“Love cars. Love people. Love life”…this motto was immortalized by Nissan legend Mr. K, and embodied perfectly by car enthusiast Ben Y with his 1974 Datsun 260z. We met Ben in Fall of 2016 when he visited Z Car Garage for a full mechanical restoration and it’s been a joy helping him realize his sportscar dream. Read on to learn about the Z’s history and how our restoration efforts culminate with a memorable father-son roadtrip.
A Family Affair
Ben has owned this S30 for nearly eighteen years. The car really is a family affair beginning with his father:
“It was my first car; the college car I inherited from my father and it was a bit of an oddity for a college student to have. The photo on the left is the Z all rusted and dented in Indiana, 2001. Prior to my father and me owning the car it sat in a garage in Wisconsin for seventeen years. The photo on the right is after my dad resurrected the car respraying it in the original color, new bumpers, new vinyl seat covers, and a set of 72’ SU carburetors. I was a freshman in college at university of the pacific in Stockton and I needed a car so he trailered it to California in 2001. It was a longterm loan that would influence my life in many ways.”
“I was showing it a lot as a college student and won best stock 260Z at the MSA nationals in 2002. The picture below (left) of me and my dad with Matsui-San was a great time in my Z life. I was learning so much and he was and still is one of my hero’s. The car he is pictured in is Katsuaro-San’s (Kats) 1970 240z. On the right, I mounted a free set of stock steelies/hubcaps because I thought the factory fresh look was what I was going for. I waited until I found the right set of Watanabe’s.”
“In 2005 I took my 260Z to a show in Fremont at Ohlone college where I saw Rob with his green 240z complete with red Porsche brakes, RB25, and the photo of his “Z” tooth. His car was unforgettable and with me pursuing a career in dentistry I would never forget his tooth.”
Ben has written a blog dedicated to his Datsun addiction HERE. His ultimate goal with the 260z is to complete a coast-to-coast trek of the United States for the 50th anniversary of the Z car in 2020 with his family.
Let’s move on to the restoration…
Building the Dream
Ben’s vision of his perfect Z car comes from his admiration of period-style Japanese tuning:
“My concept is to create a 260Z as if it was owned in the 1970’s in Japan by someone who worked at the Datsun Sports Corner. When looking at the car’s engine-bay, interior, and exterior it is neither original nor modified. I am open to making modifications to improve the car’s drivability, but outside of the Datsun Competition parts the changes will need to be internal.”
We performed a full inspection on the Z and it had a long list of needs. Ben reported the car lacked power and we found cylinders ‘3’ and ‘5’ in bad shape, necessitating a rebuild. The engine was removed while a 3.0L Rebello was built.
We wanted to build the car exactly to his specification and Ben decided to not leave a single rock unturned with engine, cooling system, exhaust, suspension and braking refurbishment. We would also install his prized Datsun Competition racing seat.
Engine Bay
With the tired engine removed we began the clean-up process. Many more pictures of the teardown and assembly in the gallery:
All new hydraulic lines replaced corroded parts:
In keeping with Ben’s desire to have a factory-looking appearance, the new 3.0L engine retained SU carbs, built by Z Therapy. A JWT Aluminum flywheel and HD clutch back the powerplant:
Ben’s excellent choice of exhaust: the Fujitsubo Legalis R twin-pipe system:
From header to twin tail-pipe we love the craftsmanship, finish, sound and performance this setup offers.
We added our own touches like a factory-like silver finish at the rear and O2 bungs for Wideband tuning in-house:
Small details in the engine bay make a huge difference: powdercoated air filter assembly with reproduced OEM decals throughout, proper plating, wire clips for hoses, ZCG mods to intake/exhaust manifolds and a stock radiator updated to 4-core:
The completed engine bay:
Chassis
As the engine bay started to come together we realized the chassis needed to match the rest of the car. The drivers’s side inner fender had enough rust to compromise the sway bar mount. We cut it out, built a new brace for the sway bar mount and welded in a replacement panel. All inner fenders were cleaned/undercoated.
The entire fuel system was gone through including all recovery hoses/lines, fuel sender and boiling out the gas tank:
The Z received entire front and rear suspension refurbishment with full coil-over suspension from Techno Toy Tuning. New parts included adjustable T/C rods, rear control arms, new bushings, rack bushings, steering coupler, ball joints and more. All parts were powdercoated:
Steering rack before/after and the T3 suspension going in. All nuts/bolts were bagged for zinc plating:
T3 f/r coil-overs and Suspension Techniques f/r sway bars:
The braking system was restored to factory spec to keep it vintage. Mild performance upgrades included Stoptech 309 pads with slotted front rotors and stainless steel braided brake lines. All wheel bearings were replaced. Up front we replaced the front calipers with NOS units:
In the rear, stock suspension and old brakes vs new:
The drums were turned and new Nissan wheel cylinders/shoes installed:
The T3 coil-overs allow ride-height adjustment and Ben’s Z now sits much lower over those gorgeous Watanabe wheels with generous sidewalls:
“One of my hero’s had Watanabe’s on his car and that sealed the deal in terms of me eventually deciding on a wheelset. My set’s dimensions are 14″ x 7.5jj (+1.5mm) for the rear and 14” x 7jj(+8mm) for the front, Type B. “
Stock suspension vs T3, more pics gallery!
We love it:
Datsun Competition
Ben’s appreciation for Datsun’s Competition-specific parts can be highlighted in the interior where he has an original rallye shift knob, steering wheel and for the tifecta: the competition seat. He even tracked down the matching headrest from a Bluebird.
He’s super passionate about the Comp seat, you can read more about it in his personal blog post HERE. We removed the factory seat, made a bracket to allow his comp seat to fit and installed it. It looks great with that un-cracked factory dash!
We paid attention to all of the little things that make a Z car fun to drive everyday. Finalizing door fitment and getting the vintage A/C unit working again was important:
“I want to drive it across the country. That is a big goal of mine, but really I just want to drive the car always.”
Since A/C had been on Ben’s mind, we fixed and made one of the lines, all mocked up to clear the Fujitsubo header. More details in the engine bay to satisfy’s Ben’s penchant for the vintage look: we passed along our rare factory spark plug wires and OEM choke cable set.
Enjoying The Ride
With the mechanical restoration completed, Ben embarked on his originally planned road trip with his father.
“I got back last night from my trip with my Dad. We went a bit north of 1000 miles in three days in my Z Car Garage 260Z! The car is perfect. I really want to thank you for building such a glorious machine. It does everything it should. Handles well, makes all the right sounds, is comfortable, and soaks up the miles. I took it up to an elevation of 7500′ without even a hiccup. My Dad drove a lot and he loved it too. He got it up to 100mph on the highway and I didn’t even know it the car was so smooth. He told me later.”
We were stoked for Ben. Seeing him drive the Z everywhere, including a visit to the epic 2018 RMMR where Datsun was the featured marque. Being on the road is really what he loves and the S30 is a scalpel.
Love for the Z, with Family
Ben’s family is an integral part of his Z passion. He even had these T-shirts made for his crew. Rob has one as well 🙂
“Very rarely do people get to have dreams come true and it was a lot of sacrifice to have Rob do this mega build, but I had read so much about people not finishing projects and I had Rob right there so I threw caution to the wind and went with the attitude of “lets do this.” He made it happen and the shirt says it all as I am just one of the hundreds of people he has made dreams come true.”
Ben’s next big Z adventure will be attending the 2020 Z Convention in Tennessee, driving it back with his son.
Thank you Ben for letting us build your dream Z car. Enjoy The Ride!
