26th-Z

The original cables on a 1969 240Z were woven strand type and were later replaced by solid wire. The solid wire will perform better, but thanks for the link!

Very tight. No play at all. Sounds like you done good.

The connections are soldered - not braised. Braising involves brass. Easy to remember BR (braise) = BR (brass) Good idea to take it to a radiator shop and have it soldered back up, Ed! I would suggest buying a new oiler for a couple of reasons. First, if you heard metal scratching noises and judging from your picture, you trashed the cam. The cost of a new oiler bar is the least of your problems. Second, the oiler didn't get that way on its own. Someone bashed it. Check for other damage. Check to see that your lash pads are still in place.

Thanks Will. Good article.

Rich, I'm registered on a bunch of the club sites around the state. I'm involved in a consortium of Florida clubs called the Florida Z Association, Inc. We're the guys who are going to put on the ZCCA convention in 2007. Daytona. October. The FZA is currently nine guys from five clubs and the last I heard, the South Florida club is jumping in. In addition to all the regional club activities, the FZA holds thier own events and our group evolved from the guys who put on Z-Fest for the last three or four years. We intend to hold several events annually, awarding points at each event, and awarding championships at the end of the year. Its called the FZA Challenge and it kicks off Aprill 22nd in Gainesville with a Solo / Autocross. I'm about a week away from an official announcement and registration form. Now, I'm over on the left coast and don't get too involved in club stuff out of my area. No, I didn't go on the run. My major problem being that Her Majesty continues to spa and relax at the body shop, however she does have some clothes on and she's not laying around in the bare metal any more. I'm hoping she gets off her arse and shows up in Daytona. I don't really know what's going on with my Suncoast club. The newsletter said picnic at DeSoto March 11. And then Rob and Jim and I talked about a picnic / car show on April 1 instead, but that's the St. Pete Grand Prix weekend, so we moved it to April 8. Then the autocross contract happened. Then, the 350Z club proposed a major car show with us in July, an FZA points event, so we may go back to the original March 11 picnic. I don't know. Its not my call. I hear Greg was introduced to the same character that got me into this Z addiction of mine. Watch out, Greg! He's dangerous! The next step to your sickness is going to be your visit to the Mecca! You'll fall into the same hopeless spiral I did! Chris

Just so we make this clear for the history buffs; there is nothing "NISMO" about this grill. This grill was used on the S30-S model. There have been some discussions about its use on the PS30 and PS30-SB, the size of the expanded mesh is different, but this is a stock Datsun part. You might notice the Fairlady 432 on the cover of Brian Long's "Datsun Z, Fairlady to 280Z" has this expanded mesh grill. And for what it is worth, I had a long conversation with Yoshihiko Matsuo, chief designer of the S30, at the ZCCA convention in Long Beach 2004. His original design for the grill was the horizontal slat type. I have one of these grills and think it looks quite handsome, but the reality of it is that it is an alternative grill type for various models of the S30, most of which we never saw imported.

See if this link to Kats' site doesn't take you to the seat part. http://www.geocities.jp/datsunz903/interior.html Here's the old thread http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9188

Dan, The seat cushion trim / guards are pretty, pretty rare. I think the only way to prove correctness would be be to research the parts manuals and see if they were included with a part reference. Kats has a very early parts book. I think HS30-H has early references also. I have never been able to come up with a part number for them. If you could find a dated parts catalog that references them, it would help determine their application. Chris

Screw how you pay for it. Does it work?

I hear quite a bit about this subject. I can't rationalize it. "Ugly as it is, this sort of thing happens in the business world. It is common for the winning side to erase the achievements of the opposing side within a company". But this is Takarabe talking about what happened to Katayama and mentions the destruction of Z records and tooling only in support of his point. He says that in 1975, Datsun became the number one import brand (America) surpassing Volkswagen. He goes on; "Nissan kept Katayama's achievement as a secret never to be divulged". So, most people I talk to subscribe to the idea that the "records" are long gone. I DO hear some talk of warehouses and lost records, but as far as I know, and what I read, there's not much hope. Chris

Hey Moonpup! MSA sells the rivets and you don't have to buy them off eBay! Hurray! They usually come in packs of ten and we just counted 46. Buy 50 of them.

