Anybody's Z have an "interesting" history?

[astrohog]

I've owned my '71 240Z (12/70 build, HLS30 16896) for about 15 years, but it has mostly been in storage.  I'm starting the process to get it on the road as a safe driver so I can attend a few meets, etc..

  I finally took the time to read through the bag of paperwork that came with my car and along with the original owners manual I discovered that my car was purchased in March of '71 at Morris Motors (changed to Morris Nissan and now known as Charleston Nissan) in Charleston, SC, by A US Naval Academy graduate who became a nuclear submarine captain and he had the Z shipped with him as his command changed.  It was shipped to Scotland and Hawaii and finally, to Washington State where he was the Commanding Officer at the Bangor submarine base.  As far as I can tell, he (or his widow) sold the car to an artist who lived in a small, central Washington community and then it was sold again to a couple here in Bellingham, WA who I ended up buying it from.

I found it interesting that my car has travelled around the world and thought I'd start a thread for others who may be fortunate enough to know the history of their cars and may also have an interesting, unique story of the history of their cars.

[siteunseen]

I bought my '72 and got all the paperwork then realized I was the 3rd owner. A doctor bought it new then sold to his younger partner. His wife wrecked her Ford and partial payed with the 240. The body shop guy never titled it, never got it running and 10 plus years I rescued it from  Ford hell.

Now my garage queen awaits me whenever I have time. 

I'll give it to my favorite nephew which will wizz off my sister for choosing only him but we're good buddies, just alike aka "a little goofy" but loved by all.

 

[Terrapin Z]

I purchased my Z from an Air Force office who gave me an affidavit stating the car was bought new from Del Pranke Datsun in Gresham OR on 08-14-70 the car is stamped 6/70. The Officer bought it from the original owner in Nov 1972 and had it until I bought it June 2009, out of Camas WA. He has certified the car had 53,293 miles when he sold it to me, I drove it home to Centralia Wa where it has lived since. 

The odo is now 65K and I just added 224mi yesterday. 

[siteunseen]

The window sticker price breakdown from the dealership is my car's icing on the cake.

When anyone understands the importance of that they are car people in my opinion.

And it was $3,995 with the sports package, front and rear spoilers plus rocker stripes.

Edited September 11, 2022 by siteunseen

[Reptoid Overlords]

My ZX was bought at University Datsun in Seattle by a man who at least went to one Blizzard of Oz concert judging by the tickets found under one of the seats.

He divorced his wife in 2003, she ended up with the car, commuted to her work at a local grocery store until the rear wheel bearings made too much racket. She then parked it in a garage, over time piling boxes and old VHS tapes on it.

I found it when I worked for an appliance installation company when we replaced her garage freezer. She sold it to me for $200. I drove it home that day. It wasn't happy about it.

[Serban]

Don't know how interesting this is, but I got my 280Z back in 2013, car had 337k miles on it, the story was the original owner was an air force pilot who drove the car constantly from California to Florida. 1975 280Z California model. Currently has 352k on the clock.

[Jeff G 78]

Not sure how interesting it is, but one of my old Z's was a '72 that I had to sell back in 2003 when I was moving.  The new owner had it a few years and put a lot of money into it before he was forced by his wife to sell it.  The next buyer got a job transfer to France and he took the Z with him to Paris.  I lost track of him a while back, but it was cool to see my old Z with European plates in his yard.  @Lazeum was a member here, but I'm not sure if he still has the car or is active on this site.

[dutchzcarguy]

Haha funny stories.. My 240z once had 7-8 owners in half a year!! (or so.. if I.R.C. ) This was back in the early nineties, in the States..  haha it had a terrible floor and a lot of people fell for the nice red color of this turd!  I got some paperwork that came with it and on it are A LOT of names!

After that it was bought by a firm overhere in the Netherlands for peanuts i guess and someone bought it but never repaired it, then in 1998 i bought it and in 2000 i got it a licence plate and drove it, now for about 30000km or so..

[Racer X]

My first Z has a story, less about the car, and more about the guy I bought it from.

First, the car.

HLS3041924, build date 8/1/1971, originally red with black interior. In 1979 it began a life as a road race car, running ICSCC and SCCA events in the Pacific Northwest, with a Conference log book. It was in pretty sad shape when I got it, having 8 or 10 layers of paint, and 10 years of thrashing around road race courses in Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. It was lime green on the right side, bright blue on the left, and had an orange stripe down the middle.

The guy I bought it from is the story.

He had a reputation as a rolling chicane, never doing well with the car.

Some time before he decided to sell the car he had gotten divorced. It was a pretty messy affair. His ex wife had been messing around with his best friend, who was also the mechanic for the race car. She got the house, and the kids, and was shacking up with the now ex best friend.

Oh, and the house was next door to his parents house.

Oh, and she had a restraining order against him, and wouldn't let his see his kids.

So he couldn't see his kids, and couldn't visit his parents because they were too close to her.

The day I looked at the car to see if a deal could be made, he was edgy. Wearing a windbreaker, I noticed one pocket hanging very low, as if it had something very heavy in it. Indeed, at some point during our conversation, he mentioned the ex wife, ex friend, parents, restraining order, and mumbled something about having a solution, and patting the extra heavy pocket on his jacket.

We made a deal, I returned the next day, paid him, did paperwork, loaded the car up and went home.

A day or two later I saw a news story about some guy in Puyallup that had gone to his ex wife's home, shot her, their kids, her boyfriend, and then himself. I was about to dismiss it as more of the crazy stuff that is always in the news in Pierce County when they mentioned his name.

It was the guy I bought the race car from.

 

 

 

[foosman]

I can't top Racer X's story, but the 1977 we have is a recovered stolen car.  The thief pulled all the VIN/ID plates, ground off the firewall VIN, repainted the persimmon red car maroon, and put generic Datsun wheel covers and 240z bumpers on it.  Apparently his "disguise" wasn't enough to keep him from getting pinched.