ZCCM Issue 6.9-6.12

2020: A TOUGH YEAR FOR THE Z COMMUNITY

Z CAR CLUB MAGAZINE

ZCON 2020 A Bright Spot in a Dark Year

S E P T /D E C 2 0 2 0 • I S S U E 6.9 /6.1 2

ZCARCLUBMAG.COM

Contents

zcarclubmag.com • sept-dec 2020 • issue 6.9/6.12

Features

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8 33 and Counting 2020 was a tough year for enjoying life. Most everyone spent a good portion of the year staying at home. I’m pretty sure Netflix loves you for it.

With the virus taking most of our independence away, there was a bright spot at ZCON 2020.

Departments 6 From the Editor 22 Around the Curve eight

publisher: Nelson Ackerman, nlackerman1@aol.com editor-in-chief: Art Singer, arts.zccm@gmail.com managing editor: John Moran, moranjf@hotmail.com advertising: call 505.835.9170 for a media kit

Z

CAR

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MAGAZINE

subscriptions: zcarclubmag.com $4.50/year - e-magazine (6 issues) $29.00/year - e-mag and print magazine (6 digital issues and 3 printed issues) paypal accepted

Z Car Club Magazine is a bi-monthly digital publication and a printed version comes out three times a year (January, May and August).

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 EDITOR • A very sad year in the Z community By: Art Singer, EIC (ZCCM), Albuquerque Z Car Club

Just when you thought that 2020 couldn’t get any more depressing with the virus and the passing of Mr. Yoshihiko Matsuo, the Chief Designer of the 240Z in July, we have now lost another Z icon. Johnnie Gable, Mr. K’s personal assistant sadly passed away in December making 2020 a year we wish we all could do over.

I first met Johnnie in 1995 at ZCON in Atlanta, GA. I really got to know her in 2002 starting at ZCON in San Antonio, TX. From that point forward, I used to see her once, twice or even three times a year and always enjoyed her company at Z events around the country.

I was so thankful that I was able to see her agin at ZCON 2020 and spend the week hanging out with her and her son Kenny. I also got to see her at the Mr. K. Fun Run, an event held the past four years in February. This year, Kenny changed the name of the event to the Johnnie and Mr. K. Fun Run in honor of her.

This will be a tough year for me knowing I won’t see her smiling face and get my big hugs from her that I have grown accustomed to. I always used to tell her that she was my car show mom and things won’t quite feel the same without her there. I’m also glad that my daughter and mother got to meet Johnnie and see in person why I considered her a great friend.

I will miss her dearly and will be thinking about her often. The Z world has a big hole in it, that I’m not sure can be filled. She was one of a kind and I’m thankful that she made room for me to be a little part of her life these past 18 years.

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COVID-19 TAKES A BACKSEAT

S T O R Y

A N D

P H O T O S

O P E N I N G

S P R E A D

P H O T O

B Y B Y

A R T

S I N G E R

G E O R G E

A S L I N G E R

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2020 Celebrating 50 years of the Z was a major challenge at this years 33rd Annual ZCON in Nashville, TN. With COVID-19 dominating the news for the previous seven months, it seemed that for the first time in 33 years there might not be a convention.

But the ZCCA did a great job of making it happen.

The host hotel was pretty strict with the COVID19 restrictions, but we soon found out the town of Franklin was much more relaxed. In fact, one restaurant we visited had no social distancing and known of the employees wore masks. Almost looked normal. We were a group of eight at our table and in the end, known of us got sick.

To start off the event, the Suds-n-Shine, Opening Banquet and the Texas Chili Party, all held on the first day helped everyone to get comfortable in their new surroundings.

The Judged Car Show was held at the Barn at Sycamore Farms. The heat was actually not that bad. Yes, there was humidity, but it was bearable.

There were about 90 cars being judged with ample space for everyone to setup displays. There was a nice variety of older Z’s including a ZAPPP-Z, a 300ZX Anniversary Edition, a 280ZX-R and a 300ZX SMZ to name a few. For the third time since the start of awarding the Gold Cup, there were three winners: Jeff Mader with his 1970 240Z, Shane Abernathy with his 1995 300ZX SMZ, and Dale Mueller with his 2003 350Z.

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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: • • • • •

240/260/280 coupes and 2+2 frame rails optional rear rails replacement OEM style seat brackets front sway bar strengthening plates single jack point plates

REAR RAIL

FRAME RAIL

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

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2020 The

track

day

was

held

at

NCM

Motorsports Park along with a karting competition amongst the attendees. The track looked to be a place to test drive a newly purchased Corvette.

There were quite a few parked in rows and shrink wrapped in white with bows on them. The venue was not really viewing friendly since most of the track couldn’t be seen from the bleachers. But there were a couple of spots to get some decent pictures.

