Shop Talk for
|
|||
 |
|
||
For Sale: This Hakosuka Skyline was originally imported for our customer in 2011 and it has been modified and maintained exclusively by Z Car Garage. The drivetrain was updated with a 3.1L L-series with triple Mikuni induction, and 5-speed transmission. It is ready to be enjoyed. For more information please see our For Sale Ad HERE
We met Greg in 2015 when he purchased a set of Panasport wheels for his S30. He returned later in 2019 for our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes and Z Car Garage CV Axles along with upgraded suspension and triple Mikuni carbs. Greg is a pilot residing in Reno, NV and when he is not flying passengers all over the US he is a 100% gearhead with an award-winning 1970 Dodge Charger. He has owned the ’73 Z for 42 years and we love the story behind it:
“I bought this Z from the original family (two owners, same family) just weeks after I graduated from high school in June of 1978. I had previously owned a 1970 Sublime Green Dodge Charger R/T, but I thought it just wouldn’t be cool to show up to college in a ‘lime green’ car, so I went on the hunt for something that had great looks, and great performance to match. I kept my pursuit of a 240Z a secret from my high school sweet-heart (now my wife of 40 years), who was two years behind me in high school, until I had actually purchased the car and had a chance to give it a good detailing. When I pulled up that first evening with the new Z, she was very surprised! See didn’t know what it was, but she thought it was just “So Cool!”
As life went on Greg moved from Idaho to Reno and the car ended up getting stored for about 20 years. When their re-acquired ’70 Charger did not make it back from a resto-mod in 2015, Valerie suggested getting the 240z running to enter in Hot August Nights in place of the Charger.
“After sitting for 20 years it needed some work – we called on Dave Rebello for a 3.0 stroker L-28 engine (SU carbs), and while the engine was being built my son and I got busy. We pulled the fuel tank, dipped it, and refreshed it with a new sending unit, as well as all new hoses.”
In 2015 Greg purchased a set of 16×7 Panasport wheels from us and though the Z was really nice it was time to take the next step.
After months of planning, last July Greg and Valerie drove their Z down from Reno to Z Car Garage. They spent the day with us while we installed new parts, made a few repairs and cleaned up the engine bay.
The Rebello 3L was treated to a fresh set of triple Mikuni PHH44 carbs on a Harada intake manifold (Rob’s favorite intake). We anodized the linkage from blue to black to suit Greg’s taste.
Out with the old SU carbs. A new 6-into-1 MSA coated exhaust header (merged to existing exhaust system) and ZCG heat shield were installed:
Greg also wanted the fuel hoses and AN fttings black which is becoming common from our vintage racing builds like the Rocketbunny Z. Finishing it off is our favorite fuel rail from Japan.
The engine bay received lots cleanup. We wanted Greg’s attention to detail to match his Mopar’s. Before/After, triples are hard to beat!
After the addition of triple Mikuni carbs and an updated MSD ignition we went through the car to ensure it ran well. With Rob’s dyno tuning we greatly improved the way this Rebello 3L drives. Baseline was 186hp/189tq and after tuning it made 215hp/203tq to the wheels:
Listen to those triple Mikuni’s sing on the dyno. Also watch for a test drive with Rob running through the gears making sweet L-series music!
We sorted a few additional items like repairing the parking brake, replacing a lazy tachometer with a nice unit from Rob’s stash and fixing his shift boot.
Greg was pleased with modifications and repairs:
“One of the not-previously talked about items that I was most pleased with was the Tension Rod Bushings that Rob replaced. After I installed the new front-end parts a few years back, the car still had a tendency to follow slight grooves in the road. I had written this off as non-stock wider tires, but when Rob took the car he noticed it in his test drive and replaced those for us as well. The car now literally drives and handles better than new, and the triple carbs with Rob’s tuning magic REALLY brought out the beast in the Rebello motor! The car’s performance now is quite simply stunning!!!”
With great power from the Rebello 3L Greg needed braking to match. We installed our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels) and also upgaded to Z Car Garage CV Axles!
As fellow S30 owner/racer Glenn C mentioned in his review, on top of braking performance, pedal feel is extremely important and our Big-Brakes deliver. This is a direct result of working with Stoptech to create a totally bolt-in solution requiring no M/C change or additional proportioning valve/adjustments. All fitting behind a 15″ Watanabe or Panasport wheel and retaining factory emergency brake lever! A few details below:
Calipers: Stoptech ST42 4-piston front & rear race calipers (Alum 6061 mil-spec Type III anodized)
Rotors: 280mm x 20.6 with Alum 7075 hats
Pads: Stoptech 309 sport street pads
Blog posts documenting all of our customers running the ZCG Big-Brakes can be found HERE.
