1974 Datsun 260z 2+2

Like all great Barn Finds my experience with this car began in quite the unexpected way. Back in May 2022 I was traveling to La Grange, NC with some friends to pull a k24 engine out of an Acura TSX with plans of dropping it in a Miata. The idea was to show up, pull the engine that day, load it into the back of my 1999 Volvo V70R (RIP), and drive home. Although, when we arrived, tucked into the corner of the homeowners backyard, sat this time capsule of a car, rotting away. The floor boards rusted through, no engine or transmission occupied the engine bay or transmission tunnel. She was a blank canvas waiting on someone to rescue her, but at first that someone wasn't me... My long time friend whom introduced me to the joys of greasy hands and the glorious scent of brake clean was in the market for a fun project car that he could build and make his own after selling his 1971 MG Midget. He was home from NC State (GO WOLFPACK!) for the summer and had an internship that was paying pretty well. Everything made sense for him to go through with taking on this project. With $500 on a late summer afternoon my Father and I ventured back out to La Grange with my buddy on the way from work. We purchased the vehicle and trailered it home where we would begin cleaning it up and turning it into something special. We wanted to make something bespoke and with some Facebook Marketplace wizardry we came across an iron block 5.3L Vortec LM7 out of a 2002 Chevrolet Tahoe listed for $500.00. Everything was running smoothly; we pressure washed years of dirt & debris that had built up on the cars exterior, and planned out a budget build that we thought could be done. That was until the money ran out. Again the Datsun sat parked. Covered in my buddies' driveway. With the cheapest car cover that money could buy. Months passed, and I was now in the market for a new project car as I had just sent a connecting rod through the block of my 1999 Volvo V70R while on a trip along the Blue Ridge Parkway (but that's a story for another day). My friend thought that the Volvo was a quirky car, and given it was more together than the Datsun it would be more feasible for him to take over as his primary project. So we traded projects, and both got to work. After stripping the interior revealing the massive holes in the drivers and passengers floor boards, it was apparent that new floor pans would be needed. I stripped the interior and began to remove paint from the exterior. Rust had eaten away the thin metal around the rear hatch and mother nature had really taken her toll on the car. Since then it's been a slow process due to another project I have undertaken and has taken priority, but over the next few months the Z should be prepped and conditioned inside and out to receive an incredibly rowdy power to weight ratio setup. Till then I hope you'll follow my social media accounts to see the progress I make on the Datsun, as well as each one of my projects.