Mike B

Great pictures. I see that they have pictures of the first 350z (Z33-000001). I thought VIN#1 was sold by Nissan USA to a Nissan dealer in Everett, WA (Performance Nissan)? I was at a Z car show there this summer and they have the car in their showroom with a copy of the ebay winning bid and a certificate from Nissan. Here are a couple of bad pictures I took of it. Is this just the first z-33 sold in the US? -Mike

Arne, sounds like a smart financial choice, given the alternatives. Emotionally I agree it is a tough decision, but I think you are correct that you couldn't count on getting back what you would have to put into once you've finished it. I think you are right to cut your losses now and part it out and put the proceeds back into your red car. -Mike

I think you must be missing a digit in there somewhere.

Looks really good Jim. Where did you get your bumpers done at? What kind of wheels are those? -Mike

It sounds like it may be the turn signal flasher relay. It is the silver cylinder under the dash on the drivers side. It normally makes a clicking sound when the turn signal operates. I believe the hazard flasher uses a different relay. -Mike

Will, I have some of the Waso key blanks. I'll send you a PM later today. -Mike

I did it myself. It wasn't too difficult. Do you have new glass or are you reusing what you have and just putting on a new seal? -Mike

Anyone with a low VIN 240z that needs early hood bumpers should check these out. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Datsun-240Z-FairladyZ-NLA-Hood-Bumpers-1st-generation_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ6763QQihZ007QQitemZ170159985389QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW I just got a couple of sets and they are perfect reproductions. -Mike

More info from zcar.com http://web.archive.org/web/20020607042848/zcar.com/month/2001/10/

Carl, or anyone else, are you familar with these cars? I have not heard of them before. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=160169882727&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT It is listed on ebay and this site's classified section. -Mike

Whether you admit it or not, Arne is right. You should also follow your grandmother's advice.

I would probably be interested in the Appliance mesh wheels. I'll send you a PM. -Mike

Frank, that is a great story and it looks like the 2nd owner took good care of it for you. I would love to see some more pictures when you get a chance. I am the second owner of two of my Z's (including #237), but in my case I don't think the original owners will be coming back for them. It seems like all Z's have some kind of story, but I find stories about the early cars to be some of the most interesting. The person that now owns the first 240z to arrive in the Seattle area told me that the original owner was actually fifth on the list to get one. When the car arrived the first four people passed on it because the pre-order information said the cars were supposed to have 5 spds and this one arrived with a 4 spd. Little did they know they would have a long wait ahead of them to get a 5spd Z in the US. -Mike

You would need to open them in some kind of graphics program and resize them. If you don't have a program that can do this, you could email them to me and I could resize them and send them back or post them for you. PM me if you want my email address. -Mike

When did 240z's switch from clear glass to tinted glass? #237 and #331 both have all clear glass all around (doors, quarter windows, and hatch - with no defrost in hatch). Neither have the original windshield, so I don't know about that. My parts car, #882, is a 1/70 production car and it has tinted glass in the windshield, drivers door, both quarter windows, and the hatch - with the vert defrost lines. However, the passenger door glass is clear. The quarter windows and windshield didn't appear to have been replaced. That is they look to have the original seals, etc. The only info I found when searching was that the defrosters were supposed to have been introduced with car #1456, but #882 looks to have the original wiring in the harness for the defroster (dated 1/70), so I am not sure if hatch with defroster glass was switched out by the dealer at some point. -Mike

If you look at Carl's zhome.com site you will see that the early engine numbers were not consecutive with the VINs, and there was a fairly wide range. Probably between 2100 and 2400 would be my guess, but it could even be a couple hundred higher. -Mike

They probably just kept the original valve cover when they replaced the engine. When I bought #331, it had the original numbers matching block and the 2400 valve cover, but the E31 head had been replaced with a later E88 at some point. -Mike

That car has been listed in the classified ads on this site for a couple of weeks now. http://www.classiczcars.com/classifieds/showproduct.php?product=2206&cat=1 It does look like it has some hard to find repair panels and some of the original 69 specific parts, but it would be a lot of work. -Mike

I hadn't seen the half sized version. I also have the first edition of the parts manual dated 11/69 and it seems to include everything in my 3/74 edition. -Mike

Will, The Nissan parts catalogs I have are in large blue loose leaf binders. Is that the same as what you are talking about? I haven't seen them in spiral bound versions before. Like you indicated, they are a lot of pgs, so 900 sounds about right, and 150 may just be one section. I have one that is a 1974 edition I think and it covers all of the 240z's and the 260z. I could probably scan that with my scanner at work after hours, but it may take me a couple of weeks to get through it all in small chunks. That would save the postage for peterc and keep you guys from cutting up a spiral bound book.

Here are some pictures of the white clip on #237. The red color you see mixed in the white won't be in the final versions. The clips are basically hand made, not an automated process that can crank out a large volume very quickly, so it will take some time to make them. It should be about a month for the initial batch, and I can order more later if needed. Only the earliest 1969/1970 Z cars need these, so the market for them is pretty small and I don't want to make and lot and then wind up with a bunch of extras. I am planning on selling a set of 2 clips for $20. That may sound like a lot, but I had to pay to have a mold made and then a per unit cost for each clip. I think shipping in the US should be $4 or less. d240zx2, kats, bobc, and cbudvet PM me if you are still interested based on that price, or if you want less. -Mike

I was able to use the clip I borrowed from Fred to have a mold made and the test versions of the clips arrived today. It was too dark to take pictures mounted on the car, so I will have to do that tomorrow. Here are some pictures of the reproductions (in white and black) compared to two of my broken originals. I think they turned out very well and I should have some available for sale to anyone interested soon. -Mike

Thanks guys. Yes, I'm sure I will continue to have lots of questions. Those are the original 69 carbs. The round flanges look to be attachments for some type of air cleaner that was not stock. They just attach with a couple of screws it looks like. I'll keep you updated on my progress with the cars. -Mike

I checked the VIN of the other parts car again and it is #10989, which should make it a 9/70 according to the Zhome.com registery (not a 7/70), so I guess I was off by a couple of months on that one. -Mike

I think you are right Dave. I probably am off on the date/VIN for that one. I was going by memory since that car is still at the sellers until I get room to bring it over. -Mike