Z Car Garage specializes in dyno tuning vintage cars. Our in-house dyno and expertise in carb tuning can help your engine reach its potential whether it is a street car or full race car. We love Datsun roadsters and recently dyno tuned Erik’s 1970 1600 with great results. Let’s take a look at how he got into Datsuns…

Roadster Beginnings

Affectionately named “Audrey”, Erik bought this 1970 Datsun Sports 1600 in 1995 and drove her every day while living in San Jose and Santa Monica, CA. He had lots of adventures in those days, including driving on Highway 1, Route 66, and even blowing a head gasket in the desert outside Needles, CA.

“In 1998 he got a job in Thailand and Audrey was put in storage. Stored outside for years, she suffered the indignity of being broken into and vandalized. (I’m still apologizing to her for that.)In 2000, I moved back to the USA, but had no garage for Audrey, so she remained outside, staying with friends and family. By 2003 she had finally moved inside, but a busy life and no shop space meant that she sat in the corner, patiently awaiting resurrection.”

“Fast forward to 2019: now having a great garage space and some free time, it was time to get Audrey back on the road. On the outside, she still wears most of what’s left of her original 52 year old paint, but inside and underneath it’s a different story: Her factory 96 horsepower has been doubled using the original engine, and her 4 speed transmission has been swapped for a 5 speed. The body was removed from the frame, all suspension, steering, and brakes were redone/upgraded, all electrical wiring replaced, every nut and bolt was either re-plated or replaced, and the interior restoration has begun, slowly changing from black to red.”

Erik and Z Car Garage

“Since then, Rob has been super helpful while I’ve been restoring my 1970 Datsun 1600 from connecting me with the engine and transmission rebuilders, to helping with parts restoration, zinc plating, advice, and moral support. Once I had the car assembled and the new engine broken in, I knew I wanted to get it tuned on the ZCG dyno.”

Dyno Tuning

 

Erik’s roadster is a “1600” model, originally sporting 1.6L (R16) with dual-SU induction and 4-speed drivetrain. His restoration included stroking the original motor to a larger 2150cc displacement with twin-Mikuni induction and 5-speed (u20) transmission. You can learn more about Erik’s restoration efforts and the Rebello stroker R16 drivetrain all on 311s.org HERE.

 

Our initial dyno tuning session was with Phh40 Mikuni carbs. While it made great power Rob had always suggested running a larger Phh44 carbs to take advantage of the stout Rebello cam. Erik returned for another dyno session. With the carb switch, A/F ratio and timing optimized the roadster put down an impressive 157hp/151tq to the wheels with improved driveability throughout the entire rev range:

   

Erik was stoked with the tuning results:

“After finding some compatibility issues with my carburetors, Rob helped me build and install bigger carbs (the ones Rob had told me to use all along!). Came back for another tuning session and wow – what a difference. More power everywhere, better idle and driveability, and top end power is phenomenal. Many thanks to Rob and the whole Z Car Garage crew for taking my car from good to amazing!”

Enjoy this video of the roadster being dyno tuned and road tested, volume up!

Interested in what our other Datsun Roadster dyno sessions look like? Visit zcarblog.com

Enjoying The Ride

Datsuns Are Driven! In true roadster fashion, Erik has been Enjoying the Ride in his revived “Audrey”. We got the roadster prepped for a 600+ mile road trip to the Annual Datsun Roadster Meet at Mt. Shasta back in June. The car ran flawlessly:

 

Erik has been attending local car shows and rallys including VALT Car show in Berkeley, CA and Breakfast Club Rally.

 

We had fun tuning Erik’s roadster and getting it dialed in with the new drivetrain. Eventually it will be time for bodywork and paint, but he’s too busy having fun on the road! Thanks for letting us be a part of your Datsun journey Erik, you’ve done the roadster justice! If you have a vintage car (it doesn’t have to be a Datsun) feel free to contact the shop to schedule a dyno tuning session. More photos in the gallery below.

 

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Mark your calendars for June 5th to celebrate Z Owners of Northern California (ZONC) 50th birthday at the Blackhawk Museum in Danville!

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. Of the many events and fun runs they host throughout the year, the famous Blackhawk Museum will be the venue for the June 6 birthday party.

Local Datsun specialists/racers Troy Ermish and Rob Fuller will be displaying their race cars. Datsun and Nissan cars will be on the plaza and lower lots for everyone to see. Z you there!

Datsun Roadsters hold a special place in our heart and recently we had the opportunity to tune this very beautiful example owned by Pat S. The only reason we don’t work on or build these gems: we simply can’t keep up with our Z car workload. Once in a while though, someone will throw around the name “Alvin” (our shop social media manager) and they will get into Z Car Garage.

