v12horse

Stephen, are you planning to put your car in the show? If you are we should park next to each other. There could be a CZC area. I would have liked to go to MSA as well, but I had other obligations so I am planning to go to this show. I know there are going to be more people going to the Z convention? Don't be shy. Is anyone interested in having a 240z.org area where we would park next to each other? I hope to talk to you guys soon. -Ben:classic:

Yeah, I asked Kats if any Japanese owners were going to bring a ZG or 432. He said no. If there was going to be a 432-r I would cry out joy. hehehhe. This fascination of Zcars has become an obsession thanks to 240z.org. I am planning to go to the Z convention and I am very excited to be able to see Kats's car, meet him, and see other beautiful S30 cars. If I see any Fairlady Z's I am going to take extensive pictures, so be ready 2manyZ's. -Ben:classic:

You have gotton me interested. This link will help you some, but it will not fully answer your question to the association of SSR and R.S. Watanabe. If I find anything else I will post it. However, I am quite busy studying for finals. You can see what I do on my break. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9235&highlight=watanabe Take care, Ben

I am sure there are people that know more about this than I do, but I think there was a time when Watanabe was owned by Speed Star Racing and that is why it says that on your wheels. I think all of the rs8 style wheels, like the three piece ones that you own kyteler, are the ones made by ssr, but they are technically still Watanabe's. Now watanabe is not owned by SSR, but when these particular wheels were made I think it was because Watanabe had a financial chrisis and SSR owned them. I thought I read this somewhere. I could be totally wrong. Kyteler, go to the wheel section and look up watanabe. I think that is where I am getting this information. I think you should get another source about this topic, but I am sure this information is on the forum somewhere. Ben

I know why your working so hard Kats. I don't want to ruin the surprise if there is one. Ben:classic:

The more I see these, the more I like them. With a restoration, this one would be awesome. Which roadster came with the dual Solex carbs instead of the SU's? I thought it was a 2000 roadster, but I have never seen a picture of a car with them. How rare are the short windscreen cars? How rare is a 67' 2000 roadster. I hope this stirs up some interest. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6188&item=2476442796&rd=1 -Ben:classic:

That sounds really cool, but, hmmmm. What about the threat of non-s30 Z's. I know I sound like a Z Hitler. What do you guys think? Drakes beach or no Drakes beach? Santa Cruz still sounds cool to me, but I am open for suggestions. -Ben

That sounds good to me. What does the rest of the guys think? What is the Z zone? Ben

Did most of the undercarriage parts have identifications on them such as the one you restored Kats? If so, what could these markings tell us? Thanks in advance, Ben

Well, it is your car. Don't let someone tell you that you can't do what you want to do to it. You can still modify it and be able to put it back to oem later on if that is your choice. It would be cool if cosmetically it would be dead stock BP, and there was a turbo under the hood, but if you change out the engine, keep the old block for if you want to make it oem when you do get the money later on. Any restoration is going to be expensive, and if you are going to go with an L28et, I think it would be more than restoring the stock L28. Good luck, and no matter what people say, no matter how you mod it, your car IS a Black Pearl. -Ben

I was also thinking of a nice drive. Marc has recommending the beach, so maybe a drive on hghway 1 would be nice. I have this Bay Area Backroads Deck, so here are some suggestions from it: 1. www.safariwest.com This would be cool. It is supposed to be like a Safari; lions, zebras, and giraffes. This is probably 1.5-2 hours away from the east bay. 2. Pescadero; it is along Highway 1 and has a cool light house. This would be a nice drive. It would probably be about 1.5-2hrs away as well. 3. Mt. Hamilton- This would be a nice technical drive and we may get some nice hiking in too. It is only 20min east of San Jose. 4. Monterey is always nice. 5. The 17 mile drive( I think it is 17?)- This is a beautiful drive near Monterey as well. From where most of us are at, it is probably 2-3 hours away. 6. The Santa Cruz mystery spot.- I have never been there, but I have always wanted to go. This is Craigs area, so maybe he could tell us about it. I hope that some of these seem interesting. If not, say so and we can decide on a place that we will all like. We need more people!!! J/k, three people is fine, but more is better. Hehehehe. -Ben

Welcome to the forum and congradulations on becoming a Z owner. Everyone is very helpful here and their combined knowledge has gigs upon Gigabytes of info on Z's and Z parts, so you are in the right spot. Some of us Bay Area people are having a northern cali meet sometime in the near future, so if you are interested that would be great. -Ben

According to Zhome.com there were only 1200-1500 made. So, it is pretty rare. Be proud and restore it to oem specs. If you install the factory alloy wheels that Stephen has on his car, it would give the car an awesome oem/enthusiast look. Look at the auction of the black pearl that I posted in the other thread to see exactly what it would look like. Congrats to you on having a "Black Pearl." Ben

Errr, I can't do anything next weekend. It is Mother's Day. The weekend after that would be good though.

Are the spokes painted or are they the natural metal? I would assume that they are painted silver. Hmm, I wouldn't use the nevr dull on them. I would just try a scrub brush and some soap and water. If that doesn't do the trick, try and use a cleaner that will not remove paint.

Your wheels looked awesome before, now they have been taken to a new level. The polishing takes a while, but it is worth it. You did a great job Marc. Now all you need are those Panasport stickers for the edge of the rim.

I know that this show is not for a while, but is there any northern Californians planning to go to the Z Convention on June 19th? I am pretty sure that I am going to go, but I still have to make all my reservations. If there is anyone from northern cali going we should caravan down. p.s. This is in regards to everyone, not just the northern Cali people. Who is planning to go to the show? Here is the website for the Z Convention: http://www.groupz.com/zcca2004/index.html Take care, Ben

Hi everyone, Marc (280z) and I have been talking and we want to have another meet. Last time there was 5 of us old school Z's and hopefully there will be a better turn out for this upcoming meet. When: The time to meet would be on a weekend obviously, but what weekend I am not sure. Lets have a meet no sooner than 2 weekends from now. Saturday or Sunday is fine with me. Where: I don't know, throw out some ideas. Marc and I are in the Bay area so, somewhere in that vicinity. Okay, who ever would be interested in having a meet post here. Post when you are availible and what would be cool for a meet. The last meet that we had was a drive up Mt. Diablo. I was thinking of another drive like that and lunch, but throw out some suggestions. -Ben:classic:

I am not sure, but yours is most likely a black pearl then. Post some pictures. I am sure someone could tell you how to distinguish if it was a black pearl. Check the paint code plate. That will tell you since the black pearl was the first to be black. If you have the black paint code on that plate, chances are that it is a black pearl. I hope that is helpful. Maybe someone with some more knowledge could speak on this topic. Take care, Ben

Just og to www.zhome.com and scroll down and it has information on the 1978 black pearl edition 280z. Here is a really nice example that did not sell on ebay. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=2474975093&category=6187&sspagename=WDVW

Here you are: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=11710 Ben

The only place that I really see watanabe's for sale is on ebay motors. 16'' would be harder to find for a Z, but they are out there. I totally agree with you on keeping the car JDM because a set of Wats would look great on your car. Talk to 26th-Z because I think he knows a guy that sells watanabe wheels. Ben