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Hi all, my name is JP and like so many others I have been a long time reader/follower on this fantastic forum but have not involved myself.

After reading Len Brennan's awesome story about the purchase of his 240Z I have been inspired to get involved here and share my story with anyone who cares to read it.

 

I first fell in love with Z cars when I was 5 years old and I saw the first series 300zx at the motor show (1984/5). As I got a bit older I decided I actually liked the 280ZX more and decided that this was going to be my first car. When I was 16 I started going to a private school in Melbourne's eastern suburbs and walked past a 260 2 plus 2 every day. I then fell in love with these cars and eventually knocked on the owners door once I got my licence and almost purchased it.

 

At 18 I purchased a red 1978 260 2 plus 2 auto with an L28, with plans to convert to manual and restore. These plans were thwarted by my mother who instructed my Father to instruct me to get rid of it immediately or get out of the house ( or something similar). I sold the car to Lindsay at the z shop at the beginning of 99 and later found out that the L28 had a P90 head and ended up in a white 240Z he ran at targa tassie in 2000.

 

I was a regular visitor to the Zshop with a mate of mine rough out 1999, dropping in there every 2 weeks or so to look at the cars in the place. It was at this time that I really fell for the 2 sweaters and after many months and visits fell for a particular vehicle.

 

I headed down to glen iris with my mate from school/uni on Nov 11 99 just to drop in and gawk at the nice Z's in the workshop. I had a quick chat to Lindsay and he said he had just bought a 240 off an old aquaintance and that it was down the back and he hadn't looked at it.

 

I strode down the back of the workshop and parked around the corner was a very sorry looking series 1 240Z. I didn't know what a series one 240z was, but the rear quarter badges had an immediate impact on me as I had never seen a 240 with the 240Z rear quarter badges. When I looked inside the car it was a mess. There was tiger pattern felt stuck in the roof lining and the doors and it looked like perhaps a few rats were living in there. The diamond pattern vinyl and the seats were a crazy shiny blue colour and I remember thinking how weird the previous owner must have been. This did not put me off. I then popped the hood and saw the 2400 OHC valve cover which again impacted on me as I had not seen one of these before. I then checked the chassis number and it was HS30 00063. At that moment I knew I was going to buy this car even though it was knackered. Then I checked the engine number and it was matching.

 

I went straight to Lindsay and said " how much for that 240 that just came in"? He replied $2500 and I said sure and headed straight Pune road to ge some money out for a deposit. I paid him further for mechanical check, resprayed in the same colour as it was at the time (silver) and to have the floor welded up and interior repaired. My paid for my dash to be reskinned by the dashboard doctor as my 21st birthday present. Unfortunately the work was painfully slow and being young and inexperienced I thought that throwing money at the Zshop would result in more work being done. I paid another 5000 to speed things up but it was more than a year after fully paying for the vehicle itself until I actually received it. The wait was agony, all I wanted was to drive this special machine!

 

A few mons after I received the car, I took it back to Zshop as the head gasket went. When I went to pick it up there was an older gentleman there who said to me "that's my old car, I want it back, it looks great." The gentleman's name was Frank Guilfoyle? From memory, and I asked him about the car. He said that he had purchased number 63 unregistered and did a lot of work to it at his own datsun garage and had it back on the road in 1987 ( vic reg DHB 123). When I asked him about the blue interior he said that number 63 was a show car at the 1971 Melbourne motor show! and that the blue interior was a special option with a white car! and that the car was originally white! I found the story entertaining but though not much more of it again.

 

I drove the car from late November 2000 until June 2009 as my daily driver, driving it as it was meant to be driven. The 40 plus year old engine never let me down and continued pulling strong. In 2012 I was looking at old photos of datsun dealerships etc on the net, and came across a photo of a white 240z taken on March 5 1971 at the Melbourne motor show. I knew it was Melbourne because clearly visible in the background read "Rathdowne St Exit". Having grown up in Carlton I knew it was the exhibition building ( I would post pic but not sure how yet, but I'm sure many people know it).

 

I couldn't believe that this matched the story told about my car and planned at the moment to restore it to white with blue interior. Then came child one, then child 2 and I decided I could not afford the 50 - 100 K resto that it deserved. I sold number 63 to a nice gentleman over here in Perth and bought myself a nice 1975 260 2 seater that has just been triple webered. I am rally enjoying this car but still wish I was able to hold onto number 63 and see her back in the white with blue interior.