Pat contacted ZCG to discuss his 1970 Datsun 2000 roadster’s twin-Mikuni carb setup. The 2L/U20 models could be optioned with dual Mikuni-Solex carbs (replacing SU carbs) as part of a factory “competition” package also including a hotter “B” camshaft and 7.5qt. aluminum oil pan. Pat had done all he could to make it drive nicely and wanted a touch more driveability. Once at the shop, Rob took his car for a ride, impressed with how nicely restored it was.

Dyno Tuning

Rob and Pat discussed his goals and what he wanted to accomplish. We were able to go in and adjust the idle/off-idle settings, and of course wide-open throttle. The U20 put down 113hp/109tq to the wheels:

Pat was really pleased with the dyno tuning results. We actually saw him on the recent BCR Tokyo Calling Rally where he said the car was running fantastic and he was stoked:

“I saw Z Car Garage referenced on 311s.org when I was trying to sort out my carbs. I had the carbs completely rebuilt by Taka Sato at Kyusha House (beautiful job) and Z Car Garage did the fine tune adjustments on the dyno. Starts and runs great. So fun to drive! I once had a good friend that owned a high end Porsche shop (he races Lotus’ now) in LA. No matter who you were, if there was any oil or dirt on the engine, he would send them away. Rob reminds me of him. An expert with a true passion for the cars!”

Enjoy the sounds of a Solex-equipped Datsun 2000 on the dyno below!

Pat shared his Datsun story with us:

“I bought my first roadster in 1973 and it was a ’66 1600 that I paid $600 for. I’ve always wanted to get another so about 3 years ago I purchased my ’70 2L.  Mike Young of DatsunSports rebuilt the top end and installed a ‘B’ cam for me and has been a true friend by not letting make too many mistakes.

The car was striped down to bare metal, rusted panels welded in and a new paint job with rechromed the bumpers and trim.

Pat refurbished all of the electrical switches and lights (LEDs now). Gauge expert Jon Frampton refurbished the gauges. Pat also rebuilt the seats and has new upholstery throughout:

Enjoying The Ride

It was great to see Pat driving his roadster on the BCR Tokyo calling rally where he was all smiles with the tuning results. Here a few shots of him at speed in the foothills of Sonoma, CA.

Roadster owners united at the rally’s final stage at Sonoma Raceway (Alvin, Rob, Mike Young, Eric and Pat):

Pat you have done a great job on the roadster. Nice work, and we love seeing Datsun owners realize the maximum potential out of their cars. Thanks for your support and Enjoy The Ride!

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We love working on cars and what really fuels the passion at Z Car Garage are the stories that connect each owner to their cherished rides. Christine K visited our shop earlier this year for routine maintenance on her 2004 Nissan 350Z 6MT Roadster and we were pleasantly surprised by her history linking to Datsun legends, mutual friends and family!

It’Z a Small Datsun World

Christine is a local San Jose school teacher and it truly is a small world as she was the kindergarten teacher for my two daughters just a few years ago. You can imagine how surprised I was to see her at Z Car Garage one day while I was there to work on zcarblog.com. At the time we were wearing masks and I did not greet her but later reached out via e-mail:

“Good morning, I am so happy you reached out to say something. I was so sure it was you, but I could not think of your first name in the moment and did not want to say “hi” Meena and Sophia’s dad. I inherited my Dad’s 350z when he passed away 3 years ago. I love that car and am so thankful we found the Z Car Garage. My dad worked at a Nissan/Datsun car dealership in my hometown in Corvallis, Oregon. He also ran the used car portion as well. I remember one of the first cars I got practice driving before I got my driver’s license was the Datsun 210 station wagon.”

 (Above) Leaving the wet and snowy northwest and bringing the Z home to their driveway in sunny California.

Not only was I excited to see Christine at the shop, her reply left me intrigued about that Nissan/Datsun dealership in Corvallis….could it be THE famous Scoville Nissan dealership? I reached out to our fellow Datsun-enthusiast and friend Michael Spreadbury who worked for famed race car driver Jack Scoville and inquired about Christine’s connection. Incredibly, Michael confirmed!

 (Above) Jack Scoville images courtesy of Michael Spreadbury and Datsun.org

“Amazing — her dad would be Roy Robinson and he was a wonderful human being— we were friends indeed and it was quite the shock of when Roy passed away. Roy was a sales guy for Scoville’s for many years, but he retired before I started working for Jack— but Corvallis is a small town and Roy was in to see us at the dealership every week where I got to know him well. Roy always had Datsun/Nissan’s, and I always think of him with his spotless white Z32…After he retired he drove school busses, and took both of my kids on outings as the bus driver— whenever I would pick the kids up in the roadster from the grade school, Roy would pop out if his bus to admire the car for a few minutes. A great guy— sure miss our chats…Michael”

Michael connected the dots for me….Christine’s Dad indeed worked for Jack Scoville, the racer who gave Nissan their first national championship by winning the 1969 SCCA run offs at Daytona in a 2-liter Datsun Roadster. The Datsun Destiny got even better as I learned that both Michael and Christine attended the same high school in Corvallis.

