26th-Z

Oh yea Vicky. I would want a bunch more for my slots. That's a deal.

Isn't he cute! Thanks Mike. That same photo is in the article - in color.

Oh! Sorry. Lets try that picture again. Credit to Nostalgic Hero Magazine - vol. 96 EDIT: It isn't working for some reason I can't explain. Sorry

Thank you, Alan. I can think of little better than your resources and knowledge to set this issue straight. Your photographs in this thread - as well as many others - have been a great pleasure and education. You look pretty snappy in that racecar! Seems to fit you well. :classic: What I meant by "local Z crowd" was an understanding of how our interests contribute in part - just in part - to the big picture. The magazine circulates to the Porsche crowd, the Ferrari crowd, the formula car crowd, you get my point. We are simply a "piece" of the action. I agree we want our piece of the action to be depicted accurately, and I was encouraging our responses to be as "professional" as possible so that we are not depicted in a derogatory manner. I look forward to your e-mail, Alan. I do have a pretty good imagination, but I must see for myself the proportion of this gaffe. They really did stick their foot in their mouth, didn't they? :stupid:

Gentlemen, I replied to Casey Annis yesterday afternoon with a polite offer to assist in any manner with research or documentation about the correct identity of the car in question leaving the door open to further dialog as well as allowing me time to prepare mature, factual information. I figured I better read the article first and soldiered off to my best magazine source to obtain a copy. Well, I can't seem to find the magazine in good 'ole po-dunk Sarasota. You want to talk about opera, we got it. You want to talk about various shades of silver hair coloring, we got it. But historic racecars? No got. I took a long look at the Vintage Racing Journal website to get a feel for their clientele and what type of publication this might be. I was impressed with their depth of writing staff and I assure you all, their client market is aimed at big buck, investment grade collectors. People who would demand accurate reporting and coverage - similar to the crowd subscribing to Vintage Motorsport, a publication I am most familiar with. These poor guys have a serious problem on their hands. They have been advised by corporate executives - people who should know - that the car is authentic. The editors are motivated by sales and they are quite eager to publish a story on a car with an agreeably interesting history. The car is also associated with a famous figure in current motor racing history - Jean Todt. (Here is a shot I scanned without permission from Nostalgic Hero Magazine, vol. 96) Try to understand the motivation behind the owners of the car. This concerns me the most. I certainly enjoyed publication of my car in SportZ magazine. My father was really impressed, as was my daughter. But, my point is that the editors of Vintage Racing Journal have very little latitude in this situation. They can't retract the story without incurring the wrath of ranking officials and the wrath of the local Z crowd is miniscule compared to their magazine circulation. I am in no position to write or forward information about the authentic racecars produced and campaigned by Nissan / Datsun in the early '70s. I can't use Alan's photographs or scans of magazine photographs. I have never seen the actual cars, and no slight to you Alan, have any proof that the real ones are sitting in a storage warehouse in Zama. I have seen enough material in this single thread to write an interesting article about the authentic racers. I seem to have an open dialog at least giving me the opportunity to submit such an article (Chris: Casey Annis forwarded your reply to his. Thanks for offering to provide information. I hope we will have an opportunity to do justice to this important part of rallying history sometime. best wishes Ed McDonough European Editor), but without further assistance, can do little more than "bitch" about an injustice. I encourage all of us to approach this situation with mature dignity with an opportunity to do some serious good for our beloved S30s. With permission and collaboration, I will be very pleased to author such an issue.

Well, not only did I write the editor, but I wrote the European editor, Mr. McDonough, and this is his reply: I believe the Editor of VRJ has responded to you, but I thought I would answer as well, as you have taken the trouble to write. At times like this, I am glad that I often say "to the best of my knowledge", or wince when someone says "this is the car". I am not an expert on 240Zs and took considerable advice, and thought the car we were depicting was at least a reproduction of the car that did the events I mentioned. I had some 'expert' advice to say that it was. Nissan could not produce a clear history themselves, and working on the recommendation of the Italian Director of Nissan, we went ahead, to have doubts put forward after it went to press. Fortunately, this is not a car for sale..it lives in the Nissan Italia Museum and has all the 'provenance' that provides...and thus it is not going to be put forward for sale as something that it is not. The good thing, as I see it, is that the car drives, handles and runs very much like the original works car. I investigated several 240Zs on the recent Monte Carlo Historic Rally, and the people involved with them could not tell which were 'original' and which had been built to exact rally specs. Tony Fall was in one of these cars on the event and the drivers described what they were like to drive. So, thank you for your message, and apologies for getting it not entirely accurate. We appreciate getting information that keeps us on our toes. Ed McDonough European Editor

So, I'm in a vigilante mood this morning, and I read Alan's post, and I look at the website, and agree with Alan. So I write to Casey Annis, editor. I just got this reply: Dear Christopher: We had some question ourselves, but when we directly asked the director of Nissan Italy, he insisted that this was the car. Obviously it leaves us in a strange position when one of the directors of the company tells us that this is the car he claims it to be. Is there any chance, in your mind, that this actually was the car? Thanks for the input, Casey

Alan, I too, feel the need to write, phone, fax, and e-mail the publication to point out their error. However I wish to clear up some confusion stemming from your post and defend an excellent publication - VINTAGE MOTORSPORT. Vintage Motorsport, published in Lakeland, Florida, is a superb journal dealing with the subject of motorsport history. Their current issue chronicles the history of IMSA as part three of an on-going story. I highly recommend the magazine and it's coverage of historic racing events throughout the country. VINTAGE RACECAR JOURNAL, on the other hand, apparently needs to be corrected. A quick visit to the website link will demonstrate your concern.

