Randalla

We’ve had an excellent response to our year-end chrome plating sale and a lot of last minute interest. A number of people have indicated they need to do some disassembly before shipping their parts, with the holidays getting in the way of that. So, we’ve agreed to extend the sale a few days to accommodate those individuals and any others of you who may have come late to the party. We will honor our sale pricing another 10 days, for all parts received at our depot by 1/10/2015. Let me know if there are any parts you’d like quoted. Contact me at vintagechromellc@gmail.com. Randy

Hi Roy, I also have a 67 1600, and yes we can help you with each of the parts you asked about. We're plating each of these items for other customers currently. It's probably best if you contact me at our company email address (vintagechromellc@gmail.com) so we don't offend any of the Z only guys. Thanks for inquiring, we'd be more than happy to provide a quote. If your parts have significant damage, bad dents, rust, etc. it would be helpful to have you send a few pics so we can provide an accurate quote. Randy

Hi Geoff, This is Randy, Mike's business partner. Mike's headed out of town and may not have computor access the next couple of days so I thought I'd jump in. If you have questions while he's gone feel free to contact me offline at vintagechromellc@gmail.com and I'll provide the details on shipping and turn time. I recently sold a set of the hood vents and I believe you're right, the vents themselves are plastic, with a metal backing plate they attach to. Randy

Mike, Your last post reminded me that we currently have two sets of 260/280Z bezels (like the ones on your car) in for plating, that will become part of our limited inventory. We should have those back in the next 2-3 weeks. If you don't have cores to exchange and are interested in purchasing these, contact us right away at vintagechromellc@gmail.com. We have very few sets of these bezels available and may not receive more for months. Randy

Jim, thanks for the kind words about the tail lamp bars I reproduced. You've raised my curiosity about the possibility of reproducing the bumper guard rubbers. I have an excellent off-shore supplier (the same that did my tail light bars) who also specializes in rubber parts. Size is not an issue as you've indicate it might be for Steve. I need to do more research to see if there's enough demand to warrant the sizable investment. I know the 70-72 models are one size and 73's are different (both front and rear I believe). What I don't know is the availability and potential demand for each. I seem to recall that some were available, at one time, from MSA, Banzai and/or Black Dragon. I need to research what's currently available, at what cost and from whom. I'd be interested in using this post to gauge interest from members.

If you’re looking for “restoration quality” tail lamp bars for your 240Z, I’m confident these are the best you’ll find. Molds were created from a set of perfect OEM parts. I wanted to be sure all the appropriate mold marks were there (L and R for left and right) and that each part was dimensionally perfect, right down to the length and diameter of the mounting pins. Each part has been triple chrome plated to assure they will standup to the elements. My supplier produces parts for the OEM auto market, so you can be assured of their quality. Here are a few pictures of the tail lamp bars ready to ship. Parts are shipped in a poly bag, the fastening hardware loosely attached to the appropriate mounting posts and an instruction sheet is inserted to help with disassembly and reassembly. I carefully inspect and test fit each set with a set of tail lamps, prior to shipping. Poly bags are packed in slightly oversized boxes stuffed with packing material to assure damage free delivery. Tail lamp bars are $190 a pair, which includes everything you’ll need to install them. The price also includes shipping anywhere in the U.S. or Canada. E-mail me at: parallax.randy.lewis@gmail.com to order or should you have any questions. I’m offering quantity discounts to retailers or for individual orders over 20 units.

Dennis, If you're interested, I am beginning to ship parts tomorrow. E-mail me at parallax.randy.lewis@gmail.com

Thanks for your order Carl. Will get them off to you this week.

Just a reminder that I will begin shipping 240Z tail lamp bars this coming week. If you are interested in ordering, e-mail me at parallax.randy.lewis@gmail.com letting me know how many sets you'd like me to set aside. PLEASE MAKE SURE TO INCLUDE YOUR MAILING ADDRESS. Before shipping I will send you a PayPal invoice. As soon as I receive payment confirmation from PayPal, your shipment will be in the mail. Thanks guys.

Zup, small point, but wanted to let you know how painstakingly my focus on quality was. You may or may not know that the three fastening pins for each bar are two different sizes and as a result so are the push nuts which are included. The two nut sizes are just 1/16" different but I wanted to be sure they were right. Thanks for recognizing the subtleties.

