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Here is a shot of brand new #305 paint, if I didn't tell you that it is the exact same colour as the OP's car, what colour would you say it is? Here is a shot of a 280z under carriage with 106,000 miles,

Chris, I absolutely concur that the wider 'Z Store' project was unique, and that in turn the 'VZ Program' part of it was unique in its wider scope of volume buy-in (the "scale" that you mention) and commissioned restoration for resale. I don't need to concede that because it's a given. What I don't agree with is the ill-informed hyperbole from certain individuals who really ought to know better, and I find that a more measured appraisal - like yours - is better for the marque in the long run. As you point out, and others do not want to believe, in the past other motor manufacturers have restored their own used cars for resale and some continue to do so. That aspect is not "unique". For me, a lot of this goes back to those days when people were talking about "Factory restoration" and leading people to believe this project was something other than what it really was. A lot of people didn't like the clarification being made, but when automotive journalists - who should know better - were themselves believing that the cars had been sent back to Japan and, in turn, misleading their readers, I believe the term "Factory restoration" was an inappropriate term for us to throw around. Is it my imagination or are we doing a better job of describing these cars than we used to? I have to say that your work on rounding up the facts and putting the whole thing into some semblance of order for us has been a great benefit to the legacy of the 'VZ' project, and will have certainly helped this latest BaT sale even if the cast in the sitcom didn't know it. Your data and explanation of the whole story was certainly a great benefit to one Japanese owner whom I passed it on to, and he was very grateful. Good work. Thank you.

On display at ZCON 2019. Nice lighting.

Better pictures later today. I'm leaving in an hour to pick up the car. Good undercarriage shots will have to wait a week. I just had a new garage built (before knowing anything about this car) and the concrete was just poured on Monday. Can't put in the lift till next Saturday.

Hi guys. I'm in the reassembly stages of a '72 240Z restoration. My dad bought the car new in 1972 and it's been in the family ever since. I disassembled it and kept the engine, trans, dash, wiring harnesses and a host of trim pieces with me here in Chattanooga, while he took the rest to back to where he lives in central NC and had the body restored, floor pans fixed, rust patched up, etc. See attached pics. In a few weeks, he's going to bring the car back to me so I can reassemble. All the fasteners and smaller parts are bagged and labeled and I took notes during disassembly, but it would be wonderful to have another 240Z to compare to make sure I get the hose and wiring harness routing exactly right, etc. Would anyone with an S30 in the Chattanooga area be willing to visit for an hour or so while I compare? Beer (or another beverage of your choice) can be provided. Thanks!

I've nearly finished one of my exhaust-parallel projects - 'new' 240Z steering wheels so time to share some photos. Once upon a time 50 years ago, all steering wheels were like new. Now they can be again and the perfect 50th anniversary gift for yourself and your car ! Completely stripped, spokes repainted and the the rim given several high-quality gloss coats, these will have new or refurbished horn mechanisms and centre pushes. They feel so lovely in ones' hands - a 'must' to finish your restorationand in a world where more and more people fit the black leather, competition replicas, be different and go old-school with the real thing ! Basic price will be $675 (no horn push and your wheel in exchange). There are a lot of hours' work gone into these.

Yeeaaa... I am going with 350 mile car!

I concur, the BaT conversation was entertaining; something along the sit-com style. I did notice one of your posts deleted, Alan, and I don't understand how that happened other than my previous clown-show comment. I read it and then saw it deleted later. The VZ program was indeed a unique event in automotive history, on many different points of argument, and ranks right up there in the mentionables category. Alan, I think your point is on an intellectual platform, far different than the sensationalistic cries of passion we saw on BaT. The Dream Garage ad campaign and the Z Store were a two million dollar event at Nissan USA in the late 90s. They signaled the end of the Z-car for a period of time. That was a big deal. Considering the scale at which Nissan USA approached the restoration program, it was pretty damned unique. Were they the first, the only; did Nissan "conceive" of this outrageous idea? No. Of course not. Factory reconditioning and resale goes back to before the war. Read your automotive history. We don't need to quibble about Aston Martin. The sensationalists ruled the day, however, and some poor bastard took home a car that needed work for a price five times what that car would have cost ten years ago. Personally, I'm encouraged.

I can say with complete confidence that Aston did their own recreations before 2014, I think there were some at Goodwood when I use to work there(2009-12), also that they started doing them in the late 80's, however the early ones were for racing i know. What I don't get/trust is some on the BAT thread. Every factually correct post gets removed, people trying to pass on their own version of facts as correct for their own agendas. Not to mention all the sellers in the threads saying i've sold x for $$$$$$ off here trying to artificially increase prices.

Beautiful day finally here on Edmonton for our annual car show!

I don’t think Nissan could have designed an uglier rear ram rod bumper than the silver car in the first post. Ralph Nader would be proud!

I posted the pic of my #305 code roof to illustrate how easily this colour can change it's appearance depending on the available light level when the pic was taken, from my experience the colour of the OP's exterior and ash tray cup could easily match. Now that the OP has posted a pic of the trans tunnel we can all see that they do match. To me it shows no such thing, what I see is virtually no miles but 43 years sitting. @brunodoggy, I don't know what you paid but you got a great deal regardless, take lots of pics.

just to clarify, car in N, sitting on level ground and you crank, it will start rolling? so when it starts and the engine in running the car will move forward again in neutral? I don't like terms like "surge" the 5 speed is a sychromesh transmission, so all the gears on the counter shaft and output shaft are always meshed. The output shaft is locked to ONE set of gears at a time by the hubs. there is always some fluid drag that will tend to turn the output shaft since all the gears are spinning on it. Now if you have some kind of binding between the output shaft and the gear needle bearings, or if the brass baulk rings are not properly fitted, there could be some drag that is excessive. turning the input shaft by hand will turn the output shaft just by the slight drag of the oil. did you pay attention the correct orientation of the 3/4 sychro hub? I don't know what would happen of even if you could install it backwards, but it does have a correct direction.

