N I S M O
C A R
P E F O R M A N C E
C L U B
A C A D E M Y
M A G A Z I N E
ZCON 2013 New England Revisited
SEPT/NOV 2013 • ISSUE 3
ZCARCLUBMAG.COM
Contents
zcarclubmag.com • sept/oct 2013 • issue 3
Features
eight
6 Behind the Wheel 1993 300ZXTT Convertible: Chris Karl, Cleveland Z Club
8 ZCON 2013: Nashua 10 Years Later It’s been 10 years since the last time a convention was held in Nashua, NH. They say its always better the second time around. They were right.
16 Nissan Motorsports Returns Nissan Motorsports is back and in a big way. With their launch of the NISMO Performance Academy, they are working their way back into
sixteen
the hearts of their most loyal fans.
20 Out of the Garage Ben Pila of the Z Club of San Diego gives you a step-by-step on how to change your brake fluid and discusses the differences between DOT 3, DOT 4 and DOT 5.
28 Club Spotlight Tidewater Z: The Tidewater Z Club, based out of Tidewater, VA, is still going strong after 18 years and welcomes you in with open car doors.
Departments 4 5 22 23 24 25 30
six
twenty-two
From the ZCCA Moving Parts DIY Tech Events Around the Curve Clubs in Gear Collector’s Corner publisher: Nelson Ackerman, nlackerman1@aol.com editor-in-chief: Art singer, arts.zccm@gmail.com managing editor: Keelan Murphy, keelan.zccm@gmail.com advertising: call 505.867.4229 for a media kit operations: Printing: Starline Printing, distribution: Lita Singer
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Z Car Club Magazine is a bi-monthly publication. No part of this magazine may be reproduced in any form without the expressed written permission of the publisher. This publication is distributed with the understanding that the information presented herein is from various sources for which there can be no warranty or responsibility by the publisher as to accuracy, safety, or completeness. Unsolicited material will not be returned. PRINTED IN U.S.A.
FROM THE ZCCA • The Z Deserves an Annual International Convention… By: Chris Karl, ZCCA Executive Director (www.zcca.org), Cleveland Z Club Remember back to when you bought your first Z car. It may
Each convention strives to bring a regional flare to the ZCON event for-
have been over 40 years ago when the Datsun 240z debuted for the 1970
mat. Motorsports events such as HPDE (high-performance driver’s education)
model year. Or perhaps it was when you were in high school in the ‘80s and
“track day” event, autocrossing, rallies, drag racing and group drives are
‘90s when Nissan’s marketing efforts promoted themselves as “Driven” and
almost always part of the agenda along with a car show event, banquets and
wanted you to “Enjoy The Ride” as a remote control 300zx whisked Barbie
other activities organized by the host club.
away from Ken in an semi-animated commercial. Or perhaps you entered the
This year’s event was hosted by the ZCCNE (Z Car Club of New England)
Z scene with the Z car revival marked by the new 2003 350z or the more
this past August. Legendary racers such as Bob Sharp (of Bob Sharp Racing),
recent 370z… Independent of when you were exposed to the Z scene, Nissan and Datsun Z cars have been stirring up emotions for over 40 years in the enthu-
Yoshihiko Matsumoto (aka, “Mr. Matsuo) – the design team leader for the Datsun 240z and other dignitaries joined over five hundred people over the convention week for ZCON 2013.
siast community and on race tracks across the globe. Enthusiasts look to Z
If you haven’t been to a ZCON and would like more information, keep
clubs to help provide community, technical advice, discounts and just to have
tabs on www.zcon.org as next year’s event information launches in October.
a good time.
ZCON 2014 will be held August 5-9, 2014 in San Diego, CA and will be hosted by the Z Club of San Diego (www.zcsd.org).
We believe this enthusiasm and the Z car marquee deserves to be celebrated. Z enthusiasts deserve to have that heritage celebrated – enter the Z Car Club Association International Z Car Convention. The 6-day event is hosted by various Z car clubs from around North America and Canada to keep the heritage alive and bring the community closer together every year. While the ZCCA (www.zcca.org) is the name-plate organization for each year’s event, ZCCA member clubs must go through a bidding process to have the honor to put forth hundreds of hours of work and host a Z convention (aka, “ZCON”).
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Z CAR CLUB MAGAZINE
Join in the celebration and in the theme of my favorite Nissan marketing theme, Enjoy The Ride!
MOVING PARTS ZCCM’s Moving Parts column digs up the latest and greatest parts and accessories for your Nissan, Infiniti, or Datsun. Know of a product that should be featured? E-mail details to arts.zccm@gmail.com.
Premium Spotweld Cutter Kit w/ Pilot Pin Blair Spotweld cutters are the professional's choice for removing spot welds. Blair Spotweld cutters remove spot welds by cutting around the weld and leaving the underlying panel undamaged, the damaged panel can quickly be taken off. The panel can be repaired and welded back on or a new panel can be put on using the spotweld cutters to make plugholes for welding. So, whether you work in a high-end collision shop or in your garage restoring your dream machine, Blair Spot weld Cutters will make life easier. Price: $46.35. Details: blairequipment.com.
300ZX (Z32) Battery Cable Brackets Looking for something you haven’t seen under the hood of every Z32 at your local car show? These battery-cable brackets are made of highly polished stainless steel with a laser cut-out of a Z32-style “Z” logo. The brackets are two-piece, come with stainless socket-head fasteners and ZSPEC-designed finish washers (choice of multiple colors – gold, silver, dark/light blue, black and red). Price: $35.00 shipped. Details: zspec.us.
NISMO Radiator cap This heavy duty NISMO Radiator Cap is rated at 1.3kg/cm (18.2lbs) compared to Nissan's factory radiator caps that are rated at 0.9kg/cm (12.6lbs) non-turbo and 1.2kg/cm (16.8lbs) for turbo vehicles. The NISMO Radiator Caps are able to hold at a higher pressure compared to the factory caps which results in improved cooling capacity. They fit all Nissan vehicles from 1984 to present. Price: $74.00. Details: courtesyparts.com.
Front Adjustable Camber Plates - Nissan 300ZX (Z31) Adjustable camber kits are a extremely handy suspension upgrade, allowing you to change the camber of your front wheels after changes in ride height. When camber is not corrected after lowering the front end, excessive tire wear frequently occurs. No one wants to go through sets of expensive tires, or potentially operate their vehicle in an unsafe condition. With our adjustable front camber correction plates, this won't have to be a concern any longer. ASCO has engineered an easy, bolt-in camber correction solution for the Z31 300ZX, and the plates are made of anodized 6061 aluminum for durability. The spherical bearings are of a high load limit design, and will be fully adequate for normal driving conditions. These kits will fit any Z31 without the Turbo switch-adjustable suspension package, although we cannot guarantee these will work with vehicles outfitted with aftermarket coilover kits. The plates are available in black, blue or red anodized colors. Price: $259.00 shipped. Details: courtesyparts.com.
Z CAR CLUB MAGAZINE
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BEHIND THE WHEEL Chris Karl – Cleveland Z Club 1993 Nissan 300ZXTT Convertible You’ve probably been here before…
to make this a bit more budget-friendly while still
On vacation with your family and they’ve all
putting down good power. The engine was sent
gone to sleep…so you start surfing AutoTrader
out for a complete rebuild. The engine received
and other sites looking at Z’s for sale. That’s
oversized forged Wiseco pistons, Eagle rods and
what I did back in 2009 while in Nantucket.
Ferrea valves. The crank was polished, heads
Somewhere around 11pm, I located a ’93 con-
were overhauled and a 120-mile timing service
vertible listed as “partially” swapped with a twin-
kit installed. During reassembly, nearly all
turbo engine. After a quick call to the seller (that
exposed bolts were powder-coated or replaced
same evening), I bought the car while my wife
with stainless equivalents as appropriate. While
and kids slumbered.
the engine was out of the car, I stripped the
The car was transported to my house and my wife’s eyebrows raised a bit. The Z was
rod color (bright orange metallic urethane
just enough to get it into our garage. The previ-
base/clear top coat). When the engine came
ous owner had included numerous parts (NIB) for
back, it became apparent that I wanted a 5-
the project, but hadn’t done much. The
speed versus the auto. I went with new CHRA’s
VG30DETT was technically “installed” albeit
for the turbos and installed them myself. It also
without intercoolers and with only 3 of the 6
received 550cc injectors (handed down from my
cylinders firing properly.
