v12horse

Was it a dark military green? I have seen pictures of MK63 4 piston calipers in this type of color. My car came with stock brakes, but they were painted red. Everyone tells me that they were painted that color by a PO. I was under the impression that the original calipers were silver. I am not sure if it was paint or not though. -Ben

You have come a far way with the car. I like the dash-it is like a Ferrari dash. Good luck with the car and welcome to the club. -Ben

I am really sorry to hear that Auxillary. If you have lost interest in this one, maybe you can buy another one. It won't have the rotary you invisioned though . Good luck with everything. I hope you get another Z or car that you equally love. -Ben

Hmmm, I think they would both look nice, but I would get the Panasports in all gunmetal. I have a set of eight spoke wheels that I will eventually paint all gunmetal. It sounds like your Z is going to look pretty aggressive with the carbon fibre hood, and gunmetal wheels look mean. If you just don't like the gunmetal, then go with the black centers and polished lip. IMHO, Ben

That looks and seems like a really nice Z you have there. Welcome to the club Jack. -Ben

I agree with a lot that has been said here, but this goes out for the people that like retro design. There are three distinct cars that come to mind. The New MINI Cooper, the VW Beetle, and the Ford Mustang. These cars do link the past to the present, but what do they do when the companies decide that it is time for a body change? They cann't just do a whole body change again, but they will? There is something I am trying to get at, but I cannot nail it at the moment. Take the Zcar. First came S30, S130, Z31....Now we have the Z33. People argue that it is not retro enough, but even if it were, would Z33 owners look at it as an S30? For the most part, probably not. When you make a retro design like the Mustang, what does that say about all of the other Mustangs after the first generation? There were no intentions to have cues from other mustangs, so if I were a proud owner of a 5.0mustang, I would feel pretty left out. Is Ford saying that all the other body designs were screw ups? The Z33 may not be retro, but there are a few cues that link the past to the present for all of the body designations. The roofline is evident of that of an S30. I like the 350z for what it is, but to me there is only one Z, the S30. That is my bias. However, the great thing about the 350z is that it is stirring up the Z community. It is questioning peoples passion about the car. For the most part, the new Z is a success as far as a sports car. It is not as inexpensive as a Soltice/Sky, but it is still an affordable sports car in this day and age. -Ben

This is interesting to me. Although I have never seen or heard of a US market HLS30 Z getting the home market fender mounted mirrors from the factory, I have seen pictures of AUS export HS30 cars with the Japanese spec Fender mounted mirrors as you have stated above. It is interesting because the mirrors that I have seen fitted on UK cars are usually different than all other export models. They are chrome, more thick, and boxier than the US-market mirrors. Why was this not the case for other RHD countries? Or was it? Is this the other mirror designation you were talking about? I wish I could add to this discussion, but for now I will have to sit back and watch. Thanks for the insight. I am interested to read more. -Ben

My 260z came with a white interior and the carpet is brown. To my knowledge, the carpet is factory original. I am not sure that is the case with 240z's, but I am sure someone here knows. I think the hardest thing finding in white would be the door panels. I have heard of the vinyl/plastic paint, but I have no experience with it. Where I live it gets pretty hot, but when I am not in the car during the day, the sunvisor goes up to protect my interior and to keep it cooler. It seems pretty affective. -Ben

Dave, I agree with you on the mark-ups. They are outragous. I understand why the dealerships do it, but it is just wrong. For instance, the new Corvette Z06 that will be coming out in the near future is going to be the most potent Corvette ever to come off the production line and the MSRP is not staggering for what comes in the package. However, the car is probably not going to sell for the 75,000 USD. It is most likely going to be marked up to 90-100k. When my Mom was buying a VR6 Jetta in 2002, we went to a dealership that wanted 30k for the car. They knew she could pay it, but we knew it was a bad deal. We then went to a different dealership and got the car for 26k. Yeah, it is not the hot car that these other cars are, but there are mark-ups everywhere and it is rediculous. I remember when the 350z first came out and I was at the Z's by the Bay show and there was a man from some dealership that blatently said that there is no way people are going to get these cars for the MSRP at his dealership. Then there was a guy from another dealership that said you could make orders for the car early and pay MSRP. For cars people want, it seems like the dealerships are acting like the oil companies. For all you non-USA residents, does this happen in your countries too? It is sad. -Ben

