87mj

That looks very good. But in my opinion, it doesn't look correct. As odd as this will sound, I don't think the wheel on shipped cars was ever as light as depicted in the brochures. I remember mine being about the same color as what is on my '71. At the time, that car was about 5 years old. All the cars I have seen in person throughout the years had a cherry cast to the wheel.

Right. But somehow he has convinced his customers that he is. That is how he is able to sell cars at 2x their value which in turn contributes to artificially inflated values. Agree?

I owned a '73 in about 1978/79. I don't ever remember seeing any unrestored steering wheel that was as blond as those in the brochures. They all had that cherry tint to them. I sanded my '70 wheel and refinished it with poly. The cherry verses the blond streaks had much more contrast than I remembered so I applied a coat of dye over my poly to "cherry" it up a little. It is now pretty close to how my factory '71 wheel looks. Also, the shift knob never matched the wheel. Does anyone else remember differently?

EXACTLY. I know people are buying up these cars and their value is going up. But somehow, I am very skeptical of the BAT prices. BAT is a subculture. The bidders and commentary seem to be a "click" of a select few. Their comments seem to influence the bidding more than others. When they are gone from BAT, I think the gravy train will be over and price increases wont be as steep as they are now. The guild guy already mentioned sells "refreshed" cars for $60k. I own a car that after a nice 2 stage paint job would qualify as one he could buy and resell for $60k. I think he could sell my car for $60k because he is the "authority on all things Z". I on the other hand might get only $30k out of it since I am just some guy...His customers might not realize if they educated themselves, they could buy 2-3 clean cars for what they paid for one.

Can you point me to the carpet discussion? I have not seen that. Facebook? I need to work on my reading skills. I'm a skim reader. It always gets me in trouble.

I have a 60k mile car and a ~110k? mile car neither of which could be verified in a court of law. My observation was the pics of the front suspension seem to have quite a bit of surface rust for a 38k car.

I don't know if I can post a FB link here but just I case. The auction in Auburn is coming up. There are two ways to sell a car there. You can run it across the auction block. They also have a lot in the back where people can put a sign on it. https://www.facebook.com/auburnauctionpark/?eid=ARBi_0r2CkhC1AzyzDR-KB7S69tCBT0yCgpucXhl0qnPNy6Ua3phZL682OarSxdf9of6JJU0XfJB_wZw

So the old Z sent the vettes home? Great. I have been waiting on this day for 40 years.

I installed the barrel clips on the posts of my metal B pillar emblems and push them on without adhesive. They went in great. Then I put the barrel clips on the posts for the rear hatch and hood emblems. They went on just as easily although I had to press them in a bit harder. They were plastic. No adhesives. I haven't installed the front fender emblems yet but I don't expect any problems regardless of outdoor weather conditions.

I posted a similar question a few weeks ago. The recommendation I received was to install the clips on the posts. Then push the emblem into the holes. That would prevent the barrel clip from getting pushed through the back side of the fender. I followed that recommendation and it seemed to work for me. Maybe the librarian can sort this out and get back to us? :)

On one car I have 185/70/R14 that I bought about 4 years ago. For the other car, I bought 195/70/R14. That was just last year. Both sets are BF Goodrich Advantage TA. I don't race or drive hard. They don't see rain either so I have no idea if they are any good. But I have no complaints whatsoever. I am sure they are better than what came with the cars from the factory.

There is a fall in Auburn Indiana each labor day. About 3-4 years ago a '73 went on the block for around $25. That was a high price for that period. Plus it was brown with excessive sanding marks in it. You could drive there. I should also point out that the auction is very large. About 3 days long.

Just beware of the photos verses seeing it in person. That color seems to vary so much depending on the light conditions of a photo. Incandescent verses florescent, sunny days verses clouds and shade.

Personally, I wouldn't buy anything with an aftermarket sunroof. I'm out.

Was the heat wrap really asbestos? I thought I read somewhere where the '73 also came with an electric fuel pump. Is that correct?

