JohnnyO

Fess up Guy, you bought it, right?

Sounds like fuel or air starvation. I'd start at the new intake you put on.

I don't think anyone would argue with you about it not being a #1 or #2 car, and I would say that most, if not all, of the #1 and #2 car that are winning shows are cars that have been touched up and in all likelyhood do not have 19500 original miles (if what the seller says can be proven). There are collectors out there that are looking for original, low mileage, collector vehicles that are a "time capsule" so to speak. This would probably be an even more limited group than the ones you mention above. Myself, well, I know that I could take a $2000 example and spend 2 years making it show ready. I am almost done with that process, but in the back of my mind I know, that although I am restoring to stock and it will look new, it is not exactly as it was 40 years ago when it rolled off the line and was put on a boat. I would probably spend over $20K for an all original car with documented history and low miles. I find more value in that than in a car that may be lower vin but has been so thoroughly restored that all that was original has been cut away and repaired with patch panels and NOS or replated parts. At least I would know it was original. Unfortunately, I am not in the market for another collector car. I guess what I am trying to say is that there is a buyer for everything out there and it is all a matter of choice. Before I go I would like to know what would be wrong with this car selling for over 20 grand? I would think that that would just push the price of the #1 and #2 cars up a little further, something that Z collectors have been hoping for for quite some time. Just my 2 cents I guess. John

It is very nice and could fetch that amount if the information is all accurate and documented. I am pretty sure that car has been discussed here before. I am glad they are standing firm on the price, it only helps when we get what they are worth.

Aren't OEM dashes still available for the 280?

I agree. Not sure what to make of it. I will check the date code on my 69 wheel (spare for #1366) and see what the code is on that one. Not sure what it will tell me but you never know.

That's exactly my wife's fear. She says "If you buy another car I'll never get my garage back" and I say "You never had a garage, I just let you park in mine";)

See above.

Although I don't think I need to explain my decision I will. The car was for sale in my area for almost 3 weeks. The opportunity was there for other buyers but the owner told me I was the only one that came to see it. If he didn't sell it it was going in for scrap. After it was delivered I did a complete inspection and although it looks pretty solid from 1500 miles away with a few pictures to go by it is not. There is rust on every corner, on the floors, in the frame rails, wheel wells, lower doors and floor supports, seats did not come with the car, the engine needs to be rebuilt, gas tank is shot, wheels are scrap metal at this point, bumpers are shot and so on. So, although I do not have the skills to cut and weld, I do have the skills to do everything else. But I would have to say that my best skill is the skill to evaluate what this car would cost to restore properly, and by properly I mean back to stock with a bare metal resto. This car is not worth saving as a whole. I would have to invest 12 - 15 grand to complete it and in the end it would be worth 10 grand tops for a nice, complete very late series 1 car. When I purchased the car it was so that I could acquire a few elusive parts that I have been trying to obtain for almost 2 years now. This car had all the little bits I needed that I could not by brand new. It also has a lot of parts that others on this forum and other sites need to complete their restorations. I plan to offer these parts to those people and others so that they may not have to wait 2 years to find the part they need. I agree that it is unfortunate that early cars like this one get scrapped but it is a necessity if we are going to get other, better specimens, back on the road. My 2 cents. John

I just picked up a 01/71 parts car with all original glass. If you have the original glass in your car the etched number is M35-G. I have not cleaned it up yet but to the naked eye it looks pretty good. There are no chips and I do not see any scratches or pitting. I will clean it up today and let you know. Still not sure how I would pack it up and ship it without it breaking. Shipping would be pretty expensive. zcarsource.com quotes $135.00 for crating and flat rate shipping. If you are not concerned about having Nissan glass you might be better off getting the Safelite glass. John

I've got a windshield for you but I don't know how it would get to Montreal without breaking. If you have any ideas let me know.

I would do the pillar, head liner and trim above the visors prior to installing the wind shield. Your headliner would also need to be in before you do the trim.

