Jump in my car: Gary's Datsun 240Z

It took the best part of a quarter of a century, but Gary Hanrahan says restoring his beloved 1971 Datsun 240Z was worth the effort.

One of only around 2400 that were sold new in Australia – 165,000 were produced worldwide – Gary’s vehicle was brought back to showroom condition using Japanese parts true to the era.

Known as the Nissan S30 Fairlady Z in its home market, Gary says the 240Z helped shift the global attitude towards Japanese sports cars, with more than 150,000 sold in America.

Gary’s pride and joy is fitted with Datsun competition seats, steering wheel and gear knob, as well as period-correct “must-have” Watanabe R-Type wheels.

When Gary bought the car, which is affectionately known as Raijin (Japanese for Thunder God), in 1997 it was mechanically sound, having been used as a workshop workhorse and raced by the mechanics who owned it.

Change of colour

“It was rather scruffy looking when I got it, and what started out as a quick cosmetic 'tidy up' ended up being a complete strip down to a bare metal shell with a rebuild that took 24 years to complete.” Gary explains.

“Rust is a common issue with these cars, and mine had some in the usual places.

“I cut all the rusty sections out and welded in new sheet metal and prepared the body for a respray.”

Gary steered away from Raijin’s original colour scheme – Safari Gold – a shade colloquially referred to as “baby-poo brown”.

“I decided on a colour change, choosing Giallo Fly, a solid yellow used by Ferrari, Lamborghini and De Tomaso in the early 1970s.”

He says while Datsun didn’t use Giallo Fly, it’s very similar to the Sunshine Yellow that adorned 240Zs of the same vintage that were shipped to the United States.

Authentic parts

Towards the end of the rebuild, Gary, a pilot, spent five and a half years living in Japan.

It afforded him the perfect opportunity to source authentic replacement and optional parts at a fraction of the price he would have paid in Australia.

“I attended many classic car shows and displays and decided to complete the car as a JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) resto-mod.

“I sourced larger MK63 4 piston front brake callipers and ventilated discs, as used by the Factory Works race and rally cars, and replaced the rear drum brakes with disc brakes from a Nissan Skyline.

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“The original 2.4 litre L series engine was replaced with a later 2.8 litre unit, which has been modified.

“The engine’s yet to be run on a dyno (which measures the power of an engine) but should produce significantly more than the 151 horsepower the original engine made, and with the car weighing less than 1000kg, it’s a blast to drive,” Gary says.