Serious encouragement, seerex. There is a haven of Z restoration in the Tampa area. This Fairlady is here and I would be willing to help with part sources and shops. RETIRE THAT CAR TO FLORIDA FOR SPA AND RESTORATION!!!!!

Ah yes, good 'ol floor tar. Use a heat gun - hot air - to get it warm and it scrapes right off. The tar mat is used for sound deadening and the car will be pretty noisy without it. It also acts as thermal insulation. Of course, the problem with the floor tar is that any moisture will get trapped and rot the floors out. (Which is probably why you took it off in the first place.) Ask Chloe at MidwestZ if she has any more left. She had authentic Datsun stuff some time ago. Or, try automotivecarpet.com

What has me dumbfounded is the rear red marker light. None of my photographs of Fairlady Zs show this marker light and I thought the red marker light was for export. The vented quarters would make sense - except for a '69 car. The steering wheel is not stock. I wonder what this model really is! Japanese market Fairlady Zs came with a 2 litre, six cylinder engine until October 1971 when they were replaced with the 2.4 litre. A title is a government registration of the ownership. It records the owner and the serial number of the car. Without one, the car can not be registered to drive. Of course there IS a title somewhere, but it may require a significant amount of research to find it. That car is in seriously bad shape. Wayyyyy beyond "tender loving care", it would require a complete chassis up restoration and compared to my project, I would guess in the $30,000 range to make it pristine again. The engine is seized? Zowie! That poor thing is a parts car. And I see a few things I would like!

Before you bid, ask for the documentation. I would be amazed to find this car as the seller says. One quick internet search "Bob Sharp Racing" will give you a list of sites to visit including a club. Here is a photo of what Bob Sharp Racing 280Z's looked like. I would imagine these cars are in collector hands and just think of this logically. No one would put an authentic Bob Sharp racer with racing heritage back on the street.

That's nothin! You caught it just in time! Yea, that undercoating does deceive, but you have little to worry about. My encouragement! Now, you may be having some problems inside the frame rails and I suggest you drill holes in the bottom of the rails to clean out what is inside and inspect. Best of luck. :classic:

Hello halz, I have a couple of Competition Parts Catalogs listing headers and exhaust systems for the 240Z. These catalogs are fairly early, addressing the L24 engine through 1972. Datsun USA shows a part number listing "240Z Exhaust System" - a complete muffled dual pipe exhaust system from the engine to the back of the car. 99996-E1045 No photograph is shown. The Japanese Competition Parts Catalogs "HS30 Sports Options Parts" 12/73, as well as "Fairlady Z, RS30 / HS30 Sports Option Parts" 3/76, lists 14004-E4620 for the headers and 20000-E7276 for the exhaust tube kit. Other parts such as gaskets and hangers are shown and noted, but the descriptions are all in Japanese. Hope this helps. NISMO indeed is the performance / racing arm of Nissan.

There's a lot of info on the net about using acids for rust removal. Some of the more concentrated acids such as Naval Jelly (35% phosphoric acid) can do some damage if not cleaned off properly. Acid in that high concentration will eat the metal. Something like OPSHO (less that 12% phosphoric acid) is considered a rust encapsulator because it is so weak.

Vicky, Yes probably as my parts fiche lists superceed numbers up to 12 / 79. It gets quite confusing, but just dealing with the right side of the car, and both inner and outer panels are involved, the outer panels are: 73120-E4100 - roof panel 73270-E4100 - tail rail 78100-E4600 - rear fender There are a number of inner panels as well as a corner brace involved that make up the box section through that area. I could look, but I'll bet there is an inner panel seam to match the outer. In my Chassis and Body Service Manual, this area is described through section E-E of Figure BF-59 "Sealing Body Panel Joint" and appears on page BF-31. Of course, this is all early series information, but it seems to be all the same up to 1979. I have had this area down to bare metal before and the seam in Her Majesty is filled with lead. It does crack and heating the area is done to fill it again.

Bob, Spots are usually bigger once you get in to them, but if they are less than 1/2" diameter, you can drill them out an exact diameter and weld a flush "punch" back in. Look for a slug punch tool from some place like Eastwood that makes a metal slug in a specific diameter from sheet metal. There are a range of sizes available and it beats trying to make a patch. Drill a hole that is much bigger than the rust bubble to get the rust around the edges of the bubble. The slug fits flush and it is a true metal patch. Watch out with acids. Make sure you clean the area to get all the acid off.

Vicky, That seam laps multiple sheets of stampings and on the early cars is a real lead filled joint.

And this is the racing variant. It is lighter and spends money faster.

You need to get the Magic Datsun Money Clip. It never runs out. This is the restoration variant.