Zowwie, it took me a long time to find the reference. After reading the chapter, I am at a loss for an easy explanation. Read "Z-Car, Revival of A Legend" by Yutaka Katayama and Seiichi Takarabe, 2005, Diasuke Koujiya, Publisher. In the prologue, under the chapter "Nissan's Taboo", Takarabe discusses the 20 year struggle between Ishihara and Shioji - management and union - when the success of the Z became the taboo of Nissan. The convoluted explanation is not something I think a capitalist Westerner would understand completely but there was a time at Nissan that the Z was seen as a disgrace and memory of it was literally wiped clean from the record books. The tooling was destroyed, the dies, everything. Takarabe makes a case that the Datsun name was eliminated as part of this "corporate climate". It has only been recently, under new corporate direction, that the Z has become the revived automobile that it is. The warehouse burned down? Bill, stop smoking dope and get a job!

For that antagonistic remark, Bill, Her Majesty has fined you 1000 posting points. You are no longer top poster. She suggests you quit smoking dope and go out and get a job. Try McDonalds. They will teach you how to count and act pleasantly. 25

It is my understanding the Nissan's production records were destroyed. I do not know of any way to trace production information.

Me too! You say matching numbers but I don't see anywhere WHAT numbers. It must be something in the three digits? Register that baby on IZCC and welcome to the early Z group. I'm anxious to see more of that short nosed air cleaner and you mention vertical lines in the hatch glass. See if a wiring adaptor kit was put on the car for the demister glass. There is a service bulletin about that and I wonder if your car was one of them. Check your front brakes. Ducts in the backing plates? Vented rotor castings? How about the inspection lids on the hood? Plastic clips? Are the alignment tabs welded on or riveted on? Are the hood bumpers little rubber cups? What are the seat belt dates? Hanger clips on the seats? Do the seat cusions have plastic guards on the bottom? Ho boy! You could have a lot of fun with this lovely!

That's pretty cool. Any more pictures? What were its performance stats?

Don't bother if its crumbling. If its that bad, its gone. Go shopping for new plastic. Its around. SEM makes really nice products to refinish them.

Thanks Pat! Have been looking for one of those.

Hey there, Alan! I was wondering where you had been off to. Good to hear from you! Katayama politics? Yeaaaa...maybe. I don't know exactly what he meant but I do know he was not pleased with the name change, or for that matter, the name deletion! My impression is from Katayama's writing "Z-Car, Revival of a Legend", Katayama and Takarabe, 2005, by Daisuke Koujiya, Publisher. Katayama's commentary in chapter four, "Disappearance of the Datsun Brand" reveals many of his thoughts about the Datsun to Nissan name change. "The fact that the name Datsun came from the initials of the three founders only served to make it all the more important and precious". And a few sentences later; "It was Nissan that erased the trust and history of the car and company that was built over 80 years, destroying it like a tornado takes a tree from its roots". What would you gather from that? I think the whole chapter is rather scathing. The purity term comes from the Long translated, Taylor edited, ZCCA published, "Mr. K", but I'll be darned if I can find the reference right now. After reading both books, it seems the manuscript from Katayama and Takarabe is what was used for writing the "Mr. K" book. I don't know that for a fact, but the two books run in parallel all too frequently for coincidence. Would I argue with you about the issue being Katayama politics? No. But what I read from "Z-Car" is a passion for the Datsun name and disdain for Nissan. Just got the winter issue of Zclub magazine. Nice write-up! Chris

I loved the Fairlane script on the fenders! Too funny! You guys are really having fun with this thread, aren't you all? Haven't you ever heard the expression "F-em if they can't take a joke", Tom? That one was clearly directed at the car show judges, not you! Check out this radio antenna on a 1930 something Packard.

