Randy Jaffe is an avid car guy and Datsun enthusiast. Beyond his fanatic attention to detail and love for Nissan racing he’s excessive–in the best way possible and we love him for it.  Several years ago we teamed up with Randy to turn his BRE Datsun 240z show car into a competitive vintage road-race car.

 

He was impressed with our work on the BRE Z and told us about another Z project that he was working on but stalled out in Atlanta.  We decided it was time to finish this ultimate track/street car with a healthy dose of his personality. The highlight of this Series 1 240z is a full Rocketbunny body kit with plenty of Z Car Garage touches. Let’s take a closer look at the build:

 

Origins

The creation of the Rocketbunny Z changed courses many times as the build evolved, as Randy recalls:

“I wanted to build a series 1 Radical fun Street car with a completely different look. We started off thinking we would do conventional flares and conventional displacement for a 240 Z. Then my painter Bryson was doing the bodywork and had just installed a Rocketbunny kit on a 350Z and asked me to take a look at that particular body kit. I knew of the first one completed by Sung Kang and I think it was the second or third kit to come to the country when we ordered it from Japan directly.”

 

“The paint color which originally was going to be Porsche’s lava orange evolved because of Michael Eberhardt to Porsche‘s late 60s color called Tangerine. Tangerine painted with a white sub-coat pops where Helen Keller could see the color! Since I am color blind, the brighter the color the better I can see it.  Bryson welded an amazing full roll cage as I decided to create the car as a street and track beast.”

The body was amazingly painted and caged by Bryson of Classic Livery of Atlanta. They are known for many high-end commissions including several RWB Porsche’s for Akira Nakai. Randy’s transporter trekked from Atlanta to drop off this gorgeous chassis at ZCG and our work began.

Assembly Required: Race Chassis Prep

 

The chassis was temporarily mounted on rollers while we prepped suspension pieces. Following the “race-car for the street” theme, we re-created the entire front and rear BRE 240z suspension setup. Everything that the #46 race car has is on this street car from DP racing front/rear struts, koni shocks, identical spring rates, sway bar, adjustable end links, plated finish…all of it. More pictures in the gallery below!

Front and rear:

 

Z Car Garage Big-Brakes

There are two versions of our ZCG Big Brakes  and the only three “racing” setups on are on the BRE car, Alex’s Hako and the Rocketbunny Z:

 

Stay tuned for our latest big-brake upgrade from the minds of ZCG and Stoptech!

 

Back to the chassis, the entire hydraulic system was installed starting with freshly plated lines.

 

DP remote reservoir and plated pedal box:

 

Z Car Garage CV Axles

Z Car Garage is proud to offer a CV axle conversion kit for Datsun S30 and 510 cars. We run these on our race cars and the Rocketbunny Z also got a set.

 

Helping put the power down effectively is an OS Giken limited-slip R180 diff properly set up in-house by Joshua Corwin.

 

Wheels Make The Car

 

The biggest hurdle on this car was wheel choice.  Wheels can make or break the car and they had to befit the “KAMIKAZ” nickname.  There was no way we would have a car with massive flares and not use every single square inch of real estate available to fill with wheel and tire.

 

We sourced some Panasport C8 centers and began a custom build with MemoryFab who was instrumental in helping us with fitment/barrel sizing. Up front are 17×10 with a 275/35/17 tire and 17×12 rear with 335/35/17 tire (NT-01R). At the time there were no other RB cars running a 335 in back! .

 

We spent many hours making the kit fit around these wheels/tires so there was no rubbing:

 

Everyone was pleased with wheel choice for KAMIKAZ, especially Randy:

“I had already ordered and received a set of Watanabe wheels from Japan however they would not work with the rocket bunny kit so when I sent the car to Rob Fuller at Z car garage he did his magic and created a set of custom wheels using a set of Panasport racing C8 NOS wheels. 10 inch wheels on the front 12 inch wheels on the back by 17s gives the car and unreal stance.”

 

Race Engine

 

We had Rebello build a nasty 3.2L for the Z running triple-Mikuni’s, 12:5:1 compression (110 leaded fuel) backed by a 280zx 5-speed. Randy gave us a blank canvas to assemble the entire car but ZCG touches really shine in the engine bay.

“I basically wanted my 46Z race car for the street and asked Rob Fuller to further tap into his magic box so we built a 3.2 race motor full race suspension and the whole 9 yards! Rob and his guys built an amazing car using special finishes on some of the metal work under the hood and the car is just insane to drive.”

