2ManyZs

The article did say that the interactive DVD was going to be available at Nissan dealers at the end of January... Guess it's time to go visit the dealership and bug em....:devious: But I wonder how much the dealers are going to ask for them considering the way some of the dealers are gouging the prices of the 350's....:tapemouth

One thing I noticed in their descriptions of the product was that any reducer/hardener could be used with the paint. So that would make the temp/humidity reducer point moot, you might have to pay a bit more for what you need from a local supplier, but you've already saved considerably on the top coat. I don't know about EScanlon, but I think a clear coat would be a good idea, mostly to seal the paint and have it last as long as possible. The biggest problem I see with their stuff is the lack of choices of colors..:disappoin

Yup, I checked the Quantities available and he has quite a few. He's got 40 available for the Premier issue and some of the other issues have 5 to 10 available.... Maybe he bought out the printed issues from the publishers when they went out of business?

The magazines have been re-listed so for those of you who missed out the first time, try again. He has 13 issues listed, nearly the complete set. http://cgi6.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewSellersOtherItems&userid=zcar&sort=3&page=2&rows=25&since=-1&showpics=1&stab=0 He's also go 2 very early VIN number 240's up for auction, HLS30- 00051 and 305, but no pictures yet....

Never heard of this brand before. I used an "off-brand" called Limco on the race car, it was a urethane enamel that was really cheap. It was about 50 dollars for the gallon of paint and the reducer/hardener. It looked great, BUT,it didn't last long. After about 3 years, it started cracking, peeling and heat checking terribly. I didn't put a clear coat on it though, so that might have helped it hold up a bit better. Just didn't see the sense on a race car that was probably going to end up with body damage. While this does sound tempting, I would want to ask the people who gave their testimonials how long it has been on their cars, and how it has held up. If it holds up, it's sounds like a great deal, if it doesn't, then it's a waste of time more than money if you have to re-do the car in a few years. Better to spend a bit more and get a quality job than to end up with an job that last less time than the cheapest Maaco or Earl Scheib paint job...

Yup, but that doesn't help with the 78's, the ZXR was a 79 model year only and the ZAP was a 77 year only. The 78 Black Pearl was more of a market test tool as it was the first time a Z had come from the factory in black. After seeing the large numbers that were sold and the interest in them, the factory then brought out the 79 ZX in black, with the black/gold stripes being a very popular option. So, with all that, the only thing I can think of on a 78 2+2 would be either an aftermarket type conversion, or someone just liked the looks of the dash plaque and placed it there to make the car more interesting..... Or could it have been some kind of special promotion a dealer thought up? Sometimes you will see a dealer go out on a limb and have an aftermarket company do a conversion of some type as an advertising tool....:cross-eye

Mike, here is their online store. http://www.mechanixwear.com/store/fire.asp I use the original style gloves. You can also find these at Lowe's, Ace Hardware's, most auto parts store chains, Sears etc.... The prices are all within a buck or two from what I've seen compared to their store prices. And FWIW, I like using these with air tools such as sanders and stuff, they cushion your palms and you don't get that tingling feeling after you use a sander for an extended period. They do soften the vibrations quite a bit.

Well Victor, there is always the S2000..... but I doubt they have much more room in them than the Miata's......:cross-eye

I've been using the Mechanix gloves lately and I love them. Not only can you still pick up nuts and even small screws and nails with them, they also help shield the knuckles from the inevitable scrapes and knocks. They are well ventilated, so your hands don't sweat, but they aren't much good in cold weather.... They are more expensive than the Liquid Gloves or the dishwasher liquid (both of which I have used) but after using them, I wouldn't do without them.... You can work around hot items without burns (to a reasonable degree) all the while protecting your hands from scrapes and busted knuckles.

Well, it doesn't help, but I did find an article that describes a ZAP Special Decoration Package that was offered form the factory, but only in 1977. It had a special decor package consisting of a limited-edition paint scheme, "racing" mirrors, and rear window louvres. The stripes on the side and hood were decals. I'll go through the rest of the books and see what I can find.... After looking through all the issues, I guess it must have been the ZAP car I was thinking about.

