Me & My Z - 45th Anniversary

[Goose52]

Today, September 13, 2017, is the 45th anniversary of my ownership of my Z-Car. If someone told me when I first bought the car that I would have it for 45 years I would have said “you’re nuts”!  Most of what follows is copied from the similar thread that I started on the 40th anniversary ( http://www.classiczcars.com/topic/44418-me-my-z-40th-anniversary/?tab=comments#comment-402126   )  and updated to cover the past 5 years. This is the story of the car…

I read the road test of the 240Z in the April 1970 issue of Road&Track magazine and recognized the car as a great value. Then, in 1971 I visited my brother down in Miami and he pulls up in a blue 1970 Z - so that was my first ride. Between the article and that ride, I said to myself: I should get one of these someday...

Bought my Z new in 1972 while in the Marines, using a re-enlistment bonus to pay cash for the car. Had a BRE/Interpart header, spook, and rear spoiler installed by the dealer at delivery. After I had the car for a while, drove up to the BRE/Interpart shop in El Segundo, CA and bought the Mulholland suspension package. In ’73, put in a hotter cam. Also in ’73 I put in the Interpart TC kit. In ’74, bought a new WR OD 5-speed, driveshaft, and R-190 LSD w/4.44 gears from Datsun Comp ($575 through a mechanic friend at a dealer). The car scooted pretty good with that gearing. Car was up on blocks for a year while I was stationed in Japan in late ’74 into ’75. 

By 1977, I wanted more power, so skipped the triple carb scene and went with a 331ci SB Chevy – 11:1 forged, cam, Edelbrock Tarantula manifold, 650 Holley double-pump carb, headers. Had to pull the R-190/4.44 out and put a R-180/3.36 in for the V-8 (the R-180 lasted while the V-8 was in). In 1978, I had the Acra-Trac front suspension mod installed (who remembers Acra-Trac?). Sometime during this period, I had the short steering knuckles put in.

After 5 years with the V-8, I got married, needed a better transportation car, and was getting caught up with smog/legal issues with the swap, so in 1982, put in an L-28 with just a slightly hotter cam, and another Datsun Comp 5-speed. In 1983, the R-180 pinion gear finally failed while I was doing a spirited 1-2 shift (must have been something to do with the V-8 service!) so put in an R-200/3.54. Also in 1983 I made the +1 upgrade to 15” wheels.

In ‘86/’87, did a moderate refresh of the car – went through the mechanicals, had it repainted original color (901 silver). Then, didn’t do much but drive and enjoy it for nearly 20 years. In late 2005, I started a mechanical refresh again (mostly suspension). In December 2005 (unfortunately) the head cracked and I had an oil pan full of coolant – so, an unplanned engine rebuild. As long as the engine was apart, went with flat-top pistons and a hotter cam. In January ’06, decided to go to the MSA show, so I worked on the cosmetics a bit and finally refreshed the interior. In 2007 I installed Z-Therapy carbs with SM needles. After those refreshes and rebuilds, I figured the car would be ready for another 20 years of trouble-free driving. 

In 2008, I moved from Southern California to rural Tennessee. I had planned to drive the Z across but couldn’t make that work with the household move so it was shipped to TN.  Since the move, the car is used mostly to get me to my local fishing lakes, but occasionally I take it for a spin down a deserted country lane and blow it out with a couple of fast runs. 

Over all this time, the car has only been out of service (not counting the year on blocks while I was in Japan) for about 6-7 weeks due to engine swaps/rebuilds, paint, etc. It was a daily driver for the first 17 years, about a “twice a week” driver for the next 17, and has been about a “once a week” driver for the past 11 years.  It’s been a long, but fun, 45 years of ownership.

Future plans?  Five years ago on the 40th anniversary I reported that perhaps I would reverse some of the mods I made to the car over 40-45 years ago (mostly non-stock instrumentation and other interior mods). That at some point in the future, with upper body strength diminishing, I’d have to consider pulling out the quick steering knuckles and putting stock ones back in, along with perhaps a larger diameter steering wheel, to reduce the steering effort. I haven’t done any of that. I’m 65 now and can still turn the wheel (although parking is a bear) so no changes to the car yet. I just keep driving it and “enjoy the ride”…  A problem that will continue to get worse over the future years may be finding appropriate performance tires for 15” wheels (of course, as I age, perhaps I shouldn’t be exploring the capabilities of performance rubber!). Otherwise, the car is mostly good to go – let’s see how much longer we stay together…!
 