 

Anyway that's my introductory rant I hope it wasn't too boring and some people will respond.

 

Great wealth of info on here and I hope that now I have broken the ice by posting that I may be able to contribute.

 

J-P

 

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I think the car you're referring to is this?
http://museumvictoria.com.au/collections/items/800697/negative-datsun-240z-japanese-woman-melbourne-international-motor-show-5-mar-1971

HS30%2000063.jpg

Not sure if you saw it in the other thread?

From here:
http://www.rallysportmag.com.au/home/arc/8387-2014-australian-rallying-hall-of-fame-inductees

 

Frank Kilfoyle
The late Frank Kilfoyle was the greatest all round rally competitor this country has seen. As a driver, he won no less than five Alpine Rallies, and as a navigator won one Alpine and the premier Australian navigation event, the BP Rally of South East Australia, three times.

Frank’s record in the Southern Cross Rally is equally as impressive. He was second on three occasions and fifth once. He was Victorian Rally Champion twice, and won the Australian Rally Championship in 1969, the second year of its running. He was an inaugural inductee into the Victorian Rally Hall of Fame in 2005.

Not content to rest on his victory laurels, Frank was a great organizer, directing both the Alpine Rally and the BP Rally several times. In 1979 he was the road director for the notorious Repco Reliability Trial, which used some of the most terrible roads in Australia. Competitors in that event hated Frank and respected him at the same time.

Frank was an intelligent and thinking driver. He ran rally schools at Monash University in Melbourne explaining the effect on the car of various road surfaces, where to find the most traction, and when to take extra care. These schools were invaluable to a generation of budding rally drivers, and are still talked about. He also ran a business for a time selling maps and rally equipment, and would be happy to spend time with his customers, mentoring them. His favourite credo was: “there are no rough roads, there are only rough drivers”.

Well after he was an established star, Frank took a young spastic boy on several club rallies as his navigator. Although the lad could not even hold a map board, Frank gave him experiences that improved the quality of the young man’s life.

Frank Kilfoyle was a quiet achiever, intelligent and immensely skilled in all facets of rallying. He was a good person, and his presence in the Australian Rally Hall of Fame is richly deserved.


Dave Hogan who ran DatZed is also a member here (Username: The Original DATZED)
http://www.viczcar.com/forum/index.php/topic,14500.45.html

When I first saw that photo above, I wondered if that car still existed. Good to know she's still around. I think most of us have a story about a S30z we regret selling. I certainly do..
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The diamond pattern vinyl and the seats were a crazy shiny blue colour and I remember thinking how weird the previous owner must have been. This did not put me off.

 

So  the blue interior made you think the previous owner was weird, but the tiger pattern felt stuck to the roof lining and the doors was totally acceptable? :P

 

 

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Wonder whatever happened to Frank Kilfoyle's green rally 240Z.

He had a large poster size print of it in action at his shop, "Rallyequip" in Glenhuntly, back in early 1980's

That car was, and went, quicker than the Dunkerton Z, at a lot of Victorian rallies in the md 1970's

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Hi JP, it's Cuong I came to see #63 when you were selling it. Like yourself I thought the car was quite special being early and matching numbers.

 

I didn't buy the car because like yourself I have a young family so the time and money wouldn't have stretched to restore the car properly. I know Lee the guy that you sold it to and he is a big z guy having owned two early cars before so it went to a good home.

 

I have recently sold my blue 1974 260z two seater that I drove over in. Although I was able to put some money back on the mortgage I soon miss having the car around.

 

Welcome and would love to see your new zed one day!

 

 

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  • 2 years later...

Haha, I wrote this as it all came to memory. It was both the tiger skin felt and the blue interior - mostly the tiger skin felt. In addition, the dash was the same blue!

Haha, I wrote this as it all came to memory. It was both the tiger skin felt and the blue interior - mostly the tiger skin felt. In addition, the dash was the same blue!

Hey JP, Lee here, I bought #63 from you, I still have her, under cover in the garage, just wondered if you have any photos of the car back in the day, particularly interested in any interior photo’s you may have.

Cheers

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  • 7 months later...

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