26th-Z

The headlight covers and fog lamps are not stock

Thank you, Alan. I'm flattered. Will, the elephant (I believe) represents what I know as The Elephant Oil Company but may be the Indian Oil Company. It is common for automotive manufacturers to endorse a brand of lubrication for their products and that is what I think the elephant is all about. No one has ever confirmed this with me but I think this is some history of the company represented in your parts book and on the oil cap. I believe the "Safari Commemorative" / Ebay jargon is crap and the oil cap is the IOC logo. Assam Oil Company Ltd. (AOC) was one of the earliest enterprises in the world engaged in exploration and production of oil. Oil was discovered in Digboi in northeastern part of Assam in 1889 by Assam Railway & Trading Company (Originally formed with the object of drilling for oil, later on Assam Oil Company was created to carry out exploration work in Assam and adjoining areas), which established the predecessor company to AOC that was later acquired by Burmah Oil Company Ltd.(BOC), founded 1896, which played a major role in the oil industry in South Asia for about a century through its subsidiaries and in discovery of oil in the middle east though its significant interest in British Petroleum, and also discovered Yenangyaung Oil Field in 1897 and, in 1901, discovered Chauk (Singu) Oil Field, both in Myanmar. Assam Oil Company was taken over by the BOC in 1910, and between 1910 and 1930, the BOC carried out extensive exploration work in Assam and adjoining areas. In 1937, BOC, Royal Dutch/Shell, and Anglo Iranian Oil Co applied for exploration licensee in India and started geophysical survey. Due to World War II, all activities were suspended. Assam Oil is now a division of Indian Oil. It seems so matter of course to recognize the whole family of Z cars and the first thread makes no distinction which is why I made my initial comments, moonpup. There is no question we are talking about a slang and I believe everyone understands that because we understand the "whole family" concept. Your comments made me wonder. I plan to visit a RHD Fairlady this weekend and will take this conversation in mind for a further look at the Japanese Z.

Carl, I recall talking with Kats about the reason the hatch vents changed to the B pillar location. From notes during the North American tests, the hatch vents filled up with ice. Matsuo san discussed this with me in Long Beach.

Hey thefastestz, we have the same birthdays. 907 racing green would have been an appropriate color and only the ZG came in maroon. As Carl pointed out, this is only an HLS30 with all sorts of parts on it. Personally, if I had gone to all this trouble, I would have shaved the rear marker lights and I would have used a plain Fairlady emblem on hatch instead of "Fairlady Z / 240Z". But to each his own. I DO like the direction the guy took with customiZing his Z - plan a similar approach, as I said - and admire some of the odd parts. The hand throttle / choke knobs are the later style. Did you notice the parking light switches? From the looks of it, this could be a very nice car. Somebody go look at it and give us a full report!

That's a lot like what I plan to do with Her Majesty - Watanabes and headlight covers.

The very early cars came with an interior valance without the tail light access holes. The dome light trim in the headliner is not notched for cars equipped with clear hatch glass. As there were no wires to connect to the defroster, the notch for the wire in the plastic cover is not present. The switch plate for the defrosters has a blanking plug in the center console. On and on.... Oh! Great one! Early cars had only one stop on the door spring mechanism. Not two stops like we usually see. It is very rare to find a one stop door hinge. They were weak and wore out easily.

Carl, I just wanted to get the slang out in the open and alert the crowd to the fact that Nissan offered aerodynamic devices on the Z. I think Car and Driver missed the boat on the "chin" spoiler. Obviously, no matter how small, it has some effect. So I don't subscribe to what they said. Poor journalism, in my opinion. Glad to hear that headlight covers decrease drag. How many miles of driving do you think it will take to pay off the amount I paid for them?

