What's the longest trip you've made in your Z?

[Goose52]

A round trip from Southern California to Pennslyvania and back in the '74 and '75 time period (had the car on blocks in PA while I was stationed in Japan). This was in a '72 240 with no airconditioning and a 5 speed with an R-190 diff with 4.44 gears - a bit "buzzy" but manageable. Otherwise - shorter trips in the '70s from the LA area to Yuma, Las Vegas, Reno, etc.

Haven't put more than 200 miles at a time on it in the past 25 years. However, I will be moving from Cal to Tennessee next year and plan on driving the car across for one last cross-country trip (about 2,000 miles). With no airconditioning, no cruise control, and with a stiff suspension, it will not be as much fun at age 55 as it was at age 25!

As Carl said - to be in your 20s again...

Wayne

[bigoak]

2 trips of note...one for each Z...

1987 300ZX

Friday March 23, 2007 - Sunday March 25, 2007: 1171.5 km's each way from Sharon, ON (just north of Toronto) to Bristol, TN to see the NASCAR Food City 500 (insert mullet joke here). Stepping on the ice to play hockey Friday at noon, I get a call from some buddies who were down for the race and one of the group who was supposed to fly in had to cancel...extra ticket. Finish the hockey game, get a quick oil change in the '87 300ZX and at 3:00 p.m. off to the races. Arrived at the campground at 3:00 a.m. having driven through torrential downpours from Pittsburgh through the mountains in West Virginia (visibility about 10 feet...). It was a very warm and humid night. This is when I found out I had a vacuum issue in the 300ZX and under hard acceleration would lose vacuum pressure to the heating/A/C system. Going up the hills in the mountains, the A/C would click over to full heat/defrost. Not very pleasant but a fun ride nonetheless. Same ride back on Sunday, but one of my buddies hopped in for company and much better weather (open windows, no A/C).

1971 240Z

Saturday June 9th: Approximately 700km tour of the North with the Ontario Z Car Owners Association in my '71 240Z. Simply an awesome run on an awesome day. 12 Z cars on the tour

including my '71, 3 '72's (one with an RB26 swap), 1 280Z (nicknamed BulletZ because it was bought from a police impound as a drug dealer forfeiture and had 13 bullet holes in it and still had 2 bullets in the headliner...also a pretty quick little car...),

2 280ZX's, an '86 Z31, 2 Z32's, 1 350Z and a G35. The highlight of the drive was county road 13:

Simply awesome...

Cheers,

[sblake01]

Thats the great thing about the Z very easy to fix if you have any skills at all.

I like hearing someone else say that as I've said that myself many times. I always tell my wife the I 'get' Datsun. I've worked on other cars but my success rate is much higher with Datsuns, at least with the ones I've owned.

[jayhawk]

Discharged from active duty at NAS Whidbey Island in 1974, I drove my 1973 240Z from Oak Harbor, Washington, to Vancouver, to Victoria (sightseeing), to Banff (visit a cousin) across the Trans-Canadian highway to Winnipeg, down to Chicago (visit my brother), then to Kansas City (visit parents), then to Huntington Beach, CA for the job I had there at McDonnell Douglas Astronautics.

Spend a night at a lodge in Banff National Park, got a speeding ticket from the RCMP near Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan (was allowed to continue and mail in the fine later! - which I did!), cheap motel in Regina, SK, slept in the car at a rest stop outside Minneapolis, then at relatives or motels thereafter.

Canada was great fun. I thought of taking the ferry from Vancouver to Prince Rupert (near the border with Alaska) but decided I needed to get going east. Should have done that - would have been a neat trip.

Used the Z as my daily driver in California (and 3 years in Georgia) until 1992, finally got it back inside my garage a couple of weeks ago to begin the full restoration.

Maybe I'll take it back to Canada and do that ferry to Prince Rupert someday!

--jayhawk

Orginal Owner, 1973 240Z HLS30-125678

[Carl Beck]

Haven't put more than 200 miles at a time on it in the past 25 years. However, I will be moving from Cal to Tennessee next year and plan on driving the car across for one last cross-country trip (about 2,000 miles). With no airconditioning, no cruise control, and with a stiff suspension, it will not be as much fun at age 55 as it was at age 25!

As Carl said - to be in your 20s again...

Wayne

Hi Wayne:

If you haven't already done so - I would highly recommend that you bolt a good drivers seat in the old 240-Z before that trip. Ship the stock seat back to Tenn. With a good seat providing the needed support 12 hours behind the wheel at a time becomes a pleasure again. Oh and take your iPod with both talking books and music... Above all stay alert!

FWIW,

Carl B.

[WarrenZ]

Back in 2003 I drove my 73 240 on return trip Melbourne to Adelaide, 1200 miles. It never missed a beat, only problem was it was the middle of aussie summer and it was 90 F and no aircon. Man it was hot.

Cheers

Warren

[Goose52]

Hi Wayne:

If you haven't already done so - I would highly recommend that you bolt a good drivers seat in the old 240-Z before that trip. ...

FWIW,

Carl B.