During the lunch break, a parade lap and photo op was arranged. I would take a guess that over 100 participants showed up with their Z cars to get in the group shot and take a parade lap. Greg Ira and Bill Coffey brought their race cars from Florida entertained the crowd with some spirited lapping.

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2020 One of the best parts of attending a ZCON is the chance to catch up with Z friends from all over the country. As with all major Z events, it’s no different than a family reunion. And you also have the opportunity to meet Z owners attending for the first time.

The “Hump DaZe” social event was something new added to the 2020 event calendar this year, and looked to be a hit with everyone who attended. I’m pretty sure the open bar had something to do with that.

The annual Texas Chili Party was held the opening night of the convention. This is one of the longest running events of ZCON and has been sponsored by Courtesy Nissan out of Richardson, TX and hosted by the Z Club of Texas (ZCoT).

Masks were optional outside of the hotel and attendees seemed to be comfortable not wearing them as shown in the pictures on these couple of pages. The good thing is, I didn’t hear of anyone getting the virus from the event, thank goodness.

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The People’s Choice Car Show was held on Saturday, the last full day of the convention. It was by far the most attended event of the week. There were between 150 to 200 cars on display with a large number of vendors on hand selling their wares. Other then people wearing masks, you would have never known there was an epidemic going on.

In the early part of the day there were two car shows going on at the same time, ZCON and a Cars and Coffee event just across the parking lot. It was pretty crazy there for a while, but great to see so many nice cars in one area.

A lot of the Z people that showed up for the Peoples Choice show were attending for just this event. Holding the show on a Saturday gives Z owners who live in the area, but couldn’t get the time off, a chance to participate in the event.

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IN PICTURES

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There were two events that I really enjoyed this year. One was a scheduled event at ZCON and one that was an optional “word of mouth” event.

The scheduled event was the unveiling of the Nissan Z Proto at the Graystone Quarry via video conference linkup direct from Japan. Nissan put on quite a show. It was like a concert but without the band. A DJ took its place along with free food and drink with goodie bags for everyone. There was also the chance to see some of Nissan’s Z collection outside of the Lane Automotive Museum. It was nice to see Nissan coordinate with the ZCCA to have the Z Reveal at the same time that ZCON was in full swing.

The unscheduled event was a visit to Duncan Imports in Smyrna, TN. It is basically a car dealership that deals in imported cars from Japan. You could spend hours looking at all the cars and surprisingly there were some that were reasonably priced.

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AROUND THE CURVE ZCCM is 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 505-835-9170 for more information on how your club can become a partner.

• Partner Club Directory Arizona Desert Z Association Location: Phoenix, AZ Contact: George Geringer Email: dza@desertzassocation.com Website: desertzassociation.com California Group Z Sports Car Club Location: Southern California Contact: Ian Stewart - President Email: ian@groupz.com Website: groupz.com Z Club of San Diego Location: San Diego, CA Contact: Chuck Golden Email: chucksbarandgrill@cox.net Website: zcsd.org Z Owners of Northern California Location: Northern California Contact: Linda Williams - President Email: pres@zonc.org Phone: 408-761-1869 Website: zonc.org Colorado Z Car Club of Colorado Location: Denver & surrounding area Contact: Jason Spegal Email: jspegal@spegalnetworks.net Website: zccc.org Connecticut Connecticut Z Car Club Location: Connecticut & surrounding area Contact: Ross Williams Email: officers@ctzcc.com Website: ctzcc.com Illinois Windy City Z Club Location: Chicago Metro Area Contact: Ty Ozgen Email: tyozgen@gmail.com Phone: 630-910-3616 Website: windycityzclub.com

Indiana Indy Z Club Location: Indianapolis, IN Contact: Scott Caylor - President Email: IZCC@indyzcarclub.org Phone: 317-698-8144 Website: indyzcarclub.org Kentucky Bluegrass Z Car Club Location: Louisville, KY Contact: Bill Edens - President Email: bzcc@bellsouth.net Phone: 502-241-3812 Website: bluegrasszcarclub.com Missouri Ozarks Z Club Location: Springfield, MO Contacts: Josh Lyman - President Email: Ozarkszclubprez@gmail.com Phone: 417-597-0872 Facebook.com/groups/ozarkszclub New Hampshire Z Car Club of New England Location: New Hampshire Contact: John Jeffries - President Email: john@baddogparts.com Phone: 617-510-2694 Website: zccne.org New Mexico Albuquerque Z Car Club Location: Albuquerque Metro Area Contact: Nelson Ackerman Email: nlackerman1@aol.com Phone: 505-239-6833 Facebook: Albuquerque Z Car Club New York Z Association of New York Location: Upstate New York Contact: Mike Roth Email: rothm@srgarch.com Phone: 518-857-5026 Website: zanyz.com

