As we’re ready to pull away from Hydration bubble tea in downtown San Jose, I take a quick look in my side view mirror and do a double take… was it the sharp yellow color? the headlight covers that gave it away? A beaming Z turns the corner and we spot each other down the street. He pulls in just behind me, and I turn to my wife to say, “babe, it’s gonna be a minute”. :]
Meet Bryan and his 3rd Datsun Z, also a ’77 280z! We swap stories…
If you’re sharp, you may remember this is the same Bryan who’s commented on the blog before! Our Z’s are often mistaken for one another. He tells the story of one of his buddies meeting him downtown, exclaiming, ‘yeah, you parked out in front. i’m walking past your Z right now’!
His 280z is also repainted, but still in it’s original color. He also comments that there are 4 of us with yellow Z’s in the area! Note the single side view mirror, mini-door-bumper next to the door handle, and that the body bumpers are all blacked out. I didn’t get a shot of the whole car, but you can kinda see the nice Rota rims he’s rolling on. After realizing that I don’t have the chrome along the roof sill, it’s just so obvious I don’t have it.
Aside from the new coil, the engine is stock and also has all the same minor issues. He’s in the process of removing each component and cleaning down the engine bay – it’s looking great!
Yep, that’s a rear strut tower bar in the back. He had me lean in hard on his suspension…stiff solid. Yep, coil overs. I guess with profile that low it’s got to be! Must be incredible to ride around corners. Plans for the rear? It looks like the previous owner did a poor job of replacing the all-too-often rusted trunk sill, so he’s looking to eventually replace that, fill in the holes and fit a 240z bummer on there.
Bryan was on his way over to meet his filmmaker buddy who’s got a few GoPro’s and a head cam to film the Z taking the turns on Hwy 9. Oooooo would love to see that final footage!
I’m sure it won’t be the last time we see Bryan and his yellow Z!
the DAILY DATSUN 