MikeW

I'd say the compression ratio could be determined from the pressure but only theoretically. Besides having the barometric pressure vary according to weather and altitude, the biggest problem would be the condition of the engine itself. How could you tell the difference between a low compression ratio and an engine with a high compression ratio with pressure leaking past the rings or valves?

Enrique, That picture clearly shows that the panel was modified from the original as you'll notice that the center switches have a label added whereas the right switches still show the choke warning symbol. I'd be surprised if that change was made at the factory but I suspect Alan will fill us in. Here's what my panel looks like:

You might want to post some pictures but from your description it sounds like it's been heavily customized. It most certainly did not leave the factory like that. I would be very wary of such a car.

Found using Google's image search ...

I don't know where the switch should go as I don't think I have an unused molded area. I assume that it would be somewhere around the hazard switch or lighter but I don't really see a spot there.

My understanding is that all cars have the fog light wiring in the harness but taped off. There are also holes drilled in the bottom of the front bumper for the fog lights. http://www.automedic.org/smzcc/tech_tips.htm#lights

My understanding is that these were dealer-installed options, not from the factory.

The seats appear to be the factory vinyl, not leather as indicated. Also, I don't understand why a car with such low miles would have had the engine bay painted black at some point.

I'm fairly certain that those gentleman were long gone from Nissan when this program was conceived. If they were involved to any degree I suspect they would have simply been paid to make appearances but not to criticize the program. My understanding is that the whole purpose behind the program was to fill the void left by the departure of the 300ZX (Z32) from the U.S. market after the 1996 model year. That particular car continued to be sold elsewhere in the world so it makes sense that the restoration program was specific to the U.S. As Alan and others have repeatedly pointed out it is misleading to use the word "factory" in the title. I can't find any references where Nissan actually used the word but others certainly have. Here's a link to the aforementioned checklist in Adobe PDF format. http://jasonjarvis.com/240ZRestorationprogram.pdf

Keep in mind that there was plenty of overlap between so-called model years. My very early '72 has plastic headlight buckets and vertical defroster lines and was actually made before some late '71 models. I wouldn't let the steering wheel and hatch vents influence you're take on the car. Most '71 models did not have those features but there's a good chance that an early '71 would.

Perhaps a used filler tube in reasonably good condition would be better than trying to fabricate something: http://www.zparts.com/ads/restoration/restore_index.html

http://www.datsunzparts.com/start.htm

It's actually felt-covered rubber. Perhaps your felt wore off. I got mine from MSA recently at the same time I got a weatherstrip kit.

Reminds me of a joke I saw recently: While waiting for my first appointment in the reception room of a new dentist, I noticed his certificate, which bore his full name. Suddenly, I remembered that a tall, handsome boy with the same name had been in my high school class some 30 years ago. Upon seeing him, however, I quickly discarded any such thought. This balding, gray-haired man with the deeply lined face was way too old to have been my classmate. After he had examined my teeth, I asked him if he had attended the local high school. "Yes," he replied. "When did you graduate?" I asked. He answered, "In 1971. Why?" "You were in my class!" I exclaimed. He looked at me closely and then asked, "What did you teach?"

I agree and $600 is more than I'd want to pay myself. Since Will apparently bought that particular pair I'd say that fair market value is whatever he paid. If the main reason he bought them was to be able to reproduce them and sell a bunch then that means they're probably worth more to him that someone else to just wants to use them. That might explain why they didn't sell at $600 for a long time.

Well, that's a surprise. I take it that the previous owner bought all of those replacement before letting the car rust in a field. It wouldn't make sense to start collecting parts without making any attempt to preserve the rest. We'll all be interested in seeing more pictures as you start digging in more ...

I'm guessing that's really "has ONE pair" and is "asking" for 600 bucks.

Absolutely. I have first hand experience with this making the gloveboxes. I started out making them completely by hand and as more people asked for them I improved the process by making templates and jigs. While I still haven't really broken even I am able to make them better and faster only because people were willing to buy them from me. Otherwise I would have stopped with the prototype that I installed in my car. I hope that Will can make the headlight covers work out as it's to the benefit of all of us. Others have talked of making braided hoses, etc. The more we can collectively support this kind of work the better. Nissan will certainly never start providing these parts again and the market is only getting smaller as these cars rust away.

My little magnet sticks to the headlight rings with about the same amount of force as it sticks to the bumper, the body of the car, and a piece of steel sheet metal. Strangely enough, it also sticks very well to the trim around the windshield which I thought was stainless. It does not stick to my headlight buckets (mine are plastic) and it does not stick to my side mirrors which are chrome plated but must be nickel or brass.

Stephen: I think you're confused by the other thread discussing headlight covers, not the ring that retains the actual headlight. From what I can tell it's not actually stainless steel as it's magnetic. See attached picture of a magnet sticking to mine. I know this the hard way as I have a stainless steel refrigerator and the ubiquitous magnets don't stick to it.

I understand the plexiglass mold part. What about the stainless steel trim rings? That seems like the more difficult part of the process.

I sent a simple question regarding the shipping price instead of specifically asking about Chloe. We'll see if that makes a difference.

Wow, it looks like you've got a lot of interest here. I'd certainly buy a set for that. How do you anticipate being able to do it for that price? It seems like it would take an awful lot of work just to get up to speed on the manufacturing process.

The <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx">Microsoft PowerToys for Windows XP</a> package has a nice context menu image resizer. When you're browsing image files on your disk using windows explorer you can simply right-click on an image and choose "Resize Pictures". You're then given a choice of which size you'd like and whether or not to overwrite the original. It's a lot quicker and easier than having to load the image into a graphics editing program.

One simple-minded approach is to look for wear on the clutch, brake, and gas pedals. While these can easily be replaced it's more likely that a car that's really gone 112,000 (or 212,000) miles will show plenty of wear. It would be really unusual for a car to have only 12,000 and I would expect it to be in amazingly good shape.