These Zeds ain't dead, baby The Daily Telegraph 14/11/2008

[Mr240z]

COVER STORY from the daily telegraph

Bruce Willis may have uttered the famous "Zed's dead baby,Zeds dead"line in pulp fiction,

but nothing could be further from the truth for john hewett. Hewett is one of a dedicated band of

collectors and restorers who have given life to the callic Datsun "Z"cars.

"It was really my son who got me interested in the cars at first"Hewett says.

He was skiing in Whistler and had one over there.He knew i was thinking of doing up a car as a project and suggested a 240z. I was a tennager but hadn't [like that] for another 30 years or so.

"It was the late 1990s and at the time finding a pre-loved 240z wasn,t that hard,"Hewett says,"the first one i had i saw on the side of the road...but after a lot of effect there was just too much rust in it so it went off to Sims Metal and I started again"

Following the false start Hewett managed to get a much better example,albeit a modified one,and while he still has that car and enjoys driving the tweaked 1973 version, it was a classic "original" he really wanted.

"I got my other car in about 2000 when somebody rang me when I was secretary of the Z Car club and wanted to sell theirs."he says.

[Mr240z]

That car had been restored once and although it had some compromises, it was in close to original starndard condition and perfect for a classic restoratio'n.

"They really are the ideal car to restore' Hewett say,s "Everything is bolt on,bolt off and back when i was doing this car, there were still quite a few around and the parts were fairly easy to get."

The 240z was the then Datsun company,s first tilt at matching it with the prestige European sports cars both for styling and proformance. I production from 1969 to 1973 the 240z devloped into the 260z, 280z and the ,by the early 1980s, with a name change to Nissan, the 300zx before the car went into hibernation It was revived as the 350z several years ago.

"Originally Nissan took styling ideas from the Porsche 911, the E-Type jag and the Ferrari to design the car," Hewette says. "When they first came out they were actually quicker yhan the Porsche and that gave them quite a boost."

The 240z was named for its engine capacity, a 2.4-litre six-cylinder unit fitted with Hitachi caburettors and punching out 150hp (112kW). That gave the 240z a 0-100km/h sprint of a very respectable nine seconds flat. While Hewett doesn,t drive either of his 240z,s--both concourse winners--as daily transport, each has a special place in his heart. "I enjoy the modifield one as it,s a bit more lively, both give me enjoyment."he says.

 

    Written by Kevin Hepworth

 

SNAPSHOT

Datsun 240z

Years made:October 1970-May 1974

Price when new:approx $3500

Price now:approx $35,000-$40,000

 

[Mr240z]

This was in the telegraph paper today as the cover story for the Cars Guide section

It was copied out off the paper by me word for word, just to let all you guys have a read. It came with a few pictures

but cant upload them for some reason

 

p.s hope these no copyright Infringement isuses

[nat0_240_chevZ]

just scan & post in initial thread.

it was in the paper, for public presentation, open source!!