Kathy & Rick

I want to publicly commend all those who posted advice to jrecee. This is some of the most wise, insightful, down-to-earth counsel I think I have ever seen on a thread. No smart-alecky stuff, no putdowns for being less informed than you all are, nothing snide or demeaning. Just good, common-sense, experience- based thoughts for him to consider as someone who is new to Z Cars, wants to learn, and wants to avoid any traps that he may be unaware of as a newcomer. We all remember that we were once at that stage ourselves. We all consider that if we were in jrecee's shoes we would want to be treated with kindness and respect. Sadly those qualities seem to be lacking on some websites. So once again, I commend you. I am confident that the way in which you took jrecee under your wing will result in his enjoying a long term relationship with Z Cars, with this website, and with you as individuals. With great sincerity and appreciation,............................Kathy & Rick

If you were going for the factory original look you lost it!! Great visual effect, that is sharp looking. BTW "back in the day" we used to call it "persimmon." But I like your description of the #110 paint code as "red/orange." We have a guy, Mike, in our club who has a gorgeous 74 Z in that color. If your painter did it as well as Mike's did, your description would be unbelieveably accurate. Because in different kinds of light, it will look like either one or the other!-- To the degree where you will be pleasantly befuddled from one day to the next. All Z Best,.......................................Kathy & Rick

Ron (Geezer) said what I was thinking about the missing VIN tag. But then again I am a bug on numbers-matching. So as long as the other 3 (data plate on driver side door jamb, data plate on R/F strut tower, and engraved on the firewall just above the brake booster) all match, then you are set. But as Ron said it would be nice to have them all. Oh yes, and the engine S/N on the strut tower data plate should agree with the number on the top right/rear of the block, i.e., above the starter. Othewise the engine has been replaced at some point in time. Wishing you many thousands of miles of happy driving!..........Kathy & Rick

"Automotive cholesterol!" What a great description. If I didn"t understand otherwise what would happen inside the radiator, that illustration would make it crystal clear to me (no pun intended) with nothing more being said. BTW would the product do the same inside the engine galleys as well? All Z Best,.....................................Kathy & Rick

I agree with you, Walt, that would be a '75-'78 for sure. The only caveat I might add to your assessment is that if it were a build date late in the year, it could be titled for the succeeding model year. For example, our 280ZX is VIN# HS130-125717 built in 12/78, but is titled as a 1979 model. FWIW...... All Z Best,...............................Kathy & Rick

I wonder what the crime rate is like in Tophu's area? I realize that those are only mis- demeanor offenses, but those are often stepping stones to later felonies. That Z would make a nice addition to the impound yard around here. Every week in our local paper in a community of about 8000 is a pretty good sized list of summonses issued for offenses like Tophu himself described. Frankly, I'm glad we have tough law enforcement here. It minimizes the degree of danger to myself, my family, my puppy, my Zs, and everyone else. When I was that age I governed my actions by being concerned with the possibility of being confronted by a police officer; but knowing that that would be nothing compared to being confronted by Dad (rest his soul) when I got home!!! I'm proud of our two girls for being good, law abiding citizens and for teaching their kids to be that way as well.

No problem, Gar', they're all over the place by now. The first two, anyway. The easiest way to get the most coverage would be: 1) Go to ZCar.com 2) Go to Car Talk Forum, pg. 1 3) About 40 threads down find "#13 has survived 4 decades" 4) About 9 or 10 posts down find post by "Phil280zxt" The 1st URL has a few pix & 13 pages of discussion The 2nd URL has more pix before removal from storage and cleanup The 3rd URL has pix of the CTZCC car show last Sept 10 Issue #13 of NissanSportMag also has #13 on the cover and feature. If I am wrong in answering here, would a Moderator please move it where it belongs and advise me where it went?-- Thanks! More info upon request in another thread, by PM, or at remjr12241@gmail.com All Z Best,..................................Kathy & Rick

Yeah, I agree, Stephen, it's a really low per-year average and very unusual. But not impossible, as our #171 Z has 28700 miles (about 718 per year). My Uncle Ray bought a totally original '50 Mercury coupe with 28000 miles on it from an estate about 10 years ago, which is even more dramatic. All Z Best,....................................Kathy & Rick

I think we'll stick with what we already have. Although we just bought a '79 280ZX 4bbl for a DD. What we need is more space and lower property taxes! All Z Best,..............................Kathy & Rick

Hi, Mike, Carl, Ron, and the rest; Rick here. I've been off the site for awhile now and just happened to stumble across this thread which, since I was with Bob Sharp in the 70's, peaked my in- terest when I saw a car I thought I recognized. I believe that the 610 hardtop was actually a '73 although it might have had a late '72 production date. The PL510 2-door was actually campaigned in B/S until the 610 was introduced, but the 610 was then selected for B/S due to its superior aerodynamics and suspension, and the L-18 engine. The PL510 was last produced in 1973 (the 2-door only), but I don't remember if we had any '73 510 race cars, I don't think so. I do remember one of the 610's being cordoned off on the showroom floor as a somewhat permanent promotional display, and as suggested above, it might well have been the very car under discussion. All Z Best,...............................Kathy & Rick P.S. Sandy, can you check out that production date? I'm pretty confident about what I said, but I'm having second thoughts....

