George S returned to ZCG for a few items on his 57k-mile survivor S30. Here is a brief history on the Z:

George owned a 1971 Datsun 240z back in 80’s, sold it in the 90’s and recently tracked the car down to its current owner in Atlanta. Sadly, after all those years the Z wasn’t in the greatest shape (2013):

 

I purchased it in August 1981 with 75,000 miles from a single girl in the Marina District. It was my every day car for 10 years, putting on an additional 75k miles. Along the way added the Enkei gold rims, added a Monza exhaust system which was popular then and re-painted it in 1990(similar shade, but not the Datsun blue)

Serviced it regularly and never had to do anything other than the basics. She ran like a charm, was never in an accident.

Sold it in 1991 to a guy I worked with who drove it back to Tennessee a short while later. Thought about the car often, but had no info on it until the guy in Atlanta called me in October 2013. Think he said the car had about 190k miles.

George, obviously missing his Z car after tracking it down had considered restoring it and consulted with us at ZCG. It turns out that Rob actually knew the current owner in Atlanta and the two discussed the Z’s state of repair. Rob felt that it was one of those cars that would be difficult to stay ahead of the curve on. The recommendation: buy an S30 that’s ready to drive, and that’s exactly what George did…

 

In 2016 George picked up a 1972 240z with an automatic transmission in SoCal. We were impressed with its super low 57k miles, original paint and stunning red interior.

   

Once it arrived at ZCG we went on and corrected issues with braking system and fixed front suspension parts. We found a really clean set of Series 2 wheel covers to replace the later units and really made the car standout proper.

 

George recently came in for more sorting, paint correction and passenger mirror replacement. In the engine bay, a Pertronix ignition was installed and timing set to ensure the car ran perfectly.

  

Moving to that gorgeous red interior, the shift handle was replaced:

 

The exterior was treated to some dent removal and paint matching on body panels. The previous owner installed a black aftermarket passenger mirror:

 

We removed the black part and installed our favorite mirror:

    

This Z is a great example of how a stock car can be updated and maintained to bring many smiles per gallon. Enjoy The Ride, George!

 

VARA is hosting a vintage racing event at Autoclub Speedway January 18-20 in Fontana, CA.
There will be some exciting Vintage Nissan/Datsun groups running, a Japanese car show and autocross events for everyone to participate.
Our friend Mike Anderson will be racing his Rock Vest Datsun 2000 Roadster along with many Datsuns:

 

Let’s get more Datsuns out there, on the track and in the paddock!

Details HERE

 

 

 

https://www.vararacing.com/california-speed-fest

 

Our friend and fellow Datsun enthusiast/racer Glenn Chiou recently acquired this R32 GT-R. Before we describe what brings this Skyline to Z Car Garage let’s hear how Glenn found the dream car of his youth:

“As a teenager growing up during the Fast and Furious days it was not hard to get caught up in the import car craze. Amongst the boy racer fantasies of owning RX7’s, Supra’s and R34 Skyline GTR’s, I developed a strong interest in the R32 GTR. The simple design, yet brute power intrigued me. It was always a car that was unobtanium to me. After hearing that I would be able to federal legalize one after 25-years I had to pursue one. Although the car was technically legal in the United States, the wonderful state of California hindered ownership. It was then I learned about International Vehicle Importers run by Skyline aficionado Sean Morris. On a whim, I headed down to IVI in Long Beach, California to take a peek at what they had to offer…”

“As with all my cars, I always look for a unique factory offering during the selection process. After further research I learned that there was a version homologated for racing – the NISMO edition. Nissan built a total of 560 NISMO BNR32 models for homologation purposes to compete in the FIA’s Group A racing class. A total of 60 of the 560 cars were destined for Group A racing in Japan and Australia. NISMO models included twin steel fan turbos (opposed to ceramic), an additional lip spoiler, front brake cooling ducts, side skirt aero splats, removed ABS, and a rear wiper delete. Being a racing junkie, I knew this was the car for me. I took delivery of the car #459 in November 2016 and could not have been more excited. The car provided a unique experience like none other. As an owner of both vintage and modern cars, I was amazed at the fact that this car was designed and built in the late 80’s!”

 

After a year of ownership Glenn was yearning for an even more enjoyable driving experience. He decided to take a period-correct approach of modification using high quality parts from the era when possible. Shown below are a full Trust Titanium exhaust, authentic NISMO steering wheel and the crown jewel of period-mods: 400R-spec NISMO LM-GT1 wheels! Sized 18×10 with stickier tires all around paired with Ohlin DFV’s coilovers:

 

 

Fast forward to November 2017. Glenn was prepping the Skyline for the R’s Day track event at Laguna Seca. With the 12/9 date fast approaching we discussed his GT-R and switching over to the Haltech Platinum Pro Plug-in for engine management. Glenn was excited and Godzilla visited Z Car Garage:

 

  

Whenever we install the Haltech Platunum Pro on a GT-R we switch from a mass air flow (MAF) to a manifold absolute pressure (MAP) based setup. The dyno graph shows how we were able to make more power and area under the curve while keeping the car safely tuned on 91 octane:

“To put the cherry on top, we had Z Car Garage work their magic with a Haltech ECU and tune. In short, the car WOKE up. The superb handling coupled with the drivable power made for a perfect track day car and canyon carver.”

