Would like to start a "One of these things is not like the other" forum group. Input?

[zKars]

Dearly Beloved. 

I find myself explaining over and over again to various Z owners (all Datsun owners really) about the differences in various items and what year range they belong to. I am tired of doing so, and tires of hunting down pictures and URL's of stuff for them, and would just like to point them to a single URL where they can look up the answer to their question. What better place than our beloved CZCC forum, and what a better way to entice new members!  Note this fatigue does not apply to the membership here, but mostly to the ones I try to help on that blessed piece of crap FB.......  There are just SO many more soles pleading for help there, than here, I cannot but help wanting to draw them all into our little cult, er, I mean "family"....

I understand this is a vast and highly detailed area of discussion, but at the very least, I would like have a basic picture library of items, one item type per thread, in a forum group I think would be aptly named "One of these things is not like the Other". 

For example. pictures of the three basic gas tank types, pictures of the fuel sending units from each, pictures of the three types of seat sliders, pictures of the 240, 260/280 early and late door cards (my personal bane).....  Door internal/regulator glass/frame differences, etc etc. The list is endless.

I am blessed with a decent selection of many of these common items and will start this off by taking representative photos of each of the unique items I have. I will apply date ranges, and will love to have clarifications from the peanut gallery (or any fancy nut you claim represents your level of knowledge) to further refine either date application or other clarification on the topic. 

We will clearly label each as applying to North american, Japanese , European etc product lines, although for the beginning lets stick to the North American stuff.

I suggest the new forum be in Car Talk > Z > One of these things is not like the other

@mike , please chime in and let me know if you believe there is a better place or organization structure for this.

Others let us know if this is something you'd like to see or contribute to.

 

[wheee!]

Makes sense to me...

[zKars]

As an example, here are the three styles of seat slider. I happen to have been embroiled in this discussion recently.

S30 1970-1978. North american

 

Left, 240Z, 1970-1973  Up to 7/73

Center 260Z and 75-76 280Z.  (Date range....)  8/73 - 7/76. (?)

Right 280z 1977-78.   8/76- 78

Rear of the slicers is at the top of the picture. Sorry about that.

240z. Studs in sliders go through holes in seat base. Nut/lock/flat attach (awkwardly !) from underside of metal frame.

260/280 . Round headed hex M8x1.25 chrome bolts attach through slider into captured nuts in seat base frame.

Notes that come to mind:

Since the way the sliders attach to seat bases is different as well, I should include pictures of the seat bases, but only from the perspective of the way the sliders mount, Not the webbing, or upholstry differences. That’s another thread.

I will copy of all this into a new thread In the new forum if and when it goes live.

Edited May 18, 2020 by zKars

[Mike]

1 hour ago, zKars said:

Dearly Beloved. 

I find myself explaining over and over again to various Z owners (all Datsun owners really) about the differences in various items and what year range they belong to. I am tired of doing so, and tires of hunting down pictures and URL's of stuff for them, and would just like to point them to a single URL where they can look up the answer to their question. What better place than our beloved CZCC forum....

I suggest the new forum be in Car Talk > Z > One of these things is not like the other

@mike , please chime in and let me know if you believe there is a better place or organization structure for this

I'm in support of this, great idea!  Any chance we can shorten the title of the forum?  I've noticed that long titles are truncated.

[Zed Head]

What would be neat would be a completely different type of format.  Like a timeline that could be added to and modified and expanded in between years and models.  The history format.  The problem that zKars is describing is really the work involved in going back to find the description or illustration, from some file or post from long ago.  Hunting down urls and pictures and posts (without numbers).

Any way to set up like a cascading list of threads that we could add to?  Non-serial, able to pick a spot halfway through a model year, for example, and add some new knowledge.  And visual, all on one page, not like the nested sub-forums that you have to open and search and close and reopen.  It's a lot of work just trying to dig in to the sub-forums to find a topic.  Get them all out on one page where you can see them all at one time.

Just a thought.  Otherwise, the new sub-forum will go dormant as they do and get buried with the other sub-forums.  It needs its own box at least.

[siteunseen]

S30 changes 70-78

Model changes 

Hocus focus 

[SteveJ]

Well, the parts manual pretty much covers this topic...

[EuroDat]

48 minutes ago, SteveJ said:

Well, the parts manual pretty much covers this topic...

I agree. If you master searching throught the carpartsmanual website or something like the e-fast database you will determine the timeline by the changing part numbers.

The bennifit of this thread, which is not there yet, would be to provide a photo with the relivantpart number.

For example

Type 1 up to 73 p/n: 86550-N3400 no lever

Type 1 up to 73 p/n: 87500-N3400 with lever etc

 

 

[zKars]

59 minutes ago, SteveJ said:

Well, the parts manual pretty much covers this topic...

The Fiche definitely would be a go-to source of From/To date information for most parts history, but it does not give you anything resembling a decent picture of many uniqueness's between parts, or fine details. Only modern color pictures of real parts from several angles sometimes can show the level of detail. 

Here is one picture where I try to show the difference between the 74-76 door panels and the 77-78 along the back edge to show the subtle angle difference. (77-78 in front).

No way the fiche is ever going to give you that.

 

[zKars]

2 hours ago, Mike said:

I'm in support of this, great idea!  Any chance we can shorten the title of the forum?  I've noticed that long titles are truncated.

I know, any title will do, this one just resonates with me. It should be something more descriptive for sure.

"Illustrated S30 Parts History".

"Parts History Illustrated"  

"Parts Progression History, Illustrated"

Anyone else?

Edited May 18, 2020 by zKars

[siteunseen]

I like Any One Else.

 

 

[Zed Head]

Is this the way the factory meant it to be?

Is this part stock?

What is this?