Early 240 Stuff needed

[mdbrandy]

Looking for:

Hand Throttle knob and cable (I have the lever assembly itself).

Early engine-bay fresh air vents (upper corners of radiator support - plastic). Very early ones had metal brackets at each end that trapped the ends against the rad support and inner fender. Later ones are different, with the ends fitting INTO the holes in the rad support and fender. Looking for the early ones only.

Rear bumper overriders with chrome in good shape. Rubber doesn't matter - I can replace it. Need to be the early overriders (up to 6/72?) that are apparently thinner than the later ones.

If you've got any of those things that you don't need, I'd love to hear from you!

Thanks.

[MikeW]

Originally posted by mdbrandy

Looking for:

Hand Throttle knob and cable (I have the lever assembly itself).

Early engine-bay fresh air vents (upper corners of radiator support - plastic). Very early ones had metal brackets at each end that trapped the ends against the rad support and inner fender. Later ones are different, with the ends fitting INTO the holes in the rad support and fender. Looking for the early ones only.

For anyone interested, here's a picture and description of the differences:

http://zhome.com/Classic/Restore/FreshAirIntake.htm

Rear bumper overriders with chrome in good shape. Rubber doesn't matter - I can replace it.

I'm guessing you're talking about the vertical guards and not the horizontal overrider bar which doesn't have any rubber. I've got a couple you could have but the chrome is probably nowhere near good enough for you. They would need to be re-chromed.

[mdbrandy]

Originally posted by MikeW

For anyone interested, here's a picture and description of the differences:

http://zhome.com/Classic/Restore/FreshAirIntake.htm

I'm guessing you're talking about the vertical guards and not the horizontal overrider bar which doesn't have any rubber. I've got a couple you could have but the chrome is probably nowhere near good enough for you. They would need to be re-chromed.

Thanks for that link - I should have included it. On the overriders, yes, they are the small vertical ones. Midwest Z has some rechromable ones that Chloe can get me, but here in the cornfields of IL, finding rechroming/plating services tend to be a little hard, so I'd rather get some in good shape to begin with. I gather I can still get brand new ones from Japan for $75 each .

[26th-Z]

I have been collecting parts - and searching - and looking, as you know. I have accumulated a bunch of stuff. The whole process of collecting parts before I started on the car has yielded several different directions of my restoration plan and many, many considerations I didn't think of. What do I want my car to look like when I'm finished? What parts should I buy? Should I buy new or restore? What will I need? And the big one, are the parts still available?

You are dealing with a couple of issues, Mark. The hand throttle was really not a standard issue piece for your car, but it can be easily argued that it came equipped with the extra throttle. American laws restrict the throttle device as a safety issue, and indeed that throttle could get you into a lot of trouble real fast. It does make for a uniqueness and contributes to what you want your car to look like. Because the device is not native to America, you will have best luck looking overseas for the knob. Our AU and UK members will be able to help best probably, but Chloe has good contacts.

I think bumper parts are all over the place. You just have to look around. And here comes the real discriminating part. Those two big pieces of shiny chrome hanging off the ends of your car make a big difference in appearance. You really have to decide what you want your car to look like when it comes to bumpers. For me, after I spend all this time and effort (and $$$$), I want the chrome to look brand new. There are plenty of places around to rechrome for you. Do a web search "chrome restoration". You send them the piece. They look it over and discuss what needs to be done - price, and you either have it done or send it back. Chrome shops are EXPENSIVE and it is still cheaper to buy new pieces rather than rechrome, however, we are not talking about equal chrome. The original piece is very inexpensive chrome. It rusts through. It fades and thins through. And it scratches easily. In terms of time, the Nissan piece has probably 20 minutes in a chrome tank where a rechrome piece is going to have and hour or more. The rechrome will be thicker, have a higher luster, it won't rust through or thin, and scratches can be polished. You get what you pay for. Rechrome shops actually restore the piece including filling and dent removal. You can expect a used left rear guard to have chrome damage from the exhaust. Probably all used bumper pieces have rust inside. OSPHO will take the inside rust off, but the bumpers just turn to crap over time. I think rechroming is a good idea.

Listening to the chrome and restoration people, all chrome shops are not the same. Take some time to educate yourself on the plating process. Like painting, the prep work is critical so ask a lot of questions about how the most particular detail is going to be repaired / filled, what plating process is done, what mil thickness of plating each layer is applied, so forth. I was recommended "Paul's Chrome Plating" in PN www.paulschrome.com and they want $75 - $125 for each guard and around $550 for the bumper bar. That's probably the highest price for the highest quality. I found a place as close as Bradenton, them some places in Miami. You will find a couple of places in Ohio and I'll bet there is a place within 200 miles of you. I even found a do-it-yourself kit for $675 - five gallons.

