Oddessey

[JLPurcell]

I have just pulled my 1972 240Z, of which I am the original owner, back in the garage to re-assemble for transport to Les Cannaday for it's rebirth (restoration). This has caused me to lament on the life of a car, an oddessey if you like. A car which has been part of some of the fondest of memories and some of the saddest of memories. I have decided to start a thread sharing the restoration and telling the story of the life of my 1972 Datsun 240Z. It will be a story of 4 years of the original fast and furious and 30 years of good intentions without results. Come along for the ride, if you wish, let me know what you think of the idea be it, in your opinion, trite or intriguing.

[Ed]

I'm strapped in and waiting. Let's see the very first picture you have of her. The very first.

[g72s20]

Hmmm .....Sounds close to home Jerry. I'm ready when you are mate!

Jim.

[JLPurcell]

I promised a story and a story you will get.

First lets update the progress on the planned restoration. I have bolted the doors, fenders, hood and rear hatch back on the car. I also bolted the seats back in the car. I then sat in the driver’s seat for the first time in over 20 years and invited my 18 year old son to see what it felt like to set in a Datsun Z. His eyes lit up and I remembered the first time I sat in the car in 1973. I was just married and living off campus in Muncie, Indiana attending Ball State University. I saw the car with a for sale sign in the window on my way to campus. A wealthy family had purchased the car and had owned it just a couple of months and had it for sale. Being a car lover I stopped my 1968 Shelby GT 500 and sat in the Datsun, the rest is history. I called my dad, a fellow car lover and he helped me get the car. I parked the Shelby in my parents back yard and sold it for $1800 but that’s another story. I soon found out why the car was being sold. You could drive the car for a couple of hours with no problem then it would just stop. I repeatedly had it towed to the local dealership where it would start up without problem, making it impossible for them to find the problem. To be continued…

[1 Bravo 6]

That's a good start mate,

When's the next installment ?? You've already got us on the edge of our seats so please don't keep us waiting tooooooo long, huh ?????

Rick.

:devious: :devious:

[JLPurcell]

After weeks of agony with the car I contacted the dealer in my hometown of Richmond, Indiana and made arrangements for them to keep the car until it stopped, giving them the opportunity to find the problem. In a couple of days I receive the call I had been waiting for. Upon pulling the gas tank the mechanic found that someone had put "Creepy Crawlers" in the gas tank and after running for a while they would plug up the fuel pick up. For those of you born after the 70’s Creepy Crawlers were rubber spiders and bugs you made yourself. I believe it was a toy from Hasbro, you know they brought us the hula-hoop.

At last, care free driving of my Datsun Z.

Only having the car for a couple of weeks and having the problems I had not had a chance to show it off to my fellow employees at Value City Furniture, where I worked in the evenings after school. I made arrangements for my wife to bring the car to show my friends at work. We were standing outside the store waiting when she stopped at the traffic light out front. When the light changed the intoxicated driver in front of her took off, he was in reverse. He promptly parked his car on the hood of the Datsun. To be continued…

[=Enigma=]

Sounds like a great idea for a thread. I look forward to reading the whole thing as it slowly trickles out from underneath your fingertips.

[Go240Zags]

After weeks of agony with the car I contacted the dealer in my hometown of Richmond, Indiana and made arrangements for them to keep the car until it stopped, giving them the opportunity to find the problem. In a couple of days I receive the call I had been waiting for. Upon pulling the gas tank the mechanic found that someone had put "Creepy Crawlers" in the gas tank and after running for a while they would plug up the fuel pick up. For those of you born after the 70’s Creepy Crawlers were rubber spiders and bugs you made yourself. I believe it was a toy from Hasbro, you know they brought us the hula-hoop.

At last, care free driving of my Datsun Z.

Only having the car for a couple of weeks and having the problems I had not had a chance to show it off to my fellow employees at Value City Furniture, where I worked in the evenings after school. I made arrangements for my wife to bring the car to show my friends at work. We were standing outside the store waiting when she stopped at the traffic light out front. When the light changed the intoxicated driver in front of her took off, he was in reverse. He promptly parked his car on the hood of the Datsun. To be continued…

The folks that brought us Creepy Crawlers also brought us Incredible Edibles, same concept, but you could eat the bugs, spiders, worms, etc.

