Beautiful Watanabe's on ebay

[Alfadog]

Thankyou Alan for the clarification! I guess 'inspiration' for those wheels was drawn directly from Watanabe... did that company make wheels otherwise or just for Nissan?

[HS30-H]

I believe that Kobe Seiko used to make all sorts of forgings and castings for companies like Nissan - not just wheels.

They launched their own brand wheels in the mid Seventies ( quite similar to the 432 mags, actually ) but I'm not sure what happened to them after that. I can imagine that they are probably still making castings and forgings, but I don't know about wheels. I certainly haven't seen any under the Kobe Seiko name ( it sounds a bit industrial, and I think the best translation for "seiko" would be "precision engineering" - so, "Kobe Precision Engineering"............. Hmmmm, maybe not so bad? ).

Cheers!

Alan T.

[Alfadog]

Hmm interesting! I can only imagine what the worth of original Sport Option Kobe Seiko wheels are worth nowadays!... And now I know what the watch brand "Seiko" means!!! You learn something every day

[v12horse]

That Kobe Seiko wheel in that sports catalog sure looks like a Watanabe. Darn, so Watanabe's were more like a dealer option similiar to the mags that are on many Z's(mine included)?

[HS30-H]

:classic:

[HS30-H]

Some of the best dealerships in Japan though........

That's not so bad is it? They are almost identical anyway. I should imagine ( as Alfadog pointed out ) that Kobe Seiko or Nissan themselves took a lot of 'inspiration' from the Minilite and Brabham designs, just like Watanabe did.............

Prince would have brought a lot of this preference with them when they joined Nissan. Take a look at the wheels on the R380:

[v12horse]

That is not at all a bad thing. Thanks for the clarification Alan. My view for Watanabe's does not change.

Ben

[v12horse]

Here is another set. Just the right size too.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=2471600987&category=43954

Somebody get wats for their Z!!!

[Bambikiller240]

Originally posted by v12horse

Here is another set. Just the right size too.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=2471600987&category=43954

Somebody get wats for their Z!!!

These are a mixed set of wheels, Aluminum and Magnesium. Also missing 2 center caps. Doesn't look like they've been very well cared for either.

In his feedback a seller complains that he had to ship TO this seller to an overseas location. I seem to remember previous auctions from this guy listing a location of Puerto Rico. If so, the shipping could be a KILLER.

[26th-Z]

Carl,

I just had dealings with the seller you mentioned (orestus_of_argos?) and found him to be the most communicative, pleasant, helpful seller. He is friends with a lot of us here, and I give him the Good Carkeeping Seal of Approval - 4A double plus. He helped me find brand new lug nuts and center caps for this set of Watanabes. They were exactly as described in his add and his packaging was superb. I highly recommend dealing with him. I made a new Z friend and his Zcar is drop dead gorgeous.

You are correct that the latest set on eBay is mixed aluminum and magnesium. Do pay mind to the different colors of metal between the two.

[26th-Z]

Now. If you are interested in the real deal. This set of Kobe Seiko wheels is on Yahoo Japan right now. I can't give you the link, because I found them through a translation site www.rinkya.com and the URL clip takes you to the translation home page. This set may be in need of repair and they are magnesium. I damn near wet my pants when I saw them.

If you go to Rinkya, click the automotive search bar before you flip over to the translation page. Once there, type a search for 240Z, S30 HS30 PS30 HLS30, or Kobe Seiko. There are three pages of listings just under the 240Z search, but different listings appear with the S30 HS30 PS30 HLS30 search.

Let me advise you to simply leave your wallet at home. Don't even bother mentioning shipping costs. In most cases the seller won't ship internationally anyway.

[HS30-H]

A little background info on 26th-Z's pic of the Kobe Seiko wheels in the Japanese auction:

Kobe Seiko were the original manufacturers of many of Nissan's competition and Sports Option wheels. They made the original equipment magnesium wheels for the 432, as well as the Works "Rally Mags" used on the Factory rally cars.

The pictured wheels are a later ( modified ) version of the moulds and tooling for the 432 mags. Kobe Seiko marketed this design themselves under the "MAGLLOY" design name ( which you can see cast into the rim ) after production of the 432 had stopped.

Just in case anyone is interested.............