Finding Z-Cars by VIN number possible?

[kjohnson2444]

Welcome Wick! I too have your wonderful book and refer to it often. I would not be surprised if the owner of 3547 is a member here, and I hope you are put in touch. I often wonder what happened to my first Z that I sold in '77, but I don't even know the VIN #. I hope you continue to visit the site and share your valuable knowledge.

[Zedrally]

Welcome Mr H, and thanks for your book.

That would be HLS30-003547 I think.

I'm available for proofreading duties if you publish again.... ;-)

Welcome Wick,

I hope you're re-united with your zed.

Without your book I would have wasted countless hours over the years.

I see Alan is manoeuvring for an International version of the bible.....

[Brubaker]

Wick, great book and I am glad some money is still coming your way. I have been though the book numerous times and you gave great tips and insights into restoring these cars. Thanks for publishing the book. The vin # is HLS30 - 03547, you cover that in your book on page 203, chapter 13 "Z-Car Identification" middle of the page second paragraph. I liked the copy of the invoice on page 200, that shows the vin as HL530- 03547. I don't know where the 5 comes from.

I googled the new number and Carl Beck a member of this forum posted the following in February, 2009 Enjoy

"HLS30 00026 is of course Chris's... and HLS30 03547 was Bill Regan's. You'll note the lack of the "Rear Window Defroster" being listed. The later 70 Window Stickers included it.

FWIW,

Carl B"

I am sure you will find the owner of this car with such a famous pedigree. Good luck!

[dharman]

I believe that a friendly police officer can run the VIN through the DMV in order to locate the owner. A car's VIN and plate number are recorded so that cars missing plates can be traced. Good luck finding your baby. I just got my 240 running again after 20 years sitting in the garage. I have your book and have started accumulating parts for the full storation. Best, Doug

[Mike B]

I googled the new number and Carl Beck a member of this forum posted the following in February, 2009 Enjoy

"HLS30 00026 is of course Chris's... and HLS30 03547 was Bill Regan's. You'll note the lack of the "Rear Window Defroster" being listed. The later 70 Window Stickers included it.

FWIW,

Carl B"

I am sure you will find the owner of this car with such a famous pedigree. Good luck!

Brubaker, you should have read the thread you copied and pasted the above quote from... it's from this site.. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?33381-repro-window-sticker&p=282385&viewfull=1#post282385. If you read posts #38 and #39 in the thread you will see that Carl was having a senior moment and it was pointed out to him that HLS30-03547 was Wick's car, not the one Bill Regan restored and then sold.

-Mike

[Arne]

I believe that a friendly police officer can run the VIN through the DMV in order to locate the owner.

I don't think that's likely anymore. An officer doing a search like this for non-law enforcement reasons would be risking his job. Privacy concerns are rampant these days. Here in Oregon, years ago you could walk into a DMV office with a plate number, pay a small fee (couple of bucks) and get a complete printout of all the records of the car and its registered owner(s). Imagine trying that today!

[HS30-H]

That would be HLS30-003547 I think.

That would be 'HLS30-03547' I think.....

Tricky things these numbers...

[het976]

Hi Wick... It is nice to be able say thank you "in person" for the great help in your book. By the way, I got my Z back after almost 10 years away. I found it and won it back off of eBay; so it can happen.

[Brubaker]

Brubaker, you should have read the thread you copied and pasted the above quote from... it's from this site.. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?33381-repro-window-sticker&p=282385&viewfull=1#post282385. If you read posts #38 and #39 in the thread you will see that Carl was having a senior moment and it was pointed out to him that HLS30-03547 was Wick's car, not the one Bill Regan restored and then sold.

-Mike

Mike, I did see the other posts but decided to leave as is hoping that you or Carl would respond and hopefully have some information on the car. I also saw you posted an article about Wick's car for sale in some magazine you had from the 90's compared to the first z officially sold in America (#16) asking "which would you rather have?"

The search continues...

[Kathy & Rick]

Hi, Mr. Humble (may I call you Wick?):

We've been away from this site for awhile and just returned to find

your recent posts re: trying to find your old car, VIN# HLS30-03547.

I have records of the whereabouts and ownership of several thousand

240Z Datsuns. But sad to say, I show a huge gap between VIN

#03486 and #03598 (sorry for the abbreviations, Alan!). However,

as I continue to fill in the gaps from various sources, I'll certainly be

on the lookout for "your" #03547; and will definitely notify you if and

when I should happen to locate her.

I, too, would like to commend you most heartily for your wonderful

book. While I have not yet undertaken a restoration per se (only a

"refreshing,") still I consider the book a valuable asset in my collection

of Z Car books and memorabilia of various types. Thank you for all

the hard work you must have put into the book as well as the car!

All Z Best,..........................Kathy & Rick

Edited January 6, 2012 by Kathy & Rick

[Wick Humble]

A user of this forum called me with a current address in So Cal for my Z-Car 3547 (sorry if I slipped a cog on the exact VIN prefix -- its been a while!) and while I haven't tried to get in touch with the owner (yet) I sure do appreciate the tip!

My silver '71 (HLS3025906, by the way) is progressing; deep into ironing out the 40-year old Nissan tin. My '70 hadn't many issues, and virtually zilch rust, thank goodness! This one is going to have Tokiko springs and struts, Suspension Techniques bars, L28 rebuilt by Steve Pettersen Motorworks of Chico, steel-synchro 5-speed and trick clutch, Konig 15" spokers from MSA, Toyota 4-piston front and ZX rear calipers, Turbo oil cooler, Fairlady grille, Euro signals, and later buckets in black leather, four-point belts, polished Diesel cam cover, Hobrecht roll-bar, eventually A/C, lots of sound-proofing, and more.

Steve is my local connection, and a Z-Guru for Nor Cal folks. He shares his neat shop with me for major surgeries; echoing Mark Twain on Charles ****ens "He knows all there is to know (about Z's) and I know all the rest!" If you took the late, great "Z-Car Magazine" -- of which I was Restoration Editor -- you met Steve in our S30 article about ten years ago. He's building the ultimate '432' S-30 car, and has his own 'dream garage' locally.

I also have two '65 NL320 'Sports Pickups" (properly Datsun Commercial Cars), a red 'barn find' that is a fun driver and pretty original, and a black (no kidding, from the factory!) roached one that will probably be re-done by my son-in-law, before I'm too old to help -- L20B, 5-speeder, etc. The 'unibody' 320 was the Datsun that originally got me interested in the marque back in '63; I'd been doing '55-57 Chevies and flatmotor Fords previosly. They are a neat little rig, and get tons of good notice from other drivers, but the column 4-speed is a pain, believe me!

THANK YOU for the wonderful feed back on "How To Restore Your Datsun Z-Car", it sure picked up my ego! It was a labor of love, and I wish the photos had been better quality, but I was learning! My Editor, Tom Monroe, was a great help, and made sure the Nissan parts book drawings got included; even helps me! The late "California Bill" Fisher (also Fisher Books and HP Books) was a great Z fan, and the Fisher family is still great to be associated with. By the way, I no longer wear my hair that style (c. 1985) because I don't have much of it left!

FYI: I'm going to sell my daily driver '71 Mercedes 230 sedan (the infamous ":stupid::stupid::stupid::stupid:BenZ") with personally installed L28 and 5-speed, Alurad 15" mags, etc. this spring -- gotta get that Z painted!!

Hope to see some of you by next summer, and "Happy Z Trails"!

Wick Humble

[zpizzaman20]

Your book has been an inspiration for all of us, look forward to seeing your next machine!