Nice conversation and a couple of comments; This conversation is limited to American import HLS30 versions and we should make it clear that similar variations encompass the home market cars and other exports. In those cases, parts and accessories never included with the American exports are included in this subject. After discovering what the differences are between the various model years we got, it is fun to explore what the rest of the world got. Her Majesty will sport some of those differences. The subject is quite wide. Zhome has a pretty darn good explanation of our production changes, but indeed, parts were used up in production across the official change date. That seems to be quite common. In the case of my early cars, certain parts were used that were part of the prototype development as well as standard parts from other cars - like the roadster - seat belts and ignition systems, for instance. The parts themselves changed during their production runs and we see evidence of various manufacturing changes not necessarily associated with a specific model change. The screws holding on the face plate of the speedometer (early, early) are slotted type and not phillips. I own three distictly different series one air cleaners. So this is a great subject and can get quite trivial. I know Carl is collecting photographs to establish a "concours" reference. Post pictures!

Ben Millspaugh wrote a wonderful article about aerodynamics in the March / April and Summer 1995 issues of Z Car magazine. As much as I admire the effort going on over at HybridZ, and I will keep up with their reports, I don't suspect much new ground will be broken. In my opinion, it is going to be difficult to beat the stock Nissan front spook and rear spoiler - ala BRE to us "Mericns" call them. Should be an interesting project.

Sorry to come into this so late. The engine comp. ID plate is attached with phillip head screws and the door jamb ID plate is riveted with an aluminum rivet smaller than 1/8" diameter - obviously metric size. The plates for 27th are the same however they are still on the car.

These scans from the latest issue of Sportscar magazine

Thanks for the link, Arne. At first, I was quite skeptical, but after reading the Triad article and then realizing who wrote it, I find validity in what appears to be outright craziness. Learn something new every day!

I second the recommendation for Norm Murphy.

I would have to agree with you on this one, Carl. From what I have seen recently, and I'm not paying close attention like I used to, choice cars far superior to this auction example are trading privately. I am just astounded at what I have seen lately.

Oh, now you got me jealous, Will. I finally found a red dot, Mark!

I have two Z friends with convertibles and I think the 240Z looks sharp topless. A stabilizer bar across the rear shock towers would easily solve the chassis stability issue and depending on how well the body was done, what condition the rag top is in, as well as the rest of the car, $5,700 could be a deal for a very interesting and attractive Z modification.

I'm still alive! 26th is sitting in my body shop - in primer - most all of the seam sealer is in - the floor tar insulation is in - and I hope to be green by Christmas. I'm dreaming of a green Christmas!

You are maybe the third or fourth guy I know with something like that. Congrats. They are rare.

If they are fairly reasonable to get, let me know. I would be interested in a set. They show "up to" 7/73 in my book and optional.

Mark, Depending on your date of manufacture, you may have an ignition switch that looks like this. The terminals are different from the upgrade part, however everything plugs into the harness the same. I would have to look it up, but this early switch was upgraded and the barrel is indeed a different size. You can't replace the guts of these anymore. You have to get the whole bracket.

Kats, What a great collection! You should know that the 20 December 1969 owner's manual came in two versions of the cover. As much as I can tell, the only difference is the cover. These are for 26th and 27th. I see you note "3 holes" for the service manuals. Yes indeed the early service manuals were punched for a three hold binder. The paper used for the cover is different than later years also. It is a pebble textured paper. All the rest I have seen are smooth finish. My service manuals date 1 November 1969 and 15 August 1970

I should get a home equity loan, come visit you, and we would go shopping for a Z432.

Series one ash trays did not come with a teak handle. Although it looks pretty good, probably matches the rest of the teak interior, it is not correct.

I'm working with my second welder and I talked to fifteen body shops before I found the guy I'm working with. I didn't like the welding work from the first guy and had to have some redone. There are some interesting VHS tapes available from Eastwood Automotive about welding and sheet metal fabrication for restoring old cars. Steve Covell? Is that right? They can give you an idea of what to expect. There are plenty of sheet metal forms around. http://www.rustrepair.com/ and for the trickey stuff, you have to find a donor body shell. But be encouraged! There are plenty of guys doing it and coupled with the rest of the car restoration market, you shold be able to find someone to help you out.

I bought 26th from the estate of the original owner in 1984. She was probably the first Z I ever saw. 27th came to me a year ago.