I had a bad experience with flat tops as a teenager. I couldn't get them to run right so I took the car in for repair (about 1978-79). I had the carbs overhauled and the guy still couldn't get the car working right after 3 returns. It could easily be my ignorance but I would be scared to death to have them so I remain open minded about the flat tops. But... those hubcaps have got to go. :)

Thanks for everyone's input. Personally, I thought it was a little unusual that a 5300 vin car with a mfg date of 6/70 would have been titled as a '71 and not a '70. When I buy parts for it, I definitely say it is a '70. It was sort of funny looking back. I think if it were advertised as a '70, I dont think I could have bought it. The poor thing was on craigslist and advertised as a '71 for about 2-3 weeks and none of the "series 1" features/cues were included in any photos. Plus it was white and looked more rusted than it was. I popped the hood for the first time and saw the valve cover then looked at the door and inspected the vin & build date. I did a good job of keeping my composure. It was well worth the money in parts alone. Most of the original parts where still there including a fully in tact and functional hand throttle. But the bad news is the restore isn't going as smooth as I would have liked. And yes, I have one of those mid year '71 cars. Buying parts for that car be a little more subjective.

Does anyone know how to tell the difference between a Nissan replacement S30 front fender verses an aftermarket front fender? With the exception of the tabco replacement rockers & wheel arches, etc, front aftermarket fenders always seemed to be black at least from the pictures. And the Nissans were grey. Other than that, I wouldn't know how to tell the difference. I realize it has been awhile since they made them. Any way to tell? Thanks

I have a 6/70 5300 vin that is a '71. :)

I just bought one of those. The description said the left lever was the hood release and the right lever was for the gas tank filler door. No joke.

A couple of years ago, I bought a '71 off craigslist. I already owned a couple of '71 cars so I thought I knew what I was going to see. Long story short, when I arrived and started looking the car over, I popped the hood and saw the 2400 valve cover. Then I looked at the vin on the door jam. Its vin was hls30-05305 with a manufacture date of 6/70. I am curious why such an early car is a '71 and not a '70? A friend of mine said back then, the cars were titled based the year they left the dealership. Not when they were manufactured. Also, since the price went up each year, there was a compelling financial reason to title the car later in the year. Does anyone agree or disagree? Thanks

Theoretically, I might be installing emblems on a freshly painted car soon. I was curious what produced the best results when installing the emblems. Do you insert the barrel clips in the holes and press the emblem into them or do you insert the barrel clips over the posts and press everything into the holes? Thanks

Someone with more knowledge than be might be able to chime in with an exact date but there was a period between the series 1 & series 2 cars that had vertical glass, the early seats, and the older style center console but still had the c pillar vents like yours. Mine was built in 6/71 and is one of those cars. It had the c pillar vents like yours does, the vertical defrosters in the rear glass, the older seats you mentioned, tool bins in the rear deck and the older style console & radio with the large antenna switch. If you really would like to know, I good clue is the location of the transmission tunnel opening for the shift lever. The later series 2 cars moved the shift lever forward an inch or two which meant the older style console doesn't fit. The nasty flat top carbs didn't come along until '73 & the rims are aftermarket.

For what it is worth, I have an old series 1 I am restoring. My body mechanic blasted the inside, underneath and engine bay. Those things turned out fine. He didn't want to blast the body for fear of damaging it. He was very incompetent so I am glad he chose not to blast the body and sanded it instead.

After you have exhausted (?) all other possibilities, remove the left rear quarter interior plastic panel and the interior rear bezel that covers the rear tail lights. Park it in a garage and with the lights off, and from underneath the car and behind the rear wheel, shine a mag light flashlight up and look for light inside the cabin. There is a flat piece of sheet metal there which extends from the wheel well, around the antenna and to the rear valance. I found a small gap there. There are also numerous rubber plugs around hoses in the back that can deteriorate after 50 years.