On Saturday, August 29 we attended the Tokyo Calling 6 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 featured 250+ Japanese classics and 90’s-era wonders to appreciate during the morning social gathering and rest stops. Enjoy our report with photo gallery and video!
Breakfast Club Rally
The Breakfast Club Rally (BCR) started 6 years ago as a small group enjoying weekend drives. It blossomed into monthly events with one hour of hanging out followed by several hours of driving. 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, Tokyo Calling 3, Tokyo Calling 4, and Tokyo Calling 5 were all a blast. We did not want to miss their sixth all-Japanese, mostly-vintage rally so I assembled a group of Z Car Garage clients and friends to participate in TC6. We left the shop at 6:15am heading to Sonoma, here is a preview of our cars:
Armon’s 1973 Datsun 240Z has a great story. He got this car running on his own and even performed rust repairs. He’s running our ZCG Heat Shield on his triple-Weber carb’d L28:
Linda’s 2023 Nissan Z
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.
Our crew arrived at the rally start in Sonoma and it was already filled with fabulous J-Tin parked at a local airport. BCR hosted a “social hour” 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 25 S30 Z cars were present!
I am always on the lookout for Nissans and Datsuns, and roadsters get my attention. There were at least 14 in attendance including a few genuine 1967 2000s.
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!
Another ’67 2000, this one is #048! Our client Vince M picked this up from Bring a Trailer last year:
High and low-windshield roadsters models were present. John Baker’s ’69 2000 is always a stunner with Spanish Red paint and many rare, Nissan Competition parts fitted:
Datsun 510
We spotted this ultra-clean Datsun 510, built by our friends at Spriso on with an S15 SR20DE/6-speed:
Back to Z cars…Jason Dove’s 280z featuring Z Car Garage Big-Brakes. Jason is a long-time friend and client, full report coming to zcarblog.com.
See the gallery below for more S30 Z car photos!
A S130 280ZX attending!
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. There were several Z32TTs in attendance!
R34 Skyline GT-R in Bayside Blue on BBS LM-R wheels.
R32 and R33 GT-Rs
Enjoy this walk-around video from Tokyo Calling 6:
Rally On!
Photo by Emma Lai
The rally started at 9am and I was tasked with leading our group. I really enjoyed hustling Mrs. Butters through the backroads. This route was a little over 100 miles roundtrip through Marin and Sonoma County.
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 FOUR photographer’s photo albums to see shots of your rides: Kevin Lee, Alex Nibyt, HubbeEmma Lai and Chris Friske.
We took a midpoint break in the small town of Occidental. Lots of cars to see and great chatting with fellow enthusiasts.
The rally concluded back in Sonoma airport, where BCR arranged for lunch from Kinoko Japanese Home Cooking. We enjoyed Japanese comfort food surrounded by J-Tin and vintage aircrafts.
There were so many cool cars, please check the gallery for more photos! Next, let’s check out some non-Nissan/Datsun action…
Honda
Honda was well-represented including late model DC2 Integras, a few NSXs, lots of S2000s, CRXs and EF/EG hatches rounded out the display:
Mazda
First-gen, FC and FD RX-7s, and many Miatas attended:
My favorite Mazda was this Rotary Pickup:
Toyota
Some of our favorite Toyota’s including Supra (A60, A70, A80), first gen MR2s, and AE86s!
Trucks and Vans
Let’s not forget the Japanese classic trucks and vans! Land Cruisers, Datsuns and a Isuzu VehiCross!
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.
Photo by Chris Friske
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…
We had a fabulous week racing at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion August 12-15. More commonly known as the “historics” at Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca, this epic vintage race is part of several events occupying the week-long Monterey car festival leading up to the Pebble Beach Concours. Enjoy our race report with photos and in-car video!
Serious recognition for Japanese Race Cars
Pete Brock with the BRE Datsun 240Z and Japanese racing icons
Now in its 52nd running, for the the first time ever the Rolex celebrated “Icons of Japanese Motorsport”. Laguna Seca was filled with run groups and displays highlighting racing histories of Toyota, Honda, Acura, Yamaha and Nissan. Taking center stage in the paddock was a huge 40+ car showcase of significant Japanese race cars like the legendary Le Mans-winning 1991 Mazda 787B. Nissan was well-represented with IMSA prototypes and the BRE Datsuns:
The Nissan Prototypes
These were factory-backed prototype race cars that Nissan used to conquer the IMSA GT Championship during the late 1980s and early 1990s. (Above) is the #23 Nissan R91CP Group C / IMSA GTP car, shipped straight from Japan for the Rolex event. (Below) is the 1990 Nissan NPT-90, driven by Geoff Brabham.
