, PRP R35 coil packs, Wiring Specialities injector resistor bypass kit and a Haltech boost controller followed by dyno tuning. More photos of the parts installation in the gallery below:

  

New Nismo clutch/flywheel replacement:

 

ROB: We’re not positive, but we believe this car had some sort of strange, hot rod turbo that wasn’t allowing the factory system to control the boost level. So you know what we did? We performed a Garrett GT2560-5 Turbo upgrade with supporting mods and tuned it again. It was wonderful and it rocks. We feel very honored: even though Jonathan lives in TN he trusts ZCG to work on his new R34. We shipped the car back with Masney and everyone’s happy. Long Live The R!”

 

Engine bay with new intake plumbing:

 

On the dyno, baseline numbers were 336hp/281tq at the wheels. After tuning with the turbo and supporting upgrades the Skyline put down 438hp/333tq at the wheels. Enjoy the RB26DETT in action!

 

Enjoying the Ride

 

Jonathan has been enjoying his R34 at home in Tennessee. QM1 is a fantastic color for this GT-R:

 

JONATHAN: Since leaving ZCG, I have added a few small mods including the V-Spec front diffuser, NISMO shift know, pedals, double din head unit and a few engine bay dress up items. In the future I will look to add a V-spec rear carbon diffuser, maybe a Z-tune hood and perhaps maybe a little more power. Otherwise, drive and enjoy!

Thanks for your support Jonathan and congratulations on finding your dream car. Catch more of Jonathan’s car adventures on his Instagram. More pictures in the gallery below!

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SEMA was a blur this year—but that’s really no different than any other year for the most intense sensory overload of all things automotive on the planet. This trade-only event features the latest and greatest builds, technology, and creativity in our industry. While the show has historically been populated by American marques and their aftermarket support, in recent years the influx of Japanese metal (Nissan included) is undeniable.

 

Nissan’s Return to SEMA

Nissan announced its SEMA return with a display of six vehicles:

• The new Nissan Project Overland Pathfinder and Project Overland Frontier – special upfit versions of Nissan’s SUV and midsize pickup.
• Famed Actor and Car Enthusiast Sung Kang’s “DocZ,” a safari-rally-inspired 1971 Datsun 240Z.
• The 2021 Nissan Frontier featuring NISMO Off Road parts, recently campaigned at the Rebelle Rally by Team Wild Grace.
• Formula Drift Champion Chris Forsberg’s “Altimaniac,” a four-seat, 2000-horsepower drift sedan.
• The all-new 2023 Nissan Z Proto Spec.

 

Although we did not plan on attending the SEMA show, Sung Kang and Nissan extended an invitation to Z Car Garage, so we happily obliged! Rob and I attended the show on Tuesday 11/2 and we were super impressed with the Nissan booth, staged in the new 1.4 million square foot West wing of the Las Vegas Convention Center. At the very center of the booth was the New Z, in “Proto Spec” trim:

 

I had to be reminded that this was not the “Z Proto” we saw at Nissan Headquarters in Tennessee back in May. Indeed this was the limited edition “Z Proto Spec” model with glossy bronze RAYS wheels and yellow-accented interior. Thank you Jonathan for letting us sit inside! We still can’t wait to get one at the shop.

Doc Z

 

The world was introduced to Sung Kang’s latest build at last week’s Japanese Classic Car Show. The “DocZ” was built as a tribute to the Datsun 240Z that dominated the 1971 East-African Safari. The car has parts from all over the world and Sung even had his own multi-piece wheels made as an homage to that history-making Z.

 

Earlier this year Sung Kang visited Z Car Garage, driving “Mrs. Butters”, our 1971 Series 1 240z shop demo car.  After driving Butters, Sung wanted the exact same Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels), Z Car Garage CV Axles and KW suspension on his very own FuguZ!  He also wanted a set on the “DocZ”. We shipped the kit to the Erick of Erick’s Racing, the master builder behind DocZ. Erick was very pleased with the kit and ease of installation:

  

The ZCG Big-Brakes can be seen through those iconic slots:

  

Sung is very passionate about the DocZ and loved sharing it with fans that visited the Nissan booth.

 

The Altimaniac

Chris Forsberg’s 2,000hp drift “taxi” was built to perform while carrying 4-people on board!