’91 which was upgraded to larger injectors) which were flow-matched to a Jim Wolf
years. Figuring out “what” to do with the car
Technology ECU tune. The injectors were
was the toughest part…what color? Leave the
installed in 300 Degree fuel rails and I polished
automatic or swap to a manual? Big build or
and ported the upper and lower plenum.
something street-able?
Upgraded engine manifolds and a B&B 3” stain-
Most of the questions went unanswered. As
less dual full exhaust system took care of the
with all my other projects…I began by stripping
exhaust (sans catalytic converters). The cooling
things off, and building the “to-do” list of what
system was upgraded with a Mishimoto alu-
the car needed for the restoration journey. I had
minum racing radiator and thermostat. The drive
always liked the Z32
train received upgrades as well – the 5-speed
convertibles. Sporty,
transmission received a South Bend clutch, light-
nice proportions with
ened flywheel and 1-piece driveshaft.
the top up or down and
As the engine and engine bay started to
the prospect of open-air
come together, I built a paint booth in my 2nd
with some power (after
garage to start working on the car’s body and
a TT swap) was some-
new body kit elements. Having been around &
thing I had on my buck-
assisting in some bodywork in the past but, never
et list for over 10 years. The engine was
Z CAR CLUB MAGAZINE
prepped for paint) and shot the bay with a hot-
rough…dings, missing the front bumper and ran
Thus, began a project that spanned three
6
engine bay (power-washed, sanded and
painting a complete car. I enlisted some help from local Cleveland Z Club members (Jim
pulled the first winter I
Roark, Brent Heath and Brent Lloyd – thanks for
owned it along with the
all the help!!). The bodywork consumed countless
rest of the drive train.
hours to straighten out dings and dents on nearly
Having done a 700+hp
every panel. I purchased a wrecked convertible,
build before, I wanted
which met its demise at a ZDayZ event to get
some convertible top assembly pieces I needed and grafted those in. The interior cabin was stripped down to the bare metal (sans dash) and received POR-15 rustprotective coating, new sound insulation and carpeting. The interior trim and seat leather were updated with Katzkin leather. I took the seats and panels apart and conducted the install. Recovering the various panels was fairly straightforward but time-consuming. The doors were definitely the most difficult to work with (many interior installers have stated the Z32 door panels are amongst the most difficult of any vehicle). I bol-
ber components, new tension rods and Stillen
timing covers, MegaZ air guide and ZSPEC
stered the stock seat foam with an extra ½” of
sway bars. After installing the upgraded braking
Design fasteners. Smitty stainless fuse covers and
foam before installing the two-tone “Autumn”
system, new (NLA) Nismo S-Tune LMZ5 (Rays
other touches were also added. New EFI wiring
orange/charcoal seat leather kit. I pulled the
Engineering) forged 19” wheels (19x9” front,
harness was loomed and wrapped in black.
steering wheel and had it rewrapped to match,
19x10” rear) were wrapped in Hankook Ventus
Future upgrades will include a new convertible
with perforated leather on the sides. The shift/e-
V12 rubber and mounted to the car.
top (20-year old top is getting pretty worn) and
brake boots were replaced to match the shift
Body elements for the project included a ’99
some more finishing touches.
knob and e-brake handle. The gauges received a
JSPEC front fascia, new TwinZ nose panel, Stillen
set of chrome gauge rings and carbon-fiber over-
GTZ urethane side skirts and a new TwinZ rear
Midwest Z Heritage show this past June and was
lay. The stereo originally started as a single-din
fascia. ’99 JSPEC taillights were added along
awarded a 1st in Class placement. The car also
unit, but later swapped to a double-din Kenwood
with smoked corner and marker lights. Another
just took a Best of Show at the ZCCR MotorFest
DVD/MP3/USB system that can play movies, has
’99 element was added as well, a rear wing
in July.
Bluetooth, back-up camera and a laundry list of
(pushed further back over stock ’99 placement).
other features. Before door-panels were rein-
Some carbon-fiber pieces were added such as
Karen, and daughters (Brice & Alexia) are engrained in my hobby as well. The kids even
I showed the Z for the first time at the
I consider myself very fortunate that my wife,
stalled, the Kenwood component speaker tweet-
fog-light ducts, cowls, mirrors and pillar cover-
ers were installed “in” the door vents. A custom
ings. Interior CF overlay kit was also installed.
came up with the name for her: "Z MASTR". I am
rear deck was installed with subwoofer amplifier,
Finally, the front headlights had been disassem-
proud every time I get it out of the garage and
rear deck speakers and a stealth-install of a sin-
bled and bezels painted a brighter silver to
surely do Enjoy the Ride every opportunity that
gle 10” subwoofer in the trunk finished out the
change the look. HID lighting and LED bulbs
arises!
sound system.
were installed in exterior lighting.
After finishing the interior and mechanical
Under the hood, the pol-
work, it was time for suspension and brake
ished plenum was
upgrades. The Akebono 370z (Sport Brake pack-
accompanied with
age) worked so well on my 370z NISMO that I
carbon-fiber
decided to install the same brake kit for the convertible project. Stainless lines, slotted Power Stop rotors and carbon-ceramic pads were added and stock fluid replaced with SuperBlue high-temperature fluid. The factory suspension was upgraded as well – Megan Racing 32-way adjustable coilovers were installed, along with front and rear cam-
Z CAR CLUB MAGAZINE
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N C ZO
Z CAR CLUB MAGAZINE
2013 N Story by Art Singer, Albuquerque Z Car Club • photos by Art Singer, Mandi Wagner and Beth Brown
Z
Nashua 10 Years Later CON 2013 was the 12th national convention that I have
allowed towing up to 200 miles at no charge. Guess what, we were only 230
for me. The first time I have returned to a site where it was
Chris’ Z under the knife. It ended up needing a replacement transmission so
attended in the past 16 years and there were a lot of firsts
held before, the first time I have driven someone’s Z other
than my own. The first time I have flown into a city 650 miles
away from the host city and driven that same Z to the convention, the first time that I felt no pressure to meet a sales
miles away from RDZ Motorsports where owner Scott Cole was waiting to put
the car stayed at the shop for a couple of days and was then brought up to Nashua by Scott and his crew. A big thank you goes out to Scott and RDZ Motorsports for really coming through in a tough situation.
The rest of the trip to Nashua was your normal 3-hour drive. We left
quota for a worldwide publication (Nissan Sport), the first time attending
Danbury a little after 9pm and arrived in Nashua around 12:30am, checked-in
Magazine. The first time to meet Bob Sharp in person, and the first time
I wish someone could explain to me why I have to pay so many tolls on just
from start to finish, the first time as a representative of Z Car Club
to the hotel and went to bed.
Mad Mike was nice to me for the entire week.
about every major interstate in the northeast. There are no toll roads where I
Chris Karl from the Cleveland Z Club picked me up at the airport to start this
to Nashua. The money can’t possibly be being used for repairs unless uneven
My trip began with a 6-hour flight (2 layovers) to Cleveland, OH where
12-day adventure. He was kind enough (or just plain crazy) to lend me his NISMO 370Z for the event.
live and the roads are in better condition then what I experienced on the way roads, potholes and train track effects are the norm.
The journey continued with a quick drive to Maryland for a pre-conven-
tion get together at Mark Lambert’s (president, Maryland Z Club) house for anyone traveling through to the convention. I got a chance to check out Mark’s garage (for the first time), another shrine to the Z.
