26th-Z

Late to the party again - sorry. Yes I know all about this car.

Look these people up, Arne. http://www.cvvacuumplaters.com/

The VIN plate on the right front strut tower will have the engine number. The engine is stamped on that same side at the very top of the block above the starter. Just below the head, on the top face of the block. That's it. The VIN is stamped in the firewall, appears on the dash and the driver's door jamb which also includes the manufacture date. Various parts are dated and there is a seriously fun anal conversation in the archives about it.

I cut a 4x4 post the width of the car and drilled it to fit the mustache bar bolts. At each end of the 4x4, I bolted a castor wheel from Harbor Freight - the large ones. I pick the car up at the front frame rails and wheel it around. The front is real light. The back takes two guys to lift.

Yes. I know about the car. I was hoping the lads would send me a postcard, but I think they are having too much fun.

The S30 is the Nissan internal chassis designation, David. All the VINs will contain this simple designation along with several other letters which designate the engine type, model type, and side of drive - L for left-hand. There are other letters associated with the VIN that are not stamped on the ID plates but indicate things like country destination and emission standards. Mine are HLS30Us, technically. That's the brief explanation to get you started. Not a stupid question at all. I didn't know anything about this until a couple of years ago.

Yes I am, Bob. Thanks. I am encouraged to start up the Vintage Z thread again. Probably THE ONE most important issue to me brought up in Evanow's chapter is the discussion about the rain in California during 1997 / 98. Ahhh!!! That explains it!

Post a picture if you can, Mike. I'll try to help you out. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14422&highlight=factory+options

Alkyd Enamel Tower Paint http://www.towerpaint.com/hobbyist.html Give them your year of car and the paint code number and they will sell you a spray can of it. Forgot to add...the dark grey accent paint for the hubcaps, grill, and tail light finisher is lacquer.

Welcome to my world.

Alan, You should have let me send you my copy. Cancel your order! Unless you want to sit and chat with a California executive about his (myopic?) experience at Nissan USA, this is not something that is going to offer you the sort of information you seek. As far as I know, Brian Long still reigns supreme for what I can find written in English. I liked this book, however. Thanks to you mostly, I have been able to see past the issue and enjoy Evanow's work within his own context. My comment about Beck's involvement would also be favorable because the discussion about Goertz seems to have lifted right off his desk and I am glad to see it in print - finally. Albrecht came. Albrecht left. What might be his design work is reflected in another car. Matsuo (and his team...CW) designed the Z. End of conversation. Alan, you and I would have a bashing good time, but here isn't the place for it. We might be misunderstood. In the last year, I have noticed a lot of new members, young members, come on to this site and ask the same kind of questions I did when I first came here. To them, I would recommend this for their library. It will tell them why Datsun came to America, what Katayama did when he was here, what racing successes the Z achieved, why the Datsun name changed to Nissan, why Nissan discontinued importing the 300ZX in 1996, and how Nissan revived the Z car. I will never stop recommending Brian Long's "Datsun Z" even though it has errors as well. Long is far more worldly and much less American by contrast. Chris

Bob, When I was doing the Vintage Z research, I kept running into this "invisible brick wall" and Beck clued me in that Evanow was writing a book. I knew Carl had been corresponding with him frequently. I was also told that Pierre was writing a book, and then, I was told that no one was writing. I found out about this book from Ron - page 24 - over dinner in Sebring a few months ago. A great deal of my information came from Ron Johnson. The editing is not the greatest. I found a couple of typos and the captions for the pictures of the Japanese cars leave a lot to be desired. I learned three or four things about the Vintage Z program that I didn't know. For instance, I didn't realized why the body shops were such a problem. I knew they were, but Pete's explanation would not have ocurred to me. There are a couple of things I disagree with (including the VIN list of cars) giving me the impression that Pete didn't cover the subject as much as I would have liked. I was surprised to learn about how the program was handled internally and how late Pete became involved. For guys like us who have read a lot of books, looked at a lot of cars, and talked to a lot of people, this is a good coffee-book table. Perhaps very good because it is filled with very nice pictures. However! I will recommend this book because it generally describes the American Z car scene pretty well. Generally speaking, this is the American version if the Z car story - meaning what happened in America. The caption for the picture on page 113 is exactly what I think of the 350Z and why I like the car so much. And in my favorite color!

