9teen7t240z

Update: In order to accomodate a couple of orders being shipped from out of country, I have moved my ship date to next Tuesday, February 26th. This will provide a little extra time for you "stragglers and procrastinators" (just kidding), should you want to get in on this final group buy. For what it's worth, I've been known to straggle and procrastinate a little myself:) Mike

hmmmmm.......Arctic white. Pardon my spelling:)

Dave, In the past, I've used touch-up paint from Autozone that was called Nissan Artic White on my emblems. I can't certify that this is the exact same shade that was used on the emblems originally, but they did come out looking correct and nice.....without the yellowish tint of aging that was on them before. Mike

Hypertek, Thanks for all of the detailed pics of the headlight covers. They should be helpful as I've come to the conclusion that I'm not likely going to find a set of donors to use as a proto-type. (hint, hint) Mike

Just wanted to give everyone a friendly reminder that this coming week will be your last chance to get in on this group buy. Starting next month, I'll be working on setting up a dealer or distributor network for the service. So, while I intend to remain quite active within the industry, the attendant dealer mark-ups will certainly add to the costs of having your parts plated. However, as mentioned in a previous post, I expect that the final prices will still be quite attractive when compared to other competitors. Thanks again for your participation in the program. Mike R.

Robert, (and others), Thanks again for all of your input. I do think the radio faceplate would be a good candidate for reproduction, particularly since they didn't seem to be very durable when new. I would think that the radio knobs should be included too. Looks like I'll have to do a little more research on the heater / firewall pieces......am not quite sure as to how often these parts are replaced (demand), and there still does seem to be a supply of them available. Along the lines of the radio faceplate, does anyone know whether the heater control console faceplates are currently available?? Mike

Hi, Robert, Thanks for the kind thoughts regarding my "best friend". I've had dogs all of my life, and every one of them was a true family member. Somehow, losing Satchmo was much tougher on the family than any of the past ones. Makes one a bit reluctant to even try to replace him. I, too, have seen that Ebay listing, and have wondered how one could auction a "service". I guess if the strategy works, we'll soon see hookers posting on Ebay......to be sold to the highest bidder . As for the choke plate, I never owned a new Z and don't know if the high parts on the plate were originally chromed or painted. However, this customer wanted the whole plate chromed, so I accomodated him. There aren't many parts that we can't chrome plate, even if they were not originally plated by the manufacturer. Someday, I may even attempt to chrome an entire Z......that would be quite a sight cruising down the road! When we paint the tail light strips, we use a semi-gloss black enamel for the job. They can be sprayed or hand-painted. As for emblems and other painted parts, you may want to ask other members of the community for their recommendations. I've been told that Datsun used a couple of different shades of black for the early heater control panels, so, if originality is important to you, you would want to find out which one was spec'd for your specific car. Mike

Thanks for the enlightenment, Carl and Jim. Given the caveats, I think I'll try this on a spare panel before risking my own set. Mike

Jerry and Newton, I'm a little confused. (many will say that that is not exactly breaking news) I thought that the bright trim that the poster is talking about is an integral part of the rear panel itself, and not a separate piece. Can these actually be separated from the panel? I'd love to have mine refinished if that's the case. Signed, Dazed and Confused AKA Mike R.

Zhead, Hmmmm.......at $1000.00 per set of bezels, I'd think it would be gold plated, platinum filled, and hand delivered.......by a scantilly-clad Hooter's babe, no less:) Then again, maybe my prices are too inexpensive.... Mike

I thought I'd post a few new pics of parts in the current batch. Also, there is less than 2 weeks left before this final group buy ends, so there's no time like the present to get on board:) Mike

Robert, You've got a great set of eyes! I never saw that reflection of my dog on the hubcap pic, but, yes, that was my dog. Sadly, I had to put him down 2 years ago as he developed total kidney failure due to age. I would have traded my Z to get a set of kidneys for my dog, but that wasn't an option. At least now I have one more pic of my dog that I didn't know I even owned. Also, I noticed a reflection of myself, my car,and my tool boxes in those wheels. Good observations. Mike

:stupid: Sheesh!!! My first attempt to answer Kats didnt work....so I tried again. Then, they BOTH showed up. Sorry for the double/triple post:stupid:

Kats, Those are a couple of fine recommendations, as they should both be relatively easy to duplicate. I can probably use the seat bolsters from my own Z as a demo, even though they have been discolored .....they are still intact. As for scrounging up a set of inspection lid clips, that may take a little time as my car does not have them. I don't know if they were simply lost over the years, or if they were no longer being used on 5/70 dated cars. In any event, I'll see what I can come up with. Mike