 

Around back were Nissan’s off-road parts and vehicles including a Pathfinder, Frontier and Rebelle Rally truck in race livery.

 

It was a wonderful display and the vibe here was energetic…at one point it felt like a well-choreographed show but it was truly organic. At 3pm a media event was held at the booth and a Nissan rep introduced the New Z.   Hiroshi Tamura then gave the audience a passionate talk about how the New Z moves him…then the mic was passed on to Sung Kang to show off the DocZ, ending with Chris Forsberg with the Altimaniac. Kudos to  Jonathan Buhler (Sr. Specialist Corporate Communications at Nissan) and  Dan Passe (Director, Corporate Communications), the display was a hit!

See the video below to get the vibe of Nissan’s booth:

 

 

Another Good Year For Nissans and Datsuns!

 

Our Datsun-hunting at SEMA started with an epic showing of the Nissan Skyline Nismo 400R in the Central Hall. Our friend Sean and his team at Toprank International Vehicle Importers managed to be the first JDM car ever to displayed in this vaunted area of SEMA. This R33 is very rare, but it was truly surreal to see it there…great press for Nissan, and Japanese cars in general!

 

SEMA’s Battle of the Builders program had TWO Datsun 240Z cars and an R32 Skyline. We are very proud of Bay Area local Samantha Frazier and her V8-powered 1973 Z making it to the Top 3 of the competition!

 

Brandon Henness and his LS-powered 1972 S30:

 

 

Cole Marten’s R32 with the world’s first Toyota 2JZ engine with AWD and a LHD conversion!

 

 

Z31 Perfection

Over in the Toyo Tires Treadpass we found several Nissans and Datsuns.

 

Brandon Miller’s 1986 Nissan 300ZX was a serious showstopper. So much attention to detail in the engine bay housing that gnarly, high-revving RB engine. From the paint to the wheel choice this Z31 was just stunning.

 

Kouki front end with original Zenki rear…sitting on perfectly-sized Watanabe wheels! Look for a Hoonigan Autofocus episode with Larry Chen soon!

 

Next to the Z31 was the Garage Active full carbon-bodied R32 Skyline:

 

Also nearby was Jimmy’s SR20-powered Datsun 510

 

Capping the row was Ricko’s 1972 Datsun 240Z, a wild tribute to the IMSA-GTU racers of the past. Dreamt up by Ricko and built by Marcus Fry Racing:

 

Leen Custom’s showed off their short-nose 4-door Hakosuka Skyline with an SR20DET and Bride Histrix seats!

 

We finally met Carlos in person and see his 2JZ-powered Z32. Carlos has been building it for any years and we loved his passion:

 

Our friends at UPREV showed their VR30DDT-powered 370Z:

 

Throughout the show’s jam-packed halls we spotted more J-Tin gems like Daniel Song’s 240Z built by JDM Legends:

 

Sitting low and packing a KA24E powerplant, this 1963 Datsun NL320 pickup had a very American Hot-Rod vibe:

 

Outside of the Central Hall was Oscar’s (of Zociety fame) Libertywalk 240z with an L28ET:

 

We end our Datsun-spotting with this wild “2000 Roadster that was running the Optima Batteries Challenge. It is a C6 Corvette with Datsun Roadster body parts:

 

Silvia/240SX

Plenty of S14 and even S15 versions:

FD RX-7s

At least 4 FD RX-7s were spotted. My favorite was the R Magic in  FortuneAuto’s booth:

 

Our Favorite American Cars

While we are Nissan-focused we do love American Muscle cars. SEMA is a feast for Pro-touring, street machine, custom and even stock style Detroit steel. Tri-5s, Pony cars, lead sleds…even Chip Foose had an entire hall dedicated some of his most iconic creations:

 

Crazy Lifted Trucks

Yup. Every year these huge trucks swarm the outside displays of the convention center. This year was no exception:

 

We hope you enjoyed our coverage of the 2021 SEMA Show. There are many more cars to see and you can view them in our mega-picture galley below. Thanks to Nissan and Sung Kang for hosting us and to everyone that took the time to say hello. We enjoyed chatting with you. This was a great event for Nissan fans!

 

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The ZONC Annual Car Show will be held Sunday September 12 in Brisbane, CA. This a fun event in a great location so bring out your Z, G, Datsun or GT-R! Pictures from previous shows can be seen HERE with more details below. Z you at the show!