I had the stock seat re-done last year - the seating surface is now pretty nice and is better than stock. Of course, we don't have the adjustable lumbar support that we have on our newer cars ... but in the old days I handled that by shaping a towel behind my back. Wife will be with me (she's a trooper but I don't think she really knows what she's getting herself into!) and we will do it in 4 easy days. I'm looking forward to it really but the first day will certainly be a re-education back to a simpler driving experpience as compared to the airconditioned, cruise-controlled comfort that many of us are now used to for the long haul drives. Only really bad thing is that I might have to make the trip in the June to August time frame - will have both more traffic and more heat!

Thanks for the tips.

[daddz]

I have to do this in date order as I have made long trips in many Z's and ZX's over the years:

2001: The old '77 280Z went from Southern, Md. to Daytona Beach, Fl. for the Rolex 24 and then to Myrtle Beach, S.C. on the way back.

2002: '86 300ZX went from Atlanta, Ga. to Md. and then from Md. to Rolex 24 in Daytona and Myrtle Beach on the way back.

2003: Picked up 350Z on Jan. 3, 2003 and left for Atlanta, Ga. to pick up a set of wheels--1400 miles in the first 24 hours of ownership.

2004: 350Z went from Md. to Daytona for the Rolex 24 and back to Md.

2004: 350Z went from Md. to Pensacola, Fl. by way of Atlanta to visit friend's parents in Gulf Breeze. Achieved 535 miles on one tank of gas on the way down at 8k miles.

2005: The beginning of many multiple roadtrips for the '81 280ZX, and the

350Z moves to Port Saint Lucie, Fl. and is now slumbering in the garage at 25,100 miles. The '81 280ZX makes the 940 mile trip on two tanks of gas and 14.5 hours straight through driving.

2005: The '82 280ZX makes the trip from Huntington Beach, Ca. to Port Saint Lucie, Fl. in three days--2800 miles.

2006: The '86.2 300ZX makes the trip from Sherman Oaks, Ca. to Port Saint Lucie, Fl. in three days. It sits from March until August and then makes the journey to Md.

2006: '86.1 300ZX makes two trips to Florida from Md. --Thanksgiving and Christmas. During the Christmas trip on the way down in South Carolina a 4 day old alternator locks up adding 14 hours to thr trip while a new alternator is installed.

2007: '86.1 has made two trips to Florida so far this year. The '81 280ZX has made one trip from Florida to Md. and will probably be heading back in the next week or so.

There have been other road trips in non-Z cars over the years but the Z and ZX are pretty good travel companions. It has been awhile since any of my S30's have made any long trips and it is just about time to get them into the mix again. It would be nice to get the '70 240Z running again and take her on a long road trip.

[240znz]

My longest trip is tiny when compared to yours guys, but none the less, it was a bit of a interesting journey as it was also my first drive.

Auckland to Christchurch (New Zealand) is only 465 miles. However, it contains such diverity as boiling mud, snow capped active volcano's, long boring straights, a three hour ferry across Cook Strait (a nasty bit of water), vinyards, a twisty coastal highway, zed heaven hills and more boring straights.

I also had just flown up to Auckland with cash in my pocket to buy a car that I had never seen nor ever driven in a zed before.....nuts? Somewhat, yes.

Met the guy, drove it, bought it. Checked the oil, changed the fuel filter, purchased some radiator gluey gunge just in case it had pinholes and set off down the line. Great power, nice ride but it popped out of 5th when you put the boot up it. Got high onto the desert road and it began to snow, turned on the heater and nothing (control wires bent behind selector), turned on the wipers, what a mistake that was (wiper blades shot and the pivot rubber grommets were gone resulting in the pivots corroded to bits hence wiper speed issue).

Back into fine weather and now the boring starights, pulled the hand trottle and nothing, not connected (wise previous owner). Got dark so on with the excellent H4's, fantastic vision but no dash lights. Stopped and contorted to find that the reostat fell apart when I finally got my hand to it. So the remained of the evening was spend driving with a glove on my right knee cause the vent was stuck open full, a mini maglight being used to check guages every 5 or so minutes and speed was regulated by the whine from the diff at 65mph. Magic. Finally got to Wellington and stopped in a mates place for a few cold ones, dinner and bed. Oh not before emptying the car as the hatch lock was stuffed so the car was effectively open. Not too bad I thought.

Next morning frosty, no heater....hmmmm, managed to follow my mate to the ferry terminal and waited as it waited for mechanical repairs to be completed. Ferries are never on time are they. The day warmed up and curred the frosting and condensation issue. Ferry trip was flat across the islands and arrived in Picton not feeling like throwing up too much.

Drag race to the closet petrol station then the last 4 hours of magestic winding road down the Kaikoura coast to Christchurch. There are a set of hills called the Hunderlee's. I went up, turned around, went down and repeated as I was now I was totally into the car.

Finally got home to Christchurch with a huge smile and sore arse. Then the work started and hasn't stopped yet.

[Darbji280z]

I drove mine 20 miles home after i bought it. But our journey has just begun.

[gogriz91]

2 X DC to Missoula MT, once over New Years, once on the 20th of Dec. Took my 260 the first time, had to stop at a gas station next to the Corn Palace and put every stitch of clothing I owned on because the heater couldn't generate hot air! Same time of year in my 240 and the heater worked great???

[Arne]

About 400 miles round trip is the max so far for me, but I've only had a road worth example for about 8 months.

Say, does 2500 miles in a '74 B210 count? Done that!! (In 1977.)