Ratsun BBQ and Swap Meet - Tracy, CA

Part 1 of 3

Here’s a quick history about my build.

My grandfather purchased a used 1972 240z in 1973. In its long life with my grandfather it was daily driven, stolen, returned, vandalized, passed down to my uncle, mom, and finally parked in my grandfathers driveway where it sat for about 10 to 15 years slowly rusting away.

When I turned 17 in 2000 I rediscovered the car. It was a disaster. Covered in dirt, birch leaves, spider webs, etc, my goal was to make it drivable. The only thing I knew about cars at this point in my life was what I had learned on the original Gran Turismo. I was a novice. My mechanical skills were non-existent. Regardless, I was determined to make it drivable. Luckily for me all it really needed was a good wash and a tune-up. Soon enough I was driving around the block, granted with lots of backfiring. The best part was being able to see the asphalt beneath my feet through the holes in the floorboard. Such a new and exciting experience…

Eventually, I persuaded my grandparents to give me the car as a high school graduation gift. After all, I had done a lot of work to it during my junior and senior years of high school. A lot of the modifications were misguided, but I was learning. Neon lights, Honda wheels, and a grapefruit launcher out the back were a few of my mistakes…

I drove the car during the summers when I returned home from school. Each summer the car got more and more aggressive, performing various upgrades/modifications as I could afford them. Despite this, like most of us, I had grand visions of what the car could be. In its current state, it was far from that. After graduating from college, the car got put on the back burner as funds were tight and the reality of the world forced me to find a job. So the car sat in storage for 5 years. A shame I know.

I got laid off on Jan 1, 2010. With a heavy heart, lots of time, and a pitiful severance, I set out to keep myself occupied. This is when I decided to get serious about the Z. It would need a lot of work, but I had a lot of time. Most importantly, my grandparents deserved to see their gift appreciated.