Datsun Spirit owner Eiji Hosomi paid me a nice compliment yesterday at the ZCON judged car show.  I was grabbing some much needed shade and rest after the first round of judging (my inaugural participation) and Eiji came up and asked if he could ask some questions about my restoration.  He's had a lot of problems with the aftermarket door seals and wanted to know how I handled it.  I told him about Kia Sportage seals - either new or from salvage, and you should have seen his eyes when he operated the doors and found them closing so smoothly.  We also looked at my innovation on the hatch outer seal and he was surprised at how easily my hatch closes with the PRP repro inner seal because he's also had problems there.  We covered several other areas of the car and had a great conversation.  He's a big fan of 14" wheels with tall aspect ratio tires and factory springs to provide a comfortable ride.  Really a neat guy and one I'd like to spend more time with.  (Yes, I ended the sentence with a preposition.)

Hey Jim.....glad you're having a blast....congrats on being a judge (who better than someone who has touched every part of a Z in restoration). How about some pics?...... we're in the dark in our cyber worlds.

Guy

Edited June 23, 20177 yr by Diseazd

2 hours ago, Diseazd said:

Hey Jim.....glad you're having a blast....congrats on being a judge (who better than someone who has touched every part of a Z in restoration). How about some pics?...... we're in the dark in our cyber worlds.

Guy

With the exception of some tourist time yesterday to see the LBJ library and state capital, I've been too busy to take pics.  No opportunity at the judged car show - I was non-stop busy during the 1st round judging.  That didn't complete until close to 3:00 with no break for lunch.  I was too hot and tired to take pics after that.  You'll have to be content with others posts here or FB posts.

Today is parade laps at COTA at 4:00, I plan on getting some pics and in-car video if I work the GoPro correctly.  The afternoon forecast is 102 degrees, heat index about 110.  Gotta luv Texas in the summer (or not!).  Shades of Memphis revisited sans the super high humidity.   It didn't help that on our trip down on Monday we chased a cold front and had rain for the entire trip from Dallas to Austin while towing the Z.  Getting the car cleaned up to display at the car show was a real chore!

Eiji translated some of Mr. Matsuo's presentation today.  First class!

Below is "The Pen" that drew the Z along with Eiji and Nr. Matsuo.

 

I saw a video of Eiji translating for Matsuo san.  Gut gemacht, Eiji!

I just wanted to give Eiji a shout out. As you all know his hands built my engine. And as the show started I was determined to get to meet him.  Well we certianly did over lunch, and then a ride back to the hotel a couple of time. Eiji even rode with me around COTA in the car with HIS engine build still going strong 5 years running. HIs humble nature and sincere demeanor is always a pleasure to talk to. His level of knowledge about the L series is staggering.  We traded ideas and laughed a bit about when he built up my engine and how he remembered our ever phone conversation.  Datsun Spirit is a first rate company. Guy, Eiji, had nothing but great things to say about you.  As expected.

 

Edited June 24, 20177 yr by Zedyone_kenobi

Is his name pronounced like Fiji?  E-JEE?

Thanks

Just now, siteunseen said:

Is his name pronounced like Fiji?  E-JEE?

Thanks

Yes.

I listened to his name many times as he said it.

 

He says it more like A-jee

I used to live near him. Frequently on weekend mornings, I would see him driving down Prince William Pkwy to test the tuning of his motor.

6 minutes ago, Zedyone_kenobi said:

I listened to his name many times as he said it.

 

He says it more like A-jee

Maybe a little "southern twang" he's picked up? 

A-G  Signing Zup's dash of fame!