You guys are a goldmine of interesting photos, sketches and stories to tell. Thanks for sharing. It sure is fun to try to decifer it all.

Chris, when looking at the Matsuo design sketch, my mind flashed back to post #33 where Alan gave us a brief recount of his discussion with Matsuo san. This sketch is along the lines of what I would expect to see, as a likely candidate for submission from the designers, as a compromise steel wheel not needing a wheel cover. To me, it is reminiscent of the trimmed out rally wheels of the era from many other manufacturers. I know that we are all endeared to our D caps here in the US/Canada as nostalgic icons, but in 1970 people couldn't replace them fast enough and if given the option, I think a dressed steel wheel would have been nice. Probably, almost as expensive to produce as an alloy wheel though. It was the dealers who profited by selling aftermarket aluminium slots. If it wasn't for the "no option" policy for sales in the US/Canada market, I think a wheel such as this would have been chosen by many buyers willing to pay a premium for them.

Kats, the photographs of your friends unusual caps appear to be constructed from the same stampings used for the caps for the C30-series Laurels and the C10-series Skylines that Alan has shown us. It looks like signs of tampering on the backside and maybe someones personal creation? Does you friend know the history of them? I would venture a guess that because the caps have descriptive labels attached, they came from a Nissan dealer and did not originate at the assembly plant, where such labeling is seldom seen and not nessesary for purposes of identification. I also suspect a repaint. If they are legitimate, they could be considered an "off the shelf" stamping. The S30 stampings, from all evidence presented so far seem to be unique.

The photograph of the Fairlady Z with the D caps is priceless, and looking at the rear wheel, how do you even get the valve stem situated at the 2 o'clock position in relation to the D, without punching more holes to fasten the center ornament? And mismatched from the front also! Interesting.

All this interest seems to have driven up the price on these to a fairly high price for a set needing restoration (imo) that don't truly match. All that and the seller's reserve wasn't even met....

All this interest seems to have driven up the price on these to a fairly high price for a set needing restoration (imo) that don't truly match. All that and the seller's reserve wasn't even met....

I hadn't reallized the reserve wasn't met. I have seen better sets sell for less and worse sell for more. As long as I have been following the sales of these caps, prices have fluctuated greatly. Even from week to week. I wouldn't have put any higher of a bid in on those. The seller says that they could be used for DDs, but were excellent candidates for restoration. The cost of a decent set has elevated them beyond being used for daily drivers and the further cost for a rechrome and repaint to bring them up to show quality, would bring the cost to well over a grand.

... and the further cost for a rechrome and repaint to bring them up to show quality, would bring the cost to well over a grand.

Any idea what a guy might expect to pay for a re-chrome of 4 caps?

I am budgeting $1,200 per set to re-chrome them, however I have seen the cost as much as $3,000 a set. That price included painting which I plan to do myself.

I found these pictures to toss into the ring. Evidently, the "hex hub" pressing came in both versions.

I am budgeting $1,200 per set to re-chrome them, however I have seen the cost as much as $3,000 a set. That price included painting which I plan to do myself.

I found these pictures to toss into the ring. Evidently, the "hex hub" pressing came in both versions.

$1200 a set up to $3000 a set? Whoa! I think I am in the wrong business.

Can that be correct? Is re-chroming that much these days?

What vehicle do those caps come off of?

The hubcaps that were the original subject of this thread are listed on eBay again. This time with a BIN of $550.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/DATSUN-240Z-HUBCAPS-1970-1971-TYPE-I_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ66Q3a1Q7c65Q3a10Q7c39Q3a1Q7c240Q3a1318QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem300282259055QQitemZ300282259055QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

Last time they got up to $406.77, but the reserve was not met.

-Mike

Not a single bid yet. And, even after pointing out that they don't "really" match, the seller still does not mention this in the ad.

On closer inspection the only one that doesn't look pitted beyond rechroming is the "early" cap.

I think he should have taken the $400 and ran.

John

Edited December 23, 200816 yr by JohnnyO

Looks like someone liked them. They sold with the $550 BIN.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=300282259055&ih=020&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=

-Mike

If they are fetching that much I might be listing my nice matching set of "later" d caps soon. They look a lot better, with no curb rash and, of course, they all match...

I was doing a search through old threads for valve stem cap information, came across this old thread about D-cap differences, and realized I might be able to help define the

date when the newer D-caps were introduced. I had purchased a full set of 14 x 4 1/2" steel wheel and there original D-caps. The seller had purchased his 240Z new, and, after a couple of weeks, as he explained, had removed and stored these wheels and caps favoring the look of aftermarket wheels. These wheels and caps are in close to perfect condition, not rust, etc., and, all four wheels had identical date stamps of 11-70. They, also, have the valve stem hole centered on a spoke as defines the earliest caps.

If you were to look at wespaks post #17 above, he has caps dated 2-71 with the valve stem holes centered between spokes.

I have no reason to question the creditability of the seller of my wheels and caps, so it would seem a logical conclusion that the change-over date may have coincided with the transition between series 1 and series 2 cars sometime in the middle of 1-71.

Dan

Hello...this is my very first post on this forum. I've been reading and reading since before joining and buying my 2nd z car but my first S30 a nicely kept, 1971 Blue 240z Series 1 (build date 10/70)...my other car is a Z34. My apologies for resurrecting this old thread, but it seems to be the most complete and provides a lot of interesting information. My reason for posting is because I came across these "D" hubcaps on eBay. The seller stated that they were Series 1...but since I want to keep my girl as stock as possible...I want to make sure. After doing a good deal of research it seems that they are not...you'll notice from the photo that the value stem opening is smack between the spokes. They also have more teeth as described for the later D hubcaps. The other thing that I'm curious about is that two of these have the hole above the D and the other two below the D. Can anyone tell me why the holes are where they are? Also, is there any chance that these would have come on a car with a build date of 10/70? What are these? Thanks in advance! Confused in California.

Edited December 11, 201212 yr by Cuban Z
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