I bought this item on Ebay a few days ago...couldn't resist the patina and original use (a cigarette holder). The seller sent a paper with the item's history: "Just to give you some history on this Fairlady. I was stationed as a Marine security guard at the US Embassy in Peking, China from 1973-74. My Canadian girlfriend at the time was going to college in Japan. I had seen a Fairlady when I was in Hong Kong and loved them. I told her I wanted one and this is what she gave me for Christmas in '73. Since then it has moved to the US Embassy in Manilla Philippines, El Toro Marine Corps Air Base in Calif., several places in the US, and finally in Defiance, Ohio."

I paid $34 for it and it looks great on the shelf with my growing Z collection.

Let's hope you are a heavy smoker.

good thing 240Z's are smog exempt, since it's a smoker...

That could explain the troublesome "fumes in the passenger compartment" issue associated with many Zs.

Dennis

Why is it that we spend all our free time getting rid of the "patina" on our classic cars to increase their value and appeal, and yet if you clean one of these rare collectables you get just the opposite.

My father was in the German army in WWII, he saved all of his old gear until the day he died including his combat helmet, SA dagger, decorations, uniform and his Lugar. He was an officer and was allowed to keep that gear when the surrender happened at the end of the war. Over the years he was diligent in maintaining these relics and when they were passed on to me I decided to get them appraised for insurance purposes. The militaria expert I took the collection to told me that if he would have thrown the lot in a box and dumped it in the cellar I could sell the stuff piece by piece for a small fortune. Since it is all in immaculate condition and as clean as the day of his last inspection, it would have to be sold as a complete collection with all of his documentation included to fetch top dollar, which is a considerable sum. Of course, these are family heirlooms which are priceless to us, so I keep them the way he did, clean and polished. I even take the pistol to the range and run some ammo through it occasionally, which pisses off the collectors, but it’s mine and guns were made to be used

I've resumed smoking heavily so I can get the most use out of the cigarette holder. I'm also planning to strip the exterior and completely restore it from the ground up...new 1/24th scale Rebello engine and Panasports have already been ordered.

If you do some archival research on this site you may find that you picked up a fairly rare item at a very nice price. Congrats! The cigarette case Fairlady 240Z came in three different finishes and were mostly Japanese dealer gifts.