1970 Datsun 240Z: Scars & All

The year is 1969. To put that into perspective, Star Wars Episode IV will not hit theaters for another eight years and Saturday Night Live won’t start its 40-year run for another five years. Nonetheless, Japanese cars are about to experience a period of rapid growth in the North American market. Somewhere in a Nissan Manufacturing plant, under the leadership of Yutaka Katayama, the 2,711th Datsun 240Z in existence is about to roll out and join a time that most of our readership never lived through.

Somewhere in the life span of this 2,711th Datsun, we were born. And as time passed, this once affordable alternative sports car began to shift towards ‘classic’ status – while its influence continued to be passed down more modern Nissans.

Four and a half decades after its birth, the 2711th Datsun 240Z found itself in Vancouver with its current owner, Elio Peperoni. Oddly enough, the story of Elio and his 240Z is fairly similar to one we might have heard back in 1970.

Essentially, Elio replaced his 1930 Ford coupe with the import. To be more specific, Elio acquired the Datsun at the age 16 as a project car. It stayed a project car until he blew the motor and transmission on his Ford. He dabbled with a few other cars after the Ford, but eventually committed to the idea of getting the Datsun running. Now in his early 20’s, Elio has become synonymous with his Datsun.It should be noted that getting the car to its current state was no walk in the park. The rear quarters had to be completely re-worked and so did the front fenders. The floor boards could still use some touching up, but that’s neither here nor there.

If you ask Elio what colour he plans to paint it, you’ll probably be met with a blank stare. This will be followed by a half smirk as he explains that he would rather spend money on making the car drive well than worrying about cosmetic enhancements. More than that, the unpolished look has become his calling card. No, it isn’t the only “rat-rod” inspired Datsun out there, but in these parts you’re more likely to find a complete restoration than something that screams this much attitude.

Elio explained the aesthetic a bit more, saying it’s about “finding things that work and going with that, just like the mint-coloured hood.” He found it that way, so that’s the way it went on. The look may not be for everyone and purists might be cursing it up and down, but it’s just the way Elio likes it.

One of the great things about Nissan is they never made it hard to remember engine sizes, and sometimes the name of the car points to its displacement. So, naturally the 240Z came with a L24 – which is a 2.4L inline 6.The car sits on a set of modified Megan coil-overs and the wheels are Kodiak racing wheels that measure in at 15×8 -57. Actually, that’s a poor-man’s explanation of the coil-over set up and it probably makes this all seem “easy-peezy,” when it’s a little more complicated than that. In order to drop the Datsun, the Megan coil-overs required a little help from the Mckinney coilover kit. This is a welded-on coil-over kit. You have to take the struts out, chop the perches down to two inches and then weld on the coil-over perch so you can adapt the spindles to use s13 coil-overs and camber plates. The camber plate then needed to be welded in so Elio could adjust the camber on all four corners of the car.

Once you start looking around, you start to notice the little details that really set this car off. It’s a lot like spending 20 minutes on your hair to make it look like you just woke up. A lot of thought and dedication went into this car, and it’s not something you can easily re-create.It’s not an uncommon sight to find zip-ties on drift cars. A lot of the time they stay there as a badge of honour or to indicate that there’s a story to tell. I like to think of Elio’s 240Z as one big zip-tie and the story it’s telling is unforgiving. This 2,711th Datsun is still around 45 years after it’s release and it’s not pretending to be something it isn’t. It looks like it’s been living hard, but instead of hiding under fresh paint, it’s just out there – scars and all.

On February 19th, Mr. Yutaka Katayama passed away. Many people credit him as the father of the Datsun 240Z. And although I have no idea if he would have approved of the current incarnation of Elio Peperoni’s 1970 240Z, I imagine there’s something to be said about a car that can still capture the heart of enthusiasts from all walks of life… 45 years after its debut.