If you are a fan of Datsuns and John Morton, The Stainless Steel Carrot is required reading. The essential nonfiction book by motorsports journalist Sylvia Wilkinson follows the true story of up and coming racer John Morton during his 1971-72 championships that turned Datsun and Brock Racing Enterprises (BRE) into household names. For the first time since publishing in 1973, the book will be released digitally on April 5th. If you want to pre-order your own e-book copy, visit Carrara Media now.
This is great news especially if you were not lucky to grab a hard copy of the book. We don’t blame you, as prices of the print versions are fetching almost $300 now. Who knows, maybe Sylvia and John can electronically sign your E-book edition! While you are getting your copy, check out these autographed bookmarks and commemorative postcards:
We have been fortunate to gain their friendship over the years:
At 79 years of age John Morton is still formidable behind the wheel.
Here is an extended video with in-car footage of John dicing it up with Porsche RSRs and BMW CSLs…Long Live The Z!
Enjoy these photos of John and Sylvia we snapped at various racing events. Sylvia amazingly is still immersed in racing.
Without spoiling the behind-the-scenes level of detail Sylvia reveals in The Stainless Steel Carrot, she can still be seen clocking lap times for John:
Official press release from Carrara below:
LONG BEACH, Calif., March 8, 2021—Carrara Media will publish the classic motorsports book The Stainless Steel Carrot, by motorsports journalist and author Sylvia Wilkinson, in digital eBook format for the first time.
Releasing in eBook exclusively on April 5, 2021, The Stainless Steel Carrot provides unparalleled access behind the curtain of a championship-winning race team and its star driver, John Morton, chronicling their adventures during the 1971-72 SCCA seasons in iconic vehicles such as the BRE Datsun 510, Datsun 240Z and others.
The eBook is open for preorder now at CarraraBooks.com. In the near future it will also be available wherever eBooks are sold. Excerpts are available for publication by request.
Wilkinson, a longtime advocate and care-provider for animals of all kinds, is donating proceeds from the sale of The Stainless Steel Carrot to animal welfare organizations.
“I never pass up a chance to provide financial aid for food, shelter and care for the wild and tame critters of the earth,” Wilkinson said.
The Stainless Steel Carrot was originally published in 1973, with an expanded version publishing in 2012. However, both of these print editions are now extremely rare and difficult to find. They frequently command prices up to $300 in online marketplaces. This will mark the first time that The Stainless Steel Carrot has been published as an eBook, at its most affordable price ever, with hopes to inspire a new generation of automotive enthusiasts.
“Nearly 50 years later, The Stainless Steel Carrot is as relevant as ever due to Wilkinson’s tireless on-scene reporting,” said Ryan K. ZumMallen, president and founder of Carrara Media.
“There is still nothing like The Stainless Steel Carrot, and now it will be available to modern audiences at its most affordable price ever. We are honored to play a role in preserving this classic tale.”
The Stainless Steel Carrot was written over the course of two years, during the 1971 and 1972 racing seasons. Wilkinson embedded herself with the Brock Racing Enterprises team, an upstart band of characters with big dreams and motor oil in their veins. Their leader – Pete Brock, a hard-charging former designer who penned such automobiles as the Shelby Daytona Coupe, and the man in charge. Their star – John Morton, a young driver with glasses and a mop-cut who captured consecutive SCCA championships in the pursuit of motorsports stardom.
Against this backdrop the BRE team hustles to achieve greatness, fend off hungry rivals and establish themselves and the Datsun 510 as forces to be reckoned with. Wilkinson deftly captures their feverish work, all while painting these real-life personalities with depth and compassion, relating their hopes, their fears, their celebrations and frustrations with the craft and care of a premier storyteller.
Racing fans the world over have enjoyed The Stainless Steel Carrot for decades.
The Stainless Steel Carrot is available for preorder now at CarraraBooks.com
We have several exciting projects at the shop that will get full reports on zcarblog.com. This is only a brief sample, please tune into our Instagram story for more sights and sounds.
Return of the #46 BRE Datsun 240Z!
