AZ-240z

Arne, I have my boot and have been attempting to take physical measurements of the grommet as accurately as possible without removing it from the boot and possibly damaging the it. It appears to just slip into a hole in the material but I'm going to be safe, for now, with a brand new boot. If I can make a drawing of the grommet and figure out how to scan it into the computer, (not easy for the illiterate computer guy), I'll post what I have. The quest for the Grommet continues. Dan

Interesting that this search for shift boot grommet topic came up. I have a NOS early shift boot that will be going on my car, but have recently been looking for a source for this grommet, myself. My thought was to have this boot reproduced before I install it, if there appeared to be any sort of demand. If anyone is able to come up with a part number for this grommet, I will be keeping an eye on this thread. Japan supplier can often find impossible items. Dan

Jim, I would say that there is a lot of hope for your having a numbers matching car. My car is numbers matching, about 2,000 numbers older than yours, and my engine is just shy of 6,000 numbers greater than my vin. It is one of the last series 1 cars produced with a build date of 1/71. Dan

I'll put in my 2 cents. I don't have my car here, but, as I recall, the bolts pass through a cover plate and then screw into the block. If you were to remove the timing chain cover plate, I think you will find that the thin bolt probably snapped off outside of the block. You will need to use a pair of vice grips to grasp the remainder of the bolt and unscrew it from the block. Trying to go through the cover plate with some kind of easy out is looking for disaster in my opinion, until you actually look to see what it looks like at the surface of the block. In the early days of the 240z with the metal fans, this was a very common problem when replacing water pumps gone bad with the use of these early, heavy metal radiator fans. Hope this helps in your discovery of the easiest plan for a repair. Dan

Chris, my only point was to describe the original paint texture as being slightly sandy, ie., matchbook scratcher, to the feel. As to how this was accomplished, Wick Humble developed a formula of Gray Lacquer paint with a suede agent added as described in his Datsun Z-Car restoration book. If you have obtained the original paint code and formula, I would love to have a copy of it. I have a NOS set of these hub caps still in the paper bags, except for one, that I use to confirm paint texture and color accuracy.

Gary, when these were new, the paint texture has been described as a match scratch surface. If you ran your finger over the scratch surface of a box of matches, that is pretty much the texture of the original finish. As a result, one had to be very careful not to get wax or any other contaminates on the paint as it was nearly impossible to clean up. The front grill and the taillight surrounds were painted with the identical paint. I am sure that if Les handles this, it is a pretty close match. Dan

Gary, Nice job with the paint job. Does the aerosol paint you got from Les have the same texture, kind of a rough or match scratch surface, as was original to these wheels? I'm restoring a set of these and need to get some paint on them. Thanks. Dan

Jerry, Thanks for the great picture. It is shaped a little differently than I had remembered. Could you measure the approximate hole diameter that this grommet fits, and tell me the year or vin of your parts car? Dan

adjer, the person I have always gone to for this kind of help has been Mike at Banzai Motorwork, www.zzxdatsun.com. I am sure he would be of assistance in either finding a source for this plate, or possibly having one in his inventory. Good luck. Dan

Hello All. First I would like to offer best my wishes for a Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday Season to everyone. In my quest for originality, I have been searching for a part which I haven't found on our Parts CD. This is the rubber grommet which is used for the antenna mast and motor drain tube which located in the rear deck below the antenna location. I know that the grommet is shaped similarly to the throttle rod boot in the firewall, but, I would really like to find the real deal. Although the CD has been invaluable to me, I am hoping that some of you may have a more complete paper parts catalog showing a part number for this item. It would, also, be terrific if someone had one of these grommets still intact and could post a good picture of it. I know that this is a very obscure part, rarely seen unless you crawl under a wheel well, but, for me, that's the fun part of originality, like pealing an onion. If a good example could be found, doing a reproduction may be a rare find for others. Thanks, and again, best wishes for a terrific Holiday. Dan

moonpup, What a great tool to have at your disposal. Thanks a zillion for running my #s in your parts price list. Looks like I definitely lucked out, and now have a multi-use part. Thanks, again, for taking the time to check this out for me. Dan

Need a little help for anyone who has a good set of parts manuals for All Datsuns. I found an NOS part, but it was not the correct part for my 1970 Z. Can anyone tell me the purpose and car model part # 25230-89903 is for? The part I was looking for is #25230-E4100 which is the rear window heater relay. #25230-89903 does not show up in the parts CD. Thanks for any input. Dan

Warren, If you have a 240z, by removing the heater control panel in the center of your dash, you open up a large access hole to easily reach all five instruments. To remove the heater control panel, there are three or four wire cables which must first be disconnected from their respective vents under the dash. Hope this helps. Dan

