zdman61

I needed more money for the Z or it just wouldn't happen. From what I could see from pulling the car down I would need to invest in the order of $4,000 to $6,000 and at that time I just didn't have it to spare let alone spend it on a toy. You see while the car was in my work shed waiting to be brought back to life my own life was undergoing a few major changes of it's own. I was separated in 2004 with twin daughters who would be dependant on me for many more years. My business took a bit of a down turn in 2007 and would take several years to fully recover. I had to make changes. So the first one was to cancel the lease on my work shed. It was a luxury that I could live without and doing so would free up $3,000 in just 12 months. This will work says I. The only drama would come a few years later. All the bits & pieces. Small parts and a few poorly labelled boxes would cause havoc when it came time to put the car back together. 20-20 hindsight is a wonderful thing. The car was packed up, loaded onto a trailer and taken home to my garage to start the big rebuild.

With the Z off the road I started to come up with a plan for a rebuild and what I wanted out of the car. 1. I want to do as much of the work as possible on my own. 2. More power (obviously) 3. More brakes 4. Less rust 5. Less weight 6. main use is for the road so must remain drivable in everyday life. All achievable and all fairly straight forward with only one thing standing in my way...............................No money So it was a case of taking panels off and striping down parts. Finding rust and buying bits and pieces when I could

Thanks, but up till now in the story my Z didn't have a name. Keeping her white would have been a smart move when it comes to blending in and not being quite so visible to the revenue raisers. If you want to see how the story ends (to this point in time) and the car gets its name jump on youtube search zdman61 or 'Great Driving Roads Australia'

It's the River Road. It runs from Wisemans Ferry to Sackville on the Hawksbury River. A great loop drive is to start in Hornsby head north up the Old Pac Hwy to Somersby and then down the Wisemans road to the ferry. Lunch at the pub then the river road and finish with Galston Gorge (fun)

For the next 18 months the Z took me on some wonderful drives and a few fast blasts around the high country. A trip to the Central Coast for mothers day gave me the chance to drive the Wisemans Ferry road. Plans were made for a big trip up to the Gold Coast zig-zagging the great dividing range, but it was not to be. A sprited run from Jindabyne to Thredbo in January 2007 ended with a blown head gasket. The Z was put into my shed to wait for the next stage of its life.

On the 21st June 2005 my Z was registered as a NSW car instantly adding to its value and prestige After a few back road drives I noticed that the speedo was obviously faulty and so will need to be fixed

In May 2005 I made another trip down to Melbourne to pickup a wreak for parts. It came with two sets of wheels and a L28. I thought it must be a fast engine, well it is in a red car. Note the patch of yellow. A test for things to come. I'm not a fan of the original steering wheel so it came off and for rego I had to cover the split seats with a pair of dodgy seat covers

Once the car was home I needed to get it blue slipped for NSW rego. There was a bit of work needed to cover over the typical rust patches. At the time I wasn't to worried about doing anything to major I just wanted to drive it. So a bit of bog and a few spray cans of white auto paint and all was good

Hi all, this is the story of my 1976 2+2. It's been 8 years of fun and frustration and some truly memorable drives. It all started in April 2005 when I flew down to Melbourne on a whim. The ad said it was a good clean original car, I made the call and Steve from Narree Warren sounded like a good bloke. Having more than one friend and at the time young twin daughters, a 2+2 was what I needed. $2,500 looked about right so the deal was done. we met at the airport and I knew I had found my car. A transit rego was arranged and on a typically wet Melbourne morning I set off for the trip back to Jindabyne. The rain kept my speed in check but what a buzz it was to drive the Z up the Alpine Way. I was not to know it at the time but it would be another 6 years until we would drive this road again.

Mate there must be something about Sydney every time my car gets near the place it starts to run like a dog has a hissy fit and over heats! Answer could be to stay in the mountains. The 3rd part of the Alpine Way series will have better solos from my car, stay tuned

Hi all just want to share with you all a little hobby of mine. I have created a You Tube channel of road movies I have made. Most of them are shot here in Oz with my 260z but there are also some from the states around Malibu (great roads!) using a GT Mustang. All are short and of varying quality, but if you have time check them out and let me know what you think. I will be adding more over time. Search member zdman61 or great driving roads. You could even become a subscriber and make me rich (I would need about 500,00 subscribers )

I thank you, my family thanks you, on coming drivers who I could never see through my fogged up windscreen thank you, but most of all my wife's cold little toes say a huge thank you

I knew a girl called Tabitha once......Nar couldn't be. I see you are in Dublin. Holiday? Great country. Just back from there myself, drove a Skoda (I feel so cheap) around the ring of Kerry, Great fun. Followed that up with a few days in England flogging a A4 Audi (nice) and then finished the drive around the world with a couple of days ripping through the canyon roads of Malibu Cal. in a GT Mustang (never going to wash that off). Back at work now (need money) so when I have two minutes to spare I will put together a build thread for my Tweety. Ok it might be a guys name (not that there is anything wrong with that) I promise not to make the pics too big

Well ok but don't get to excited it's all pretty standard. Sorry not Weston Rd. The pic was taken at Geehi (next to the runway) on the Alpine Way. Checkout my youtube vids to see more of that days fun, search zdman61.

Thanks I just might have to do that. Sorry about the size of the pic. Try not to get too close you can see all the wrinkles (me not the car). I call my Z 'Tweety'. Is that a boy or a girl?

Hi all my name is Brett but you can call me zdman61. I have owned my '76 260z 2+2 for seven years now. I bought her (why are they always women) from another Z freak in Narrie Warren so joining the vic club is a bit like bringing her home. In the time that we have been together the car has had one minor overhaul and one major overhaul being a complete strip down rebuild repaint & replaced engine. It is now running an RB30. It took three years to complete and boy wasn't that a laugh. I could bore you all with lots of pics and tails from the rebuild but I won't. It would be like preaching to the converted. Hope to get to the Feb'13 meet in Thredbo or Bright (best little town in Oz). For now though if any members are heading through the High Country please drop me a line. I love showing off our roads and I may even know a few secrets