The Z Owners of Northern California (ZONC) is one of the oldest Z car clubs in the nation. In its prime they had over 600 members with close ties to Yutaka Katayama (“Mr. K”) and Nissan USA. We had a wonderful time attending their Meet and Greet event at the Blackhawk Museum in Danville, Ca on June 11, 2023.
We left Z Car Garage in our 2023 Nissan Z, 1971 Datsun 510 Wagon and Randy’s 1972 Datsun 240Z (For Sale). Joining the caravan were Alex in his 1968 Datsun 510 Wagon and our friend Geoff in his BMW 2002. Despite some morning fog the turnout was impressive for a relaxed gathering. No judged car show or awards, just Z-Car fans catching up with old friends and meeting new enthusiasts.
Highlights from the show
Still to this day, 240Zs are the most represented model in the club. Expansion over time currently includes all recent Z models and the GT-R, but also reaches back in time to include the Datsun Roadsters and 510s. Both upper and lower parking areas were packed with cars and people having a great time.
The New Nissan Z!
Linda Williams’ proudly displayed her 1 of 240Z special edition Nissan Z “Proto Spec” in the upper Museum area. Our RZ34 was in the lower lot and we will have a full report on the recently installed Fast Intentions exhaust system!
Z’s, 510s, Roadsters and More!
Here are a few of my favorite S30 Z cars from the gathering, starting with this flared beauty on custom 17″ early S30 hubcap-inspired wheels. This is the creation of Hoover Chan from Turbohoses R&D and it sports an L28ET. Rob and Hoover go way back many years!
We were pleasantly surprised to see many Z Car Garage clients so let’s take a look at what they drove. Garrett drove his 1972 Datsun 240Z featuring our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes, Z Car Garage CV Axles combined with a suspension rebuild improved the chassis. Power comes from a Rebello 3L with our Z Car Garage Heat Shield and in-house dyno tuning to make it sing. His latest addition are new Recaro leather seats!
It was great to see Steve and Kevin’s Nismo Z33s. Full reports on both coming to zcarblog.com!
Here is a video from the event, enjoy!
Blow-thru Fantasy
We met Francisco and his S30 had a really neat HKS blow-through turbo system. Rob was impressed with his enthusiasm and love for the Z!
Twice the Beauty
Joey Bautista drove two of his immaculate Z cars. The engine bay on this blue car looks factory right? A closer inspection reveals a bespoke factory-style triple carb air cleaner, complete with OEM-style emissions stickers! The B-speed “LY” vintage valve cover was a nice touch as well. Really love d the aesthetic.
The silver S30 also sported triple carbs with a vintage SK air box and “triple” emissions stickers:
Z32
The Z32 300ZX was out in full force with both NA and TT examples. We enjoyed seeing familiar faces like Kevin Neely’s TT with fresh TE37 wheels and Joe’s show-winning red Z32:
Z33 and Z34
Strong showing of Z34s including V1 and V2 Nismo models:
510s
We love to see Datsun 510s and there were many examples of both stock and modified. Andy’s SR20DET-powered 510 was my favorite with Gotti wheels and rear-mounted A/C system. This was another creation from Hoover at Turbohoses!
SSS Bluebird was the only RHD 510 model at the show:
Jay’s 510 Wagon on Longchamp XR-4 wheels. Jay also has a 510 2-door featuring our Z Car Garage CV Axles.
Alex’s 1968 Datsun 510 Wagon is a total sleeper with an LS3 V8 drivetrain!
Roadsters
The lone Datsun Roadster was John Baker’s ’69 2000. This is a Concours-level restoration with lots of rare, NOS Nissan Competition parts like passenger foot rest and oil cooler.
Rare Everwing fog lights and day/night mirror:
R32 Row
R32 Skyline GT-Rs in a variety of colors! Race car driver, restorer and Datsun Historian Glenn Chiou displayed his recently acquired Crystal White R32 on BBS LeMans wheels:
A familiar R34 GT-R also showed up!
R35
A handful of R35 GT-Rs
People
It’s why we keep coming back to ZONC events. Thank you to everyone that took the time to say hello!
Thank You ZONC!
We had a great time spending the day at the ZONC Meet and Greet. It reminded us to (in the words of the late Mr.K), ” Love cars. Love people. Love Life.” This is a club that keep the Z community together year-round and we are excited for their next events. Don’t forget to check out our picture gallery below!