On the third leg of the trip we headed to Bob Sharp’s house in
Connecticut to meet the legend himself, take a tour of his home and
garages, then dinner that evening. Bob’s home office is another shrine to
the Z racing world and I could have spent days there looking at all of the memorabilia. For a while it didn’t look like we were going to make it to Bob’s
house due to a transmission breakdown in Chris Karl’s Z32 convertible about
an hour into the drive. Think about it, Sunday morning on a major interstate with no replacement parts. Lucky for Chris that he had a good AAA plan that
Z CAR CLUB MAGAZINE
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S
the
HOW 1971 240z - Bryan Pilati-Tidewater Z
photo by Beth Brown
1996 300ZX Wayne Parent-ZCCNE
1987 300ZX-Cathy-Mike Bean-CZC 1972 240Z-Marc Moreau-ZCCNE
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Z CAR CLUB MAGAZINE
The car show was held on Tuesday at the Anheuser Busch Brewery. The weather was perfect and the cars in attendance
were some of the nicest I have seen on the east coast in a long time. There were two gold medallion winners (Wayne Parent-1996 Z32 and Ralph Cicone-1991 Z32), one gold cup winner (Jeff Mader-1972 240Z), the Bob Sharp Award (Barbara Donahue-1981 380ZX) and the Mr. Matsuo award for the best 240Z (Bill Mitchell-1971 240Z). This was a special award cho-
sen by Mr. Matsuo himself. The bonus to the show is that I was able to do the brewery tour, which starts with a cup of beer
and ends with 2 tall glasses of beer. I learned something new while on the tour, they brew a wheat-free beer! Since I don’t
eat wheat anymore, I have found my new drinking buddy. And the cool thing, it taste like beer. I was also in the right place at the right time and was able to get close-up pictures of the horses in training.
One car that really stood out was Vince Corry’s street production Camel Z. This car looked perfect in every way. Vince
has spent a lot of time in bringing this car back to its original condition and it showed. Look for a future article in the pages of ZCCM to get a closer look and the story behind the car.
ZCON 2013 Special Awards and First Place Winners Bob Sharp Award Barbara Donahue – 1981 280ZX Mr. Matsuo Award Bill Mitchell – 1971 340Z
People’s Choice Awards Gerald Trzecki – Best Engine Tom Keene – Best Interior Mark Lambert – Best Exterior Gerald Trzecki – Best in Show Scott Grover – Heritage Rick Morgan – Survivor
ZCCA Judged Show Daily Driver 240Z - Terry Vollnogle Charlie Hoffman 260Z - David Jarrell 280Z - William Moreau 280ZX - Mick Wildin 300ZX (Z31) - Patrick Donahue 300ZX (Z32) - Lou Pereira 350Z - Mike Quan 370Z - Keith Hultmark Stock Class 240Z - William Mitchell 280Z - Michael Falcone 280ZX - Ryan Bordenick 300ZX (Z31) - Beth Brown 300ZX (Z32) - Ralph Ciccone 350Z - Paul Taylor 370Z - Theodore Targonski
2007 350Z Roadster Bill Kush-Windy City Z Club
Street Modified 240Z - Jeffrey Mader 280Z - Paul Riccioli 280ZX - Barbara Donahue 300ZX (Z31) - Jorge Silva 300ZX (Z32) - Gary Tylinski 350Z - Carl Kush 370Z - Glenn Johnson
Nissan Modified 240Z - Vince Corry 280ZX - Bob Chwalyk 300ZX (Z32) - Claude Charest 350Z - Cathy Robbins
2009 370Z-Lenny Arnoth-ZCSD
Ultra Modified 240Z - Richard Desjardins 280Z - Vincent Gregg 300ZX (Z32) - Sal Imperato Jesus Montoy 350Z - Scott Cole
1982 280ZX-Liz McQuillin-ZCCNE
“Best of” Awards Jeff Mader – Best Engine Paul Riccioli – Best Interior Jeff Mader – Best Exterior
Gold Medallion Wayne Parent – 1996 300ZX Ralph Ciccone – 1991 300ZX Gold Cup Jeffrey Mader – 1972 240Z
1978 280Z Bill Moreau-ZCCNE
For a complete list of winners with photos from this years show go to zccazconvention.com
Z CAR CLUB MAGAZINE
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T
the
K C Ra photo by Beth Brown
photo by Beth Brown
photo by Mandi Wagner
The track day was on Thursday at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. John Jeffrey, ZCON event chairman was in his element,
telling people what to do and yelling at people
that didn’t know what they were doing. He also did his best imitation of Paul Newman at the track. There was only one wreck when a Z32 came out of the turn onto the main straight-
away, lost traction and bounced off the wall,
twice. I just happen to be in position to see it happen right in front of me (another first). The fastest car that I saw on the track was a race
prepped Z32. The GT-R’s looked slow compared to it and that’s saying something. 12
Z CAR CLUB MAGAZINE
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honor, Bob Sharp told the audience stories from his and Paul Newman’s rac-
It was a chance to get together with old friends and meet new ones. I spent
ago on Bob Sharp and his racing team. The Annual Texas chili party hosted by
in the past. Some people that have known me from a distance all these years
the
k eE
The week started off on Monday with the opening ceremony. The guest of ing days and the premier showing of a 21-minute short film produced 42 years the Z Club of Texas followed.
Wednesday was the New Hampshire Road Rally. I signed up for it but
when I couldn’t even answer the first question I turned around and went back
to the hotel and did nothing all day except hangout around the lobby and parking lot. It’s not that I’m a sore loser, it just seemed a little too much like
work. This is a vacation, right? I think I’m better suited for a poker run. Just give me a card and hope for the best hand.
Friday was the autocross event. Again I was signed up for it as well but
after waking up from hanging out at the bar all night and the fact it was pour-
ing rain (the only day it did rain) I again decided to do nothing. I only left the room to get lunch. Most of the other attendees who weren’t signed up for
autocross went on the Boston tour. The closing banquet was that evening and the guest speakers were Mr. Yoshihiko Matsuo and Mad Mike Taylor.
The hotel bar was a very popular place to hangout just about every night.
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Z CAR CLUB MAGAZINE
more time hanging out this year then I have ever done at any other convention got to see a different side of me. I’m sure a beer or two or three or four had something to do with that. The longest distance traveled award went to Lenny Arnoth of the Z Club of San Diego. That crazy New Yorker logged more then
3000 miles one way. He is also the convention chairman for next year’s event.
From what people were telling me, it looks like most had a great time and
the Z Club of New England did a great job of ensuring they did.
Next years Convention will be held in San Diego, CA. and hosted by the Z
Club of San Diego. Checkout their website at www.zcsd.org/ZCON_2014.html to get all the latest information on next summers event. Knowing Lenny like I do, I expect to have a great time in sunny southern California.
Oh, and one more first for me. John Jeffery was the perfect host. Not once
did he give me a hard time. He normally does nothing but raze me on a con-
tinuous basis whether in person or on the phone. I wonder if that really was John or maybe it was Paul resurrected. I guess we’ll never know.
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NISM
Pefor
By Miles Hall, ZSport San Antonio, Photos by 16
Z CAR CLUB MAGAZINE
MO
rmance Academy
Nissan Motorsports is Back, and in a Big Way! As the sun rises onto the outer edge of Circuit of the Americas on a cool Texas morning, two low rumbling GTR pace cars make their way into the staging area of pit row. One by one an endless sea of Nismo war painted 350s, 370s and GTRs pour into position behind the pace cars to take their first laps around the infamous track. Nissan was about to add another historic event to their already impressive resume of ground breaking events at one of America’s newest and most prestigious road courses located in Austin, Texas. This marks the beginning of Nissan’s long overdue answer to the question of “Had Nissan Motorsports lost touch with their loyal fan base, and forgotten all about their faithful supporters?” Nissan’s long awaited answer came in the form of the Nismo Performance Academy. An event that would help revitalize their loyal followers as well as showing Nissan’s new found reinvestment in Nissan Motorsports and the long-standing Nismo brand. The buzz around the Nissan forums was that the Nismo brand was coming back stronger than ever with a huge expansion by Nismo into other current and future Nissan models. The start of this campaign was the launch of the Nismo Performance Academy, which was making it’s debut at Circuit of the Americas. For a lucky selected few, Nismo Peformance Academy offers an all-day performance driving clinic. The invite only event allows Nismo extended family the opportunity to experience their own vehicles in a racing environment where their cars were conceived, under the guidance of world-class professional drivers. Nismo also offered up the rare opportunity to turn corners at COTA with the new Nismo 370Z and the newly released limited production GTR track edition.
