I finally attended DrivingWhileAwesome Cars n’ Coffee last weekend and it was a great time. This is a gathering with a wonderful and eclectic mix of cars hosted by the DWA crew in Davenport, CA. Our group of friends left San Jose just before 7am, and it was a chilly 41 degrees. We joined Glenn and Pat in their NA Miata, Rob in the SR20DET-powered Datsun 510, Lloyd brought his S2000-powered AE86, customer Rob J in his 1970 Datsun 240z and William in a (964) 911:

 

We bolted up HWY 17 to reach Davenport. I threw my hardtop back on the roadster after a topless summer of fun. Joe decided to brave the cold sans top in his 1968 Datsun 1600 roadster.

  

Arriving at the parking lot in front of Whale city Bakery cool cars were already lining up. We parked next to DWA member Lane Skelton of DrivingWhileAwesome in his Porsche 944.

 

A short video of Rob in the 510, as well as an F355 taking off:

In Search of J-Tin

Although attendance was mostly Euro/Italian, many Japanese gems showed up. I was pleasantly surprised to see Eddie Wu in his #SAKERKT, a 1966 Datsun Roadster with an S15 SR20DE:

 

Lloyd’s AE86 Corolla was a crowd favorite (mine as well) sporting a complete Honda S2000 (F22C) drivetrain and full suspension:

  

More J-Tin goodness: NSX, First gen Acura Legend, FC RX-7 and Kei Truck (Honda Acty)!

   

Not Japanese at first glance, but underhood of this Mini is B-series VTEC!

 

TWO R32 Skylines and DWA member Art C’s Toyota Celica All-trac:

 

Andrew’s Datsun 510 RHD SSS tribute looking fantastic:

 

Euro Classics

Yearning for Porsche’s? Or something a bit less “mainstream”? DWA CnC did not disappoint. Check out these Porsche 914s, from flared to bone-stock:

 

Early Porsche 911’s, including a REAL Carrera RS:

  

Ferrari F355 (manual!) and a Doka:

  

I spotted a Dino 246 on the way back, this couple was doing it right!

American Muscle was also present. Here is a C5 ZR-1, recently won from our friends at BringaTrailer.com! Pretty C3 Vette, and a GM wagon displaying some power…

  

Cool cars could be found outside the main lot as well!

 

 

DWA CnC was definitely my kind of cars and coffee. It’s a great venue right on the coast across from a bakery/cafe and the cars were so diverse. They spark emotion and memories that new cars just can’t match. We highly recommend checking it out! Thanks to the DWA crew for hosting. If you haven’t already, listen to their podcast and make sure you give them a follow on Instagram.
More pictures in the gallery below!

 
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Jose B visited us in April to troubleshoot some noises and install his Motordyne exhaust and Stillen intakes. We also UPREV dyno-tuned the 370Z, making an impressive 345hp/265tq to the wheels. Jose recently came back to ZCG for a big-brake upgrade.

 

We installed Jose’s Stillen AP Racing Big Brake Kit, replacing the stock front calipers and rotors:

 

The 14″, 6-piston calipers finished in red really fill out the Nimso 19″ wheels:

  

We like the new look with the rear spoiler and lowered suspension:

 

Thanks for letting us be a part of your build Jose, Long Live The Z!

 

Z Car Garage is proud to attend the 2018 SEMA show this week in Las Vegas! Our customer Randy Jaffe is displaying his 1970 Datsun 240z in the Braille Battery booth #25029. Please stop by the booth and don’t forget to see our hero Pete Brock as he will be in the Braille booth for autograph sessions:

Tuesday 10-11:30am and 3-4pm
Thursday 9:30am-10:30am and 3-4pm

  

We look forward to seeing you! Enjoy this video showing the Z on our dyno, loading into SEMA and some footage of Pete Brock from ZCon last week.

LONG LIVE THE Z!

