My car is a beautiful 1974 Datsun 260Z, chassis number RLS30-066684, with an L26 engine (straight six) and left-hand drive.
I know, the “…666…” in the chassis number might seem a little ominous, but so far, everything is fine—trust me!
According to the Guarantee and Service Booklet that came with the car, it was originally sold by Dishop Motors at 18039 North Dixie Highway, Bowling Green, OH 43402. The delivery date is listed as 3/27/75, to a customer in Toledo. When I Googled the dealer’s address, I discovered that Thayer Nissan now occupies the location—whether that’s a coincidence or not, I don’t know yet.
I also have the original buyer’s Guarantee Card, a McGard registration card, a Bridgestone Limited Warranty on Foldable Spare Tires booklet, and, of course, the 260Z Owner’s Manual. Beyond these documents, I’m unsure what else buyers received with a new Z car at that time.
From the Certificates of Title I had, the car remained with the same buyer in Temperance, MI, in 1998, then moved to Lambertville, MI, and finally to a new owner in Galloway, OH, in 2017. From there, it traveled from the USA to Europe, arriving in Amsterdam, NL, in 2019, where I was incredibly lucky to find it.
Interestingly, when I bought the car, it had a 5-speed manual gearbox, but according to the original documents, it came with an automatic transmission. I’m not sure when this conversion was done.
The car’s color is copper/brown metallic (code 301). At the time of purchase, it was completely original, with no signs of prior repairs or repainting. It’s a coupe with 2 doors, 2 seats, and a matching engine number—one of nearly 64,000 sold in the USA in 1974 (the only year the 260Z was available there).
Aside from the transmission conversion, I’m not certain what else might have been modified on the Z before I bought it. However, it did come with the original tool bag, jack, and Michelin XZX tires (175 R14) from 1997, along with a Bridgestone spare.
The main issue was rust, particularly on parts of the rear suspension and body. This condition earned the car a rating of 3—“fair to good: original condition with traces of use or reasonable restoration quality, light improvements possible”— from Automotive Consultant Services.
And Now…
In the two years since I purchased it, I’ve had the body and paint repaired and addressed the rust on the rear suspension with new bushings from Z-Services.
I replaced the original large bumpers with lightweight ones and installed an airdam from Datsun Europe. For fun, I swapped the wooden shifter for a Katana sword handle (a samurai sword) and added a decorative Katana in the trunk to enhance the Japanese samurai theme. I might expand on this theme further—perhaps adding a Japanese demon (Oni) mask in the trunk or a sticker on the rear window to tie it all together with the “666” in the chassis number.
The rims are now JR19, gunmetal (15×8, ET-0), sourced from Race-Shop, and the tires are Nexen 215/60 R15.
My experiences with body and rust repairs, as well as the bumper replacement and airdam installation, will be detailed in future blog posts.
Throughout this journey, it’s been challenging to decide what to modify on the Z versus what to restore to its original state while still having fun making it unique. If the car had been in worse condition or lacked the historical documentation it came with, I might have leaned more toward a restomod approach.
Whether my car stands out as unique or not, I’ll let you decide based on the information I’ve shared.
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