The BRE #46 Z is back from paint by our man William and it is finally getting the hand-painted livery applied at the shop as I write this. You may recall that the Z was flipped on to its roof with John Morton at the wheel racing at the 2019 Classic 24hr race at Daytona International Speedway
The Z will be re-assembled, dyno tuned and tested in a few weeks at Sonoma with our hero John Morton and Rob Fuller! Super amped to see #46 back in fighting form and very happy for owner Randy Jaffe. Check our IG story to see the livery being applied by hand, this is a lost art and incredible to watch.
1970 Salt Flat Racer Datsun 240z
This historically significant 1970 Datsun 240z was built by a team of Nissan employees to compete at Bonneville in the F/GT class. In 1976 their efforts resulted in a new land speed record of 166.037 mph, which stood unbroken until 1985. This Z resided in the Nissan Museum and is now in the care of Randy Jaffe. Lots of neat details the Z 432R seats and G-nose. More to come! Big thanks to Randy and Nissan for letting us bring this Z back to life. We just finished the exhaust and dyno tuning,
One of many Z32s we are working on, Steve’s will get a full report soon as well as the Stillen SMZ:
Jim’s 1971 Datsun 240z returned for a Rebello 3.2L with triple-Mikuni carbs on a Harada intake and CD009a 6-speed transmission:
Several S30 Z cars are getting our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels) like these two 280zs:
This is a 1972 Official OMS Pace Car Duplicate. It is at present one of only two known survivors. Fifty were originally produced by Nissan Motors to commemorate the DATSUN 240Z being selected by the Ontario Motor Speedway to Pace the 1972 “U.S.A.C. California 500 Championship”. This one belongs to our long time customer and friend Linda. More to come!
B-Sedan Datsun 510s!
Larry Oka’s B-sedan is getting built and prepped with our Z Car Garage CV Axles. The Corky Bell 510 is also scheduled for a full restoration:
R32 Skylines!
Mike’s R32 GT-R is back for turbo, fueling and exhaust upgrades, full report soon! #TETUESDAY
We just got this really clean R32 GTS-T in:
Dyno Tuning your 350z/370z/Q/G
We have been dyno tuning your late model Nissan/Infiniti sports car daily. Bolt-ons, UPREV tuning, “popcorn” maps. Our customers leave happy with more performance. Call us to schedule an appointment! Here are just a few cars:
LONG LIVE THE Z! Check out our Instagram story for more updates!
On August 7-9, the Historic Motorsports Association (HMSA) hosted Driver Appreciation Weekend at Laguna Seca. Z Car Garage was fortunate to participate and support several client’s Datsun 510 race cars running in B-Sedan Group 8. It was a great weekend filled with competition, camaraderie and plenty of Alfas, BMWs and Datsuns sharing the track. Enjoy our report with exclusive in-car footage and photos from the ever-impressive paddock!
Photo: Nick Dockery
The Race Must Go On!
In the midst of this pandemic, the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion (RMMR) event was cancelled. More commonly known as the “historics” at Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca, this epic vintage race is part of several events occupying the week-long Monterey car festival leading up to the Pebble Beach Concours, which was also cancelled. So how were we able to race at Laguna Seca? Rob Fuller explains…
….”When HMSA announced a “Driver Appreciation Weekend” in August I immediately spoke with Barry at Laguna Seca to request a race group for B-Sedans. We made a case for the ask: our cars have raced with SVRA, CSRG and it’s a fun group to watch. Barry agreed. Glenn Chiou (racer and ambassador of vintage racing) put in hard work and rallied everyone he knew with a B-Sedan car, from both the John Morton Cup and the Historic B&C Sedan class. We had seventeen Datsun 510s plus a bunch of Alfas and BMWs.”
So despite the RMMR cancellation, on what would have been the “Pre-Historics” weekend we had an amazing time racing at Laguna Seca with HMSA. Troy Ermish transported our two customer cars and we towed our own car down Friday 8/7. Check-in and registration at the track was a breeze. Volunteers and workers from SCCA, HMSA, and ‘Seca did an incredible job making sure the event was safe. If you can imagine it, the Driver Appreciation weekend was very close to the past RMMR events, only with folks wearing masks and distancing. Make no mistake, there were clearly smiles behind those masks and joy visible in everyone’s eyes…this is the racing we all live for!