 

 

 

We have been working with Mike M and his 2006 Z33 since last year. With every visit to ZCG this 350z gets upgraded in both power and chassis areas. In November 2017, with 111k miles on the VQ a Vortech supercharger was installed with supporting mods:

   

Chassis improvements: KW V3 coil overs, SPC front/rear control arms, Hotchkis sway bars and a full alignment. We also installed ART pipes to replace the factory cats:

 

Hotchkis front and rear sway bars:

   

ART Pipes:

  

Mike’s latest visit to ZCG included fueling, gauges and more power upgrades. The fuel system was converted to support E85/ethanol starting with a Walbro 485 in-tank fuel pump:

 

Next, a CJ Motorsports Stage 2 fuel return system help keep up with the Walbro pump:

  

Increased fuel demands of E85 require larger fuel injectors so we installed IDX 1050CC units. A Zeitronix ethanol sensor is critical for monitoring E85 content:

  

The brains to managing the E85 content is a Haltech Platinum Pro plug-in. A PLX Devices dm6 AFR/gen4 gauge pod also accommodates the Zeitronix ethanol sensor readout:

  

Final power adder was a 2.87 pulley for the supercharger and our ZCG air bypass for the race gate:

 

From the dyno charts below, having the ability to change the ethanol content of fuel allows for more hp/torque.  More smiles per gallon as well with E85 currently at $1.99/gallon

(left) Baseline before Haltech tuning: 331hp/286tq and (right) baseline to 91 octane tune with Haltech: 346hp/303tq to the wheels

  

Final 91 octane tune with the Haltech: 364hp/306tq at the wheels:

 

75% Ethanol tune: 421hp/345tq to the wheels:

 

To balance an extra 126hp power from the Vortech we installed a Stoptech Big-Brake Kit. Up front are 332mm ST40 calipers in red, with slotted rotors:

 

Stock vs Stoptech:

  

The new brake also look great behind the Enkei RPF1 wheels:

 

Enjoy the Ride Mike!

 

The 2018 Japanese Classic Car Show was held on September 15, in Long Beach, CA. This is the original vintage Japanese-car event in SoCal and in its 14th year, JCCS has grown incredibly–over 430 cars covered the lawn of Marina Green Park. The vehicles themselves remained a fantastic blend of stock, modified and restored. This is the most important show for Japanese cars, and the Z Car Garage crew keeps coming back every year to soak up the sun, see old friends and drool over some spectacular vintage builds.

   

ZCG Displays Two Z Cars!

 

Z Car Garage displayed two customer cars at the show: Randy Jaffe’s 1970 Datsun 240z and James Stevens’ 1972 Datsun 240z.  Randy’s Z was completed in time to be our booth car. This Series 1 S30 started as a project car 4-years ago with paint/bodywork performed by Bryson Richards of Classic Livery. The Z was shipped to us from Georgia for finishing Randy’s vision of a wild show/go race car:

 

Inspiration for the Jagermeister livery came from Randy’s obsession with Porsche, and the Max Moritz Racing Porsche 934.

  

We will take an in-depth look at this Z in separate post, but here are a few key details. Providing room for the 275/315-width tires is an authentic Pandem Rocketbunny aero kit. Randy channeled his passion for racing into this build and the chassis is virtually identical to his #46 BRE Datsun 240z, using zinc’d DP Racing suspension parts. The engine is a big displacement L-series running 13:5:1 compression, triple-Mikuni ph44s, a Fujitsubo header and glorious BRE-style exhaust. Running gear includes a close-ratio ZX transmission, OS Giken LSD for the 4.11 R180, our ZCG CV Axles and ZCG Big-Brake Kit (race version).

   

We are happy to report that Randy’s Z won 1st place, Best 240z in a class filled with incredible Z cars!

 

James’s 1972 S30 was displayed with fellow Z car owners in the show. At the heart of this beast is a turbocharged L-series managed by Haltech. Chassis upgrades include custom full-length subframe connectors, our ZCG CV Axles and Big-Brake Kit (328mm) behind Volk TE37V wheels.

 

A stack instrument cluster was integrated into the gauge pod, viewed from leather Recaro Pole Position seats. This Z has a very unique sound. We recently tuned it on E85, dyno results and videos coming soon!

   

We are very happy for James as he won the award for Best of JC Speed!

 

Stay tuned for in-depth reports on both of these Z cars coming to zcarblog.com.

Showtime!

Our friend and talented racer Troy Ermish transported both of our Z cars (and his 510) down to Long Beach Friday afternoon. Below is a video of the Z’s loading from the shop:

We unloaded early Saturday morning from the expansive parking lot near the new venue in Marina Green Park.  Immediately we could tell this location was larger and more vendor-friendly than The Queen Mary of past shows. Our booth was situated in a great spot, at the mid-point of the show with our neighbors from OS Giken.
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