Gorgeous weather, an amazing variety of cars and exhilarating driving all on today’s drive organized by Naveed Y. The starting point was Buck’s of Woodside with an absolutely bonkers mix of vintage/modern sports cars from all marques:
Our customer James Stevens showed up with his turbocharged 1972 Datsun 240z, check out the Speedhunters article with great photos by Naveed HERE!
We departed up 84 to Skyline heading towards 9. There were so many cars in the group that we split up–some took Bear Creek Rd down through Felton and eventually we all met at Whale City Bakery in Davenport. Jeremy Gomez’ G-nose S30 was looking sharp sitting on Longchamps:
I was honored to pilot Rob Fuller’s S30, affectionately known as “Ms Butters Z”. This Series 1 240z has recent engine, suspension and further chassis upgrades we are very excited to share with you. I was impressed with its performance, stay tuned for a full report!
Our final leg of the trip was the best: HWy1 and 84 back to Alice’s Restaurant. Thanks Naveed for organizing the run it was a blast! More pictures in the gallery below, enjoy!
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:
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!
“Great Drives” is a Zcarblog series highlighting scenic routes and destinations we have enjoyed from the past and present. Whether it is a nice cruise or thrilling adventure, we hope to inspire Bay Area vintage car owners to Enjoy The Ride! Have a great drive of your own that you want to share? Feel free to contact us on Facebook, Instagram or by e-mail.
Mt. Umunhum to Alice’s Restaurant, October 2018
There are several fun routes reaching Alice’s from San Jose. This drive was organized by Lotus 7 owner Geoff W and we all met in Almaden to begin:
The 11-car group was diverse with both vintage and modern sports cars with great Nissan/Datsun representation!
The cars:
Daniel’s Nissan 240s (S13) with an RB25DET swap. He is the man behind the lens of BayRoadsAP. Naveed Yousufzai’s R32 Skyline GT-R:
Lane Skelton of DrivingWhileAwesome in his Porsche 944. Eric in the 911 Targa
TWO Z cars! Michael’s Series 1 240z (with patina) and Andrew’s Series 1 Fairlady Z (RHD!)
Geoff (organizer) in his Lotus 7, featured on Petrolicious! Mike in his 993 Porsche:
Matt in his Subaru BRZ Performance Pack, Brendan and Drew in their Chevy SS sedans, and myself in the Datsun Roadster.
The route:
Driving through Almaden to Mt. Umunhum:
The climb up to the peak is filled with freshly paved road and switchbacks. At the top:
In the lower lot we had a few minutes to chat and check out the cars
I really dig Michael’s S30, it has a warmed-over triple-carb’d L-series:
We left Mt. Umunhum towards 17 and exited on Bear Creek Rd. for lunch in Boulder Creek. This was a fun stretch I haven’t been on.
Heading up 9 to 35. It was fun chasing Michael in the Z:
We had a little scare when his oil pressure gauge started reading low….it checked it ok and we were off again:
The route changed a bit and we took Alpine Rd. (lots of loose gravel) to Pescadero Creek Rd, then Stage Rd. After re-grouping we hopped on HWY 1N:
From 1 we turned right onto 84. This stretch was amazing. SO much fun connecting the turns and chasing Geoff in the Lotus. This is a road that made me love my roadster even more. Thanks Geoff for an exhilarating drive!
All of the Roadsters at Alice’s Restaurant. An “Aero Cycle” joined:
We also got a closer look at Geoff’s go-kart. One look at the driver’s seat tells all: this is a wild ride!
After drinks we departed. Alice’s never disappoints.
Here’s video I snapped showing the action, enjoy!
After drinks we split up for home, and i took 35 back down 9. I was treated to some great coastal and bay arae views:
Big thanks to Geoff for organizing the drive. It was a fantastic run with great company! More pictures in the gallery below.
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:
“Great Drives” is a new Zcarblog series highlighting scenic routes and destinations we have enjoyed from the past and present. Whether it is a nice cruise or thrilling adventure, we hope to inspire Bay Area vintage car owners to Enjoy The Ride! Have a great drive of your own that you want to share? Feel free to contact us on Facebook, Instagram or by e-mail.
Pescadero Beach, 7/8/18
Starting from San Jose, there are several fun routes reaching Pescadero State Beach. Sunday’s Fun Run was organized by fellow Datsun owners, beginning in Downtown Saratoga heading up to Skyline via HWY9.
We had 11 cars in the group and joining us as Guest of Honor was Josh Martin, star of the successful Utah-based JDM Legends TV show.
Three Datsun Roadsters: my 67.5, Aidan’s ’69 SRL and Stacey’s 1970 SRL:
Three S30s: Dirk’s silver ’73, Andrew’s ’77 280z and Brian’s ’72:
Representing the finest from Nissan in the 90’s was Josh in the ZCG 300zx Twin Turbo and Naveed in his splendid 1991 Nissan R32 Skyline GT-R:
Our friend Matt drove his F2oC-powered Datsun 510 and we also had this STi(Tim) and 911 (JR) come along:
The blast up HWy 9 to the 35 junction was fun. After a brief photo-op at Sempervirens lookout we headed to Alice’s Restaurant at the 84/35 junction.
Alice’s was quite busy and the car show there was impressive.
BMWCCA was holding an event/rallye so parking was a challenge. I spotted this clean, Kouki S14:
From Alice’s I led the group down 84 towards the coast. This was my favorite part of the drive. We were blessed with zero traffic and an opportunity to open up the throttle and enjoy the turns. Linking each apex one after another was addicting, like the esses at Buttonwillow. Brake dust was wafting in the air from running hard!
Instead of taking 1 South we turned left onto Stage Rd (a route I learned from Glenn Chiou). Stage was bumpy but the reward was a nice, eucalyptus-lined stretch in farmland. Another photo-op session and my first time seeing Naveeds’s R32 in person to study the details. It’s the perfect amount of JDM style with the re-barreled Nismo wheels and subtly aero from Top Secret:
Sensing the mass of cars from the BMWCCA rallye headed our way we promptly headed into town and reached our destination at Pescadero Beach:
Here’s a short video of the Fun Run, turn up those speakers!
Weather at the coast was perfect and we departed via 1 and back up 84 for lunch at Alice’s. Again, 84 was clear and we Enjoyed The Ride:
Thanks to the organizers everyone had a blast! It was also nice to give Josh a sample of our beautiful driving roads here in the Bay Area. Stay tuned for the next Great Drives feature and enjoy more pictures in the gallery below! …[read more]