Z Car Garage Supports Four Datsun 510s!
It is our pleasure to bring more enthusiasts into the world of vintage racing. Our services do include full race support and car-preparation to help make client’s race days seamless and worry-free so they can focus on driving. One of our specialties is dyno tuning. Before a race weekend we confirm that your car is running well and make necessary adjustments while on the chassis dyno. Below is a video of two Datsun 510 B-Sedans (Kelvin and Randy’s) on the dyno prior to the Driver Appreciation weekend. Enjoy the sweet L-series music!
510s Galore!
With seventeen Datsun 510s in Group 8 it was a Dime-lover’s dream to be in the paddock and watch the races. Although the event did not allow spectators, we’ve got you covered! Here is a video showing all the 510s running, with action from our paddock, starting grid and Turn 6. Turn those speakers up and enjoy!
Let’s take a look at the Datsun 510s that we supported:
#7 Kelvin
Beginning with our customers, Kelvin had a really successful race weekend at the CSRG David Love Vintqge Races in Sonoma back in July. Unfortunately at ‘Seca his engine failed after a short time on track. Stay tuned for a full report and enjoy these closer shots of Kelvin’s beautiful 510:
#72 Tom Dockery
Tom Dockery drove his Ex-Norm Balzer/Koobation 510. This car made its debut in May 2019 and we are excited to share its full story and profile Tom’s journey into racing soon.
Tom had a blast here are his thoughts on the race weekend:
“I would have NEVER imagined I would be so comfortable putting on my racing gear a long side John Morton let alone line up beside him on grid. The man is a true steward of the game. The event bought me new comfort for Laguna Seca. The was part Rob coaching, part the caliber of the B-Sedan drivers and the bond between B-Sedan drivers. This was my first weekend on Fresh Hoosier R7 tires, what a difference! I am still not completely comfortable in the car. We have made changes at every race to get me there. Every change and improvement. But I now need to make some big changes to get the seat in the right spot. The ZCar Garage Team was on top of everything. Thanks to Keith, Nick and Josh!”
This in-car video is the Sunday afternoon session from Tom’s 510, enjoy:
“I was on my second outing with fresh R7’s …. what a difference. But the magic was the grid. The 5 five guys for the morning session which included Troy, Rob, Taz, Steve and the other BMW with Jim, got the organizers to grid them at the back. The resulting first two laps was nuts. So even though I was getting my butt kicked there was lots of action.”
#21 John Morton
Our hero John Morton drove Randy Jaffe’s Newport Datsun 510. This car was owned by Glenn Chiou (Ermish-built).
After Glenn sold the car we helped Randy ship it to his hometown in Georgia. Randy is a huge motorsports fan and really admires John Morton so he had the 510 shipped back to ZCG in July to run the Driver Appreciation event. At the shop we dyno’d and prepped the car for John Morton to race:
It was great to see Randy’s touches added to the 510. On race weekend John Morton, even at age 78, remained competitive in the Group 8 field.
Here is in-car video of John Morton driving the #21 Newport Datsun 510:
#7 Rob Fuller
With the assistance of ZCG crew Josh, Nick and Keith we also supported ZCG owner Rob Fuller in the Bay Area Datsun Dealers tribute car:
Rob performed admirably with a fastest time of 1:44.6
You can see in-car footage of Rob below, and note the reverse-style starting grid where the front runners were placed in the back to begin!
Catch more of Rob’s sessions on his Youtube Channel and here is a great video with multiple angles showing Rob battling with Steve Walker (BMW 2002):
510 Friends!
Many notable Datsun 510 racers were in Group 8, all sharing the competitive spirit. On Saturday I had to arrange all the cars for a group photoshoot. Thanks to all that helped make this possible!
#33 Glenn Chiou
Directly across from us was our buddy Glenn Chiou, running his Ex-Finn/Harris U2.5L Trans-Am ’68 510. This car made its debut in May at the SVRA event at Laguna Seca.