A few closer detail shots of the calipers, rotors and hardware:
We went ahead got Greg dialed in with the ZCG big-brake kit for small wheels with parking brake and a new 240z brake booster/master cylinder. More pics in the gallery!
Front brake installation:
At the rear, the OEM drums brakes were replaced with our ZCG Big-Brakes. Factory handbrake functionality IS retained! They also look great behind the Panasport wheels:
Our Z Car Garage CV Axles help transmit power to the ground and ensure smoother operation compared to your standard half shafts. We have over 70 CV axle kits on customer cars and we are stoked with all of the positive feedback.
Greg received ZCG CV Axle set #282.
After their visit to ZCG, both Greg and Valerie continued to enjoy the Z at several Hot August Nights shows. It appears they enjoy driving it more than the Charger 🙂
“The Hot August Night Virginia City meet this year. We had intended to take the Z Friday, and the Charger on Saturday, but we had so much fun driving up and down Geiger Grade with the new ZCG triple Mikuni‘s and the ZCG Big brakes that we took the Z both days!!!”
Valerie driving the Z to a local ‘Ladies only’ car show. We love her “all blue” theme! (Right) Their 1970 Dodge Charger:
“Valerie and I are very happy with the service and modifications ZCG has completed on our ’73 240Z. I doubt anyone else has the experience, the knowledge base, and most importantly, the PASSION for working on Z Car’s that Rob Fuller and the staff at the Z-Car Garage have!”
We really had a great experience working Greg, thank you both for letting us make your Z car an enjoyable sports car! More pictures in the gallery below:
LONG LIVE THE Z!
Rommel came to Z Car Garage in 2014 to have work done on his 2013 Nismo 370z. He’s a big car enthusiast with a Camaro ZL1 and Viper ACR and after a few years he reached out to us about his 1971 Datsun 240z.
The Z had an EFI setup with Megasquirt and would not start. He made an appointment with us and got the car towed here where we found an ECU failure. Rob and Mel discussed doing an upgrade to Haltech and fixing all the things wrong with the car from sorting the suspension, better braking and engine bay cleanup.
Mel was hesitant to do everything all at once, yet we wanted to avoid future trips back to the shop. Jokingly, Mel said what “I’d really like are some ph44 Mikuni’s.” Ask and you shall receive as Rob had a set ready to go. So we cancelled the tow truck and made a plan to go back to vintage.
All of the existing EFI parts were removed from the car. We hooked Mel up with a Harada intake manifold, triple ph44 Mikuni carbs correctly setup for his 2.8 engine, a ZCG heat shield and corrected all fuel system issues:
Often utilized on vintage race cars, the fuel lines were plumbed from a junction block on the firewall. Black AN fittings on black fuel lines supply each carb:
We think the new triple Mikuni’s look much better than the old setup!
The existing fuel pump system (Left) was removed and a cleaner Holley setup installed:
Aside from the exhaust header, this is a stock 2.8L engine running Mikuni ph44s. With timing and A/F adjustments we picked up more power making 150hp/167tq to the wheels:
Listen to those triple Mikuni’s sing on the dyno:
The rear fenders were cut badly to fit flares, revealing an inner fender gap that would allow air/fuel vapors to entire cabin:
We pulled it back, welded the metal and sealed everything up. The exhaust was also rubbing at the rear valance so re-fitted it.
The chassis was treated to a suspension refresh. We installed lower adjustable control arms and T/C rods from Techno Toy Tuning. T3 finishes the suspension in our signature color and we really appreciate Gabriel and his staff. They make some of the best suspension parts out there for Z cars. Lower control arms replacing OEM parts:
Front T/C rods replacing OEM units:
We installed our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels) and Z Car Garage CV Axles!
As fellow S30 owner/racer Glenn C mentioned in his review, on top of braking performance, pedal feel is extremely important and our Big-Brakes deliver. This is a direct result of working with Stoptech to create a totally bolt-in solution requiring no M/C change or additional proportioning valve/adjustments. All fitting behind a 15″ Watanabe or Panasport wheel and retaining factory emergency brake lever! A few details below:
Calipers: Stoptech ST42 4-piston front & rear race calipers (Alum 6061 mil-spec Type III anodized)
Rotors: 280mm x 20.6 with Alum 7075 hats
Pads: Stoptech 309 sport street pads
Blog posts documenting all of our customers running the ZCG Big-Brakes can be found HERE.
