Turki A. purchased a set of Panasport Wheels from Z Car Garage and recently shared his Z story with us. We are an authorized Panasport dealer with have limited sets available for fitment on your S30 Z car. Before we show you how a set of these 16×7 wheels look on almost every Z color imaginable, let’s hear about Turki ‘s 240Z…
“My passion for the Z started when I was very young. I was always fascinated by my cousin’s Nissan 300ZX Turbo, and that car shaped my love for the Z family. After many years, in 2020, I bought a Nissan 280ZX 10th Anniversary Edition in gold and black, number 217 out of 3000 produced worldwide.”
“Later, I decided to pursue my dream of owning a 240Z. I found one that had been sitting unused for many years, purchased it, and began a full restoration project in 2023. I completed the full restoration in November 2025, and the car is now fully renewed and better than ever.”
Turki recalls how he found ZCG and eventually purchased a set of Panasports from us:
“I was searching for wheels for my 240Z, but none of the options I found really impressed me. I asked a friend of mine from Kuwait, Wail, who has long experience with Nissan Z cars. He recommended Panasport wheels and told me they would be a perfect match for the 240Z. Based on his advice, I contacted Mr. Rob at Z Car Garage. The experience was excellent, and he helped me with everything. The wheels were shipped smoothly from the U.S. to Dubai, and I am extremely happy with the quality and classic look they add to the car.”
Enjoying the Ride
Turki has been driving his Z everywhere and shared these photos from Dubai, more in the gallery below!
Enjoy this video of Turki’s Datsun 240Z wearing the new Panasport wheels:
The Panasports do look fantastic on this #115 Metallic Blue 240Z. Thank you for your support Turki, glad you are Enjoying The Ride!
Panasport wheels for your Z car
Treat your Z to a brand new set of Panasport wheels! We special order this offset to enable fitment of a 225/50/16 tire on the 1970 to 1978 S30s.
Pricing: $1500 a set of (4)
Contact us to order: rob@zcargarage.com or call 408-452-0350 Limited availability (pallet pictured).
We are also proud to offer a matching Panasport spare wheel/tire setup for your Z! For more info can be found HERE
Wondering how a set of Panasports would look on your Z car? Please enjoy pictures below of ZCG customer cars in jus about every color imaginable with Panasport wheels:
Filed under: 240z,260Z,280Z,Parts
by Alvin G @ 2:40 pm on May 22, 2025
We’ve been working on a spare wheel and tire solution for clients running our Z Car Garage Big Brakes (or any larger than stock brake kit) on their 1970-78 S30 Z cars. Since the factory 14″ spare wheel will not clear big-brakes, we are proud to offer a 15″ Panasport wheel and tire combo that will fit perfectly in the spare tire well. In addition to great looks this setup is also significantly lighter than the factory spare. This is one of those small things we love to offer that make your Z enjoyable on long journeys.
The 15″ Panasport wheel runs a 155/80/15 tire and fits perfectly in the factory spare well area. Below is a comparison with the factory 14″ spare:
We love how the 15″ Panasport spare looks. Here it is mounted on our client Ken’s 1970 Datsun 240Z (vin #1762) with 16×7 Panasport wheels from Z Car Garage with a 225/50/16 tire:
Z Car Garage 15″ Panasport spare wheel with a 155/80/15 tire:
Side profile with the 15″ Panasport spare:
Easy clearance on Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (or almost any larger brake-kit):
The 15″ Panasport wheel and tire combo (32lbs) offers a significant weight savings of 8lbs over the factory spare (40lbs) setup!
Retail cost of the wheel will be $250, giving you the option to choose your own tire. To purchase the BF Goodrich tire in 155/80/15 the price is $145+ freight. Wheel/tire package deal will be $395+ freight. Limited availability, contact the shop and get yours today!
Filed under: 240z,370z,Events
by Alvin G @ 2:40 pm on November 28, 2024
Today I took our shop Z, Mrs. Butters for a Thanksgiving Day drive with fellow enthusiasts. It was a chilly 40 degrees meeting in downtown Saratoga, but the sky was clear and the company was great. Leading the drive was Alex in his Midnight Blue 370Z:
We rolled up HWY 9 with seven cars and stopped at the skidpad to hang, then drove down to Santa Cruz:
Standouts of the group included Koich’s 1975 Porsche 911 hot rod:
Filed under: 240z,Performance
by Alvin G @ 2:40 pm on October 12, 2024
At Z Car Garage we love keeping Z’s on the road. From concours-level restorations to light refurbishments, helping a client realize their vision is our passion. The Bartel family shipped their 1973 Datsun 240Z from Arizona for mechanical and cosmetic sorting, ZCG-style. Our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes, Z Car Garage CV Axles, chassis tuning and dyno tuned LS3 V8 engine transformed this Z into the dream car Jeff and son Ryan enjoy at rally events.
