Our Z Car Garage Big Brakes have been winning over Z-car enthusiasts locally and globally. Jay recently purchased a set for his 1972 Datsun 240Z and performed the installation himself at home in South Carolina. Last year Jay also purchased a set of Panasport wheels from ZCG and he’s been enjoying the ride. Before we go into his Big-Brake experience let’s hear his Z-story…

“The car was from California and made its way to Gainesville FL and was put in storage. I had been looking for a good 240 and this one was taken by the owner to a shop owned by a friend of a friend. The guy wanted to get it running and sell it. That triggered a phone call to me while on a anniversary trip with my wife to Italy, we were living in St Augustine Florida at the time. My buddy sent me some pics and a quick video and he grabbed the car for me. It was all there and very little rust. I had not really considered a Blue one, much less one with white interior.”

 

Z Car Garage Big-Brakes

     

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 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 retaining factory emergency brake lever! A few details below:

Calipers: Stoptech ST42 4-piston front & rear race calipers (Alum 6061 mil-spec Type III anodized)

Rotors: 280mm x 20.6 with Alum 7075 hats

Pads: Stoptech 309 sport street pads

Blog posts documenting all of our customers running the ZCG Big-Brakes can be found HERE.

A few closer detail shots of the calipers, rotors and hardware:

  

Big-Brake Kits Available For DIY Install!

Z Car Garage is proud to offer our Big-Brake Kit to Z-Car owners that want to perform the installation themselves. We can ship worldwide and each kit contains everything needed with a comprehensive (40-page) installation guide. Blog posts documenting all of our customers running the ZCG Big-Brakes can be found HERE. Enjoy these pictures of Jay’s beautiful S30 and his ZCG Big-Brake installation:

 

As mentioned, our ZCG Big-Brake kit ships with everything needed to install and retains the factory parking brake. Jay successfully installed the BBK on his Z along with a full suspension rebuild:

 

“The kit was packed and labeled extremely well, everything was included except for brake fluid.  The manual Rob sent me was very good. If you are looking for a great bolt on brake solution for your S30 with no need to cut n paste parts to make it all work, look no further than Z Car Garage. Great quality and Great folks to deal with. I had a small hiccup and Rob jumped on the phone and had me fixed up. Very happy with my purchase!”

   

Jay used OEM bushings and parts for his suspension refresh and full exhaust system from Zstory:

 

Beyond ease of installation and quality components, our Big-Brakes perform by offering superb pedal feel…everyone that drives our demo Z confirms! This is a direct result of working with Stoptech to create a totally bolt-in solution requiring no M/C change or additional proportioning valve/adjustments. Jay was very happy as well with great feedback:

“The performance of the brakes is awesome. My car is essentially a stock L24 but I live in the Blue Ridge Mountains and we have a lot of great driving roads and frankly the stock brakes sort of didn’t inspire confidence. This allows me to drive the car a lot harder with no worries. Super happy with the fit, finish & performance of the brakes. Thanks to you guys for making parts that take these old cars to the next level.”

 

Enjoying the Ride

 

Jay has been braking deeper and with more confidence on those Blue Ridge mountain roads, we love that this Z gets driven! Enjoy the short video Jay sent us the Z in action:

Race car driver, restorer and Datsun Historian Glenn Chiou has been a friend and client of Z Car Garage for many years. His canyon-carving companion is this 1972 Nissan Fairlady 240Z-L featuring our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes and dyno tuning. Before we get into the details behind this rare, right-hand drive survivor let’s take a look at Glenn’s Datsun story.

 

Racing Is Life

 

Glenn is passionate about vintage racing and loves re-telling the stories of legendary privateer Z car racers. Like privateers of the period, Glenn builds his Z cars, maintains and manages his racing efforts himself. You may have seen Glenn’s FAR Performance 240Z in VIPS Restaurant livery as raced in the 70’s by Loren St. Lawrence or his Ex-Greg Sorrentino IMSA 260Z at events like the Velocity Invitational and Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. Glenn restored these cars himself and the VIPS Z is now going back to Bay Area Datsun Dealers livery as raced by FAR Performance privateer Walt Maas.