Below are the photos I promised earlier.

Have picture that I will be uploading soon. Currently having some issues but count on them later today.

I’ve been following this thread for some time, watching to see if someone would reproduce 240Z tail light bars, what the quality would be like and what the cost would be. Several here have promised to make them available, but to date no one has parts in any quantity to sell. My name is Randy Lewis. I’ve owned many, many early Z’s, 510’s and Roadsters and have been part of the Datsun community for over 20 years. I drive and show my cars frequently. I’m regularly accused of being anal about quality and I’m always complimented on how my cars show. In February, I was encouraged to reproduce 240Z tail lamp bars by local club members. I can personally attest to the cost to reproduce complex parts to OEM quality standards. The cost of the tooling alone is thousands of dollars. This is not a venture for the weak of heart. Never the less, I made the decision to proceed seven months ago. I determined I would only do this if I could offer OEM or better quality. I’ve forwarded my production samples to several well-known and respected individuals in the Z community (including MotorSport Auto in Orange, CA) to validate production quality. I’ve received a volume of pre-orders based on their assessment. My parts are triple chrome plated and have all the proper mold marks on them, as the tooling was produced from OEM parts I provided my supplier. The black paint fill in the center of the bar is identical to the originals. Each set of bars (left and right) will be shipped in poly bags, complete with the correct push-on fasteners and installation instructions. I guarantee the quality of the parts you receive. If you’re unhappy, you can return them for a full refund within 30 days, less the cost of postage. • Tail lamp bars sold as a pair (right and left sides) • $175 for the pair plus postage • $15 flat rate postage anywhere in the U.S. (except bulk orders) • Package sent Priority Mail (insured) • Orders for 20 or more pair discounted 10% • PayPal accepted for payment. • Orders accepted immediately • Shipping to begin within 10 days I don’t know how long my initial run will last but I’d encourage you to act fairly quickly as these parts have been in demand for some time and I’ve already committed some of my initial production run. Orders will be received via e-mail at: parallax.randy.lewis@gmail.com You’ll be advised via e-mail when your order is ready to ship. Order will ship as soon as I receive payment notification from PayPal.

Further update. Limped the car home today and removed the booster to see if I had any available adjustment between the booster and the master cylinder. Based on what I had been hearing, I needed to shorten the actuating rod to allow more free play so the brake fluid would in the master would bleed back, after letting up on the brake. My understanding from what I have read is that if the rod is too long, with too little free play, the brake fluid will expand as it heats up after a number of braking stops, eventually locking the brakes. The pictures show what I found. The reaction disc is not attached to the piston end of the rod but it is in place inside the booster and the piston is flush with it when assembled. As you can see, the rod can not be adjusted shorter, as far as I can tell. The rubber grommet looks is in two pieces (looks to have come apart) and the metal toothed retaining ring has a break in it in one place. When I push in the actuating rod on the pedal side of the booster, it sounds like the rubber seal inside is OK as I can hear vacume but I'm not sure how to test it further.

I did find the leak at the passenger side rear where the hose and steel brake line met. I took them apart, applied some teflon tape and reassembled. I've been checking this area since and everything is now dry.

New update. Today I loosened the nuts holding the master to the booster and gained about 1/4" in order to see if more travel would solve the brakes locking. After driving the car about 5-6 miles I thought that had solved the problem, however a short while later the problem returned. This time however I checked the temperature of the rotors and drums. The drums were cool, so I'm pretty sure they are not the problem. The fronts on the other hand were very hot and there was lots of black brake dust on the wheels and the drivers side rotor was heavily glazed. So check me on this...since the front brakes seem to be the culprit and the rears are cool, can I rule out the master and the booster? The front brake calipers are the Toyota truck upgrade and they have been in place and working flawlessly for more than 10 years. Now I'm wondering if a have a bad brake caliper/cylinder, or if the front/rear biasing valve is hanging up and causing this condition. I should also say that the pedal seems to gradually get harder the longer the car is driven with less and less free play.

Zed Head, I like your idea of loosening the bolts holding the MC to the BB a bit. Makes sense if what you guys are suggesting the problem is. Creating a little free play without taking everything down again should verify this is where the problem is. I won't get to it till later in the week but will report back and let you know if that solves the issue. Thanks again guys.

