jellobob777

The Black Pearl debate is the same question as the 77 ZAAP Z cars with and without SAP.

It has been on Ebay a few times but never sells it went to just over $10000 a few times but never met reserve .If memory serves correctly it was listed in Florida those times and now in New Jersey .The seller puts all of their cars in front of that door way for the pictures .The previous listings have had a ton more pictures I guess the listing fees are adding up and the seller is cutting back .

Kit cars are much tougher to register in some states (N.J. being one of them )I really did not give much thought to insurance ?? What would be the difference of Buying fiberglass hood fenders doors hatch and quarter panels and putting them on a S30 "Tub" ?? Carl our Z cars are exactly 300 vin #s apart I own Hls3000033

An easier answer to registering it would be to use the vin from the donor car donating all of the suspension and drivetrain like the buyers of the Daycorn Bodys for 1969 Camaros do or the Brookville bodies for the 32 Ford but the legality of this brings up many more questions .From what i have seen anything over 25 years old not much matters (with the exception of stolen cars)

Looks exactly like a code 110 (Grand Prix Red) i looked at in Upstate New York last week,but doubt its the same car .Yours is much nicer! Add description said rock solid frame and floors .I dont know if being able fit my hand through a hole in the toe board qualifies as "Rock Solid" ?

Stevej i totally agree about HF Anything precision or safety related i stay away from (No torque wrenches ) but hand tools and many of their small air tools work great in a home owners environment like a $6.00 heat gun (How can you beat that ?)Or a $10 prime gun .However for a professional using them every day the investment in super quality tools is worth wile.

I must agree with five&dime body and paint work is not cheap .Good materials alone from etching primers through final clearcoat costs more than you think .Add in tape sand paper masking paper and Labor it adds up FAST! The question becomes one of trust with the shop doing the work .five&dime has obviously found a shop that has proven they can do excellent work and is a repeat customer there .The 70-73 panel has the bumper indent that will need to be welded closed and may have a slightly different contour around the tailight opening? The vent hole would be the same unless the panel is from a Series one (No vent hole ) I would prefer to use a 75-76 panel so everything is as it should be with no open questions or additional labor required to make it work .What most people do not take into consideration is that if a shop wants to replace a part to make the job go faster verses spending time fabricating patches it will cost less .Labor is a major cost factor also new panels make a better repair that will take less filler and welding to get the job done .

check the CT Z site there is a bunch of info under restoration tips (Steering wheel)

An OEM Genuine Quarter panel at $500 is CHEAP! Courtesy had one on ebay for $1600 (Series one 240 panel) The 70-73 cars take one panel (Actually the 70-71 series one does not have the vent hole on the sail panel and the 74-76 take another and the 77-78 take a different one .The difference between the 74-6 and 77-78 is the change in the door latch Just like the door shells are different for those years but in a worst case scenario with some "massaging " they can be made to work .Its just easier to use the right part from the start. Used parts take the time to "trim " out to what you need .My first choice would be an OEM Original panel from the right year .

Harbor freight has small and large Tumblers for $50 -$150 so does Cabellas There are 20% off coupons for Harbor Freight in all of the Car mags i get ,Road and Track ,Car and driver (in the back pages )

It comes down to the cost of the time to fabricate patches verses buying a premade repair panel.For large areas with intricate contours it more cost effective to buy a $100 part than to pay a body man six hours labor + Materials @ $50 per hour = $300 that being said i believe johnny'O is correct that Tabco supplys MSA and Black Dragon and JC Whitney so dealing direct is the way to go .TAbcos catalog shows both the inner and outer panels as being availible .Its easy enough to check if the inner is bad look inside the wheel well .

Stevej Tumbling works great i have used it but it removes any plating from the surface and they rust FAST! after that .clear spray paint helps if you dont want to have them plated but nothing looks as good as nicely replated hardware

If they are not rusty and you want them to look new bag them up and send them to a plater who does Yellow Zinc plating (Gold irridate) Clear Zinc is for the silver finished ones .Its not very expensive (Compared to Chrome or Real Silver or Gold plating ). I have used Steve Gregori in California he has a website his work is on many of the restored Muscle cars in magazines but its the same process for Japanese car parts .Just to be sure they are degreased and do not have paint over spray on them .Eastwood also makes a do it your self kit to plate your own .as does Caswell .Hope this helps

Garry Great looking Z car ,They are rare in N.J. in nice shape like yours .I am in Passaic County N.J and have been working on Z cars for 30+ years I have an air cleaner assembly if you want to go back to original and many parts for Z cars email me at zpartsnortheast@aol.com .Also the new Jersey Z club would be good to join to meet with other N.J. Z owners .The Meetings are in Bridgewater at the Green Knowl Grill .Check the site online Just saw the open Valve cover vent ,It would be a good idea to put a filter on that so nothing finds its way inside your motor !

Esprit Its just a Night driver game with the ZAAP car on the exterior(Upper Headboard) . I have all of the original paperwork and brocures from when it was introduced in late 76 .Nissan / Datsun joined with Midway to put the Zaap car on the game i am guessing to appeal to a young market .I am updating mine with a series one "wood" steering wheel with Datsun horn button and a 240Z wood shifter knob .

The second link is to a site with 2 games listed for sale

The Zaap Z driver game is a Night Driver game with different graphics .I drove from New Jersey to Tampa Florida to get mine . I have the version with the YellowZaap car on the "Head Board " Here is a site that deals in vintage arcade games and there are two listed for sale by members there .Good Luck ! This is the info page http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?letter=0&game_id=6777 This is the members listings and items for sale page http://www.arcade-museum.com/members/game_detail.php?klov_id=6777

The Yellow on my original decals is not Vinyl but open and the Paint shows through in those areas .

Good to know

The "Wraps" i have seen are not so nice up close .They are a series of dots printed on the vinyl not the solid colors of the Zaap decals . There are also sections of the Zaap decals that allow the Yellow Paint to shine through (Front of the Hood decal and front of the fender decal.) The price i had heard for the Black Pearl reproduced decals was $250 and they are an" easy " black and silver design the Zaap is much more difficult .(I know i own both a BP and a Zaap both with SAP)

Reproduction might be better than original ,The advances in vinyl striping technology alone are better and the chances of a complete NOS stripe kit surviving 30 plus years are not that great .I have rolls of pinstriping tape ,the same material the Zaap stripes are made of that have not survived 10 years in a climate controlled environment

Maybe there is $6950 in the Glove box???

Take your time if you have a $10,000 budget there are lots of cars in that range that are WAY better . Find something closer to original and modify it to your taste .At least you will know what you started with .The car you are looking at most likely will turn out to be a huge headache .Needing paint and having the flares and rear body panel with questionable work done in the past will cost big $$$ .Also dealing with someone who does not know what they have or is worse, lying about what they have never ends well . Best advice would be to walk away from this one .

I would bet the rear flares were done to get rid of rusted quarters and the rear body panel is loaded with filler .Looks like about a $2000 car from the pictures (JMO)

Is it possibly a Bob Sharp GT33 car??? Thats the only GT i have ever come across