The Soltice and Sky seem to be nice cars, but as others have said, they are not the driver car that the Miata, S2000, and Elise are. I have driven a Mazdaspeed Miata at an autoX event and I loved it. The new Miata seem like it is going to be even more of a thrill. I am excited to see the Sky and the Soltice, but so far they seem more like lookers. I hope I am wrong. Speaking of Pontiac, it is a shame that the GTO is going to be taken out of production. I like that car for a few reasons. It is very fast, the fit and finish is quite nice, and it has tastefully subtle styling. Here in the US the new Mustang is a big hit, but it is not built nearly as well as the GTO and one can see were Ford cut corners to keep cost down. In my opinion it has looks only and nothing else, but that seems to be what sells. IMHO, Ben

Thanks Chris, it means a lot to me. Here is a Z and a few of its siblings that were in the corral. I thought the silver Z was really nice. The wheels were 14 by 6J Enkei 8-spoke's. I have only seen those wheels a few times. The tires were 205 by 60. The two 510's that were in the corral were raced in the 70's, but they are not BRE cars. They had 70's period parts and a beautiful patina. -Ben

This really was a great event. This is the second time I have attended the Monterey Historics and it is always spectacular. The cars are unbeleivable. Just to name a few in attendance, Jaguar Silverstone XK120 (one of three in the world), Sir Sterling Moss's 55' Mille Migle winning 300SLR, Aston Marton DB4GT, Lamborghini Miura, Ferrari F40, Ferrari 250GTO, Ferrari 250GT SWB, and the list could go on. I have 290 photos from the event that I would like to post somewhere. Does anyone have suggestions about a site to use like shutterfly so everyone can see them? Here are just a few pictures. The famous #722 Mercedes Benz 300SLR driven by Sir Sterling Moss with Jay leno as the passenger as stated by 240zx, Ferrari F40, 68' Toyota 7 race car, and a few Z's in the corral. -Ben

I too am saddened by the wrecked GC10. Hopefully someone with deep pockets will save it. I like them all, but the Prince Skyline (S54) really stood out for me. It looks so right. Thanks for the links guys. I wish I could go on yahoo Japan more often, but I have been so busy these days that I can barely go on this forum. -Ben:)

I really hope that I can make it to this show. Every year the MSA show is over my Mom's birthday. This show is the exact date of my kid sister's birthday. I am really going to have to do some sweet talking to go. I have a feeling that this show is going to be a mecca for Fairlady Z's . -Ben

Wow, there are way too many color choices out there that I like. I would think that the classic Z color would be orange. I really prefer the 920 gold/ baby poo brown, but I pretty much like all colors the Z came in. I am an old fogey because I voted "whatever color the factory painted it." -Ben

Here is a link to my car which is light blue. The color code is the original 305 GP light blue metallic. See what you think. Look at a few different pictures to see the color. It is a nice shade of blue in my opinion, but I am not exactly sure what you are looking for. It is not a baby blue either. There is light metallic in it. http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=16046&cat=500&page=1 -Ben

Seerex is right about period correct parts being harder to find and much more money. Personally, I prefer period correct home market modifications because I am a huge fan of Fairlady Z's, Japan, and the classic Japanese car culture. However, I can still appreciate various modifications on Z's eventhough they may not be my style. As mentioned earlier, the headlight covers are going to be difficult to find, but if you talk with one of the club members here from Japan you should be able to find a pair. Expect to pay somewhere around 600-900USD for a set. If you want to buy brand new watanabe's, talk with wheelchoice out of Los Angeles and they can help. Depending on the things seerex said about the wheels, you should be able to get a new set with lugnuts for about 2200USD through wheelchoice, which would be really wide and deep. You can watch ebay for a set of watanabe's, but you will be very lucky to find a set that would fill the flares nicely. Really wide watanabes are not impossible to find on ebay, but pretty uncommon. The prices for watanabes on ebay seem to be pretty fair and really deep ones seem to not be as desireable because most people don't have the flares to accomadate them. I would definately keep an eye there. http://www.wheelchoice.com/ check out this link for good information on the 240zg and a link to where to find good g-nose parts, and more. Talk with Alan Thomas (HS30-H) because he will know where to point you for the ZG parts and Watanabe's. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16739&highlight=nose Welcome to the club. I hope you get that 240z and modify it the way you prefer. It may take a lot of work, money, and waiting to get the parts, but it will be well worth it. -Ben