It is also worth noting that Glenn is one of the few “privateer” racers in the field. He sets up his own race car in his garage and his crew are friends Erich and Lloyd. Glenn is currently performing a full restoration of this 510 and we know it will be #periodcorrect on top of being ultra-clean!
#91 Troy Ermish
Troy Ermish is a phenomenal driver and always fun to watch. We were fortunate to share our tent with him and his freshly restored “Penny” 510 that handily won the B-sedan race! Not only did he help transport our cars to RMMR, his rig also provided us room to park the ZCG race cars. Thanks Troy!
Troy at work. Penny’s chassis is just as beautiful as the body:
#52 Jim Froula
Race car driver and restoration specialist Jim Froula of Racecraft in the Ex- Harry Stewart Datsun 510:
Jim pitted next to us, hosting Steve Walker and Adam Carolla with some really cool cars. Jim is also a fierce competitor:
#90 Adam Carolla
Adam Carolla raced his newly built Ex-Greg Sorrentino 510. The restoration by RacecraftNW was meticulous, right down to the Sterling wheels.
We are proud to see our Z Car Garage CV Axles on this expertly-prepared 510. As always, the media follows Adam and his racing adventures:)
Datsun Roadsters
The largest recent gathering of Datsun Roadsters at Laguna Seca was at the 2018 RMMR. At the Driver Appreciation event there was a lone roadster on the track; Michael Anderson and his Franklin/McDowell ’68 2000.
Mike was in Group 3 with high-power cars yet he still managed to advance with a great battle against Alan Terpin’s Porsche 911. Here is in-car video from Mike, enjoy!
Living my roadster dream
Thanks to ZCG, I was able to park my roadster in the paddock and roam around the track. With no spectators, many of the vantage points often crowded were vacant and peaceful:
Here is a video with Mike’s roadster in the paddock, and when I arrived at ‘Seca:
Paddock Finds
The best part of the RMMR has to be the paddock. Home to all the race cars and their teams, massive car transporters and an all-around pure sensory overload. At every corner there is wicked metal with history begging to be told. This year, the Driver Appreciation was just as great. I found this (AH3) R32 Skyline GT-R!
Wicked 2nd-gen Trans Am Camaro, 190E 2.3 EVO DTM (RacecraftNW), Testarossa, wild Monza and more in the gallery below!
This video will make you feel like you are in the paddock. Enjoy the sights and sounds including favorite group, the Trans Am cars!
Camaraderie
A common love for racing and Datsuns, this was an event filled with helping teammates and enjoying company.
Living Legends
Special thanks to John Morton and Sylvia Wilkinson for joining us! It is an honor share the track with you.
Thank you!
We hope you have enjoyed our report from the 2020 Driver Appreciation Weekend! Please browse our mega-gallery of pictures from race weekend below. Big thanks to our friends and family members that helped us make this possible including Glenn Chiou, Troy and Ashley Ermish, Meghan Fuller, Keith Corwin, Larry Oka, Randy Jaffe, and ZCG Crew: Josh and Nick. We certainly enjoyed the company of friends and visitors in our paddock, here’s to another year of vintage racing in Monterey, California.
*See you in October for the CSRG Charity Challenge in Sonoma!*
At Z Car Garage, the Datsun 510 is very close to our heart. Our hero John Morton piloted a 510 in the Trans Am racing series to put Nissan on the map, fueling every Datsun enthusiast’s passion for hot-rodding the humble economy car. We also have our share of race, personal and project 510s. When Mark G contacted us to work on his 510, we happily obliged especially after learning that it was built by our friend, fellow racer and Datsun 510 guru Troy Ermish.
510 Beginnings
Mark is an avid car enthusiast, growing up here in the South Bay. His first car was a lowered Capri that he tracked in the 80’s at Laguna Seca. He attributes his 510 passion from its rich racing heritage:
“I was introduced to Sports Car racing at Laguna Seca in the mid 70’s. I have been going to most all of the different events ever since. My favorite was Sports Cars racing, Camel GT’s, IMSA, ALMS. Thus the ‘Poor Man’s BMW 2002’, my recent 510 is my third and hopefully last. Number 2 was also brought back from the dead and used to commute and cruise over Highway 17 to Aptos to work for my Father’s business. The surf rack was installed to haul all kinds of stuff.”