The Bartel’s Z Story
Before we dive in to the project let’s hear how the family got their Z car…
JEFF: My son and I began looking for a Datsun project car for pre-1975 Targa rally driving events in late 2018. We scoured the internet for resto-mod 510’s or S30’s that with modern drivetrains for reliability and maintenance. After a long and exhaustive search we came across a 1973 Datsun 240Z with an LS3 V8/T56 on one of those trendy online auto auction sites. On paper the car appeared to have just about all of the desirable upgrades, including larger brakes from an OEM, coilovers, a LSD diff, aluminum radiator, fender flares, 17” wheels, Vintage Air air conditioning, fuel cell, decent gauges, extensive body work and paint and nausea-inducing rear wing. We decided to bid and won what seemed like Z at the right price…
…Upon test driving the car and wearing the most rose colored glasses one could wear, we still found that there were a lot of issues. Soon after ownership we took the car to a couple of repair shops to get our list of issues addressed, but quickly found the level of service and Z Car knowledge to be lacking everywhere. After coming out of those suspect shops we entered our first CA Targa event early 2019, and couldn’t even complete the first day of the event. A combination of broken diff and clunking suspension cut our event short. We decided to give Rob and Z Car Garage a try after seeing so many of their successes online.
Mechanical Sorting at Z Car Garage
We agreed to inspect the car and during that process found many of the car’s important systems were in need of complete replacement.
ROB:It was very important to Jeff and Ryan for this Z to be enjoyable and up to the task of vintage rally events. We obliged to help them with that goal in several visits. I was Z car purist when I was younger, thinking one should always install Nissan engines into a Nissan… with time and wisdom it is hard to deny that LSx engines are pretty stellar with respect to power and packaging. It was time to make this Z a ZCG-style LS-powered S30.
JEFF: While tuning and driving the car Rob noticed that the existing fuel pump system was not providing sufficient fuel to the engine especially during spirited cornering (not to mention extremely noisy fuel pump and strong fuel smell in the cabin). Rob and his team replaced the underperforming fuel pump and delivery system, relocating the pump to a safer and quieter location, installed a Hydramat fuel pickup system in the fuel cell to avoid starvation during heavy cornering. A new dual exhaust system with X-pipe was also installed from headers back to the tips to improve flow and clearance.
Z Car Garage Big-Brakes
We are proud to have several of our ZCG products on Bartel’s 240z. We installed our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels) which have the been standard on numerous ZCG builds. 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 engineers at 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 some 14″ wheels) and retaining factory emergency brake lever.
ROB: A staple of the ZCG upgrade package is a set of brakes. So we did the ZCG BBK, with new brake M/C and new booster. Factory handbrake functionality IS retained! Suspension was upgraded to T3 f/r coil-overs done in our signature black. Thanks Gabe for allowing to have our own color! We also did f/r wheel bearings and full alignment.
JEFF: The team at Z Car Garage began with replacing the poor performing brakes with the complete ZCG Big Brake Kit. With the car now stopping as it should, they next turned their attention to the suspension. A set of front and rear coil-overs were installed on the car along with adjustable T/C rods and camber plates arms and so on. The car was then height adjusted and corner balanced.
Cooling and Driveline Upgrades
On their first visit we changed the spring rates to improve handling and put some friction modifier in diff. At the very end of this visit unfortunately the car was making some strange noises. We suspect the previous builder had starved the engine of oil a few times leading to rod knock. so we send it to Rebello for a rebuild. In spring of 2021 we had made enough power and focused on cooling modifications with a new fabricated a fan-shroud setup.
JEFF: With brakes, handling, fuel and exhaust systems addressed, we set out on our second CA Targa event in June 2021. This adventure took us through the CA desert and across the Sierra Nevada Mountains two times. If you live on the west coast you might remember the incredible heat wave with temperatures approaching 115 degrees F. This caused severe over heating problems with the existing cooling system, which made for many unplanned stops along the way. While we did have many great conversations waiting for the car to cool, some with our feet in a Sierra Nevada river, we knew this was unsustainable. Another issue that became noticeable during our second event was the wicked noises coming from the clutch, rear differential as well as the driveshaft. On the positive side of the coin, the car turned, stopped and handled incredibly well and we managed to complete the roughly 1,500 mile event under our own power. We were also able to establish that the car is extremely fast and with that the stock seats and belts were just not quite enough to hold us in place or to provide even the temporary illusion of safety. Woohoo!
