Classic Cars and Rides

1970 Datsun 240Z Series 1: Best of JCCS Winner Built by Master Tech

Rodney Schmitt's 4-digit VIN 240Z wins Best of JCCS with frame-off restoration. Former Nissan master tech preserves NOS parts, original vinyl, Monte Carlo Red paint.

Mr2mivin

1970 Datsun 240Z Series 1:

Rodney Schmitt

1970 Datsun 240Z Series 1

Instagram: @rod.schmitt.7

Photographer: Marvin Recinos

Instagram: @mr2mivin

Performance Stats: 151 HP (L24 2.4L inline-six)

"There isn't one screw, nut, or bolt that hasn't been touched. Everything on this car works exactly as it did when it first rolled off the assembly line." – Rodney Schmitt

From Street Racing to Nissan Master Tech

Rodney Schmitt was born and raised in Southern California with Hawaiian heritage and has been around cars his entire life. His automotive education started young—really young.

His dad was a street racer who always had fast cars: a '55 Chevy and a 1940 Ford coupe. Rodney grew up in the garage helping his father prep those cars for street races. They were also into drag boat racing, making speed a constant presence in his childhood.

When Rodney was old enough, his dad gave him the '40 Ford coupe. He started doing a little street racing himself, which led to building engines and working on cars. After that car, he got into Chevys—a couple of Camaros and Chevelles that were all hot rods.

Right out of high school, Rodney went to work at a car repair shop. After a couple of years, he moved to Nissan and became a master technician. That's where he got into Z cars. After about 15 years at Nissan, he started his own custom woodworking shop, did that for a few years, then went back to work at a Z repair shop.

That's what really started him on the 240Z. Eventually, he started his own business restoring them.

1970 Datsun 240Z Series 1

Why This 240Z? The Four-Digit VIN

At the point this car came along, Rodney had been restoring 240Zs for about eight years. When he found this one, he had to have it.

The reason? VIN 6094.

In the Z car world, the lower the VIN, the more valuable the car. This was an early Series 1 1970 Datsun 240Z with a four-digit VIN—extremely rare and historically significant.

Rodney had been saving new old stock (NOS) parts for years, and this was the perfect car to restore to a completely original state. This would be a purist build—no modifications, no upgrades, just bringing a piece of automotive history back to factory-floor condition.

1970 Datsun 240Z Series 1 engine bay with a polished engine

The Restoration: Every Screw, Nut, and Bolt

Rodney stripped the car down to the bare shell, built a dolly for it, and sent it off to the body shop. It stayed there for a little over a year. During that time, he rebuilt every single piece of the car.

Engine: L24 2.4L Inline-Six

Bored 40 over
Bronze valve seats replaced with steel
Nissan C grind camshaft installed
Rebuilt by Rodney using parts sent to machine shop, then reassembled personally

Transmission & Drivetrain

Transmission rebuilt with all new bearings and synchros
Rear differential torn down, inspected (everything looked good), and resealed

restored clean 1970 Datsun 240Z Series 1 interior

Interior: Preserving Original Diamond Vinyl

The interior is completely redone, but Rodney was able to reuse the original diamond vinyl throughout the car—it was still in perfect shape. At this time, there's no perfect replacement for it, making this an irreplaceable detail.

The headliner is also original. Door panels, carpet, and seat covers are new replacements sourced to match factory specs. Rodney did all the interior work himself—installed all the vinyl, headliner, carpet, door panels, and seat covers.

He also refurbished all the heater controls and tackled a problem that stops most restorers: the AM radio auto-scan function didn't work. Rodney took the clutch assembly from another radio and installed it in this one. Now the auto scan works perfectly.

He refurbished the window regulators and installed all the glass himself.

Exterior: Monte Carlo Red Perfection

The car was stripped completely. All bodywork was done, then repainted in its original color: 905 Monte Carlo Red.

All of the stainless steel trim was sent out and polished. All metal parts were sent out and powder-coated. The car has all of its original metal emblems. The original wheels have been restored, as well as the hubcaps.

Brakes & Suspension

All stock. All restored to factory specification.

1970 Datsun 240Z Series 1

What Makes This 1970 Datsun 240Z Series 1 Unique

What makes this car unique is how perfectly original it is. Everything on this car works exactly as it did when it first rolled off the assembly line.

The clock. The AM radio. The power antenna. The rear window defroster. Everything works.

Rodney has taken it to several car shows, and judges can never find a fault in it. He took it to the Japanese Classic Car Show (JCCS) last year and won Best of JCCS—a pretty cool experience for a car that's been in the Z world for decades.

What's It Like to Drive?

Driving this car is quite the experience. For only having 151 horsepower, it gets along pretty good. Pushing it hard in the corners is a little scary—because Rodney knows it's riding on 4.5-inch-wide rims—but overall, it's really fun to drive.

It cruises really nice down the highway. You can kick back, listen to the AM radio, and just enjoy the ride.No Bluetooth. No touchscreen. No driver aids.
Just you, the road, and a perfectly restored piece of Japanese automotive history.

underneath a 1970 Datsun 240Z Series 1 showing how clean it is

1970 Datsun 240Z Series 1: Complete Build Specifications

Engine

L24 2.4L inline-six
Bored 40 over
Bronze valve seats replaced with steel
Nissan C grind camshaft
Rebuilt by Rodney with machine shop support

Transmission & Drivetrain

Rebuilt with all new bearings and synchros
Rear differential resealed

Interior

Original diamond vinyl preserved and reused
Original headliner preserved
New replacement door panels
New replacement carpet
New seat covers (period-correct)
Refurbished heater controls
Refurbished and repaired AM radio with working auto-scan
Refurbished window regulators
All glass installed by Rodney

gearbox on a 1970 Datsun 240Z Series 1

Exterior

905 Monte Carlo Red (original color)
Complete bare-metal repaint
All original metal emblems
All stainless steel trim polished
All metal parts powder-coated
Original wheels restored
Original hubcaps restored

Suspension & Brakes

Stock suspension (fully restored)
Stock brakes (fully restored)

Current Output: 151 HP (stock L24 specification)

1970 Datsun 240Z Series 1

Who Did the Work?

Rodney did all of the work himself with the exception of paint and body by Cole Schmitt (@cole_240z).

He rebuilt the engine (sending parts out to machine shop, then reassembling personally to ensure it was done right), rebuilt the transmission, tore down and resealed the rear end, did all interior work, refurbished all components, and completely assembled the car down to the smallest details.

This is what eight years of collecting NOS parts and a lifetime of Nissan expertise looks like.

Future Plans: From Race Car to Street Weapon

Rodney's immediate future plans involve building a fun street car for himself. He races a 1971 240Z in endurance road racing, but his race car was totaled at Laguna Seca in January.

His plan? Take all the salvageable parts from the race car and build a street car—should be a pretty fun machine with a 3.0L motor, big Wilwood brakes, Mikuni carburetors, and all the good stuff from the race car. He plans to have this car ready for JCCS this year.

After that? Who knows. He still has a couple of 240Zs in the backyard.

Dream Car

Porsche 911 GT3—the ultimate balance of precision engineering and driving purity, much like the philosophy behind this 240Z restoration.

Shoutouts

Cole Schmitt (@cole_240z): Paint and body work
Marvin Recinos (@mr2mivin): Photography

1970 Datsun 240Z Series 1

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