Chris, ie., 27th Z, The above quote just made me remember, someone on ebay has reproduced the early, suction cup looking, hood bumpers like Kats has. Just thought I would mention this for all of you early Z car purists. I, too, am in that purist catigory, just don't have bragging rights to the very early series 1 cars. I'll try to find an item # on ebay if it is still around. Dan Edit: I just found the ebay item number for those early bumpers if anyone is interested. Item #280054811432

Bruce, Check out ebay item #290057100569 for a good look at the labels. Or, for $187 you can have a new heater control panel with new labels. Dan

Thanks Enrique, Arne, Zak, I will give the modeling paint you have suggested a go. My main point of concern is, will is stick, or adhere to the chrome Plating? My experience has been that paint will just flake off of chrome unless there is some form of chemical bonding taking place. Zak, I did see your thread in the archives about your hood ornament and others that concern themselves with paint on plastic emblems. Thanks, again, all. Dan

Enrique, Thanks for the reply. Are you saying that this modeling paint has good adhesive qualities on chrome, as these emblems are the early chromed pot metal, as well as the plastic they were meant to bond with? I don't think flexability is as much an issue as just getting some kind of paint to bond to a very smooth chromed surface. Have you used these paints on chromed metal? Thanks, Enrique, and let me know what you think. Dan

Yesterday, I was searching through a friends inventory of old parts he was selling and lucked across a pair of metal quarter panel 240Z emblems for early cars that mount just behind the quarter windows. They are both almost perfect, chrome is like new as is most of the paint. The car these were mounted on was, obviously, well cared for and polished frequently as the only problem with these emblems is some of the black paint at the edges had been polished off. I am trying to find out if anyone has had any success in touching up paint on these metal, chromed emblems and getting paint to adhere to the chrome. I thought of getting a product called Bulldog which is supposed to promote adhesion before painting. Does anyone know of a process or paint that has the correct properties to allow good adhesion to chrome? It would be nice to know what process the manufacturer used in painting these chrome emblems. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. For those who remember, it has been some time, I am still working on reproducing those red on silver master vac decals. They have morfed through numerous visits to the sign shop doing them to try to get them as close to original as possible. I am working with the shop on his time schedule, but hope to have something to post for those interested in the near future. Dan

Jerry, There is a guy, web site is www.zeddsaver.com, who, the last time I talked with him, said he was refurbishing tail lights. He has a fairly extensive ability to acquire NOS parts, and may be a good contact for you. His name is Norm Murphy, located in Canada and is very knowledgeable. Also, it is rare, but some platers can do actual chrome on plastic, not vaccum plating. Hope this helps. Dan

I believe it is 15.9 Gal, U.S.

Jerry, I just got out a box of kleenex and am mentally prepared to feel horrible. So, lay it on me, what are all the parts you stashed away? Dan

Derek, I've done business, occasionally, with the seller of your filter housing and he seem to come up with some very nice NOS parts rarely seen anywhere else. I believe him to be a very creditable seller, just my personal opinion, with a very good track record. I just took a look at my copy of the early brouchure of the 240Z, the one with the green cover with quarter pillar emblem picture. Inside is a picture of the engine compartment showing the filter housing with no decals. your housing, if original, may be a very early one with one of the first decals placed on the housing. I would go to www.zzxdatsun.com and drop Mike McGinnis an email with pictures and questions he may answer for you. He is extremely knowledgable and a nice person to talk with. Just my 2 cents. Let us know what you find out. Dan

Moonpup, I agree with you in theory. I believe that there has been an agreement as to the judging standards for hoses on our cars. There is to be no points deducted for rubber, not braided hoses, as I have been told. Although some braided hoses show up from time to time on ebay, I have never seen a NOS pair of master vac braided hoses for sale in the last five or six years. If anyone has a set of these, lets talk. For my car, I would like to have a full compliment of braided hoses just for my own satisfaction so that it would appear as close to original as possible. Unless someone is fortunate enough to have an extremely nice, original survivor car, I know that there was at least one at the last national show, most restored cars will have some reproduction parts such as decals, seat covers, carpeting and jute, etc. I will probably never stop looking for the real mccoy, but, for me, compromise will not deminish the enjoyment of returning my car to as close to original as possible. I appreciate what you are saying, moonpup, I just think that there are too many parts that will never be available in NOS form, except reproductions. Dan

I was talking with one of the lesser know Z car parts suppliers not too long ago, I don't want to mention his name until I get more info from him. He mentioned that he was trying to acquire a machine which would braid new hoses to duplicate the original braided hoses many of us would like to find. Paying big $$$$ for those NOS hoses my become a thing of the past if he is successful. I will certainly provide any updates when new info is forthcomming.