Ric Quintanilla, RicQ.HZ@gmail.com
“Nismo Performance Academy gives customers the opportunity to test their vehicle’s capabilities, as well as their own capabilities as a driver, with the help of some hands on driving instruction in the most ideal setting.” – Carl Phillips
Z CAR CLUB MAGAZINE
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As a special treat 2011 Playstation Grand Turismo GT Academy winner and
In between being pounded with an array of driving classroom information
star of the GT Academy reality TV show, Brian Heitkotter, was on site to teach
and Circuit of the Americas on-track instruction, an autocross was setup to
driving techniques at an onsite Driving Dynamics Course. Heitkotter gave
debut the new Nismo Juke’s improved power, impressive vectoring AWD sys-
attendees a glimpse of what it takes to be consistently quick around COTA as
tem and the car’s functional exterior upgrades. The new Nismo Juke’s han-
well as the basic fundamentals of track safety. Brian was immersed in racing
dling has been improved to be even more nimble, proving that it is as easily
every day for almost 6 months during the filming of GT Academy, from class-
at home on an autocross course as it is in a curvy hill country setting. First time
room to behind the wheel track time, which ultimately ended up winning him
auto crossers can easily feel the road’s feedback in the Nismo Juke and trans-
the series. The student has now become the teacher and we caught up with
late that into driving corrections. The Nismo Juke’s aerodynamics are direct
him to get his impression of the Nismo Performance Academy experience.
stylings taken from the success of the GTR’s overseas racing divisions which translates into a 37% downforce. With over 100 parts that were redesigned
“This event gives a rare opportunity for anyone to be dropped into this type of
specifically by Nismo. Nissan, once again wants to provide the very best
setting and learn the fundamentals of racing and ultimately finding a new found
engineered, well-balanced vehicles they can.
respect for their own Nissan’s. One by one, people are blown away by what
After attendees are able to get behind the wheel of some of these Nismo
they never knew their cars could do. That makes it all worth it. This event is
vehicles, they were presented with a Nismo Immersion Class. The classroom
Nissan giving back to their fans.” – Brian Heitkotter
setting offered a history lesson of Nissan Motorsports ranging from the early
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Z CAR CLUB MAGAZINE
Datsun 240Z racing days to Nissan’s most recent re-launch back into com-
out on. Although spots for Nismo Performance Academy were very limited,
petitive racing. The class was also a chance for the Nismo Marketing groups
the availability of online coverage was epic. From in car GoPro videos to
to get some insight from their fan base. These types of interactions with Nissan
Facebook cover photos. Nismo Performance Academy left it’s mark proving
and their customers have always been key to developing the kind of ground-
that Nissan Motorsports had taken the first steps to transition back into the
breaking innovations that Nissan Motorsports is known for.
limelight. The most recent rumor amongst the internet is that Nismo
In the aftermath of the event, the internet was alive with posts and streaming videos giving those that couldn’t attend some insight on what they missed
Performance Academy will make another appearance somewhere else in the United States. Perhaps it will be in your neck of the woods sometime soon.
Z CAR CLUB MAGAZINE
19
OUT OF THE GARAGE • tech article: Brake Fluid and Why Change it By: Ben Pila, Z Car Club San Diego
There are many fluids that need to be
the system via the vented fill caps on the brake
are good and brake fluid is clean. The DOT 4
changed every now and then. Brake fluid is one
master cylinder. This moisture along with dust
fluid has a higher boiling point and is an
of them that is usually neglected. It needs to be
mixes and travels in the system eventually making
improvement over the DOT 3 for that reason. I've
changed when it gets dirty. A good interval to
its way to the lowest points in the system. The
used the Castrol LMA DOT 4 and it's worked ok.
change the fluid is about every 30,000 miles
lowest points would be the brake calipers and
Since I tend to have an aggressive driving style
unless you drive your car hard, then you should
the rear wheel cylinders (for those that have rear
on the back roads, I've boiled this fluid and have
do it more frequently.
drums.) If the moisture sits against the aluminum
since changed to the ATE Super Blue Racing
Brake fluids are classified in three classes by
and chrome parts in the system, it corrodes until
fluid. It is very reasonable in price and has a wet
the DOT (Department of Transportation.) Most of
the seals of the wheel cylinder or caliper pistons
boiling point of 392 degrees F.
us use the DOT 3 fluid but Dot 4 offers a higher
get damaged then fluid begins to leak out and
boiling point, which is better for us who use our
you know the rest. Also as the fluid becomes
turns to a vapor and then your pedal goes to the
brakes hard on back roads. There is also a DOT
degraded, it becomes diluted and the boiling
floor and you have no brakes. It can be quite
5 fluid, which is also called Silicone brake fluid.
point is reduced.
scary on a mountain road. My recommendation
What happens when the brake fluid boils? It
This type of fluid is different from the DOT 3 or 4
This may not be a problem just around town
is to check you brake fluid by removing the fill
in that it is made of silicones and doesn't absorb
but if you've ever driven down a mountain road
caps on the reservoir and if you see a murkey,
moisture (hygroscopic) like the other brake fluids
like to Borrego Springs, you know how important
"muck" like dark fluid, then it's time to change it.
do. It's the moisture and contaminates that break
the brakes are. It's when you use the brakes very
Once you change it, then you can stick to a regu-
down the DOT 3 and 4 fluids, which is the rea-
hard, repeatedly that the boiling point may be a
lar schedule. Listed below are steps needed to
son to change the fluid in the first place. If you
factor. DOT 3 fluid has a minimum wet boiling
change the fluid.
don't change it, what happens is moisture enters
point of 284 degrees F. This is only if conditions
Brake Fluid Change - Step-by-Step
20
1. Remove the fill caps off the brake master cylinder.
tubing to the bleeder valve nipple and put the other end into a clear con-
2. Using a turkey baster, suck out the old fluid and put it into an old jar
tainer that has a lid. Try to set the container so that the tubing is higher
with a lid. Be careful not to get any on the paint as it works like paint
than the bleeder fitting. This way any air will rise and not flow back into
stripper. Use water to neutralize any spills.
the system.
3. Remove the plastic filter screens from within the reservoirs and suck out
8. Open the bleeder about a turn then begin to pump the brake pedal in
the remaining fluid from the reservoir.
about 1" strokes or just enough to move fluid out into the tubing. The rea-
4. Take the plastic filter screens to a sink and rinse them, using your fin-
son you don't want to do full strokes to the floor is, if the brake master is
gers to rub off any dirt as you rinse them in water. Shake them dry and set
old and corrosion has started, you could possibly damage the piston seals
them aside on a paper towel to dry.
of the master cylinder by the seals ripping over the corroded areas and
5. Using clean paper towels or shop towels (lint free rags,) wipe out the
ruin the master cylinder. So just pump the pedal enough to move fluid
inside of the reservoirs, cleaning off any dirt etc. If you want an extra
through the tubing. Continue pumping until the fluid comes out mostly clear
clean job, you could use a 10mm wrench or socket and physically remove
(or blue if you using the fluid I do.) Pay attention to the brake fluid level in
the plastic reservoirs off the master cylinder (note which one goes where if
the reservoir as it will get low as you pump. Top it off before it gets too
they are different.)
low or you'll have to bleed the master cylinder to get the air out.
6. With the reservoirs and plastic screens clean, reassemble and top off
9. Once the fluid comes out clean, close off that bleeder and move over to
with your favorite brake fluid. Next comes flushing the remaining fluid in
the left rear wheel and continue the same process. Then do the right front
the lines and brake parts. It may help to have the car on jack stands and
and finally the left front.
wheels off on some models that have the bleeder screws mounted high
10. Top off the brake reservoir, wipe down the caps (use some brake
and hard to reach.
parts cleaner spray if needed,) then install the caps and wash off any
7. Beginning with the right rear wheel's bleeder screw (usually located on
spilled fluid with water.
back of the drum or caliper,) take a 10mm or 8mm wrench and break the
11. Your ready to hit the road, assured that your brakes are ready to han-
fitting loose first then attach a 3 foot piece of 3/16" clear polyethelene
dle the toughest hills.
