hls30.com

See post #24, I would like clarification on the differences in TIRs lenses and OEM. Will

Stephen, I appologize if what I have posted on either of the threads I posted to in this situation has led you to believe that the lenses already exist, that was not my intention. As noted on the CLearZ web site: "will can send his lenses" Clear Z website ( http://klearz.com/zcar.html#8 ) By the way, the photo of the taillight posted on the referenced page is one of my pictures. I do not want to get into a problem with Mr. Thacker, I just want more information about his lenses. WIll

I am in this as well, and here is the factual story of what has happened from ClearZ-if there has been confusion on this site, it is because of me, and not deception on their part. 1) I contacted ClearZ on or about 3/1/05 to find out the particulars of having the USA version of the taillight lenses reproduced-the thread proving this is located here: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16625&highlight=klearz Reproduction taillight lenses were not advertized as existing at the time of my contact. 2) ClearZ has never said they have the lenses-if they had: A)they would not require deposits on the lenses for making molds. B)I would not need to send a set or two in for making the molds. C)I would not have posted a poll to find out what people want. I don't see these facts that are clearly within the text of this thread as confusing or misleading anyone into thinking the lenses already exist. As to the use of the photos, I do not have an answer for that, the only photos I have used in this situation have been photos of my own NOS set of lenses, or the three nearly perfect used sets I have. I have never used a photo that I didn't take to illustrate the lenses in question-what appears on the web that is not on my site or in my post on a thread, I have no control over or comment on. Mr. Thacker, I have been told that your lenses are clear and then painted on the inside. As I have posted earlier, this information came from a member who says he has a pair of your lenses; and I have not seen a set of your lenses. In your ad you state something to the effect that your "lenses are as close as Nissan will let you come"-what are the differences that they required? Stating that there are differencs and not telling me what they are does confuse me about what I am buying. To really "clear all the confusion up for this problem" what should be done is to show(not tell) us the differences between the OEM lenses and the reproductions you make. With a $90,000 investment, they should be clearly superior to any proposed reproduction, and you should be proud of demonstrating why they are! Thank you for any explanation! William Stokes

Enrique and the others here have covered it pretty well, so I have only one other thing to add. When you are new to a car and uninformed about what should have come with it, and how it should look, other than doing what you have done(get with some certifiable enthusiasts), you should get(buy or borrow) a factory servcie manual (and or the Factory owners manual) for the year or model you are after. The variation between the 240Zs other than the changes in the console/decklid/carbs, and quarter vents were not that great. If you are willing to spend 8K for a car, even spending $150-200 for all of the FSMs (if you can't borrow them) for the model is cheep insurance, and will result in having the proper resources to take care of the car after your purchase. I also suggest getting a copy of the Wick Humble restoration guide, as it will tell you what to look for in terms of repairs that may have been made. If you can't take a well versed Z buddy, take both the FSM and the Restoration guide with you when looking at the car, if the car doesn't match the books, you should have more questions and a better frame of reference from which to ask them. A little variation should be expected-mid year changes that didn't make it into the manual... WIll

Someone across the pond might be interested in these, but you better hurry! http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8018792150&ssPageName=ADME:B:EF:US:1 WIll

They should be the same except for the turboZXs which had CV shafts instead of half shafts. Will

They should bolt right up, the std tranny rear should have a different ratio, so take the sending unit out of the std tranny and exchange it with that of the auto to keep the speedo right. WIll

