I have just pulled my 1972 240Z, of which I am the original owner, back in the garage to re-assemble for transport to Les Cannaday for it's rebirth (restoration). This has caused me to lament on the life of a car, an oddessey if you like. A car which has been part of some of the fondest of memories and some of the saddest of memories. I have decided to start a thread sharing the restoration and telling the story of the life of my 1972 Datsun 240Z. It will be a story of 4 years of the original fast and furious and 30 years of good intentions without results. Come along for the ride, if you wish, let me know what you think of the idea be it, in your opinion, trite or intriguing.

Oiluj,

Great question! I am starting to wonder why I didn’t finish it myself. It all started when Les contacted me about my 70 Z (000029). I sent him so photos and he noticed my 72 in the back of my garage. When I explained that I was the original owner and had parked it in 1976 and worked to restore it on and off for 30 years he offered to make me a deal I could not refuse. I sometimes wish I had finished it myself but I could never seem to find the time. In the deal he gets 00029 and I actually will hate to see it go.

This explains a lot to me, the timeline is now clear. I certainly can check it out for you. You can rest assured that the work on this car will be 100% awesome. Les and Aaron do great work and they really do care about doing it right. The inspection you misssed will not be a problem. If I had the money and lack of time I would hire Les to restore my car as well. Work on your car will slow down this month because he is going to Monterey with Adam Corolla. Adam is racing the BRE roadster that Les and Aaron prepared. There is a funny carcast about this on Corolla's website....too funny. Good luck and see you in December then.

Can't wait to see the finished product.

Latest Photos from Les.

What an incredible story, you are a true Z hero sir!

She is looking beautiful by the way, I really cannot wait to see how she turns out, as I'm sure we all feel!

She is looking beautiful by the way, I really cannot wait to see how she turns out, as I'm sure we all feel!

Thanks, We have moved the pick up date back to March. My choice, don't need to bring it home in the middle of the winter in Indiana. Hope to make 2012 Z Con.

I just received photos of all of the parts back from powder coat and we are deciding on tires, possible slight lowering and possible change of wheels from the original 14" Libres to a set of 15" LeMans to open up more tire choices. jlp

Jerry,

After driving my '71 240Z Friday, I am starting to think about a nice restoration. It will will be going back with the 904 White and blue interior. I have a brand new in box dash for it. I have all of Les's blue plastic interior pieces for it too. Mechanically I think she is fine. It mostly needs some minor fender dents straightened and a nice paint job. I would really like Les to do the work but being on the east coast I am not sure I can afford it. I might also try to get her up to Guy's shop in Richmond VA. Their paint and body work seem to be top notch. It would be cool to have Les go through the car. I think he is the best Z car authority in the business. You can PM me if you want.

Just noticed you're from Richmond, did you know the ****man Rickman family? Change the R to a D as the smut checker won't let me post it with the D it just fills it with ****

Edited November 21, 201113 yr by Brubaker

The assembly process starts next week. I am getting excited. We are going to pick out tires this weekend. Any suggestions?

We have decided to stick with the 14"X5.5" AR Libres. They have been restored, I have attached photos. We also decided to stay with the stock ride height.

Just noticed you're from Richmond, did you know the ****man Rickman family? Change the R to a D as the smut checker won't let me post it with the D it just fills it with ****

Yes, I know the ****man family very well. Great family and community leaders.

Jerry

Just noticed you're from Richmond, did you know the ****man Rickman family? Change the R to a D as the smut checker won't let me post it with the D it just fills it with ****

How do you know them?

First, may I suggest that you have the mounting face on the back of the wheels stripped, machined or sanded to bare metal? Having that mating surface painted or coated can lead to lug nuts not staying tight.

Now - tires. We've got 14x5.5 wheels and stock ride height. That means you will need a tire close to stock diameter to not look stupid on the car (too much fender gap). Ideally, I'd say you want a 195/70-14 like I ran on my car. However, there isn't anything left in that size that has any performance capability by today's standards. They are pretty much all mini-van fodder. Then again, today's mini-van tires are probably much better than the typical 175HR14 of the early '70s.

So if you are OK with just normal tires, pick your favorite brand that has something available in 195/70-14 and go with it. I was running Toyo Eclipse on mine, because the tread design was much more conservative looking. Not really vintage look, but not today's wild directional stuff either. But I've heard that Toyo does not distribute the Eclipse line in all parts of the country, so YMMV.

If you are looking for something with some grip, but still tall enough to fill the fender gap as much as possible, there aren't many choices. If you aren't going to be driving the car much, you could try Hoosier Speedsters in 185/70-14 or 205/65-14. Either will fit the 5.5" rim. Hoosier recommends against street use, even though they are DOT marked. But if you look through the Sport Compact mags, lots of kids run DOT-R tires on the street all the time. So I doubt you'd have any serious issues with that. Just don't tell Hoosier...

How do you know them?

John married my sister in law. Great guy, heard many stories about the farm and the family.