26th-Z

Ok, knuckleheads. Go back a few posts and read. The car sits up so high because it has new shocks and springs and it has never been driven. The suspension has never had the chance to set under load. CheeeZ! Don't you guys jack your cars up in the air every now and then? The Vintage Z program associates the word restoration as liberally as the factory word is used. One must understand the circumstances surrounding the issue to fully appreciate the value in reassembling cars in what may be considered a hodge-podge. In this particular case, a series one steering wheel or radio in a '72 model year car is completely appropriate. However, because this car is not complete, I would gladly trade a choice '72 radio, face plate and antenna switch for that series one face plate. Otherwise, it would be totally inappropriate to "correct" a Vintage Z in my opinion. I don't think the paint color is correct for the model year either, but because it is associated with the Vintage Z program, the color is completely appropriate. Ron's "beware" message is appropriate for purchasing any used car, especially one that is not complete and running. I think that is just common sense. One must stay completely away from the concepts of authentic, correct, restoration practices when discussing Vintage Zs. For various acceptable reasons, Vintage Zs are not "new originals". They might be best considered "over restorations". Without question, they are in a class of their own - most appropriately discussed in that manner. Some are darned good authentics. Some are not. Vicky, it is my pleasure to include your car on the cover of my research project. Some one of these days, I'll stop working on it and declare it finished enough to publish! Your car is one of the finest Vintage Z examples I have seen. Chris

Yea, I'm still working on that book, Will! This happened to be a great find as it exemplifies what happened at the end of the program. The seller is motivated by a new baby and job relocation. We had a nice conversation on the phone the other night. BTW, it sits way high because it has new shocks and springs and it has never been driven. For further reading on the Vintage Z restoration program, the Z-Store and our flame wars over the insinuation that a "factory" had anything to do with this subject - http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15911&highlight=Factory+restoration and http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14243&highlight=Factory+restoration

Revise my post #18 Nissan won the IMSA GTP championship in '89, '90, and '91. I was rummaging around and found the 1988 pin. Sorry for the lousy scan, but I don't want to take the pin out of the original bag - complete with the 100% rust-free staple.

The hardware is either new or re-plated. It is not a paint finish. For the restoration of my cars, all the hardware was cleaned, inspected, and sent out to be re-plated.

Oh wonderful! I see this morning that his bid price is getting up there. Yesterday, it was half that. This is HLS30-63767 prepared by Datsun Alley for the Vintage Z restoration program. It was not completed and never delivered to a Z-Store for sale. It comes with a letter signed by Pete Evanow, Nissan USA manager of the Z-Store program, to the Department of Motor Vehicles requesting transfer of title from Nissan USA as a non-running vehicle. The letter states that the car was intended for the Vintage Z program. The car has no Z-Store decals or console plaque. My understanding is that the car was sold by Datsun Alley in 2001 and later sold to the current seller. The seller tells me that little if any work has been done to the car since the original sale. One of the peculiar things you may notice about the car is the yellow piping in the seat upholstery. Although I am not able to identify the car by serial number, the seats match those prepared for this Vintage Z photographed at Datsun Alley in 1997. There seems to be a lot of confusion about preparation spec for the Vintage Z program and this car provides an excellent example to further those conversations. As you may know, most of the Vintage Zs were prepared by Pierre-Z in Hawthorn, California under the direction of Nissan USA - Bob Thomas, president and Pete Evanow, managing director. The original goal of 200 cars was never met; 38 cars are documented complete and sold through the Z-Stores of ten dealers throughout the U.S. This particular car represents the confusion of how many cars were restored. I have seen figures as high as 42 cars, however the most accurate current VIN record denotes 38. Three other restoration facilities were used including Datsun Alley. At the conclusion of the program in October 1998, many of the left-over parts and body shells were sold privately; the most visble being Datsun Alley. It is quite common to find remnants of the program. There is evidence that some Vintage Zs were prepared "customized" to a specific owner's request. The most notable was the car sold to the editor of Autoweek magazine. The presence of the seats with yellow piping indicate such procedure. Obviously, these seats do not match the current car and were probably sold as either a spare set or they may be the seats orignally installed in the car below. There has been quite a chatter on the e-mail about this car. I have talked with a couple of people who have seen the car. Opinions vary about why it was never completed and sold, but regardless, it IS what the seller claims it to be. Considering that the Vintage Zs are in a collectable class of their own, this car is a peculiarity of the group and in my opinion, properly completed or purposely left incomplete, worthy of inclusion. Chris

My apologies, Alan. After I wrote the first bit, I went back to look at some of the great pictures you and Eric have posted and realized that nothing would have precluded an entry in the Group C class for a car of that design during those racing years. Those were the transition years and it does get confusing when you consider the introduction of Group C rules. IMSA introduced the GTP rules about the same time. I know how confusing it is between Porsche 956s and 962s. Here is a photo of the 1992 Daytona 24 winner. R91CP (Lola) V8 turbo - entered by Nissan Motorsports International I wish I knew the chassis number.

Just like buying a used car, Ed. Sounds like you are doing the right thing by looking at it first. Try testing the brakes if you can and, if possible, run a hose over it to check for weather leaks. Do a standard lights and safety check - about all you can do.

The Mitty is the same weekend. We can swap pictures Monday, eh? Won't THAT be overload!!!

