By Shaun Ryan
The Ponte Vedra Auto Show always features interesting, unique automobiles from bygone eras, and this year is no different. One of the cars on display will be show director Justin Felker’s latest acquisition, a customized 1973 Nissan Z with a notable history, one that includes a bit of a mystery.
Technically a Datsun 240Z, this vehicle was the only factory-funded, customized 240Z ever built. The goal was to race it in the Baja 500, a mostly off-road contest in the western Mexico desert. Originally a street-legal sports car, it was customized by Brock Racing Enterprises (BRE).
And it would be driven by none other than the legendary Peter Brock himself.
The model itself was new, first introduced in 1969 for the 1970 model year.
The BRE team set about transforming the ’73 vehicle into an off-road race car. They added a roll bar, skid plates and a 26-gallon fuel tank behind the driver’s seat (for both increased range and off-road safety) and reinforced the nose. Race car aficionados will appreciate the additional headlights and custom suspension. The car has a 2.4-litre, inline 6 engine.
Hopes for that race were high. The first 90 miles were to be run on asphalt, which favored the 240Z over its competition, so the idea was to get such a lead over the hardy trucks that they wouldn’t catch up when the race transitioned to rougher terrain.
Unfortunately for Brock, the trucks overtook him within five miles of the route departing the asphalt.
The car was raced again that year, this time in the storied Baja 1,000, without Brock behind the wheel this time.
It was at that point that the customized 240Z simply disappeared.
For two decades, dedicated fans of the model wondered: Where was this customized race car now?
A carbon copy of a Datsun in-house memo, now in Felker’s possession, provides a clue.
Penned by the head of parts for North America, the paper reveals that the car was sold – despite its unique customization and history – as a typical used car. At a typical used-car price in 1973.
The sale caused a bit of a stir. The author of the memo issued an edict: any sale of a race car in the future must first be approved by him.
“It was gone for about 20 years,” Felker said. “People wanted to know where it was. It was a famous car. It was in California the whole time.”
The car was eventually tracked down by two Datsun 240Z enthusiasts, who devoted years to the search. It was found at last in the late 1990s: in the garage of a dentist who had purchased it in ’73 and returned it to its somewhat original street-legal state.
How many people saw the legendary race car along the streets and highways over the years, never knowing what they were actually seeing?
The 240Z fan purchased the auto and restored it to the version Brock raced in ’73, which was no small challenge. Today, Felker said, the restored car is about 99% correct.
Eventually, the man who restored the car – now living in Clearwater, Florida – planned to sell it at auction.
“I called him and just made him an offer,” said Felker. “I said, ‘Hey, I want to buy it. It’s going to be here. People can see it. You’ll know where it is.’ He didn’t even hesitate. He just said, ‘Deal.’”
Felker traveled out to California, where the car was in a show and met Brock there.
“He hadn’t seen the car for years,” said Felker. “Some of his employees hadn’t seen it since 1973. They were like, ‘Whoa, I worked on this thing!’”
Within days, the newly acquired 1973 Nissan 240Z was sitting in the Art ’n Motion showroom in downtown St. Augustine ready to be exhibited at the 2025 Ponte Vedra Auto Show.