Happy New Year! Today we kicked off 2022 the right way with a New Year’s drive on a beautiful California day. Our friend Geoff assembled a group of cars and we were pleasantly surprised to see several Z Car Garage clients and friends in attendance! Thank you to everyone that braved the chilly morning temperatures and truly showed that Datsuns Are Driven! Enjoy photos and video from the cruise below.
I drove my 1967.5 Datsun Roadster and it was a cool 36F at 8:30am as I hit the freeway for the meeting point in San Jose. It was so good to see familiar faces and cool cars. Geoff briefed the group and we rolled out 16 cars strong heading up HWY 17 to Bear Creek Rd. Let’s take a look at the group:
Glenn Chiou drove his RHD Fairlady Z sporting our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels). He is an avid vintage race car driver/restorer and found our brake kit offers incredible brake feel and performance all fitting behind his favorite 15×8 zero offset Watanabe wheel:
Jose M was happy to join us in his Z. After 8 years, Rob and Jose re-connected at our 2023 Nissan Z Viewing.
Felix’ 1996 Nissan 300ZX Twin Turbo
Felix joined is in his 1996 Z32TT. This 300 will also get an updated feature on zcarblog.com.
Pall’s Nissan Skyline GT-R
Pall’s R32 recently visited ZCG for Haltech ECU and dyno tuning.
Datsun 510s
We had three Datsun 510s in Wagon, 2-door and 4-door models!
Mark’s 1972 Datsun 510
We upgraded Mark’s 510 with our Z Car Garage CV Axles. These CV axles help transmit power to the ground and ensure smoother operation compared to standard half shafts, while eliminating the need for aluminum adapters. Mark got ZCG VV Axle set #320 and he loves them:
Nick’s Datsun 510 Wagon
Z Car Garage’s very own Nick F drove his L-Series powered 510 wagon with SSR mesh wheels.
Dustin’s Datsun 510 4-door
We’ve known Dustin and Courtney for many years. Dustin’s 510 4-door runs a KA24DE and sweet Longchamp XR-4 wheels. Hagerty produced a video featuring the local Bay Area Datsun couple you can see it HERE. Dustin also installed our Z Car Garage CV Axles himself on his 510!
Our fearless leader Geoff in his Lotus 7 and my Datsun Roadster. Also joing us was William in his (964) 911:
Enjoying The Ride
Bear Creek Rd. up to HWY 9 to the look out was surprisingly traffic-free. At the lookout we could see clear across the Santa Cruz mountains to the coast. A few late-model Porsche’s stopped by.
Enjoy this video of the drive and all cars particiapting:
From the lookout we drove up Skyline (35) and down Alpine Rd. Recent rains have made lush forests:
After a short re-group we took 84 up to Alice’s Restaurant and chatted for a bit. It is always busy here and the eye-candy endless. My J-Tin radar was treated to Mark 3 and 4 Supras, S14 240SX, R35 GT-R, MR2 and DC2 Integra:
This Model A had a hot-rodded 4-cylinder Flathead. It’s a small world and through Geoff we were introduced to the owner, John B. John races a Jaguar Special with CSRG!
Thanks to everyone that came out. We hope you get to the Enjoy The Ride this year, let’s make 2021 amazing. DO IT IN A DATSUN!
Pall K acquired this Pearl Red (AH3) R32 from our friend Sean and his team at Toprank International Vehicle Importers. It goes without saying, if you are in the market for a vintage Skyline (or any JDM car) IVI is the place to go. We love the gorgeous paint color and Volk TE37SLs:
Pall brought the R32 to ZCG for a full inspection in 2019 and we have serviced it since. On that visit we found one of the CV boots torn and he had some Nismo stainless lines for us to install. We checked the timing, changed the engine oil, transmission fluid, installed the new brake lines front/rear and performed a full alignment. He visited us again for a new clutch:
Pall has driven the Skyline frequently since we met in 2019, and he does most of the work on his cars himself. We spotted him last summer at the 6/13 Morning Motors Cars & Coffee event hosted by DrivingWhileAwesome (DWA) in Santa Cruz, CA:
I had fun chasing Pall in our shop Datsun 240Z (Mrs. Butters) on this earlier 2020 Drive:
Pall was experiencing some intermittent issues with car, so he purchased a Haltech Platinum Pro ECU from our client Kurt W since he’s going to an Haltech Elite box for his own R32 GT-R build.