(Above) Christine and daughter Audrey heading out for a Sunday drive. Visiting Mt. Umunhum when it first opened.

Christine recalls her Datsun story and eventual 350Z ownership:

“My dad started working at Jack Scoville’s when I was 5 years old. He had been a high school art teacher and then quit to sell motorcycles and finally ended up at Jack’s for the rest of his career. I would help out on the car lot. Back in the day, he would have to go around with a huge ring of keys and lock up all the cars for the night. I always had fun doing that job. At the time Jack’s son Jeff was still racing and took me out for a ride in his race car.

My dad had ordered the 1970 240z, but my mom had become pregnant with me and when it arrived on Jack’s lot my dad realized there was not going to be any room to carry me in the car and ended up getting a Volvo. He finally bought his first Z in 1990. He purchased the 300ZX in white with the T-top. Then in 2004 he purchased the one I have now.”

Enjoying The Ride

In addition to our race efforts and early-Datsun support, ZCG’s daily operations include routine maintenance and modification for the 2003-2008 Nissan 350Z as well as 370Z sports cars. With only has 47k on the odometer Christine came to us for a full inspection. We wanted to ensure the car would be ready for the next generation of Z car enthusiasts….Christine’s kids:

“My dad loved cars and motorcycles and cleaned them all with q-tips. When I was 4 years old I was responsible for scrubbing the wheels and tires. And as I grew older I was giving interior detailing duties with the q-tips. I have now passed those skills onto my son. It seemed an unnecessary luxury to keep my dad’s car, but he always drove it when he came to visit so he could drive Nathaniel around. Nathaniel has the best memories of long drives with my dad in that car. Nathaniel and I have kept up the tradition with long Sunday drives. He is also in the process of getting his driver’s license in the next six months and can not wait to drive it on the road.”

 

(Above)  Top down in Christine’s Dad’s driveway with son Nathaniel on a Sunday drive.

We made a plan to perform general services plus a few little touches plan for service to make the Z more enjoyable.  A very common problem on the 03-06 z33/G35 is in the valve covers;  the spark plug o-ring seals will dry up over time and allow oil to leak into the well eventually compromising coil pack performance. The valve covers and and valve cover gaskets were replaced along with new spark plugs and new drive belts.  All fluids were replaced and the car got received full 50k services. All this family needs is to Enjoy The Ride:

Making the Z fun to drive are a few popular performance upgrades including the JWT POP charger intake and Hotchkis sway bars front and rear:

Front T/C rod, control arm and diff bushings were replaced with new units from Whiteline. The diff bushings are the most common failure as see in previous blog posts. Christine’s Z also had a CV axle click–this occurs when the splined axle shaft gets dried up without lubrication. We took care of that and installed a new set of tires followed by a full alignment:

 

Icing on the cake was a dyno tune. Rob UPREV tuned picking up power everywhere in the rev range for a total of 254hp/250tq to the wheels, gains of+9hp/8tq. This is a great example of having a proper tune to maximize gains from your bolt-ons whether it is DE, Rev-up, HR or 370.

Love Cars. Love People. Love Life

Mr. K’s motto is what we Nissan/Datsun enthusiasts live by. We enjoyed working with Christine’s wonderful family and she is stoked with the Z:

“Our experience with ZCG was amazing. It was personalized to our needs. Rob is an expert in what he does and gave great suggestions based on how we want to drive the car. We were very fortunate to find ZCG through a web search. When I inherited my dad’s car and after having it here in California for about 3 years, I knew I wanted to get it serviced and keep it in tip top shape. It had never been stored outside of a garage. Once we got it to our home here in California we cleared out space for it in our garage.
My dad had owned the car for 13 years before he passed away. Over the years I had driven it occasionally. Nathaniel and I kept up my dad’s Sunday drive tradition and took it out each week for a spin. After getting serviced at ZCG it runs like never before. Everything is so smooth and quiet. I don’t even know how to describe it. We all agree it purrs.”

Thank you for your support Christine and Long Live The Z!

Happy 3/11 day to all Datsun Roadster owners across the globe! Give your Fairlady a hug and get out and drive! Here are a few memorable roadsters that have been at Z Car Garage over the years. Of course, Eric Straw’s SR20VET-powered beauty is high on our list:

Rob and myself have been Enjoying The Ride in our roadsters. His 1967 Datsun 2000 and my 1967.5 SPL:

More roadster-related content HERE