Last weekend was beautiful and sunny in the Bay Area, perfect for a quick drive in Sora, our 1967 Datsun 2000 roadster. I joined Geoff in his 1963 Lotus Elan and Glenn Chiou in his Honda Civic Type-R (FL5).
We met in downtown Saratoga and admired Geoff’s recently acquired 1963 Lotus Elan S1. It’s sporting 26R-spec wider bodywork and interior pieces.
The hardtop is the most sharp-looking I’ve seen on a 60’s roadster (this is not a coupe!) and those are real Knock-on wheels. Dyno tuned at Z Car Garage. We’ll take a deep-dive into this English gem in a full report coming to zcarblog.
We headed up HWY9 to the Vista Point where the skidpad hosted some great hardware as usual, including these two Porsche (993) 911 Turbos. The Arena Red car had 195k miles and the Polar Silver car sported Advan GT wheels and Andial-built GT2-spec engine.
Vanity plate award goes to this BMW 1M:
Geoff was happy to see a fellow 7-owner. This one clearly powered by a Hayabusa motorcycle engine:
An NC Miata wearing Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R wheels…we thought it looked great!
From there we drove down HWY9 to Boulder Creek and headed home via Bear Creek Rd. There was an usual (and welcome) number of Pre-War “Ragtime Racer” cars out and about!
Enjoy the sights and sound of our 60’s sports cars in this video:
At home, Geoff kindly indulged my obligatory driveway photos. My family also witnessed a car that’s actually smaller than the Datsun Roadster!
Sora performed admirably, making many people smile this weekend. Enjoy the photo gallery below and Do It In A Datsun!
On April 11-13, Classic Sports Racing Group (CSRG) is hosting the David Love Vintage races at Sonoma Raceway. Z Car Garage will be racing and supporting several client’s Datsun 510 race cars running in the B-Sedan Group. Spectators are FREE, so come out and enjoy a weekend filled with competition, camaraderie and plenty of Alfas, BMWs and Datsuns sharing the track.
Z Car Garage Races Ands Supports Six 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.
Video of two Datsun 510 B-Sedans (Rob and Tom), Enjoy the sweet L-series music!
Here is a preview of the Z Car Garage clients running at the David Love Vintage races. Historic B&C Sedan has partnered with CSRG to showcase actual historic cars that raced in the golden era of Trans Am, B Sedan and C Sedan in Group 9.
The Corky Bell Trans Am 510 (Group 9)
Rob Fuller will be driving the #40 Corky Bell U2.5L Trans Am Datsun 510 in Group 9 with the Historic B & C Sedans. Z Car Garage restored it back to its former glory with Trans Am livery and Corky drove it for the first time in 52 years at the Velocity Invitational.
#7 Kelvin Tse
#64 Kenny Tse
#72 Tom Dockery (Group 9)
We have helped Tom build and prepare his Ex-Norm Balzer/Koobation 510 for several years. Unfortunately the car was wrecked at Sonoma Raceway. Z Car Garage rebuilt the 510, making a triumphant return to last year’s Velocity Invitational event.
#68 and #30 Noah’s 510 and Bluebird Coupe
Noah will be driving his #6 Bluebird Coupe and Danny will be in the #68 510:
Vintage Spec Miata
The Classic Sports Racing Group (CSRG) is excited to welcome Vintage Spec Miata (1990-1997) to all of their events! This is a fun, affordable way to get into vintage racing. Rob Fuller will be racing his #49 Spec Miata in Group 3:
We will also be supporting Lora Baggott driving Randy Pobst’s first National Championship-winning Miata (1992), currently owned by Ross Lindell. If you have any questions regarding prep and presentation, reach out to Rob Fuller: rob@zcargarage.com.
Join us for the 2025 Vintage Racing Season!
Z Car Garage is amped for vintage racing this year. View our race schedule listed below, and follow the CSRG website and zcarblog.com for more information. Do not miss the next exciting event: CSRG’s David Love Vintage Races at Sonoma Raceway, April 11-13. Check out last year’s David Love race report.
