1973 240Z, the first real collectable Japanese car.

[BWDenver]

I was in the US Army Flight School at Ft Rucker in the summer of 1973, and needed a ride.

There was a local lot that catered to the military students, the "super Lot".  Prices were a bit steep, interest a bit over street.

I had no credit history, no down payment so I basically had to take what they offered.  A friend got a 72 Corvett off the lot, probably the last Vett I liked look of.

I loved the car and drove it for 13 years when it finally rusted out from under me.  In the color shot you can see a bit of damage to the front spoiler, the result of a snow drift at Ft Carson CO.  The major change to the car was the Shelby Deep Dish Mags.  The were a bit wider than stock and I had to bend the wheel well lip up as ever time I went over a twig the rear wheels rubbed.

Recently a 73 Z sold for $50,000.  The car was great to drive, rack and pinion steering was precise.

 

[TransAmMike]

I don't know how many folks on this forum have owned a 1st gen  "Z"-car.   I bought one of the first 260-Z's in New Orleans back then.  Was the british racing green color and the standard transmission.  Fist thing I did was put the 4-spoke American Racing "tumbler" wheels on it.    Yep It was a fun car to drive !!

[Rodent]

The author of this book is an active forum member here.

[89AKurt]

I thought the Toyota 2000GT was the first, but I never owned one of those either.  These Zs are getting resto-rodded too, can understand why.  Wish I had a dollar for every time I heard "wish I kept it."

[Ace-Garageguy]

Great story, cool car.

Those old Zees are wonderful cars.  

[TarheelRick]

Reenlisted in the USAF in 1972. Took my reenlistment bonus, all of $1500 and went car shopping. Tried a MGB, just couldn't fit my 6'2" frame comfortably into it. Next was a Triumph Spitifre, fit alright but there just was not a lot of room for moving personal stuff from base to base. Stopped by the Datsun dealer and they had the 'new' Z-car on the showroom floor. Immediately fell in love with it, but that $4200 price-tag was beyond my ability to pay. Finally bought a Chevy C-10 with 350, auto, AM radio, and rear step bumper for $3100. Oh, to relive those days knowing what I know now.

[Mattblack]

Check these 'Zs' out: The home of Samuri | Datsun Samuri

 

[Wickersham Humble]

Yep, I wrote the "How to Restore Your Datsun Z-Car" manual in the mid-eighties, published in 1990, and still in print, now by Car Tech.  My original 240Z, bought while at Ft. Sam Houston, TX, was the subject of the restoration step-by-step, and was repurchased by NISSAN USA in 1995.  (They gave $12K for it, now probably worth $75K, at least!)  They wanted it because they had discontinued the 300ZX sports cars, and had an L.A. shop refurbishing about two dozen early Z's and selling them as new, with 12-month warranty, etc.  I don't know if they re-serialed them or not; mostly the dealers who got them held onto them until they could go to auction, and the big market value.  My HLS3547 was 'Japanese Racing Green' which is best replicated with 'Mack Truck Green' I found, with a saddle tan interior; I restored it using the black interior I wanted in the first place.  My '71 restomod Z is silver ('03 Honda color, my first experience with base/clear paint) with black; the "20th Anniversary ZX adjustable buckets, using R-R Connoly black leather, and full carpet where the 'unborn lizard-hide' diamond-pattern vinyl was on the trans tunnel, etc.  It has a Hobrecht roll-bar, L28 and steel-stynchro 5-speed, 280Z rear discs, and about two pages of other goodies I always wanted.  Alas: my poor wife has fibromyalgia and osteo; can't stand the Tokiko shock/spring tied-down suspension ride (it handles like on rails, but is choppy and abrupt!) and I need to sell it.  

I know of a lot of Japanese cars that were collectable before the 1969-deubut 240Z, the Toyota 2000GT is probably the nicest one.  However, it was the Z-Car that finally made the North American market take Japanese cars seriously, and 'Japan Inc.' stormed through the stick-in-the-mud American market like a katana!  Sorry that GM/Ford/MoPar let that happen; I was hoping that Pontiac would be allowed to release their Banshee sports car, and I could have bought American, after all.  It was a package I would have loved, with the SOHC-6 with Q-Jet, and good 4-speed.  (I'm getting one of those motors next week, btw -- hope I can adapt it to a B-W T-5 five-speed!  Any other Z questions; I'd love to discuss them!  I have five unbuilt Z-kits in 1/5, and the big Tamaiya ZG kit which I want to convert to RHD and a stock nose.  Are those replica Hayashi 8-spoke resin wheels back in production yet?   Ole' Wick