Z Car Garage was proud to display the 1988 Nissan GTP ZX-Turbo at the Rolex. This iconic race car was driven by Geoff Brabham and John Morton, known for de-throning the Porsche 962 in IMSA racing with 8 straight wins. (Below) Chassis #8801 with Rob in Turn 4 at Laguna Seca staged for the Japanese Icons photoshoot:
(Below, left) Electramotive engineer Chris Willes with Rob. You can see behind-the-scenes photos of the ZCG crew getting the GTP car out to turn 4 for the Icons photoshoot in the gallery below. We thank Dean Case and Greg Nelson of Nissan Motorsports for the opportunity to have this legend here at Z Car Garage since 2024. It now resides with our client Randy Jaffe in Atlanta.
The Rolex is a highlight for race fans, but it is also part of Monterey Car Week which is filled with classy events like auctions and the famous Pebble Beach Concours d’ Elegance, where we displayed the GTP ZX-Turbo in the first ever “Japanese Motorsport” class:
VIDEO: See the GTP cars in action!
Video of the LeMans prototypes in action including the Nissan NPT-90 from Turn 6, volume up!
Japanese cars also got some love at The Quail, with a first-ever “Legacy of Japanese GTs” class. We even spotted Larry Chen’s SR20DET-powered 1970 Datsun 240Z on the lush greens (photo by Geoff Wise):
The BRE Datsuns
Nissan also celebrated the Brock Racing Enterprises (BRE) race cars alongside the GTP prototypes. Our client and friend Randy Jaffe and Mark Lambert transported the 1971 BRE Datsun 510 and 1970 BRE Datsun 240Z from Atlanta on behalf of Nissan. Both cars were part of the central showcase:
BRE Championship driver John Morton gave hot lap rides in the BRE Datsun 510. Legendary automotive designer, racer, and motorsports visionary Peter Brock served as Grand Marshal for the event, a fitting choice given Brock’s influence on Japanese motorsports.
Pete Brock and John Morton with the BRE Datsun 240Z
Nearby was the original BRE Datsun 2000 roadster driven by Frank Monise who won the Pacific Coast Championship in 1969:
Complementing the three BRE Championship cars above were the BRE Hino transporter and Jamaica 510, the 1973 BRE Baja 240Z, the 1969 BRE Baja 510 and Pete Brock’s personal 1972 Datsun 510 aka “screaming yellow zonker”:
Now, let’s get to the racing!
Z Car Garage Trackside Support for Seven Race Cars
With 60+ Nissan/Datsuns racing this year the starting grid for Group 2 (Small-bore/roadsters), Group 8 (B-sedan/510s) and Group 9 (IMSA GTU/Z cars) was a fan’s dream come true. Z Car Garage supported seven race cars, see them all on the dyno in preparation for the Rolex…volume up and enjoy that L-Series music!
Peter Gregg Trophy (1973–1981 IMSA GT, GTX, AAGT, GTU and FIA)
Rob Fuller piloted the the #49 Joel Anderson IMSA GTU Datsun 240Z in the IMSA group. You might recall the story behind this special, 1972 IMSA GTU 240z as it was owned, built and raced in the 70’s by none other than Joel Anderson. ZCG restored #49 back to its former glory and it debuted at RMMR 2014. John Morton would drive #49 at RMMR 2015, and Rob Fuller finally drove it at the 2018 RMMR.
Rob Fuller in the Joel Anderson IMSA GTU Datsun 240Z, photo by Travis Bath 2026
ROB: Since the IMSA car has been back together, unfortunately we’ve been having a couple of teething issues with it. It was ok in the first practice of Rolex Reunion, but it just didn’t feel like it was gonna work well. We made the call to to leave it on display in our paddock.