 

Glenn also races a Datsun 510, championing a vintage race group dedicated to the Historic B&C Sedan class. He is currently restoring the 1968 Ex-Finn/Harris U2.5L Trans-Am 510. You can follow his racing adventures on Instagram.

  

Finding a Fairlady

 

When he’s not working on race cars, Glenn is enjoying his 1972 Nissan 240Z-L. It’s “the dream list” car that started his Datsun passion. Glenn has owned it for several years, enjoying it as a back-road burner on the street and rallye events.

 

The Z has a great story behind its acquisition. Purchased from Chiyoda Nissan as a used car by US Air Force lieutenant David Zabel in ’73, it was brought back with him to the States in 1974 and driven until 1992. Glenn found the Z in 2010 sitting in a Datsun collection in Ben Lomond, Ca. Below are period photos from Japan in the 70’s at Yokota air base near Tokyo and ski-trips at Lake Tahoe:

 

Find out more about the story behind this right-hand-drive survivor over on Petrolicious with photography by Courtney Cutchen with a great video. To this day it still wears its original paint, interior and neat Japanese-market features like the 8-track Nissan/Hitachi radio and passenger side foot rest. Glenn also sourced the rare rallye clock that is functional, running off an oscillator box in the passenger footwell.

 

Drivetrain

 

We actually tuned Glenn’s Fairlady back in 2012. The 3.0L stroker is fed by triple-Mikuni induction backed by a Nissan 240SX 5-speed transmission and OS Giken limited-slip diff. With Rob’s tuning it produced one of the highest dyno numbers we had seen back then putting down 249hp/227tq to the wheels:

 

Z Car Garage Big Brakes for Glenn’s S30

 

The Z clearly had more than enough power, but braking was always something Glenn wanted to improve and once he heard about our  Z Car Garage Big-Brakes  for small wheels he became a believer after test driving them. Rather than tell you how we feel about this product, let’s hear Glenn’s experience.

“Throughout my years of Z car ownership, I have run a variety of brake setups. My Z cars have seen everything from restored OEM Sumitomos, Toyota 4×4’s, trick Wilwood setups, even frankenstein’d Baer calipers. There is no doubt that it has been one area that I have never been completely satisfied with. Over time, after many years and attempts to find the ‘perfect’ setup, I had given up and just settled for what I had.

The most important aspect to me when it comes to braking on a street driven car is feel. Yes, stopping power is extremely important, but also is not that difficult to achieve on an early Z car that is naturally light to begin with. Feel, however, is something that has always managed to escape me. On my vintage 240z race car, we use multiple master cylinders, swap them in and out, fiddle with our brake proportioning valves, fine tuning them to fit our driving style and preference. We are trying to find that ‘racer’s edge.’ In all honesty, when it comes to a street car, I want nothing to do with all that.”

“Wheel sizing and style was also extremely important to me. I love old school wheels and the sizes they came in. I needed a brake caliper that would fit under my 15” Watanabe RS wheels without having to shave or drastically modify my setup. If it was not for being in love with these wheels, I would have opted for Z Car Garage’s larger big brake kit.”

Our clients asked us to make a BBK for smaller wheels so even a guy running 14″ vintage 5-slots slots could brake like a modern sports car. Typical big-brake kits use a 4-piston setup up front and a ZX in back; Proportioning is hard to get right, varying from car to car. We wanted a brake system that suited the car and totally bolted in, no M/C change, no proportioning valve, no booster change.

 

Working with Stoptech again, we developed this smaller BBK as a direct bolt-in solution for the 1970 to 1978 S30 Z cars. We’ve been with Stoptech since the beginning and love their products. With over 150 brake kits sold, we are stoked with all of the positive feedback.  Let’s get back to Glenn and hear his initial impressions of the big-brake kit:

“Rob informed me he was working up a solution and he wanted me to be test the brake kit. Rob promised three things – they would brake amazing, they would fit under my 15” Watanabes, and they would feel as if they belonged on the car. Did I doubt it at first? Sure, a little. However, I also knew that the fit and finish of all products that came out of ZCG were top notch, and that Rob thoroughly tested all his products against his own standards. Which I’m sure everyone knows, are extremely high.

