Our club has been growing! We are getting to the point where we are busting at the seams and more people are asking, "What kind of Zcar content can we post or talk about?"

Well, here's your answer!!

This site accepts any kind of content about Zcars as long as the information relates to the CLASSIC Zcar. No problem, right?!

Sure, but, the definition of a CLASSIC ZCAR is up for debate and I'm sure our club could talk about it until we are blue in the face.

So, we need to keep in mind that a few simple rules are in place here. They are:

1) Keep all content Z related. The occasional joke, comic, other car companies, and just general 'other' content is also welcome. However, it should be in limited quantity.

2) All content should be useful to an owner of a Classic Z. If you are posting messages about how to add a supercharger to the newest 350z, you should probably take your message to a site that is dedicated to the 350z. Although we do discuss the 350z on this site, we usually talk about the styling, design, handling, and how it compares to the true classic.

3) Keep in mind that our site is a place where ALL creatures are welcome. We don't have any official speakers or representatives and the messages sent and received by other members should be construed as opinions. Whatever you take from this site, we want to make sure that you walk away with a confidence that your car is the best damn thing on the planet. And, that you can work on it knowing that others are here to help you.

4) Remember that our site is a moving target. Although our focus will *NEVER* stray from the Z, our content can change and move according to the people we attract. We want to make sure you get what you came for.

5) Never flame (messages filled with emotion rather than fact) and treat all members like they were your best friend. We are here to help each other and any debate that moves away from factual Z-related content will only harm all of us in the end.

There ya go, if you think we need more rules or changes to the rules please let me know. If you forget all 5, remember this NUMBER ONE RULE... keep all content Z related. You'll be right on track....................

Thanks!

Mike

I guess the question of "What model of Zcar defines the classic?" will eventually be up for debate.... Although I'm sure we will attract lots of opinions about this I want everyone to remember one thing... We are here to talk about the Zcar.

Normally, it's the age of a car that defines a classic. If you contact the local licensing authority, you will discover the definition will be unique across state and country boundaries.

So, what does that mean for this site? The only way I can answer that is to tell you about our history.

We originally started this club as an email discussion group using a server located at Oregon State University. This started at the approximate year of 1993. The discussion group was created as an alternate location for people to discuss the 240z. We were tired of weeding through the massive amounts of email messages sent through the mailing list in order to get our own content. It worked very well and it made a lot of early Zcar fans happy.

We also had a small website with some general content that I created in my spare time. The site was limited and it was a 'static' area containing small bits of information about the 240z. We also registered the domain name '240z.org' with the financial help of all the members.

In 1997 I added a small forum software package to the website in order to create 'moving content' or an interactive experience. At that time, I saw the need for web-browser interaction rather than just an email discussion group. When this happened, our mailing list members became concerned that they would lose the mailing list software. Therefore, we found a new server (at my house) and moved the mailing list to our control. The website moved with it (along with the forums) and we started to see a lot of growth.

In 2000, I added the custom 'portal' front page that you see today. It's a total interactive interface and provides everyone with a sneak peek at the content we have inside our system.

In 2001 the decision was made to register the domain 'classiczcars.com' and open the site up to owners of the CLASSIC Zcar line-up = 240z, 260z, and 280z. Although this was met with some debate, users finally opened up to it because all three of these model cars share the same basic design and parts are mostly interchange-able.

In 2002, the site was moved to a dedicated server located at a hosting company in Texas. There were various reasons for the move, but, the biggest being the need to control the site w/out relying on a single internet connection at my residence.

In 2003, we are met with the question about what kind of content is really allowed.....

We are moving and that is good. We just need to guide ourselves to the point where we all want to be.

-- Mikey

Hooray, this is what I've been waiting for! Thanks Mike, this subject was slightly getting out of hand as of late...

I just want to add, that there are a few members here now with 240K's, which, although are not Z cars (let alone classic Z cars), share a lot mechanically with the early Z's, and if we weren't welcome here... frankly, there would be nowhere to go.

I know there are some who seem to have a superiority complex and hate seeing any information/pictures of our cars, but it's nice to know most here seem not to mind a bit every now and then...

In my personal opinion (and this is just me!), I like all Z cars, S30, S130, Z31, Z32 and Z33, but I do realise that if we were to "specialise" in all series, that would defeat teh purpose of being a specialist club. I have trouble keeping up with all the threads as it is, imagine adding an extra 4 series!!!

