chuckc

It sure hasn't been thus far. Fires right up everytime.

We won our class at the grand national with the Vicky in 2009. My dad had for about 30 years in shambles. Told him we either do something with it or get it out of my garage! That was the final result.

Thanks! Not tight on cash. However, the thing just sits… If it went to the right home and right money I would let it go. Just feel like someone else would appreciate it more. I’m a typical car guy. I’m not in love with any car, but I have to many… =) Well I take that back… I am in love with this car… =) 5 year project!

Interesting! My uncle told me that there was a stock orange Z car that a guy out of Yakima had and he thought it was the last Convertible still on the road until he tracked down my uncles. (back in the late 90's early 2000's) He mad the trip up to see the one I have now. Might be the same guy. Good looking car to say the least!

Not sure. I've lived in WA my entire life and never heard of Mountain Home AFB. We have Macord AFB. Sure is neat to hear all the history on this site!

Part of why I came here was because I had a guy track this car down and wanted to know if I wanted to sell it. He remembered it from when my Uncle used to work on his old Z car (20 plus years ago). I never looked into what the car was and figured I better see what I had. Going from memory and what he had writen down i thought it was a little more unique. Not sure if I'm going to sell it or not. However, everything is for sale for the right price... Thanks for everyone providing feedback! P.S. It has just shy of 40,000 original miles... I'll get some pics posted with the top up next time I go to the shop.

He got the D&M intake because that was the only thing that would bolt up with matching port holes. After telling Air Research what he had done he came home from work about 6 months later and had a new Intake on his front door for helping them figure out how to get it to work. All in all its fun to drive and turns a lot of heads.

What are these things selling for?

Looks like I may have got some bunk info! Thanks again for sharing!

Great info thanks so much!

It is different... I do not have any pics with the top up. I can put it up and take some when I get time if you would like to see it. They also put Real Dayton wire rims on it that were $1,000 each. Not my cup of tea but is what it is...

I understand that the factory is in Japan. However, that’s exactly what I’m implying as this was the info I got. That’s what I’m trying to get hard info on. The way I understand it is, the “factory” teamed up with this company to build 180 Convertibles for participating dealers in the US to “test” the waters for a convertible. Then again the info given to me from my uncle my be 100% wrong. But he has had the car since new. That’s why I’m looking to you guys for more information. Thanks again for the feedback!

Thanks for sharing the article! Obviously that was the people that did the conversion. And yes it is a convoluted story! I’m going off of memory, and some stuff that my uncle wrote down before it was passed down to me. Thanks for sharing!

First I may not have all the info and that is why I’m here. So if you have any incite please let me know. I have a 1978 208Z factory convertible. As I understand it Nissan partnered with a company in Fort Lauderdale FL to build 180 convertibles. The VIN is HLS30447207. I was unable to find a decoding software that could tell me more about it. Then I read on here Nissan didn’t do a very good job of keep records. The fender kits are off of Jim Cook’s GTP racing car. Here is how the car came into my family. When a local Datsun/Nissan Dealer heard Nissan was going to be making a limited production convertible from the Factory he jumped on it. (Dealer in Bremerton WA, Mr. Hayjax.) He asked my uncle to get involved as he was a top mechanic in our town. The car was ordered in 1978 and was not delivered until 1980. From there they put about 15K worth of add on’s to it. My uncle built a turbo motor using a intake manifold from D&M marine. Later communicating with Air Research (as they were trying to build a turbo kit for it and couldn’t figure it out) Air Reasearch got a hold of a intake and started building them as my uncle had the turbo already dialed in. From there they put some (at the time) trick suspension on it, the fender kits from Jim Cooks previous year race car, and a few other mods. The car dealer decided he didn’t want the car and sold it to my uncle. It has since been passed down to me. It still drives and when the turbo kicks in flat hauls the mail! If you have any more info on these please let me know! I’m excited to learn more about the history, and to know what we really have. Is this a collectable? Is it worth anything? Or is it just another car that will be passed down to my son? Thanks in advance for your input and I look forward to this online community!