Shop Talk for
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Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Z Car Garage! We hope you can find time to Enjoy The Ride over the holidays. Please note our hours of operation below:
We will be closed this Thursday and Friday for Thanksgiving
ZCG will close on the 20th of December 2018, reopening on the 2nd of January 2019
Thank you!
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:
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:
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!
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 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.
Growing up in the Bay Area I have always been fascinated with Mt. Umunhum. Dominating the peak is an 84-foot tall radar tower built to watch over the nation’s airspace during the Cold War. Decommissioned and closed off to the public since 1980, last year this former Air Force station was converted into a place where you can view the Santa Clara Valley from 3,486 feet.
Mount Umunhum is the fourth-highest peak in the Santa Cruz Mountains just south of San Jose and can be reached by the new five-mile Mount Umunhum Road which is off Hicks Road in Los Gatos. The road is freshly paved and filled with a mix of hairpins and blind corners. Elevation gain is impressive with 2000ft+ over 4 miles.
Enjoy this short video of the drive up to Mt. Umunhum:
At the summit we had a 360-degree view from the Pacific to the Sierra Nevada. The sunset was spectacular and I just had to bring my family back again the following day to share the experience.
Though it is only a few miles from our home, the drive to Mt. Umunhum is exhilarating and the summit well worth the climb. If you are driving your vintage car make sure the cooling and braking systems are up to the task!
Interested in the history of Mt. Umunhum? Watch the video below:
Stay tuned for the next Great Drives feature and enjoy more pictures in the gallery below!
…[read more]
Happy 3/11 Day to our fellow Datsun Roadster owners! We hope you were able to Enjoy The Ride this weekend as the weather was fantastic. Our friend Kurt recently took delivery of his freshly restored 1967 Datsun 2000 (#520) and took it for nice ride around town.
The car is finished in my favorite color, Sora Blue and Steve Pettersen performed a stunning, frame-off restoration:
Expect a full feature on Kurt’s SRL and dyno tuning to make those twin Mikuni-Solexes sing! For now, please enjoy this video of us driving our roadsters around on 3/11:
ps…we may have driven a few other Z Car Garage project cars in this video as well 🙂
Sunday was a beautiful sunny day in the Bay Area, perfect for a quick drive in our Datsun Roadsters. Our destination was Uvas Reservoir and I joined Rob and his family in Sora while I drove my ‘67.5 SPL. Leaving our meeting point of 76 on Foxworthy/Almaden:
Z Car Garage shop dog Kane loves riding in the roadster!
Despite being only 25 miles from the heart of Silicon Valley, the landscape near Uvas Reservoir is entirely different with farmlands, rolling hills and idyllic bridge crossings:
At the reservoir we flagged down this Datsun enthusiast, also out Enjoying The Ride! It was none other than David Carroll in his beastly 1975 280z:
We snapped a few more pics of the cars and headed back home, it was fun to “exercise” the roadsters:
More pictures in the gallery below and remember, Datsuns Are Driven!