Z CAR CLUB MAGAZINE
For All Parts Inquiries sales@acadianasportscars.com
Website www.acadianasportscars.com
DIY TECH • product spotlight: 240Z Horn Pad Ring Restoration By: Eric Finch, Albuquerque Z Car Club
The Datsun 240Z is now over 40 years
that the OEM horn pad consists of 4 parts. The
old. And though it was quite a successful model,
outer skin you see, a metal disk the emblem
some of the OEM parts are becoming nearly
mounts through, a high density foam - which is
impossible to locate. I came up with the idea to
fairly durable but crumbly, and finally the plastic
recreate some of the more difficult parts using a
ring that crumbled into many pieces as it was
3D printer.
one reason or another. Each time I had to modify the model for printability or fit. Some shrinkage happens when you print an object, so fine tolerances need to account for that. Once I had one that fit over the OEM Horn Disk, I had to modify it to fit the foam. I used my own horn pad and broke out the cracked ring, and worked the
I decided to start with a part that was broken
removed. Unfortunately the ring was too broken
reproduction into the foam. It was held it in place
to get a good inner diameter measurement from.
with a little rubber cement, though likely the ring’s
From pictures on the web, and pieces of the
snug fit from oversizing it by 4mm would have
on my 70’ 240Z project car: The horn pad
broken ring I was able to take measurements for
retaining ring. The early S30’s used a pad with a
each of the other dimensions. This took a little
plastic ring that fit over a plastic disk with a
time and a lot of tweaking. I measured the OEM
spring clip to hold it in place. The problem is that
horn disk on my 1970 240Z and came up with a
after 40 years the outer ring becomes very brittle
diameter of 66.5mm. I then added 2mm to the
and just pressing the horn could cause it to crack,
ring model inner diameter for that section. The
break and fall off. Over the years people have
OEM ring pieces had a few ridges on the inside,
found a few fixes for this such as glue, wire, zip
one for the base at 2mm tall for structure.
ties and we’ve even seen screws. Needless to
Another at 12.75mm tall for the horn disk to sit
say all these solutions don’t allow for the horn
on, then at 16.5mm tall, is an indentation that
pad to be easily removed nor do they keep the
the clips in the OEM horn disk clip into to hold
pad in place very well. An original 240Z horn
the ring in place. The final height of the ring was
pad is nearly impossible to find in New/Old
20mm. The outside diameter was made to 75mm
Stock (NOS), and most OEM pads you’d find at
to ensure a snug fit in the foam. Around the out-
a junkyard, if you found a 240Z at all, would
side was a 5mm wide ring that helped hold the
held it fine. I bevel the outer rings lower edge to
very likely already be cracked. Sometimes on
ring into the foam.
ease insertion into the foam. Once it was dry I
Ebay you can find a decent one, but likely it’ll go for more than $80 dollars. The idea of recreating
Once the model was completed I sent it to the printer, the first 6 prints of the ring didn’t fit for
tried it again on the OEM horn disk in the car and it snapped right into place. I printed it in
a replacement ring clamp for the horn pad
white ABS plastic since it was what I had on
seemed like the best place to start.
hand. Future rings will be printed in Black ABS.
Fellow club member Nelson Ackerman donat-
So if your horn pad is in nice condition on
ed a broken horn pad from his Z car parts yard,
the outside but the ring is cracked and beyond
so that I could cut it up and see if a new mount-
repair, email me at Pharaoh_01@yahoo.com for
ing method for broken pads could be found. I
ordering information along with any questions
tore into the pad with an Exacto-blade and found
you might have.
22
Z CAR CLUB MAGAZINE
EVENTS • 14th Annual Midwest Z Heritage By: Dave Jarrell, Indy Z Car Club, photos by Rick Stout, Indy Z Car Club Midwest Z Heritage enjoyed a very nice
cial thanks to the owners of the Classic Datsun
turnout with 75 cars registered for the show and
Roadsters, Larry Blaszczak and Blake Lee
Jerry Strohm, Krista Manley, Doug and Paula
125 people for the Saturday night banquet din-
Neubauer for bringing their beautiful cars. We
Richards, Ellis Hines, Rick Stout and Joe Laslo
ner. The event also invited classic Datsun
also wish to thank Adam Williams for bringing
and everyone else that helped make the 2013
Roadsters, Nissan GTR’s and Infiniti G’s to make
his GTR and Derrick Roland and Brian Caldwell
Midwest Z Heritage Show one to be remem-
this an inclusive Nissan celebration. Dealership
for representing the Infiniti’s. These cars represent-
sponsors were Dreyer and Reinbold Infiniti and
ed the “Heritage” portion of our event. John Pich
Tom Wood Nissan, both of Indianapolis.
from Dreyer & Reinbold Infiniti drove down an
The Indy Z Car Club hosted the event this year as the show returned to Brown County,
Infiniti G37 IPL for display. We had a great turnout for the Saturday
Indiana. We gave Z heads a chance to get away
night Awards Banquet that featured some special
to rustic Southern Indiana, drive some twisty back
out of state guests. We heard from Jeff Caldwell,
roads, shop in Nashville, hike in Brown County
co-founder of both the IZCC and the MW Z
State Park, visit the architectural gems of
Heritage show, now living in Tennessee; Ray
Columbus, IN, and explore the nearby wineries.
Haren, CZC PreZident; Chris Karl, Executive
Known as the Art Colony, Nashville features hun-
Director of the ZCCA; and finally, “Mad Mike”
dreds of craft, specialty and antique shops. This
Taylor from the Z Club of Texas. Our lips are
event rotates between Cleveland Z Club, Windy
sealed as to how his Z got so muddy. IZCC had
City Z Club, ZROC of Columbus, OH and Indy Z
declared it wig night as you may notice in the
Car Club.
photos and “Mad Mike” was a real sport wear-
Each year the event chooses a charity to sup-
ing a nice red wig for photo
port and this time it was Paws & Think. Paws &
ops. He claims his real hair
Think was represented by Brad Kupper and Jill
color was auburn.
Thompson, who brought along Nellie and
Sponsors make these
Brewser. We were able to make a total donation
events possible. We owe spe-
of $1950.00 to their effort to help both canines
cial thanks to our dealership
and their human friends.
sponsors, Dreyer & Reinbold
The cars were spectacular once again! They
A big thank you goes out to Mick Wildin,
bered! Next year’s 15th Annual Midwest Z Heritage Show will be hosted by Cleveland Z Club and held in Aurora,
Infiniti and Tom Wood Nissan. We had numerous
OH, on June 13th-15th. Check the show website
arrived representing 12 different car clubs…from
sponsors at the Gold, Silver, Bronze and
after January 1st, 2014, for complete information
Canada to Texas and everywhere in between.
Contributor level. Checkout the sponsor page at
on that event.
We had 18 cars that did not have a club affilia-
the show website, midwestzheritage.com, for a
tion. Perhaps they made some new friends and
complete list. Please support our sponsors. A
might now consider a club in their area.
complete photo recap is also available on the
The big winner of the day was Jerry Salvucci
show website, showing all of the cars participat-
from Ohio, Taking home trophies in Best
ing, the show winners and the awards banquet.
Modified 350Z, People’s Choice Z Car, and Best
The Midwest Z Heritage website will be current
in Show. Congratulations, Jerry! We extend spe-
until the end of this year.
Z CAR CLUB MAGAZINE
23
AROUND THE CURVE ZCCM is exclusively for car clubs and their members. We encourage you to join your local club or consider starting one of your own—it’s a great way to grow the Nissan, Infiniti and Datsun community. If you already belong to a club and you don’t see it listed contact Art Singer at arts.zccm@gmail.com or 505-867-4229 for more information on how your club can become a partner.
• Partner Club Directory Arizona Desert Z Association Location: Phoenix, AZ Contact: Sandi Salvo - President Email/Phone: sjsalvo@cox.net, 602-791-0079 Website: desertzassociation.com California Empire Z Location: Ontario, CA Contact: John Moran - President Email/Phone: empirezclub@hotmail.com, 909-872-0329 Website: empirez.com San Diego Z Club Location: San Diego, CA Contact: Lenny Arnoth Email/Phone: lennynsheri@cox.net, 619-818-5357 Website: zcsd.org Georgia CoastalZClub Location: Eastern Georgia Contact: William Stokes - President Email/Phone: will@hls30.com, 912-667-6346 Website: coastalzclub.com Hawaii Z Club of Hawaii Location: Oahu, Hawaii Contact: Jennifer Parker - President Email/Phone: zclubofhawaii@gmail.com, 808-349-8813 Website: N/A Idaho Z Car Club of Idaho Location: Boise, ID Contact: Nancy Barham Email/Phone: nancz51@msn.com, 208-375-0265 Website: zcci.org Illinois Windy City Z Club Location: Chicago Metro Area Contact: Ty Ozgen Email/Phone: tmo212@aol.com, 630-910-3616 Website: windycityzclub.com
UPCOMING EVENTS 2013 Z Nationals Date: October 4-6, 2013 Carrollton, GA Details: znationals.com 3rd Annual Multi-State Datsun Classic Date: October 5, 2013 Williams, AZ Details: socalroc.net To get an event listed in our event calendar here, e-mail arts.zccm@gmail.com and follow the format above: date, event title, location, short description, and website.
