One of the best Nissan/Datsun/Infiniti in the Northern California area is the annual Blackhawk auto show put together by the ZONG organization.  This event consists of beautiful cars from all over the state and the winners are decided by the fellow entrants which always makes for an exciting trophy presentation.  We will be bringing quite a few choice cars from the shop as well as unveiling the production version of our ZCG Big Brake Kit for the 240z.

Another great reason to make the trip to Blackhawk is the amazing auto museum.  If have any sort of appreciation for the automobile, or art in general, this place is a must!!  There are cars of all generations from every marque, some of which you may have never heard of.  The rolling artwork here are some of the finest examples still in existence.  You will not be disappointed.

I have heard rumors that ZONC has been in contact with Nissan North America to possibly bring a surprise vehicle, can you guess what it might be?  I’ll fill you in when I get a confirmed yes or no.  Click on the flyer below for all the detail and make sure to check our the photos from last years event.  We hope to see you there!

Link:  ZONC

Link:  Blackhawk Automotive Museum

ZONC Blackhawk Flyer:

More photos from last year after the ‘read more.”

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Cars of this caliber do not come up for sale very often.  This 1973 240z is a two-owner, original-paint beauty that was just purchased by a close friend of Z Car Garage to replace another Z he has owned for 15 years.  The new 240z has just over 87,000 original miles and it shows.  There is no rust anywhere on the shell and the interior parts that see the most use are still in great condition.

All of the original manuals and even the window sticker were included in the deal.  Make sure to see the pictures of the options sheet and the extremely cool Datsun “Dial Your Mileage” tool.  Other options include factory air conditioning, a center arm rest, and floor mats that cost a whopping $9.50.  Hahaha, those would be a $200 option today.  The total original price comes in at $5,299 which is steep for its day until you realize the performance that it delivered.

There are more detailed pictures after the “read more.”

Under the hood you will find the original L24 engine with a pair of aftermarket downdraft Weber carburetors.  I got a chance to drive it today and it cruises along like a dream.  It really drives absolutely beautifully.  The stock 14 inch wheels obviously leave room for improvement in the handling department but you can’t beat them in the looks.  This car is the real deal.

After my short test drive Rob and I decided that we should put the car on the dyno to see what power it is putting out.  All I can say is that this thing needs to ditch these carbs.  It runs out of breath as soon as you roll into the throttle.  There are already plans in the works to give it some more “Umph” using period correct modifications.  There will be more updates on this car and hopefully it will stay in the Z Car Garage family for a long, long time.

There are more pictures after the “read more.”  Enjoy this new addition to the family!

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We can’t thank everyone who attended this event enough!  The entire crew at ZONC was amazing and we look forward to the next event with them very soon, Jack and Yolanda special thanks to you.  The caravan down to Laguna Seca on both days was a real blast and I’m happy to report that we had no serious issues.

Another special thanks needs to go out to all of the people who drove some very long distances to join up with us for the races this weekend.  A few of you came from the Sacramento area which is a good drive but there were others who came down from Oregon and Washington.  A good friend of ours brought his ’71 Datsun 510 wagon down from Oregon after a few serious modifications.  The radiator was recently relocated to the rear of the car to make way for a new air-to-air intercooler for the turbo’d drivetrain that came from a Toyota Supra.  (Feel free to leave any comments about putting a Toyota drivetrain in a Datsun in the comments section.)  The kicker here is that he only put on 15 miles before making his way down to meet us.  Talk about commitment.

Like I said earlier,  the drive to the track went great on both days but when we got to the track on Sunday we were blown away at how many Zs were there.  I believe the final count was near 65 cars for the corral.  The Porsche club only had 20ish!  Awesome!!

Our parade lap took place right around noon.  It is always a good experience to get to drive on a track but Laguna Seca is a whole different animal.  The racing history here is immense and Nissan has certainly had its fair share of the limelight here.  The look on people’s faces after the TWO parade laps were over brought a smile to my face, especially for those who have never been on track.  There were so many people interested in doing a track day after this event, it’s a good thing that the Z is up to it!

For me the racing took a back seat to spending time with all of the Z owners that attended.  The MX-5 race on Saturday didn’t produce the carnage that I had predicted, those guys can really drive in close quarters.  The Mustang Challenge race was arguably the most exciting event of the weekend.  Lots of door to door racing and that  V8 rumble will really get your heart going.  I didn’t stay for the entire Rolex Daytona Prototype race so that we could get back to the bay area a bit early but I can’t wait to catch it on one of the greatest inventions ever, the DVR.

We will be hosting more and more Z events at Z Car Garage and ZONC has quite a few shows coming up so make sure to check back here for all the info.  Thanks again to all who attended and to all the readers of ZCarBlog.

Long Live the Z

Follow the “read more” for all the pictures that I took at the event.  The pictures from both days are in the gallery and they are in the order that I took them.  I know that there were a ton of friends with cameras at the event so I will try to get some of their pictures too.  Enjoy

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The drive from Solvang to our hotel in the LA area was fairly uneventful except for the hour of inexplicable traffic that we sat in for no apparent reason on a Saturday afternoon.  After we checked into the hotel we went out for some dinner at a sports bar so that we could watch the San Jose Sharks game, they won in OT.  Most of us then decided to turn in so that we could be rested for the show on Sunday.

We checked out bright and early and made our way to one of the quaint little towns that speckle the LA area, if you know where to look, to get some breakfast.  With our tanks full we venture on.  When we finally arrive at the venue we are not surprised to see what seems like hundreds of cars in line waiting to get in.  Good thing we ate.  After a good forty-five minutes of inching forward (some of it just coasting down hill with the cars off) we arrived at the front gate.  Every car in sight was a Z.  All years, every possible combination of mods, mild to wild paint jobs, you name it and a Z had it.  This was like a pilgrimage that had reached its destination.

The entire event report and a ton of photos are after the “read more.”  So click and read more.

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Here it is friends… the final schedule.

Saturday 5/16

Meet at Z Car Garage between 8:00-8:30am

Depart for Laguna Seca at 9:00am

We decided on this time so that we would be able to catch all the fender-bashing action of the Mazda MX-5 Cup (Miatas.)  These MX-5 races are some of the most entertaining events that I have ever seen and they should not be missed.  I hope that all those planning to join us from outside the Bay Area will be able to make the 9:00am departure time.

Sunday 5/17

Meet at Z Car Garage at 6:30am

Depart for Laguna Seca at 7:00am

I know it’s early but we do need to make sure that we are at the track and settled by 9:00am.  Raceday traffic can be a hassle here so leaving at 7:00am makes sense.  If you know how these caravans go we probably won’t get underway until near 7:30, but please try to be prompt.

Z Car Garage is only hosting the caravan down to Laguna Seca so any questions/comments can be addressed here or by email to Rob at rob@zcargarage.com

All other concerns about the corral or other track related events need to go through the appropriate channels at ZONC.  Check ZONC.org for contact information.  I believe that Yolanda Atkinson is in charge of this event if that helps at all.  See you Saturday morning!!!

Long Live the Z!!!!!