26th-Z

Arne, I bought a set of filthy Libres three years ago for $400 only to find, after I cleaned them up and dismounted the old tires, that they were not a matching set. Fortunatley, the seller took them back and I only lost my cleaning efforts. Then I bought a set from a guy in North Carolina who was a notorious internet frauder. Lost $350 on that set. So I decided to buy Watanabes instead. I might suggest that any wheel you buy in any condition is in fact used and that you consider having the wheels restored no matter what condition they appear to be in when you buy them. Therefore, a little curb rash that makes them inexpensive to begin with is a good thing. Chris

Kats, I am with you! I will never sell my cars. Yes they might be more valuable some day but I do not care. I will still drive them. If I only wanted to make money, I would not invest in cars. Everyone knows that. My post #40 was so tounge-in-cheek. You guys need to lighten up!

You can say all you want, but the racing record is here in America. Sure the Z was raced in "other" countries, but the record number of overall victories and consecutive championships is here - home of good-'ol Meric'n Enginuuity. Call us cowboys, but we know 'zaclly' what to do with a soft, voluptuous spinner like an HLS30. Too bad they don't have Corvettes and Mustangs to blow off in England or Japan. Sure, any red-blooded Yank loves the sophistication of the foreign Fairlady, but we did just fine with our imported babes.

No, AutoZone isn't going to carry old Z parts. Have a look at Motorsport Auto and run through this site's search function for other specialty dealers of parts. There are many of them.

Welcome to the club of wierdos, Darbji. Obviously you have not met the royal highness Her Majesty the 26th, Garage Queen. She is sister of the Princess 27th in direct lineage and related to the great RAC Rally warriors HS30-00026 and HS30-00027 through a marraige of convenience arranged in Japan. Both Her Majesty and the Princess are Japanese spinners and exist soley for driving pleasure because of the family creed; "Enjoy the Ride".

Pat, The last time I saw that poster for sale it was well over $200. The old original Z promotional posters are very collectable and pricey. If you think these are rare, try the racing posters! Or the rally posters! I have this poster I would sell - 24x36 size. I took the photo.

You may be looking for Z-Wolf? Contact the Suncoast Z Car Club.

Thanks for the pictures, Kats. These are great!

Where Kats gets undercarpet jute! Now that's the $64 question! Dan, the only thing I can think of beneficial to installing the cups for the clips is to prevent rattle noise. I would install them. Like the jute, no one will ever know if you have it correct or not. Chris

Ain't nothin like the real thing... I was looking for Libres when I came upon my set of Wats. I don't have more than $500 in my set including lug nuts and center caps. Send Eiji an e-mail at Datsun Spirit and see waht he may be able to find for you.

I have the set of push button belts shown in the picture I posted. Let me go dig them out of storage. PM me. Chris

Three pictures of seat belts and a link to the company that restores them. http://www.ssnake-oyl.com/ The first picture is of the correct belts for a '70. The second picture is of the lift style buckle. The third picture is of the later push-button type with the Z logo. The correct belt buckle is black with a portion of the lift handle in a black wrinkle finish. I love the second picture because it is of the early belt style with a 1972 ID tag sewn on to the belt. Very odd. Anyone will tell you that a 30 year old belt is not safe at all and should be re-webbed and reconditioned. Ssnake-oyl will recondition the belts with all new webbing but they aren't cheap. I think a set is $250 or so to recondition a set. Chris

New listing on eBay http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Datsun-240Z-240Z_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ6188QQihZ011QQitemZ320117642256QQrdZ1 To clear up some of the comments and questions from the old listing. The owner of the Vintage Z also owns the VW dealership and this is from his personal collection. The old reserve was $32,000 when the starting bid was $26,000. I am told the car is in very nice condition.

Did anyone post any pictures?

I use Klasse and love it. I use the two part liquid system.

Oh cool! I need a RR quarter panel - no speaker holes.

Mike B, This car is in great shape for its age. It looks to me as though the firewall / battery box is your worst problem and I would like to see frame rail pictures all the way back under the floor before I would go off to replacing them. Some great low VIN items on all your pictures. I see you have the plastic inspection lid clips. Need a fuel door knob? Clear hatch glass? I don't see the lead for the demister. No deck insulation! On #237! How bout that! I cannot disagree more with the comment about value. This car in show condition is worth 20, easily. More like 30 when you are finished. So here's what I think of the cowl issue. Fix it correctly. Hope these pictures help. These are from the Fairlady Z parts catalog Pub. No. C-236. The firewall is not shown, but the cowl pieces help me explain what you will probably encounter. The first pic is the whole page. Then I cropped the area of the rust spot and drew an arrow to the fresh air chimney. The picture is reversed to show what it is like on our LHD cars. See the tab bent up all along the front edge of the lower cowl member? It is welded to the fire wall. Evidently pine needles built up between the fresh air chimney and the firewall and rotted out the bottom of the cowl pan and the face of the fire wall. To fix this with a welded-in patch of metal will require the removal of the dash along with the heater fan and fresh air box above it. It is almost impossible to work in the area from the top because of the upper cowl frame member. These two members, welded continuously to the firewall, make up the top cross brace from door pillar to door pillar. This box section is open to fresh air from the cowl vents and collects water. The picture of the passenger floor is showing the damage of the cowl leak. That whole area needs to be cut out and replaced. It needs to be sealed up from water, I suggest cutting out the weld spots and removing the battery box. That whole area needs to be cleaned up in a big way. I am not a fan of POR. Repaired properly, that area will easily last another 35 years with a proper paint finish.