A few closer detail shots of the calipers, rotors and hardware:
We went ahead got Mel dialed in with the ZCG big-brake kit for small wheels with parking brake and a new master cylinder. More pics in the gallery!
Front brake installation:
The ZCG brakes fit under the 15×9 Atara Racing wheels:
At the rear, the existing old-school disc setup was replaced with our ZCG Big-Brakes. Factory handbrake functionality IS retained!
Our Z Car Garage CV Axles help transmit power to the ground and ensure smoother operation compared to your standard half shafts. We have over 70 CV axle kits on customer cars and we are stoked with all of the positive feedback.
The differential area was a mess on Mel’s Z. We corrected the side-flange issues with his R200 and installed our CV axles. Stock half shafts (L) and ZCG units:
Once running we performed a full alignment and dialed in the brakes. Mel’s initial feedback on the car made us happy:
“Well, I’m very happy how my car turned out after picking it up from ZCG. Hearing my baby runs on old school NA triple carbs is very heart warming, the ZCG Big-Brake kit is amazing, the CV axles are beefy and the suspension tweaks made a lot of difference on handling. I can’t thank Rob enough for what he did to my Z. It feels like a totally different car now (in a good way) compared to when I drop it off. Job well done ZCG! Thank you for taking care of my 240Z ZCG. 👍👏🙏”
This was a very rewarding project and we are excited to see Mel’s Z evolve into a well-rounded sports car. He’s already thinking about his next upgrade…a 3.0 or 3.2L motor. Thanks for bringing your Z to us Mel! More pictures in the gallery below.
Long Live The Z!
…[read more]
Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Z Car Garage! We hope you can find time to Enjoy The Ride over the holidays. Please note our hours of operation below:
We will be closed this Thursday and Friday for Thanksgiving, re-opening Tuesday December 3.
ZCG will close on the 20th of December 2019, reopening on the 2nd of January 2020
Thank you!
Our ZCG Big Brakes have been winning Z-car enthusiasts locally and across the US. In April we were stoked to hear from our friends at JDM Legends installing the brake kit on their customer’s 280z project:
Z Car Garage is proud to offer the Big-Brake Kit to Z-Car owners that want to perform the installation themselves. We can ship worldwide and each kit contains everything needed with a comprehensive installation guide. Blog posts documenting all of our customers running the ZCG Big-Brakes can be found HERE. Our first customer to receive and install the BBK was Duffy M, owner of this 1971 Series 1 S30 in Safari Gold.
Duffy expressed interest in our BBK and helped us validate its installation for future customers. He was impressed with the kit from the beginning:
“I am blown away by the quality and engineering that went into this Z Car Garage BBK (big brake kit). The kit was designed by Stoptech engineers and ZCG from the ground up for the Z. I am sort of a guinea pig to see if consumers can install this kit. They have an amazing detailed 40 page instructions, which in the car world is rare. I’m stoked to get them installed. Kit comes with everything needed to install and retains stock parking brake and MC. Fits 15×8 wheels as well! So light!”
If you follow Duffy on his Instagram page or epic build-thread on Classic Z Car Forum its clear that his attention to detail is impressive. He got the BBK installed on his Z, complete with functioning parking brake:
Front and rear:
Easy fitment behind his 15×8 Watanabe wheels:
Beyond ease of installation and quality components, our Big-Brakes perform by offering superb pedal feel…everyone that drives our demo Z confirms! Duffy was very happy as well with great feedback:
“They work amazing. Hands down the best mod I have done in a while. Modern/race feel. So the BBK kit by Z Car Garage is literally amazing. Honestly it’s the best stopping power of any car I have ever driven. Pedal feel is great. Clears everything nicely. Wants to throw me through the window. I’m not an expert, but I think the bias feels amazing.”
Remember how we said Duffy has an impressive attention to detail? Check out his Z, from engine bay…
…to chassis/suspension:
Duffy is also running a V2 Fujitsubo exhaust system, OS Giken LSD and many other goodies!
We also hooked Duffy up with an OS Giken clutch that he installed with a breeze, backed by a KA24 transmission:
We enjoyed working with you Duffy and we are very proud to have our Big-Brakes on your Z!
Stay tuned for more customer installations of our ZCG Big-Brakes! Check out our ZCG CV axles HERE
Long Live The Z!