“My car was pinging on 91 octane trying to run on the stock ECU at higher load / RPM. I purchased a Haltech Planimum Pro plug-in ECU to resolve the pinging issue and make the most of my modifications. Rob installed the Haltech with a wideband O2 controller and dyno tuned the whole setup. The pinging issue is gone and the car feels incredible. Smoother initial throttle tip-in and lower end, pulls hard all the way out redline. Extremely pleased!”
As Pall mentioned above, his R32 came in to Z Car Garage in Novemeber and Rob dyno tuned it using Haltech. It put down a very strong 381hp/320tq to the wheels on 91 octane:
This Skyline does have basic performance upgrades including: Apex’i intakes, boost restrictor removed (~14psi), Fujitsubo equal-length downpipe, HKS high-flow cat, Fujitsubo Legalis R-Type Evo exhaust, divided intake pipe, PRP R35 coil conversion kit. Despite the modifications, a subtle chop at idle and the dyno results may indicate aftermarket cams from Japan. Nevertheless it has great power, enjoy the dyno video!
Enjoying The Ride
Photo by Pall Kornmayer
We are happy to report that Pall is already back on the road in his R32, post ZCG-tuning. Just yesterday he attended the final Morning Motors in Santa Cruz:
Pall attended the 2021 Skyline Matsuri hosted by the Norcal Skyline Owners group, you can see Pall’s own photography from the event by clicking on the photos below:
Can’t get enough of this beautiful Skyline. It doesn’t get any better than driving a Skyline on Skyline!
Pall is a wonderful client and enthusiast with a pretty serious E30 M3 in addition to the R32. The 90’s were good for iconic sports cars!
Thanks to Norcal Skyline Owners group we get to work with many cool cars like Kurt W and Mike R (here for timing belt, tuning and clutch job, report soon). Thanks for your support Pall and for trusting us with your R32!
The 2021 Japanese Classic Car Show was held on October 30, in Anaheim, CA. This is the original vintage Japanese-car event in SoCal and in its 16th year, JCCS has grown incredibly. Thousands of spectators enjoyed 400+ cars in the parking lot of Angel Stadium. 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.
Z Car Garage Parts on Sung Kang’s Datsun 240Zs!
FuguZ
Actor and star of the Fast and the Furious movies, Sung Kang also happens to be a car enthusiast as well. At the SEMA 2015 show he debuted his vision of the perfect Datsun 240Z, named FuguZ. The build was chronicled the through social media, enlisting parts from around the world with final assembly by Kenji at Greddy. Sporting the latest Rocket Bunny body kit, Volk TE37s and NA RB26 drivetrain this was a crowd favorite and sparked the Z car love in many people.
FuguZ became one of the most prominent S30s in the world. Fast forward to 2021 and Sung Kang visited Z Car Garage, driving “Mrs. Butters”, our 1971 Series 1 240z shop demo car. After driving Butters, Sung wanted the exact same Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels), Z Car Garage CV Axles and KW suspension on his very own FuguZ!
Rob and Kenji came up with a plan and the Z was shipped up to us so we could install ZCG Big-brakes, CV axles and KW suspension before the JCCS. Kenji then revived the Z with twin-turbos that the RB26 is famous for. Now Sung can enjoy the boost, and reign it all in with our brakes and suspension. Full report soon!
Doc Z
Sung was so impressed with the Z Car Garage Big-Brakes that he also wanted a set on his latest 240Z build, the “DocZ”. We happily obliged, only this time we shipped the kit to the Erick of Erick’s Racing, the master builder behind DocZ.
Erick was very pleased with the kit and ease of installation:
DocZ was built as a tribute to the Datsun 240Z that dominated the 1971 East-African Safari. Sung even had his own multi-piece wheels made as an homage to that history-making Z. The ZCG Big-Brakes can be seen through those iconic slots:
DocZ also features interior parts (look at that dash!) and exterior carbon fiber pieces by Carbon Signal:
We are thrilled to be a part of Sung’s builds and the collaborate with his team of talented craftsman! Thank you for your support Sung! Stay tuned for a deep dive on DocZ when we see it at SEMA this week and more details on the FuguZ when it returns to ZCG for tuning.
