tan interior pics?

[halz]

Does anyone out there have pictures of an original 240Z with a tan interior? I'd like this to help me when recovering the seats of my '73 model. I think I remember one of the original 240Z sales brochures having a car with a tan interior..?

[DatsunZGuy]

Hi Halz,

CLICK HERE

There is also an interior shot from my '73 in my gallery.

[halz]

That'll do nicely - thanks for your help!

[Z Kid]

Halz, if you can find a local person with a parts book, in the back under miscallaneous, it has small offcuts of each type of material, and where they should be positioned on the seat. If you cant find one locally let me know and I may be able to assist you with a high detail scan or a loan or two. They are great because they have texture as well, and shouldnts have faded.

Cheers Chris

[halz]

I'm sure that I have buckley's of finding a parts book. I'm hoping that good photos will be enough...and that commonsnse on the part of the trimmer will help too.

Incedentally, here's what my drivers seat looks like now (you can see that it must have been recovered at least once in its life already):

..also note the lovely rivets holding the centre console together!

[26th-Z]

halz,

If authenticity of color and texture is important, I would recommend Les Canaday at Classic Datsun or Mike McGinnis at Banzai for the most authentic material and texture. I bought a tan interior from Les some time ago and he was very attentive to color match and proper texture. Most of this material is aftermarket, now.

[Gee]

Are you going to do the other bits of trim as well Halz? In order to get the door and other bits of trim back to the original colour I lifted the rear carpet and cut off a bit of diamond vinyl that lies under it. The stuff was like new as it had never been exposed to sunlight.

I then took the sample it to a specialist automotive paint manufacturer and they colour matched the paint with some vinyl spray. I basically redid all the faded panels with the stuff and it looks great. I have a red interior, but I can't see there being any major differences between spraying red and tan.

Seats I found more difficult and basically ended up going close with leather rather than vinyl. The difference in cost actually wasn't that much. Otherwise, like the guys say, you can buy the remanufactured seat covers overseas..

Gareth

[halz]

Thanks Gareth, thats a good tip. My Vinyl has no tears but is discoloured where exposed to the sun - worst of all on the rear suspension towers.

How did you prepare your vinyl for painting? I'm thinking a warm soapy scrup with a soft brush to remove grease followed by a rinse with clean water and then a thorough drying..?

[NickF]

Hayden

Take advantage of the strong $ a pair of covers from Classic Datsun will set you back about $370 Aus at the moment, postage inc. You also have to pay duty and gst.

Not to hard to fit ,close to original by all accounts.

Will be ordering some shortly plus some other bits and pieces.

Nick

[halz]

Very nice! I might wait for the $AU to get over 80 US cents first. Looks like there is a lot of replacement parts available from that supplier.

[Gee]

Halz,

You are right about warm soapy water - well that's all I used. That said, I did miss a couple of spots and the spray has remained stuck nevertheless. As in your case the worst areas were the strut towers and the very tops of the door trim. I also did the transmission tunnel and it's made a marked improvement on the look of the interior for a relatively low investment. New carpet sets it off even better. The colour matching cost me about $30 or $40 but I still have plenty of paint left over.

I'll admit that I'd now be tempted by the US seatcovers, when I was looking the AUD was at about 65c, so it's now about 15% cheaper! That said, the leather cost me $600 and I didn't have to frig about with trying to fit the things etc. I would say that to get a great fit you'd have to take the cover to a trimmer - they have specialist heat guns (like high-powered hair dryers) that mould the vinyl/leather to the exact contours of the seat. I'd also investigate refoaming if you go down that path!! More $$...

I'd send a photo but I'm on the Gold Coast and the car is in Melbourne still!! I miss her....

Gareth

[Marty Rogan]

Halz,

Here are some instructions for vinyl painting (dyeing) that I have used with very good results.

Marty

Painting the vinyl and plastic in a Z is easy. There are 2 sources for the dye. If you don't have a paint gun, find SEM vinyl dye at a good paint store. SEM is the only way to go, and I have never found another product that works as well or lasts so long. It also looks totally natural. They have Satin Black for your 240Z, and Napa Red for your red 240Z. They have ZX colors, too. Please do not even consider any other brand. Been there, done that. In my experience, there is no other brand that has the correct gloss, durability, and chemical composition to bond to the vinyl. SEM is about $7/can. I use 4-6 for an entire interior on a 240Z. If you have a paint gun (door jamb gun is good, HVLP jamb gun even

better). Dupont has vinyl dye that is comperable to SEM. It is about $20/quart. Does one car.

Preparation is everything! Here's my process:

1. Remove seats and carpet

2. Use a couple of rolls of paper towels to clean all the vinyl/plastic (VP) with a water based cleaner (soap/water, ammonia, Mr Clean, Mrs Pineoil, ect). Let dry

3. Wet wipe the surfaces with lacquer thinner. Not Enamel or poly thinner, just cheap lacquer thinner. Wipe and scrub and scrub. You will notice the VP getting soft. Stop before you ruin the grain pattern.

4. Now shake your paint can. If using the Dupont, it is ready to spray. Mask off all the unpaint items. I use Big Gulp bottoms taped to the gauges.

5. Rewipe the surfaces quickly with a very wet paper towel, and start fogging on the dye. It is very thin. You may end up with 5-12 coats to

get good heavy coverage. Let dry, and you are done.

Note: DO NOT PAINT THE SEATS. IT WILL RUBv OFF EVENTUALLY ON YOUR 501'S.

The Napa red is a precise match for the Datsun red interior. Even a patch of paint will blend in to the existing panel.

The theory behind the lacquer is that it chemically softens the VP. When you apply the dye, it soaks in and grabs the substrate.

Dupont also has texture paint to redue the texture for Ford Bronco tops. It so happens to look like vinyl when it is dry. I use it to redue the sill plates... It also works for roll bars to spiff them up. The stuff is bulletproof when dry. It does not match the Datsun sillplate vinyl exactally, but it is a lot easier than trying to recover that rusty piece with contact cement and vinyl. This paint has to be applied with a non-HVLP gun (your normal old fashioned gun is not HVLP). It's the pressure that makes the spiderwebs as it comes out,

which then coagulate into the vinyl texture. This coating can then be recoated with black semi-gloss vinyl dye.

Bare metal prep 101:

The best metal prep for the average do-it yourselfer on bare metal is an epoxy primer. I use PPG DP series. DP40 is black. It gets mixed with

a catalyst (DP401 or DP402). They say if you don't sand it within 7 days...don't bother. It gets very hard. It is applied with a paint gun.

All modern paints with a catalyst have isocraynics in the cat. Use a respirator!

The epoxies do a great job of sealing off all the substrates. Modern paints are very hot and agressive. If applied over a old lacquer or

enamel job, it will likely cause the old stuff to bleed through. Smother the car in epoxy, then start the bodywork. Put more epoxy over the filler, then apply some K200 and K201 catalyzed primer. This stuff goes on thick, but sands wet sands like butter. The best way to wet sand is to apply a mist of black lacquer over the unsanded K200, then wetsand with 400 grit. The low spots will show up

as black. Reapply filler, and do it over again. Good luck.