I seem to remember an aftermarket "Limited Edition" that was not done by Nissan, but by a company here in the US. The Black Pearls were the only ones that were done by Nissan as far as I know, there is a good write up on www.zhome.com about them, but if you read it right, they only did it on the 2 seaters, not on the 2+2's. I'll look through some of my old books and see if I can find the one I'm thinking about.

Well, the same pic is on zhome.com if you want to see it.....

Ah, that's better.... Hmm, looks better topless....still got ugly door handles though:ermm: Put a body kit on it like a few at the Tokyo Auto show and that would be sweet. Bet the top takes up most of the room in the trunk that the suspension brace doesn't, unless they used a different one.

What's official? That's a pic of a Ferrari F-40. Err, it was anyways...

Uh, sorry, but it's N-P-T for National Pipe Thread.......

Steve, I can find some other things on the car..... I keep hearing the slogan, "Wonder where the money went..." over and over in my mind... I wasn't trying to trash the guys car, just point out, if he had spent that much money on it, I would expect a car that had been detailed to the "Nth" degree..... If you look at the dog leg area, you will see that that has been replaced as well, so the car has had rust repairs at one time or another. No crease where the dog leg meets the rocker, and the straight flange is a dead giveaway.... The stock dog leg didn't have a perfectly straight lower flange.... Caveat emptor....

It just isn't worth 28K not matter what he says he spent on it. It has a lot of polished aluminum on it, but did you notice how grungy the underside of the car is? Whoever did all that work to clean up and polish the trans case didn't even take the time to clean the trans fluid that was flung out of a leaking rear seal? Not to mention how bad the underside of the floor looks.... That car is no where near what you could do with a car if you spent that much money on it. Something just isn't right here guys..... Yeah, it's a nice car, but more like a 10-12K car at best. Chrome plated hinges and latches doth not make a high dollar car....in this case it only tries to overshadow what wasn't done to the car IMHO. BTW, the rear bumper is only part "Euro", the center piece is stock while the ends are the "euro" with no holes. Hope he was having the front sway bar fixed while it was in the shop, notice the mounting bolt snapped off in the frame rail? Bet there is some rust lurking in there, even if it is a little bit.

I'd say the reason they moved the handbrake on the ralley cars is that the drivers used the E-brake as a driving tool more than others. They probably used it to lock the rear brakes for a fraction of a second to help rotate the rear of the car. Think of a 90 degree turn on dirt, they would either use it too bring the back end back in line with the front, or to induce oversteer which is the faster way to turn the car on dirt without inducing wheelspin that would hinder their exit speeds from the corner. Now, why did they put it on the drivers side? My guess is for not only ease of use, not easy to move around while in a tight 6 point harness, but also to make it possible for them to finesse the brakes. I am a bit surprised the ratcheting lock mechanism is still in place though, but thinking about it, with it closer to the driver, it would make it easier to release it if they somehow locked it by mistake. One of the worst things about having the handle on the right side of the tunnel in a LHD car is when you try to push on the lock and release the brake when it is pulled up very tight. You do have a bit of a time, trying to pull back on the handle when the brake shoes are tight against the drum, all the time trying to manipulate the lock on the top with your thumb.

Only thing I tend to disagree with is the rear diff choices. I'd stick with the R-180 rear if at all possible, just for the difference in weight. You should be able to find a 3.90 or 4.11 R-180 without too much trouble, there are a lot of racers out there selling them, and there are ways to get the R-180 with the gears you want out of a 720 4x4 Nissan truck, and a few of the 200SX's had them as well. The P-90 head doesn't have the bronze valve seats if that is what you meant instead of rings.. They should have the hardened steel seats in the P-79 and P-90 heads as they were used with unleaded.

Before you start taking it apart and replacing parts, the question I have is have you tried to lube the linkage? Not just the plastic ball ends, but the pivot on the firewall as well? Take the E-clip off, unhook you ball ends and lift it off the mount, and see if it is rusty under there, clean it up and lube the *%# out of it and put it back together and see how it works then....I had one that was stiff, lubed everything and then took the "bellcrank" or whatever you wish to call it off the mount on the firewall, and voila, it was rusted terribly. Guess at one time or another the washer line sprung a leak and soaked it with windshield washer fluid as I found "blue goo" under the pivot.....