Z Car Garage is excited to participate in the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion August 14-17 at Laguna Seca. We will be racing the following four cars below. Mark those calendars!
Alex’s Skyline
Alex McDowell returns to Laguna Seca in this C10 Skyline built by our friend Jim Froula of Racecraft. Z Car Garage has prepared and supported Alex’s race efforts with the Hako and it has been an awesome experience. Two very memorable racing events were the The Mitty and RMMR
Enjoy some video of the the Hako in action with Alex behind the wheel!
#49 IMSA Joel Anderson GTU Z
Rob Fuller will pilot the #49 Joel Anderson IMSA GTU Datsun 240Z. You might recall the story behind this special, 1972 IMSA GTU 240z as it was owned, built and raced in the 70’s by none other than Joel Anderson. ZCG restored #49 back to its former glory and it debuted at RMMR 2014. John Morton would drive #49 at RMMR 2015.
Porsche 997 GT3 Cup
This very special Porsche is the 2006 FIA European GT3 Championship winning car that was driven by Sean Edwards. It is a 997 GT3 Cup S Prototype and our client Kenny Tse will race it in the Legends of Endurance group. Listen to this car on the Z Car Garage dyno below!
Mini Enduro
Rob Fuller will also race this Mini Cooper in the Dan Gurney Saloon Enduro group
Join us for the 2024 race season! See the full race schedule below and LONG LIVE THE Z! The next event will be Laps For Laguna on May 31 at Laguna Seca Raceway:
Filed under: Parts,r32,Skyline
by Alvin G @ 8:34 pm on April 26, 2024
Happy Friday from Z Car Garage! Today we are installing engines into a Hakosuka and R32 Skyline. Sebastian’s Hako is getting a 3.0L stroker engine to complement the suspension refresh and Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (Stoptech).
Kurt’s R32 R32 Skyline GT-R is getting a fresh RB26 motor and turbo upgrade to complement the new KW coil-over suspension:
Our Datsun forklift is putting in work! Full reports on both Skylines coming to zcarblog.com!
We love to see owners installing our Z Car Garage CV Axles in their vintage Nissans and Datsuns. B&T Performance Retro in Thailand is running a set in three of their iconic, right-hand drive cars: a 1971 Skyline 2000GT, Fairlady Z and Kenmeri Skyline:
Z Car Garage is proud to offer a CV axle conversion kit for your Datsun S30 and 510. We have sold over 200 sets of axles globally, with customers installing and enjoying them on everything from street cars to full-blown IMSA racers. These CV axles will help transmit power to the ground and ensure smoother operation compared to your standard half shafts.
For years we have used aftermarket CV axles that utilize an aluminum adapter prone to loosening up over time. Despite efforts to keep things tight (Loctite, hardware changes) we had to keep an eye on them. We developed a better solution that eliminates the need for aluminum adapters and remains 100% bolt-in like a factory half-shaft. These are the beefiest CV axles on the market. They have been tested on the track by our vintage racing customers and also in high hp* street cars. Each axle has a serial # for peace of mind and the kit comes with everything you need to install on your car.
Hakosuka Skyline
This 1971 Nissan Skyline 2000GT-X was restored by B&T Performance Retro featuring a 3.0L L-Series with triple-Weber induction:
We love his motto of “This is built to be driven hard, not just for taking still pictures”. Indeed, this Hakosuka sees regular track time. Enjoy this short video clip of the Hako in action:
Fairlady Z
This RHD FairladyZ features a stroker L-Series with triple-Weber induction and Z Car Garage CV Axles. Like the Hako above, it is also driven in anger:
Kenmeri
B&T Performance Retro also restored this 1973 “Ken and Mary” or “Kenmeri” Skyline. It features a similar-spec’d 3L L-Series and 5-speed transmission with Z Car Garage CV Axles. More photos in the gallery below:
We love seeing our parts installed and enjoyed, thank you B&T Performance Retro for your support! You can see more of their work on Facebook , and read below for more information on our ZCG CV Axles:
ZCG CV Axles
Our Z Car Garage CV Axles help transmit power to the ground and ensure smoother operation compared to your standard half shafts. These are 100% bolt-in replacing your half-shafts and does not use aluminum adapters commonly found in aftermarket units. We have over 200+ CV axle kits on customer cars and we are stoked with all of the positive feedback.
For years we have used aftermarket CV axles that utilize an aluminum adapter prone to loosening up over time. Despite efforts to keep things tight (Loctite, hardware changes) we had to keep an eye on them. We developed a better solution that eliminates the need for aluminum adapters and remains 100% bolt-in like a factory half-shaft.
Designed and manufactured locally with KAD Models, the ZCG CV axle kit works in both R180 and R200 configurations.
