John B has been with us for many years. We featured his 1971 Datsun 240Z back in 2013 when he visited Z Car Garage for a mechanical overhaul, dyno tuning and Panasport wheels:

 

In 2020 he returned for our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes and more sorting. Since then he’s been Enjoying the Ride and recently completed his first track day at the world-famous Laguna Seca. Enjoy his track day report and read on for a summary of work we performed over the years.

John’s Track Day at Laguna Seca

 

JOHN: Here’s a report on my Track Day at Laguna Seca on 29 Nov 2025, with some history of my Z cars.

The event was hosted by Turn8 Racing on Saturday 29 Nov. It was my first time, so was a member of the Beginner run group. I brought both of my Z cars but only drove the 1971 240Z on the track. There were many other types of cars in the run group, some new ones like a 911 G3 and a new Ferrari, but there was one other 240Z.

 

The first couple of runs were “lead-follow”, where we followed an actual race driver around the track to learn the proper race-line through the curves. For the remaining runs we were free to attempt to find the race-line on our own, which happened occasionally for me. It’s pretty obvious when I did not have the race-line since I was either in the dirt or was quickly approached by traffic from behind. I found the slower I went the easier it was to find the race-line. The Beginner run group only allowed passing on a couple of the straights (for this event), it was my track during the turns and my chance to learn to find the race-line so I felt it as ok to go slow.

 

Of course, once in the straights, everybody passed me. By “everybody” I mean EVERY car on the track. They may have been going faster, but I was having a blast with my 240Z on the track. My smiles per mile was high.

 

My favorite turn was turn 9, the sweeping left-hander out of the corkscrew. Probably because it’s challenging to judge the brake/coast/accellerate adjustments since the next turn (10) is slower right turn. It’s nice to “have” the whole track during the turns at the Beginner run group to try different approaches. The whole track is great, it’s Laguna Seca man! What fun.

 

I want to go back with my 1977 Lotus Esprit to see if I can beat my lap time in the 240Z. I expect that the Esprit will have faster laps since it seems to accelerate quicker out of turns and is closer to a race car than the Z. I had ZCG inspect the 240Z the week before the event to ensure that the brakes were up-to-snuff. They performed well, as expected since both of my Zs have the Z Car Garage Big-Brakes.

 

ROB: John asked me about doing his first track day in his 240Z. I think the interest came from attending our Vintage Racing Events with his girls, eating snacks and hanging out at the track. I said why not? You’ve got brakes that can handle it and we know the car is safe. We did a tech-inspection on it, made sure everything was good to go and yes, John Bunker drove his S30 on the world famous WeatherTech Raceway also known as Laguna Seca. Good job John keep on loving the Z we can’t wait to work for your girls someday.

The Z Cars

 

ROB: We met John around 2012 and did a bunch of work to his 240Z. He later acquired a 280Z and 280Z 2+2 so his daughters could ride with him. Both of these S30s have our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes. John and I have the same passion for music and he is just exactly why I love my job: he’s passionate and spends time enjoying and driving his Z cars. He also has a vintage Lotus that we’ve done some work on.

 

JOHN: The 240Z is a 1971 model built in Oct 1970. My mom bought it in 1978 and I’ve been driving it since 1980 (45 years, yowza). My siblings and I used to ride in the hatch. (Why a mother of six bought a two-seat sports car is a point of discussion amongst us). It was her daily driver until about 2000 when she started having trouble getting in and out of it. She put about 250K miles on it and replaced the L24 engine with a rebuilt one from a 260Z. I bought it from her in 2005. In 2013 ZCG went through it and made it run as it should. We installed the Big Brake Kit, Panasport wheels, new tires, new headers, exhaust, and a suspension upgrade including Techno Toy T/C rods. It now has about 275K miles on the road and about 40 on the track.

 

The other Z is a 1978 280Z. It was originallly owned by my mom’s neighbor. He traded it to my brother for some custom furniture in 2000. I bought it from my brother, then sold it to my niece, who sold it to her brother. It sat in the driveway of his mother (my sister)’s house for a few years until I bought it from my nephew in 2019 where it went straight to ZCG for a Big Brake Kit, new Panasport wheels, tires, and a suspension upgrade. It has about 195K miles.