There are those who inflict disrespect on both sides of this fence, before any of you get your dander up, step into the others shoes. I don't want to live next door to a salvage yard, but at the same time I don't want cardogman or anyone else telling me what I can or can't do with something I bought and paid for. When I put the parts car in my yard, and chose to keep it looking like a part of our daily transportation, I had no idea that my neighbors life was so empty she spent it examining my lawn. When I noticed her automatic sprinckler system was set to water every day-going against the city wide ordinance of each side of the street every other day-I went to visit. When I found her not at home, I wrote her a very polite note which included my name, address and phone number. My assumption was that she didn't know about the ordinance, and would look into it and comply with it-after all, it was there for a good reason. I respected her enough to allow her the opportunity to rectify the situation on her own, and my actions proved that. Some people use any excuse to try to exert control over another. Respect goes both ways, a neighborhood does not go down hill over one house in even several months. Frequently, knocking on a door, putting out the glad hand and talking to the perceived problem takes less time to generate results than a call to the city, if it does not, then you have a real-not perceived-problem. All I am advocating is taking the first step on a personal level instead of an official level. I think most people have a lot less animosity if they are asked to be a part of something instead of being treated like the enemy. I also think some people feel the need to feel powerful by trying to bulldoze eveyone else with pressure, language and disrespect. As with every L series engine, a little lubrication keeps the mechanism running and no lubrication won't. Disrespect will never cure disrespect-does it work on any of you? Will

I can understand that some of the semantics used within this thread are insulting. I can also understand that some of the opinions that have been expressed and not well supported might be insulting, but I cannot follow the logic that posting about this problem on a forum dedicated to the preservation, restoration, modification, education on all things S30-including the trials of ownership-could be insulting. This thread has direct impact on owning a car that has the majority of its parts NLA from the manufacturer, and a healthy number NLA from any source other than donor cars. In more than tweny five years of keeping my own Zcars on the road, purchasing a parts car is without a doubt consistantly the least expensive way of obtaining parts. In addition to the cost savings, those of us who prefer to do our own work to our cars actually get to have a practice run on a car that probably does not matter before moving on to the same task at hand on our own pride and joy. Removing an engine or body panel for the first time is certianly less daunting when protecting the paint and bodywork is not an issue. Taking out a seat and finding out how easy it is to scratch the paint is not nearly as expensive of a lesson on a parts car. Reaction to our hobby is not restricted to: "I used to have one of those, and the stupidest thing I ever did was sell it." My opinion is that this subject and discussion held on this thread may be more important to some members than insulting to any-and I do not believe this thread was started to be an insult to anyone. Will

That was a great article. WIll

In my first post to this thread, I didn't mention that I kept the parts car looking like a car that was ready to drive, complete exterior, and clean. I moved it to cut the grass, and put it back-the grass under it died. Out of respect to my neighbors, I spent about an hour and a half a week to keep it to the appearance standards of the neighborhood, and never left any parts, tools, or problems (other than the car) outside. That is not to say there may not have been a mess around the car for several hours while I was taking parts off, but the mess was gone before I was through for the day, and was never left overnight. On the issue of property values, when I bought the house it needed some repairs, paint, roofing, landscaping, etc. In the first year I owned the house the valuation doubled, and every year since (even with the car in question out front) the value has increased a minimum of 20K every year. A covenant is an attempt by a developer to limit buyers of his or her development to those of of like values to increase the percieved value of the property. Covenants are a product of someone like cardogman. The presence or lack of covenants and ordinances should be one of the first things a serious perspective buyer should check out. In my opinion, they can mean the difference between owning your own property and owning only the rights to use the property. WIll

Only five people participated in the poll-everybody else has taillights they are happy with?

Look closely at your taillights, you are starting to feel very sleepy, and warm, thoughts of Z... Anyway, in the upper lens there is a rectangular reflector that is placed in a recess within the lens. Look at the picture Ed posted, then at the picture Tina sent. Will

I am still workking on the trims-close but not there yet! Tina sent me some pictures of a set of lenses without the reflectors, and with clear lower lenses, She is on the ball!! Here you go.

Surpluscenter is a cool place, I have been using then for years-lots of neat switches! They have a good selection of 12volt automotive fan motors for about $12-I have been toying with the idea of trying one in a 240... Will

An entire new cartridge is about $150 and you then have a completely rebuilt unit. Why go cheep just to find out running imballanced has messed up the bushings... Will If you really want a used one, I may have one .