Showtime!
We arrived early to the new venue at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. This location is larger and more vendor-friendly than The Queen Mary and Marina Green of past shows. It was a a huge parking lot, and those that braved the lines to get in were treated to a J-Tin overload. Once inside we made our way to see client James and his 1972 Datsun 240Z.
James’s 1972 S30 was displayed in the Love20bee booth. At the heart of this beast is a turbocharged L-series managed by Haltech. Chassis upgrades include custom full-length subframe connectors, CD009a 6-speed transmission, KW Suspension, ZCG CV Axles and Big-Brake Kit (328mm) behind RS-8 wheels restored by Love20bee. Larry Chen featured James’s Z on this episode of Hoonigan Autofocus. Inside, a stack instrument cluster was integrated into the gauge pod, viewed from leather Recaro Pole Position seats:
Recent upgrades to “Medusa” include a new tubular exhaust manifold, intake manifold and down-pipe from from ProtunerZ. We will have more installation photos and dyno results coming soon to zcarblog.com!
Highlights from JCCS
Enjoy this video I made highlighting the sights and sounds of JCCS 2021:
Why do we keep coming back to JCCS? Each year the bar is raised for the show cars, and this year was truly impressive. With over 400 cars and aisles of vendors it was almost impossible to see it all in the 9am-3pm show time. Here are our favorites, starting with Nissan/Datsun.
Skylines
Here are few of my favorite Nissans and Datsuns, starting with that not-so forbidden fruit commonly known as the hakosuka Skyline. Ralph Kenyon’s stunning build was the result of OCD-level attention to detail.
Ralph’s Hako received a true, rotisserie-style nut and bolt restoration but didn’t stop there. He strengthened the chassis, utilizing beefed-up suspension/driveline components to support the raging and exotic 3.5L Datsunworks twin-cam L-Series. This fuel-injected monster is backed by a Nissan CD009 6speed transmission. Take a look at that engine bay…you will find yourself discovering a treasure of details from the dry-sump tank to perfectly aligned wingnut bolts on the air filter housing. The S20-inspired valve cover, equal-length exhaust manifold, OEM hose clamps…”next level” is appropriately used here.
Roy’s ’72 Skyline now with an old-school Cartech turbo kit:
Rick’s GTX on RS8 wheels:
Mike C’s 4-door:
Jun’s unflared Hako:
It was great to see our ZCG CV Axles under this 3.2L, fuel-injected Hako in the Hagerty booth!
I didn’t expect to see a large gathering of R32/33 Skylines, even a 4-door! DR30 and 240k!
JDM Legends had their C110 Kenmeri Skyline on display. Now with a 3.5L Jenvey fuel-injected L-Series and 6-speed transmission. It was great to see Eric he expressed how fun it is to drive!
Our friend Sean and his team at Toprank International Vehicle Importers brought the heat to JCCS with an impressive showing of rare Skylines. It goes without saying, if you are in the market for a vintage Skyline (or any JDM car) IVI is the place to go. The iconic “BF Goodrich poster” R34 and R33 Nismo 400R were a treat to see in person:
Z Car Extravaganza
S30 Z cars were everywhere. I’m a big fan of subtle modified Z’s but I can also appreciate pristine, bone-stock examples and the occasional shakotan build.
Stock is good. Nissan returned to JCCS with a cool display including this pristine example:
Jay from JDM Car Parts always has a fun display with RHD/JDM cars surrounded by a working model train (See video):
There were an impressive amount of Z’s with bodykits from Rocketbunny and Libertywalk:
Lowered on Hayashi Racing wheels:
Loved this Z on Watanabe wheels with an L28ET:
Beautiful 260Z and 280Zs and a 2+2!
Andrew’s RHD Fairlady Z sitting on Watanabe “Gotti” wheels was near the Techno Toy Tuning booth. He drove it down with his Father from the Bay Area:
So. Many. Z’s!
The show-winning Z! Mark and his daughter Samantha built this Z as a family project it is SEMA-bound!
