Latest news with #240Zs
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
This Shop Is Saving Old Nissan 240Z Cars
Read the full story on Backfire News Tucked away in an industrial area of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, is a little shop that's working to save old Nissan 240Z cars. CarbonSignal is a name you might have heard before but couldn't quite recall where you know it. The shop is quite prominent in the Nissan tuning world and should continue to climb in significance for the long as they name suggests, started off making carbon-fiber body panels for 240Zs and other Nissans. As its reputation grew and so did demand, the shop expanded its offerings, until it expanded into mechanical restorations and modifications. Now customers from all over the world ship their rides to CarbonSignal to get a professional custom build or full restoration. You can see in a video tour of the shop by YouTuber Larry Chen it's a fairly cramped, busy space with plenty of 240Zs as well as Skylines and other notable Nissans in different states of disassembly. What's even more amazing is how the shop does all of its work by hand. In these modern times it might sometimes feel like that's dying out, but we do see shops operating this way in a number of places. Just realize you will pay more for that kind of quality, but if you really love your car and want it to look and work fantastic, it might be worth the cost. One has to wonder with the future of Nissan on shaky ground these days, just how important shops like CarbonSignal will become. While some brands like Saab just disappear into the quiet night, even if Nissan were to go away as an automaker, there's enough brand enthusiasm plus aftermarket support that owners could conceivably continue to drive their beloved rides indefinitely without worry. Images via Larry Chen/YouTube
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
SCCA Racer Who Brought Paul Newman to Motorsports, Bob Sharp, Has Died
Bob Sharp needed a way to boost sales of the then-new Datsuns on his Connecticut dealership's lot, which were moving into customer hands at a rate of about 200 a year. So he went racing, first in Datsun 510s, then in 240Zs, then in 300ZXs. Almost immediately, it worked. Sales increased tenfold, to 2,000 a year. Race on Sunday, sell on Monday really worked for him. Success on the track attracted notice, including movie star/racer Paul Newman, who drove Bob Sharp Datsuns and Nissans throughout his motorsports career. Bob Sharp passed away last week at 85, a week and a half shy of his 86th birthday. Sharp was also the father of successful SCCA, IRL, and IMSA racer and team owner Scott Sharp, who grew up in motorsports attending races of his famous father. Throughout it all, you would be hard-pressed to find anyone in racing who had a bad thing to say about Bob Sharp. 'Bob was a great competitor,' said fellow Datsun racer John Morton. 'We never had a cross word, never had any kind of a conflict on the track.' Sharp drove for his East Coast dealership, while Morton drove for BRE, Brock Racing Enterprises, representing the West Coast. Both were competing for notice and sponsorship dollars from big Nissan. But that didn't affect either racer's actions on the track. 'In fact, he drove for us in two races with the BRE team, and he was so good at Lime Rock, he won Lime Rock in one of our cars,' said Morton. Peter Brock was likewise complimentary about his old rival. 'We lost a good friend and competitor yesterday (Feb. 28),' said Brock. 'Bob Sharp, team owner, manager, and driver of Bob Sharp Racing, was one of the first to race Japanese cars in America and helped make the Datsun name respected.' Indeed, between 1967 and 1975, Sharp won the SCCA Nationals six times, in B-Sedan, F-Production, and C-Production, and the IMSA GTU title once, racing for Datsun. Sharp's success, including six SCCA titles, 'attracted all kinds of talent to his team,' said Nissan Motorsports upon Bob's induction to the SCCA Motorsports Hall of Fame. '…including the legendary Paul Newman who got his start with Bob Sharp Racing in 1972 driving a Datsun 510 B-Sedan in SCCA competition.' With Sharp's help and guidance, Newman would go on to win in many different Datsuns/Nissans, from that 510 to a 200SX, 280ZX V8, and 300ZX. The friendship between the two Connecticut residents would last throughout their lifetimes. Newman passed away in 2008. 'Bob's name will always be remembered as a great sportsman and friend to all who raced with, and against, him,' said Brock.
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Beautiful One-Owner 1972 Datsun 240Z Rescued And Restored
Read the full story on Backfire News For many, the Datsun 240Z was a first love, or at least one that has slipped away. To see one almost perfectly preserved in a US Army veteran's personal garage is enough to take your breath away. It's even enough to make Dennis Collins, a famed hunter of rare rides, take a step back and has shared his experience of not only seeing this special classic Nissan sports car for the first time, but how it came out after his restoration team aimed to correct even the smallest of issues. Not that there are many of those, thanks to meticulous care paid to the special ride for decades. The first and only owner of this 240Z tells Dennis he was in the US Army and stationed in Africa, in Ethiopia to be exact, when he bought the car. The Army had the Datsun shipped to him so he could drive it while in Africa, then shipped it back to the States when his deployment was over. Originally, the guy was supposed to get a red car with tan interior. We've seen plenty of 240Zs with that color scheme and they always look nice. But this lime paint (Nissan calls it Yellow along with Code 919, if that isn't confusing. That's why some people call is Tennis Ball or Highlighter instead.) isn't nearly as common and it's actually pretty cool to see, especially in such excellent condition. Speaking of that, with just 38,000 miles on the Datsun, there isn't much wrong with it. Sure, it hasn't run since the early 90s, but the Fairlady Z isn't a mess. To get it out of the garage where it's sitting, the guys just have to install the rear struts and put the wheels back on. All the original documents for the car are present and in excellent condition. Plus, the man kept his license plate from Ethiopia, which is part of the Z's story. After two and a half years of work, Collins shows the breathtaking results. The 240Z has been restored to its original glory and you should watch the video to see it in detail. Images via Dennis Collins/YouTube