Next up were the cooling, cold air intake, clutch, rear diff and driveshaft upgrades along with safety and comfort improvements. We installed a new aluminum radiator, rerouted the upper and lower hoses and changed the cold air intake system to reduce intake temperatures. The transmission got an upgraded flywheel. kevlar/ceramic, 11″ 26-spline clutch, new Tilton T/O bearing and aluminum driveshaft from South Bay driveline…the Z was now ready to drive anywhere.
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 200 CV axle kits on customer cars and we are stoked with all of the positive feedback. ZCG CV axles were installed and the rear differential was rebuilt with a new R180 OSG LSD unit, bearings/seals etc.
Dyno Tuning
Rob dyno tuned the LS via HPtuners software. It put down a stout 408hp/387tq to the wheels:
Enjoy this extended video of Ryan and Jeff’s Z including dyno runs, test drive with Rob and engine/exhaust sounds…volume up!
Wheels
Wheels make the car and a set of VOLK TE37V wheels from another client project ended up replacing the 17″ Rota wheels the Z came with. The TE’s transformed the car!
Details
After running a successful Targa event in 2022, the Bartel’s returned to ZCG in 2023 for a small list of improvements including rear hatch body work, installing a BRE type rear wing, minor improvements to the suspension, turn signal/high beam and seat rail repairs along with getting the AC system running more reliably. These are the details we excel at:
The previous owner left several holes in the firewall behind the evap box, so we removed all A/C components and made a new seal to isolate the cabin from exhaust and heat. In the back, we fixed the rear strut after locating a spacer placed in the coil-overs. With the A/C system sorted, we did hatch seals and pulley/belt on the compressor were all properly aligned.
If you are doing spirited driving or long road trips, the Recaro Specialist seat is the best for your Z car! More photos of the interior and roll bar in the galley below
JEFF: To improve safety and hold us in place ZCG installed an Auto Power roll bar with. custom removable harness bar. Rob convinced us upgrade the stock seats to Recaro Specialist seats and 5-point harness system, along with front and rear strut tower braces for increased rigidity. New Hella H4 headlights were also added to replace the original ones that barely worked. Ryan and I had Rob’s team add a 330mmMomo steering wheel.
Exterior paint by our manWilliam, modified rear spoiler some BRE side-view mirrors top the cosmetic changes:
Driving is Believing
Jeff lives in Central CA while Ryan lives in Arizona. They share this car Father and Son and we get reports from each of them sharing how much they love the car now.
JEFF: With cooling, driveline, safety and comfort addressed and plenty of test miles on the car, we set out for our third CA Targa event in May 2022. This event took place close to home in the Paso Robles wine country. The event was over 1,000 miles, covering many excellent canyon roads. Starting with a 390 mile bonsai run from Phoenix AZ to Los Angeles CA and continuing for up through the central coast of CA. During that time, we beat on the car mercilessly, and the car ran pretty darn flawlessly. Needless to say, third time was the charm, and the trip was a smashing success.
The Father/Son duo would go on to successfully complete the Targa California rallies in 2023 and 2024, followed by numerous driving events and gatherings. Each time they were super stoked with the Z…
RYAN: Targa ‘24 is a wrap. Over 2100 miles from AZ to Monterey and back. Some fantastic roads, 2 historic race tracks, endless good times and some of the best people around. That’s Jeff Bartel grinning in the drivers seat. Getting to run the rally’s with him has been a gift. Looking forward to the next one, and hopefully the Targa AZ works out. Gonna start pre running next week.
RYAN: The Japanese Corvette on the final day of the 2023 #targacalifornia. Over a thousand miles in a long weekend with some great humans, new roads and beautiful cars. The recipe for the car is at last perfect thanks to Rob and @zcargarage. All that and to top it off I get to do that whole thing with my father. Looking forward to the first Arizona Targa this fall.
Thank You!
We enjoyed working you Ryan and Jeff. Thanks for you support and keep making memories while Enjoying The Ride in your Z!
On Saturday, August 24 we attended the Tokyo Calling 4 event hosted by Breakfast Club Rally. Z Car Garage participated with a group of client cars and enjoyed a wonderful day of driving through the foothills of Northern California. The event also featured 200+ Japanese classics and 90’s-era wonders to appreciate during the morning social gathering and rest stops. Enjoy our report with mega-photo gallery and video!
Breakfast Club Rally
The Breakfast Club Rally (BCR) started 4 years ago as a small group enjoying weekend drives. It blossomed into a monthly event with one hour of hanging out drinking coffee, followed by two hours of driving on the second Saturday of the month. Registration is free and always open to all makes. I highly recommend it for anyone looking to enjoy the beautiful Northern California roads and scenery. You can see our previous BCR reports HERE!