Here are a few pictures of the assembly with many more in the gallery. Aluminum flywheel with twin-plate setup and comp oil pan just like BRE car:

   

Triple Mikuni induction:

 

Engine going in and detail work beginning. We re-created the cooling system from the BRE car and ran all of the chassis wiring.

 

The catch can, radiator and Datsun roadster overflow are all period parts that BRE used and duplicated for the Rocketbunny:

 

 

Interior

With drivetrain and chassis sorted we moved to the interior. Continuing the race car theme is a stripped (but pretty) body-color interior with that beautiful roll cage from Bryson.

The dash was covered in Alcantara. We installed and wired it up with period gauges. All switch gear similar to the BRE car:

 

A few more detail shots:

 

A Braille battery from our friend Gary Savage sits behind the passenger seat:

 

Sparco Pro 2000 seats:

 

Chassis wiring for Euro-spec lights:

 

ZCG door seal upgrade with sound deadening panels. The Z was nearing completion.

 

Enter the JGRBOMB

 

This was our quickest build to date so we could make a debut at the 2018 Japanese Classic Car Show in Long Beach, CA. The night before our roadtrip down to SoCal we applied a Jagermeister livery to the car. Randy’s inspiration came from his obsession with Porsche, and the Max Moritz Racing Porsche 934:

 

“I love race liveries and told the guys at the car garage I wanted to do the Jagermeister racing package on this car and they were not really hip to it but Bryson and I discussed it several times and we both thought it would take the car to the next level.  However I stuck with my gut and flew out to San Jose with the livery kit a few days before JCCS and after the first hood decal Rob and his guys were scratching their head thinking hmmm – This may not be a bad idea LOL.”

 

Rob and I finished applying the decals late in the night before going to Long Beach and we received a lot of positive feedback at that show and then the car came back to ZCon in Atlanta and won a Gold Cup award. The car was also shown at SEMA in 2018 where again the car received an immense amount of positive feedback.”

Indeed, the livery on the Rocketbunny (KAMIKAZ) Z looked fantastic and Randy eventually affixed the JGRBOMB license plate to match. We are happy to report that while at JCCS  Randy’s Z won 1st place, Best 240z in a class filled with incredible Z cars!

 

It was also well-received at Z Con and the SEMA show (thanks to Gary and Braille!). That’s BRE front-man Peter Brock and the designer of the Rocketbunny body kit, Kei Miura both signing the Z:

 

 

That BRE Exhaust

We wanted to do a BRE exhaust so we used the Fujitsubo headers and a straight twin-exit with megaphones exactly like the BRE original set up, Randy notes the white color:

 

“Of course BRE had theirs painted yellow from day one and still are but I wanted to do the rocket bunny exhaust megaphones in white to play off the livery. Many vintage race cars have white headers and exhaust so it made sense to me. So the audio level is the same as the 46Z and will wake up the dead.”

  

How does it sound? Check out this short video with a dyno run, enjoy!

 

 

Details

It would take multiple blog posts to cover all the special details throughout this build. Some highlights include fully polishing all trim pieces like quarters, drip rails, etc. Re-keying locks. Even the mirror was done to Randy’s liking.

Things like the differential temperature gauge behind the old gas fill door have a purpose and pay homage to the Datsun vintage race cars. Contrastingly, there are small modern updates like vintage H4 headlights retrofitted with HID units.

We asked Randy what’s it like to drive:

“To me there’s no difference in driving this and the 46Z it’s almost the same build except more rubber on this one!”

To us that is a great compliment because we set out to finish Randy’s vision of the ultimate street/track BRE-flavored Z.

“I find myself several nights a week just walking around the car in my shop and admiring the build that Rob, Josh and the crew at Z Car Garage created.”

We thank Randy for letting us be creative on this Z and it’s been rewarding to see his taste reflected in other builds. This was a fun project and we enjoyed every moment of it. Browse the extensive photo gallery and LONG LIVE THE Z!

 

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Richard M has been our customer since he moved to California years ago and together we built his 2009 370z into a balanced sports car with power and style. We are really proud to see him enjoy his Z and be an active member of the community. Let’s take a look at the journey with a few highlights along the way…

Humble Beginnings Lead to Boost

“Then 2 months later we reached out to Stillen to bless the Z with the full Stillen Supercharger kit and oil cooler. The kit was installed and dyno’d making 433whp and 340wtq. We transformed the Z into a new car. The new driving characteristics were improved drastically and the kit, compared to the naturally aspirated setup was day and night.”