 

Both are daily drivers, mostly. I can’t take my two daughters in them (well, not legally), so it’s usually just me in the car going to work. There is a third Z car, a 1976 2+2, intended to take the whole family, but we will not talk about that here. These are multi-generation family cars. The goal is for my girls to continue the Z-car tradition when they get older.

Z Car Garage Big-Brakes

 

In 2020 we installed our ZCG Big-Brakes on John’s 240Z, giving him the ability to brake on a dime, perform well and daily drive. This is the same brake kit as seen on “Mrs. Butters”, our 1971 Series 1 240z shop demo car (above).

 

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 removed John’s stock brakes and installed our ZCG Big-Brake kit. The Z also received suspension parts from Techno Toy Tuning including their adjustable T/C rods.We really appreciate Gabriel and his staff. They make some of the best suspension parts out there for Z cars.

   

ZCG Big-brakes up front:

  

T3 T/C rods and new brake master cylinder/booster, clutch hydraulics:

 

At the rear, the factory drum brakes were replaced with our ZCG Big-Brakes. Factory handbrake functionality retained!

  

Enjoying The Ride

Photo by Alex Nibyt

We love seeing John in his Z cars locally, doing kid drop-offs and other daily driver duties:

 

He also joined us on Tokyo Calling 5 event hosted by Breakfast Club Rally. More photos in the gallery below.

 

Thanks for your support John and Long Live The Z!

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The Classic Sports Racing Group (CSRG) is excited to welcome Vintage Spec Miata (1990-1997) to all of their events! This is a fun, affordable way to get into vintage racing. If you have any questions regarding prep and presentation, reach out to Rob Fuller: rob@zcargarage.com. Please see below for more information and rules.

 

Why Vintage Spec Miata (VSM)?

Why VSM? It’s a great way to get into vintage racing at an affordable price point. The nice folks at the CSRG have a strict no-contact policy as part of their racing philosophy: this ensures the safest environment for you to race competitively while sharing the track with traditional cars.

 

Lastly, CSRG events are known for their camaraderie and undeniably cool eye-candy. If you want to mix it up with classic race cars of the 60s and 70s in your Spec Miata, this is the ticket.

 

Did we mention it is Fun! See what vintage racing with CSRG is all about in one of our race reports HERE!

 

Fellow Spec-Miata racer Ross L in front of Randy Pobst’s first National Championship-winning Miata (1992). Below, Rob Fuller’s Spec-Miata at the shop:

 

 

CSRG Rules for VSM

 

The first race event is March 15!

 

Register your Vintage Spec Miata for CSRG’s first event, the 2024 David Love Races at Sonoma Raceway March 15-17. Registration details HERE. It will be a blast on Sonoma’s NEWLY PAVED surface with plenty of vintage cars and good times. See you there!

 

Dear Zcarblog readers, it’s been a busy year and we are catching up on blog posts, so please enjoy our belated race report from May.

WE LOVE RACING! On May 21-22, Classic Sports Racing Group (CSRG) hosted Laps for Laguna at Laguna Seca. Z Car Garage had a blast racing our IMSA GTU 240Z and supporting Datsun 510 race cars running in B-Sedan Group 9 (John Morton Cup). It was a great weekend filled with competition, camaraderie and plenty of Alfas, BMWs and Datsuns sharing the track. Enjoy our report with in-car footage and photos.

 

This is a new vintage racing event created by the Laguna Seca Raceway Foundation and California Sports Racing Group (CSRG) to raise money for charity. It is an open sound event with multiple races for each race group, charity rides and more. We hope Laps for Laguna becomes an annual affair.

 

Z Car Garage Supports Two Datsun 510s

It is our pleasure to bring more enthusiasts into the world of vintage racing. Our services include full race support and car-preparation to help make client’s race days seamless and worry-free so they can focus on driving. One of our specialties is dyno tuning. Before a race weekend we confirm that your car is running well and make necessary adjustments while on the chassis dyno.