The initial BCR Tokyo Calling event, Tokyo Calling 2 and Tokyo Calling 3 were all a blast. We did not want to miss their fourth all-Japanese, mostly-vintage rally so I assembled a group of Z Car Garage clients and friends to participate in TC4. We left the shop at 6:15am heading to Vallejo, here is a preview of our cars:
Linda Williams drove her 2023 Nissan Z. This is the special,”Proto Spec” edition limited to just 240 units. We love her “1OF240Z” tribute license plate. Linda joined us on the last two Tokyo Calling events in her 1972 Datsun 240Z OMS Pace Car Duplicate. She loves driving it everywhere.
Kurt’s R32 Skyline GT-R
Our client Kurt drove his R32 Skyline GT-R. Full report coming to zcarblog.com on this beautiful example with Stoptech Big-Brakes, FHM wheels, a host of engine upgrades and sweet interior touches from Kurt himself.
Our crew arrived at the rally start in Vallejo and it was already filled with fabulous J-Tin parked at Kindred Motorworks. BCR hosted a “social gathering” from 7:30-9am so we could take in all the glorious cars. The vibe was tremendous, and as usual it went by too quickly. Let’s go through some of the highlights, with more photos in the gallery below!
Over 20 S30 Z cars were present!
I am always on the lookout for Nissans and Datsuns, and roadsters get my attention. There were at least 10 in attendance including a genuine 1967 2000. One of the most sought after Datsuns, these “half-year” models were introduced mid-1967 offering a 5-speed transmission and 150hp twin-Mikuni carb’d 2L engine…hot stuff for the era.
Ian’s SRL is #601 (out of ~1000 cars) and it was fully restored years ago by Les Cannaday in San Diego. Ian is meticulous about maintaining this car, but it is no garage queen, attending monthly rally events. The (655) Off-white paint with red interior is one of my favorites. Yes, it even sports a factory Nissan hardtop with all the stainless trim!
John Baker’s immaculate 1969 Datsun 2000:
Mark’s right-hand drive ’69 2000:
High and low-windshield roadsters models were present:
We got all of the roadsters for a group shot before starting the rally:
There were eight Datsun 510s in wagon and sedan form. Our client Jay installed a set of our Z Car Garage CV Axles on his Green 510. Jay is a hardcore rally driver and also brought his mint wagon with family!
Back to Z cars, Pratibha and Andre recently finished preparing their ’73 240Z:
Our client Cameron’s Z32 Twin Turbo visited Z Car Garage for maintenance work, downpipes, inlet piping, larger intercoolers all from Specialty Z. Cameron has been bringing his 300 to us for many years and we we are really glad to see him driving again. More Z32s were on the rally!
There were a handful of S14 and S13 240SX:
Nissan Skyline
Our client Lehan in his R32 with Stopech Big-Brakes and an R33! (below)The lone S130, looking good in Black/Gold!!
Enjoy this walk-around and driving video from Tokyo Calling 4:
So many cool cars please check the gallery for more photos! Next, let’s check out some non-Nissan/Datsun action…
Kei Classics
TWO (!) Honda Beat sports cars, one owned by our R32 GT-R client Miles.
Honda
There were no less than 20 Honda S2000 sports cars on the rally!
Honda was well-represented including late model DC2 Integras, a few NSXs, CRXs and EF/EG hatches rounded out the display:
Mazda
Toyota
Some of our favorite Toyota’s including Supra (A60, A70, A80), first gen MR2s, and AE86s! The Lexus IS300 SportCross with A80 Supra wheels was sweet!
Trucks and Vans
Let’s not forget the Japanese classic trucks and vans! Hilux, Nissan and Land Cruiser:
The impossibly cool award goes to Todd Lapin’s Toyota Cera:
Rally On!
Photo by Ben Kim
The rally started at 9am and I was tasked with leading our group. There was no cell phone reception but I was armed with a turn-by-turn rally printout. I enjoyed hustling the ZCG Nissan Z through the backroads:
One of the perks of BCR events is their team of professional photographers at various stages capturing epic rolling and detail shots so people can focus on enjoying the drive. I encourage you to visit each of these SIX photographer’s photo albums to see shots of your rides:Sophia Thompson, Ben Kim, Alex Nibyt, Everett Lederer, Emma Lai and Chris Friske.
The rally concluded back at Barn 5400, where BCR arranged for lunch from Kinoko Japanese Home Cooking. Folks enjoyed Donburi surrounded by J-Tin everywhere. It was a superb venue to enjoy cool cars and great company.
Thanks BCR!
Many thanks to the Breakfast Club Rally organizers, we had a blast and I urge you to register for their next event, especially if you are in the South Bay area like me and want to see what driving bliss lies North.
Thank you to all of the Z Car Garage clients that made the journey with us. Huge thanks to BCR for extending their hospitality to our crew, everyone was thrilled. Here’s to the next rally and always, always #DoitInADatsun! More photos in the gallery below…