Rob was heartbroken, but that is racing. The #49 car will be back, for now enjoy this extended video with in-car footage of Rob dicing it up with big power Porsche RSRs at the 2024 RMMR… Volume UP and Long Live The Z!
Bob Sharp Cup (1966–1979 Historic SCCA B & C Sedans)
Photo by Nicholas Caraballo
Historic B&C Sedan proudly organized a field of 48 historic sedans set to be exhibited and raced in the Bob Sharp Cup. Datsun 510s dominated the field with notables including the Corky Bell U2.5L Trans Am 510, Paul Newman’s 510 and several Bob Sharp Racing cars including the #38 Ex-Jim Fitzgerald 510, 610 (driven by Adam Carolla) and 200sx.
Z Car Garage helped arrange the field for a photoshoot on the front straight and it was epic. Each car with historical provenance, ready to be driven hard. Kudos to Glenn Chiou and Dave Stone for making this race group a reality. You can grab a high-res image of the group photo directly from the photographer Rami Garcia.
VIDEO: See the B-Sedan group in action!
Video of the B-Sedans from Turn 6 with starting grid and paddock action, volume up!
Z Car Garage Racers in B-Sedan Group
ROB: Z Car Garage raced and supported four Datsun 510s running in the Bob Sharp Cup. Myself in the Corky Bell car, Tom Dockery in the Ex-Balzer car, Kenny in the Ex-Ted Gruner car and new client, Patrick Byrne in the Ex- Greg Schmidt 510. Everyone had a good time.
#72 Tom Dockery
We have helped Tom build and prepare his Ex-Norm Balzer/Koobation 510 for several years. He is a Datsun enthusiast, friend and we love seeing him improve his craft. Here is Tom’s race report from the Rolex…
TOM: The full impact of running the Pre-Reunion and the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion is still sinking in. Racing at the Rolex was only a dream 20 years ago, but it became my primary goal after acquiring the Norm Balzer car in 2016. A very special thanks to Dave Stone for finding the car and facilitating the sale, and to Steve Link for selling it to me.
The week had another special element: my sons, Matt and Nick, and my daughter-in-law, Sarah, drove their historic Datsuns and Alfa down from Portland. We spent the entire week together, caravanning to Monterey and enjoying the automotive scene. It was great fun.
Both racing events were fantastic. As always, the car was flawless, and the ZCG Team made the experience seamless and carefree. They allowed me to be fully present with my family and friends throughout the event. Thanks to Rob’s coaching and positioning at the front of the practice and qualifying grid, I was able to set a personal record in the very first session.
The races at both events went well, and I stayed in the top 15 in all four races. I was especially pleased to remain within sight of Jenson Button and ahead of Jimmie Johnson in both races. To be fair, both had a 500cc handicap, and Jimmie was racing a right-hand-drive car for the first time. One thing I will never forget is the energy of sitting on the grid and feeling the excitement of the people surrounding the area. It was a magical moment for me. A big thank you to everyone who helped me get there.
VIDEO: In-car action with Tom’s 510
Take a few laps with Tom Dockery in the Ex-Balzer/Koobation B-Sedan Datsun 510
#39 Patrick Byrne
ROB: Patrick and Bill Byrne are a father and son team that have lots of cool vintage cars. Patrick runs in the IMSA group with my Z and he is a brilliant driver. Super excited to see the Schmidt car previously owned by Bill Ockerlund, now in the ZCG’s hands. We took this car to a test day before the Rolex, found a few shortcomings and sorted it out. Really cool car, beautiful and very competitive with Patrick behind the wheel.
#64 Kenny Tse
Kenny has been with us for many years enjoying our Z Car Garage Trackside Services for his Ex-Ted Gruner B-Sedan Datsun 510. Kenny did awesome, finishing top 10 in the Bob Sharp Cup:
#40 Rob Fuller
Rob drove the Corky Bell U2.5L Trans Am Datsun 510. Famed engineer and race car driver Corky Bell ran this Datsun 510 in the early 70’s Trans Am series. Z Car Garage restored it back to its former glory with Trans Am livery and Corky drove it for the first time in 53 years at the 2024 Velocity event. We will dedicate a separate blog post to the restoration and Corky’s story. Here are a few photos of the car during the revival:
Rob had a blast driving the Bell car with fellow B-Sedan racers in the Bob Sharp Cup. Rob won the race, with Richard Stuart Milne in second, Timothy Probert in third and Patrick Byrne in 4th. All Datsuns for the win!