#88 Todd R

 

Todd R has been racing his 510 privateer-style for the last few years. Prior to Laps for Laguna he had us work on his 510 and hired us for the first time doing trackside support. Todd was able to focus on his driving, achieving his highest placing (p6) and personal best lap (1:48.3) time. We will highlight his experience in separate blogpost on zcarblog.com, go Todd!

 

#7 Rob Fuller

 

Rob Fuller piloted the Bay Area Datsun Dealers tribute 510. With the back-to-back SVRA events just before Laps for Laguna unfortunately Ed an Kelvin could not make this event so it was just Rob and Todd. Here is Rob’s report from the race weekend with in-car video:

“In Saturday’s first race my 510 had a mechanical and had to pull off to the side. I was not able to finish race according to CSRG rules and we had to start in the back for the remainder of weekend. Thanks to ZCG crew we got the car up and running. It was a different experience starting p23 but we finised 3rd (1:41.7). I received the “Hard Charger Award” and we were right behind Troy Ermish and Parker McKean (fast Alfa)). It was great fun mixing it up with them.”

In-Car video from Rob’s 510

 

The Joel Anderson #49 IMSA GTU Datsun 240Z

 

Rob also be raced the #49 Joel Anderson IMSA GTU Datsun 240Z at the Laps for Laguna event. The Z got a fresh set of Hoosier slicks to replace the AVONs.

“After Joel’s passing last year we decided to get the GTU car out a little more and Laps for Laguna was great prep for the upcoming Velocity Invitational. Group 8 was filled with Porsche/c-Sedans, IMSA Corvettes, Jim Froula’s GT3  Nissan 240sx. Out of 20 fast cars we did pretty well in both races placing 3rd overall. The two leaders Mike W and Froula (full blown GT3 tube-frame car) were running 1:37s while we did 1:39s. I got a personal best lap time of 1:38.3.”

 

In-car video of Rob racing the #49 Joel Anderson IMSA GTU Datsun 240Z, volume up!

A weekend of great racing and good times

 

The best part of weekend was hanging out with people we haven’t seen in a long time. Cool to see Todd have a great racing weekend and know he’s getting better. Really hope Laps for Laguna becomes a regular event on the CSRG program. Cant wait for the Charity Challenge 9/30 as we’ll be in the John Morton Cup and GTU car in Group 8. Special shoutout to ZCG crew including the Corwin’s and Josh C for keeping all of the cars running so we can race!

 

 

Paddock Highlights

Big thanks to Meghan for taking photos and video around the paddock. Here is a highlight reel of what it’s like at a vintage race…you should join us next time!

 

Thank you CSRG for hosting great event, see you 9/30-10/2 at Sonoma Raceway for the Charity Challenge!

 

Racing into 2022!

Z Car Garage is amped for this year’s race season. Here is list of events we will be attending. Please join us!

April

4/1-3  Sonoma with CSRG (Finished, report soon!)

4/21-24 Laguna with SVRA

4/28-5/2 Sonoma with SVRA

May

5/21-22  Laps for Laguna with CSRG

August

8/13-14  Laguna with HSR Pre Reunion ( NOT CONFIRMED)

8/17-20 Laguna  with HSR  Reunion ( NOT CONFIRMED)

October

9/30-10/2 Sonoma with CSRG Charity Challenge

10/13-16 Laguna   Velocity Invitational

November

11/4-6   Thunderhill with CSRG

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On June 5-6, the Classic Sports Racing Group (CSRG) hosted the Vintage Races at Laguna Seca. Z Car Garage was fortunate to participate and support several client’s Datsun 510 race cars running in B-Sedan Group 9. It was a great weekend filled with competition, camaraderie and plenty of Alfas, BMWs and Datsuns sharing the track. Enjoy our report with photos from photographers Raj Narayan, Nick Dockery and Jim Rose plus exclusive in-car footage!

Z Car Garage Supports Two Datsun 510s!

