We are pleased report another Z Car Blog success story! Anthony K recently acquired this Datsun 240z that we built and featured in our FOR SALE section. This powerful, tastefully modified S30 was seller Scott W’s creation and it was well-received by viewers. A day after we posted it for sale on the blog it was featured by our friends over at Bring A Trailer!
Here is proud new owner Anthony K sharing his journey from picking up the Z in San Francisco and driving it all the way home to Vancouver, B.C. Thank you for these beautiful pictures and Enjoy The Ride!
This is my first Z. In fact it’s my first “second” car solely for pleasure driving. I used to ride sport bikes (most recently a yellow Ducati 748) until a near fatal accident. I’m lucky to be alive. I figured some steel around me was in order, so I wanted to get a car with a “pure” driving experience, without much of the insulation, refinement and weight that come with modern cars. Then I came across this great video on Petrolicious.com. I had somehow completely forgotten how much I like the original 240Z. The styling takes so many cues from the Ferrari 275GTB and Daytona, two cars I think are among the most beautiful ever made. Everything clicked. I wanted a beautiful, classic driving car with good power, great sound, and (relative) reliability. The original 240Z with a Rebello engine fit the bill. I started my search.
I searched craigslist along the West Coast, from San Diego to Vancouver, as well as ebay motors for a finished car with a Rebello engine. As you know, they’re hard to find. I found Scott W’s Z on craigslist and the Z Car Blog. He is a class act and was very helpful throughout the entire purchase process. Together with the detailed photos of all the work done on the car by you on the Z Car Blog, it was easy to learn everything I needed to know about the car.
My wife and I drove from San Francisco to Vancouver BC over about 5 days. We don’t have a car in San Francisco, so Scott very generously drove the car from Cupertino to San Francisco on Tuesday for the sale. We talked a while, and it was very clear how much he was going to miss the car he spent so much time making his own. It’s nice to purchase a vehicle that’s very personal to someone because of the care that went into it.
We drove up to Sonoma county and spent Wednesday to Friday afternoon wine tasting in Glen Ellen/Sonoma. That period was the test drive for my wife. I’m sure my driving would have been more spirited without her, but taking such a great trip along the beautiful Pacific Coast was so much better with her as my companion.
We headed to the coast late Friday afternoon and drove up to Mendocino, where we ate a great dinner and spent the night. That first day of driving was just awesome: endless 2nd and 3rd gear turns, sweepers and bends from Sonoma, over the hills to Gualala and up the windy coast to Mendocino. That’s where I became addicted to the Z’s great handling, power and raw, intoxicating sound.
Monday morning, we did some shopping in town and then drove West to the nearby Willamette Valley wine country. It was mid afternoon by the time we finished wine tasting and figured it would be dark by the time we hit the still foggy and rainy coast. At that point, we would either stay in Salem or Portland for another night so we could head to the coast the next day and enjoy the drive, or just hit I5 and plow through. We fueled up at Stumptown Coffee, my favorite coffee shop in Portland, and kept going till we hit the border. Droning along the highway isn’t the Z’s natural habitat, but we steadily made our way back to Vancouver by ~1am Tuesday morning.
We’re both grateful for the awesome, fun, safe, and mechanically event-free road trip. Special thanks to Scott W and Rob and crew at the Z Car Garage for the great work, turning an already great car into an awesome one. Looking forward to making the trip back down to San Francisco. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to Google “best roads around Vancouver.”