The original Datsun Z car has become a classic car legend, a purpose-built sports coupe that began as the 240Z in 1969 and ended with the 280Z in 1978. The sleek, attractive car was known in Japan as the Fairlady Z and Nissan dubbed that original body style the S30. It was conceived of by Yutaka Katayama, the President of Nissan Motor Corporation U.S.A., and designed by a team led by Yoshihiko Matsuo, the head of Nissan's Sports Car Styling Studio. The long hood, deep headlight buckets and fastback design were revolutionary for a Japanese car of that time, and its classic proportions and overall flow of design have quite clearly stood the test of time. As a halo car for Nissan (or Datsun as it was then known in the US), the 240Z was pivotal in broadening the acceptance of Japanese car makers in the US beyond their historical “econobox” image. Datsun's growing dealer network—compared to limited production imported sports cars manufactured by Jaguar, BMW, Porsche, Alfa Romeo, and Fiat—ensured both easy purchase and ready maintenance, and the car was an overnight sensation.
This 1976 280Z was purchased by the current owner in 1979 as the first car he ever bought, and it was used as his daily driver for almost 20 years, primarily in CA. In 1999, he decided to take the car off the road for a cosmetic restoration, as well as some mechanical upgrading and modernization. In addition to replacing the original dash, seats, carpet, and other bits in the interior, the naturally aspirated L28 fuel injected inline 6-clyinder engine was replaced by a rebuilt L28ET Turbo sourced from a 1982 280ZX Turbo chassis, which was a common swap done in the late 1990’s for S30 Z’s. Along with a state-of-the-art turbo charger, a Spearco 1-992 Intercooler and manual waste gate were added, as were upgraded brakes, suspension, and exhaust systems. The stock Nissan 4 speed manual transmission was replaced by a Nissan 5 speed with a matching rear end from a 280ZX Turbo. Externally, the car was fitted with two new OEM fenders and was retrofit with new, OEM 240Z bumpers to give the car a more original “S30” look. That initial work was completed by Greg Scott and his team of Z specialists at Scott Performance in Santa Clara, CA, which at the time included a young man named Rob Fuller. Rob subsequently bought the shop from Greg, renamed it Z Car Garage, and over the past 20+ years has become one of the most renowned Z experts and restorers in the country.

After enjoying his beloved and revitalized 280Z for a few years, the owner re-set his sights on improving the car even more, envisioning a high-end, show-quality build. At that time, this was virtually unheard of for a Z car, as their values had not yet started to appreciate and didn’t justify such expenditure. What ensued was a passionate and painstaking 10-year project with meticulous attention to detail and planning that is simply unmatched in quality on Z cars you see today. The fit and finish of every piece has been designed to look OEM with a little extra flair, especially when you lift the hood and look at the piece of artwork that is the engine bay. The design concept employed was to maintain a strict two-color palette of silver and black throughout the entire car, improve virtually every functional and mechanical part, stay true to the original, clean S30 design, and have everything executed to absolutely the highest standard of quality.

By this time living in the Seattle area, the owner enlisted his good friend, Duane Bender, owner of Vintage MotorWorks in Kirkland, WA, to oversee the actual execution of the lengthy and ambitious project. Assisted by a lengthy list of some of the region’s top craftsmen, fabricators, machinists, welders, body workers, painters, interior experts, detailers and many others, they combined their talents to create what is truly one of the finest custom S30 Z’s in existence.

With too many custom parts and details to fully enumerate here, one of the more noticeable and notable features is the individual braided fuel lines that connect the custom billet fuel rail to the custom aluminum injector bosses, providing a unique and functional look across the top of the showpiece engine. The valve cover is a stock L28 cast aluminum cover that has had its top machined away and replaced by a custom billet piece with machined lettering to match the fuel rail and a recessed oil filler cap. Mechanically, an SDS Engine management computer and LS1 coil packs were incorporated to modernize fuel delivery, and the cooling system was upgraded with an aluminum radiator, connected by silicone hoses, high-end aluminum pressure clamps, and backed by an electric fan. The front and rear braking systems were upgraded to Wildwood calipers, slotted disks, and master cylinder, connected by a set of custom designed and built stainless steel brake lines that run beautifully across the fire wall.

Externally, the body was stripped and finished in a very fine flake metallic paint called Silver Sunbeam Metallic by famed NW painter Jon Byers, who boasts two Pebble Beach Best of Show winners to his credit as well as numerous other awards at many of the world’s most prestigious Concours events. The early style chrome 240Z bumpers were stripped and freshly re-chromed by the finest shop in the area. The rear lamp assemblies were also chromed to a show-quality finish and really set the car apart from other normal Z cars. A painted urethane lower air dam, entirely custom billet front grill, and painted aero side mirrors complete the custom look. The suspension is slightly lowered for a nice stance with beautiful 16-inch Panasport alloys wrapped in Bridgestone Potenza run-flat tires.

The interior features Lotus leather racing bucket seats as fitted in the Exige model, purchased new from Lotus of Bellevue parts, and have custom "Z" embroidery on the headrests. The dash is now an impossible-to-find original Nissan OEM replacement dash in perfect condition with no cracks or ripples. The door panels are still OE and feature custom speakers in the lower forward section with “wood” inlay matching the upper original door trim. Other distinct interior features are a Momo leather steering wheel, Z embroidered floor mats, aluminum pedals with the Z logo, and a modern Kenwood stereo with Kenwood amp and Focal speakers.

In 2011 after completion of the project, the car was transported to the annual Z Car Club of America ZCON Convention in Savannah, GA where it was rigorously judged by two separate panels of experts from the Z world as part of the event’s competitive car show. The car won Best of Show, Best of Show Engine, and the coveted Gold Cup Award (the highest honor among modified Z cars). It was only the 11th Gold Cup to be awarded in the (then) 24-year history of ZCON. It has since won numerous other awards and has been featured in several magazines in the US and Japan, including being the first Japanese car to grace the coveted cover of the Griot’s Garage catalog.

Today this special Z car build is the pride of all who were involved in its design, fabrication, and execution. The car never fails to draw a crowd of admirers at every show it attends. The owner is passionate about finding the right new caretaker who will appreciate, treasure and enjoy this car as he has for the last 45 years.