240Z Project Car: An Introduction

For the longest while I was a Mustang guy and then a Supra guy. Worked on a few projects for other people, with my first project car of my own being an 89 MKIII Supra with a twin turbo 1JZ conversion.  At some point I'll reminisce about that car and make a post. Back to the story - during my Supra days, I met up with a guy who had a 2JZ in a 510 wagon, and from that day forward, I have been enamored with Datsuns.  I attended Canby, Oregon's awesome summer Datsun show, and knew right away I needed a 240Z.

Life didn't permit me getting one, but through some car-guy-osmosis my best friend who wasn't living in an apartment caught the bug, and bought a '73 from somewhere up north of Seattle for $500.  More on that car at another time.  Fast forward a few years, and I'm finally at a place professionally, personally, and financially to get my own Z.  Spent months browsing Craigslist and eBay for listings, most everything found within 300 miles of Charlotte was a total rust bucket or an already completed project way out of my price range, and far away from what I wanted.

I wanted to build something from the ground up. Not a concourse grade restoration, but a long term project to tinker on, to be able to use what I'd spent years learning how to do and to keep it for myself. To really embrace the joys and journey of building your own car.  Oh, and because I'd been on HybridZ lurking for about 6 years already.

I finally found this car on Craiglist, in Virgina - the ad said it was a mostly rust free car that had been a family toy for generations. It had a restoration started years earlier, but never finished due to illness.  The seller seemed like a nice guy, provided lots of pictures and background info, and the price was right. So what the heck - got a couple buddies and a trailer and went on a little adventure.