Haven't had much of a chance to pipe in on this interesting conversation. I have had good luck finding new connector fittings here: http://store.yahoo.com/eagleday/blco.html

Yea. A post or two got deleted. Evidently, one of our more welcome, warm, friendly, in the spirit of ride enjoyment posts! WELCOME JANI !

As Enrique said, Tom, I doubt the modifications would affect a judging. The other thing that comes to mind is the idea that judging is simply something to do at a car show. Not all shows are judged. Judging, really, adds to a car show but is not necessarily the reason for the show. You would never think of it as "Hey let's spend the day judging! Now go out and get a bunch of cars for us to look at while we are judging". In that, I would encourage everyone to worry less about judging and more about showing off your pride and joy. Chris

Well, you're a bit late, Alfadog. The auction closed January 31. It says $195,000, but that was the reserve - viewed as ridiculously high by the buzz that went around a week or so ago. The attached image is a scan from an article in "Old Cars" magazine about two weeks ago. The general concensus from the gallery of Datsun (Datson) collector gurus is that the car is worth $25,000. The car is well known and has been watched for the last year. The other picture is a 1935 Datsun roadster and should give you an idea of wht the car would look like. Now, if you all are interested in some of the very early pre-war history of Datsun, described by Mr. K as "a name with purity", let me copy a letter from Dan Banks to the IZCC: Hi everyone and Happy Holidays! During Nissan's earliest decades of the 1930s and 1940s, significant influence into design and engineering came from an American fellow named William Reagan Gorham. He is credited by David Halberstam, writing in his epic historical work on Ford and Nissan "The Reckoning," as the Technological Founder of Nissan and also responsible for leading the engineering on the very first Datsun automobiles circa 1932. William Gorham moved to Japan in 1918 with his wife and two sons and spent the rest of his life there. He took Japanese citizenship, changed his name to Katsundo Goahamu, and was reverentially buried in Japan upon his death in 1949. In 1950 a group of his closest associates wrote a book detailing his history in Japan. This book includes significant insights into the early automobile industry of Japan and also how Datsun and Nissan got their start. Only a limited number of Japanese language copies were ever produced, unfortunately making this important work inaccessible. Now, Gorham's surviving son, Don Cyril Gorham (who has his own amazing biography!) has completed a full translation of this book, entitled "William R. Gorham; An American Engineer in Japan." For those who would be interested in learning a bit more about Datsun and Nissan, the early Japanese automobile industry and this man's contribution to it, please go to www.lulu.com, a self-publishing website. Put "Gorham" in the search and you can use PAYPAL or your other chosen form of payment to obtain your 178-page copy to your door for about $15. The situation with self publishing websites, being closely watched by the mainstream publishing houses, is that it allows self-publishing to a vast majority of people with stories to tell but who lack the means to interest a traditional book publisher. The traditional publisher will print out a volume run of copies and then sell them as best they can. That is fine if you are Carlos Ghosn telling the amazing story of how he turned Nissan around in his finely written "Shift: Inside Nissan's Historic Renewal." This kind of story sells itself and Random House, Inc.'s Doubleday publishers surely had no trouble committing to a significant first edition run in January 2005. The trick with these online publishers is that they hold the text in digital format and only print a copy after you order and pay for it. Kind of like Dell Computer, as I understand their market model. I met with the 88 year old Don Gorham two weekends ago after his reunion trip to Japan. During that trip he met with an old colleague of his father's, Mr. K. and of course they talked about the book. There is considerable excitement now over this work finally becoming available to an English speaking audience and, again, all are encouraged to order a copy, which includes neat old pictures of early Datsun cars, engines, and engineering of the times. Best regards all, Dan Banks Historian, ZCCA