24
Z CAR CLUB MAGAZINE
Indiana Indy Z Club Location: Indianapolis, IN Contact: Mitch Manley - President Email/Phone: mtmanley@hotmail.com, 317-697-3543 Website: indyzcarclub.org
Oklahoma Oklahoma Z car Club (OKZCC) Location: Tulsa and Oklahoma City Contact: Pete Pitchford Email/Phone: petepitchford@gmail.com, 405-612-1146 Website: okzcc.com
Kentucky Bluegrass Z Car Club (BZCC) Location: Louisville, KY Contact: Bill Edens - President Email/Phone: bzcc@bellsouth.net, 502-241-3812 Website: bluegrasszcarclub.com
Oregon NorthWest Z (NW-Z) Location: Oregon and Southwest Washington Contact: Kyle Glenn - President Email/Phone: tkglenn@aol.com, 503-932-4660 Website: northwestz.org
Maryland Maryland Z Club Location: Finksburg, MD Contacts: Mark Lambert - President JoAnne Gardner - VP Email/Phone mdzclub@mdzclub.org, 410-857-4320 Website: mdzclub.org.com
South Carolina Upstate Z Club Location: South Carolina Contact: Greg Groppe - President Email/Phone: bluez280@afo.net, 864-884-7001 Website: upstatezclub.com
Nebraska Z Owners of Nebraska (ZoNE) Location: Omaha Metro Area Contact: Matt Schumacher Email/Phone: zcarsofnebraska@yahoo.com, 402-290-9537 Website: zcarsofnebraska.com New Hampshire Z Car Club of New England Location: New Hampshire Contact: John Jeffries - President Email/Phone: john@baddogparts.com, 617-510-2694 Website: zccne.org New Mexico Albuquerque Z Car Club (AZCC) Location: Albuquerque Metro Area Contact: Nelson Ackerman - President Email/Phone: nlackerman1@aol.com, 505-239-6833 Website: albuquerquez.com New York Z Association of New York (ZANY) Location: Upstate New York Contact: Mike Roth Email/Phone: rothm@srgarch.com, 518-857-5026 Website: zanyz.com North Carolina Emerald City Z Club Location: Greenville, NC Contact: John Dunn - President Email/Phone: jdunn@ck-attorneys.com, 252-321-2020 Website: emeraldcityzclub.com Triad Z Club Location: Greensboro, Winston-Salem, High Point Contact: Matthew Ragan - President Email/Phone: president@triadzclub.com, 336-399-0961 Website: triadzclub.com Triangle Z Club Location: Raleigh, NC Contact: Jerry Colburn Email/Phone: Jlc280z@gmail.com, 919-934-1352 Website: trianglezclub.com Ohio Cleveland Z Club Location: Northern Ohio Contact: Ray Haren Email/Phone: Ray@zfastcar.com, 440-376-7414 Website: Clevelandzclub.com Z Car and Roadster Owners Club (ZROC) Location: Central Ohio Contact: Lee Bivens Email/Phone: lbivens@insight,rr,com, 614-582-5281 Website: zroc.org
Tennessee Middle Tennessee Z Club (MTZC) Location: Central Tennessee Contact: Randy Shemin Email/Phone: Randyshemin@gmail.com or mtzclub@gmail.com, 615-604-9075 Website: middletennesseezclub.com Smokey Mountain Z Car Club (SMZCC) Location: Eastern Tennessee Contact: Tony Price Email/Phone: tonyprice1@yahoo.com, 865-681-7986 Website: smokymountainzcarclub.com Texas Cowtown Z Club Location: Ft Worth and Arlington Area Contact: Alan Toepperwein Email/Phone: atoepperwein@hotmail.com, 817-995-7482 Website: cowtownzclub.com Z Club of Texas Location: Dallas Metro Area Contact: “Mad” Mike Taylor Email/Phone: zmadmike@airmail.net, 214-533-0922 Website: zcluboftexas.org ZSport San Antonio Location: San Antonio, TX Contact: Michael DeLashmutt - President Email/Phone: zsportinfo@yahoo.com, 252-321-2020 Website: zsport.org Virginia Tidewater Z Car Club Location: Eastern Virginia Contact: Todd Wagner Email/Phone: zfixers@cox.net, 757-851-8098 Website: tzccva.org Z Car Association of Richmond (ZCAR) Location: Richmond, VA Contact: Greg Carter Email/Phone: President@richmondzcar.com, 804-310-5375 Website: richmondzcar.com & we're on Facebook! Washington Z Car Club of Washington (ZCCW) Location: Washington State Contact: Marty Molloy Email/Phone: twin.turbos@yahoo.com, 425-367-9065 Facebook: facebook.com/DatsunClub
CLUBS IN GEAR • Partner Club Happenings Albuquerque Z Car Club The Albuquerque Z Car Club is a diverse group of enthusiasts that encourage the enjoyment, restoration, and customization of mostly Z cars. We gladly welcome all generations of Zs, 510s, Roadsters, & Gs. We meet on the 2nd Thursday of each month to discuss and plan road trips, car shows, meet & greets, & more. We attend local, as well as regional and national car shows, and have monthly tech sessions to maintain and repair our cars. We also get together monthly at a local restaurant for dinner and to hang out and talk about cars. For more information on our club you can visit albuquerquez.com, or call Nelson Ackerman at 505-239-6833. Bluegrass Z Car Club The Bluegrass Z Car Club based in Louisville, KY, is comprised of a membership dedicated to the love of, and the passion for, the Z car. Our members’ cars cover all of the Z series from the first generation Datsun 240Z to the 370Z. The Bluegrass Z Car Club spells involvement in one of the best car clubs in the Metro Louisville, KY, area. Our club is a member of the Z Car Club of America (ZCCA), with members belonging to the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and the Kentucky Sports Car Club Association (KYSCCA). We hold monthly meetings and will be hosting car club events throughout the year. Owning a Z is not a requirement just the simple love of the clean racing lines of a sports car, whether import or American made. Cleveland Z Club The Cleveland Z Club is an active northeast Ohio car club for Datsun and Nissan Z enthusiasts. CZC attended the Midwest Z Heritage show in Indy in June. Our club showed well, resulting in 6- 1st place, 4- 2nd place, one 3rd place, Best of Show, People’s Choice and the events traveling trophy. In July, the club held our annual picnic at Ben’s cabin in PA. We had a record turnout even though the weather was a bit on the damp side. Six CZC members attended the 2014 ZCON in New Hampshire. It’s always fun seeing old friends and making new Z friends at this event. Bill and Marlene’s Sunday Z drives are a popular way to explore Ohio’s back roads with interesting stops along the way. Some of the stops have included the Ohio Veterans’ Memorial Park in Clinton, Unusual Junction in West Laffayette, Brandywine Falls in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, and Squires Castle in the Metropolitan Parks North Chagrin Reservation. We are busy planning for next year’s Midwest Z Heritage show which we will be hosting June 13-15, 2014 in Aurora, Ohio. Hope to see you there. Coastal Z Club The members of Coastal Z Club, as proud members of the Z Community, would like to congratulate and thank the Z Car Club Of New England and those who gave their time and energy at the convention to volunteer and making ZCON26 an awesome event! Coastal Z Club meets for dinner on the third Tuesday of every month, for locations and times visit our facebook page. Coastal Z-Club.