 

It is our pleasure to bring more enthusiasts into the world of vintage racing. Our services do include full race support and car-preparation to help make client’s race days seamless and worry-free so they can focus on driving. One of our specialties is dyno tuning. Before a race weekend we confirm that your car is running well and make necessary adjustments while on the chassis dyno. Below is a video of two Datsun 510 B-Sedans (Rob and Tom) on the dyno prior to the Speedfest weekend. Enjoy the sweet L-series music!

 

 

510s Galore!

 

Plenty of Datsun 510s in Group 9, it was a Dime-lover’s dream to be in the paddock and watch the races. Although the event did not officially allow spectators, we’ve got you covered! Let’s take a look at the Datsun 510s that we supported, beginning with our clients. Both cars ran flawlessly:

#72 Tom Dockery

Tom Dockery drove his Ex-Norm Balzer/Koobation 510. This car made its debut in May 2019 and we are excited to share its full story and profile Tom’s journey into racing.

Tom had a blast here are his thoughts on the race weekend

“Overall, the weekend was great.  Smaller field but the top half of the field was equally fast. I had some good exchanges with Jon Normal, whom I never expected to be able to keep up with, so that was fun. Some dicey moments with Daniel Cagginao, thought his lines were a bit off (Sun race 2). I managed to set a new personal best lap time of 1:46:09 which was great.

My other comment would this ….Every time I watch these in car vids ….and I watch them all the time just to hear the noise/sound, I see places I gave time away and I just want to go back out again. It’s intoxicating. My car was perfect, no issues and ran in top form all weekend long thanks to Josh and Rob.”

 Enjoy this in-car video from Tom’s 510:

 

#7 Rob Fuller

With the assistance of ZCG crew Josh and Keith we also supported ZCG owner Rob Fuller in the Bay Area Datsun Dealers tribute car:

  

Rob performed admirably with a fastest time of 1:41.837, here is his experience:

“CSRG is one of the oldest race groups that we run with. It’s been 20 years since they had a Laguna Seca event so we were excited to participate. They had 9 different run groups and I have been pushing to make Spec Miata part of vintage racing. We tried to get a big group out, but only two Miatas raced with Group 8 (Tim Wright and myself). Despite this, it was fun to start at the back and move through the cars”

   

“The big excitement of course was B-Sedan group. Tom Dockery was quicker than ever, and I was getting closer to Troy Ermish. We really had fun, dramatic racing. First race out (qualifying) I was close to Troy. He and I were a good 3-4 seconds ahead of the field with a nice battle. Race 2 I had a good start and took off, then about lap 4 my car’s transmission got stuck in 3rd gear. We  were so far in front that even with 5-6 laps left in race I was able to adjust my driving style and finished in 2nd place. Pretty proud of that.”

 

 

Race 3 on Sunday was dramatic. Troy and Rob were just .033s apart at the finish!

“In the 3rd and final race (afternoon feature) Troy and I battled again. He started to gap me but car issues slowed his pace. I started to reel him in. The last lap was the closest I’ve ever been to Troy (see video below), and it’s no secret that he’s a phenomenal driver. I definitely want to catch cup to him and race with him when our cars are both 100%.”

 

You can see in-car footage of Rob below:

 

 

Catch more of Rob’s sessions on his Youtube Channel. Race Results from the Group 9:

 

Datsun Car Corral!

 

CSRG is awesome. Since the general public was not allowed to spectate, they hosted a vintage Datsun Car Corral! Participants were spoiled with FREE parking in the paddock area and full access to the race for the weekend.

 

 

Willie Gutierrez brought his Datsun 510 along with a few friends. My roadster friend Raj Narayan (photo contributor) also attended in his 2000.  They got to enjoy the beautiful weather and day of racing without crowds…amazing!

 

Cool Cars

The paddock was filled with wicked metal. This special Datsun Roadster is a factory “lightweight” model, piloted by Michael Sweeney. More pictures in the gallery!

 

 

 

Thank you!

 

We hope you have enjoyed our report from the 2021 CSRG Vintage Race event! CSRG did an amazing job with the event. Rob’s parting words:

“It was fun to catch up with friends like the crew from Racecraft.  Ex-driver of Tom Dockery’s 510 John Koobation was there. I enjoyed racing Miatas and hangin out with Tim Wright, a famous musician from 3rd Eye-Blind and Primus. We hope October’s event with CSRG will be open to spectators!  Our client Kelvin missed this event but assures us he’ll be racing at Sonoma. None of this would be possible without the help of our ZCG crew Josh and Keith Corwin. If you haven’t experienced a Historic racing event I encourage you to come out, it’s a blast!”