These are the beefiest CV axles on the market. They have been tested on the track by our vintage racing customers and also in high hp* street cars (powershifting, clutch dumps, etc.). Each axle has a serial # for peace of mind:
The CV axle kit is available now from ZCG for 1595.00 + freight and they come with everything you need to install on your car. Contact us at 408-452-0350 or send Rob an e-mail rob@zcargarage.com to purchase. Installation is just like doing a half-shaft: there is even a marking that shows you where to line up bolts and special hardware:
The ZCG CV Axles in action
The video below demonstrates the “looseness” associated with aftermarket CV axles that use adapters compared to the ZCG axles without adapters. Several customer race/street cars running our CV axles are also shown. Enjoy!
Enjoy this video made by our client Hazel. She installed our ZCG CV Axles on her Hazel’s 1970 Datsun 240Z
Over 200 sets of our ZCG CV Axles are installed in client’s cars all over the world:
Race car driver, restorer and Datsun Historian Glenn Chiou is running our ZCG CV Axles in this IMSA GTU 260z race car!
Racer Brad H is running ZCG CV Axles in his IMSA GTU race car:
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
Set #248 – installed on Adam Carolla’s “Greg Sorrentino #90” Datsun 510.
One of the real joys this holiday season is the opportunity to say thank you and wish you the very best for the new year. From all of us at Z Car Garage we thank our friends, family and customers again for another exciting and productive year! Enjoy our 2022 recap and upcoming projects. Please note our holiday closure below:
ZCG will be closed from 12/26 through 12/30 for our Annual Holiday Break and we will re-open for business on 1/3/23
Client Updates for 2023
We had a busy year and though the shop will be closed, we won’t leave you hanging for the holidays. Many zcarblog features have yet to be published like our belated race report from the CSRG Charity Challenge and Finale in addition to client stories. Before we take a look back at highlights from 2022, here are several exciting projects coming along at the shop:
Jeff and Ryan B’s LS3-powered Z came to us for mechanical sorting. It’s now sporting our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels) and Z Car Garage CV Axles. Ryan successfully ran the Targa California Rallye in blistering summer heat. He recently got a new set of VOLK TE37V wheels full report soon!
At Z Car Garage we enjoy both modifying Z cars and restoring them back to factory spec. Mike’s 1970 Datsun 240Z came to us from North Carolina and we delivered it in July. This ’69 production VIN#193 is a beautiful driving example of how wonderful these cars were from the factory.
James’s Turbocharged L-series powered S30 will be back after some cosmetic upgrades. We enjoyed making some great power and music:
Rick’s BRE-inspired Datsun 240Z track car is getting a CD009 6-speed transmission, Z Car Garage Big-Brakes, coil-over suspension and track preparation.
Ken’s Series 1 Datsun 240Z (#1762) is getting our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes, ZCG CV Axles, KA24 5-speed transmission and Fujitsubo exhaust. The L28 is now receiving Jenvey ITB EFI managed by a Haltech 750:
Beau’s Datsun 280Z coming together. Fresh from paint featuring Z Car Garage Big-Brakes, Z Car Garage CV Axles, T3 suspension and more.
Taking care of clients!
Z Car Garage takes pride in our ability to handle client’s needs, with same-day service possible. Our parts room with over 1,000 parts on hand allows us to get you in and back on the road. Client Vince S had a clutch hydraulic failure and limped his way in to the shop. We sorted his hydraulics and he was off in 4hrs:
Stan K (VIN #511) and Tony H’s Series Datsun 240Z cars came in for mechanical sorting, interior work and Z Car Garage CV Axles
Datsunworks
Z Car Garage is excited to collaborate with Datsunworks and develop their brilliant KN20 dual-overhead cam (DOHC) cylinder head designed for the Nissan inline-6 L-Series engine. You can read all about it HERE. We continue to extract more power and run longevity testing with owner Gary’s Datsun 240Z, who has the pleasure of living daily with this beast affectionately named the “Behemoth”.
Khang’s 1973 Datsun 240Z was completed in October and he returned with 1,000 miles on the 3.2L L-Series. We adjusted the valves and double-checked power levels.
Happy to see both builds healthy and confirm power output. Enjoy the music from the both L-Series engines, sporting Jenvey ITB EFI managed by Haltech 750 Elite ECUs backed by the CD009a Six-Speed transmission.
Dyno Tuning your 350z/370z/Q/G
We have been dyno tuning your late model Nissan/Infiniti sports car daily. Bolt-ons, UPREV tuning. Our customers leave happy with more performance. Call us to schedule an appointment! Here are just a few cars:
Eric’s Q50:
R35 and R32 GT-R
R35s in for service and upgrades. Mike and Kurt’s R32 GT-Rs got power and chassis upgrades deserving their own blog features:
Z32
Mike’s 1991 Stillen GTZ. This rare, twin-turbo Z32 300ZX is #6 of 6 cars created by Steve Millen. It featured special 17” billet wheels, Brembo brakes, aero and performance upgrades. Excited to share its story and other client Z32 projects!