Kats, Thanks for the recommendations. Those should be a couple of relatively easy reproductions, provided that I can secure a decent proto-type or sample of them. I guess I can use the side bolsters on my z.....they are somewhat discolored from age, but remain intact. Curiously, I don't have the clips that you mentioned for the inspection lid covers. My car was built in May 1970.....so it may have been after Datsun stop using those clips, or they were simply gone after 42+ years. In any event, I'll see if I can scrounge up a set to use as a demo. Mike

Robert, I found some of this pics, including the hubcaps and seatbelt pieces. The reddish tint seen on some of the seatbelt hardware was a reflection of my car, as the photos were taken next to the Z. Mike

Hi, Jim, Just send me a pm whenever you're ready.....I can give you the shipping info and details then. And, you're most welcome! As so many have echoed in the past, this community has saved me so much money, time, and grief with my own restoration and just regular repairs and maintenenance that I'm happy to be able to offer something in return. I've never been accused of being a mechanic, and I don't expect that I ever will. Yet, I have personally undertaken projects with my Z that I had never attempted with any car in 55 years of living.....thanks solely to the valuable advice and contributions from members of this community. And to your point, Blue is most definitely one of them, as he has helped me with some difficult situations on my own car. Really a great bunch of guys.....and ladies:) Mike

Hi, Robert, It is my intention to continue the service as long as the demand exists. The costs for plating plastic seem to go up all the time, so I won't be able to guarantee these prices beyond the current group buy. However, I expect that prices will remain extremely attractive when compared against the current competition. There seems to be more predictability and stability with the prices for plating metal, as metal requires appreciably less labor. However, I will certainly keep all pricing posted or can make it available to you at anytime in the future. I also have photos of seat belt buckles that I had replated for my own Z.....will post them as well. Finally.....yes, we can re-chrome virtually any part that was originally chromed such as window cranks, coat hangars, etc., with the probable exception of the chrome strip that is on the door panel. As Mike B mentioned previously, we are even doing a few shift knob trims for him. With regard to your box of parts/cores, I always have customers that are interested in acquiring cores that can be re-plated. Let me know if I can help put you together with them. Thanks, Robert, Mike R. While we are continuing to work on solutions for the bumpers and wheel freight "issues", we can certainly replate any hubcaps, whether they be series 1 "D" hubcaps, or any of the later ones that were originally plated. I actually have pics somewhere in my archives of a set of "D" hubcaps that I had re-chromed in the past, and will post them after I find out where I put them:)

Jim, Excellent job on the procedure details and photos. As i get asked the same question quite often, I think in the future I'll just provide a link to this thread. Thanks from all of us for taking the time to detail the process and photograph it:) Mike

HI, Mike, Thank-you for the feedback and the "before" and "after" pics. I wish that I would have thought of that:) I am anxious to hear how that new product works out for you......I suspect it was the one you sent me info on. I may have use for that myself in the near future. The parts that you sent me last week are already in Asia, ready to be started on. Will keep you abreast of progress. Thanks again, Mike R.

Hi, Mike, Thank you for the kind words and valuable feedback. In an endeavor such as this, as is the case with most any enterprise, customer feedback is critical to the persuit of excellence and satisfied customers are the only real measure of success. Thanks again for your business. Mike R.

Thanks for the info, Iron, Steve, and Chas. I'll check with one of my mechanic friends to see if he has any bases laying around that I work with. Mike

Thanks for the pic and description, Semi. Does anyone else know whether this part was used for more years of the S30 run than the 77-78280z?

EDIT/ UPDATE: The scheduled shipment date has been moved to February 20 in order to accomodate working schedules during the Chinese New Year. This will extend your time to ship through February 15th. Mike

Hi, Stanley, Thanks again for the post. I suspect that there will come a time that reproducing mag wheel center caps for the various versions of mag wheels used by Datsun dealerships for the Z cars will make alot of sense. But, I'm not quite sure that that time has already come. There are purveyors of center caps and wheels, such as AKH Wheels, that always seem to have a fairly generous inventory of both wheels and center caps for those vintage mag wheel manufacturers. Additionally, I would expect that there is considerable inventory amongst Z car owners of abused center caps that could be restored to new condition for less than the cost of reproducing them to new specs . I could certainly be wrong, but I suspect that restoring existing pieces currently in the marketplace might be a more economical alternative to reproducing the various styles, at least at this juncture. To illustrate my point, I have a service where we provide chrome plating for pieces just like (and including) the center caps for mag wheels. I can restore a set of 4 center caps to "like new condition" (sans the stick-on labels, if applicable), for around $25.00 a piece. Knowing what it costs to re-plate plastic, I can't conceive of any way that one could reproduce the set of center caps, have them chrome plated, and offer them for sale for even twice that price, per unit. So, it would seem to me that the best strategy would be to restore existing inventories of center caps, before attempting to remanufacture new ones. (I am attaching a sample of what I described below). Like I said.....I could be wrong. I just think that you have a great idea that may be just a little ahead of it's time. Mike