Drivetrain
Chassis
Body
Dealer Info
tel: (715) 834-2223Muscle Car Restorations, Inc.
11371 20th Ave.
Chippewa Falls WI, 54729
Purchased new, driven, stored and now new again.
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Even those that are not car guys have one from their youth that has great memories attached to it. It could have been a hot rod of some type or an old beater from your grandmother but it still played a part in your life as you were growing up. Many times it wasn't the car we were attached to as much as all the crazy stuff we did in it with all of our friends.
Sometimes though the car itself or whenever you see one like it triggers thoughts of special times. All too often the team at MCR will have someone at a show tell them about the car they used to have and how they wish they still had it. Even if they did though, seldom are they in runnable condition. It actually takes a lot of attention to keep a car in even restorable shape through several decades of unuse.
Doug McMillan managed to pull it off with his '76 Datsun 280Z. He bought this Z-car brand new. At the time, he was between jobs on unemployment so he had to get his dad to cosign for the loan. A somewhat risky move perhaps but Doug eventually got to work and paid it off.
The fun and memorable role the car played was that he courted his future wife in it and they are still together today. Doug drove the car for about ten years and of course growing family forced him into something larger. Fortunately, the family business provided a corner in a building to stash it away out of the elements for about thirty years.
The Z actually looked pretty good when it arrived at MCR but like so many cars of this era, the damage had already been done by the winters in Wisconsin. Once the team had carefully disassembled and documented the entire car, it was sent out for chemical stripping which revealed the full extent of driving in the rust belt.
Granted, it was in much better condition than most that show up at the shop but a trip to the metal shop was still necessary to bring it back to how Doug remembers it when new.
Doug wanted it brought back to showroom stock but one concession to modern tech was made and that was to swap out the original Bosch fuel injection for a much more user friendly FAST system.
It could be said that there isn't much that can bring back youthful memories quite like taking delivery of the same new car for a second time, especially when the same girl is still in the passenger seat.
Testimonials
The MCR Team did an absolutely terrific job restoring my 1976 280Z.
Throughout the process they provided hundreds of pictures which clearly documented the restoration process. Every Friday the pictures would arrive....it was always so exciting to open up the folder and see my car come to life.
I have brought to car to a few local car shows. I always get tremendous compliments on the engine restoration, the interior, as well as the finish. Beautiful!! Can't recommend MCR enough.
Douglas McMillan, owner of this MCR restored 1976 Datsun 280Z
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Specs
- Stock
- 28
- Engine
- 2.8 I6
- Transmission
- F4W71B
- Exterior
- British Racing Green
- Interior
- Black
Description
Purchased new, driven, stored and now new again.
----
Even those that are not car guys have one from their youth that has great memories attached to it. It could have been a hot rod of some type or an old beater from your grandmother but it still played a part in your life as you were growing up. Many times it wasn't the car we were attached to as much as all the crazy stuff we did in it with all of our friends.
Sometimes though the car itself or whenever you see one like it triggers thoughts of special times. All too often the team at MCR will have someone at a show tell them about the car they used to have and how they wish they still had it. Even if they did though, seldom are they in runnable condition. It actually takes a lot of attention to keep a car in even restorable shape through several decades of unuse.
Doug McMillan managed to pull it off with his '76 Datsun 280Z. He bought this Z-car brand new. At the time, he was between jobs on unemployment so he had to get his dad to cosign for the loan. A somewhat risky move perhaps but Doug eventually got to work and paid it off.
The fun and memorable role the car played was that he courted his future wife in it and they are still together today. Doug drove the car for about ten years and of course growing family forced him into something larger. Fortunately, the family business provided a corner in a building to stash it away out of the elements for about thirty years.
The Z actually looked pretty good when it arrived at MCR but like so many cars of this era, the damage had already been done by the winters in Wisconsin. Once the team had carefully disassembled and documented the entire car, it was sent out for chemical stripping which revealed the full extent of driving in the rust belt.
Granted, it was in much better condition than most that show up at the shop but a trip to the metal shop was still necessary to bring it back to how Doug remembers it when new.
Doug wanted it brought back to showroom stock but one concession to modern tech was made and that was to swap out the original Bosch fuel injection for a much more user friendly FAST system.
It could be said that there isn't much that can bring back youthful memories quite like taking delivery of the same new car for a second time, especially when the same girl is still in the passenger seat.
Read More
1976 Nissan Datsun
The projects shown on our website are a small subset of the hundreds of vehicles MCR has restored since 1988, and the photographs are a small subset of the thousands we typically take of each project. Contact us if would like to discuss a specific restoration.