In 2015, Mark decided to fulfill his dream of another 510 and bought a project car:
“I wanted something I could turn into a street racer and autocross car for my son. As in any extensive full blown renovation, everything on the car has been touched. I tore it completely apart, soda-blasted the car, personally sandblasted every bolt and part on the car, welded in new floor panels and rebuilt the trunk, back panel and rear valance.”
The project car:
Mark’s extensive bodywork:
“I met Troy Ermish early on in the process, so when the floors and trunk were repaired, the car was trailered to Troy for a full roll cage, front fender wells were cut back and jack points installed in the rocker panels at the “B” Pillars.”
After 18months of bodywork, which Mark was heavily involved with, it was back to Ermish for the final build out. The car was purchased with a 1600 and funky 4 speed, but Mark also scored a 2000cc with two side draft Mikuni’s and a ZX 5 speed transmission. The engine was sent to Rebello for a full rebuild and upgrade to 2360cc spec.
T- Square Brain
Mark studied art in school and his attention to detail throughout the 510 impressive. From the no-frills interior to uncluttered engine bay it’s no surprise that he earned the nickname “T-square brain”. Each time I see this car it reveals another level of fanaticism that reminds me how awesome Datsun-owners are. Enjoy a few detail shots with more pics in the gallery below:
Engine Bay
Devoid of unnecessary bits, the Rebello 2.3 with dual-Mikuni’s takes center stage:
Interior
A tribute to the B-Sedan racing 510s of the 70’s, the interior is spartan with a simple dash, roll cage and OMP seats:
Again, it’s super sanitary in here with subtle color choices and straightforward switchgear. That is Pete Brock’s signature on the dash!
Body
The 2017 Corvette Racing Yellow paint is loud, but in a good way. Mark’s touches here are an exercise in restraint, while harking back to the Trans Am racers he remembered. The white roundel was inspired by our friend Dave Scholz’ Datsun 240z as seen on Petrolicious . 13″ re-pop’d (VTO) AR Libras are the definitive wheel choice here, with contrasting black spokes and chunky Toyo R888 tires:
Sorting at ZCG
The 510 was constructed with both Mark’s skillset and Troy’s finishing touches. After he finished his project, Mark visited ZCG for adjustments and sorting.
ZCG CV Axles!
We upgraded Mark’s standard half shafts to our Z Car Garage CV Axles. These CV axles help transmit power to the ground and ensure smoother operation compared to standard half shafts, while eliminating the need for aluminum adapters. Mark got ZCG VV Axle set #320 and he loves them:
Nick about to install the new CVs:
Standard half shafts (left) and ZCG CV Axles (right). Note all of the powdercoated suspension parts:
Getting Mark Back On The Road
Mark was experiencing a re-occurring high water temp issue. Finally the head gasket was compromised so we pulled the engine for a refresh.
We re-intalled the the engine and tidied up the engine bay. The electric fan was removed and a fan clutch installed utilizing a 620 water pump/S30 fan blade to make it all fit behind the Koyo radiator:
Dyno Tuning
On the dyno, we had a case of deja vu as Mark’s 510 is almost similar to Keith’s. Rob is familiar with tuning the L-Ser-es engine in both race and street 510s. Mark’s Rebello 2360 put own 189hp/178tq to the wheels, gaining 8hp/10tq with Rob’s tuning. You can hear it scream in the video below. Mark will re-visit us for another dyno session after he accumulates more miles.
Enjoying The Ride
With a few more minor tweaks like door locks and windows, Mark was out and about with his 510. He joined us at the local Fuel Supply Cars and Coffee:
I was fortunate to catch up with Mark and meet his son Dom who also has motorsports background. It was rad to see the Datsun being a family affair and Mark all smiles behind the wheel:
“I feel very lucky to be part of the Z Car Garage family. The staff are all great guys. I will continue to bring the car in for Anything it needs.”
Big thanks to Mark for letting us service his 510. We really enjoyed having the 510 in the shop!
Speaking of Love for The 510…this weekend 20+ B-Sedan racers will be running at Laguna Seca. I will have a full report for you, stay tuned!