Z Car Garage Trackside Support Services
It is our pleasure to bring more enthusiasts into the world of vintage racing. Our trackside services include full race support and car-preparation to help make client’s race days seamless and worry-free so they can focus on driving. From arrive-and-drive service to on-track support and coaching…we love to help. Check out the Z Car Garage experience with our client Todd and his B-Sedan Datsun 510
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. Here is a video of the race cars we prepared this week with dyno passes and a walk around the shop. Enjoy!
On Saturday I took Mrs. Butters, our Series 1 shop 240z for a drive with fellow enthusiasts through some backroads to Carmel. It was a blast with fast roads, great cars and company. Enjoy our report with photo gallery below.
By 7:30am the South San Jose starting point was filled with cool cars. Our very own Cooper attended with his Datsun 260Z, now sporting a 3L L-series. More on his Overcrest Rally experience coming to zcarblog.com. The group was 13 deep with a nice mix Japanese, Euro and English marques…
The Cars
Photo by Alex Trang
Four Porsche 911s of different vintage and modification level: Koich’s 1975 911 Hot Rod, Tony’s Aubergine 911 (began life as a Targa!), Cam’s G-Body 911 with 17″ Fuch-style wheels, and Michael’s lowered G-Body 911 SC:
B-sedans representing with Matt’s 1973 Alfa Romeo Giulia 1300 Super with a 2.0L swap and Geoff’s Cortina:
Glenn and Rei’s NA Miatas:
Alex’s Midnight Blue 370Z
Bob’s Noble M400. This thing is wicked
We made a short stop in Hollister where Pascal joined us in his ND Miata. From here we took 25 to King City. Got some good rolling shots with smiling drivers:
The scenery and topography is wildly contrasting to the Bay Area through 25 with rolling hills and farmland. Some great curvy stretches of road here.
Pit stop in King City where we somehow managed to get all 13 cars parallel parked in one block:
King City to Carmel via Carmel Valley Rd was another change in scenery and weather.
This was a very twisty stretch with some rough sections and wet surfaces from earlier rains. Still fun! Mrs. Butters’ 3.2L with triple-Mikuni induction, Z Car Garage Big-Brakes, Z Car Garage CV Axles, ZCG Heat Shield, 6-speed transmission and full KW suspension all worked in harmony. The 3.54 rear end makes a huge difference in power delivery and cruising…80mph at just under 3500rpm!
Lunch at Baja Cantina, good food and great conversations!
Cooper and I got home via HWY 1 and 17. It was a wonderful driving day.Thanks to Alex and Glenn for organizing. Saw some familiar faces and met new folks sharing the same passion!
Filed under: 240z,510,Racing
by Alvin G @ 5:10 pm on September 23, 2024
WE LOVE RACING! Classic Sports Racing Group (CSRG) hosted the 21st Charity Challenge at Sonoma Raceway on September 13-15. Z Car Garage raced and supported several client’s Datsun 510 race cars running in the B-Sedan Group (John Morton Cup). Everyone had a blast, enjoy our race report with in-car video and photos below.
Z Car Garage Supports Six Cars!
It is our pleasure to bring more enthusiasts into the world of vintage racing. Our services 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:
Roll-call for the 6 ZCG-supported cars racing at the Charity Challenge…
#64 Kenny Tse
#98 Kelly M
#6 and #30 Noah’s Bluebird and BMW 2002
#7 Rob Fuller
The Bay Area Datsun Dealers tribute car was driven by Tom Dockery!
Group 3 B-Sedan Races
Rob recaps the Charity Challenge races from Group 3: B-Sedan and John Morton Cup…
“Over the last 21 years, CSRG has raised money for children’s charities and every Fall Z Car Garage tries to attend their main event, the Charity Challenge. In the B-Sedan group we were happy to support Ross Lindell in the historic Randy Pobst Miata, Kelly M in his 510, Noah debuting the Bluebird, Kenny in the #64 Dragonetti 510, Tom Dockery achieved a Personal Best lap time in the BADD 510 and Danny ran the BMW 2002. Everyone had a great time.”