Best of luck. Try Datsun Spirit http://www.datsunspirit.com/ CW-

I'll bet you find more rust behind that pop riveted panel on the firewall. The big rust hole above it is the seam between the cowl and firewall infront of the fresh air shimney. Taking the dash out is the way to attack the problem. Low VIN guy standing by to help. Thanks for the heads-up, Fred. Chris

Alan, You beat me to post! But I concur with your comment. There are no Nissan published "factory" associations that I have found.

Thanks for the comment, Arne. The article was reprinted by Nissan for promotional purposes. I didn't mean to diss Douglas Kott, or any writer for that matter. There are few direct associations with the word "factory" in any of the literature I have collected on the Vintage Z subject. But they exist. Nissan, of course, wanted thier restoration efforts to pack credibility. It is easy to see how one might get the impression that the cars were actually sent back to Japan to be restored. The businesses chosen to actually restore the cars were promoted to a certain degree in order to support the validity of the program. But thanks to the conversation I am looking at my research again; making some changes and updating some files. Quite fun to look back through all this again! My current working bibliography on the subject: Nissan Motor Corporation Related Publications and Documents “10 Nissan Retailers Selected to Host Z Stores”, from website www.nissannews.com, 20 November 1996. “240Z Restoration Program Quality Control Checklist”; January 8, 1997. “Datsun 240Z – Japan Reinvents the Sports Car”; (reprinted from Road & Track, February 1997). “Datsun 240Z Sports Owner’s Manual – Model S30 Series”, Issued Date: March 1997 (161100) “Greetings from the Z-Store at Nissan Corporate!”; Z-Store letterhead, Z Store.doc, no date (late ’97, 25 cars produced). “Hand written note from Pete Evanow to Bob Berke”, on Pan Pacific Hotel letterhead, no date. “News Coverage as of May 27, 1997”, market survey compilation.. “Inside Nissan – Heritage”; from website www.nissanusa.com, January 2005. Magazine advertisement (fold-out format) “First Solid Food”, 1997 Magazine advertisement “No Cup Holders”, TBWA Chiat/Day Inc.1997 Magazine advertisement (Slick) “The most popular…”, no date. “Nissan Proudly Presents – Vintage Z”; announcement and site map, May 3, 1997. “Nissan Z Store Merchandise Catalog”, Flyer # CAR412965 “Popular 240Z Restoration Parts”; Parts and Service Bulletin, April 30, 1998. “Rebirth”; brochure, 1997. “Restored 1970 Nissan 240Z Sells for $33,920 at Monterey Sports and Classic Car Auction”; 22 August 1997. “Spirit”; brochure, 1997. “To Our Z-Club Members”, letter from Pete Evanow, Manager, Z-Store, Z-Store letterhead, Z Shutdown\Signoff.doc, October 30, 1998. “Vintage Datsun 240-Z Sales Invoice”, HLS30-96203 “Vintage Datsun 240-Z Sales Invoice”, HLS30-80067 “Vintage Datsun 240-Z Certificate of Authenticity”, HLS30-96203 “Vintage Z Quality Control Launch Rally”; May 3, 1997. Letter from Tom Orbe, Vice President Marketing, registration form, preliminary schedule of events. “Vintage Z Program-Master Parts List”, inter-office correspondence / spreadsheet, February 20, 1997. “Z Store” Dealer Kit, November 13, 1996. “Z Car Parts Shipments, by Part no. & by VIN (Closed)”, spreadsheet, May 27, 1998. Publications from Independent Sources “240Z Restore Project by Nissan in USA”; Nostalgic Hero magazine, vol. 64, December 1997. “A Classic Reborn”, PPG Repaint Reporter, 1998 “A Once and Always Legend”, Sport Compact Car magazine, January 1997 “Back to Its Rootz”, Automotive News, October 28, 1996 “Cartoon”, Automotive News, November 4, 1996 “Datsun 240Z, Factory Resurrected”, Road & Track magazine, June 1998 “Datsun 240Z Sports Classic”, Nostalgic Hero magazine Geibin Mooks No. 471, 2004 “eBay Motors.com”, sales auction, November 2004 “eBay Motors.com”, sales auction, March 2005 “eBay Motors.com”, sales auction, May 2005 Excerpts from Z-Car Club of Washington newsletters - “No New Z For A While”; Marc Sayer “Reconditioned 240Z’s”; Barry Breen “Ground-up Rebuild”; Phil Deushane, IAPA “Restored vs. Refurbished”; Carl Beck “Later Z”; reprinted from Autoweek, March 23-29, 1998 vol. 48, no. 12 “Vintage Z’s Get New Pizzazz”; reprinted from Automotive News, Mark Retchin, March 10, 1997 “New-Old Z’s”; Steve Klepinger ”If You Wait Long Enough”; reprinted from PR Newswire, 1997 “New-Old Z-Cars”; Barry Breen “Update: 240Z Restoration Program”; Rex Jennet “Z-Store Opening”; Bob Bailey “History-Making Vintage Nissan Rally”; Z Car magazine, Rick Feibusch, Summer 1997 “Life’s a Journey”, Sport Compact Car magazine, December 1996 “Lust, Then Love – The Story of the New Z”, Ron Sessions, Publications International, Ltd., 2002 “Obsolete Nissan Parts Availability”; NewZletter, Z-Car Club of Washington, March 1998. “The Rebirth of the Legendary 240Z”; Old Timer (Japanese text), no. 34, June 1997. “The Way They Were”; Sports Car International magazine, August / September 1997. “Restored Datsun 240Zs Take a Step Back In Time”; Newsday, November 23, 1997. “Restore Your Z”; The NewZletter, Wayne Karnes, May / June 1998. “Restoring a Vintage Vehicle”, Enjoy the Ride.com, 2004 “Return of the Living”, Classic Cars magazine, August 1997. “Sports Car Chronicle”, Publications International, Ltd. 2004 “Tokyo Survives Another Typhoon, But What About “Mad”s Recent Visit??”; unknown, letter to ZCCA from Mike Taylor. “U.S. Paint Code List”, http://datsunprojects.org/zpaintcodes/ “Vintage Z Car Register”; IZCC website – www.zhome.com. “Vintage Z – Road Impression in L.A.”; J’s Tipo (Japanese text), no. 61, February 1998. “What Comes After Z…Store?”, Z Bits Maryland ‘Z Club, Paul Taylor, March / April 1999 “Z-Car: Future Classic?”, Z Car Magazine, Fall 1996 “Z Day at Texas Motor Speedway”; Z Car Magazine, Bill Reagan, November / December 1997. “Z-Speed”; Unique Cars, Howard Walker, October 1997. “Z-Store Update”; Z Car Magazine, Marc Sayer, Spring 1997. “Z-Store Update”; Z Car Magazine, Marc Sayer, Summer 1997. Films “Nissan Intro Spots / “Dream Garage” – Life is a Journey. Enjoy the Ride. Nissan Brand Campaign 1996, vhs/dvd “Nissan Z Store” – KNBC 2/15/97 and KABC 2/18/97 vhs “The Return of the 240Z (The restoration Process). TRT, no date, vhs Pierre Perrot, no title, no date(s), self produced video of events surrounding the Vintage Z program. vhs “Birth of a Legend” – Nissan Motor Corporation, USA: 1997, vhs/dvd

