zspert

I've been giving a lot of thought to this car and with the girlfriend off visiting with daughters I have a rare opportunity to chime in on a weekend. This is a VERY NICE Z indeed. It appears to me to be completely original, all 4 tie downs, except for the missing air filter housing decals. Two very positive, in my view, aspects. One, no add-on A/C. Two, It looks like it wasn't undercoated. Yes, your honor, I undercoated lots and lots of Datsuns of every stripe during my dealer days. Why not, we got paid 3 tenths of an hour labor for every one we coated and, in a perverted way, it was a bit of fun.. We're going to see more such Zs in the future due to a syndrome I call Aging Out and this car is a perfect example. Over the almost 40 years I've been in business I've been lucky to include in my customer base a large number of original owner cars. The owners of these cars are now almost to a man, no women in my group but I'm confident they exist, well into their 70s and beyond. In the last few weeks I've been contacted by a couple of these chaps or their relations about the best way to sell their Zs. I've also heard from a reliable source of other such situations. No, I'm not going to tell anyone about the details as I keep such conversations private but I think you get my point. I don't remember why I did this but when I had one of these originals on my greasy hands I took lots of pictures and wrote lots of notes. I've been lucky to have restored a few unmolested cars and of course did the picture and note thing for those projects. I can assure you there is nothing neat and tidy about this info! I'm bringing this up to address a comment I read suggesting someone put all of the original info into some sort of book, print a lot of copies, put them up for sale and wait for the the big bux to roll in! As Rod Stewart sang, "shows how wrong you can be". I can't even convince customers of the importance of owning a factory service manual! Yes, BAT is full of characters with nothing but time on their hands and the need to establish some sort of reputation as the definitive source of Z car info. There's even one character who has an extensive criminal record of fraud, OUCH!

Yes, until about the late 60s it was not uncommon for import dealers to have left- overs re-titled as the next model year. I have a letter from Datsun headquarters outlining what models - at the time of the letter, if memory serves, 411, roadster, trucks - could be re-titled and how to go about it. All that changed when I became a Datsun mechanic in the spring of 1970. Now the dealers couldn't keep cars in stock or on the show room floor. Wise guy mechanics like me called the salesmen "order takers", heady times.

Dennis you're absolutely right. In the past year I've had 3 very long term customers give up their Zs due to their ages. Two of them are original owners. I find this situation very sad indeed. Perhaps my sadness is reflected in my own situation. Although I get around just fine at almost 70 and still put a few hundred miles on my 280 every year I recognize that the end is closer than the beginning.

Given his history, wink, wink, nudge, nudge, why would a thinking person believe ANYTHING he says?

Beware the BAT Z car scoundrels , there are several.

According to my 12/79 Nissan Z Car parts film the plastic inner liner is called Protector-Front Fender Rear. The rubber flap is Rubber-Mud Guard. My repros come with the rubber flap (Rubber-Mud Guard) and all of the required correct Nissan fasteners.

Banzai Motorworks has just yesterday picked up from the manufacturer an excellent reproduction of the rear-most inner fender liner for 260s and early 280s.

As promised, here are the pictures of a pair of virgin NOS 240 horns. Sorry about the quality, they are a picture of a picture. The shiny stuff is clear zinc and the color is satin black. The yellowy bits are actually poorly applied glue used to secure fasteners. Couldn't help but throw in a snap of my newest product just picked up this am from the manufacturer in beautiful Hollywood, MD. They are a pair of rearmost front inner fender liners for 260/early 280. Happy new year to all!

At my shop in my restoration "Bible" I have front and rear pictures I took many years ago of a set of virgin NOS 240 horns. I'll write myself a note to take pixs and post them tomorrow.

Bondage, I'm sorry but I have to save them for my restorations. Jay Ataka @ JDM-car-parts has done a very good job reproducing the rear mufflers. Cheers

New correct EFI hose clamps for 75-83 Zs and ZXs are still available from Nissan as of this date. Use them in my shop all the time.

Sorry, checks, cash, money orders or Western Union or Walmart cash transfers only (when you walk into my shop it's 1972) Cheers PS My fuse link it about 1/4 inch longer than the originals to compensate for surgery that may have occurred in the past

M3333hp, For the past year or so I've been giving a lot of thought about how to best dispose of my Holy Grail parts to the benefit of the Z car community only to be swept up yet again in the rush of serendipity that has been the one consent in my working life as a Datsun Mechanic. When the prices of Z cars started to hit the highs I started getting calls asking for consulting help with back to stock restorations. I feel it only fair to make my stash available those customers paying for my time and expertise. I hope you can understand. Cheers

So very glad the story about this con man is getting out to the Z world. Should BAT get the word or don't they care?

hs30h, of course you're right. The more Z cars I work on the more anomalies I see. Also, back in the dark ages cars just weren't manufactured like today. Were out of that decal and won't get anymore until tomorrow - keep the line moving!! If anyone would like to hear the back story of the outfit representing that 240 you'll have to ring me at my shop, 301 420 4200 M-F

RE blue 240 currently for sale on BAT Buyer beware and always exercise due diligence. Genuine Z experts do not come out of the woodwork. Cheers

Wow, 2 grand. I have most of 3-4 sets in stock and upwards of 8 rear muffs. Trip to Vegas?

I bought a couple of used control arms recently and wanted to pass this pix along to reinforce the idea that the yellow used by the factory was pretty thin.

Yellow tape on NOS front turn/parking light sub harness. PIX 2 From left-NOS fuse link for early 240, NOS late 240 fuse link and finally the Banzai Motorworks reproduction

Carl, I ended up with my stash of Holy Grail parts through pure serendipity. For the past 30 or so years I've kept in touch with Nissan/Datsun parts availability through careful tea reading combined with help from the guys at my local dealer with whom I've had a relationship for almost 40 years.

Hi Kats, There is also an identical paper sticker on the steering rack, location varies from car to car!

Thanks D, you're very kind.

240/260/280 here you go

When I'm done in a couple of months I'll post some pix.

Reproduction Ever Wing 240 interior mirrors are at www.zzxdatsun.com. Click on Catalog at the top of the page then Latest and Greatest on the left.