daddz

The final bid was .....$3,000.00! Jesus, that means the value of any decent Z car just went up like the overpriced real estate here in D.C.! Check this link out and see for yourself: http://www.dat.state.md.us/ (just search under the link "Real Property Data Search" and then pick a county and enter in any street name in Maryland) That rear quarter looked familiar and I checked an old Z catalog and wouldn't you know it; Jim Cook Racing had that piece for sale in the 1990 catalog (it was pictured on a black 280ZX) for about $200.00.

I recall this story froma couple of years ago; it has all the makings of good/bad movie. This reminds me somewhat of the Jaguar E-type that was owned by a gentleman on the West Coast and upon his passing a few years back his family had the car auctioned off and it now enjoys a new career in vintage racing. The E-type was originally raced at Sebring and subsequently sold through Ken Qvale in Ca. The buyer had it registered for the street and then parked the car and while going through a nasty divorce he sanded down a few spots on the car to bare aluminum and then coated the car in duck oil where it sat undisturbed for about thirty years. After the car sold at auction for about 1 million US it was transported back to England and brought back to life by Lynx (E-type specialists). The article appeared in Classic and Sportscar. Check out this article written by Martin Buckley: http://www.lynxmotors.co.uk/cc0499.htm

yuppie69: Check out this link: http://www.mdzclub.org/gallery/124/kirk280.html I think you might be able to locate those mesh style wheels if you look under Hayashi, Speed Star Racing (SSR), and it may be easier to find a set of Enkei 92 mesh wheels here in the 'states. I found an ad for a set of Epsilon 3 piece mesh wheels (16x7 and 16x8) on the Z Car Club of San Diego's website as well: http://www.zcsd.org/ (the link is bad) I have the fellows email if you're interested (he was asking $750.00 and he was including a set of lowering springs and struts) and this pic:

:classic: Smokey, I would be inclined to believe that he has the records; when I bought the car that is the subject of my avatar from the original owner I too requested the records once I decided to not part the car out. He supplied all records going back to 1980 (1978-1980 still missing) within two weeks of purchasing the car. Keep the faith as the car is in such great condition.

Alan, Sorry to hear of your bad luck. It must be in the air this week as my friend had two of his cars broken into. To make matters worse he lives in off-base military housing! Both his '00 Mustang GT and his '76 280Z were vandalized by some idiot thugs. The Mustang is the worse off as they had punched a hole in the sheetmetal just under the door lock. It's a shame because the Mustang up unitl now had flawless black paint and barely more than 20,000 miles. The Z fared better as only the lock cylinders were damaged. Once inside the idtios found nothing to their liking and just tossed the interior. Hopefully as things happen they will get what's coming to them in the end much like the arse that damaged your Alfa.

Brett, I have a friend that has been modifying my shift levers for years on my S30's. If you don't have welding skills (like myself) just take the shiftlever to a welding shop (an exhaust shop will do) and have them cut the lever and thereby remove about 1.5" and grind down the top and bottom pieces to a point and then have the pieces welded back together. This will preserve your stock threads (to re-attach the shift knob) and it will also give you a chance to replace the shiftlever bushings if you haven't done so already. You will be pleasantly surprised with the results

Alan, Absolument! You never cease to amaze with the encyclopedic knowledge that you possess! So the rumor regarding the type of car is questionable? Was the soundtrack an accurate portrayal of a Ferrari V12 or was that a fakery? There was a piece of that film viewable on the internet for a period of time but, I have been unable to find it. I suppose the owner to the copywright was none too pleased. Would you happen to remember what year that film was produced? I am curious because after Steve McQueen's film "LeMans" some of those camera angles began to appear in more mainstream films. Instead of the static by the roadside angles cameras began to be attached to vehicles in ever more creative ways. I guess I will just go back to watching the Victor Memorial Car Series :classic:

If you liked that video of the 350Z then you are sure to love the original film from which Nissan got their idea. In the original short film Nick Mason (Pink Floyd) had his personal car, a Ferrari 250GTO, filmed at speed in the wee hours of the night driving through Paris. The sounds are glorious as that V12 is hutled up and down through the rev range. At last check the film is still available through Classic Motorbooks for about $30. The film is about 20 to 25 minutes in duration if I remember correctly.

I may just have to hop a flight over and "spectate"; is there such a thing as Z car rental?

Guus, I had been "watching" that Z on ebay as well! Symon is right in saying what a small world it has become. Glad to see the Z go to a good home. I must say that it is a striking combination of exterior and interior colors. I wouldn't have thought of that one myself. Is that an original color combo. for the Eurospec 260Z's?

