Compare the color of the glovebox door to the dash. Does the dash look grey ? Or are early ones black ?

Compare the color of the glovebox door to the dash. Does the dash look grey ? Or are early ones black ?

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

Edited November 11, 200816 yr by Mike B

Yes , at least those pieces should be . I've been in # 69 , and the radio / heater control surround was definately grey , not black . Maybe these were replaced by the restorer . I wonder if it has the red dot mirror ?

Hi Unkle,

I was wondering too, Grey plastic parts and a red dot mirror.

But if this car has originally Black plastic parts and other later parts,

can we guess when those parts were installed.

geezer's post inspired me to have fun to imagine.

I noticed the hood corner bumper, they are not the earliest one.I do not know the owner put later one instead of the earliest one, but if they are originally with the car, it is very fun to guess the sequence of assembling parts.

#48 , L24-2398 with 02/70 date tag.I think this car could be a good example to think about what and when these parts would have been installed.

And what happened, when it happened , all I can do is just "imagine" .

kats

Edited November 11, 200816 yr by kats
spelling

Yes , at least those pieces should be . I've been in # 69 , and the radio / heater control surround was definately grey , not black . Maybe these were replaced by the restorer .

Or it is possible that someone thought that the "gray" was simply sun faded plastic, and sprayed it black to make it look new.

We'll most likely never know...

FWIW,

Carl B.

Thanks for the pictures, Mike! The car looks like a very nice restoration.

I noticed that the center air vent is not "correct". It has spacers in between the vanes. I cannot tell if the map light has a hood or not. It should have a "brow" over the lens. Check to see if the exhaust manifold is plugged for the emission hardware before you believe that this is a "Canada non-emission" car, Kats. My engine looks just like this and I went to the effort of installing a non-emission manifold.

The ventilation control panel for the early cars is cast of clear (or opelescent) plastic, chromed, and then painted black. If it looks faded, it's because the paint is faded.

Edited November 11, 200816 yr by 26th-Z

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

Hi everyone,

I'm the one selling #48 and I thought I'd jump in and answer some of the questions.

First off I would like to thank Mike B. for highlighting my car and adding all the photos.

Now as for the questions, here goes:

-The car was originally a US cars as stated, I took off the emissions components and added the balance tube because I liked how it cleaned up the engine compartment

-When I restored the car (about 8 yrs ago) I was not aware of all the early differences that I now know about. Most early items were still with car (it had a clear hatch glass but a previous owner added an after market rear window defog kit which looked awful so I put a non abused replacement (I still have the original glass)

-As best as I can recall, it did not have the grey center pieces but the original ones were damaged so I replaced them

-I can't recall either if it had the red dot mirror, the one with the car was pitted and foggy so I changed it (I will look thru my parts supply in case I kept the other mirror)

-The rims are period correct (stamped 1969) dealer optioned American Racing Libres

-As for the difference between VIN and production date, many have already alluded to the possibility that near the end of completion it was put aside to rectify a problem and was finally released a few months later. I understood this at the time I bought the car ten years ago and find it interesting that others have the same delayed production date and some cars with VIN above 500 have a production date of '69 (as per ZHome site). Years ago a friend of mine was fortunate enough to have met a man who actually worked on the line at the beginning of the 240Z run and confirmed that cars that did not meet final inspection were put aside until they had time to address any issues. He also said that it was a very busy time and they did not worry if a red dot mirror or a non red dot mirror was put on a car. They simply went to the parts bin and grabbed what they needed. It was also a transition time from suppliers and many bins would have a mix of early and later parts without any control on what went on which car.

So, long story to add to the confusion of whether my car actually had (or should have) a grey center panel or not will never be conclusive.

Hope that answers some of the questions and if anyone has anything else they want to know or any specific photos, please let me know.

Thanks,

Gab

Hi Gab ! I'm in Victoria B.C.! Did you ever deal with Greg from the zcar club here ? And.... do you want to sell that back window ? Mine is scratched ( vin # 538 , clear hatch glass ). The red dot mirror actually has a red dot on the day / night control toggle, as does mine . You can easily confirm this .

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

Unkle, Greg M. was instrumental with the restoration, without him on my side I don't think I would of undertaken such a task. As for the glass, I prefer to hang on to it just in case something happens to the one on the car.

Guess the repro market has expanded over the past decade which is good news for those wanting to go the extra mile. I prefer original pieces when I can get them which are getting much harder to find though.

G.

I cannot tell if the map light has a hood or not. It should have a "brow" over the lens.

Chris, are you saying that the early cars had the brow, or glare shield, above the map light lens? I don't believe that this brow was added until series 2 cars.