 

*See you in October for the CSRG Charity Challenge in Sonoma!*

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On May 1-2, Sportscar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA) hosted the Trans Am Speedfest at Laguna Seca. Z Car Garage was fortunate to participate and support several client’s Datsun 510 race cars running in B-Sedan Group 8. It was a great weekend filled with competition, camaraderie and plenty of Alfas, BMWs and Datsuns sharing the track. Enjoy our report with photos and exclusive in-car footage!

Z Car Garage Supports Three Datsun 510s!

 

It is our pleasure to bring more enthusiasts into the world of vintage racing. Our services do include full race support and car-preparation to help make client’s race days seamless and worry-free so they can focus on driving. One of our specialties is dyno tuning. Before a race weekend we confirm that your car is running well and make necessary adjustments while on the chassis dyno. Below is a video of two Datsun 510 B-Sedans (Rob and Tom) and Kelvin in the second video on the dyno prior to the Speedfest weekend. Enjoy the sweet L-series music!

 

510s Galore!

With ten Datsun 510s in Group 8 it was a Dime-lover’s dream to be in the paddock and watch the races. Although the event did not allow spectators, we’ve got you covered!

Let’s take a look at the Datsun 510s that we supported, beginning with our clients. All of our cars ran flawlessly:

#7 Kelvin Tse

 

Here is Kelvin’s re-telling of his race weekend with us:

“Driving Laguna Seca during the spring time is a wonderful experience in itself. Racing Laguna with other B Sedans in a well prepped 510 is a racers high on another level. Track conditions were perfect with sunshine and daytime highs in the mid 70’s. The weekend was uneventful as far as mechanical problems were concerned a fact that has not always been the case for me. 5 years and far too many let downs.
I have really never had a 510 that I felt like I could just drive at the limit with a fair degree of control.  Z car garage has given me a proper race car. MOTOR, TRANSMISSION AND SUSPENSION have been sorted out and now the car could be driven at the limit. I finally was able to trust the car to steer correctly after full compression of the shocks and springs. The car was very predictable . I have also been working on getting use to the new dogleg transmission installed recently and finally have learned how to properly downshift thru the gears. 

 

Saturday Race I started in position 8 and had a battle for every corner with David Murray in his BMW 2002. We pretty much changed positions for every lap. I was excited to have a car that I felt comfortable enough to go door to door racing with. David said that this is the best race he has had in years and I have to agree with him as we were duking it out. On the last lap, he left the door slightly open entering the Wayne Rainey curve and I took it. After passing him I knew that he would try to set me up for turn 11. Well, he did put his nose in there, and we both got thru 11 with me having a slight advantage. Drag racing down the straight bumper to bumper … Yep , the 510 came out ahead. Position #7

Sunday morning … a mix up with SVRA tech paperwork DQed me and put me at the back of the grid. I was listed as a 2L and need more weight to qualified as a 2L.Problem… My car has a 1800cc.  In fact I could still loose a 100lbs. hey Rob and Josh next project….

Starting at the back of the grid was not where I wanted to be. So my start was going to have to be something else. Years of racing cars and karts have helped me on my starts. Well , I did get a good jump when the starter started to move his hands up. I dived all the way to the right of the track in turn one kicked up a little dirt and put the car exactly where I wanted on the outside of turn two (SEE VIDEO BELOW). Full power on the inside of turn 3 made me go from the last position to position #6 behind Tom Dockery. Whew…that was fun…We only got in 2 laps before the race was red flagged because of an Alfa who’s driver got out of his vehicle in turn 5. A big no no… Position #6

Overall, Rob was the winner, Tom finished #5 and little old me got a #6.   I am still developing and learning how to drive this wonderful car. But what strikes me as a successful weekend is when everything just seems to go your way, the sun is shining and you are out with some great friends having FUN!!! This was accomplished only with the help and support of everyone at Z Car garage. The racing gods were smiling at me this weekend.”