In preparation for the Monterey Historics last year, I had brought the Z race car to the shop for dyno time. Rob gave me the keys to his Butters Z and said “Go drive it.” Under 14″ wheels sat his brand new ZCG brake kit. I gladly accepted and took the car for a ride.”

 

“WOW, what a difference. The feel, modulation, power, sharpness was amazing. Hands down the best brakes I had ever driven on a Z car, and these were on a car with stock suspension, tires and probably cruddy tires! I told Rob, “sign me up!”

Glenn wanted to run the brake kit on his Fairlady and we happily obliged. He had also been gearing up for a road rallye so the braking system would be throughly used. You can see his Z (top left) along with his buddy Erich C’s S30 (top right, also getting a ZCG BBK!):

 

“Then came the day Rob called me up and said they were ready to rock and roll. Lucky for me, I was just about to head out on the 1000-mile Coastal Range Rally! The kit came with beautifully anodized front and rear calipers, hats, rotors, brakes lines, reversible brackets (for early and later Z offsets), and a factory ⅞” master cylinder. Read that again… Yes, a proportioning valve was left out from that list! The brakes were a straight bolt on and ZCG did all the math to get both the master cylinder size and piston sizes correct. We brought the car in for install and within a day the car was ready to rock.”

 

 

Glenn’s 240z now had 4-wheel disc brakes ready to tackle the street and rallye:

  

And of course, the brakes fit beautifully under the 15″ Watts. Kane approved, and Glenn was stoked:

 

“I could hardly wait to jump in the seat of the car and take it for a spin. The brakes were now on a car with suspension, tire, power, and a proper alignment. It was everything I had remembered from driving the Butters Z and MORE. The brakes performed flawlessly on the Coastal Range Rally, taking abuse from California’s most challenging roads”

 

“Attention to detail goes a long way. This is exactly what these brakes delivered, and what continues to be delivered by ZCG.

LONG LIVE THE Z!”

Still Enjoying the Ride

 

Last weekend we caught up with Glenn and took the FairladyZ out for a spin to stretch its legs. Glenn was one of the first clients to run our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes back in 2018 and we are happy to report that he is still braking late and deep all while Enjoy The Ride!

 

Over the years we’ve been fortunate to drive our Datsuns together through the local Bay Area backroads. Glenn’s Z always looks sharp while sounding sensational. Here is a video from our recent drive, volume up and enjoy!

 

You can find him carving through the Santa Cruz Mountains or taking a break at Alice’s Restaurant off Skyline…

 

While we were catching up with Glenn he reminded me that the ZCG Big-Brakes are better than any of the other setups he’s driven, the only one that feels and behaves like a modern car. He loves them.

 

What’s next for the Z? Glenn says its due for a refresh..NOS door panels, some engine bay fuel plumbing updates and maybe a change from the Ground Control/Tokico coil-overs. Aside from the Z Car Garage Big-Brakes , it remains very much the same as he set it up over 10 years ago. Big thanks to Glenn for the support and feedback. We look forward to many more race events and drives with you. Enjoy the photo gallery below and LONG LIVE THE Z!

 

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The Nissan 300ZX Twin Turbo is one the best Japanese sports cars of the 90’s. Keeping them on the road is our passion and we love to see our clients like Peter H Enjoying the Ride after some Z Car Garage power, chassis and aesthetic upgades.

 

Let’s take a look at how we made the already-fantastic 300ZX a well-rounded sports car, starting with Peter’s Z-story.

 

It’Z Never Too Late to Z

 

Peter was not always a Z-car enthusiast, but as we all know it there is no time like the present to own one and he acquired his Z32 from a prior Z Car Garage client:

“My experience with ZCG started back in end of 2016 when I acquired the Z from one of their former customers. To be honest, I had a very limited knowledge on Nissan Z cars before 2016 as I had a heart on rotary engine (Mazda FD RX-7) until I connected to the Z and its timeless design. I first brought my Z in to ZCG for power steering leak as the car was exclusively maintenance by ZCG and I want to keep it that way and I was impressed with the quality work of ZCG and their knowledge. Istarted to chat with Rob about the car and learned a lot from Rob about Z cars.”

