New to the club...HLS30-74857

[EverRude]

That is a nice looking car. Very cool that you have those pictures and paperwork included. The car simply oozes history. Would almost make me want to leave the vinyl top.

Welcome

[Arne]

That is a nice looking car. Very cool that you have those pictures and paperwork included. The car simply oozes history. Would almost make me want to leave the vinyl top.

Almost. But not quite.

[Gary in NJ]

Welcome 24 Oz. I do like your car...with the exception of the vinyl top. Dealers slapped "Landau Roofs" on just about anything back in the 70's. As a teenager who loved cars back then, I would go nuts when I saw those stupid add-ons. In the 80's the Landau Roof morphed into the the more hideous "Fake Convertible". Vinyl doesn't belong anywhere on a vehicle.

But I do like your car.

[Arne]

Yeah, the roof is very period, but that doesn't make it nice, at least not to me. Interesting to note that while this car only got a half-roof, the full roof (in black only) was actually listed in the Nissan parts fiche. (See attached.)

Not sure which is worse - a vinyl roof or the glass sunroofs so many cars (incl. mine) got over the years. At least the vinyl is less work to remove during a paint job, removing the sunroof on mine was a bit of a project.

But on the other hand - if the rest of the car's paint is decent, I don't know if I could bring myself to paint the whole car just to lose the vinyl. And some people may like it!

[24 Ounces]

The door's plate says "3/72"...you were right, Carl. I based the 4/72 date on an online Z registry...I did not know about the door plate (damned amateurs!. The white interior must go...all of the vinyl parts (the dreaded Tijuana upholstery shop diamond pieces) are seriously faded, and the hard plastic pieces are all basically tan now. The white vinyl reminds me of National Lampoon's "Vacation" when Chevy Chase visits cousin Eddie and admires his white vinyl shoes. The door panels are in great shape with the exception of the chrome strips which have mostly peeled off to reveal blue plastic underneath. I spent the day working on a mysterious wiring problem (no turn signals but emer. flashers work, no brake lights, gauges and tach are all dead...probably a loose connection in the dash harness), and also removed most of the dealer add-on A/C (let me know if anyone out there needs any of this stuff...it's yours if you pay the shipping) and the sweet Audiovox 8-track tape player (weighs about 15 lbs...the good-old days!). I may keep the white vinyl top since it's in the original photos and on the bill-of-sale, and it would stand out at a show full of orange Zs (but maybe stand out like a turd in a punchbowl...!). The bill-of-sale shows the dealer charged $575 for the add-on air, and another $250 for the "sport vinyl roof". I guess those were easy ways to pad the bill on these cars, eh? I am also removing some hideous stainless steel mudguards that are each held on with approx. 10 small sheetmetal screws apiece...some welding work will be required to fix those holes. BTW, Arne...thanks for the vinyl top attachment. Enjoy your Friday night, guys.

[mgmoreau]

24 Ounces,

Welcome to Classic Z. You will find a wealth of information on this site as well as a bunch of guys that are happy to share their knowledge on these great cars. One suggestion is learn to use the search function as most everything has been discussed on this site at some point. I have a 72 240Z with VIN# 70756 and 3/72 for the build date. Your car looks very clean to start with, you are lucky!

[Darrel]

Looks like you have a rat problem in the garage.

[24 Ounces]

Yes...Sassy is a little rat! She is absolutely worthless at doing anything other than putting a smile on my face...terrible at getting the proper tool when I need it!

[Bonzi Lon]

Welcome, nice car & paperwork. Glad to hear you are going back to original steelies and covers, there are so few of us left.

I noticed the scan Arne posted calls it a 'leather top'. Any chance you have genuine bovine hide?

Bonzi Lon

[24 Ounces]

No...the top is unfortunately made out of genuine vinyl (possibly from a rare animal called a "Nauga":). The trim piece at the rear of the top is aluminum and appears to have been made specifically for a Z. BTW, I previously owned a 1965 Mustang coupe that was Rangoon Red, 6-cyl. with an automatic, original spare, interior, engine compartment, floor mats, trunk mat, and 63k original miles. I had all the paperwork on that one...bill-of-sale, owner's manual, photos of the car when it was new, even the dealer delivery card (listed the day it came off the truck from Dearborn, MI and assigned it a stock number). The car was sold new in Iola, KS at Dale Wichman Ford and I became friends with Richard Wichman, the deceased owner's son who still lives in Iola. He gave me the delivery card...great guy. I sold the Mustang just prior to a bitter divorce 2 years ago...the 240Z is my sweet revenge (and the car I will never sell to appease any woman). I was really interested in the car I bought once I discovered its wealth of paperwork. I asked the owner's son if he could provide me with pictures of the Z when it was new...they will look nice on a display board with the car's history at shows. FYI...you guys seem like a friendlier bunch than many of the Mustang people I dealt with...a very stuffy lot.