Finished a total restoration of my 5/70 build 240Z #3833 last year. The car is Datsun 920 "Safari Gold". After we finished stripping the car and revealed the paint in the previously covered areas, I was somewhat surprised to see that those areas were "brighter" than the exterior. Using the unexposed paint as a sample, we matched it with PPG urethane single stage, applied 5 coats, wet sanded and rubbed (a lot!). I think the results were outstanding (pic attached). I am positive if we had simply ordered the 920 gold without color matching, it would have been a darker tint than it was supposed to be. I also think that the chemistry of modern paint is so much more advanced than it was back in the late 60s/early 70s, that it will hold truer over time.

And as far as I can tell, 920 Safari Gold was only available on the 240Z from 10/69 mid 1971. It was also available on the 510 in that time frame.

FWIW

Edited September 23, 200915 yr by zcar70

The color is beautiful, but seems lighter and less brown than the original Safari Gold. It could be the light but the attached seems to be closer (IMO).

Do you know if the guy above did a color match or used a code card from the 70's? The reason I ask is that the color in your picture (post 38) looks similar to the samples I have seen from the PPG cards from the 70's.

John

J.0. ........That car is out of Woodlands Texas....the owner is named Frank....Zedyone originally posted the picture and I liked it so much I saved it. When I asked him what he used he said 920 gold with 3 coats of clear...I just P.M.'d him and asked if he would respond on this forum. Hope he responds so we can get details...his car is certainly close to a perfect match of 920 gold (IMO).

Another car in gold.....this one is a VZ from Carl's files.

More gold.

Zcar70. My dad and I both love the color of your car. We both agree that shade looks better than the factory color. Do you have the formula???

It's beautiful!!!

Thanks for the compliment. All I can tell you is that we used a paint sample from under the dash and the paint matching computer came up with this. The color seems to "pop" more than the original enamel. I really think that it is due to today's superior paint chemistry. The old paint seemed to darken a bit over time. I didn't notice it much until we stripped the car.

OK. I am going to get a sample made and spray it next weekend. I will let you know how it turns out.

John

Evening all ,I have been following this thread for a while and the more pics I see of 920 gold ,the more I like it . My Feb-71 #23215 was gold and thankfully some of it still remains . The light in these shots don't really show as well as they could although you can see what untouched paint looked like in 71 . The exterior of the car has been repainted black but everything else still is there as factory condition . If I ever did a complete teardown like the car from Michigan I would seriously consider the 920 as well .

And yes for those who might be wondering , that is the original Bridgestone laying there in the tub .

See ya and always love to see the beautiful work that is being done to these Z's .

Chris

Apologies for the delay. Haven't been here for a spell.

My Z is 920 with a bit of gold metal-flake tossed in to give it a bit more snap in sunlight. The paint brand is PPG, Deltron 2000 line. The now-faded label says "OEM 920 Nissan."

Hope this helps and is timely to some of you.

Frank

And yes for those who might be wondering , that is the original Bridgestone laying there in the tub .

See ya and always love to see the beautiful work that is being done to these Z's .

Chris

Chris,

Nice Bridgestone, but I have a general comment about securing the spare tire in the tub.

Is it just me. It seems that, more often than not, when someone posts a picture of the spare tire, the hold down bracket appears to be installed upside down with the rubber protected edge of the hold down facing upward, instead of down and against the steel wheel for protection.

Interested in opinions if I have this all wrong.

Dan