Headlight covers. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8014124589&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1 I have a set of these as well as a set of originals. These should reach upwards of $350. If anyone buys these and wants to see what the original hardware and installation instructions look like, PM me with your e-mail address so that I can attach pictures. CW-

I'm about 2/3's complete with the book. I suggest back to the original post of this thread that the author read the book before making the initial remark, however I understand the remark. Ironic it seems that John Morton would make the comment in the forward and then go on to say later in the book that his car was initially prepared and raced successfully in a very stock configuration. The author of the book, Pete Evanow, was with Nissan North America in an executive management position for a number of years. His writing style is somewhat informal which accents his intentions outlined in his 'forward', stating that he wanted to contribute his "insider's" comments to the history of the Z car within the context of Nissan Motor Corporation. His "corporatespeak" is most reminiscent of the type of conversation one might have over a few beers at a Z gathering; informal and conversational. Pete managed the Z-Store program which is why I was particularly interested in what he had to say. As many of you recall, I embarked on a research program about the Vintage Zs several months ago after sharp discussions on this site about the "factory" restored Zs. This book was published last August just as I was about to seek help with publishing my work. I put everything on hold until I read his book. There are quite a number of young new American members on this site and to them I would suggest reading the book. There is quite a bit of American racing heritage discussed; many great pictures and memorabilia about the history of the Z car in the United States. And, an insider's view of the events surrounding the history of Nissan North America. It is an American book about the American chapters of Z car history. I suggest one not lose sight of the fact that the Z car is Japanese and that although the American history is a large portion of the success story, it is not the complete, world-wide story. Chris

Always nice to see someone take the time and energy to post pictures of the events. Thanks!

Thanks Gav!

My copy arrived yesterday. Couple of points for now and I plan to write this weekend about a number of things. I have been waiting to see this book, as some of you know, and I want a little more time to digest the contents. I feel very, very naive at the moment. The book is available at MSA, Amazon.com, and a number of different motorsport book dealers. I bought mine on the cheap from Amazon - $32 delivered. The quote that started this thread is somewhat taken out of context. I concur with Mike's post; perhaps this is actually the way the original car really was. The Porsches you guys are referring to was the 914, not the 911. The 914 raced in the same class as the original 240Z, not the 911. Chris

Your '72 was probably THE car representing the change, Jay. Collector's item. Metal headlight buckets are made in two pieces. they have a welded seam and they were more expensive to manufacture. FRP is different from fiberglass in that it is a compression molded process as opposed to laid cloth. Kind of like comparing particle board to plywood. In some respects it is stronger and in some respects it is very difficult to repair. The manufacturer of the FRP products on the Z car was making molded stadium seating at the time. Headlight buckets are not the only thing made from FRP on the Z. The original spoiler, fender flares, ZG nose, and I think 432-R hood, doors and deck lid were made from FRP.

I don't know when they switched to metal, but the correct term for the early headlight fender extensions, sugar scoops, buckets, whatever...is fiberglass reinforced plastic (FRP).

Don't ever hear much about the Zzzap. Most of the conversations I have seen are about the Black Pearl. Nice to see a Zzzap owner amongst us. Welcome!

Couple of things: Oh yes it DOES make him smart, Bill. The build date of our American cars is stamped into the data plate on the driver's door jamb. Although there have been many good points about the accuracy of that particular date, it is the very best for determining the information most people seek about the various differences. When a car was sold or titled has nothing to do with what wiring harness is in the car. Skip the DMV. Skip the merchandiser's catalog. Go straight to the door jamb! Chris

http://www.cybersanford.net/NewPage.html

Your'e right Vicky. April 21st - 23rd from the holiday 2005 mailing.

Ron, What can you tell me about getting one serviced?