26th-Z

Don't ya just love the pictures? If it wasn't for my captain crunch picture decoder glasses, I would have missed that orange Z. I don't know what the deal is. I'll ask.

You can't offend me, Carl. This is a hobby! smile I did what I have advised never to do - buy a car unseen. I felt like I did my homework, though. A BMW friend of mine saw the car and I talked to the seller several times and several people who also contacted the seller (like Beck) shared information. I will say this; about three minutes before the end of the auction, with all the pictures spread out on my monitor, I asked myself what the hell I was doing. I won't bitch. I bought a VIN. Dave, I saw your bid on the refresh right before I went blind while I submitted my bid. I never saw Bob's bid. Check out my eBay screen name and the final price. My lucky numbers are 2, 3 and 5. In order no less! The whole adventure has really taken a bite out of my plans for 26. I'm going to have to rethink some things. I never thought I would do something like this. I'll be real busy! Many thanks to everyone who wrote or called. I took a bunch of encouragement last week and everyone had a lot of good things to say. I was trying to set up a seperate albumn in my gallery for pictures. I did it once before, but I can't figure out how to do it now. I want to set one up entitled 27th-Z.

I don't really know the whole story yet. And the payment arrangement will happen this week. So the deal is not completely done. I still need to explore all my options for getting the car here. But here is what happened. I had a bunch of people call me last week about buying the car. Carl Beck never calls me! I talked to the seller several times and he sent me a few low quality pictures. There were long telephone discussions with several different friends. A couple of the bidders wrote...you can see what happened. I decided on a budget that I would not go over and waited. Getting the car to Florida was part of the deal I had to budget for. Dave Spillman was real interested in the car. So was my friend Bob up in New Jersey with car number 33. (I tried to buy 33 several months ago). Beck told me that the auction would just sit there and the interested guys would come out of nowhere during the final minutes. And that is what happened. I bid the farm in the final 15 seconds like I usually do in my A-hole eBay manner. (Sorry, I admit it. I'm one of those). As near as I can determine, 27 is the green and butterscotch twin sister of Her Majesty the 26th. Lost or separated many years ago, 27 took up a life in the brothels and ended up being sold as a sex slave at auction in Dover, Delaware. She has really had a hard life, but her floors haven't fallen and her battery tray still shows the signs of spirit and youth. She took a nasty spanking during one of her "tricks" and shows a bad bruise on her left cheek just below her tail light. In all probability, she will get all new sheet metal in the front - fenders, hood, valance. I have been told that her basic body would respond very well to spa and cosmetic treatment. Immediate plans are for Miss 27 to spa at the half-way house and rehabilitation center in Tampa run by the Sister Convent of HLS30-00016 and HLS30-00019. Everyone is delighted to hear about her and anxious to see her so that we can all get the real story of her condition first hand. Pictures soon!

Watch who you are sneering at, Carl. Yea, it was a lot of money, but who here owns two in a row? There will be a formal announcement when 27 arrives and I get a chance to actually look at it.

We'll see what this week brings. Ken Jones of SportZ offered to help, but I may just suck it up and get the car here. Towing yields about 11mpg and it doesn't take long to see that $800 is a fair price for a dead car. There will be a formal announcement when it arrives.

Hey! It looks great, Mike. I'll go for one.

:lick: Ya'll crack me up. All I did was call the seller and talk to him about the car. The next step is to find out how much it is going to cost me to get it here. You have to figure shipping as part of the sale price. I still stand by what I said earlier. The car needs a lot of help. I have spares of most of the parts it needs; the car needs me more than I need the car! Somebody talk to me about hauling for cheap!!!! I quickly phoned 3 quotes this afternoon for around $800. Gotta do better than that. I don't need an enclosed trailer, but the thing is DEAD - called "Inoperable" - and they don't like that. I was really hoping it would not be much over $500. I might be able to go get it myself for that if it were not the time. So, if I get 27, a lot of little tumblers need to fall in place, like, "I have most of the major parts missing". We'll see. I have a budget in mind and a few days. It would be cool.

I'm thinking about it...4 days left to make up my mind. How did I know you would jump at this thread, Vicky? So far, its $800 Dover, Delaware to Sarasota. Can I do any better? The car is non-operable.