Hi Glenn, Rick here. Love your car, she's real "purty." You had me fooled at first; when I looked at the first pic I thought it was the #907 (British) Racing Green, which is what our #171 car is. Then further down, it became obvious that it was the #903 blue, which is what our #19851 car was. I was surprised that yours has a black interior; I had forgotten that some had black; many came with a blue interior, which is what ours had. Thanks for sharing and enjoy the experience! All Z Best,.........................Kathy & Rick

A better idea, if you are a Ford guy, would be a 302-based 347 stroker, which you can get as a crate motor. The nice thing about the small block Fords, even compared to SBC, is that the block is so little it can fit practically anywhere. A guy in the next town has a 302 Mustang engine in a '71 PL521 Datsun pickup which is a nice conversion. I was thinking of doing the same thing in our '71 510 2-door. FWIW, ~Rick~

I think you're right, Ron, and so is Steven a few posts up. When I went to the spreadsheet to see whether a friend had posted his Z, I found that data on all 3 of ours had become intermixed with others' cars, and some info deleted. so I basically had to reconstruct them. ~Rick~

A good resource should be Jim Jackson, VP of New York Z Car Club: Jim260@NYZCC.org His is a 260 2+2 RHD, but he is a very knowledgeable and amiable guy who I am sure will do everything he can to help you. All Z Best,....................................Kathy & Rick

Hi, Darrel, Happy New Year. We have what looks like (and sounds like) the identical hitch on our '70 as well, except that ours is chrome. Can't get out to check the tongue and draw weight ratings right now, it's too cold, windy, snowy, and dark. But we used to pull a little enclosed trailer full of pylons, timing gear, etc. to our Z Club's autocrosses back in the '70's, quite effortlessly. All Z Best,...............................Kathy & Rick

Howdy Y'all, You would have me crying except my tears would freeze up here in CT. I miss TX every winter and like Frank, we would gladly drive the 200 miles from Belton to be with a bunch of Z guys if we still were there. Could y'all count us in somehow as honorary attendees? Z activity (CTZCC) goes into hibernation from late Oct to late Apr or longer. All Z Best,...........................Kathy & Rick

You guys are killing me! I don't remember the last time I saw a Z in a wrecking yard or a field, and I'm talking YEARS! I did see a green '72 on the highway about 5 years ago, though. Some of those cars you've shown would be considered reasonably good shape around here! All Z Best,............................Kathy & Rick

You and MBeards will have to visit the ZCar website. About 20 threads down in the 240/260/280Z forum, Open Z Car discussion subforum they are looking to see who have VINs close to one another. Of course no one can beat Chris w/his adjacent VINs, but he can be tied, and even being close is fun to see. All Z Best,................................Kathy & Rick

Of course if you change the color without COMPLETELY disassembling and stripping the car before repainting, there will always be some evidence that some "sharpshooter" will be only too glad to point out! FWIW, Rick

See signature block below ~Kathy & Rick~

Hi, everybody, lots of good inputs above and thanks for those. You are discussing a long-time "sub-hobby" of mine, so maybe I can help. The latest 1/71 (Series 1) I've seen is #20425, and the earliest 2/71 (Series 2) I've seen is #22021. So we could say with good basis that there were about 22000 Series 1's produced. Someone, I think John (ZCar70) said 21000, that is a fair statement too, I wouldn't quarrel. Now in the ZHome site, Carl Beck accounts for 152 of the 534 1969's, or just under 30%. We don't know that that is ALL of those remaining, but that is all we do know of after several years of researching. So if we extrapolate the 30% to the 21000 or 22000 Series 1's, I would say that 6300 to 6600 remaining Series 1 is about right. Needless to say, very few of those are in the Northeastern quadrant of the country which we call "the rust belt." I would also include Ron's (Geezer's) Ontario, in fact all of Canada in that term. Sounds a little higher than most of you are coming up with, but I hope you followed how I figured. Another person asked about the earliest 240-Z w/AT. VIN#09210 is the earliest I've ever seen personally, but Carl had told me about #07969 built early 8/70, and "He's Da Man." Please include our Z's in your accounting as listed below. Merry Christmas and All Z Best,.........................Kathy & Rick

The nylon clips that hold the underhood inspection doors closed on the 1969 Z's. ~Rick~

I agree w/you, Harry. I love all Zs but the earlier they are the more I love them. Our '70 was #918 orange before we did it up in candy apple red w/ gold trim. BTW any connection w/Harry "The Hat" Walker, the major league baseball player back in the '30s-50s? All Z Best,..................................Kathy & Rick

I'm surprised that nobody suggested your getting and sharing w/us the VIN # and production date from any of the data plates on the car. That will tell you right off whether you have a bona fide RHD Fairlady 2+2 or something bogus, a "knockoff" I believe you called it. But I just went back to the URLs and see all the FairladyZ badges and fender mirrors in the right places, so that helps verify it as legit. Then I would go to the NY Z Car Club site (NYZCC.com) and try to contact Jim, the Club VP. His handle is Jim260Z and he has a very nice RHD 2+2. Great guy, maybe he could give you some leads. But as someone said above, if it is too far gone it could still be a decent parts car for another one you get. There aren't too many around, so I wouldn't trash it just yet until after you do a little more research. All Z Best,........................Kathy & Rick