 

Over the last 5 years we helped Peter with regular maintenance along with performance upgrades. Peter really wanted to give this car the attention it deserves while enjoying the occasional open track day.

Power Upgrades

 

Prior to power upgrades a few items were addressed. The 1990-1994 Z32TT’s have fuel injector problems because Nissan used a wet coil design. This left the injector coil wire prone to oxidation over time and eventual shorting. The solution? Convert to later style injectors using the early fuel rail. For Peter’s Z we wanted to run 740cc injectors which is only available in the new style:

 

More engine work including full timing belt services along with valve cover removal/refinishing:

 

Driveline was upgraded with a JWT HD clutch and flywheel. Keen observers may note that the exhaust has changed too!

 

Larger downpipes greatly improve flow over the stock manifolds. The best downpipes for your Z32TT can be found at SpecialtyZ. These are 3″ units:

 

The Z was treated to a chassis steam clean, making a clean grime-free backdrop for the new exhaust system. Downpipes were mated to 3-2.5″ SPZ mid-pipes and Greddy SP1 Exhaust:

 

We installed more parts from our friends at SpecialtyZ  like their Selin dual MAF. To improve breathing we also installed larger Stillen intercoolers and charge plumbing from Ash-spec. Managing boost is a Greddy Profec E Boost Controller:

 

Finally, low-profile engine mounts from BDE offer more turbo inlet clearance and oil temps kept in check with a Concept Z Performance full Flow Oil Cooler Kit:

 

Recent work at Z Car Garage included a repaired turbo actuator, oil plan replacement, repaired heater core, new OEM wiring harness and minor electrical sorting from a 3rd party gauge installation.

Dyno Tuning

 

We dyno tuned Peter’s Z picking up 25hp/32tq for a total of 36hp/341tq at the wheels:

 

Enjoy this video below showing the dyno run, a walk-around, take-off and brief track footage:

 

Big-Brakes and Chassis

 

As every Z32 owner knows, the stock brakes just aren’t up to the task for track duty or even spirited driving. More power exacerbates the issue and you know how we feel at ZCG:  It’s Stoptech Or Don’t Stop At All. Peter eventually experienced the difference:

“The Z was cranking out 355wHP but with stock brakes and heavy wheels. The acceleration was great but it had a big problem on stopping. I first upgraded with bigger rotors but it did not feel enough stopping power when going downhill. I brought my concern to Rob and Rob made it clearly to me Stoptech BBK is the only solution on Z32s.”

  

We installed the 332mm Big-Brake Kit using red calipers and rotors. Stock vs Stoptech:

   

At the rear, stock Z32 calipers were paint-matched to the Stoptech red up front.  Sport kit slotted rotors with 309 pads and SS lines throughout:

    

In addition to their function, the Stoptech’s look nice too!

 

A few chassis upgrades included Powertrix Front Strut Tower, Stillen Front Rear Sway Bars, SPL Titanium Tension Rods, full Tein Flex Z Coilovers and new steering rack boots/bushings:

 

Interior

 

Peter wanted us to sort out his aftermarket gauges (Prosport Boost Gauge, Oil Temperature, Water Temperature Gauge), install a new steering wheel and upgrade lighting:

    

The dim stock displays benefitted from new LED sources. Check out the difference:

 

Even the climate control display is improved:

 

More LED upgrades throughout the cabin:

 

Peter’s interior touches include a Custom Alcantara on factory steering wheel with thumb rest:

 

Recaro Speed Racing Seats with Bride Seat rail/bracket, Nismo Clutch and Brake Pedal, Cusco accelerator pedal, and custom carbon fiber interior door sill with a logo “Fairlady” :

 

Aesthetics

 

Richard W brought his 1971 Datsun 240Z from Eureka, Ca to Z Car Garage for a full mechanical restoration back in 2020. Our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes, Z Car Garage CV Axles and Z Car Garage Heat Shield along with a new drivetrain and full suspension transformed this Series 1 S30.

 

With a few thousand miles on the build Richard visited ZCG earlier this year for routine maintenance. We changed the fluids, resolved a charging issue, checked the driveline and overall health of the Z.