North Carolina Triad Z Club Location: Greensboro, Winston-Salem, High Point Contact: Matthew Ragan - President Email: president@triadzclub.com Phone: 336-399-0961 Website: triadzclub.com Triangle Z Club Location: Raleigh, NC Contact: Bud Hansen - President Email: budhansenus@hotmail.com Phone: 919-215-2698 Website: trianglezclub.com Ohio Cleveland Z Club Location: Northern Ohio Contact: Karen Karl - President Email: kmk@bricekarl.com Website: Clevelandzclub.com Z Car and Roadster Owners Club Location: Central Ohio Contact: Jessica Padavana Email: jessica.padavana@gmail.com Phone: 614-315-1955 Website: zroc.org Oklahoma Oklahoma Z car Club Location: Tulsa and Oklahoma City Contact: Pete Pitchford Email: petepitchford@gmail.com Phone: 405-612-1146 Website: okzcc.com Tennessee Middle Tennessee Z Club Location: Central Tennessee Contact: Bob McGehee Email: rmcgehee22@gmail.com or mtzclub@gmail.com Phone: 615-260-5669 Website: middletennesseezclub.com

Texas Cowtown Z Club Location: Ft Worth and Arlington Area Contact: Mike Brunner Email: mtbrunner14@hotmail.com Phone: 817-441-6471 Website: cowtownzclub.com Z Club of Texas Location: Dallas Metro Area Contact: “Mad” Mike Taylor Email: zmadmike@airmail.net Phone: 214-533-0922 Website: zcluboftexas.org Virginia Tidewater Z Car Club Location: Eastern Virginia Contact: Todd Wagner Email: zfixers@cox.net Phone: 757-851-8098 Website: tzccva.org Z Car Club of Northern Virginia Location: Tysons Corner Contact: Bernie Bilski Email: yugobernie@cox.net Website: zcarclubnova.org Washington Z Car Club of Washington Location: Washington State Contact: ZCCW Officers Email: officers@zccw.org Website: http://zccw.org/zccw/ Facebook: Z Car Club of Washington Members Web Based Z Car Clubs Classic Zcar Club Location: Internet Contact: Mike Gholson Website: classiczcars.com

Smokey Mountain Z Car Club Location: Eastern Tennessee Contact: Tony Price Email: tonyprice1@yahoo.com Phone: 865-681-7986 Website: smokymountainzcarclub.com

UPCOMING EVENTS Due to COVID-19 no national Z events have been scheduled for the rest of 2020 and early 2021.

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SU’S RETURN OLD OR NEW SCHOOL, THE CHOICE IS YOURS

SU ‘roundtop’ carbs were first developed for Nissan in the 1960’s by SU Carrburetter Ltd. Due to stricter emission standards, the roundtops were replaced in 1973 by more emissions friendly Hitachi flat top carbs which in turn were replaced by fuel injection. SU Carburetter Ltd. decided to produce a limited supply of the origional ‘roundtops’. These are the exact same carbs from the 1970’s but with upgraded hoses and gaskets to be able to tolorate ethanol.

SU Carburetter Ltd. also developed a more advanced set of SU’s for your Z car.

The 2019 edition (ABF973) can be installed in about 2 hours and includes an integrated enrichment valve for easier cold starts, a dual pass through fuel feed system that helps balance fuel levels between carbs, an integrated float system that resists vapor lock and a dyno tested needle configuration that allows you to drive easily around town without sacrificing performance. Both versions are new in the box and require no core charges or exchanges.

HIF44 velocity stacks for the 2019 Roundtop are a traditional race track option that looks great on the street. A mounting system has been developed to handle deep K&N filters.

HIF44 - $100 a pair plus shipping

Classic Roundtops - $975 plus shipping

ABF973 - $1175 plus shipping

Turn key installation available at Choice Auto Repair, Raleigh NC 919-233-0033 For more info visit: roundtopfuelsystems.com

ZEDD FINDINGS Zedd Findings has been selling the Z & ZX floors, front frame rails along with the lower rear panel for over 25 years. We have recently added the inner rocker panels for the 1970 to 1978 Z cars, as well as much more to Z enthusiasts all over the world.

“Small enough to listen - large enough to service” Replica Z & ZX Floor Systems, Front Frame Rails and Rear Lower Panel

240Z Floors

280Z Floors

Inner Rocker Panel-Inside Inner Rocker Panel-Outside

280ZX Floors

Lower Rear Panel

Front frame Rail-Inside

Front frame Rail-Outside

Zedd Findings

603 Compass Court, Kingston, Ontario K7M 8V9, Canada Telephone/Fax: 613-389-1397 • Cell: 613-539-7966 • Email: zeddfind@kos.net Domain: www.datsunzparts.com or www.datsunzparts.ca

Operator/Owner: Charles Osborne

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