Fuse block looked great too. I will probably pull the drive train and suspension too. Let me know if I missed anything obvious that I should be pulling. Thanks, John

Well it was delivered today. The vin is 20123 with a build date of 1/71. The car does have rust beyond my abilities but there are a lot of good parts too. I am going to part it out at this point. Mike you were correct about the glass. All the glass is perfect from what I can tell. The spare is a SSR just like my early Z. The date code is K7003 so according to the thread you posted it is from September 3rd of 1970. The date on the wheel is 71 so I am not sure what that does to Carls thread. I guess it tells us that SSR 20's were manufactured to some extent the first week of September at least. The engine looks dirty but complete with 4 screw SUs, grapefruit alternator, what looks like the original dizzy, radiator needs recoring, metal fan 3 pully HB, AC is complete, E31 head, common valve cover and oil pan, both engine slingers are intact as are all 4 tie downs/tow hooks. The interior has the usual cracks in the dash, the console has some aligator cracking but might look better than mine after I clean it up. The heater panel looks great, hoodless map light finisher, seek/scan radio in pretty nice shape, shift knob is a little cloudy but the wood just needs some refinishing as does the steering wheel. The interior panels have a few chips around the edges here and there but I dont think they will show when installed. The wheel house vinyl has no tears yet.(I will see if I can remove it without ripping). The seat belts are original but the latches have some heavy rust. they are dated 12/1970. The straps look salvagable if anyone is interested. Wiring harnesses look good so far, antenna is correct and I can't wait to test it. I have been looking for one for a while now. Some of the panels are good enough to re-use and the tire tub has some surface rust but I think if anyone needs it I would cut it out for them. The hatch looks rust free as does the rear sill and fuel door. The grill and valance area looks to be in pretty decent shape. All the lenses on the light fixtures are in good shape. It even has an original Koito head lamp. I was pretty surprised to see that. I will test it Sunday afternoon. So, all in all, it does have lots of parts that I hope will help me complete my car and help others that need parts complete theirs. Here are some pictures. Let me know if you need anything. John

If you are going to blast it down to metal all over as Zcurves mentions above you can choose from any of about 15 stock colors for the early series 1 cars. There is no permanent coding on the car that states the original color.

I am pretty sure the the 73 I dismantled last year had screws too. Ncolz, yours might have been re-attached with rivets. No big deal, you can drill them out from behind and find some small sheet metal screws to take the place of the rivets. John

The decal is similar but the caps are not.

Early cars for sure were secured with screws in the engine bay. The door jamb had rivets.

Les - I've been battling the Black Dragon door seals for the last month. I would be interested in knowing how the fitment and adjusting of the doors went during trials. Any info would be helpful. John

Moving right along. Give a shot of PB Blaster or something around the back of the filter. Maybe she'll break free in a day or two. It looks pretty clean to be frozen. Battery tray looks pretty good too. Did you make it to Osceola yesterday? John

Thanks for the info Mike. I missed that post. I will check with Les and see what they have come up with. I only need the doors at this point. I bought the complete kit from BD becuase MSA couldn't get the Precision kit. Everything else seems to fit nicely and appears to be correct based on what I pulled from my car during tear down. Even the hatch seal works decent although it did rub on the hinges a bit. Nothing that a little Sil-Lube couldn't rectify. If they are supple enough for the doors to close and align properly I would gladly pay whatever they ask within reason. I gave up on the BD seals yesterday after spending 4 hours trying to adjust the passenger door properly. No matter what I did (and I followed E's tutorial and others) the door was never even close to flush. When I thought I had it "close enough" I installed the welting and the door wouldn't close. I'm done. If it cost me $100.00 to redo my doors and they work properly I would have been ahead of the game. I would still like to know if anyone has tried these. I would purchase one side just to see how soft the rubber is but they only offer exchanges, no refunds. John

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/70-71-72-73-Datsun-240Z-Door-Seal-Driver-Side-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQfitsZModelQ3a240Q5AQQhashZitem19bea71e9cQQitemZ110572805788QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories Says they come with the clips for the early cars. At this price I could buy OE but don't know if they are any better than the Black Dragon seals I have. I put the Black Dragon seals on last month and I have had enough of that sh**. John

Read this thread: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39331&highlight=timing and pay attention to the link in post #7. This should help your mechanic.

Can you go back to the person you bought it from and "persuade" them to make it right?

You can try and get a correct title for it or leave it as is. When you sell the car you should probably disclose that info if they dont catch it though. John