(Left) Photo by Travis Bath
VIDEO: In-car action with Rob’s 510
Take a few laps with Rob Fuller in the Corky Bell B-Sedan Datsun 510
See the both races from Rob on his YouTube Channel and give the man a subscribe!
Datsun Roadsters at the RMMR
The 2026 Rolex Reunion featured no less than 12 Datsun Roadsters, roughly 9 of them racing in the John Morton Trophy (1950s–1960s SCCA Small Displacement Production Cars). Z Car Garage provided race preparation and trackside support services for our two new clients: Bruce White out of Colorado and Greg Walsh from Monterey.
ROB: Bruce White purchased the #33 1967 Datsun 2000 from our friend Ron Carter, so we’ve known about this car for many years and super excited to be a part of its next chapter. The car needed some sorting prior to the Rolex reunion so we did a test day and identified some shortcomings. Jim Tyler from Datsun Restoration Products was a wonderful resource to help us get this thing going. Bruce had never driven the roadster and by the end of the Pre-Reunion he was really competitive, putting down solid 1:54s and third overall among the Datsuns.
Greg Walsh had a similar experience in his Dan Parkinson Roadster: he struggled in the past with his roadster and we were able to have both of these cars run flawlessly. Both clients had a great time and that was really cool running at the Pre-Reunion and Rolex.
Such a great sight seeing all these Datsun Roadsters in the paddock. Here are a few notables, with more photos in the gallery below:
Craig Carter’s Bob Sharp-prepared Datsun 2000. Note BRE-style exhaust that wraps around frame exiting side:
#88 Christopher Van De Meulengraaf 1967 Datsun 2000. This is the first RHD 2000 I’ve ever seen racing here in the States:
Phil Mendelovitz’ Ex-Bob Studdard 2000. This car won the EP national championship in 1987. Phil took 6th place overall in the John Morton Trophy and fastest Datsun Roadster running 1:49s.
VIDEO: See the Datsun Roadsters in action!
Video of the Roadster and Sports cars from the 60’s in the John Morton Trophy from Turn 6, volume up!
The best part of the RMMR has to be the paddock. Home to all the race cars and their teams, massive car transporters and an all-around pure sensory overload. At every corner there is wicked metal with history begging to be told. Here’s a few of my favorites, more in the gallery!
My favorite race group, the Trans Am group with muscle cars abound:
Phil Mendelovitz cars included this HKS Turbo Datsun 240Z (dyno tuned at ZCG) and Nissan GT3 240SX:
Z cars were well-represented in several race groups including IMSA:
The #33 Planters / Newman-Sharp 300ZX with turbocharged VG:
S130 Z cars, #85 had a turbocharged VG!
Race car driver, restorer and Datsun Historian Glenn Chiou raced his FAR Performance 240Z in the Ken Miles Trophy (1955–1967 SCCA Large Displacement Production Cars). This Z has a very rich racing history, driven in the 70’s by Loren St. Lawrence in VIPS Restaurant livery.
Troy Ermish had a stable of cool Datsun 510s, including this freshly built, logbook #001 B-sedan owned by Daniel Wu:
Datsun 1200s just across:
This Miller Imports Datsun 510 was mint:
Autozam AZ-1 just chillin’ in the parking lot. Motorcycle for scale 🙂
JDM/Euro gems all around!
Randy Pobst’s first National Championship-winning Miata (1992), currently owned by Ross Lindell
VIDEO: RMMR Paddock Action!
Video of the machinery in the paddock, enjoy!
JDM Legends Car Show
Kaiju Company x Super Drive — JDM Legends Display
The JDM Legends Car Show was held August 14-15 within the lakebed at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion at Laguna Seca. They had a fun showing of curated vehicles plus great turnout. More photos in the gallery below!
Wheels for Fantasy
A wheel lover’s dream, especially if you like meaty fitment…
People
Contributing to the fun were family and friends. We were humbled by the number of people that stopped by including fellow Datsun owners Jan Trondsen and Dave Sholz:
ROB:Lots of really cool people from all over the country came out and I got to meet a lot of enthusiasts… people that have been inspired by Z Car Garage and it was very cool. Just a wonderful weekend.