 

We added a Stillen 25-row oil cooler and GTR plugs:

 

The installation was seamlessly, before/after:

 

With a CAN tune out of the box we saw 376hp/284tq to the wheels. This wasn’t terribly impressive considering baseline NA numbers were 305hp/251tq, netting gains of 69hp/33tq:

After Rob’s custom tune we squeezed another 58hp/55tq for a total of 433hp/339tq to the wheels. The gains were significant all the way to the VQ’s sweet 7500rpm redline, even with slightly less boost!

 

Richard was happier now with over 400whp 🙂

“The performance of my Amuse 370Z from the beginning has met both my expectations and Rob’s expectations. Rob and I always talk about how this car has been a stand out in regards to reliability with added power enhancers.”

 

“Working with Rob was the best decision I could’ve made in allowing someone to tune my car and keep me grounded as it’s easy to get sucked into the battle of “who has the most horsepower”? Although it can always be done,  I am proud to daily drive and make repeated trips between Norcal/Socal without any issues.”

We thank Rich for the kind words, and the Z certainly has been a workhorse.  Here are some of Rich’s memorable moments with his 370z.

Highlights

 

• Landing the front cover of DSPORT Magazine (Feb. 2018) which was also their SEMA issue and my first car cover and centerfold.

 

• Being featured on Matt Farrah’s youtube channel “The Smoking Tire” which has over 500k views. We love to see our customer’s cars spotlighted in the media!   Check out the video:

 

• Winning 1st place Best Import at The San Jose Auto Show inside the “Spider Section” for custom cars at the Convention Center

 

 

• Being invited & featured by Super Street Magazine to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Nissan GTR & Z Heritage in Monterey California for car week

 

• The final and most special to Rich is being invited to be featured in the “2020 Toyo Tires X SuperStreet” calendar which has also been declared the very last Calendar that Toyo Tires and Super Street Magazine will do. SuperStreet has been such a pillar for all of us import enthusiasts so to be recognized by them has been a childhood dream come true.

 

Style

Rich added his own touch to the Z, including a full Powerhouse Amuse kit and custom paint job with Silver with Gold flakes:

“The PowerHouse Amuse body kit is a kit that is also functional for cooling purposes but is also one of those kits that I actually fell in love with. The sharp body lines that I think enhances the Z. I imported the kit from Japan after becoming friends with Hitoshi Matsui and becoming more confident in Amuse now known as R1 Titan.”

We love the Work Emotion CR KAI wheels (F: 19×9.5 +15 R: 19×11 +18) with Muteki 12×1.25 Neo Chrome Extended open lug nuts and Toyo Proxes T1 Tires 285/35/19R -255/35/19F:

 

 

 

Rich would like to thank his sponsors:  Toyo Tires, Stillen, ISC Suspension, Socal Z, and ZCG.

LONG LIVE THE Z!

  

ZCG Heat Shield

We are excited to offer the Z Car Garage Heat Shield for your triple-carb’d L-series Z car. This is a one-piece 304 stainless unit with laser-etched serial number. Proven on all of our L-series engine builds and dyno testing.

 

This heat shield will fit Mikuni, Weber, Dellorto and Jenvey induction with several intake manifolds like the Harada:

 

Contact the shop for pricing and ordering info!

ZCG CV Axles

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 70 CV axle kits on customer cars and we are stoked with all of the positive feedback. We now have a new shipment in stock, order your set today!

 

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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.

To order, contact Rob at the shop:

rob@zcargarage.com or call 408-452-0350

Shop Update 2/4

I stopped by the shop today and grabbed some quick shots of a few projects, enjoy!
Felix’s 300zx Twin Turbo is back for power upgrades:

 

 

Dyno tuning a Stillen Supercharged 350z:

 

R32 Skyline in foer Project Mu Big-Brakes:

  

R35:

 

More updates coming soon!