  

#72 Tom Dockery

Tom Dockery drove his Ex-Norm Balzer/Koobation 510. This car made its debut in May 2019 and we are excited to share its full story and profile Tom’s journey into racing.

Tom had a blast here are his thoughts on the race weekend:

“The SVRA TA Speedfest was so much better than I expected.  Coming in I set myself up for disappointment, mostly because my last experience on Toyo 888Rs was so disappointing, almost scary. But my first practice flushed those fears away. In the first practice I beat my previous PR, breaking the 1:50 mark which I did earlier in the year on fresh R7s. Over the course of the weekend, I continued to set new PR’s finishing up on Sunday with a mid 1:48. I think the trick was me continuing to get comfortable with the new engine and the idea of sliding though a corner. There might have been some additional benefit of the small diameter Toyo tire giving me a final drive the fit really well with my speeds at Seca.

 

The run group was large with a strong mix of 510’s and 2002s.  GTV accounted for just 2 of the 35 cars. Strangely the field set up with all the 510’s qualifying ahead of the 2002s for the most part. My experience with Steve Walker and John Murray suggests this was probably just drivers and not cars.  Although I was able to keep reasonably attached to the top five cars (though Troy and Rob were pulling away at a steady rate) I really enjoyed watching my rear view in car video as Kelvin and I pulled away at a pretty good rate from the rest of the field ….. that was fun.

My car was perfect, no issues and ran in top form all weekend long thanks to Josh and Rob.”

 

#7 Rob Fuller

With the assistance of ZCG crew Josh and Keith we also supported ZCG owner Rob Fuller in the Bay Area Datsun Dealers tribute car:

 

Rob performed admirably with a fastest time of 1:44.068, here is his experience:

“SVRA is mostly an East coast association, coming out West a few times a year so we were happy to be a part of their events. This year they did back-to-back events with a weekend at Sonoma (unable to attend ) and Laguna Seca April 30-May 2. We supported three cars with Josh as crew and myself as driver/crew. All had a great weekend with each car running really well. SVRA rules require us to run a Toyo R888 tire, not as sticky as Hoosier R7s we typically use. Dockery and Kelvin finished in the top 10 with personal best lap times, I am really proud of them. On Saturday I finished right behind Troy Ermish.

   
Race 2 on Sunday was dramatic. Wherever you finished Race 1 is where you start in Race 2. Troy and Rob were just .002s apart in qualifying!

“To be close to Troy was fun, because he can drive like hell. In Sunday’s race both of us were out in front, a good 3 seconds ahead of the 3rd place car when suddenly an Alfa oiled down the track outside of Turn 4. I saw Troy’s car move around, and then my car got loose. As he moved into turn 3 I a saw strip of shiny oil across the whole tack and as I changed my line to avoid oil I watched Troy go off outside of Turn 4. Most drivers would have tried to correct this and probably hurt their car…not Troy! He drove right through it, foot to the floor dirt-track style. For the next laps I didn’t look in my mirror,  just drove the defensive line and hoped I could stay in front…as we approached Turn 11 I could see Troy throw his car into the turn but overcook it…we finished under yellow flag.”

  

Rob got the checkered flag finishing in front of Troy and took First place on the podium, though not under ideal circumstances…

“I don’t take it as a real win, even though I placed ahead of him. Troy is an amazing driver and I love the challenge he brings. I hope to enjoy many more races with him, under green flag conditions.”

You can see in-car footage of Rob below:

 

Rear view, same race from Rob. Catch more of Rob’s sessions on his Youtube Channel

Here’s is Troy’s in-car video from Sunday’s Race 2:

 

The Race 2 Results:

 

Thank you!

   

We hope you have enjoyed our report from the 2021 Trans Am Speedfest! SVRA did an amazing job with the event running like clockwork considering the sheer number of race groups. Kudos to them for excellent safety and organization. We hope October’s event with CSRG will be open to spectators!

*See you in October for the CSRG Charity Challenge in Sonoma!*

  

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