RichieP

I'd just like to chime in as a very infrequent poster but long-term lurker: Mike, I think what you are proposing here is excellent and I will be following this eagerly, most especially as I will certainly be interested in the ZG light covers and correct bezels (my planned next project necessitates these). One thing to remember with those light covers - in addition to the metal bezel they have a rubber or plastic seal too (I'm sure Alan T can identify the correct material used).

Seeing as my car is likely to be coming apart in the next few weeks for repaint (and roof repairs - see thread in Body and Paint ), I am putting some thought into tidying up the suspension and drivetrain (I'm also going to switch over to poly bushings all round). As far as refinishing the suspension and brake assemblies and shafts is concerned, my thinking at the moment is to either go down the POR-15 or Hammerite routes (for those of you in the US, Hammerite is the main UK brand of anti-rust metal paints and is widely used for coating car undercarriages, chassis etc.). However, my question is about refinishing the springs themselves. What approaches have people used? Obviously the finish has to be hard-wearing and also flexible. Is powder-coating the best route or has anybody used paint effectively?

Thanks Alan - I'll take a look at the seatbelts. That clarifies things a bit for me as well - I had assumed that the second half of the VIN would be standard to all Zeds in the S30 series, i.e. there would only be one car with 00030, with the S30, HLS30 etc. relating to the particular market that car was built for. Shouldn't make such assumptions!!! :laugh: As for the betterment thing, hopefully I will be able to keep the insurers well away from my additional plans - if they get a sniff, it will be a case of attempting to convince them that it stands separately from their responsibilities and was planned long before the accident - which is the truth. Obviously, I would be willing to bet that at the least they would be harsher in their loss adjustments to make sure I wasn't siphoning repair costs into other things... which I would never do ... :cheeky: We will have to wait and see. Considering the colour of my car and age of the paint job, a partial repair to a specific area would more than likely be noticeable no matter how good.

Thanks for the kind words of encouragment everyone! As it stands now, I am looking at claiming the accident damage on the insurance - a feature of this is that I can choose any garage I want for the work and I already have a particular one in mind (a guy who recently did a full bare metal respray and an immaculate LHD to RHD swop on a car imported from Arizona by a friend in the Z Club). Having seen his work on that car and heard about his perfectionistic tendencies, I think that guy seems the best bet (he typically restores American muscle cars, but has a Datsun background - his Dad owned a dealership in South Africa apparently). As I said originally, my thinking has shifted toward going ''the whole hog'' - basically getting the insurance-sponsored repairs done, but above and beyond that, stumping up personally and getting a full bare metal respray with new rear arches, rear corners, etc. Basically, the car's restoration is probably ten years old and though it still looks good (thanks to much hard polishing work by me!) it has a few niggling issues emerging (use of filler here and there with rust pushing through, improper paint prep, some bubbling under the paint at the roof/quarter seams). Seeing as my car sits outside through spring, summer and autumn (although covered and not exposed to rain if I can help it), the corrosion issue has been bothering me intensely for a long time. This is a bit bigger than just straightening up the roof, but one I was already planning on undertaking in the next year anyway. The motivation is that the aforementioned body shop is fantastic value for money considering the high quality of work. The vast majority of the mechanicals and trim are in good to excellent nick so a with a bit of cleaning much of this can be bolted straight back on without replacement (although I know with a Z its never that simple!) Pulling the engine also affords the opportunity to make some upgrades in that department (e.g. finding a home for the set of triple Dellorto 40s that I have sitting in a drawer!!). This plan is obviously still subject to revision - I'll keep you posted as to what happens!! Alan, thanks for the response to Kerry's post (it wouldn't be the first time she's gone on a forum using my log in!). I shall have a look at some of the details you mentioned next time I see the car. As for the VIN, if it helps, the number begins S30-067... The net list I mentioned was a Z-related site - which one I can't remember. I noticed a rough list last night while looking through a Victoria British catalog that showed the numbers between 046001 and 120000 falling between 8/71 and 6/72. As for the accuracy of this, I don't know. Also, the DVLA ownership document for the car actually says on it first registered 1973, confirmed manufacture date 1971. It would be interested to hear any additional info you can conjure up. As for shows, I'm part of the Cheshire Plainz part of the Z Club, so tend to do stuff in the Northwest and Midlands. I was at the JAE at Billing last year and will be again this year (although the car might not be depending on how much of it is still in boxes at that point!!). Maybe we'll catch up that way! Rich.

What sort of things should we be looking at? (This is Richie's wife!)

Hi Alan, You said: ''How can the car be a '240Z' if it has an 'S30' VIN prefix? Its either a Fairlady Z or Fairlady Z-L, and if it has an L24 engine now then its certainly not the engine that it left the factory with. I doubt very much that its "full UK-spec". Sounds like another 'G.I. Bride' to me.'' Sorry about my untechnical method of quoting!! (how do you do it properly?) You're probably right there! In terms of physical appointments, engine, mechanicals, badging, interior, basically everything, the car is a late-1971 240Z. All except for the S30 serial number. According to the car's documentation it has a confirmed manufacture date of 1971 (easy to check online via the serial number lists) but it wasn't registered in the UK until 1973 (hence it sports an 'L' registration). A couple of theories were knocking around the Z Club about it. I'm sure you know Pete MacDonald - he speculated that it began life as a Fairlady that possibly made its way to the UK as you suggested as a ''GI Bride'' on one of the US bases. Subsequently it was transformed into a full 240Z. The other theory was that the shell served as a replacement for a trashed UK car early in the 70s - Pete said that Nissan were loath to import new shells at that time. All rather clouded really - makes for an interesting talking point though.

Hi there everyone! I've been hanging around this site for a long time as a guest and have found it very informative - there's a tremendous amount of knowledge around here. I just wish my first post could be on a happier subject... I own a 1971 240Z (the car is a full UK-spec car, although it did not reach England until 73 and has a JDM serial number beginning S30 - another topic entirely!) . Unfortunately, last week while it was in storage at my parent's house - hiding for the winter from the salt gritters - my Dad's garage shelves randomly collapsed. Whilst the shelves themselves missed the car, their contents, mostly lots of large heavy books didn't. The roof over the driver's door (passenger door to you LHD types) has been heavily creased and dented with a number of cracks in the paint where stretching has occurred around the dents. The rear quarter also copped an impact, putting a 6-7 inch crease into it and the rear spoiler was slightly cracked. Basically I'd like some opinions from any experienced bodywork types on the likely approaches to fixing the problems. How effectively would a skilled body man be able to remove the damage or am I looking at a good chance of needing a new roof skin to really sort it out. This was all a major blow as I was planning to have all the money and resources in place to have a full bare metal respray at the end of next year with some new metal (rear arches etc.). Its beginning to look like it might be worth moving the whole project forward - although this will probably mean a gradual drip-drip of work to finish the car off after the bodyshop over most of next year. I'm pretty gutted really.... Photos can be seen at my gallery on the UK Z Club's site at http://www.zclub.net/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=533 There are plenty of pics of the car in happier times as well as plenty other UK Zeds (or Zees if you're American) for those who are interested. Any input would be appreciated, Thanks!