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! Please note our holiday closure below:
ZCG will be closed from 12/21 to New Year’s Day. We will re-open for business on 1/2/19
Before we take a look back at highlights from 2018, check out a few of the many customer projects coming along at the shop including full restorations
Scott W’s 260z was completed in summer. This Z has a complete color change, ZCG Big-Brakes and a sweet 3.2L with Jenvey ITB fuel injection. Full report in the New Year!
Several cars delivered before the holidays will get full reports soon: Cece’s 1977 Datsun 280z, Patrick’sZ32TT and Jay’s Z32TT
Highlights from 2018
Enjoy these highlights from 2018 and Z you in the New Year!
There are vintage car races every month of the year, but few draw such amazing machines as the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. Each year the Reunion has a featured marque and this year it was Nissan, previously known as Datsun. This was the very first time a Japanese manufacturer was honored as the featured marque in 45 years of running the event! As you can imagine, excited Datsun racers and fans around the nation made plans to attend the Reunion held 8/23-26 at Laguna Seca Raceway.
We had a blast at the RMMR and I was once again fortunate to be on the Z Car Garage pit crew for several race cars. Read further for our report, illustrated by a 200+ shot gallery with videos. Enjoy! Here is a short introductory video highlighting the Nissan/Datsun group photo (50 cars!) and a taste of racing action to come:
An epic showing from Nissan Motorsports
Nissan really rose to the occasion, bringing historically significant race cars from Japan to offer a museum-like collection under its paddock tent. Our friends at Japanese Nostalgic Car (JNC) took an in-depth look at each of the cars displayed, catch their excellent coverage HERE. My favorites were the #46 BRE 510, Grand-Prix dominating R382, hyper-rare Nissan R390 GT1 Road Car, and of course the monstrous GTP ZX Turbo car. We wish they would have driven them on the track!
Datsun fans unite
When the announcement was made that Nissan would be the featured marque at the RMMR, we knew it had to be an unforgettable experience for all Datsun enthusiasts. An event “not to be missed”, and that is where The Z Owners of Northern California (ZONC) comes in. We reached out to club secretary Ann Devor, and her team coordinated a Nissan-only parking corral AND a parade lap around the world famous, 11-turn, 2.238-mile jewel of a road course called Weathertech Laguna Seca Raceway.
Car corral attendance was impressive, and it was absolute bliss for all participants. There were over 130 cars including Datsun 510s, Z cars and roadsters followed by Z32s, Z33s, Z34s and GT-Rs.
Staging for the parade lap was awesome with smiles everywhere! Living legend Pete Brock even rode shotgun in a Datsun Roadster as the lead car. We were fortunate to get almost two full laps in, at a surprisingly brisk pace. Please see our picture gallery and link (from Jason Green) for shots of your car!
Missed out on the fun? In the video below you can see my coverage of the car corral and parade lap. Also included is parade lap footage captured from the Corkscrew, one of the track’s infamous turns, thanks to Gary Savage:
Serious recognition for Japanese Classics
The Reunion is a highlight for race fans, but it is also part of Monterey Car Week which is filled with classy events like auctions and the famous Pebble Beach Concours d’ Elegance. Another first for Japanese cars was the Japanese Automotive Invitational hosted by Infiniti. This inaugural event displayed landmark Japanese vehicles. While I did not have a chance to visit the JAI, Speedhunters did. We are proud of three cars displayed: Tim Corcoran’s stunning ’64 Datsun 1500, a hakosuka Skyline GT-R from our friends at JDM Legends, and Brian Kippen’s Nissan Patrol:
Epic racing
With 50 Nissan/Datsuns racing this year the starting grid for Group 3B (B-sedan, roadsters), Group 5A (IMSA GTU) and even Group 7B (IMSA GTO) was a fan’s wish come true. Z Car Garage supported 5 race cars, and Rob Fuller would be driving one of them as well. Rob’s operational plan was to assign one technician per race car to ensure that all were ready for each session. It was an orchestral process to watch unfold, and we pulled it off as all 5 cars made it through the Pre-Reunion week and race!
Take a lap with John Morton in the BRE Datsun 240z
For this year’s Reunion, Z Car Garage prepared and supported the #46 BRE Datsun 240z piloted once again by our hero John Morton. Owner Randy Jaffe restored this Z over several years with fanatic attention to detail. The Z was shipped to ZCG from Georgia, needing refreshing from racing earlier this year at The Mitty (Nissan was also the featured marque).
At 76 years of age John Morton is still formidable behind the wheel!
Enjoy this extended video with in-car footage of John dicing it up with Porsche RSRs and BMW CSLs…Long Live The Z!
John finished the race as the fastest Z car in the field! 8th overall out of 52 cars with a best lap time of 1:41.8. The BRE 240z also enjoyed the Monterey scene off the track, taking a trip to the lush greens of the Quail and shop-lined streets of the Carmel Concours. The video below shows the drive to these events and features a bonus interview from Motor Trend with Rob at Z Car Garage:
Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion here we come! Nissan is the featured marque and we are amped! Z Car Garage is running 5 race cars:
#46 BRE Datsun 240z makes its return with John Morton behind the wheel:
#9 Hakosuka and #52 Bluebird and #38 280zx all piloted by Alex Mcdowell:
#49 Joel Anderson IMSA GTU 240z returns to RMMR since 2015 with Rob Fuller at the wheel!
Lots of fun events to enjoy during the week, big thanks to Ann from ZONC for making a great schedule so you don’t miss a thing!
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!
On the cover of the current September issue of Classic Motorsports Magazine is Randy Jaffe’s BRE Datsun 240z. The 12-page feature on Peter Brock’s racing history with the Z also discusses Randy’s restoration of the famous #46 car. We were very happy to see Z Car Garage mentioned in the article after our efforts to support John Morton racing #46 at The Mitty earlier this year. Pick up a copy soon!
Our team removing and replacing a failed engine in the BRE Datsun 240z at the Mitty last April, video below:
Z Car Garage is also in Grassroots Motorsports Magazine in the August issue:
We are excited for the 2018 The Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion where John Morton will be racing the BRE Datsun 240z again! You can see our report from last year’s RMMR HERE.
Need help planning for Monterey Car Week? Classic Motorsports has a great guide to all of the events during HERE.
