Carl Beck

Yes - I have pictures in some books that show them a little more clearly than they can be presented on a computer screen. Using a magnifying glass they are clearly visible. They seem to match the drawing Kats submitted. FWIW, Carl B.

Agree - not the shade for your 260Z. {nor a 240Z/280Z}. FWIW, Carl B.

and I do not recall who the OEM was for Nissan - but the Racing Mirrors were Nissan Parts. They were $19.95 a pair when ordered over the Parts Counter. They were included in the Nissan Shade Kit. The rear shade was not sold by itself - only as a Kit including the Racing Mirrors. The Black Pearl's included the Shade Kit as part of the appearance package. While the Nissan Racing Mirrors looked a lot like the Mustang Mirrors - side by side they are shaped quite differently. FWIW, Carl

Hi Bud: Can you Post a couple pictures of the rust damage? If we can see it - we might be able to offer better advice as to the best method of correction at that point. FWIW, Carl B.

Thanks Chris - I was focused on looking for something earlier than that, but it makes perfect sense that Nissan would have been fully aware of any draft standards prior to any finished regulation. FWIW, Carl

Hi Ron: Just a side story on the headlight covers. I don't think that Nissan was caught off guard by any of the D.O.T. or EPA regulations. They had a very competent engineer working hand-in-hand with the Federal Agencies and the rest of the Automotive Industry while these regulations were being drafted, reviewed and finally approved. When Mr. Katayama became President of Nissan Motor Co. in U.S.A in 1965 - Mr. Kawazoe, {former V.P. of East Coast Division} was re-assigned to work that coordination between the Federal regulators and Nissan. Mr. Kawazoe reported directly to the President of Nissan Motor Co. Ltd on these Policy issues, and he was the Chairman of the Japanese Auto Manufacturers group that represented all Japanese Manufactures in D.C. Mr. Kawazoe and that group had quite an influence on the final wording of the regulations and the test procedures used to validate compliance. From my research, I was never able to find a D.O.T. regulation that would have made covered headlights unlawful. I did however find a few State Regulations that outlawed covered headlights - California being perhaps one of the most important one's of them. The covered headlight covers seem to have been precluded because when they got dirty inside - they reduced the light output significantly. D.O.T. revised their regulations at the auto industries urging years ago. The revised D.O.T. regulations supercede all State Regulations, and allow both covered headlights and bulb type rather than sealed beam headlights. Just a guess, but sealed beam headlights may have been required in the past - for the same reason that covered headlights were banned in some of the States. At any rate - it would seem that the covered headlights would be legal in all States now - otherwise almost none of the newer cars would be legal. FWIW, Carl B.

I've ran OEM, Fram, Purolator, NAPA - never had a problem with any filter. {FRAM was the only filter specified by the manufacture on my V-12 Ferrari} I run Mobile 1 in everything. Most of my Z's sit for prolonged periods and really don't get much use. The synthetics leave a film on metal parts longer than the natural oil, they reduce engine operating temperatures by about 10-12 degrees F. here in Florida. I started using synthetics when the boys and I were restoring and vintage drag racing 60's/70's muscle cars. I didn't like the lifter clatter in the V8 engines on cold start and the big blocks always seemed to run hot. Switching to the synthetics eliminated the lifter clatter on cold start up and lowered the operating temps. {made me a believer}. In the old days {pre 70's} - - lead in the gasoline, rich running carb's when the chokes were on or hung up, and in general rich mixtures poorly combusted - all combined to pollute the engine oil fairly quickly. Back then you needed to change the oil every 2K miles and usually spark plugs every 6-8K miles. The problem that still exists in our 70's era Z's is carb's that are out of tune - can still run very rich and the excessive gasoline {unburnt in combustion} can still dilute the engine oil. So oil/filter in the old Z's gets changed every 3-4K miles. I run my newer vehicles {1990+} 6K on oil and filter. These engines run very clean relative to earlier decades, and I live in Clearwater, Florida - which has some of the cleanest air in the US. Your location and driving conditions might be quite different. FWIW, Carl B.

and later Zup - are you still following this? The covers you bought seem to have the black rubber around them. At least the one's pictures on E-Bay do. Do the one's you received have gray rubber? If so, can you post a picture of the gray rubber? FWIW, Carl B.

