New 240Z in Canada

[NWT240zed]

Greetings fellow Z enthusiasts,

I imagine my story is familiar to many of you. I had the pleasure of owning a '73 Z in my youth. As great as it was, I eventually found myself at university without the means to properly store and maintain it. I sold it, with the promise that one day I would own another.

I finally purchased a '72 and look forward to some summer driving. The new summer toy is stored with family on BC's Sunshine Coast. Come spring it will be taken on a nice road trip home to Yellowknife.

My gratitude to those on this site sharing their advice and expertise on this site. I know the '72 will need some attention, but that was expected with a car only a year younger than I. I suspect the gas tank vent lines to be leaking as at 2/3rds full she showed a slow leak. This was temporarily remedied by taking it for a long drive to burn off some gas. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to put the car up get a closer look. The car also needs a valve adjustment as there is a slight knocking. I am, however, very happy so far with the car and the PO was clearly someone who loved and cared for the car. The engine bay sparkles and the interior is spotless.

Any advice on a good Z car mechanic in the Vancouver B.C. area would be appreciated. Also, I'm considering finding a 240z gas tank, and giving it the Gas Tank Renu treatment, and replacing all the lines. Anyone know of a good places to look for a gas tank near Vancouver? Much appreciated.

I look forward to posting pics of the road trip in May/June.

Cheers,

Martin

[zhead240]

posts more pics when u get time. do u know what the original color was? it looks black now, am i right? yellowknife, u can't get much farther north than that. short summers but long days.

[=Enigma=]

Hey there and welcome to the forum. That's a nice looking Z you have there. By the sounds of it I'm guessing you've already done quite a bit of research on the site. I don't have any B.C. recommendations for you but I'm sure someone will pipe in. We've got quite a few members in the PNW.

[NWT240zed]

Thanks Zhead240, yep she is black now. I think she started life as 112 yellow/lime, not unlike your profile pic. I've always been partial to red zeds, but there's something timeless about silver. One day she'll change colour again, but not any time soon. We'll see how she looks under the midnight sun this summer :-)

Thanks for the welcome Enigma. Nice to see how active the Z community is on ClassiczCars.

Cheers,

Martin.

[taikaki]

Hi NWT240zed

I live in Vancouver !

I always bring my 240 to TEKAM in Burnaby. They just about finished rebuilding my 240's transmission. The owner of this garage was from Japan he is right generation for this kind of car.

If you are looking for large selection of quality used(some new)parts in Canada.

http://www.datsunzparts.com/

or in Vancouver

http://www.zeddsaver.com/

or don't mind crossing border

http://www.zspecialties.com/

If you ask these specialist most of problem will be solved.

Edited March 4, 2009 by taikaki

[NWT240zed]

Thanks for the help Taikaki, I'll be sure to check out TEKAM and the links you provided.

Cheers,

Martin

[NWT240zed]

Taikaki, I Googled TEKAM and it looks like I'll have to take my car there first chance I get. The deal clincher was an old post from 2000 I came across on an RX-7 site. The post describes a customer's experience at TEKAM with a test drive and I thought it worth sharing:

Posted by mike on June 01, 2000 at 23:36:44:

In Reply to: Re: DAMMNNN. Just came back from test drive. posted by JGPeters on May 31, 2000 at 19:24:38:

I had a similar experience while in the passenger seat of my '86 GXL.

I used to take my car to Tekam Automotive in Vancouver (while I still lived there) as the gang at that shop knew thier stuff. My main mechanic Takahashi was a factory Mazda driver in the early 80's as evidenced by the photos on the shop wall.

Anywho's, after fixing my pilot bearing one day I told him that my shifter knob was now rattling. "We go now" was all he said as he hopped in the driver seat. My gawd what a ride I went on. He didn't try to impress me with sending the car sideways like Pouya's test pilot but he made that car do things I could only dream of. With a flurry of heel/toe corners and split second shifting I was assuming the position of all of MY passengers, holding on for dear life.

After the ride I wondered what kind of joke was being played on me. This couldn't be my car. It was and still is but it hasn't seen action like that since.

I look forward to going for a "test drive", and may have to invent some mysterious knocking to prompt one. Have you ever been treated to such a ride? Anyhow, thanks again for the tip.

Martin.

[taikaki]

Hi Martin

I just picked up my 240 today and done test drive.

I think this summer will be best summer since I own this car in 2003.

[Travel'n Man]

Martin,

From one '72 to another, welcome!

I as well owned a '73 back in '78. It's hard to get these cars out of our blood. This is my fourth one and by far my favorite. It's been quite the journey in the restoration process and still evolving.

[bigoak]

Welcom aboard and congratulations!

Being that far north, the short summers will be a bummer (not much better here) and I can't imagine what the potholes might be like up there, not to mention polar bear road hazards...

Drive carefully....

[joker72z]

Martin,

If you want another option, try Specialty Engineering in New Westminster, BC as Andy Pearson has been building Datsun race cars for 30 years and he knows more than most people by far. Shop rates are decent and he has access to pretty much anything you need.

I will watch with anticipation as you transform my old girl into someone new and exciting and special to you. Good luck.

[guy_geo]

Hello from down under Montreal.

Enloy your rides with the brief summer you have up there.

Luv the rear bumper on your car...