Cowtown Z Car Club The Cowtown Z Car Club is Tarrant county's only Z car club and has been established since 2002. We are a smaller group with predominantly, but not exclusively, 1st and 2nd generation Z car owners and enthusiasts who enjoy working on their cars, helping others with their cars, going on drives through twisty roads (yes there are a few in Texas and we can show you), road course racing, and going to car shows. We have monthly meetings at a great venue with lots of well lit parking so members can ogle each other's rides. Desert Z Association It is summer in the Valley of the Sun and we are busy doing cool events! In June we visited the Martin Auto Museum showcasing a private collection of 60 classic and rare vehicles. In July we held our annual BBQ and Pool Party where we raise funds to purchase school supplies for One Darn Cool School at Phoenix Children’s Hospital. The supplies were delivered just in time for the start of the new school year. August brought a fun day of indoor kart racing at Octane Raceway! Photos of all these events can be seen on our website at desertzassociation.com. Emerald City Z Club The Emerald City Z Club of Greenville, North Carolina was founded in 2000 to provide a medium for Z car enthusiasts in eastern North Carolina who proudly drive Datsun/Nissan Z-series sports cars. It was, and still is, our intent to attract local Z owners to meet and exchange information about the care, maintenance and customization of their 240, 260, 280, 300, 350, & 370 model Z cars. The Emerald City Z Club meets on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 7:00 pm at CPW's Restaurant, located at 2422 Stantonsburg Rd. in Greenville, North Carolina. Visitors and prospective members are welcomed to attend and observe.
website and facebook page at www.empirez.com and www.facebook.com/inlandempirez for info and lots of photos. Club meetings are held at 8 pm on the first Thursday of every month at Denny's at 715 N. Milliken Ave., Ontario, CA. All Z cars are welcome! Maryland ‘Z Club The Maryland ‘Z Club is a group of individuals who appreciate the Z car, from the first 1969 240Z to today’s 370Z. The mission of the club is to unite all Datsun and Nissan Z car enthusiasts, provide informational services to its members, serve as a forum for the sharing of information between its members, obtain discounts and benefits for its members, and assist its members with all aspects of Z car ownership. See mdzclub.org for all the details. Middle Tennessee Z Club The Middle Tennessee Z Club (Nashville) attended a July private garage tour featuring 4 dozen collector cars, automobilia and collectibles, and cruised the historic Natchez Trace Parkway after the Saturday morning Cars & Coffee in Franklin, TN, held across the road from the Nissan headquarter building. Upcoming events include two cruises to southern Kentucky for a distillery tour and back road drives (great BBQ too... ever seen a 6 inch pork chop?) in Oct. and possible events to Cumberland Caverns for an in-cave concert and a winery tour. Several members frequent the local cruise-ins and car shows including Augusts Music City BBQ Fest Car Show on the closed honky-tonk lined streets of historic downtown Nashville. Oklahoma Z Car Club The Oklahoma Z Car Club, had a great turn out for the Bob Howard Nissan car show in Oklahoma City on July 20th. On September 1st the club hosted
Empire Z Empire Z is Southern California's Z club of the Inland Empire. Lots of events going on in SoCal and we hope you can join us for some. On August 12, we had 14 Zs and many friends come out for a great time at our 10th Annual BBQ at the scenic
California Citrus State Historic Park in Riverside, CA. We are also fortunate to have other Z clubs nearby and joined Group Z for their OC Drive through Santiago Canyon on July 13. Next up, we have our 7th Annual Car Show at Nissan of San Bernardino on October 12. We have teamed up with the San Bernardino City Dog Shelter and there will be dogs available for adoption at the show and a portion of the proceeds will go to the shelter. Checkout our
another track day at the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s training facility in Oklahoma City and on the 22nd the club will be at Mexico Joes restaurant in Stillwater for a quarterly meeting. Events are open to everyone and more information can be found on the club website, OKZCC.com and on Facebook by searching OKZCC.
Z CAR CLUB MAGAZINE
25
CLUBS IN GEAR Smoky Mountain Z Car Club The Smoky Mountain Z Club enjoyed a winery tour to several wineries in August. The club invited members of the Middle Tennessee Z Club to join in the tour that included driving some of the great back roads of the Cumberland Plateau. The club also had an overnight trip to Blowing Rock, NC, stopping at the City Garage Car Museum in Greeneville, TN to enjoy a wide variety of classic automobiles. After enjoying the Blowing Rock area, the club drove some of the great roads in upper East Tennessee including the well-known area known as” The Snake.“ Triad Z Club The Triad Z Club started in the early 70's.We are located in the heart of the triad between Greensboro /Winston-Salem/High Point NC. The Z Club continues to grow with new members attending our cruisein's held in May and October at Modern Nissan. Our members car's range from early Datsun 240z's to 2012 Nissan GTR's. Meetings are held on the 3rd Tuesday of each month at Modern Nissan at 6:30pm. Recent events planned for the club will be our annual cruise-in on Saturday Otober 5th at Modern Nissan in Winston-Salem. Triangle Z Club The Triangle Z Club is located in the Raleigh/Durham area of central NC. We have an active membership, with owners of every model of Z represented. We encourage Z, ZX, SkyLine, GT-R, G35 and G37 owners and enthusiasts to come out and meet the great group of people in our club. Our meetings are normally held on the first Thursday of every month. The meeting location is published on our web site: www.trianglezclub.com. We have a full schedule of events coming up for the second half of the year; which included a cookout at Kevin Brown’s house (TZC president), in August. Our annual auto show on Sunday October 13th at Leith Nissan in Cary, NC. Registration is on MyAutoEvents.com. Pre-registration is $25 until 9/27/13, $30 day of the show. Judging will be a “People’s Choice” format, with numerous categories. Please visit our web site for further details. Upstate Z Club The Upstate Z Club, based in Greenville, SC, is dedicated to connecting Datsun/Nissan Z and Infiniti G owners and enthusiasts of upstate South Carolina. We provide means and activities of interest to club members that enable them to meet and exchange information regarding the care, maintenance, customization, and driving of their Z or G cars. Club meetings are held the 2nd Tuesday of every month. Check upstatezclub.com for meeting location, event information, blogs, local forums, and other great information. Windy City Z Club The Windy City Z Club had a great showing at our annual Cruisin Z USA 2013 Car Show. The weather was great as was the location. It was he held within the streets of an outdoor shopping center so there were plenty of things to do besides being entertained by Z cars. We had early 240Z’s to the latest 370Z’s in attendance. Several members also
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Z CAR CLUB MAGAZINE
ins, and get out on the NHMS race track to feed their need for speed. Our club website can be found at: zccne.org. Yearly dues are $25.
attended the 2013 Midwest Z Heritagefest as well as the National Convention. As the summer driving months come to a close, we will be attending other local car shows, do driving events and celebrate Oktoberfest with a local Nissan dealer. Please check out our website for more information.
Z Car Club of Washington The ZCCW has been busy with our latest events! In July, several ZCCW club members were at the Show and Shine car corral, during the Pacific Northwest
Z Car Club of Idaho Z Car Club of Idaho continues to grow and this year the club will have the opportunity as a group of Zs to be in the post Thanksgiving Holiday Parade. Those with convertible Zs can carry the queen and her court. Meetings are held the third Wednesday of each month at 7:00 PM. Contact Nancy Barham, 208-375-0265 for more information. Z Association of New York On August 18th, ZANY had a successful show at the Historic Saratoga Racecourse which is celebrating it’s 150th year of racing. We had approximately 60
to 70 cars show up of all different makes and models from z’s to corvettes to muscle cars, even a Zepher showed up. The proceeds were given to the Lustgarden Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research. Our next event will be in September which will be a fun Road Rally enjoying the fall foliage of the Adirondack and ending up at Mike Roth’s house to view his new garage. Then it will be time for winter to set in and put the cars away for another season. Z Car Association of Richmond The Z Car Association of Richmond has had an active summer. We have made the run to other club car shows, where we represented our club well with several of our members coming home with trophies. We had our annual summer picnic at Osborne Landing. Also, just to get together and cruise in July we had a weekday Z In and dinner at Quaker Steak and Lube. We are in registration mode for our 13th annual Ztoberfest Car Show, Sunday, October 13, 2013. The car show will be held at Richmond Sheehy Nissan on Broad Street in Richmond VA. Check out our Webpage at www.richmondzcar.com to register for this years event. Last year we had folks from as far away as Tennessee and Pennsylvania. We hold our monthly meeting the Third Monday of the month at Rivers Bend Bar and Grill in Chester VA. at 7pm. Come and join us. Z Car Club of New England ZCCNE club members also participate in events held by other Z clubs, meet at local car shows and cruise-
Historics Vintage Races at Pacific Raceways. Josh's Cape Flattery Drive out to the Northwest tip of Washington State made for a great weekend, with miles of twisty roads along the coastline. In August, our Annual Car Show at Nissan of the Eastside in Bellevue brought out some new cars to see, and the fun continued the next weekend at The Meeting of The Minds, a 3 day Z camp out and car show in Port Townsend. The next event for the ZCCW members will be a September scenic drive through a few mountain passes in the North Cascades over Highway 20 to Central Washington and back, one of our favorite drives of the year. October will find our ZCCW members cruising through the mountains again on our overnight Leavenworth/Cabin drive. Griots Garage in Tacoma, will be the place for our holiday party again in December. ZcarsOfNEbraska ZcarsofNEbraska just finished our very successful charity car show "Hot Cars for Heroes" benefitting the Wounded Warrior Project. $7760 was raised for the charity and over 200 vehicles were in attendance! The entire day was a huge success where the weather was perfect and club members from Omaha, Lincoln, Kansas City, and surrounding locations greatly supported and ran the days events! I would like to give a special thanks to Dr. Keith Loudhia for all of his help along with our club members for making this event a HUGE success! As club PreZident, couldn't be proud of everyone that stepped up to raise money for this noble cause.