Carl, I might have RUN across something like what was written, but the dead give-away was the reference to parts Nissan has access to that we don't - wrong! One of the major reasons that the Vintage Z restoration program ended prematurely was because of a shortage of parts. How do you doubt that the seller wrote the text?

It appears that the statements came from the eBay ad that started this thread. I like your opinion of Hanawa-san, Carl. Carlos Ghosn did not arrive on the Nissan scene until well after the completion of the Vintage Z restoration program.

As many of you know, I took great interest in this subject two years ago and compiled quite a bit of information about the Vintage Z restoration program. I was interested in the restoration technique employed by Nissan USA as well as what happened to the 40-odd cars that were produced. I discovered a very interesting story. Most of the restorations were completed by PierreZ in Hawthorne, California. Several California restoration facilities became involved later in the program. Direct involvement would come from Classic Datsun Motorsports in Vista, Datsun Alley in Signal Hill, and Old Car Service in Huntington Beach. Two articles written about the Vintage Zs describe them as “factory” restored insinuating to the uninformed reader that the cars were returned to the original Japanese factory for restoration. One article appeared in the June 1998 issue of “Road & Track” magazine entitled; “ Datsun 240Z, Factory Resurrected”. Interestingly, Douglas Kott reports a price of $29,950 which may have been the case 12 months after the Z-Store program began. An article that appeared in the March 1997 Z Car Club of Washington newsletter references a factory restoration. Phil Deushane, IAPA, discusses the unprecedented task of a factory restoration and resale of an original car. He refers to the “restoration shop” during a discussion of the logistics of such a task, however it is vague concerning whom is doing what. Interestingly, Marc Sayer reports in the summer '97 issue of “ZCar” magazine; “…Nissan would prefer for people to think of these cars as having come from Nissan rather than from a particular subcontractor, a sentiment I heartily endorse.” Marc discusses the introduction of Pierre Perrot as reserved for the Vintage Z Rally; “I also think that Nissan wanted to make a big deal of the announcement of who the renovators were at the launch.”