Does anyone have advice for having a car hauled? Who do you use? How can it be done most economically? I'm thinking of having a non operating car hauled down the east coast to Florida.

Chloe is MidwestZ to the best of my knowledge, Greg. She used to work for the Nissan dealership and went out on her own. She stores parts in garage space she rents or owns - I don't know - and worked out of her house. It's a low-key operation and Chloe hustled for every bit of the appreciation she is getting in this thread. I have money tied up also, if that helps!!! Something quite serious must have happened. It just doesn't make sense and not letting anyone know what's happening doesn't make sense either. I can't imagine, but it has to be something incapacitating and without the ability to give anyone instructions for settling issues. A lot of us know her well enough for her to phone or e-mail an explanation, yet no one has heard anything! Its really perplexing. I'm just going to wait it out and hope she brings her talents for part searching back to the 240Z stage.

One of those panels just went on eBay for $115!!!! Carl Beck wrote this morning - egging me on. I wrote the seller - let's see what happens.

Hey Andrew! I don't really need a donor car, however, it would be cool. I'll post pictures, if I get them. I might change my mind this week. We'll see

I just "ask seller a question" for more pictures. Let's see what happens.

Yes, just sand the surface rust off. You may want to prep with a phosphoric acid solution used to prep surface bare metal like OSPHO. Home Depot sells it as a paint prep for metal. Spray it on, let it sit for a moment, and wipe it off.

Way to go "luismiguel35" whoever you are! The seller posted answers to some questions and evidently took more pictures. The build date is 10/69 - much better. All matching numbers, original parts galore. How exciting!

Vicky, I have been looking at #95 also. To me, these cars are resources - not assets. The part about buying it sight unseen that scares me is what parts does it have that are still worth something. I met a friend of Alan's at the national convention who spent the better part of twelve years restoring his car and you should see the sheet metal work he did. Amazing. There is no doubt in any car collector's mind that the first 100 cars are valuable and collector items. I encourage anyone to buy it and restore it. I think it would be worth it. In terms of my funds - at the moment, I'm grasping! Geez, I thought going to the convention was part of the treats you get for all the hard work and money you spent on your car. Nobody told me I was going to have to PAY for it, too!!! :laugh: :laugh: Oh....I'll bet $1000

:eek: The trouble with finding such a relative is discovering what happened to her – and disappointed I am!! Looks like my twin sister has been dancing in topless bars and snorting crack!! And with all that rust, we could easily say she has been driven hard and put to bed wet!! Some interesting things to mention about her, though. According to the add: She was 907 green with a butterscotch interior – like 26 – meaning they made two identical cars in a row? The rear hatch glass is clear – like 26 – no demisters on the very early cars. She is date stamped 9 / 69 (quite early) and 26 is date stamped 11 / 69 which might lend credence to Alan’s assertion that the date stamps were applied on the docks. OR HLS30-00026 was pulled out of line for misbehavior and completed later. (She has a relatively high engine number – 2338). And my comments on the value of restoring a car like this. I have been watching prices of unique examples soar during the last year or so. We have seen and discussed several cars in the $25 - $30,000 range. I know what several of you out there have in your cars and what you would expect to get IF you would ever sell it. If number 27 has a matching engine, the opportunity exists to realize every dime put into a restoration. I would estimate this example to cost at least $40,000 to restore. By the time you finish, the car could well be worth it.

Just curious. And I'll go looking in the archives...how well do power lock kits work and what's the favorite?

Please say hello to all my friends up in New York. I met several guys from the area at the national convention last April. Greetings to Jeff Fox, Bad Dog, and take lots of pictures!

My car is your way, Vicky. The only way to lock the car from the outside is with the key. It's the way the lock mechanism works - I think. I always thought it was one of those "no frills" Datsun locks. Works fine - nothing elaborate. :bandit:

One went on eBay last night for $114

I sure would appreciate any info about Chloe. I used to talk with her almost every day. She just dropped off the face of the earth. No answer on any of the phone numbers I have including cell. The last e-mail I had from her was just before the National Convention - mid June. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help.

Mark, Your pictures are just fantastic. Do you mind if I use them for my upcoming comedy routine? Actually, that car would make a real great candidate for the "Gross-out Pig Award"! Great find. :lick:

Door ding strips were not a factory part on the S30.

This is my favorite. http://www.hlj.com/