Randy Jaffe is an avid car guy and Datsun enthusiast.Beyond his fanatic attention to detail and love for Nissan racing he’s excessive–in the best way possible and we love him for it. Several years ago we teamed up with Randy to turn his BRE Datsun 240z show car into a competitive vintage road-race car.
He was impressed with our work on the BRE Z and told us about another Z project that he was working on but stalled out in Atlanta. We decided it was time to finish this ultimate track/street car with a healthy dose of his personality. The highlight of this Series 1 240z is a full Rocketbunny body kit with plenty of Z Car Garage touches. Let’s take a closer look at the build:
Origins
The creation of the Rocketbunny Z changed courses many times as the build evolved, as Randy recalls:
“I wanted to build a series 1 Radical fun Street car with a completely different look. We started off thinking we would do conventional flares and conventional displacement for a 240 Z. Then my painter Bryson was doing the bodywork and had just installed a Rocketbunny kit on a 350Z and asked me to take a look at that particular body kit. I knew of the first one completed by Sung Kang and I think it was the second or third kit to come to the country when we ordered it from Japan directly.”
“The paint color which originally was going to be Porsche’s lava orange evolved because of Michael Eberhardt to Porsche‘s late 60s color called Tangerine. Tangerine painted with a white sub-coat pops where Helen Keller could see the color! Since I am color blind, the brighter the color the better I can see it. Bryson welded an amazing full roll cage as I decided to create the car as a street and track beast.”
The body was amazingly painted and caged by Bryson of Classic Livery of Atlanta. They are known for many high-end commissions including several RWB Porsche’s for Akira Nakai. Randy’s transporter trekked from Atlanta to drop off this gorgeous chassis at ZCG and our work began.
Assembly Required: Race Chassis Prep
The chassis was temporarily mounted on rollers while we prepped suspension pieces. Following the “race-car for the street” theme, we re-created the entire front and rear BRE 240z suspension setup. Everything that the #46 race car has is on this street car from DP racing front/rear struts, koni shocks, identical spring rates, sway bar, adjustable end links, plated finish…all of it. More pictures in the gallery below!
Front and rear:
Z Car Garage Big-Brakes
There are two versions of our ZCG Big Brakes and the only three “racing” setups on are on the BRE car, Alex’s Hako and the Rocketbunny Z:
Stay tuned for our latest big-brake upgrade from the minds of ZCG and Stoptech!
Back to the chassis, the entire hydraulic system was installed starting with freshly plated lines.
DP remote reservoir and plated pedal box:
Z Car Garage CV Axles
Z Car Garage is proud to offer a CV axle conversion kit for Datsun S30 and 510 cars. We run these on our race cars and the Rocketbunny Z also got a set.
Helping put the power down effectively is an OS Giken limited-slip R180 diff properly set up in-house by Joshua Corwin.
Wheels Make The Car
The biggest hurdle on this car was wheel choice. Wheels can make or break the car and they had to befit the “KAMIKAZ” nickname. There was no way we would have a car with massive flares and not use every single square inch of real estate available to fill with wheel and tire.
We sourced some Panasport C8 centers and began a custom build with MemoryFab who was instrumental in helping us with fitment/barrel sizing. Up front are 17×10 with a 275/35/17 tire and 17×12 rear with 335/35/17 tire (NT-01R). At the time there were no other RB cars running a 335 in back! .
We spent many hours making the kit fit around these wheels/tires so there was no rubbing:
Everyone was pleased with wheel choice for KAMIKAZ, especially Randy:
“I had already ordered and received a set of Watanabe wheels from Japan however they would not work with the rocket bunny kit so when I sent the car to Rob Fuller at Z car garage he did his magic and created a set of custom wheels using a set of Panasport racing C8 NOS wheels. 10 inch wheels on the front 12 inch wheels on the back by 17s gives the car and unreal stance.”
Race Engine
We had Rebello build a nasty 3.2L for the Z running triple-Mikuni’s, 12:5:1 compression (110 leaded fuel) backed by a 280zx 5-speed. Randy gave us a blank canvas to assemble the entire car but ZCG touches really shine in the engine bay.