 

We met Greg in 2015 when he purchased a set of Panasport wheels for his S30. He returned later in 2019 for our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes and Z Car Garage CV Axles along with upgraded suspension and triple Mikuni carbs. Greg is a pilot residing in Reno, NV and when he is not flying passengers all over the US he is a 100% gearhead with an award-winning 1970 Dodge Charger. He has owned the ’73 Z for 42 years and we love the story behind it:

“I bought this Z from the original family (two owners, same family) just weeks after I graduated from high school in June of 1978. I had previously owned a 1970 Sublime Green Dodge Charger R/T, but I thought it just wouldn’t be cool to show up to college in a ‘lime green’ car, so I went on the hunt for something that had great looks, and great performance to match. I kept my pursuit of a 240Z a secret from my high school sweet-heart (now my wife of 40 years), who was two years behind me in high school, until I had actually purchased the car and had a chance to give it a good detailing. When I pulled up that first evening with the new Z, she was very surprised! See didn’t know what it was, but she thought it was just “So Cool!”

As life went on Greg moved from Idaho to Reno and the car ended up getting stored for about 20 years.  When their re-acquired ’70 Charger did not make it back from a resto-mod in 2015, Valerie suggested getting the 240z running to enter in Hot August Nights in place of the Charger.

“After sitting for 20 years it needed some work – we called on Dave Rebello for a 3.0 stroker L-28 engine (SU carbs), and while the engine was being built my son and I got busy.  We pulled the fuel tank, dipped it, and refreshed it with a new sending unit, as well as all new hoses.” 

In 2015 Greg purchased a set of 16×7 Panasport wheels from us and though the Z was really nice it was time to take the next step.

 

Taking the Z to the next level

After months of planning, last July Greg and Valerie drove their Z down from Reno to Z Car Garage.  They spent the day with us while we installed new parts, made a few repairs and cleaned up the engine bay.

 

The Rebello 3L was treated to a fresh set of triple Mikuni PHH44 carbs on a Harada intake manifold (Rob’s favorite intake). We anodized the linkage from blue to black to suit Greg’s taste.

 

Out with the old SU carbs. A new 6-into-1 MSA coated exhaust header (merged to existing exhaust system) and ZCG heat shield were installed:

   

Greg also wanted the fuel hoses and AN fttings black which is becoming common from our vintage racing builds like the Rocketbunny Z. Finishing it off is our favorite fuel rail from Japan.

 

The engine bay received lots cleanup. We wanted Greg’s attention to detail to match his Mopar’s. Before/After, triples are hard to beat!

 

Dyno Tuning

 

After the addition of triple Mikuni carbs and an updated MSD ignition we went through the car to ensure it ran well. With Rob’s dyno tuning we greatly improved the way this Rebello 3L drives. Baseline was 186hp/189tq and after tuning it made 215hp/203tq to the wheels:

 

Listen to those triple Mikuni’s sing on the dyno. Also watch for a test drive with Rob running through the gears making sweet L-series music!

 

 

We sorted a few additional items like repairing the parking brake, replacing a lazy tachometer with a nice unit from Rob’s stash and fixing his shift boot.

 

Greg was pleased with modifications and repairs:

“One of the not-previously talked about items that I was most pleased with was the Tension Rod Bushings that Rob replaced. After I installed the new front-end parts a few years back, the car still had a tendency to follow slight grooves in the road. I had written this off as non-stock wider tires, but when Rob took the car he noticed it in his test drive and replaced those for us as well.  The car now literally drives and handles better than new, and the triple carbs with Rob’s tuning magic REALLY brought out the beast in the Rebello motor! The car’s performance now is quite simply stunning!!!”

ZCG Big-Brakes and CV Axles

 

With great power from the Rebello 3L Greg needed braking to match. We installed our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels) and also upgaded to Z Car Garage CV Axles!

     

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:

 

We went ahead got Greg dialed in with the ZCG big-brake kit for small wheels with parking brake and a new 240z brake booster/master cylinder. More pics in the gallery!

  

Front brake installation:

    

At the rear, the OEM drums brakes were replaced with our ZCG Big-Brakes. Factory handbrake functionality IS retained! They also look great behind the Panasport wheels:

 

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 70 CV axle kits on customer cars and we are stoked with all of the positive feedback.

  

Greg received ZCG CV Axle set #282.

 

Enjoying The Ride

 

After their visit to ZCG, both Greg and Valerie continued to enjoy the Z at several Hot August Nights shows. It appears they enjoy driving it more than the Charger 🙂

“The Hot August Night Virginia City meet this year.  We had intended to take the Z Friday, and the Charger on Saturday, but we had so much fun driving up and down Geiger Grade with the new ZCG triple Mikuni‘s and the ZCG Big brakes that we took the Z both days!!!”