“Noah went right to work and really felt comfortable with the Bluebird. We had made some changes like tightening up the front end and final drive to work with our NorCal tracks here. The 2002 was flawless with the issues we sorted prior. Kelly M’s logged some good laps but unfortunately had an oiling issue and didn’t finish the weekend. The Miatas were also able to be in the mix in Group 3.”
Enjoy this in-car videos from the Group 3 Race with Tom Dockery in the BADD 510…watch out for the close-call at the end of the first lap…
TOM: How can anyone turn down an offer to drive the Bay Area Datsun 510 at another CSRG event? You simply can’t. And it’s even harder to refuse when the deal includes coaching from Rob and track support from Josh, Cooper, and Keith. My Friday and Saturday practice and qualifying sessions were both fun and a bit frustrating. I found myself blaming slower traffic for not being able to fully unlock the car’s potential. Sunday morning, Rob and I reviewed my video footage, and he pointed out two key things: first, being too polite on the track doesn’t win races, and second, the car thrives at 8,000 rpm—so push it there. Between races, I also sat in on a video chat between Rob and Kenny that was packed with helpful insights. The result? Sunday’s two races saw me shaving 3-4 seconds off my lap times and finishing several spots higher than where I started. All in all, it was an amazing experience with the ZCG crew—Rob, Meghan, and the rest of the ZCG racing team.
Enjoy the sights and sounds from the paddock at the CSRG event:
Vintage Spec Miata
The Classic Sports Racing Group (CSRG) is excited to welcome Vintage Spec Miata (1990-1997) to all of their events! This is a fun, affordable way to get into vintage racing. Rob Fuller raced Lora Baggott’s Spec Miata.
Photo by Dennis and Kevin Gray
It was cool to see Randy Pobst’s first National Championship-winning Miata (1992), currently owned by Ross Lindell. If you have any questions regarding prep and presentation, reach out to Rob Fuller: rob@zcargarage.com.
Thank You!
The Charity Challenge was fun with the usual group of folks, Oliver, Meghan, lots of snacks and good times. The ZCG crew kept all of us safe and on the track to enjoy the weekend, shoutout to Cooper and Josh! Another highlight was the dinner/auction at the Turn 11 clubhouse. Excited for next year’s event! Huge shoutout and thank you to our star photographer Meghan Fuller for capturing all of the paddock and track photos in the gallery below.
The racing continues! We are racing at Sonoma again for the Velocity Invitational October 4-6.
Join us for the 2024 Vintage Racing Season!
Z Car Garage is amped for more racing this year. Please check the CSRG website and zcarblog.com for upcoming race events. Do not miss the next event: CSRG’s Charity Challenge at Sonoma September 13-15.
Filed under: 240z,510,Events,Racing
by Alvin G @ 5:10 pm on February 20, 2024
On March 15-17, Classic Sports Racing Group (CSRG) is hosting the David Love Vintage races at Sonoma Raceway. Z Car Garage will be racing and supporting several client’s Datsun 510 race cars running in the B-Sedan Group. Spectators are FREE, so come out and enjoy a weekend filled with competition, camaraderie and plenty of Alfas, BMWs and Datsuns sharing the track.
Z Car Garage Races Ands Supports Six 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.
Video of two Datsun 510 B-Sedans (Rob and Tom), Enjoy the sweet L-series music!
Here is a preview of the Z Car Garage clients running at the David Love Vintage races:
#7 Rob Fuller
ZCG owner Rob Fuller, Bay Area Datsun Dealers car
#7 Kelvin Tse
#64 Kenny Tse
#8 Gabe Rothman
#25 Jeff Rothman
Gabe’s father Jeff is racing his B-Sedan Datsun 510:
