26th-Z

Kats last picture of the wheel chocks got me thinking of other stamp marks I find on parts. Does anyone know what this means? Has anyone identified all the different stampings? This one comes from a headlight scoop.

I deserve the scolding Alan. My apologies. And I used the ZG term loosely. I’ll try to behave better in the future. Carl pointed out that the ’78 could not have had a factory G nose, as it wasn’t offered. I was hoping to see something more original as well. Evidently, I need to get out and look at a few cars! I had very little time to look at the car before I had to get out the flashlight. I was unable to verify serial numbers and other vital info. It was just too dark for my aging eyes. This fellow is close enough that I will be able to stay in contact. He speaks Japanese, offering some help in purchasing and shipping parts. He knew nothing of this club or IZCC. I seem to recall the other Fairlady had a P 90 head. Yes, it was heavily modified and it was too dark to photograph. It was also showing rust to a frightening level. I was thinking of you when I saw a roll bar in the '72 car. It had a fiberglass deck lid. We discussed prices of cars and parts in Japan. I was a little shocked and then thankful that this is not so expensive here in America.

I think the "Euro" tail light with amber is correct. Check with Midwest Z for lighting. The dash can be recovered by another club sponsor - Dashboard Restorations. I currently have a dash in process. I think it is the closest restoration to original. I can't comment on the EVA spoiler. Good limes with your restoration!

Yea, I'm not really interested in a 2+2 and the last thing I need to be doing is spending my restoration money on another car. I thought you guys would be interested and I got a chance to go look at a ZG. It is a serious "could be nice" car. It was 7:30 when I looked at the car and daylight was fading fast. The flashlight was handy, but you can appreciate how difficult it is to look at a car in the dark. He has another Fairlady - a '72 with many modifications including 432 headers.

I just returned from looking at the car. I did not drive it. The decsription is pretty accurate although I realize how a seller must present an item to generate interest. I do not get to look at too many ZG's, but this one appears to be all there. His description of a tiny bit of rust is less than you all would normally imagine. The fenders need to come off and have the fender wells cleaned out. For what I have seen East of the Mississippi, this car has "no rust". It has a fuel injected L20 engine - Y 70 head casting number. The guy is an ex Marine and brought a couple of cars home. He seems to know what they are worth as reflected in his reserve price.

Called the guy, talked to him, going to view it this evening. Full report later.

I just wrote the seller. I may go check the car out.

Lets see some pictures! The only way I know how to attach is one per post. The "ATTACH FILE" note in the bottom left of the POST REPLY window has a fill box and a browse button. Hit the browse button and go find and select the picture - usually a .jpg - but you can see the valid file extensions below the browse button. The picture size is important. I use Adobe to size my images to 600 pixels maximum in the horizontal axis.

It sounds like you have an extra grounding wire. Does it have an electrical end for the harness or a grounding washer? And, if you just disregard the "extra" wire, does it work? The door switch mounted in the forward jamb operates the cabin light in my Z and I think both have a single wire. I'm a little rough with electrics myself!

I was a memeber of the Central Florida Region for years. Had a National license and a National scrutineer license. I just go watch the circus now.

Thanks again, kats. You are great help for my restoration. I have some of those washers and plan to make more as I need them. I do not know where they go on the door panel. Now I must look at my car again!

Kats, You are welcome to use my photos. No problem. I am very pleased to discover my tire is original. Thank you and Alan T for the wonderful photos and discussion.

The engine is out! No more rags or fuel leaks! I scored a parts cleaner at Harbor Freight today for $60! The Z is coming apart. As you can see. It has been a long process, but I'm proceeding faster than I thought. I rented this garage a couple of months ago and started the restoration. Most of the chassis is gutted at the moment. I still have to pull the dash and then I will start on the brakes and suspenders. I plan to have the car dipped this winter, and with luck, it will be painted by the start of the summer. This has been a great project. I am not only doing the car, but tooling up in the process. The work bench is Corian I pulled out of the kitchen remodel. I have the fenders hanging on the wall. As soon as I get a chance, I'm going to frame enlargements of a bunch of downloads I got from Alan T as garage art. Wait till you see the Datsun dealer light I'm having framed! The weight bench is just behind the car and the bathroom is down the driveway to the left. The upper cabinets are from the same kitchen remodel and all the lighting is thankyou Home Depot. I also have a folding chair! The place has tunes and a fan because it is still 75 degrees at night here. Oh, I don't sleep, so there is no need for a bedroom!

My car is too noisy for a good sound system. I added another speaker, but they are only 6" size and that doesn't account for much sound! I had a Sony cassette system (for sale, PM me) and I am in the quest for a stock AM radio. I also have an AM/FM radio - PM me. I bought a Hitachi 8 track for that nostalgic approach, but I need something to amplify and the plug is wierd. Anyone who knows what to do with a Hitachi 8track player for Datsun - let me know!

The underside of mine is still grey. I'll get better with auto pictures, I promise! Yes, it has "overspray" down the sides and they must have painted it with the lid shut. The early radio face plate is similarly made - painted grey plastic. It resembles a thermoplastic - yes.

I'm living here, now

Notice the grey? This plastic is a peculiar composition. It resembles "Bakelite" an early plastic from the thirties and forties. Turns out, the only glue that will work is superglue. I used a gel format for my work with this plastic. It doesn't dry so fast and allows time to adjust and clamp the repair.

The early ashtray is on the right. The semigloss paint finish reflects light more than the black plastic. The ashtray on the left is solid black plastic. It has a hollow handle on the lid.

I see a lot of people asking about subtle differences between the early cars and the later versions. The conversations about the other foriegn markets and home market development fascinate me. I am fortunate to have an early car with some peculiar pieces. For instance, ash trays. Very early ashtrays were molded in a dark grey plastic and painted black. The lid handle is solid and has an indent under the lip. My particular ashtray had no chrome screen inside, although a good arguement could be made it was broken off. My lid was also broken. Fortunately, the base has no burns. Through eBay and classifieds, I bought ashtrays and pieces and combined to make these two examples. One is '69 original and the other is later.

Oh yea, The wheel is date stamped 10/69 - original. I took this wheel over to a restoration shop in Wauchula, Florida. They have huge alkaline dipping tanks and they de-rust by electrolysis in alkaline solution. This is what I plan to do with the chassis, so I wanted to see how it worked. It was $60 to dip the wheel and I asked them to paint it “The same color”. Six weeks later, they called me to ask what color I want the wheel painted, it was dipped and ready to paint. Two weeks after that, I went to get it and it was gloss black. Now get this…the tab was $170. Sharp learning curve in this restoration business. Wouldn’t you say? This has been the spare tire from hell. You could hear the rubber cracking when I took the tire off the rim. It soaked in a lawn bag, and every few days, I would get it out, wipe it down, and re-spray it with preservative. Slowly, most of the stains came out. Most of the overspray, too. There are permanent indentations on the backside from the ribs on the bottom of the tire well. If it’s an original, it’s worth it. An original example in pretty decent shape. I still wipe it down and the shine on the wheel is probably from the preservative. It’s flat black and the backside is silver. It is also one of my few restored pieces. I just finished some ashtrays. I will start another thread.

Kats, I spent some time with Photoshop on this picture, but it is pretty good. If you can enlarge the picture, most everything can be read. I have trouble making photographs of auto parts! I changed the brightness and contrast - also took some stains out! This tire is my only one - the spare, and I have been unsure of originality. I know I never used it since 1984, however, it shows signs of use. And abuse! It was rust stained and the wheel was rusted before I restored them. The air pressure in the tire is by inner tube. I soaked the tire in rubber preservative in a big bag for two months. It had some paint overspray in spots below the holes in the cover board and most of it came off. It is not suitable to drive. I am told this tire is no longer made. Anyone want to help me out on this? Also, opinions of originality?

The last time I flew to Europe it was $750 round trip per person from New York to Dusseldorf and that was a big discount. I rented an Opel for two weeks - $500 and put over 2000 miles on it. We drove from Dusseldorf down to Mainz and then to Trier, Reims, Rouen, Caen, Carentan and then back through Chartres, Strasbourg, Karlsruhe, Heidelberg, and Mainz. We stayed in a hotel in Reims but camped everywhere else in a tent. I spent a fortune on gas. Hotel rooms ran around $70 per night for something an American would find quaint and camp sites for a tent were $5. Camping in Europe is completely different from America, usually on the property of some 16th century chateau (beautiful), however we did manage to find some "seedy" sites along the coast of Normandy. We usually stopped at a grocery store toward the end of the day for some wine and cheese and bread before setting up our tent. Set the bottle in a stream to chill and enjoy the late evening talking with other travelers - mostly Brits. Most camp sites have full bathrooms and showers, laundromats, etc. all within walking distance of some little village with bars and cafe's. I cannot emphasize how much fun it was meeting people and living the Euro life even though we were rich Americans on vacation. I spent a bunch of money, but I will never forget all the adventures and how much I learned about how the rest of the world lives. We are pretty lucky - Americans. You have a great idea, Caen Fred. How much do you think it would be to ship my car over for a couple of weeks?

"Made for USA Only" with inflation rating. See the "Made in Japan". Do you think this is original?

Tire size

Kats, I made these photos last night just to show you what I think is original tire - my spare. This is a Bridgestone 175 SR14 made in Japan for USA.