Nick, That's a very slippery slope your talking about. I do know that if you purchase stock 280ZX (HS130) wheel studs they are about 1/8 in. longer than the stock S30 studs. However, if you would like some additional information about spacers check out this website: http://www.wheeladapter.com/ This might be a better source for wheel studs. Back in the old days I bought a set of Nissan Comp wheel studs (unusually expensive @ $100+) only to find out that what I was shipped were standard thread and not metric! In any case you will want to make sure that you ask for 12x1.25 thread (12 being measured in mm) for your S30.

carguyinok, Is that the FL1-A Motorcraft filter you are referring to? If so, there is comfort in knowing you will always be able to get one and I believe they have an anti-drainback valve built in as well.

clutchdust, I have just such a link : http://www.mrt-wheels.com/boltpatternref.html and if you are really adventurous: http://www.wheeladapter.com/ The above link can help you make anything happen! If you fancy a five lug conversion you can begin to use wheels that have been made for late model Mustangs, etc.. (bolt pattern is 5 on 4.5" or 5 on 114.3mm, just like the '84 on up Z31's w/ 5 lug hubs). For an S30 or S130 a set of 16" wheels would probably be more than enough. Especially if you get a set of 16x7" zero offset/ zero backspacing for the fronts and 16x8" for the rears. The wheels in the attachment are like what I would use:

Matt, Don't overlook the torque figures as that is a better measure of what you will feel from the seat of the pants. The '83 non-turbo was rated at 145hp @ 5200rpm and 156lb/ft of torque @ 4400rpm. The '79's for comparison's sake were rated at 135hp @5200rpm and 144lb/ft of torque @ 4400rpm. The '78 280Z's when converted from SAE gross to SAE net are as follows: 149hp @5600rpm and 163lb/ft of torque @ 4400rpm's.

Brian, Funny story that follows yours: About 9 years ago I was driving my '85 RX7 GSL-SE (13B engine) and a friend of mine was driving his '77 MGB. To give you a bit of background on the '77 MGB it was far from stock. It had been converted from rubber bumpers to the thin metal bumpers in a beautiful manner. The engine had been built with a Piper road cam and fitted with the larger HS6 carb's and mated to a comp. clutch and almost full race suspension. The exhaust was quite vocal breathing through headers and passing through a flowmaster muffler mounted under the middle of the car. In any case we had a spirited (being polite) run and neither car could leave the other for very long. It was an educational experiment but, alot of fun. The RX7 would get past the B on the straight but, the B would simply reel in the Mazda on the sweepers and go right by every time.

Damn! I always seem to be on the wrong side of the Atlantic. Too bad I couldn't ship over one of my S30's for that event. I imagine there aren't too many 280Z's running around Europe at present. I too will be watching this thread with great interest. Z-point, If I'm not mistaken is that pic from ebay? If so, I was viewing that car for a few days and thinking what a nice unusual Z that is. I think it had silver coachwork with butterscotch (brown) interior. Symon, You are indeed a lucky man to have that Z.

kyteler, Thanks for making us jealous with your four headlights! BTW, How do you pronounce "KOITO" exactly? Is it Koy-toh or Ko-eeh-toh? Just for kicks I am going to look at the Celica's four headlights tomorrow and report back my findings. The car's only covered 81,000 miles and about 30,000 of that was acquired from being trailered behind a motor home.

:classic: Smokey, Thanks for the closeup of the louvers on the BPE Z. Those are exactly like the ones on my '78. I bought mine from the original owner a couple of years ago and in the receipts file was the bill for the louvers. I checked through my accessories brochure from '76 and it depicts the same type of louvers so it appears as though the louvers are genuine. The "5 speed" emblem looks like it is in great shape; another testament to the original miles theory. The emblem is also the correct type for the '78's as the '77 280Z 5 speed emblem used a different font. The matte black tail light panel also looks to be in pristine condition. If your BPE was 153k miles I am sure that the tail end wouldn't look as good. The taillight lenses (especially the driver's side) haven't discolored from the inside either. Usually the exhaust fumes do their best to eat the silver finish on the taillight surrounds and discolor the lenses on the way. To answer your question on the transmission, I have seen them with 4 speed, 5 speed, and automatic (both BPE and ZZAP) so the 5 speed should help to raise the car's value slightly as the years go by. It's odd that back then the 5 speed was like $175 option yet so many Z's didn't have them. Good luck and I hope she finds a way into your garage. This BPE reminds me of one I let get away from me at the Import Festival at Carlisle about 6 years ago. The 2nd owners were selling a BPE for $5000.00 and it only had about 28k miles on it and they had owned it since '81 and had installed a set of turbine wheels. I didn't have the forsight and available funds or space to get the car and I hope it ended up in some careful hands.

Smokey, A couple of things lead me to believe that the mileage may be accurate. In the engine bay photos the cadmium coating is present on the EGR assembly and the plastic wiring harness ties are unusually clean and free from staining. The "OK" sticker is in remarkably good shape (although Mike McGinnis of Banzai Motorworks is reproducing those stickers--Nissan bought a batch from him for the 240Z restoration program) and the 5 speed shift knob looks to be original. I ordered a replacement 5 speed shift knob from Nissan about 8 years ago and the texture was changed from the '78 style. I wish there were better pictures of the louvers. If the louvers were installed by the dealer (such as mine on my avatar) then they will extend above and below the hatch window which requires drilling of the sheet metal. If the louvers fit within the window opening then it is safe to assume that they were aftermarket louvers (i.e. Shadow etc..). Lastly, the radio looks to be stock and in good condition. As always make sure (especially for that price) that he has all records, preferably the original window sticker. The Black Pearl's could either have been delivered with steel wheels and stock 280Z hubcaps or the four spoke alloy wheel (optional in the U.S. and normally seen on the European 260Z's). I think this car was also being advertised on the collector car trader website (http://www.cctol.com). Good luck.