I've marked Kat's drawing - with some notes. The "new style" / "old style" used in the discussion seemed confusing to me. So does "earlier" and "later" - - My OEM/NOS set, packaged in the brown box, marked with the 63900-E4126 & 63901-E4126 numbers are the "new style" on Kat's noted drawing. They have black rubber & the OEM mounting hardware. Looking at Ron's trim rings - I'd say his are also the new style - according to Kat's drawing noted. In the original Post - the headlight cover sitting on the new Red/white/blue box - would seem to be the Old Style - as noted in Kats drawings. {the front mounting hole is only a couple inches from the top edge}. Do I have kat's drawing marked wrong?? FWIW, Carl

The -.. "he paid someone in Mexico" - was also toungue in cheek. That is good to hear and also good to know. I have an NOS set, so I really have no experience with the repro sets. FWIW, Carl B.

Unkle - your money doesn't spend any differently ... I believe that the problem is - as was noted by someone earlier - he paid someone in Mexico and the seller disappeared. Buying/Selling within the US carries with it some legal protections, that do not apply, or can not be applied when buying/selling out of your own country. Hate to say it, but the level of outright criminal activity just grows and grows on the Internet. On top of that - if there is a problem - international shipping charges can quickly exceed the price of the item, or turn any sale into a loss of money. No reason to assume all these risks - if you can just as easily find a buyer in your own country. FWIW, Carl B.

"otherwise"??? Are you saying that it wasn't really Eiji selling these? How do you know that they are a reproduction set - and not NOS? Exactly what is different? thanks, Carl B.

Hi Chris / yoshi_w Just to make it clear - I recommended an "orbital" or "dual action buffer", not a rotary or direct drive type. It is close to impossible to damage any finish with an orbital or dual action buffer, that you wouldn't equally damage by hand. The main difference between hand buffing and using an orbital/dual action buffer is that the machine doesn't get tired and it makes more consistent strokes with a larger application pad. The orbital and dual action buffers run at far lower speeds {160-500 RPM} than the traditional rotary automotive buffers {1000 - 3000 RPM}. Orbital buffers move the polishing pad in the same elliptic/orbital motions as hand polishing, while the true dual action type turn the polishing pad while at the same time making the elliptical orbital paths. While you can find some on-sale now - the price range for the machines I mentioned are around $129.00 to $149.00 PorterCable/Groits {the Flex is over $300.00}. However $200.00 is closer to the total cost when you include an assortment of buffing pads, polish and wax - and shipping chargers. I still feel that if you buy good tools, you haven't wasted your money. Machine polishing/buffing gives you the best chance to save your paint - and even if the paint is shot on this car, you'll have lots of other cars in the future to use it on. FWIW, Carl B.