That said, I do not think we can just IGNORE the later models. Good discussion about them every now and then I think is healthy, just don't do too much or you'll go blind.

I didn't want to rant anywhere else, but as a human I couldn't keep my opinion bottled up forever! Thankyou for the stage, now I'll go back to my corner...

So we've all made good points as to what is or isn't allowed, discussed, or catagorized as a classic.

soooo..... what now? Do we re-organize the whole site? Do we say "YES! Your vehicle is a classic and no others shall be discussed from here on out"? Do we ignore the generations in front of the original Z?

Lets set some minimum guide lines to follow, and give our averaged opinion as to what a true CLASSIC Z-CAR should be.

(something that we have all come to an agreement on)

I agree with BAMBIKILLER240 "weeding through posts that are of no interest to any particular member, is not fun". There are sections of the site that ( in my experiance) are not even used by members or guests. maybe? if we can use those items spaces for strict information on 240Z's and another for JUST 260Z's and so on, and so on, we could make this site into a cornacopia of info at the touch of a button.

and as for my 2 cents worth, In my mind, the 240Z/260Z/280Z'z of 69' to 78' are the true classics.

And don't jump the gun and get me wrong, the 280ZX and all that followed after 78' are part of the family, but more like the relative that we only bring up when we're comparing them to "the good kids" or when we need to borrow money from them.....

Hey, I LOVE my Z and every thing about it, and I'm more than happy to lend a helping hand to those in need. but my heart is in the imediate family ( Z's ), but I also realize that family is family

Z vs ZX.

Hope this is of some use to you,

Best regards,

Dave in WA. State. U.S.A.

I frequent this site as I find that it suits my needs. I found that out soon after reading a few posts on early Zed's. This site does detail the first generation Zed's.

Detail, not soley but in detail. I think it is great. I think that we all welcome ALL Zed owners here but there is a trick to how to best channel the info. I would not be here if I had a ZX as I know that this site doesn't really cater to that model. Nothing wrong with that model either if you they hit that spot.

I'm sure that sometimes we all type something and it doesn't quite come out as we'd meant. A fresh thread reply pays tribute to that. I would welcome any Zed owner but make it obvious that if they have a ZX or later then while we are more than happy to help in anyway, this site was created by first generation Zed fans/owners. A single website dedicated to all Zed models would be massive and maybe it would take hours to sift through to find what you are after. Keeping this site to only 70-78 Zeds might just keep things in smaller proportions.

Why not have some links to other Zed websites to aid these people.

Go you good thing.

Playing fast and loose with the term "classic" is not a good thing. To serious car people, the term "classic" has a fairly specific meaning. Certain criteria have to be met for any car to qualify as such. Perhaps the club name needs to change (again)?

Back to my usual "lurk" mode.

I agree that in general car terms, "classic" is pretty specific,

but this is solely discussing Z cars, so classic is, in this case, first generation, not ZXs, etc. My 2c.

as for my 2 cents worth, In my mind, the 240Z/260Z/280Z'z of 69' to 78' are the true classics.

Hey, I LOVE my Z and every thing about it, and I'm more than happy to lend a helping hand to those in need. but my heart is in the imediate family ( Z's ), but I also realize that

I agree family is family. In my mind that gose not just Z vs. ZX but early Nissan\Datsun 240k skyline and so on. I like the little ad ons about the 240k and skylines. For me I love learning about cars I have never seen. I dont have anything to add with the posts on these cars but still read them for learning about something new to me:classic:

I feel there is a small place in this site for the OTHER THEN Z postings. Heck, there are a few out there that dont have stock Z cars under there hoods :cheeky: and with that a few running ZX\Z's. So even tho the site is Classic Z some of us still need to talk about parts of the ZX or other Nissan cars.

I feel so long as it drops back to Classic (pre 79) it has a place here and I will take some time to read. Now if I see something along the line of ( My headlight wont go up or down ) or (power window help) I would feel it has no place here. But at the same time I would just not read it or post on it and let it fade away rather then flame .

See for me thats what hooked me on this site. People (for the most part) here dont flame :classic: and in the online world thats RARE. Even more so for car sites.