ZCG Race Crew
Huge shoutout to the Z Car Garage race crew including Josh, Meghan, and Cooper. We are grateful for your support, keeping us safe and on the track!
Thank you!
ROB: Seeing Tom Dockery with his kids there and everyone supporting him it just really warmed my heart. And then the guys, Josh and Cooper and Megan and Alvin…the vibe in the Z Car Garage paddock was incredible and the amount of cool cars that were there was unbelievable. You know I’ve been going to the Rolex reunion since the 90s and it was just awesome for me to see the paddock filled with so much deliciousness from overseas in Japan. Thank you to Nissan for letting us be a part of the GTP history…we got that car rolling, on display and then to Pebble Beach. A great job to everybody that’s involved to make those weekends work, really appreciate it. Thanks to Nicholas Caraballo and Travis Bath for the on-track photos.
We hope you have enjoyed our recap of the 2026 Rolex Monterey Motorpsorts Reunion! Please browse our mega-gallery of pictures from race weekend below. We certainly enjoyed the company of friends and visitors in our paddock, here’s to another year of vintage racing in Monterey, California.
On Saturday, August 30 we attended the Tokyo Calling 5 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 featured 280+ 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 5 years ago as a small group enjoying weekend drives. It blossomed into monthly events with one hour of hanging out followed by several hours of driving. 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, Tokyo Calling 3 and Tokyo Calling 4 were all a blast. We did not want to miss their fifth all-Japanese, mostly-vintage rally so I assembled a group of Z Car Garage clients and friends to participate in TC5. We left the shop at 6:15am heading to Sonoma, here is a preview of our cars:
Linda Williams drove her 1972 Datsun 240Z OMS Pace Car Duplicate. Z Car Garage revived this historically-significant Z from its slumber to make it a nice driver for Linda while retaining its survivor status. She loves driving it everywhere.
Our morning caravan of 6 cars enjoyed cruising up I-280 and the Golden Gate Bridge. Nothing beats driving with fellow Z car owners!
Tokyo is Calling before the Rally!
Our crew arrived at the rally start in Sonoma and it was already filled with fabulous J-Tin parked at a local airport. BCR hosted a “social hour” 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!
Another ’67 2000, this one is #072!
Mark’s right-hand drive ’69 2000:
High and low-windshield roadsters models were present:
Datsun 510
There were several Datsun 510s in wagon and sedan form. Our client Jay installed a set of our Z Car Garage CV Axles on his Green 510, and this time he brought the entire family in their mint 510 Wagon!
More 510s:
Back to Z cars, Lora joined us with her recently acquired 1971 Datsun 240z. This one-owner Series 1 S30, affectionately known as “Buttercup” has been with Z Car Garage for many years. Excited to share her Z-car journey on zcarblog.
Jason Dove’s 280z featuring Z Car Garage Big-Brakes. Jason is a long-time friend and client, full report coming to zcarblog.com.
See the gallery below for more S30 Z car photos!
A Z31 300ZX attending, in turbo form!
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. There were several Z32TTs in attendance!
Paul’s B13 Sentra S-R
There were a handful of S13, S14 and S15(!) 240SX:
Leo’s Nissan Pulsar GTi-R
Super happy to see Leo and his Nissan Pulsar GTi-R at Tokyo Calling 5. This RHD, JDM hot-hatch is known as “Baby Godzilla”, sporting all-wheel drive and an SR20DET drivetrain. What’s wild is that this Pulsar used to be owned by our very own Gary at Z Car Garage! Leo purchased it back in 2017 and drove it all the way from Reno, NV.
Nissan Skyline
It was great to see Miles (Rays wheels) and Kurt W.. Both will be getting updated zcarblog features.
Mike’s R32 is looking sharp, now wearing silver TE37s:
Enjoy this walk-around video from Tokyo Calling 5:
Rally On!
Photo by Zack Hubbell
The rally started at 9am and I was tasked with leading our group. I really enjoyed hustling Mrs. Butters through the backroads. This route was a bit longer than previous TC events at a 130+ miles.
