Ace's home-restored 240Z completes a 2,000-mile JCCS road trip without missing a beat
Well, he made it.
And the better news is that the car made it home, too.
In an October 6 update to his restoration website, Ace reports completing more than 2,000 miles across five states without a mechanical problem.
For a fifty-five-year-old sports car rebuilt at home, that's a pretty satisfying result.
Especially considering how much trouble the car had given him before the trip.
A proper road trip, not a trailer ride
Ace received confirmation that his Series 1 240Z had been accepted for JCCS in late September.
Rather than arranging transport, he elected to drive from Denver to Long Beach for the October 3 show.
The journey took him through high-desert highways, stretches of Utah and Nevada, and eventually into Southern California.
In his post-trip report, he describes the car running consistently throughout the journey, without stumbling, stalling or developing the sort of mechanical problem that can quickly turn a classic-car adventure into an expensive roadside education.
He also reports that California fuel prices were significantly higher than those he'd encountered in Colorado.
That probably wasn't the only reminder that operating a classic sports car over long distances requires a little financial flexibility.
The repairs that made the trip possible
The successful journey is especially interesting when viewed against the car's recent restoration history.
During 2024 and 2025, Ace spent considerable time investigating an irritating noise from the rear suspension.
He replaced or inspected numerous components, including the differential, springs and struts.
The problem eventually turned out to involve the rear control-arm inner bushings.
Ace discovered that he had installed the two different bushing lengths in the wrong positions, allowing the control arm to move excessively.
In March 2026, he documented correcting the problem with polyurethane replacements.
Other recent work included repairing a fuel-tank sender seal, replacing steering-rack boots, revising the rearview mirror arrangement and continuing to refine smaller details of the restoration.
None of these projects was particularly glamorous.
All of them helped move the car closer to dependable everyday use.
JCCS was the reward
The October 3 Japanese Classic Car Show gave Ace an opportunity to park the completed car among dozens of other S30s.
He didn't bring home a trophy.
But his report describes a steady stream of people photographing the car, asking questions and discussing their own Z projects.
More importantly, he was able to enjoy the show knowing that his car had carried him there under its own power.
And it would carry him home the same way.
The best kind of restoration result
A classic Z can be restored to several different standards.
Some owners pursue complete factory originality. Others build modernized performance cars with powerful engines, elaborate suspension systems and carefully engineered electronics.
Ace's project follows a simpler philosophy.
Make the car attractive, repair its weaknesses and use it.
His 240Z is not presented as a finished museum piece. His website still describes the restoration as an ongoing process.
But the successful JCCS journey demonstrates something important.
The car has progressed from a long-running garage project to a machine capable of substantial independent travel.
For anyone currently staring at a disassembled Datsun and wondering whether the work will ever end, there's something encouraging about that outcome.
Two thousand miles.
Five states.
No mechanical drama.
And an owner who says he'd happily do it again.
That's a pretty good return on years of scraped knuckles.
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