Hi yoshi_w Here is another way to look at the subject of "paint". Lacquer - - applied in liquid form via the use of solvents. As the solvents evaporate they leave a uniform layer of whatever solids were used. When dry, lacquers have to be buffed to attain a shinny surface. Enamel - - applied in liquid form via the use of solvents. As the solvents evaporate they leave a "skin coat" of solids, on top of the underlying bonding agent. Enamels dry to a high gloss. Both Lacquers and Enamels are thousands of years old, both have been made with hundreds of different formulas. There seems to be an endless combination of solvents and solids used over time. Lacquers will shine, until all paint is worn away, they will shine-up, right down to the primer used under them. Enamels will shine until the skin coat of solids at the top are worn away, the underlying bonding/sealing agents can also be buffed to a shine, but it will be only temporary and shin will fade back quickly. {because 90% of the solids that produced the shine in the skin coat of the enamel, are not present in the lower layers of the paint}. Materials: Nitrocellulose - made from organic cells/fibers and nitrate. Used as a solid in both lacquers and enamels for hundreds of years. Acrylic - is a clear polymer emulsion. {plastic}. Cast clear it is used to make Plexiglass/Lucite etc. Added to a Lacquer or Enamel paint - the acrylic bonds to the color pigments and other solids. It makes the paint more durable. Polyurethane - is a polymer, made by chemically combining monomers {plastic}. Depending on the exact mix and process - it can be a liquid, foam or solid. For the most part Polyurethanes are used to produce enamels. {there are exceptions}. Cleaning/Polishing: You can use any number of different products on the market today. One of the better one's I've used lately is Meguiars "Ultimate Compound" for abused and neglected finishes. It is really more a polish than a tradition "compound" so it won't take too much of the skin coat off any of the enamels. http://www.meguiarsdirect.com/detail/MEG+G17216 I highly recommend getting yourself a decent orbital or dual action buffer as well. It can easily turn a 12 hour job into a far better result in 4 hours. "decent" meaning one with enough power and low vibration levels - to do the job efficiently. Meguiars, Porter Cable, Griot's Garage all offer pretty good machines for around $129.00 to $149.00 I have a rather large pickup truck and car hauling enclosed trailer...both of which are usually neglected somewhat - so I upgraded to the FLEX dual action .. more money but well worth it. Invest in a good tool and you'll be using it for decades to come. Wash it, clay bar it, polish it, wax it. Wash it first... {I use Dawn liquid if I want to remove all wax/polish and grease from the surface}. Then clay bar it - that will remove surface contaminates, and prevent them from scratching the paint as you then polish it. Follow that up with any good automotive wax. {what you use depends somewhat on how often you want to do it}. FWIW, Carl B.

AND Hi FastWoman: As I said earlier - there are a lot of individual discussions that could flow out of your original Post. For the most part your initial Post is I believe focused on the "Styling" of the S30 and other "like" cars of the period or past. The shape or form of the car, that presents itself to you visually. I find it interesting that you recognized the long hood, slung back cabin and sleek curves, but failed to mention the classic female form, followed by many of the sports cars of the 50's, 60's and early 70's. {indeed several long before}. Aesthetics... the nature of beauty. In very general terms, the human brain sees forms that are familiar and/or harmonious as safe, good or pleasing. Forms that are unfamiliar and/or conflicted as dangerous, bad or ugly. Visual lines or forms walk a very fine edge though our visual space - and the slightest break in flow, balance or harmony will cause a less than pleasing mental reaction. Look at the picture below - Pablo Picasso's "Femme". Here Picasso has defined a female form using only four apparently simple/easily drawn lines. That is more than enough visual clue for your brain to fill in the rest {consciously or subconsciously}. Simple/easy lines?.... Look at Pablo's work, now take a piece of paper and pencil and draw it freehand yourself. See how easily you can duplicate Pablo's work.... or NOT. The point is - the slightest change in line, balance, harmony among/between the lines - can have a huge impact on how the human brain perceives it... There is a very wide mental continuum between "Beautiful"........ and...."Ugly". While beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder, hundreds of controlled experiments have shown that human definition of beauty - falls along that continuum - within the normal range of statistical distribution. The glass Coke Bottle, and most of the cars you mention are simply variations of the female form, in whole or in part - that most humans find pleasing. The hard part is getting those lines drawn out perfectly... By the way - do you really think that the "Power Bulge", shaped as it is, in the hood of any of the earlier cars came into use because they needed room for the engine? {see second picture for clues} FWIW, Carl B.

The Jan. 2011 issue of Classic Cars & Parts magazine features a Cover and three or four page article about Jim Frederick's HLS30 00048. You should be able to pick up a copy at the local news stands soon. Way to go Jim !!! FWIW, Carl B.

