The first cars I remember were my mother's 1974 260Z & my father's 1978 510. Mom had bought her Z for her 30th birthday in 1975 from Fireside Datsun in North Attleborough, Mass. after rejecting the salesman from Lorber in East Providence, R.I. because the salesman would only sell her a Z with a 260Z racing stripe. They drove these until 1985 at which point they acquired Volvos. While Dad's 510 was sold off, Mom's 260 was kept. I can remember being young & her telling me that a car becomes an antique at age 25. I then realized that if we still had the Z when it hit 25, that would be in the year 1999, about 15 years in the future at that point & a verrrry loooong ways away for a 5-year-old! It was at first stored in the garage of our modest ranch house & then on the street, where it was hit by a garbage truck while we were on vacation to Disney World. It was repaired but still sat on the street.

When I turned 16 in 1995, I was given the Volvo to use (my father having died in 1990, his Volvo had been sold off). My mother had to get repairs done to make the 260 driveable but these were small repairs. She tried teaching me to drive manual a couple of times but after exasperation on my part, it went back onto the driveway to sit & endure the Rhode Island winters. Meanwhile, I went off to college in 1997 in Florida and wouldn't return until 2002. The Z still sat.

On a gray & cold Monday, November 13th 2006 with the Z's floorboards having rotted away, the dash cracked, the doors impossible (or near so) to open, a tow came to take the Z away. I got one last pic with it & watched it hauled off to a local garage where a rehab was set to begin for a new owner. One note, I work in radio and both the new owner & garage owner had shows on a few radio stations that I had worked for and knew them fairly well. The following day the garage owner said that the new owner hadn't picked it up & if it wasn't gone by Noon he was junking it. Since my mother had never signed over the car, it was still hers legally. Sensing this was a reprieve, we arranged another tow. I told my mother of my plan to have the 260 restored, at which point I wanted to take ownership to which she agreed. The first problem was the severe rust. Hearing about the "tin worm" we found an auto body shop which did restorations for Zs just a few miles away. We sent it away to have the underside done which was then followed by a trip to the former Lorber dealership which was now a Nissan dealership. As it turned out there was a mechanic there who remembered the old Zs & could fix it.

Part 2 coming later.

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1974 260Z RLS30031686 (undergoing restoration since November 14th 2006)

Captivating story so far ~ anxiously awaiting the 2nd installment.

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1970 240Z

Yes, go on please N1WVQ!!

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Phil
1981 280zxt - Now in the care my son!
2014 370Z Sports Touring Roadster