Mike B

I was more interested in seller's comment that the clock came from a Z432 that he used to own here in the US (sold it in 1996 to Germany?). He says it was #31 and it was a 10/69 production car, so that would be PS30-00031? I didn't think they made 31 Z432s that early. Maybe Kats can comment on that. I'll have to check his old thread about the production dates and volumes for 1969. -Mike

No, all of the 240Z seats were made of vinyl. The ones with fabric in the middle (or the entire seat cover) are aftermarket replacements. -Mike

Yes, all stock 240z seats have the breather vents. Many aftermarket kits do not have them. -Mike

I think your only hope of getting an early defroster blank is when Will reproduces them. Even with the parking light blanks, people normally only sell them with the console finisher panel. -Mike

I agree with Carl on the blue series 1 in Portland for $5k. I saw that one last night and almost posted about it too. -Mike

Unless you happen to have a 1969 production car. Fortunately a collector reproduced some of them a couple of years ago (and we had to submit copies of titles to buy them). -Mike

Kats, I just looked at my own pictures again and realized I must have replaced the finisher that was on the car after I got it. The one in the first photo has the ON lettering, so that can not be the original version. I have a couple of others without the ON lettering, so I must have replaced it and forgotten about it.:stupid: You could be right about dust in the parking lights symbol looking like white paint. Yes, I'm sure the original throttle cables were just cut off and tossed out. The car came with 3 of the 4 original hubcaps and one later replacement. None of them show any wear since they had alloy wheels installed right away. I think it has 2 or 3 of the original 1969 dated steel wheels and the original spare. -Mike

Hi Kats and Chris, I'm attaching pictures of the original finisher from HLS30-00032 when I found it, and as it looks now. It looks like the parking lights and defroster symbols were both painted white. Chris, your parking lights symbols looks like they were painted white too, but just more faded. I mentioned before that my car still had the small plastic grommet in the top of the accelerator pedal and the screw for the cable attachement bracket, so it must have had the throttle originally and been removed by the dealer or at the port. I added a used throttle unit after I got the car. -Mike

Why not strip the car to the bare shell before blasting it? Are you going to blast it again after you get the engine, glass, etc out? I had a parts car that someone had soda blasted with the interior in it and it was a mess. That soda gets in every nook and cranny. I'll be following your restoration and hope to see some of the original early items that came with #797. Good luck with it. -Mike

Carl, Didn't the splash pans come on all S30's? I thought that was the case, but people often removed them and didn't put them back on. #237 still had its splash pan when I got it. -Mike

I think this is a May 71 car based on the VIN range. According to zhome.com the Z hubcaps were part of the series 3 (1972 model year) changes that started in Sept 71 around VIN #43496. -Mike

A protype series 3 console and shift boot original to a Jan 1970 car (fourth month of production)? I don't think so. Those consoles weren't used until late 1971, almost 2 years later. I think forgotting that it was replaced at some point 30-40 years ago is more likely. -Mike

I was wondering if someone would post about that car. It belongs to the son of a friend of mine and I've seen it in person a few times. I have always liked the blue/blue combo and I tried to get him to sell it to me for about a year before I found #32 (which is also 903 blue). Other than the hubcaps, side mirrors, and springs it is totally stock I think. He didn't have the D hubcaps and he liked the look of the Z caps better so he put them on instead. By the way Steve, I saw you sold your white 72 on ebay recently and that also looked very nice. -Mike

Well, I'm glad to see that someone from the site was able to get the dash and maybe other people will pick up some other parts for a good price. Hopefully the dash survives shipping without damage. -Mike

I found this on the Seattle craigslist for $350 if anyone is interested. I don't need it, but thought someone else may. I haven't seen it in person. http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/pts/920908948.html -Mike

Are you looking for how to hook up the plastic heater ducting or the heater control cables? If you are missing parts let me know. I have lots of extras. -Mike

I like the side by side comparision to the 350Z and 240Z. I would prefer bigger rear side windows, but all-in-all I like that it is closer to some of the retro 240Z styling. Too bad they couldn't get more of the facts straight though. The biggest single influence on the original Z was Yutaka Katayama, affectionately referred to as the “Father of the Z”. Badged as the Datsun Fairlady Z in Japan When it came time to sell the Z in the U.S. the cars were shipped wearing the Fairlady badges, but Katayama felt strongly against using the Fairlady name in America and shifted to the numbered designation that we know today -Mike

I would except I live in that dark NW corner of your map where you apparently aren't interested in showing off the new Z. -Mike

Chris, I think Dan is correct. If the maplight for 26 and 27 have the hood or "brow" then they must have been replaced. The maplight hood was added as a series 2 change. See #3 under Body Electrical http://zhome.com/History/New71Late.htm. Are the hooded maplights for 26 and 27 grey? Here is a picture of the maplight and other grey plastic items from #32. Also, here are another couple of data points for engines in early cars #32 - 2130, #237 - 2848, #331 - 2585. -Mike

Thanks for the additional clarification Gab. Reproductions of some of the early items are available and others will probably be made before too long. For someone looking at the car, I wouldn't be detered by it missing a few of the 1969 items. Most of the early cars have had at least some of these items replaced over the past 40 years. My #32 is a very original three owner car and it didn't have the original plastic fuel door knob either (they can break if you're not careful) and is missing the two front rubber mats. -Mike

Looking back at a few of my old emails here are a couple of things I wanted to clarify. The car was originally from the US, not Canada. The seller restored the car while living in Victoria (on Vancouver Island), not Vancouver BC as I originally noted. He obtained early missing parts (clear hatch glass, emblems, choke/throttle set-up, etc.) from several other early cars in the area. I would guess that the non-emissions balance tube was added, and the car probably originally had the same emissions equipement as other early US cars (no rear vapor tank). The car does not have the original grey plastic items that I mentioned. The seller said the originals were cracked when he got the car, so he replaced them with new parts. He wasn't aware that they were grey originally, so they were either already gone when he got the car or he didn't notice the differences and just replaced them. As Kats noted the car also does not have the original rubber hood bumpers or the plastic gas door knob. I didn't ask about a red dot mirror. I like the car based on the pictures and I think it could be a great deal for someone looking for a restored low VIN car. I have not seen the car in person, but before spending this kind of money I would definatey inspect it in person or at least have someone in the area with knowledge of early Z cars take a look at. -Mike

None of the dashes were grey, not even the early ones. I think the dash just looks kind of grey in one of the pictures above because there is a lot of flash in that one photo. Maybe the glove box door looks darker in that photo because it is at a slightly different angle and a different material? Here are a couple more photos of the dash. I'm not sure whether the heater control panel, radio face,maplight surround, and ashtray are grey plastic as they should be though. -Miie

Kats, The ones I have from early cars (up to Jan 70 prod at least) are as shown in the first two pictures on the left. Is that the original from your 3/70 car? -Mike

Sorry but #32 won't ever be for sale, I hope. If I had lots of money I would definately buy your Fairlady Z432 -Mike

Here is the seller's summary with some additional pictures. I was able to convert it to a PDF file, which has a larger file size limit. -Mike HLS30-00048.pdf