geezer

Hi Kats - If a worthwhile item came up that was pickup only, there very well could be a member near by to assist you. I doubt if it would be worthwhile shipping that exhaust system all the way to Japan though. The seller might still have it and we very well may see it listed again. For some odd reason it was rendered "no longer for sale", but it was sold once before also. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160311557891 Easy to contact. Phone number is in the description. We do have a member closeby too.

I like it, but agree that it seems to be a very tight fit. Do you think some heat sheilding would be a good idea? The price sure was right.

Well, it is deserving of some discussion and got a better reaction than my feeble joke. Jim, I am thinking it is entirely possible that your mother had a shop work on the exhaust at some point and the front section was replaced and it has long since been forgotten…or… another possibility that I wouldn’t discount for a second, is Nissan using an alternate supplier to keep up with the ever increasing production levels. Not an uncommon practice at all. Most manufacturers did have alternate suppliers for just this reason and also to offset parts shortages caused for any other reason such as natural disasters, labor disputes, a better negotiated price, etc. It will be interesting to see if more or other variations turn up. The Mitchell’s illustration excerpt I posted is indicative of every illustration I have seen of this part being representative for 1970. They all depict the type that Arne has on his car. Here’s another one. We could probably find more illustration examples, but the actual parts are likely more difficult to come across. Dan referred to the “cast junction”. Is the “Y” an actual cast piece or is it a heavy stamped metal part that has been welded together? I have never seen one. If it is indeed a cast piece, it could probably be reused in the reconstruction of a replacement pipe section. I know Summit has the heavy stamped metal type in stock also that would be somewhat keeping with the correct look and also being available in larger diameters, you could increase the flow.

Don't know if it's relevent in this case but there was a difference between an automatic transmission and a manual transmission exhaust system. According to this the difference was $6.49.

Those pics were passed on to me from an old Ebay ad. Being confronted with the same rust damage as you in this area, I studied the construction of the part and determined that the bracket spotwelded inside that you noted, is there for a dual purpose. Just my opinion, but I believe it was used as an assembly aid in order to locate the Tension Control Rod Bracket properly and also allow for corrections if needed by adjusting the jig it was spotwelded in, before the bracket was wire welded on. The design of this part was the cause of water being allowed in to be trapped, causing rust and premature failure. I would like to know if there was any sealer applied at the factory in this location in an attempt to keep water out or not?

Here's a few shots of a NOS piece that will give you an idea how to reconstruct it, if you fabricate your own.

The pic of the blue 280zx is a bit disturbing and left me wondering about the well being of the occupant(s). The B&W shots are suitable for framing!

Thanks for the memory jog Mike...Here's a Hack Shack link: http://thehackshack.net/240z.htm Really was done nicely.

The "user name" escapes me, but he is a member here also. I followed the posts on the cars reconstuction where he explained why this low VIN car was not restored to original condition, because of the large amount of missing parts. It was also advertized for sale in Europe recently, I believe. As far as the asking price goes, you can't blame him for starting on the high side, hoping to snag an impulse buyer.

There should be a satin clear coat that is compatible with the paint you chose. Just try to do like Arne did and spray light, dry coats to emulate the best look. I think an even consistant finish is just as important as the color choice when painting the rear panels. Holding the spray can as far as possible, and spraying light coats & on the dry side is the way to do this. There is one thing I would like to mention about the paint on the NOS grill that I took a pic of. I have no personal experience and have not seen other NOS pieces painted this color by Nissan that have been stored away from natural light, but there seems to be a difference in my observation from what others have said. There is a fair amount of gloss that can be seen in the pic and pronounced by the camera flash. This is the way this part actually looks. I would call it a "sheen" and not a "gloss". It is like the sheen you would see on velvet. I would not describe the paint color as being flat at all. I believe the original paint dulled fairly quickly when exposed to sunlight.