Hello FastWoman: Everything above is either factually incorrect, or complete Myth. If you would like to know who designed the the Z Car, see: http://zhome.com/History/StylingMatsuo/MatsuoZStory1.htm IF you would like a concise summary of the chain of events that resulted in the Z Car - Order a copy of the book below and follow along..{it's only a few bucks} Just put the I.S.B.N. in the Search box on the Web Site. PROJECT X Challengers 240Z The Fated Z Plan By: Akira Yokoyama Digital Manga Publishing ISBN 1-56970-957-2 www.dmpbooks.com "Project X" - is not about cars, but rather a study of world class business successes in several different industries. The goal of "Project X" was to determine or identify what factors or elements several very successful business endeavors all had in common. These studies were well researched and then presented on Japanese T.V. as more or less entertaining, educational documentaries. The Manga above was then a follow-on to the T.V. series. In my opinion, of all the books written about the Z Car - this one will give you the most accurate information to date about the design and development of the Z Car. There are lots of other subjects in your initial Post and I think it would be fun to explore some of them. FWIW, Carl B.

Added Johnny'O at Post #87 Carl B.

KAL7467 See Post #27 - Kats expressed an interest in the engine block casting codes. That is how the list I Posted got started. Kats shows a picture of the block casting codes - and that seems to be the number you are missing. FWIW, Carl B.

Could No Longer EDIT the list at Post #75 - so had to recreate it here with the update. FWIW, Carl B. = = = = = = = = To Recap what we have so far in this thread..and update as we proceed... <pre> L24 107 E31 92124 FSM L24-2130 E31 9828G 10/69 HLS30-00032 Mike B L24-2396 E31 9901D 11/69 HLS30-00210 Mike B L24-2465 E31 9901F HLS30 00215 mdbrandy L24-2585 E31 9X04C 11/69 HLS30-00331 Mike B L24-3260 E31 9901A 12/69 HLS30-00587 Carl B L24 3199 E31 9628A 01/70 HLS30-01366 Johnny'O L24-3652 E31 9X04F 01/70 HLS30-01590 Mike B L24-4375 E31 9Y01A 02/70 HLS30-01704 JonnyRock L24-004621 E31 0126C 01/70 ???? BonziLon L24-005562 E31 02121 03/70 HLS30-02156 Kats L24-005757 E31 0327B 04/70 HLS30-02725 ol'red70 L24-05778 E31 0320A 04/70 abas L24-006302 E31 0321A 04/70 HLS30-03435 WDILL L24 010878 E31 0660K 07/70 HLS30-07715 Napa Bill L24-011821 08/70 HLS30-08323 daddz L24-026313 P30 1109A 01/71 HLS30-19867 zztom L24-027116 P30 1616L 01/71 HLS30-20419 AZ-240z L24 O27310 P30 01/71 HLS30-20390 deadflo L24-032875 P30 03/71 HLS30 25734 lonetreesteve L24-039190 P30 1408a 05/71 HLS30-31306 mlc240Z L24-123315 08/72 HLS30-98122 ChrisA </pre> FWIW Carl B.

Hi Gang: I received the following this AM. Passing it along for your information - and to encourage everyone to donate to the cause. http://DatsunHeritageMuseum.com FWIW, Carl B. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = This coming Saturday, Nov. 20, The Datsun Heritage Museum is holding a fundraiser to save the museum. I wish I could be there but I'm working. It's going to be a fun night and you should be there! My buddy Rob Schneider is hosting and I hear they've got some pretty great stuff to auction off too. George Barris, the King of the Kustomizer will be there too with some one of kind Barris items. Legendary Datsun racer, John Morton will receive the Datsun Legend Award presented by Tommy Kendall. Plus it's a host bar! This museum is important to me and if you're a Datsun fan or a car enthusiast, I bet it means something to you too. I know times are tough, so if you go online now to datsunheritagemuseum.com, they're offering a general admission ticket for $75. Just click the "donation" button and enter $75 per ticket. There may also still be some VIP seating available. Don't wait. Buy your tickets now! Sincerely, Adam Carolla

That is correct. to the PCV Valve on the intake manifold. Carl B.

Hi Paul: Will do - I talked to Don Ahrens yesterday and he said he was heading up to RA as well. Dress real warm... Carl B.

Looks like we better bring a jacket... should be a clear cool day. See you there. Carl B.

Hello mr denner: Welcome to the site - do you know any of the other Z owners in Kuwait? Carl B.