Race Cars
Several race cars to report on including the Transcendental Racing Datsun 240Z, Glenn Chiou’s Ex-Finn/Harris U2.5L Trans-Am ’68 510 (sporting ZCG CV Axles), the Corky Bell Trans-Am 510 and more!
Highlights from 2022
Even though 2022 was crazy year for all of us we still managed to have fun on and off the track. The shop made some really great progress as well. Enjoy these highlights from the year and Z you in 2023!
Click on each link or photo to see the full features!
The New Nissan Z
Huge thanks to Nissan for giving us the opportunity to experience the 2023 Nissan Z. We really can’t wait to get our new Z!
We love to see owners installing our Z Car Garage CV Axles on their vintage Nissans and Datsuns. Ray H added a set to his 1971 Skyline that he acquired from our friends at JDM Legends. Ray also visited Z Car Garage for dyno tuning and alignment services which transformed this Hakosuka.
Ray has been a ZCG client for many years. We first saw his Skyline at the 2019 Golden Week Kyusha Festival where I spoke to him about visiting ZCG for some upgrades and tuning.
Fast forward to 2021 and I spotted Ray at the Driving While Awesome gathering. He pleasantly informed me that he was running our ZCG CV Axles (serial # 00356) and we are happy to report that he installed them himself!
“I have been wanting to go with CV’s for a while on my SR 510. I have been following a few suppliers since they first started showing up about 10 years ago. I did notice that people were having problems with them wearing out and also that there were a few redesigns. On my Hako, I desperately needed to a wheel bearing and half shaft u-joint replacement as it was making some awful clunking noises back there. So, when I started seeing your blogs about the CV’s I was immediately interested. Knowing Rob, I knew these had to be good!”
Ray sent us a few installation pictures of the ZCG CV Axles replacing the old CVs and the R180 STI LSD:
“It was just an optimum time to get these when I had my entire rear suspension out for a rebuild and upgrade. The installation was pretty straightforward.” So far all good, I don’t think my modest power has put these to the test but its nice to know something has been well engineered and its one thing I wont have to worry about, not mention they look bitchin!”
For more information on our Z Car Garage CV Axles please read below. Before we share the dyno tuning results, let’s take a look at how Ray found his Skyline…
Datsuns From the Beginning
It is worth noting that Ray is a die-hard Datsun (510) enthusiast with ties to the old Nor-cal 510 club from decades ago. In the groovy group photo above, Ray is in the back row, last 510 on the right! Here it is, his first Datsun 510 circa 1981 (below, left) and same car with flares and a Cartech turbo kit in the FAR Performance parking lot!
Ray shares the story of his Skyline:
“I have always loved the 510, my first car in high school and still own 3 currently. When the internet started to become a regular thing I noticed these awesome looking boxy cars by Nissan sold only over there and I think Europe. I eventually stumbled upon JDM Legends website about 10 years ago and started inquiring about how much they cost and how to get one. Erik at a couple different times offered me a chance to buy one, however timing was just not right for me at the time. Fast forward a few years and Velocity channel (now Motortrend) starts promoting a show with Hakos running around! I instantly got the bug again and thought “these things are going to explode in value, If I don’t get one now I never will”.
Much to my amazement, I got a call within a month. He said “I got a line on a couple in Japan, one sounds exactly what you looking for”. He sent me pictures and I think I agreed to buy it the next day, still remember July 4th, 2018! Took about 3-4 months to get to Long Beach, then immediately to Utah. Once it was in Utah, Erik and Josh went through the whole car so it was a ready to go.”
“I flew out to Utah after he had it for a month to go over additional upgrades. First off, he said this was one of the cleanest, most solid chassis he’d ever brought over! It really goes to show, you get what you pay for. I cant stress enough, pay the money up front, it is so worth it to get a solid car with everything on it! The additional work they performed included, flaring the front and ordering wider Watanabes, modern fuse block conversion, new spoiler upfront, Mauricio did the paint match! I picked up in November of that year and trailered it all the way home.”
Since picking it up from JDM-L, Ray has been driving the Hako frequently. Quick specs:
1971 Nissan 2000 GTX , finished in white as GTR tribute
Engine:
2.8 L series straight six, Late 5 spd transmission, N42 head, Triple Italian Weber 40’s, Headers with Fujitsubo exhast, All original mechanical linkage.