“I basically wanted my 46Z race car for the street and asked Rob Fuller to further tap into his magic box so we built a 3.2 race motor full race suspension and the whole 9 yards! Rob and his guys built an amazing car using special finishes on some of the metal work under the hood and the car is just insane to drive.”
Here are a few pictures of the assembly with many more in the gallery. Aluminum flywheel with twin-plate setup and comp oil pan just like BRE car:
Triple Mikuni induction:
Engine going in and detail work beginning. We re-created the cooling system from the BRE car and ran all of the chassis wiring.
The catch can, radiator and Datsun roadster overflow are all period parts that BRE used and duplicated for the Rocketbunny:
Interior
With drivetrain and chassis sorted we moved to the interior. Continuing the race car theme is a stripped (but pretty) body-color interior with that beautiful roll cage from Bryson.
The dash was covered in Alcantara. We installed and wired it up with period gauges. All switch gear similar to the BRE car:
A few more detail shots:
A Braille battery from our friend Gary Savage sits behind the passenger seat:
Sparco Pro 2000 seats:
Chassis wiring for Euro-spec lights:
ZCG door seal upgrade with sound deadening panels. The Z was nearing completion.
Enter the JGRBOMB
This was our quickest build to date so we could make a debut at the 2018 Japanese Classic Car Show in Long Beach, CA. The night before our roadtrip down to SoCal we applied a Jagermeister livery to the car. Randy’s inspiration came from his obsession with Porsche, and the Max Moritz Racing Porsche 934:
“I love race liveries and told the guys at the car garage I wanted to do the Jagermeister racing package on this car and they were not really hip to it but Bryson and I discussed it several times and we both thought it would take the car to the next level. However I stuck with my gut and flew out to San Jose with the livery kit a few days before JCCS and after the first hood decal Rob and his guys were scratching their head thinking hmmm – This may not be a bad idea LOL.”
Rob and I finished applying the decals late in the night before going to Long Beach and we received a lot of positive feedback at that show and then the car came back to ZCon in Atlanta and won a Gold Cup award. The car was also shown at SEMA in 2018 where again the car received an immense amount of positive feedback.”
Indeed, the livery on the Rocketbunny (KAMIKAZ) Z looked fantastic and Randy eventually affixed the JGRBOMB license plate to match. We are happy to report that while at JCCS Randy’s Z won 1st place, Best 240z in a class filled with incredible Z cars!
It was also well-received at Z Con and the SEMA show (thanks to Gary and Braille!). That’s BRE front-man Peter Brock and the designer of the Rocketbunny body kit, Kei Miura both signing the Z:
That BRE Exhaust
We wanted to do a BRE exhaust so we used the Fujitsubo headers and a straight twin-exit with megaphones exactly like the BRE original set up, Randy notes the white color:
“Of course BRE had theirs painted yellow from day one and still are but I wanted to do the rocket bunny exhaust megaphones in white to play off the livery. Many vintage race cars have white headers and exhaust so it made sense to me. So the audio level is the same as the 46Z and will wake up the dead.”
How does it sound? Check out this short video with a dyno run, enjoy!
Details
It would take multiple blog posts to cover all the special details throughout this build. Some highlights include fully polishing all trim pieces like quarters, drip rails, etc. Re-keying locks. Even the mirror was done to Randy’s liking.
Things like the differential temperature gauge behind the old gas fill door have a purpose and pay homage to the Datsun vintage race cars. Contrastingly, there are small modern updates like vintage H4 headlights retrofitted with HID units.
We asked Randy what’s it like to drive:
“To me there’s no difference in driving this and the 46Z it’s almost the same build except more rubber on this one!”
To us that is a great compliment because we set out to finish Randy’s vision of the ultimate street/track BRE-flavored Z.
“I find myself several nights a week just walking around the car in my shop and admiring the build that Rob, Josh and the crew at Z Car Garage created.”
We thank Randy for letting us be creative on this Z and it’s been rewarding to see his taste reflected in other builds. This was a fun project and we enjoyed every moment of it. Browse the extensive photo gallery and LONG LIVE THE Z!