Larry Chen’s 1970 SR20DET-powered Z was on display in the Leen Customs booth. It was featured on Hoonigan Autofocus and we will take a closer look at the work ZCG performed this past year including our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes, Z Car Garage CV Axles on zcarblog.com:
You can find more S30s in our gallery!
S130!
Keeping Z31s on the map was the best display of the model I’ve ever seen at JCCS. Proudly shown right next to the Nissan display there were Kouki, Chuki and Zenki models to enjoy:
300ZR and Shiro Special sitting on white Watanabe R-type wheels:
The lone Infiniti sitting on Autotradas:
The Nissan 300ZX (Z32) was also well-represented. My favorite was a white slicktop on Nismo wheels:
Sweet 240sx/Silvias and B13 Sentras!
People
At the JCCS it is always great to see old friends and meet new enthusiasts! The best part was to meet younger folks that were passionate about their rides…we need the the next generation to carry the torch for us!
Datsun Fairlady Roadsters
The Datsun Roadsters came out in full force this year, running 12 cars strong!
Thanh Lam’s 1964 Datsun 1500 was the oldest car present, winning the JCCS Best of Show award!
Ed’s sharp 1970 SPL sporting Enkei Compe wheels:
Eric’s show-winning ’68 2000:
The Desirello’s also displayed their SR20-powered beauties:
More roadster pics in our gallery!
Datsun 510s
Datsun 510s dominated the field as the most represented model again this year.
Not one but 4 Bluebird Coupes!
Matt of Love20bee’s Rotary-powered, box-flared 510 sitting on Tomcat wheels. Hear it run in the video above…BRAP!
Erick’s S2000-powered 510!
TSR-built 510s:
All kinds of engine swaps abound including Toyota 18RG, SR20, Mazda Rotary and even an LSx V8!
This 500hp, SR20-powered 510 was tune by our friend Seb at SpecialtyZ. It’s running our ZCG CV Axles and the owner is super stoked with their performance!
Our friend Troy’s customer won Best 510! We saw the happy new owner of Troy’s former race car!
Stock RHD 4-door!
Wagons!
Jun Imai’s “Kaidohouse” 510 in the GReddy booth with Work Equip 40 wheels, IRS and KA24DE-T powerplant:
Alex’s V8-powered wagon. He also brought a Sunny truck!
Toyota
Toyota always has a huge showing with AE86, Cressida, Celica’s and Corolla’s!
Great showing of RA29 (Liftback) Celicas!
3nd and 4th gen Celicas and Supras!
Wheels For Fantasy
I personally love going to JCCS because I get to see very rare Japanese/tuner wheels and parts. Preservation of authentic wheels and appreciation of the time and effort spent to find certain specimens that most folks have never heard of in this generation is what I admire most.
Variations on the mesh wheel from BBS, Epsilon, SSR, Volk, Bahn and more. Riverside, Autostrada, Racing Hart, Hoshino, Work, Mugen and Tomcat and Watanabe. Heaven!
Honda
EF, EA, EG Civics, CRX, DA and DC Integras, NSX and even motorcycles!
Super Sexy NSXs
Mazda
FC, FD RX-7s were out as well as RX-2, RX-3, REPU pickups and Miatas:
Many more pictures from JCCS in the gallery!
Farewell
Towards the end of the show we staged a quick photoshoot with Sung Kang and the DocZ next to James’ Medusa. It was crazy to see everyone swarm around me once they realized what was going on 🙂
Later, at the Greddy booth Kenji and Larry Chen indulged us for another quick photoshoot with James’s Z, FuguZ and Ole Orange Bang. You can see Rob driving FuguZ in the vide0. We are beyond happy to have our Z Car Garage chassis parts on these high-profile Z cars.
Thank You JCCS!
How does a show go by so fast? Just like that, the JCCS ended and we still did not explore the entire show or meet everyone. I personally think there needs to be signage or at least a map so spectators can make sure they see everything! Despite missing out on some displays there was such a great, positive energy. Love seeing families and younger generations of car enthusiasts, for all marques.
It is difficult to run a car show and keep up the quality and interest levels but the folks at JCCS have managed to do exactly that for 16 years! No other show gives you the chance to see obscure, pristine, modified Japanese classics…and we look forward to next year’s entrants. Koji and Terry, thank you for your efforts. We hope you have enjoyed our coverage and please visit our mega-gallery for more pictures.