I am not selling these, i am working with a manufacturer who is setting up to sell these. Look here! http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?p=154397#post154397 Will

What would you guys like in your taillight reproductions? prices are per matched pair. I will get some clarification on whether the recess will still be in the lenses if the option to lose the reflectors is chosen. I will also see it there is an option of: USA painted and coated clear lenses at a savings from the euro cost. The last two options are seamless and as close to the oem spec of the lenses as possable-without the writing. Post any questions here. Will

At the request of another mermber here, this is what is available from ClearZ lenses. Tina, and I have emailed many times in the last several days, and because of a missunderstanding on my part, I did not realize that she was waiting for deposits to get this going. Only one more deposit and my lenses are needed! Deposits can be made via a paypal link on the clearz site. ClearZ will make the lenses in one of several formats, varying between these two: One clear piece with the colored portion painted and coated on the inside.(lenses could be left clear, pinted with colors (to USA or European appearance) Four colored cast pieces glued together as original. Here are the particulars you would want to know about the lenses. The original lens is made up of four pieces glued together (I am not counting the housings, or the chrome trim). The top "bubble of the lens is one piece with a reflector glued into a cast in recess, the bottom part of the lens is actually two corners glued together. In the USA version of the lens both lower corners are red, in the european variety, one corner is amber and the other is red. The lenses appear to be one piece just as the side markers do, in reality, both are made up of more than one piece. The molds will be made from one or two sets of very good condition (I will not use my NOS or perfect used set for reasons that will become obvious) originals(depending on whether I need to cut them down to cast the individual pieces that make up each lens). The nomenclature cast into the lenses will be sanded off, and polished to allow the lenses to be made-not my idea. Other than the lost symbols, the lenses will be extreemly faithful reproductions. these lenses have none of the areas that ClearZ says are less than high quality. The two sets of lenses I have set up for this are in great shape, but do have internal stress cracks that do not extend to the surfaces of the lenses-they are driver lenses for this reason alone, and have no other damage. My thought is to make the lenses as close to original as possable, using colored materials to cast each of the four pieces that make up each lens. It will be less expensive to color the pieces after they have been cast in clear material, and it will give more coloring options-even allow the purchaser to color the lenses. It will be cheeper still to cast the lens in one clear piece and color the sections individually-mask and shoot. Tina asked me to make up a poll to get the pulse of what everyone wants. I will be getting together the pricing and options today, and be back to post a poll this evening. MY understanding is that both types of the lenses from TIR are cast as a single piece and painted and coated inside-I have not seen them personally, so I am going on what another member has told me. That is the least expensive way to do it, and the easiest to adapt between USA and Euro versions within a run. If there are questions, please post them here, Tina has the address of the thread as well, and I will be getting with her about what is posted. Will PS, if any of you has the TIR product, please take and post some high res images of it inside and out... Thanks

To each his own-expecially race car drivers, and sarcastic Z owners. It is cool that the engine/tranny/rear ends are easily interchangeable 1970-1983. Just my expert opinion... Welcome to the Club! Will

What was the most nausiating thing about your s30 as you received it? Please post all of the problematic things that came with your Z, and rank them in your order of correction! If you own more than one S30, list them in the order you got them, with the current one being fist, and the subject of the poll. Parts cars don't count! I didn't list AC because there are so few places that it is actually up to par in a 240Z or a 260Z, and most 280Zs were fine as long as they were properly maintained-but if your experience differs, post it...

Still available from the dealer-so I won't be used, but it will be right, and the pump will be working... Will

Take a battery and a compression tester(assuming the engine still has a starter). If all of the cyls show close measurements on compression, that would be a good indicator of engine condition-verify the oil is not thick. Will

I can only dream that one day Alan, Kats, Chris(26th type) and Carl Beck, could get a couple of the other highly knowledgeable Z fanatics they know and actually compile and ultimately publish a complete work on the S30. Leave out(or thoroughly discuss all points of view that can be properly backed up) what cannot be agreed on as fact, and record all that is agreed on as fact, and make a real Z book by the numbers 240Z. The real history is getting clearer, but as Alan, Chris and others have pointed out, the correct sources are not consistantly used or quoted. I am sure the correct answers are hidden within our membership, look at the answers already on this thread. Will