Looking forward to reading the next installment.

[Go240Zags]

After weeks of agony with the car I contacted the dealer in my hometown of Richmond, Indiana and made arrangements for them to keep the car until it stopped, giving them the opportunity to find the problem. In a couple of days I receive the call I had been waiting for. Upon pulling the gas tank the mechanic found that someone had put "Creepy Crawlers" in the gas tank and after running for a while they would plug up the fuel pick up. For those of you born after the 70’s Creepy Crawlers were rubber spiders and bugs you made yourself. I believe it was a toy from Hasbro, you know they brought us the hula-hoop.

At last, care free driving of my Datsun Z.

Only having the car for a couple of weeks and having the problems I had not had a chance to show it off to my fellow employees at Value City Furniture, where I worked in the evenings after school. I made arrangements for my wife to bring the car to show my friends at work. We were standing outside the store waiting when she stopped at the traffic light out front. When the light changed the intoxicated driver in front of her took off, he was in reverse. He promptly parked his car on the hood of the Datsun. To be continued…

The folks that brought us Creepy Crawlers also brought us Incredible Edibles, same concept, but you could eat the bugs, spiders, worms, etc.

Looking forward to reading the next installment.

[Go240Zags]

After weeks of agony with the car I contacted the dealer in my hometown of Richmond, Indiana and made arrangements for them to keep the car until it stopped, giving them the opportunity to find the problem. In a couple of days I receive the call I had been waiting for. Upon pulling the gas tank the mechanic found that someone had put "Creepy Crawlers" in the gas tank and after running for a while they would plug up the fuel pick up. For those of you born after the 70’s Creepy Crawlers were rubber spiders and bugs you made yourself. I believe it was a toy from Hasbro, you know they brought us the hula-hoop.

At last, care free driving of my Datsun Z.

Only having the car for a couple of weeks and having the problems I had not had a chance to show it off to my fellow employees at Value City Furniture, where I worked in the evenings after school. I made arrangements for my wife to bring the car to show my friends at work. We were standing outside the store waiting when she stopped at the traffic light out front. When the light changed the intoxicated driver in front of her took off, he was in reverse. He promptly parked his car on the hood of the Datsun. To be continued…

The folks that brought us Creepy Crawlers also brought us Incredible Edibles, same concept, but you could eat the bugs, spiders, worms, etc. after you created them.

Looking forward to reading the next installment.

[deadflo]

This is already starting out as a cool story! Creepy crawlers were super popular in the 1960's, every kid I knew had one of those creepy crawler making kits!

OK, so we are waiting for more, but I like the idea of installments so we have some stories to look forward to.

[JLPurcell]

The Z is back together and the parts, new and old are almost all sorted and boxed for the trip to Les’s shop. A couple of brother firefighers have volunteered to help with the driving (ROAD TRIP)! Intense guys at the fire station and on scenes but I don’t know if I can survive 6 days in a vehicle with them. Of course one of them wants to see the Grand Canyon and the other wants to visit a girl he has met on line. It should make for an interesting trip, photos to follow.

Back to the story, I was insanely upset at the intoxicated driver but what was done was done. I researched the body shops in the area and took the car to Jones body shop. The shop had a waiting list and a good reputation. It took almost a month to have the car repaired and I couldn’t wait to get back in the drives seat. It was late in the evening when I picked up the car and immediately took it out to the bypass (highway 3) around Muncie so I could blow the car out. I was doing over 100 mph when I came up over a bridge. I noticed a car parked on the side of the road just past the bridge. The car went to brake lights then past back up lights and I knew it had to be a police office preparing for the chase. I chalked down the Z and, much to the officers surprise, pulled in behind him. I thought I had it made when he started talking cars with me. Telling me about bringing his Corvette to the bypass to blow it out as well, then he followed up by saying “but you just got caught”. I was clocked at just over 100 mph which meant a large fine, had no money, or reckless driver’s school. I opted for the smaller fine and the school. To be continued…