26th-Z

That's all right Ben. I'm a dad and a little eccentric. Just ask my daughter. Hi kats!

Hi Andrew! I met the guy who bought the $104 hose at the ZCCA / Nissan National Convention last week. I also met a guy who says he is in the midst of making the fabric. He points out that an original fabric hose is too old to expect to perform and that covered newer hoses were better for a driver than a garage queen. Regardless, we have a move afoot! I personally have no problem glueing fabric to hose for show purposes. Fabric covered hose can be purchased in rolls from various hose suppliers. I have some 6mm and 8mm fuel hose sitting here on my desk. I bought heater hose from Goodyear. The shaped hose is what's trickey including the radiator hose. I pulled a U shaped fuel vent hose out of a 280Z in Long Beach last week. If anyone needs this thing - I'll post a picture - its not the long vent hose, unfortunately. Hose is rated for purpose and I wouldn't recommend running a fluid other than what is specified, but water through a fuel rated hose will probably work. Water hose is rated for heat. If I ever hear from the guy with the cloth, I'll let you know.

Hi mimzey! Here's another shot of Ben's car at the Hilton. C.David took it with his digital when Ben was out hotrodding. It's a lovely car with very tastefully unique accessories. Wasn't Matsuo-san easy to converse with? Just one-of-the-guys standing around looking at cars! Matsuo designed a wristwatch for himself in the mid sixties and had one made. It is spring wound - typical of the technology at that time. The watch face became the clock in the S30. Ben's clock is more like the Matsuo watch. The standard S30 clock face is simplified. I was hoping for a Japanese experience at the convention and I found more than I expected. Experiencing the different cultures of the world is a wonderful treat I discovered years ago through my travels in Europe. Now I was curious about the Japanese. One of the books we got at registration "in the goodie bag" was a book about Carlos Ghosn and how he turned Nissan around in 1999. Reading that is another insight to the Japanese culture. The Japanese come bearing gifts. They are formal like the Europeans, but present gifts as an expression of their respect for the meeting. Mr. K gave me a Gt Racing commemorative pin. Kats had gifts. As a matter of fact, I noticed a lot of people brought gifts. I think this is a way cool idea. There is a great amount of honor and dignity to the Japanese spirit. You notice it along with the enthusiasm and energy. Nothing stuffy - just a great amount of self respect and respect for others. I got a kick out of how social everyone seemed to be. It was one big party for days! With the attitude of; "I'll sleep on the plane"! Of course, there was no shortage of things to do. Or people to meet. Thanks to Alan, I met Len and the Tampa crowd had a lot of fun with him. You'll find Len in the British Z car magazines and web sites. You should see the pictures of his restoration. Ten years in the making and comparitively, we Americans whine about rust. Oh! This is important. Mr. K signs autographs on behalf of the Make a Wish Foundation and it is way NOT cool to sell anything with his signiture. Mr. K was at track day and the car show along with his wife (Okusama - honorable) Mrs. K. Although his presence seems promotional, you can tell from his enthusiasm what a good time he is having. He is quite old now, celebrating his 95th in September, yet it is remarkable to see his energy. He walked up to the stage at the awards banquette and spoke briefly to a standing audience. The man is phenomenal. I was struck with the idea that Mr. Matsuo was 31 or so when he worked on the S30 project. When I think about what my life was like at 31, an instant realization and understanding comes over me. I have a design education and background. Before I knew it, during our evening conversation, the pens came out and we began speaking the designer's language of drawing. Matsuo is animated and fun to talk with; he got up to show me how he would work the clay and sight down the body line to get the exact look he was going for. How every prototype model was not only some new idea, but refinement of the last model. How he prefers a distinct, sharp line to the contour and fold. Ever notice how the fender line seems to follow out in to space at the headlight scoop? Matsuo. That whole detail was something that couldn't be made in metal at the time so he went out and had a stadium seat manufacturer mold it in injected fiberglass. Headlight covers over the scoop look so good because they were intended to be that way. So what was it like? Probably like meeting any one of you out there and just immersing ourselves in 240Z for the moment. I'm still pumped. Next year's convention will be in Syracuse N.Y. with a track day at Watkins Glen and the 2006 convention will be in Dallas.