[Goose52]

Also from that 40th Anniversary thread, board member "psdenno" posted this comment:  "... it might be interesting if we all shared our memories when we hit a milestone date - things like what other cars we considered before buying the Z, what we traded in for the Z, what was the dealership like, waiting list, what we've done to our Zs over the decades, and Z adventures."  In response to that, I posted these memories:

Other cars considered? A crazy list which I still remember. I had re-enlisted in the Marines and was sitting on $8000 after taxes - a tidy sum in 1972...and of course I was prepared to blow it all - who needs to invest for the future when you're that young! So, my list was: Jaguar XKE V-12, Lotus Elan+2, Corvette LT-1, Porsche 911, and Pantera. A wildcard was a used Ferrari (they used to depreciate pretty fast back then). Some of those I would have had to finance and didn't want to do that. At the end of the day, I went with the most practical selection - the Z. Of course - all those other cars would be worth MUCH more now - but I probably wouldn't have been able to afford to keep them this long...

Car traded in? A 1969 Datsun 510 wagon (wish I still had that).

Dealership experience? A guy named Ron Marsh was the saleman - a nice enough guy - but then all he had to do was process the sale. NO negotiation on price - full sticker plus the options they loaded the car with: AC, mag wheels, undercoating, front bumper guard.

Waiting list? By September '72, at least in Southern California, they were JUST about caught up. There was only a single car at the dealer in the showroom (an Ontario Motor Speedway pace car replica as I recall). So, I had to wait for the next shipment to the dealer. Four cars came in - they called the next 4 people on the list and I was #4 so I only waited a few weeks. A coincidence that when I got the call to come to the dealer, it was my birthday - Happy Birthday to me! The only choice the 4 people on the list got was color. 1st on the list got first pick, then down from there. By the time it got to me the only color left was silver...and that was fine with me.

Z-mods over the years? In my original bio above.

Z adventures? Gosh - that would be a whole 'nother thread. Some random thoughts: Driving the car a hundred miles a day a number of times when I first got it - just couldn't stop - and gas was 35cents/gal back then. Driving the car to the east coast and back to SoCal in '74 and '75. Getting TWO speeding tickets on the same day - trying to win the Yuma to El Toro Grand Prix. When the V-8 was in - blowing off the outside rear view mirror while doing about 145 way out in the middle of nowhere in northern Nevada. The pits that are in my windshield happened on that trip as well. Same trip - being in a windstorm and opening the door of the car - it gets yanked out of my hand and the door got sprung - have a problem with the drivers door to this day. Also with the V-8 - getting caught by CHP while top ended (145) - but he only wrote me for simple speeding at 99mph - he gave me the "military discount." Every important person in my adult life has ridden in the Z. Coming in hot on a left turn, a little moisture on the road I wasn't counting on, went to 10.5 tenths, started to spin, and hit a sharp curb - toasted the rear suspension and cracked the right rear mag. Enjoying lots of country drives. Transportation car - back and forth to the range or to the lakes. The "sleeper" aspect of the V-8 - blew off lots of expensive cars. The quickness of the car with the 4.44 gears - drove a 289 Mustang nuts for a few lights in a row - just from the light up to the 45 speed limit. Driving southbound on 395 from Reno back to LA at night - mostly all two-lane back then - on the first day of a 3-day weekend - every car in LA was headed northbound - blinding lights for hundreds of miles - most miserable drive ever. And on, and on, and on - 45 years is a long time.

Before I forget - the greatest Z adventure was when the Z saved my life. Probably in the mid- to late-90s, I was heading into an intersection - I had the green light, it was a 55mph zone and I was right-on 55. Just as I'm getting close to the intersection, a car headed towards me made a left turn RIGHT in front of me. Somehow, the Z moved sideways to the left, then sideways back to the right. I cleared the other car by what seemed like inches...maybe not, but it was REAL close. I pulled over to the side of the road, stopped, and my hands were shaking on the wheel. A guy pulled up behind me and said "whoa - you alright - I've never seen a car turn like that" (or something like that). I said I was ok. Got calmed down a bit, started the Z back up and drove off. I don't think I would have made it in a stock Z - I think the suspension and hi-po tires saved me big time. Had I been in another car...I don't think I'd be typing this now...