Suspension:
Watanabe 15×9.5 -26 rear 15×8.5 -6 front, Toyo RA1 225/50/15 rear 205/50/15 front, Modified rear crossmember with FotoFab camber/toe brackets (510), QA1 double adj.rear shocks, ZCG CV’s, Subie R180 3.9 LSD, Finned aluminum rear drums, New Nissan bushings, bearings, driveshaft U-joints, brake cylinders, T3 280ZX front strut with coilover and aluminum hubs and Koni yellow adj. struts.
Exterior:
Protec over flares and front spoiler
GTR front grill and badging
Complete chrome trim and new weather strip
Interior:
Power windows, GTR shift knob and emblem, Stock Seats, Nardi steering wheel, Coco mats, Stock radio. All functioning and complete switches and dash.
Ray also has several 510s including a ’72 510 2dr (S15 SR20DET) “SaRafina”, ‘72 510 4dr “Mossy” and ‘69 510 2dr “project Scotty”. Follow Ray and his Datsun adventures on Instagram.
Dyno Tuning
Ray was experiencing some driveability issues and considered changing his triple-Weber induction to triple-Mikuni to resolve it. We suggested bringing it in for Rob to diagnose, tune and also provide alignment services. Before hitting the dyno, Rob and Josh identified the major culprit-the throttle linkage was not allowing wide-open operation.
The throttle-linkage was fixed and Rob was able to dyno tune the L28 with the triple-Webers for best AFR/timing. The results were astounding: baseline was 53hp/83tq and after tuning 162hp/169tq to the wheels!
It’s not unusual to pick up 10-15whp with Rob’s dyno tuning of your vintage car, but Ray gained a whopping 109hp/86tq. After driving the Hako after ZCG tuning/alignment he was ecstatic:
“My experience at ZCG and the dyno – Freakin awesome! Way exceeded my expectations! I’ve already had many people ask me “can he get me in there, I need that”. It’s actually kind of a bummer, that he is so booked up, I’m sure there are many people that would love to get there car in there and unlock some potential! My Hako is so much more driveable now, tracks straight with the alignment and the power gain, amazing! Like I told you, my Solex 44’s are ready, but I just want to enjoy this now for a while.”
Enjoy this video we made of the Skyline in action: dyno passes, in-car testing with Rob and Ray’s first drive/reactions. Volume up!
Evening shots with Ray in amazement after his test drive…
Alignment Services
Z Car Garage offers full alignment services for your late model and vintage car. Ray’s Hako was fully-aligned by our lead technician Josh who has many hours of street and race car setup experience. Caster was optimized here for better steering/stability.
Enjoying The Ride
We were super stoked to see Ray so happy with the Hako and he continues to drive and enjoy it.
“As I get up here in age, it is very important that my collector cars run! I’m no longer interested in endless project cars. Now I just want to get out there and drive! This leads into my praise for JDM Legends, like ZCG they just get it. Erik Bizek, like Rob, has a crazy passion for these vintage cars which I love.”
Thank you for your support Ray, and for letting us be a part of your Hakosuka. We look forward to working with you again and seeing you on the road!
We have many more photos in the gallery and please read below for more information on our ZCG CV Axles:
ZCG CV Axles
Our Z Car Garage CV Axles help transmit power to the ground and ensure smoother operation compared to your standard half shafts. These are 100% bolt-in replacing your half-shafts and does not use aluminum adapters commonly found in aftermarket units. We have over 200+ CV axle kits on customer cars and we are stoked with all of the positive feedback.
For years we have used aftermarket CV axles that utilize an aluminum adapter prone to loosening up over time. Despite efforts to keep things tight (Loctite, hardware changes) we had to keep an eye on them. We developed a better solution that eliminates the need for aluminum adapters and remains 100% bolt-in like a factory half-shaft.
Designed and manufactured locally with KAD Models, the ZCG CV axle kit works in both R180 and R200 configurations.
These are the beefiest CV axles on the market. They have been tested on the track by our vintage racing customers and also in high hp* street cars (powershifting, clutch dumps, etc.). Each axle has a serial # for peace of mind:
The CV axle kit is available now from ZCG for 1595.00 + freight and they come with everything you need to install on your car. Contact us at 408-452-0350 or send Rob an e-mail rob@zcargarage.com to purchase. Installation is just like doing a half-shaft: there is even a marking that shows you where to line up bolts and special hardware:
The ZCG CV Axles in action
The video below demonstrates the “looseness” associated with aftermarket CV axles that use adapters compared to the ZCG axles without adapters. Several customer race/street cars running our CV axles are also shown. Enjoy!
Enjoy this video made by our client Hazel. She installed our ZCG CV Axles on her Hazel’s 1970 Datsun 240Z
Over 150 sets of our ZCG CV Axles are installed in client’s cars all over the world:
