Datsun fan Dominic Le is back with a fresh new ride to share with Jay Leno.
Le is the man behind the site Chasing Js, which is a corner of the Internet carved out for an appreciation of classic Japanese vehicles. Dominic has visited Jay Leno's Garage in the past, at which point he brought a polarizing Datsun Sunny truck. Now he's returned and this time he's brought the keys to a heavily modified 1971 Datsun 240Z.
Jay quickly claims the car is a 240Z HS. That HS would stand for "Hardly Stock," and Leno is definitely correct here. Le has transformed the car to fit his preferred aesthetic and the result is excellent. Gone is the original L24 2.4-liter inline-6. In its place is a rock-solid SR20 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-4. Le says he has it sitting farther back in the engine bay than the original motor, which means he's now working with better weight distribution. He's also benefitting from more power and less weight.
Le has built up the motor to the point where he's seeing 430 horsepower to the rear wheels. That's by way of a larger turbo and built heads, amongst other modifications. It's powerful, but it's also pretty to look at due to the high quality of the work and attention to detail. Leno learns that Le knows every bit of his engine bay. From learning how to work with titanium to internal turbo details that only he would ever know about and see. Incredibly, much of Le's talents are self-taught.
This is a very different car compared to what we normally see at Jay Leno's Garage. The appreciation for classic Japanese cars has been strong the last few years and it's only continuing to grow. Enthusiasts like Dominic Le are at the forefront of this passion, and we hope he continues to bring more automotive treats for Leno to explore.