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:Nathalie Mossberg, Kevin Lee, Alex Nibyt, Zack Hubbell, Emma Lai and Chris Friske.
Photo by Emma Lai
We took a midpoint break from the heat in the historic town of Winters. Lots of cars to see and great chatting with fellow enthusiasts.
The rally concluded back in Sonoma airport, where BCR arranged for lunch from Kinoko Japanese Home Cooking. We enjoyed Japanese comfort food surrounded by J-Tin and vintage aircrafts.
Photo by Kevin Lee
There were so many cool cars, please check the gallery for more photos! Next, let’s check out some non-Nissan/Datsun action…
Honda
Honda was well-represented including late model DC2 Integras, a few NSXs, lots of S2000s, CRXs and EF/EG hatches rounded out the display:
Mazda
A rare Mazda Cosmos was a real treat to see. First-gen, FC and FD RX-7s, and many Miatas attended:
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!
I don’t think I’ve seen this many 2nd-gen A60 Celica-Supras on one place!
Trucks and Vans
Let’s not forget the Japanese classic trucks and vans! Generations of Land Cruiser:
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.
Photo by Chris Friske
Thank you to all of the Z Car Garage clients that made the journey with us and braved the heat! 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…
Our good friend Anthony S is a hardcore Datsun enthusiast and owner of this sinister 510 wagon. We first met Anthony 20 years ago at the All-Datsun Meet at Mt. Shasta. He started visiting the shop frequently, driving this wagon all the way from Oregon to San Jose, CA and we attended many events together. Anthony built this 510 from the ground up himself, and it has been constantly evolving. He started with a rather unorthodox inline-6 cylinder engine, the Toyota 7M-GTE:
This single-turbo setup spun the ZCG dyno to almost 400rwhp. Anthony is a track nut and the 510 has seen many days running hard at Portland Int. Raceway. Suspension and brake modifications included Brembo calipers up front, a linked Ford rear end and massive 255/35 tires in front with 285/35 rears.
The car went through some serious development including a full 2JZ-GTE engine, rear-mounted radiator setup and larger fender flares–all fabricated by Anthony himself!
In his quest for more power Anthony visited Z Car Garage in 2016 for BC cams and Haltech tuning. We started with a baseline of 399hp/332tq to the wheels. After the cams/tuning it made 461hp/362tq at the wheels:
More pics of Anthony’s fabrication work:
Version 2
Let’s hear about Anthony’s latest modifications leading up to the dyno tuning session in 2022…
Anthony: During COVID I had a lot of extra time and money and had stupidly run my prior 2JZ out of oil after hitting the oil pan on a pavement cut. It appeared to be down on power despite not smoking or knocking, I decided to bite the bullet and go with a new engine. Toyota still sold the 2JZ GTE short block brand new, and they also sold new bare heads. Obtained both over a period of several months. I snatched up the last short block in the Portland area and got a new head through OCD Works who did the head work including a custom CNC port job, GSC S1 cams, shimless buckets, and Supertech valves.
In addition to the engine upgrades, the 510 received larger wheels and tires BBS RS sized 18×10 F 18×11 R with 295/30F 315/30R Toyo tires. The brakes were also changed to Stoptech ST-60 calipers with 14″ custom Coleman rotors and C5 hats:
Anthony: I went with a Borg Warner EFR 8474 for the turbo and a quick spool valve from Diesel Pump UK (more on that later). The quick spool valve can help with boost onset by as much as 500 RPM so I was pretty excited to see what would happen on the Dyno with this bigger turbo. The goal being to run pump gas and get 500 plus at the wheels without horrible lag. I tuned the car well enough on the Haltec 2500 ECU to get some testing in before I went to California and to make it drivable. A key to the drivability was the ability of the Haltech to control a drive by wire Bosch throttle body. The road trip down with my wife went well and we arrived in San Jose excited to get the car on the dyno and see what Rob could do. I really tried to do everything right on this build with no shortcuts so I was pretty confident things would go well… Famous last words.