Yep, without that number "46" and all the other details that Ron surely dedicated more time than we can imagine getting right, there is no comparison, as a tribute car. To me anyhow. Of course, I am a bit biased toward that number "46". That was the number of our best hitter on our ball team too! Edit: Sorry guys, I couldn't help myself.

Even if the intention was to use the same color throughout the S30 run, there would have to be slight variations that ocurred because of different parts suppliers for different parts, or even different application techniques, depending on the facility and equipment used. If one paint supplier was used for wheel covers. grills, rear tail light finisher panels, etc., there would still be different batch codes or date codes that would vary slightly. To me, close enough is close enough, but I understand how important it is to some to get it as close as possible. I took this pic of a NOS grill. On my monitor, it looks right but what you see may differ. The finish can best be described as a "satin" finish, with a very tight mottled coloring of shades of grey and a texture that feels similar to running your finger over a piece of well used 1200 grit wet sandpaper. You can feel a slight drag or resistance. I think you would need an actual example in order to duplicate the color & texture.

Surrounded by parks & baseball diamonds, I appropriately stuck my pin out in left field. It looks like Sailor Bob could win the "long distance driving award" at any West Coast meet!

Life as a chihuahua isn't all it's cracked up to be!

You drive it...everyone else will surely stare at it!! Can't comment on the relationship thing, but the time was well spent on your Z...beautiful!!

Here's another illustration that may help you connect it the way it was originally.

Not sure, could be a power inverter. Edit - I retract that answer. A power inverter would be mounted much closer to the battery I think.

Finesse-it 2 works well. It is made by 3M (05982). It is a finishing compound used for machine wheeling paint, but I use it to bring back the luster on plastic by hand polishing. You can remove imperfections and scratches first by wet sanding, graduating up to 1500 or finer grit before polishing. Be carefull not to obliterate the fine detail & original texture of the parts you are working on. Do a few test pieces to see what results you will achieve. There are dozens of equally good products available that will do the job, but Finesse-it 2 is my favorite. I do subsequent follow up cleanings when needed with a mist & polish with some Dunlop 65 that I buy at the music store. It's a cleaner/polish all in one formula developed for guitar cleaning that works really well.

Most of us Canuks are located pretty close to the US border...Hey, were just trying to stay warm! Arne - Are you leaving the link in your signature line like MikeW did with his Z registry, or is there a better place for both?

Nice!!

I don't have one yet! I was waiting for a limited edition poster but a calender will be nice too.

Well Tom, on the day of the judging on our arrival your car was the first I seen, parked in the long driveway you mentioned. Your car is instantly recognizable as being yours no matter where it is, because the color makes it really stand out. If you ever repaint it, keep it that color! I made it a point to look you up, and caught up with you later on giving your car a final buff & polish before judging. I met and spoke with many members of this site and missed some too. I did recognize many of the cars also. I agree with what Jeff said about some method being devised to link owners/cars. I was only a spectator, the day of the show with no responsibilities other than drinking in the beauty and enjoying myself, and seen how busy all the participants and judges were. It was a very enjoyable day.

There was never any question of who the seller was for me. I recognized the user name on Ebay and took xcyter's posts on this thread as a tongue in cheek response to others remarks about his car. I don't believe there ever was any deception intended, only his slanted version of defending his car, which by the way seems to be worthy of a good looking over. I just figure it must be tough for some people to take criticism of their much loved Z, deserved or not.

I did a quick search and found this thread that I remembered reading. It may be helpful. A quick fix until you find a better replacement. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14276&highlight=steering+wheel+zip+tie

One thing I have noticed about pictures taken by an amateur such as myself, is how bad a particular part or item can look in an Ebay ad, when in fact the part or item is actually in very good condition. The opposite is true for someone who is blessed in the art of photography. They can make a 25 footer look great and entice more people to bid. I would never rely on Ebay pics alone to make a judgement of a cars condition. We have all heard the horror stories. I'm sure some great deals have been missed also, where a well kept solid survivor didn't show well in the pics. If interested, go look it over or have someone else, who's opinion you trust check it out.