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Wakefield in the A12 powered 1200 coupe. Wakefield. 1.03.4 Had a mate Jordan cox having a steer, and that.... He can! This lap was a 1.03.8 I think. AO50's and about 240Hp, 1171cc

Here is my project journal for the restoration of my 73 Datsun 240z. The car was bought by my dad in 1974. The original owner bought it only to find out that his partner was pregnant with his first child. Needless to say, the 2 seater had to go. My dad was the lucky new owner and bought it with less than 1000miles on the clock. My dad and his 240z were inseparable. So much so, that my brothers and sister more or less grew up in that car. He loved that car from the first time he drove it and he still talks about it. It was his pride and joy and almost became a friend he could journey with and rely on. As time went by though, it got a bit sad as family and life got in the way. It slowly became a bit unreliable and it was stored. However, when I was 16 the car had a very light fix up (to a mechanically drivable state) and a new coat of paint applied to the outside (external only) and it was re-registered. I drove the car for 10 years. I learned to love and rely on the z the same way that my dad did. It became a friend and companion who it just loved having around and going on adventures with. It taught me how to drive...I swear it has a soul. This went on for quite some time until I moved to Canberra and the Canberra winters got the best of it and it was retired into a garage...until now. So after much research and deliberation, I put myself on the waiting list for Classic Auto Fabrications. I wanted Locky Fowler to do this project. I spoke to many people but I just wasn’t convinced that they were right for this job. I had always dreamt of doing the z up and so I wanted the right person with the credibility and the passion to do the job and do the job well. I didn’t want to simply apply makeup to a pig. So here we are, the car is now down with Locky and the restoration has begun. As a side note, so far, Locky has been fantastic. The guy is pedantic and fastidious and he doesn’t miss a trick. I have no regrets about having him at the helm of the project and les Collins racing rebuilding the engine, gearbox and diff. This is one mean team I’ve got on this job. So I hope my pride and joy, that means so much to me and my dad, brings you all joy as you follow this journey with us. i have named the car ‘darby’ in honour of him. I owe him so much. Be safe, thank you, Jon

Finally painted, looks awesome Jeff. Good stuff mate

Good to see it painted Jeff.

I think this a video of the rebuild :

Hi Abz Welcome, more than welcome to “stand in the corner” great way to learn some of the idiosyncrasies of both Z’s and this forum community. Waiting patiently is a good idea good cars to come along for sale, but when they do not hesitate - they sell very quickly. Cheers PB

Wow the paint looks great in the sun! This week I unmask the car, and do something with those nasty mirrors.

All sorts of things happening, have started work on the interior electrics and the dash but the most photogenic part at the moment is the radiator and surrounds. The top front X piece, which would be the radiator support on most cars, was gapped to make engine removal easier. Original radiator was in front of that at a steep angle but that was not practical here. Besides the PWR radiator out of the 280ZX was known to keep the engine cool so it was mounted at a slight angle in the gap which was closed with a removable bar for structural integrity purposes and to mount two brackets which locate the top of the radiator. One part doing two jobs, I like. In the top pic the Accusump is located at the lower right beside the radiator and the two coolers are below, the blue one is for the transmission. Not a lot of space around the radiator and it's electric fan but so far so good, it's all looking quite tidy. For a race car.