 

Edited September 13, 2017 by Goose52

[Hardway]

Congratulations Goose on 45 years of ownership!  Thank you for posting all of this up and sharing your experiences with us.  I have loved reading this and I have learned something too.  The '72 240z I just purchased has an Interpart 3x carb intake manifold on it and have been trying to find some info about it.  Interesting to see that BRE sold Interpart stuff and I had no idea they offered so much more back in the day.  Keep the good times rolling with your Z! 

[Goose52]

1 hour ago, Hardway said:

Congratulations Goose on 45 years of ownership!  Thank you for posting all of this up and sharing your experiences with us.  I have loved reading this and I have learned something too.  The '72 240z I just purchased has an Interpart 3x carb intake manifold on it and have been trying to find some info about it.  Interesting to see that BRE sold Interpart stuff and I had no idea they offered so much more back in the day.  Keep the good times rolling with your Z! 

It was the other way around. Interpart was originally a marketing arm of BRE to sell BRE-developed products. Interpart later expanded to sell products for other makes of cars but the focus was always on Datsun vehicles.  When I drove up to El Segundo to get parts, Interpart was just another door in the same industrial building that housed BRE.

Regarding your manifold - here's the catalog page from the August 1972 Interpart catalog for the triple Mikuni set for the 240Z:

[jonathanrussell]

Really enjoyed your story about owning your 240z. Thanks for sharing. Your story caused me to think about some things. My dad bought his 72 240z in 73, slightly used, and paid as much as a new one. He put 190,000 miles on that car driving all over the southeast for his job. I drove a 280z during high school in the early 80s and put probably 30,000 miles on that car. My point is that reading your story and thinking about my dad's ownership makes me want to drive a 240z every day. Most of us, yes there are some exceptions, will never know what it is like to put that many miles on one of these cars and really experience all there is to know about the car. I find myself paranoid about letting it get wet. My dad drove his in the rain all the time. Funny....

Anyway, enjoyed the story. Take care.

[Obie 280Z]

Thanks for sharing your story. I am new to this forum and enjoying all the info. You and I are about the same age, 63 and I am on my third Z. A 1977 and 79 when I was much younger and a little more crazy. Now with my second 77 that I have owned since 2000. Having a lot of fun once again restoring it. Thanks again for sharing.


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[psdenno]

Great narrative.  I look forward to the next installment in a few years.  Coming up on 46 years with my Z  in November and can appreciate reading about your Z adventures.

Dennis

[gundee]

Goose52, After reading this I realized my 40th year of ownership of my 72 was last year. Purchased 6/17/76. That 40 years went way too fast. 

Enormous list of changes over the years but have kept the body stock except for front and rear spoiler. Only one repaint over 20 years ago.

I even have the very same front spoiler as yours. It has never once left me stranded. Sold my Triumph TR6 at the time so I could purchase the Z. 

[Goose52]

For all of us that have owned our Z's for MANY years - remember that the "story" is that we bought our cars when we were 12 years old, using money we earned on our (very long) paper routes. Dang, we couldn't even legally drive them until we got our license...

(you don't want people to think we're REALLY old... )

[dmorales-bello]

Great life experiences that incorporate your Z in so many ways. Wonderful read. I always regretted selling my 77 after 4 years of wonderful ownership and 30,000 miles of experiences that drove me to want another Z in recurrent dreams for many years until I found my '78 a few years ago. Thanks for sharing and allowing me to imagine all that I missed. Keep racking up stories for the 50th anniversary! Take care Goose.

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[esmit208]

Great story Goose. I only hope to share my story like that someday. Stories like this truly inspire me to keep forging ahead. Currently under going corrosion treatment and replacement 

Edited September 18, 2017 by esmit208
Addition

[Dogariffic]

Really enjoyed the read.  Thanks for sharing!

My son (16) now has his 280Z that we have been working on.....looking forward to him writing a similar story in 45 years, and me being around to read it!