Ok. Here are some more pictures. I am comfortable stating that the 350 miles are true. I pumped up the original tires and they held air! Released the brake and was able to push the car by hand. I was not expecting that!.

Hope this will help someone. I just got a early 71 240 z thats been setting in the garage since 1979. The break master cylinder was seized. I couldent get the pistons and springs out for the life of me.. Here is how i got them out - take out all the bleader screws get a big botttle of pine-sol and boil them for a couple hours.. then hit the bottom of the cylinder on some wood they will come out..

Not true. You can split the hairs any way you want about Aston Martin's activities but the fact is that they were selling bought-in (often through trade-ins) factory-refurbed cars long before 2014 and I cited this activity in relation to the "unique" VZ claim on this very forum more than ten years ago. I believe I gave a specific example of one such car too (I even took a test ride in one which a work colleague was considering for purchase). Is this the kind of "drivel" you are referring to? I note you don't have anything to say about Bristol Cars or the other examples I cited. Maybe you're more motivated to prove me wrong than in proving that the 'VZ' program was "unique in automotive history"...? A new member with no feedback, using a pseudonym, sends me a PM asking for a list of 432-R chassis numbers. My spidey senses tingle and I do not reply, considering it better to wait and see. Lo and behold another PM with a snotty retort to the effect that he'd got what he wanted elsewhere and thanks for nothing. Turns out you were planning a 432-R 'replica', right? I'm sure a list of original 432-R chassis numbers would be very useful for that. What could possibly go wrong? I think I was right to be dubious. Dubious is a good default position.

Lash pads installed ! .525 lift and still room for the valves and pistons to share. Waiting on a adjustable cam sprocket and still debating on the balancer . Thinking about spending the $$ because I want to use it on my L32 eventually . Also waiting on some hardware to finish buttoning up things .

The last five or six years? So when I was posting about Aston Martin Works Service's past and continuing activities on this forum - with relation to the claim of the 'VZ' program being "unique" - more than ten years ago, I was predicting the future? I'll add that to my CV. No, I was stating a fact. The "alternate reality" is the one where the 'VZ' program is "unique in automotive history". Pure fantasy or just more USA-bubble type introspection, you choose. It's the same as the 'conversation' on BaT where nobody is allowed to mention the 432 or 432-R, but mention of the Toyota 2000GT, Honda NSX and even Mazda Miata is just fine and dandy. Deluded. Aston Martin Works Service - just the same as any other UK-based business - do not need any 'license' to sell cars. Especially what are - essentially, just like the 'VZ' program cars - refurbished used cars with their original identities intact. Some people here will no doubt believe you, but it simply isn't true. What 'license', and issued by whom? Nonsense. Noted that we appear to be on first name terms now. Presumptuous of you. Apparently you still call yourself 'Roo', as you did when you asked me to give you data on the 432R. If you had introduced yourself with a feasible and believable name I might have considered it. I think my spidey senses were right.

SOLD, Mods please close.

Did you notice @jim240z bidding it up?

I'm not talking about the 'Sanction 2' cars. Not the same thing at all. I'm talking about the active buying-in, in-house restoring, then selling-on as 'Factory Refurbished' cars (with a one year warranty) which Aston Martin Works Service were carrying out since at least the late 1970s, if not earlier. It was done because there was a demand for it, and the will to do it. Five or six years? I've brought up the point here on this forum several times in the past, and have brought up the Aston Martin Works Service example (amongst others) in relation to the 'VZ' cars at least 14 years ago.

Your response is a perfect illustration of my bigger point. How do hyperbole, exaggeration and plain old fashioned lies help the cause of understanding, appreciating and curating the history and legacy of the 'VZ' cars? How does telling the truth "minimize" anything?

People still calling the 'Vintage Z Program'/'Z Store' project "...unique in automotive history..." and that "No other car manufacturer has ever undertaken anything even remotely like it." Why does this misconception seem to be such a precious part of the story to so many people? Call it out as false and it's like you're some kind of apostate. Why? Bristol, Bentley, Morgan and - most prolifically - Aston Martin all undertook similar activities (Aston Martin still do...), buying back old models, refurbishing/restoring them and then selling them on as 'factory restored' product with a warranty. If British cars somehow don't count, how about East German manufacturer VEB and their Trabant? VEB had a policy of recycling customer cast-offs - as much out of necessity as anything else - all through their production life. You can nit-pick about the small details, but such activities were not "unique". Aston Martin are still doing it today, through their Aston Martin Works Service department: http://www.astonmartinworks.com/heritage-sales/aston-martin-mk1-db6-vantage So are Bristol Cars: https://bristolcars.co.uk/Sales-Post/?permalink=411-restoration Personally speaking, I'm a fan of the 'VZ' cars and the whole project, and the three examples I have seen in person were beautifully turned out cars that anybody would be happy to own. But getting facts wrong and exaggerating the significance of the program in the wider automotive field does none of us any good in the long term. Keep It Real.

He also says he's going to write a new book about the Z, for publication late in 2020. Hope it turns out better than his last one.