Mike B

There don't seem to be a lot of ZX owners on this site, so maybe that could have something to do with your lack of responses. Sorry, I wish I could be of some help, but my only experience is with 240Z carbed engines. -Mike

That is not a Nissan decal. It looks like an aftermarket service decal to show when oil changes were done, etc. -Mike

Has anyone tried the new door seals from vintage rubber http://www.vintagerubber.com/datsun240z-doorsealrhpassengerfitsonbody.aspx? These are supposed to be made with NOS Nissan pieces used for the molds. -Mike

The only reason they didn't screw up the red car more is the group (I won't call them a team) that worked on it was so inept they didn't have any time to modify the exterior much. They wanted to do some widebody modifications to it. Scared to guess what that would have turned out like :tapemouth. I think that was their design plan. They said they wanted to turn it into a cartoon race car. To do the "body work" on the white car they used expandable foam over a couple of metal rods, and then shaped it and fiberglassed it. Top notch work. Shows like this only make it that much harder to get respect for the 240Z and Datsuns in general. -Mike

Rich, Those are all great finds. Those service manuals are the first editions (for the US market at least) and came three hold punched like that and the paper used on the covers is textured and more heavy duty than later editions. The magazine with your Dad on the cover is very cool too. -Mike

Something was definitely wrong with it, but more likely the clowns didn't install the suspension correctly than a bent new wheel though. Here are some pictures of the "winner" (white), the 2nd place car (red), and the two losers (the clean 73's that got butchered). -Mike

That just looks like the standard plastic piece to me. Eiji at Datsun Spirit used to have new ones, but I am not sure if he still does. -Mike

What do you expect when one of judges is from "Pimp my Ride" and another is George Barris, the guy that "built" the Sony and Cher mustangs in the 60's. Some of his great work on those cars were the paint trays stuck to the hood, the plastic florescent light screens for grills and the fantasy fur interiors. The sad part was to have Greg from MSA come on at the end and say the winning car (which was the biggest POS) was "nothing short of remarkable" -Mike

Looks good Randy. What is the black coating on the bottom of the car? Where did you get the blue reproduction interior pieces (door panels, seats, and plastic panels)? -Mike

After you first posted this same topic in another "looking for a part" thread, Jim (zKars) said he had what you needed http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showpost.php?p=357390&postcount=9. Did you contact him? -Mike

There is another car that claims to be an original Scarab on ebay now http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Datsun-Z-Series-280Z-Scarab-VERY-RARE-SCARAB-CONVERSION-LOTS-PAPERWORK-L79-V8-/280642853776?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item41579e1b90. However, it doesn't look like the car has the Scarab door ID plate under the factory VIN plate, like Scarab #154 does in the pictures shown in this thread. Also, the seller says it is Scarab #1430. How can that be, if #154 was converted by Scarab June 1979 and production ended soon after that? I thought they only made a couple hundred of them anyway? I wonder if it is actually Scarab #143, or if it just has some of the Scarab parts added to another V8 conversion? -Mike

I take it you missed posts #6-8 somehow . -Mike

Reproduction plastic interior panels are already available for the 240Z. I'm not sure if 260Z and 280Z interior panels are the same, but I know they are different than those on a 240Z. I think you would be hard pressed to find many parts that could be easily reproduced, are used on all years of the S30, and are not currently available. Also the thing that makes a part rare is that they weren't used on many cars, so I don't think any of the common parts would be considered rare. Now if they could make small runs of some of the truly rare early parts that would be something else, but the market wouldn't be very big, so it's probably not economically feasible. -Mike

I'm not saying the Desert Car Kings is concourse work, but then again neither is the work done on Wheeler Dealers (which is what I was comparing it to). Both seem to do about the same quality of quick "refreshes" to put a car back on the road as a driver, not as a show car. -Mike

There's a Pacesetter header for sale in the classifieds section now with pictures http://www.datsunclassifieds.com/showproduct.php/product/6037/title/datsun-240z-exhaust-system-bolt-in-2128msa-premium2f-pacesetter-header-29/cat/4. -Mike

There is a new show on the Discovery channel called Desert Car Kings with the same sort of premise, but it looks like the only plan to do American cars/trucks http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/desert-car-kings/. It is the work of Desert Valley Auto Parts in Phoenix http://www.dvap.com/. They sell the cars locally when they are done, so it seems they barely break even or lose money most of the time. -Mike

Take a look at this old thread http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22619. Especially post #8. -Mike

Why do that? Now we have two threads with the same question. -Mike

Here are three other options. Note that you'll probably be paying around $100 an hour for one of these shops. Motorworks Ltd. 12700 Bel-Red Rd. Bellevue, WA 98005 (425) 453-7082 Contact name: Duane Bender Web site: http://www.motorworksltd.com/ UP Garage 2912 69th Ave W Tacoma, WA 98466 (253) 565-9823 Contact name: Doug Smith Web site: http://www.upgarageusa.com Z Sport Inc. Performance Automotive 3532 Smith Ave. Everett, WA (425) 259-4691 (800) 633-3308 -Mike

Maybe I'm missing something, but other than the sweet paint job and "Z BOMB" license plate, that car doesn't seem like that great of a deal for $3K. I'm probably 30 miles away from Renton (if that is where it really is) and like Dave I'm pretty busy, so I doubt I would be able to go look at it either (but if you realllly need someone send me a PM and I'll see what I can do). -Mike

That's pretty cool, even if it is just sandpaper. I found a couple of feet of industrial paper towels in that same area in my white car. -Mike

Or he could just use the online parts catalog I found a few months ago http://www.carpartsmanual.com/datsuns30/DatsunFairladyZIndex/tabid/1543/Default.aspx -Mike

Maybe Gibbs Gun oil http://www.roadsters.com/gibbs/? That is the only thing I have heard recommended by some people for magnesium rims. I sold my magnesium rims after I had them restored and before I put anything other than wax on them. -Mike

Jim, My only suggestion to keep it perfect is don't use or open it . Seriously, though, I don't think there is any kind of coating that you could put on it that would still look original and provide any kind of protection. I also have a NOS ashtray like that, but my original is in good shape, so I'm just keeping it in the box for now. -Mike