I dont feel there is much of any need for change of this site. Thats not to say that there is no need for a real ZX site. I just feel the ZX is still such a cheap easy to find car that KIDS are still toying with them. So you will get a KID BASED site and with that it wont amount to much without a full time babysitter

Please keep up the good work here. If its not broken dont try and fix it

I like the site the way it is. Before I found it, I sifted through zcar.com, read the post digests when I got the chance from IZCC, but missed much of the content because there was too much stuff that I didn't care about. Here, I generally at least see most of the posts, since almost all of them are interesting one way or another! Certainly don't flame any other Z owner, no matter what model, but I'd advocate not attempting to attract them by changing the site layout or anything. Classic = 240/260/280Z to me. 280ZX is close. They should have found another name for the 300 and 350. Good cars, but not classic Zs. One man's opinion...

Websters defines "Classic" as: TRADITIONAL, ENDURING; characterized by simple tailored lines in fashion year after year.

Hi,

Mike, whats your stand on modification (in terms of mechanical, body work, interior and fybreglass kits like the 250 GTO, Datona, Cobra, etc) or is that rule #3 "ALL creatures are welcome"?

Thanks

In throwing my 2¢ in, I don't think it's necessary to detail the genealogy of an "acceptable" car in order to define whether or not to post here.

In my opinion, if it is Z related, whether "classic" or "neo-classic" or "futuro-classic", it is something that some of us may be interested in. At times, there are pieces that to some of us, are completely useless. If so, ignore them.

Other times we gain some knowledge about our "brethren". Whether it's the availability of real wood dashes for the 300ZX or new aero kits for the 350Z. Again, if not to your taste, ignore. When it comes to advertising, for the most part, the advertiser will look at the viewership to determine whether he is throwing his money out the window or applying it to his target audience.

Unfortunately, with the price of submission you're going to get the occasional cross poster. Thankfully, Mike has good software, or he's been vigilant enough that I can only recall one hacker causing problems. Haven't seen any for sale ads for Orthotic Shoe Pads or "Wanker-Gro", so it must work ok.

As far as someone offering a 300Z in mint condition for $X,XXX...How do you know that no one else is interested? I believe in Saving the Z and collecting the whole set.

However, when we try to "edjicate" the new or infrequent poster that the majority of those who post / read here are not necessarily going to know the answer to his question we need to do so diplomatically.

Ignoring the post is one way, but then the poster gets all bent out of shape because we "ignored" them. Unfortunately, rather than post "I don't know. Someone else might." in reply to questions I don't know anything about, I don't post at all. I figure that others may be bothered by reading 15 replies of "I don't know...", so I don't contribute. Obviously others do so as well, and the post appears ignored. So we try to "edjicate".

Telling someone to "Get the hell out!" compared to "You'll have better luck elsewhere." is a world of difference. They both end up with the party leaving....eventually in the case of the first. After a long and drawn out flame war.

So adopt a little more of a resilient attitude, or as someone else might say: Chill out!

2¢

Enrique

And the beginning of my 2cents is that, I have been to many other forums in the past. The one i used to frequent was Zdriver.com that site went from bad to worse very quickly as it was too broad there was a forum section for every Z car.

If you go there now there's only a few lurking about and the responses and knowledge i found at that site was not nearly as rich or reliable as it was when i first came here.

I have found that the users of this site are very mechanically minded and offer great advice.

I always try my best to help others out and those who know less than I do. I remember what it was like to not know much about these or any other car. I have learnt alot since i started out but i find it to be frustrating sometimes when we get the same posts over and over sometimes i still reply other times i refer them on and when I really couldn't be bothered i just ignore it.

I like all Z's some more than others to me the early Z is the best Z ever built and by far the nicest to work with. It suits my needs and therefore I am a member of this site.

Hybrid Z doesn't suit me they are dedicated to engine swaps and extreme modifications. I like my subtle changes and upgrades, sure we share mechanical attributes with other nissan/datsun line products but like HS30-H(Alan) has said it's focus this site needs.

While it's all very well discussing all Z models it's good not to go off the beaten path. I don't find we have too much off topic content but I would like to see it stay early Z content for 90% of posts.

Perhaps we could have a small paragraph for new users when they go through the sign up period stating what were about and what our focus is.

It should state we'd love to help anyway possible but maybe also inform them our specialty is not ZX or later or modifications.

If you'll note when you go to Hybrid Z dot org you'll see a similar note saying what they are about.

For the owners of 240k's and other early datsuns I feel they still belong with us and are just as important as the rest of us. The good thing about them is there numbers are small and they don't split the club up as they are a minority.

we should look after the datsun/nissan family tree but it's also important to keep focus.

"no Zx owners were harmed making this post" well I hope