Wait a minute... Wasn't the Super Silhouette a seperate class from Group C? Of the three March 85G chassis purchased by Nissan (08, 09, and 10), two of them were equipped with the new V6 and one was equipped with the LZ20 engine? I don't see how you are making the comparison. By engine? Are you including Group A and B? There is nothing Super Silhouette about that March chassis, Alan, and nothing Group C about the SSR30 chassis. (Edit) Ok, I see where you are going with this. Never mind my comments. Eric, If I had to answer your question about the picture of the model car you posted, I would say the car is a March with a Nissan engine and big bold SKYLINE written all over it so that you would know what race team it is. These were the days when Nissan was developing their own chassis and "borrowing" from the technology of experienced car builders.

Yup... yup... yup; those are all early ash trays. Nice pictures! I never got that detailed, but a whole bunch of time ago, I wrote a thread on this site about early ash trays. Those pictures ended up on a wep page of picture collections. http://www.pape.ws/allan_and_rosanne/Z-Car_Stuff/ Surf to the ash tray directory and you will find some of mine. Will is getting much more involved! When I started clowning around with my restoration several years ago, ash trays were around $15 to $25 and the hard part was finding one that didn't have any burns. Now they seem to go in the $75 to $100 range in any condition. Still, when you compare that price to what BMW wants for my four year-old 330, Datsuns still rule in cheapness and economy. I don't want to hear NO bitching about how expensive they are. Repairs to this type of plastic work best with "super glue". Just about everything else won't stick. The plastic seems to brittle with age and that is probably why you can't sit on them any more. Now, for plugs in the console...I need a plug for the hatch glass defroster switch. The twins have clear hatch glass and the console has a plug. I am willing to pay dearly.

Sure, Will. The very first ashtrays were dark grey plastic painted black. Later variations are black plastic. I have two or three, perhaps, lid designs. The handles are hollow and solid and either glue on or are integral with the lid. But they are like blue-eyed blondes, Will. Once to put them in the car, they all look the same! You have to take them out and turn them upside down to tell the difference!

Well, I'm just now starting to sober up!

One of the best things I like about this site is that if you make a mistake or post something erroneous, somebody will jump down your throat, slam you to the mat, and make you feel like an idiot. With that in mind, I would like to post some pictures of the the 1935 Datsun Road Star, and the 1952 Datsun DC3; both sport roadsters. There is also the SP211 from 1959. Typically, cars from that vintage had seating for four. There was no such thing as 2+2 lingo in those days. In any case, the SP213 was not the first Datsun roadster.

Is that Sebering or Sobering?

Nissan lost the champoinship to Porsche in the last race at ?Del Mar I think, in 1988. There is a "premature" commemorative pin for the Nissan IMSA champoinship in 1988, but they didn't win. Nissan won the IMSA GTP championship in 1989 and 1990.

I think this is the car you are talking about. It's a GTS car, not a GTP. This is the Cunningham car that won the Daytona 24 in 1994, chassis number 005.

906 Carrera - yes.

Eric, To download the video, do I have to have the Google video player software? Is that what the first download choice is? Is there another way to save this in another format? Cool video - keeper.

Jmark, I'll bring some of my collection up to the Mitty with me. Or should I say; "selected exhibits from the archives of Her Majesty the 26th". Chris

Welcome to the club, Wingnut! Finally found a picture of how I'm doing my Watanabes, Ben. Dark grey spokes to match the grill and tail light valance - polished rim. You know the post EricB put up with the picture of the latest issue of Nostalgic Hero magazine? Every Z car featured in the issue is fitted with Wats.

I got a little carried away. At first I was going to block sand the letters after painting, but it was suggested that the crap from block sanding would get in the wrinkles and never come out. Then it was suggested that powder coating would fill the imperfections, but powder coating can not be removed easily and I didn't want to completely ruin the valve cover. So I decided to sand out the imperfections and scratches, polish the letters before painting and either mask them or clean them off with lacquer thinner. Then I got carried away and polished the whole cover. Yes, non-factory finish. Hey, my cars are restored! I get to dress up the gals in all sorts of various outfits!

The letters look either painted or polished. To get that uniform of a texture for the rest of the cover, it would either have to be painted, brand new, or blasted. Frankly, like all eBay pictures IMO, it's hard to tell what's up with the finish. I looks odd. That's all. If you paid the starting price and the shipping to America, it would be the all time record price for one of these that I have heard of. I have seen them go to $200 and believe that they are very popular in Japan. I think the most I ever paid for one was $25. The "OIL" cap as well as the "710" cap are correct for this valve cover. Watch out mixing caps and valve covers. The O-rings are different. Any used valve cover is going to show mechanics marks and scratches from use. They are cast aluminum and quite soft. They typically have odd casting marks and flash, and the aluminum is not uniform in color. The original grind marks from removing mold flash are rough. In other words, they were never uniform and perfect like you would get from a nice walnut shell blasting. Blasting your valve cover is not a good idea for your engine because dust gets inside the baffel. To properly clean a valve cover, take it down to your local machine shop and have them dip it. Tell them it's aluminum and they should know what to do. It will come back in a lovely natural buff. I polished the one in my avatar. Block sanded to get the casting ripples out the surfaces smooth. It's perfect and I'm going to paint it wrinkle black with polished lettering and accents.

I saw Mike's build card. Yes, build sheets did / do exist, but talk about rare! That's the stuff that should be preserved under glass! Some day, some where, all us collectors need to meet and hold a big exhibition of all the stuff we have collected, eh?

Yes...he is wondering if the owner of the car would like the literature. He already has two interested buyers.