Dyno Tuning at Z Car Garage
Before getting on the dyno, Anthony and Rob went for a test drive and they were not impressed with the power. The car was previously tuned at 460rwhp back in 2015 on the old engine so he was familiar with the car and the speeds it would go. In that trim the car hit 147 MPH in the half mile which is pretty much on par with a Porsche GT3RS from that time (2016). Once back at the shop the car was put on the dyno and the results confirmed their concerns…
Anthony: The car was definitely down on power. Rob asked if I had synced the timing with the Haltech. I was confident it was correct, but I had not actually done that. So we pulled the plugs to confirm that the crank pulley was lining up with the number one piston at top dead center and it was. So issue number one was ruled out. We also thought it might be something to do with the drive by wire throttle not opening all the way, but that wasn’t the case either. Several runs were made and it was hitting a little over 400 at the wheels but the boost was 18 PSI or so. I knew that was way down on power because with the old engine it was hitting 400 plus at 11 or 12 PSI. And I had a better turbo, a better head better cams, etc, so at this point things were pretty disappointing. It was also quite hot that day for San Jose reaching the upper 80’s. To add to the fun the plastic drive by wire pedal that I had modified with a plastic welder ended up breaking on Rob leaving him with no way to move the throttle other than by hand (he was not having that…)
Luckily superstar Josh was able to pull the pedal repair it. Coolant was found under the car and traced to the heater core failing. Anthony disconnected the heater hoses and looped them, but still no solution for being down on power.
Anthony: Somebody had the idea of looking to see if the quick spool valve was operating properly. It turned out it was not. It is supposed to open and allow exhaust gas into both sides of the turbo after a certain PSI and it was not opening. So all of the exhaust was going through one portion of the turbine instead of both. A brief discussion was had about how much this would matter, we all determined it probably mattered a bunch since we were only utilizing half the turbo. Despite all my efforts to hook everything up properly I had made an error in supplying boost to the quick spool valve.
Once this was corrected the horsepower significantly increased. We decided to replace the new boost controller with a Greddy Profec with Josh and Anthony wiring it in so Rob could focus on tuning. After a few runs it was determined that the quick spool valve was putting a weird bump in the torque curve and instead of tuning it more with that device we ended up safety wiring it wide open.
Anthony: So what had started as a day that I thought would go very smoothly had many, many hiccups. But once all were solved, the horsepower really started to skyrocket. There are a lot of numbers thrown around about these engines, but if you do your research anything over 500 at the wheels on pump gas is quite good. I’ve always wanted to run this engine on pump as I don’t have E85 near me and we use it on a lot of road trips and I’ve never wanted to be restricted on fuel. Yes I could use flex fuel… but given the lack of E85 it’s never seemed worth it. My dad had always joked that it would be cool to have 510 horsepower in a 510 and we did hit exactly 510 at one point, then 536, then up to 546 at the wheels on 91 pump. Rob had Josh also adjusted the cam timing a bit as I have Titan adjustable cam gears. Needless to say I was pretty ecstatic getting nearly 550 horsepower and over 440 ft lbs at the wheels on 91 pump gas. The boost was 21 PSI for those runs with a red line near 8000. Now the car really was as fast as I thought it should be…
Enjoy this video of Anthony’s 510 Wagon in action and on the dyno:
Enjoying The Ride
Anthony was stoked on the dyno tuning results:
Driving back to Rob’s that night on the freeway he had me down shift into third and nail it and it broke the tires loose on the freeway. Keep in mind these are 315/30/18 Toyo R888r’s. That’s plenty of power for me… Thanks to Rob, Josh, Nick and everybody else at Z Car Garage for their patience and help that day and for working through the issues on this home built POS! You’re the best!
The 2JZ-powered Wagon returned back to Oregon where it continues to live the daily-driver life. The list of activities includes many track days at PIR, work commutes, camping trips and even lumber runs for home projects:
We loved to see Anthony and his wife Jessica at the epic 2018 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion where Nissan was the featured marque. In true #doitinadatsun from, the couple made a roadtrip from Oregon in the 510:
Speaking of road trips, Anthony recently visited us again for the 2024 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion and made the 2000-mile journey from Portland. Check out his pre-flight checklist:
He made it home without incident, because Datsuns are Driven! Follow Anthony’s 510 adventures on his Instagram.
Thank you Anthony for letting us be a part of your 510 build! Interested in seeing more of Anthony’s 510? Check the links below and Enjoy The Ride!
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…