 

Valerie driving the Z to a local ‘Ladies only’ car show. We love her “all blue” theme! (Right) Their 1970 Dodge Charger:

 

“Valerie and I are very happy with the service and modifications ZCG has completed on our ’73 240Z.  I doubt anyone else has the experience, the knowledge base, and most importantly, the PASSION for working on Z Car’s that Rob Fuller and the staff at the Z-Car Garage have!”

 

We really had a great experience working Greg, thank you both for letting us make your Z car an enjoyable sports car! More pictures in the gallery below:

 

 

LONG LIVE THE Z!

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Rommel came to Z Car Garage in 2014 to have work done on his 2013 Nismo 370z. He’s a big car enthusiast with a Camaro ZL1 and Viper ACR and after a few years he reached out to us about his 1971 Datsun 240z.

 

The Z had an EFI setup with Megasquirt and would not start. He made an appointment with us and got the car towed here where we found an ECU failure.  Rob and Mel discussed doing an upgrade to Haltech and fixing all the things wrong with the car from sorting the suspension, better braking and engine bay cleanup.

 

Mel was hesitant to do everything all at once, yet we wanted to avoid future trips back to the shop. Jokingly, Mel said what “I’d really like are some ph44 Mikuni’s.”  Ask and you shall receive as Rob had a set ready to go.  So we cancelled the tow truck and made a plan to go back to vintage.

 

All of the existing EFI parts were removed from the car.  We hooked Mel up with a Harada intake manifold, triple ph44 Mikuni carbs correctly setup for his 2.8 engine, a ZCG heat shield and corrected all fuel system issues:

 

Often utilized on vintage race cars, the fuel lines were plumbed from a junction block on the firewall. Black AN fittings on black fuel lines supply each carb:

 

We think the new triple Mikuni’s look much better than the old setup!

  

The existing fuel pump system (Left) was removed and a cleaner Holley setup installed:

Dyno Tuning

 

Aside from the exhaust header, this is a stock 2.8L engine running Mikuni ph44s.  With timing and A/F adjustments we picked up more power making 150hp/167tq to the wheels:

  

Listen to those triple Mikuni’s sing on the dyno:

Minor Sorting

The rear fenders were cut badly to fit flares, revealing an inner fender gap that would allow air/fuel vapors to entire cabin:

 

We pulled it back, welded the metal and sealed everything up. The exhaust was also rubbing at the rear valance so re-fitted it.

Chassis

   

The chassis was treated to a suspension refresh. We installed lower adjustable control arms and T/C rods 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. Lower control arms replacing OEM parts:

   

Front T/C rods replacing OEM units:

  

ZCG Big-Brakes and CV Axles

We installed our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels) and Z Car Garage CV Axles!

     

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:

 

We went ahead got Mel dialed in with the ZCG big-brake kit for small wheels with parking brake and a new master cylinder. More pics in the gallery!

  

Front brake installation:

  

The ZCG brakes fit under the 15×9 Atara Racing wheels:

 

At the rear, the existing old-school disc setup was replaced with our ZCG Big-Brakes. Factory handbrake functionality IS retained!

   

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 70 CV axle kits on customer cars and we are stoked with all of the positive feedback.

   

The differential area was a mess on Mel’s Z. We corrected the side-flange issues with his R200 and installed our CV axles. Stock half shafts (L) and ZCG units:

 

 

Vintage is Best!

Once running we performed a full alignment and dialed in the brakes. Mel’s initial feedback on the car made us happy:

“Well, I’m very happy how my car turned out after picking it up from ZCG. Hearing my baby runs on old school NA triple carbs is very heart warming, the ZCG Big-Brake kit is amazing, the CV axles are beefy and the suspension tweaks made a lot of difference on handling. I can’t thank Rob enough for what he did to my Z. It feels like a totally different car now (in a good way) compared to when I drop it off. Job well done ZCG! Thank you for taking care of my 240Z ZCG. 👍👏🙏”

 

This was a very rewarding project and we are excited to see Mel’s Z evolve into a well-rounded sports car. He’s already thinking about his next upgrade…a 3.0 or 3.2L motor. Thanks for bringing your Z to us Mel! More pictures in the gallery below.

Long Live The Z!
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