 

While the Z was with us we performed extensive road testing with acceleration, freeway cruising, dyno runs and more all shown in the video below. Turn those speakers up and enjoy!

 

I could not resist taking more photos of the engine, interior and chassis on this gorgeous Sunshine Yellow Series 1. Enjoy some photos from his recent visit and of course zcarblog has the full report on our restoration of Richard’s Z.

 

Drivetrain

 

We got the original L24 with SUs running after sitting for years, but Richard wanted more power and Rob suggested a Rebello 3.1L engine. Supporting parts included an MSA 6-into-1 header, ZCG exhaust system, internally regulated 280ZX alternator, 280ZX gear reduction starter, KOYO race radiator (custom upper hose) and Z Car Garage Heat Shield. Here are a few pictures of the engine build/installation with many more in the gallery:

 

To handle the power from the 3.1L engine we replaced the stock transmission with a Nissan KA24 (FS5W71C) transmission. This was a common swap (before the CD009a came to market) performed by modifying a 280Z L-series bell housing. When we upgraded the transmission we also installed a JWT HD clutch with aluminum flywheel. Helping put the power down efficiently is an OS Giken LSD. The R180 houses a 4.11 R&P and the assembly is setup in-house (by Joshua Corwin).

 

Engine Bay Services

Richard’s Z received a total engine bay restoration. Please visit the gallery below for more pictures documenting the engine bay restoration work, it’s where our efforts shine! Final Before/After in the engine bay:

 

Suspension

Richard’s chassis was treated to a full suspension rebuild with new parts, bushings and a full coil-over (Koni struts with our spring rates) suspension from Techno Toy Tuning. T3 finishes the suspension in our signature color and we really appreciate Gabriel and his staff. They make some of the best suspension parts out there for Z cars.

 

Front Suspension refresh with T/C rod, crossmember and steering rack detail: Rear end with T3 lower control arms and ST Sway bar:

         

 

Interior

 

One of our favorite upgrades to the interior of an S30 is our ZCG sound deadening package. Usually found in our full-blown ZCG restorations, the result is a less tinny sound and almost Germanic-like “clunk” when you shut the doors.

  

The stock seats were replaced with Recaro Specialist in black leather, we love these seats for the S30:

  

Please check the gallery below for more detail shots, there are too many to list in this blog post!

Enjoying The Ride

 

It was great to see Richard again and meet his wife this time, recalling how he purchased the Z new in December of 1970! We love that this restoration is out on the road and being enjoyed. It’s also a great example of how no matter how far away you live from Z Car Garage we will help our clients any way we can. Long Live The Z!

“Richard got out of the Z and told me he had bought this Z 50 years ago that week, it’s been with him through alot of stuff and now his kids and grandkids will get to enjoy it. I looked him in the eye and said I’ll be here for their chapters, any time they need me. I’m attached to this Z now too.”

  

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We love to see clients installing our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes on their Z Cars! This is Mike’s 1972 240Z with original matching L24. It was bone-stock and sitting for 16 years outside until he rescued it year and a half ago. Mike is a professional automotive paint technician and this Z will be restored with correct 115 metallic blue paint.

 

Client’s often ask if their wheel will clear the ZCG Big-Brakes and we offer a a caliper template to help with fitment. Sometimes it’s best to physically test fit the actual wheel desired. Mike sent us a pretty rad Star Shark wheel from Washington and we confirmed clearance of the Big-brakes:

 “I chose the Colin Project Star shark wheel 14×8-13 for some JDM nostalgia, the look, and a bit more aggressive stance. They are wrapped in BF Goodrich 225/60r14 tires. I very much wanted to upgrade the brakes with the Z Car Garage Big-Brake Kit after seeing Larry Chen’s Ole Orange Bang done by Rob and ZCG team. Sent Rob a wheel for an accurate verification of fitment, and Huzzah!! They Fit! Very, very excited about this. You can’t just put any brake kit on this car. This is a kit that you can have confidence in because the research and development has been done.”

 We are really stoked to see Mike’s restoration progress. Thanks for your support Mike and Long Live The Z!  You can see more information on our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes and see a list of clients (over 100!) using them on our blog.