Guys, thanks for the quick replies. FYI, I did not change the adjustment on the rod between the pedal rod and the booster when assembling. The rod between the master and the booster on my car has no adjustment, it's a solid rod with a small piston on one end and a bullet shaped end on the other. Again, the only new variable I added was a new master. Is it possible the new master is different in some way from the one replaced?

I have a 72 240Z with stock brake components. The other day I backed out of my garage and noticed a very soft pedal. I discovered the front brake cylinder reservoir was nearly empty, so filled it back up. I had a little more pedal, but obviously air had gotten in the line. I didn't see any fluid on the floor so assumed (I know, a bad idea) that I might have a bad master cylinder and maybe it had bled into the booster. While taking the master and booster out I was looking for fluid that had gotten past the seals in the master and perhaps contaminated the booster (all was dry). Since the master had a life-time warranty, I went and got a new one. Figured it couldn't hurt. I bench bled the new master before installing, re-bled the master back into the reservoirs once everything was back together and then bled the brakes in the proper sequence. Everything seemed good, nice high pedal and the car stopped great while testing it close to home. On a longer run however (5 miles) I began smelling brake lining just before the brakes locked up, causing me to have to pull off the road to let them cool down. My wife had pulled the emergency brake on while pumping the pedal for me (I usually just leave the car in gear) which I only noticed after pulling off. I was sure after releasing the parking brake and letting things cool down that everything would be fine, which it was until driving the same distance again (5 miles) when it locked up again. So, I'm not sure at this point what's going on. It seems like the brakes get progressively tighter as the car is driven. The pedal gets very hard before the car becomes undrivable. I should also say that I removed all four wheels and inspected to see if there was any brake fluid seepage. I found one line, at the passenger side rear, which was a little damp so I tightened everything up which seemed to stop the leak. Sorry for the long post but I wanted to provide as much information as possible to help diagnose. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.

Swapped out my stock springs for Eibach Progressives. Left the KYB inserts alone as they had less than 20K miles on them. The springs did drop my car the advertised amount (1 1/4 inches) but now one side of the rear of the car sits at least an inch lower than the other. The fronts measure the same. My ride has gone south and feels like I am getting irregular bouncing when going over bumps. I have two questions. Is it possible that I blew out one of my rear strut inserts with the Eibachs and that's why one side is sitting lower than the other? Could one blown out insert make the car bounce as much as I am experiencing? I know about the supposed incompatibility for Eibach Progressives and KYB's but it seems strange to me that one side actually now sits lower than the other. I'm not happy with the look or the ride. I'm considering replacing all the insert with Tokikos but want to make sure that's going to solve the problem before shelling out $400.

Looks like some Tokiko's are in my future. I'm currently running Panasports and 215-65-16 inch Hankook tires. Thanks guys for weighing in.

Two months ago I purchased a set of Eibach Progressive springs and installed them on my 72 240Z. My goal was to lower the car about an inch, which the springs accomplished. I did not install new strut cartridges when replacing the springs however because the KYB struts had no more than 10K miles on them. My ride at this point is pretty awful, very bouncy. I'm wondering if this spring/strut combination is not compatible or if maybe the struts are shot or blown out. The car rode and handled fine before the new springs. Anybody have a similar experience and find a solution? I've read through the posts on springs and struts but did not find this specific problem. I'm tempted to replace the KYB's with Tokiko's but I don't want to drop $400 if that wont solve the problem.

SteveJ, I also have a 1972 with Pertronix. My tach works fine and I have not wired around the ballast resistor. When I wired around the BR the coil got too hot to touch because the current was not being stepped down. Wondering if the issue may be the coil on the car. Pertronix has several coils, each with their own internal resistance values. I'm certainly no expert but wondering if someone else can either confirm or dispel my theory.

Hey Rich, I was there last night as well. Agree, it was a very nice evening all the way around, well organized, plenty of food and nice atmosphere. By the way the 1971 yellow 240Z you photographed is one of my Z cars. I'm bringing a different one to the show tomorrow. I live in Scottsdale so have the luxury of being able to bring down any of my Z's. Also just posted my early 260Z in the classifieds section. If there is any interest from anyone at the show, I'd be happy to arrange to see it. I'll look for your name tag.

I went last year for the inaugural and took two cars. This year it's a three day event. Really a lot of fun last year. I'd highly recommend it!