Yea, Ben had a blast. I'm here to tell ya! Yes, I think it was the first time any of us met each other. Kats and I drove his car up to MSA for the afternoon. That was cool. I met an English friend of Alan T.'s and we took him to Hooters for his birthday. I ended up dancing on a table with balloons stuffed in my shirt covered in "I Hooters stickers. Rick got a ride around Willow Springs with Bob Bondurant. C. David got a ride / drift with Kazama. The picture of me with Mr. K is privately in the lobby. He signed a couple of books for me. I was blown away that he got out of his wheelchair for the picture. I met Matsuo-san and spent 2-1/2 hours with him talking about the design of the Z. I have some of his sketches. We did two junk yards and I have a bag of hose clamps. Saw a really nice Corvair somebody should rescue. I took on to the judging team early in the show, but left to cruise the rest of the show as soon as the forms were turned in. I didn't catch much of the "gold medallion" judging. And, I sat with Brian Long and Mr. Kobayakawa "Koby", chief designer of the Mazda RX-7, at the awards banquette. I flew out Wednesday morning with three other Tampa Z fanatics and we flew back Sunday afternoon. We had Sunday brunch on the Queen Mary. I worked out in the hotel gym / spa / sauna. I met all kinds of people - in the bar - at the restaurant for breaskfast. AND WE DRANK A LOT OF BEER. I'm horning in on Ben's thunder. I have more to say, but I know what a blast Ben had and I want to hear his impressions. I'll be back with my impressions. I had a blast.

Well it looks to me as though the mirror has been flipped. Can that be done? I gotta have the checked carpeting. Whoever buys this car please sell me the carpeting.

Yes... I'm still working on my Masters Degree in Confusion. Thanks - you know what I mean.:classic:

In the last two messages I got from Chloe: "... but it's just been crazy the past couple weeks." "It's been slightly overwhelming...but these things happen. I'll pull through it." MidwestZ is a full blown business as far as I know. I can certainly understand being in business for myself. If I have a problem or go on vacation, the whole place virtually shuts down. I have been explaining my whereabouts last week for the last three days! If Chloe's operation is anything looking like MSA, I could understand even more. MidwestZ probably needs a few employees at this point, eh, Chloe? :classic:

Thanks Alan. I have never had that explained so well and have been confused as a result.

I would love to see a picture. My very early lamp does not have the slotted screw mount cut on one side - rather two screw holes. It fastens the same to the body, but you have to pinch it a bit to get it to fit. The stampings are called "ken" and they indicate quality control marks or marks of manufature date. I think 1972 would have a 43 date? Take a look for it.

More from Brian Long in his description of the 1974 season; "In a season full of incidents, it was decided to rebuild the engine to a higher specification. A forged crankshaft was purchased from Gordon Allen, there were Carello conrods, domed pistons giving 11:1 compression ratio, and a special camshaft from Peter Brock. Power output was boosted to around 250bhp at 8000rpm".

I was afraid I was giving you bad news. Your Z caps will probably get more valuable as time goes on. Hang on to them. If you do go looking for D caps, there are two types. The earliest type have separated spring tabs for fitting on the rim. They were quickly replaced by the continuous spring tab type because they had a tendancy to fall off. If you find a set of early types, let me know and I'll trade you. Technically, your car should have the later type. Chris

Steve, The answer to your question is explained http://www.zhome.com/ scroll down to the Classic and Restoration section and you will find a blurb on hub caps. The D caps essentially came with the hatch vent cars and the Z caps came with the round vent cars. D caps for 70 and 71 cars - Z caps for 72 and later.

Hi Halz and Andrew, There is an excellent description of Big Sam and her (its) history in Brian Long's book; "Datsun Z - Fairlady to 280Z". Page 133. I really encourage everyone to get this book and read it. I find it to be one of the best references with many pictures and very thorough descriptions. In its initial configuration, Big Sam put out 245bhp at 7200 rpm. Triple Delorato 48mm carburetors were used. Big Sam won the 1974 Blue Circle Modsports Championship - the first car outside Japan and the USA to win a championship. Big Sam has a history of chassis replacement as a result of racing accidents and the current car is not the initial car. However, it is my understanding that the current chassis comes from works rally history. How are the seat corner guards coming, Andrew? I have another photo of them (although not a great one) and I got to touch kats'. We should talk more as I am determined to have them and I really have little hope of finding them original.