I'll have to send you a picture of my one surviving air duct. I'll bet mine is worse than yours! Do you still have the mounting rings? As long as I have looked, I have not found the early series. Now as soon as I say this they will pop up on eBay for $80,000..... I was just planning to creatively adapt the later style and this gives me another idea for my research with plastics molding. GE Silicon seal (black) is great for glueing the duct in place. It will seal it too.

[mdbrandy]

Originally posted by 26th-Z

You are dealing with a couple of issues, Mark. The hand throttle was really not a standard issue piece for your car, but it can be easily argued that it came equipped with the extra throttle.

I think bumper parts are all over the place. ... it is still cheaper to buy new pieces rather than rechrome, however, we are not talking about equal chrome. The original piece is very inexpensive chrome. It rusts through. It fades and thins through. And it scratches easily.

I'll have to send you a picture of my one surviving air duct. I'll bet mine is worse than yours! Do you still have the mounting rings?

Well Chris, as always, you're a font of research! I think, from what I can tell, my car was originally equipped with the hand throttle. It was hooked up and working when the PO got the car 13 years or so ago. From what I understand, SOME of the early US cars had them. This appears to be one of them. I'd like to at least get the pieces back in place, even if I leave it disconnected from the pedal itself :classic: . You're right, that overseas or Chloe will probably be my best bet, but I'll see. A guy on e-bay says he has a choke/throttle assembly that he's going to list, but he hasn't done it yet. I don't know what it will include.

I'll have to think about the chrome stuff now. I don't know much about rechroming, and didn't think about the quality levels of new vs. rechrome. Thanks for the link. I'll check it out.

I have the left original air duct with the metal rings. It's edges are a bit chewed up, though. The right one is gone. I have procured brand new NOS ducts of the new versions through Chloe alread, in case I can't get the old ones (which looks like the case). It appears as though no modifications will be required - the new style seems to be designed to fit into the original sheet metal holes. I'll just keep looking for the old ones, and use the new ones if I can't find any. You don't give me much hope, though .

[26th-Z]

I forgot about the picture a couple of threads up. Your car and a couple of others has me convinced that early cars came equipped with strange combinations of pieces not commonly found as an "American Import" version. Our fuel recovery discussion is a good case in point. I had a hand throttle in an Alfa Romeo years ago and it was quite handy. I would love to equip my car with the hand throttle and fill in that extra space on the console.

My trip to re-chrome land has been the education let me tell you. Start talking to some of these businesses and you will get the picture. There is a copper plate layer, a nickle plate layer and a chrome layer involved and all with nit-picking buffing and polishing and filling. They can take dents out too. Seems money is the key factor and you get what you pay for. I haven't decided what to do. I'm still "interviewing"!

The new vents will work, of course. It all depends on how "original" you want to present your car. Serious Z "purists" will recognize the difference and you will get points for having the original as opposed to everyone else who will think you are way cool just for having a clean Z.

I'm in the middle of another road of research. Plastics molding and casting. EVERYONE has broken or missing plastic pieces. My radio face plate is damaged and I have been given the big good luck from several people. From what I am learning, molds can be made from original pieces - repaired with modeling clay - and cast in plastic resins. "Rubber" can be cast also. I may consider casting at least the flanges for the vent pieces. I just ordered some chemicals for new radio face plates. Stay tuned.

[mdbrandy]

Originally posted by 26th-Z

My trip to re-chrome land has been the education let me tell you. ... and you get what you pay for. I haven't decided what to do. I'm still "interviewing"!

The new vents will work, of course. It all depends on how "original" you want to present your car.

I'm in the middle of another road of research. Plastics molding and casting. EVERYONE has broken or missing plastic pieces. ... I may consider casting at least the flanges for the vent pieces. I just ordered some chemicals for new radio face plates. Stay tuned.

Keep us posted on the rechrome stuff. I suspect everyone has some chrome they'd like to be better, even if they can't justify big bucks to do it. :cross-eye . On the vents, If I can find the original type, then great - I'll use them. Otherwise, there won't be too much choice but to use the new type, unless you go into production :classic: . If you figure out how to cast some of this stuff, that'd be really cool. As you say, we all have some plastic piece that's broken. I just paid about $150 for a new heater control panel and map light stuff from Chloe because there were cracks in both of them. Wouldn't want to try to cast the heater panel, but the map light surround wouldn't have been too hard. The map light stuff is still available, and not very expensive, so don't need that specific piece now, but soon they won't be available, and they'll still crack...

[texasz]

26th-z, man if you create molds for some of the NLA parts and bang a few out I bet you'd more than pay for the time and materials that it took you to create the molds; and a lot of fellow Z owners would be very happy that they could replace their old broken pieces. Let us know how this works out!