 

Where better to test the R32’s newly found limits than on the race track? We had a blast driving with Glenn and friends at R’s Day in December. He was stoked:

“The car performed beautifully and stuck like it was on train tracks! The car was incredibly predictable and just all-around very enjoyable to drive fast. I look forward to more improvements to the car in the near future, as it will serve as my fun toy between vintage race days!”

Thanks for letting us tune your special R32 Glenn! If you haven’t experienced R’s Day here’s a neat video and coverage from Speedhunters.

UPDATE: Glenn’s Datsuns

 

 

Glenn is an avid Datsun enthusiast having owned and raced several cars. You might remember his VIPS 240z vintage race car from the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion last year where he ran the Z alongside our hero John Morton. We also dyno-tuned the Z in preparation for race week. Look for #39 at various events this year!

  

Next up for restoration, Glenn has located IMSA GTU/Trans Am 260Z, chassis # 000024, formerly driven by Greg Sorrentino of Different Drummer Racing. We know Glenn will do it justice by the amazing work he performed bringing back the Loren St. Lawrence Z:

  

Glenn loves his vintage race cars and he recently added this B-sedan Datsun 510 to his stable! We should be dyno-tuning it soon. Look for it on the track at this year’s B-sedan races with SVRA:

Let’s not forget Glenn’s street car, his RHD 240z-L is well known in the Datsun community and the subject of a nice feature film on Petrolicious.

 

The Z has a powerful Rebello stroker motor with triple-mikuni’s and runs perfectly sized Watanabe wheels. On that wheel-related note, we are really excited to report that Glenn will be running our ZCG Big Brakes for small wheels behind those magnificent 15″ Wats! Look for a full report soon. You can catch Glenn putting it through its paces on the 2018 Coastal Range Rally hosted by the good folks at DrivingWhileAwesome.

 

 

Good luck at the races this year Glenn!

 

 

We couldn’t wait to share this with you! Owner Richard W. trailered his 1971 Datsun 240z all the way from Eureka, CA to Z Car Garage. He is the original owner of this 60k-mile Series 1 S30 and it hasn’t run since 1985. We fired it up for the first time yesterday. Full report on the blog soon. Long Live The Z!

 

 

The 2017 Solvang Datsun Roadster show took place on April 22. Now in its 30th year, this event continues a tradition of uniting owners from all parts of the world in a little town just outside of Santa Barbara. There is something for everyone here: shopping, food, wine-tasting, outdoor activities, and in the last weekend of April an epic gathering of Datsuns!

   

This year I was fortunate to bring my roadster and family to enjoy the weekend…

  

…and it was a fantastic show with perfect weather and close to 100 Datsuns on First Street in downtown Solvang:

Photo: Michael Anderson

On to the cars! Here are some highlights from the day…there were only a handful of 1967 2000 roadsters this year. Some of these cars are considered the “cream of the crop” with full restorations or OEM levels of detail like Mike Young’s SRL #266:

 

Winning best of show was this SR311 #0086, frame-off restored by Steve Pettersen:

This Right-Hand-Drive model had neat details like Enkei Compe-8 wheels, rear parcel shelf bracing and a km/h speedometer:

   

Roadsters were arranged by year and class, either stock or modified. The organizers did a phenomenal job of staging everyone!

 

Going the Distance

The Solvang Show draws roadster owners from all over the US, and world! We can always count on Jim and Susan to make the trek from Sonora, Mexico in their ’68 SRL with matching trailer.  Richard and Erika visited from the Netherlands and drove from Bellvue, Washington with their host, Ted Heaton. Catch their Roadster road-trip over on 311s.org.

    

Stock is Good

Solvang showcases everything from pristine to highly modified examples of roadsters. These two early 1600s were very sharp with requisite whitewall tires, chrome-ringed gauges and classy red interiors:

 

Sitting perfectly as a bookend to the low-windshield 1600s was Mike’s 67.5 SPL.  With a Solex carb’d R16 stroker, factory (high) roll bar, red interior and Watanabe wheels this car is very tasty:

 

 

Engine Swaps

Like the 510 and Z cars, the Datsun Roadster chassis accept many engine swaps and several caught my eye this year.  It is worth mentioning that this year’s show had the most SR20 swaps to date. I parked in a row of about 8!

 

I first saw this VG30-powered ’67 last year:

    

The S2000-powered ’69 SRL made a return appearance and it still blew my mind. Such a clean, OEM-level install:

    

Two SR20-swapped roadsters deserved some further inspection. John Daly’s ’67 sported a neatly integrated A/C unit on the NA S15 and a factory-like hardtop. What I thought were SSR MKii wheels were actually “Migu” units. Note split front bumpers:

       

Kevin Desirello’s ’69 had a simple, clean aesthetic. S14 SR20,  Z32 brakes, RS-8 wheels and clever “SR20” badging were all nice touches:

   

It is always good to see show favorites returning year after year with constant evolvement. Ted Heaton drove his Spriso Motorsports-built ’66 all the way from Washington.

 

The Plymouth Prowler Orange beauty has an S15 SR20DET with 6-speed and Ford rear end. Other nice details include wide RS-8 wheels and Mercedes G-Wagen headlights! Ted was very proud of his power-adding badges :

   

Trends?

If you think engine swaps are gaining popularity what other trends are developing? Hardtops are slowly showing up. With factory-like options from aftermarket companies you too can have a body-color (or any finish) hardtop for your roadster:
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