Upcoming events include a September 15th "Meet in the Middle" with the Heart of America Z Car Club for some outdoor recreation and a picnic, along with our Zocial at Jason's Deli in Omaha the first Tuesday of the month, and our usual Zocial in Lincoln the third Thursday of the month (location to be determined yet). Z Car and Roadster Owners Club ZROC had over 30 cars turn out for Arthritis Foundation Car Show in July. August was a very busy month; the club had a large turn out for both the Indy Car and Nationwide NASCAR races at Mid-Ohio. We also took a back roads drive to the US Air Force Museum in Dayton and had a large
group of members in attendance for this event. ZROC has a drive through Southeastern Ohio planned for September along with other fun drives and events. Check us out at zroc.org or our
Facebook group page. Z Club of San Diego Well the Clock is ticking for the next Z CONVENTION! We will be hosting ZCON 2014 in San Diego California. The Host Hotel is that Kona Kai Resort and Marina. Reservations for the hotel are now open and 50 of the 129 are already filled. At $149.00 they are going fast, normal rate is over $300.00. You can call direct to 619-221-8000 and reserve your room today. Checkout the resort at resortkonakai.com. This is the Z party that the west coast has been waiting for so register today at zcsd.org and join ZCSD for the Ultimate Z Party. Z Club of Texas ZCoT was founded in 1986 and currently has over 200 Members. ZCoT was a Charter Member of the ZCCA and hosted the second annual ZCON in 1989 as well as hosting the 2006 ZCON, The Club is dedicated to the enjoyment of our Z's and the fellowship of all Members. Club activities include participation in many local car shows, various driver education events, as well as Community Service activities where members prepare meals for a local home for battered women. ZCoT also helps Ronald McDonald House by manning their annual Trains display at a local mall - their largest fundraising event of the year. The Club also has a monthly Texas Tour where the participants do some "spirited" driving on the back country roads outside of the DFW
area to arrive at a unique restaurant for lunch. One of ZCoT's (in)famous Founding Fathers - 'Mad' Mike (dubbed the "uncle' of the 350Z for his efforts to bring back the Z) was the first executive director of the ZCCA and is still active, attending many Z events locally and worldwide. ZSport San Antonio Since 1995, ZSport San Antonio is dedicated to promoting interest, support, and fellowship in the Datsun and Nissan Z car’s heritage throughout Texas. Our monthly meeting is on the second Tuesday of each month. This summer brought a variety of events, beginning with a cruise and climb to Enchanted Rock, BBQ Pool party, Adopt-A-Highway service, then finished with a Tech day and Autocross Challenge. Future events include a show and shine and a trip to the newest K1 Karts. We developed a new club logo and are purchasing t-shirts, fliers, stickers, and more! Keep in touch through our forum (www.zsport.org) and Facebook page!
www.baddogparts.com Bad Dog Parts specializes in the sale of used, new, and custom designed parts for owners of 1st generation Z cars (1970-78). We do on occasion carry parts for later model Zs. And for those looking for something a little different, that adds strength, or ease of operation to your Z car, we have a line of custom made parts which are available: REAR RAIL • • • • •
240/260/280 coupes and 2+2 frame rails optional rear rails FRAME RAIL replacement OEM style seat brackets front sway bar strengthening plates single jack point plates
Have a need to make your Z more rigid? Add our optional rear frame rail section and you tie in the front end to the rear wheel well making your Z handle like it was always meant to. What we design and build we use ourselves.....and for those of you concerned with sending your hard-earned Z dollars to someone you’ve never meet, we offer a 100%, no question asked refund policy.
Email: john@baddogparts.com Z CAR CLUB MAGAZINE
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CLUB SPOTLIGHT • Tidewater Z Car Club: Still Going Strong The Tidewater Z Car Club, Based in
ed by the wide variety of things to do.
Tidewater, VA was established in September of
Some of our annual events are the Z
1995 and is still going strong. We have a very
Odyssey Z Car Show Held at Pomoco
diverse group of club members with a variety of
Nissan In Hampton VA, who generously
all generations of Z cars. Visit our website TZCC-
sponsors the show, our annual Pig pick-
VA.ORG or for those of you who are facebook
ing BBQ, a Wine tasting weekend drive,
friendly you can see us there by looking up the
a Christmas party and at least one gim-
Tidewater Z Car Club to see photos of our
mick rally.
events, member’s cars and our event calendar. We use many avenues to attract and recruit
The club believes in giving back to the community and throughout the year
new members from printed teaser cards to tech-
we raise money to give to a charity of the clubs
Our members interests in activities for their
nology as referenced above by the face book
choosing. A couple of our biggest fundraisers is
cars vary greatly and some like to do only one
page.
the Annual Z Odyssey Z Car Show and the All
thing others two or three and then there are some
Import Car Show. We attend other car shows
of us that just want to do everything possible. So
Monday of the month and the club has at least
and do cruise-ins, such as Cars and Coffee as a
you have the car show only guys who love to pol-
one Z car event each month. Events vary month
group to help promote the club and just get
ish their cars and only come out on sunny days.
to month and our members are never disappoint-
together and enjoy the love of cars.
There are the members that like to show their
Monthly meetings are held on the second
cars but love to do wine trips, rally’s and other driving events. Then there are those that like to do everything plus motorsport events. You know, autocross or gymkhana as it is known in some places. Then there is the track lover who does high performance driver school/education events so that they can get the thrill of high-speed driving without the fender rubbing of racing.
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Z CAR CLUB MAGAZINE
All in all the Tidewater Z Car Club Is just a great club of fun loving Z car owners that also welcome the Datsun 510’s, Roadsters and the Infinity G series of cars to get together every month and enjoy each other’s company, show off your ride, talk about vehicle modifications performed, needed repairs, your upcoming enhancements and other car related items. So if you are ever in the area, feel free to attend a meeting or an event with or without a Z. You will always be welcomed with open car doors.
BOB SHARP RACING & MEMORABILIA 1975 Championship T-Shirt $22.00 plus Shipping
Signed 1/43rd scale 240Z Championship Car $22.00 plus Shipping
Signed Championship Poster $20.00 plus Shipping
For ordering information contact: Scott J Cole of RDZ MOTORSPORTS and chairman of Bob Sharp Racing and memorabilia email: scott@RDZ300.com or call 203-885-8221 Pay Pal accepted
COLLECTOR’S CORNER • the right stuff: Ron Janicki – Desert Z Association I began collecting Datsun Z-Cars in the
The pictures give you an idea of just how
mid 1970’s. Currently the collection stands at
obsessed I am with the Nissan/Datsun brand, My
428 cars. Most of them are Z-Cars, with a few
collection is scattered all over my garage and
GTR’s, 510’s & Roadsters adding to the mix.
den. They are on display as opposed to being saved in the original boxes. I have also collected all the Z magazines and articles I could find over the years as well as newsletters from the Windy City Z Club going back to1975 when we first joined, until present. My first full size Z was a new 1973 240 Z,
It rusted, I repaired it, had it painted, and sold it
purchased in Rochester, N.Y. in December of
in 1979. That same year I bought my current
1972. It was my wife's daily driver in Chicago.
1971 240Z that sits along side of my 2003 350Z. Everything was rebuilt, then painted and pinstriped in 1981. That is exactly how it looks today. We joined the Desert Z Association in Phoenix, when we moved to Tucson in 2002. A few years later I was one of the founding members of the Tucson Z Club. The Phoenix club has visited my garage twice over the recent years and called it a "Shrine to the Z Car"
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Z CAR CLUB MAGAZINE