 

  

 

This 1971 Nissan Skyline has been in the Z Car Garage family for several years and currently resides in Georgia with owner Randy Jaffe. Randy has built a few notable cars with ZCG including the Rocketbunny Series1 240Z and #46 BRE Datsun 240Z driven by John Morton:

How did he end up with this JDM beauty? Randy has always loved the stance and looks of these early, “Hakosuka” Skylines and wanted to experience right-hand drive (RHD). Timing was perfect as our customer Alex McDowell was willing to part with his 2000 GT-X:

 

Under Alex’s ownership ZCG maintained the car for many years. It did not need much to prepare for delivery to Randy. We performed a full tune-up, sync’d the triple carbs, changed the fluids, handled minor cosmetics (like straightening the bumper) and it was shipped off to Georgia:

 

Randy’s Way

 

If there is one thing about Randy we admire, it’s his attention to detail. Ok, we like his sense of style too 🙂 Upon arrival he mounted fresh set of chunky Toyo tires on those iconic Watanabe wheels. Inside, he removed the carpet and replaced it with original style GT-R vinyl covering. The tan seats were reupholstered to red.

 

The car was originally a white GT-X and when I asked Randy of any future mods he replied:

“I am thinking about dropping one of the Parkinson race motors in it to give the car more power – the original 2.0 is sluggish compared to what I enjoy driving. If I do that I will pull all of the A/C parts off of it and clean up the engine bay. To be continued!”

Randy applied the Hakosuka racecar-inspired livery:

 

Here is a walk-around of the Hako, with more pictures in the gallery below.

 

We are happy to report that Randy is Enjoying The Ride and even won an award at the local Caffeine and Octane show:

 

More to Come

 

You may have noticed some really cool cars in the background. Randy has several Nissans/Datsuns in his collection that we are excited to share with you in upcoming blog posts! For now, LONG LIVE THE HAKOSUKA!

 

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We met Lehan in the summer of 2018 when he came to Z Car Garage with his newly acquired (KH2) 1991 Skyline GTR. After learning that these cars can be made smog compliant, he found this car locally (originally imported by our friend Sean and his team at Toprank International Vehicle Importers) and picked it up right away. We replaced the clutch and flywheel with an OS Giken TS2CD setup, replaced the rear main seal and fresh clutch hydraulics.

 

“I’ve changed the wheels and exhaust to more of my liking, replaced worn rubber parts and trim pieces, and added some Nismo bling. My goal with the car is to keep it looking mostly stock, but update the drivetrain to more modern tech, hence the Haltech ecu. In the future I may replace the 30 year old turbos but keep it to a modest hp gain, and replace the Attesa G-sensor with a digital unit. I will probably keep the HICAS system just because, and learn to drive with it on the track.”

 

Haltech ECU and Tuning

 

In March of 2019 we installed a Haltch Platium Pro Plug-in. It was set up to run MAP-based with the Haltech WB1 single channel wideband 02. We are huge fans of Haltech engine management. Rob performed street/dyno tuning tuned on 91 octane with baseline numbers of 260hp/253tq and with the Haltech making 337hp/280tq at the rear wheels:

 

Enjoy the dyno video!

Stoptech Big Brakes

All 90’s Nissan sports cars can benefit from larger brakes and Stoptech has got you covered. Another Norcal Skyline member Kurt W also had Stoptech brakes installed at ZCG, and he highly recommended them. Lehan’s R32 received ST40 calipers with 332mm rotors up front and ST22 caliper with 328mm rotors at the rear.

 

A few pictures of the brake installation:

 

The brakes look great behind the BBS wheels. During the brake upgrade we replaced all fluids: both diffs, tranny and transfer case.

 

Lehan took the R32 to a track day it performed admirably. He did experienced high oil temps, another common issue when tracking these cars. A new oil cooler will be installed next. Over all he’s please with the Skyline’s upgrades:

“Every visit to fix or update something just makes the car more awesome to drive. It feels much more lively and torquey after the tune. Best part is I can drive it as hard as I can knowing it’s been tuned safely and backed by modern engine management. It’s a similar feeling with the StopTech brakes on track – without it I would not have been able to push braking points. The steering feel and overall composure of the car is top notch, especially after the tune. I’m very happy with the car as is, but definitely looking forward to any future mods.”