26th-Z

Thought you all would enjoy the new fall fashion in car bras. Get one for your Z!

http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/car_care/1998/10/Gas_Tank_Restoration/index.phtml The POR suggestion is for you do-it-yourselfer's. Motorcycle shops deal with this issue all the time and a good ole radiator repair shop may help you also.

Aside from the discussion of whether or not you should disconnect the heater, the quick repair to a leaking heater is to loop the hose back in the engine bay. You don't want the hoses, so you are left to your imagination to decide how to block it all off. The head plug needs no more than 1/4" - maybe 3/8". A brass plug can be turned if you like, or you can buy one. Cover it with teflon tape and screw it. The Y hose fitting can be threaded and capped or you could cut the pipe off and weld a plate over the hole. I don't recommend taking the plumbing out around the intake manifold. That area is perfect for fitting stainless braided hose and fittings, but it involves a lot of welding and fabrication. With the heater simply disconnected, the system volume will be lower and you may experience higher running temperatures. The comment about eliminating the windshiel demister is valid and will force you keep the inside of your glass very clean.

POR makes a gas tank sealant and I think they sell a cleaning kit also. You may want to consider sealing a tank that got nasty.

I have 11/69 HLS30-00026 and have the sun star mirror. The red dot came with cars equipped with elephant oil caps! Seriously, you're fine. This is one of the technical peculiarities of our early series one cars.

I know exactly what you mean, Gavin. I'm stuck in a similar situation with my early VIN car. I don't dare make modifications I cannot easily reverse. Too bad, they all look like fun parts and I would not think anything of making a replicate or look-alike car. I have considered making modifications with only bolt-on parts so as to have several versions of my car. Changing bumpers from simple "Euro" bars to complete bumpers with upright guards and perhaps the Amco chrome bumper guards would make quite a difference in appearance. Change the headlight buckets to those fitted with covers - wheels- and instant sportive look. Alan, please post the scans of the "Sports Options" catalog for us and share some more of your roll bar experiences.

Thanks - that's just what I wanted to know. The dual point left me on the side of the road once, but probably because it is worn out. It gave me flawless service for years and made tune-ups just that much more fun!:sick:

I am curious what the difference is between the distributor used for Euro, AU , home markets and the US import - smog distributor. I have experience with Mallory aftermarket distributors and enjoy the dual point version, now. What makes this part a Euro version?

The photos I have, and believe them to be Nissan press photos, show the Z432 and the Z432R without flares. It's possible the 432 was sold basic, and then as Alan points out, supported by the "Sport Options" listing.

Too funny - Beer, helping ugly people have sex since 1862.

Datsun boasted an engineered interior vent system when they were marketing in the early years. At the time, interior venting, or flow-thru air ventilation with the windows up was not a common feature in either foriegn or American cars. Remember the little hoods sold for VW windows so you could roll the window down just a scoach and keep the rain out? Internal venting was a big feature from Datsun and it does work pretty well. The first Zeds came with vents in the rear hatch. The interior panel is sealed with rubber flaps and the hatch has plastic ducting to the horizontal vents out the back. The trouble with all this and any internal venting system is that it relies on a sealed cabin. The venting design assumes positive cabin pressure, and in the case of the rear hatch vents, a negative or sucking air pressure behind the car. Break the cabin seal, lose the positive air pressure, and the whole thing breaks down. Datsun also figured out that the hatch sealing design didn't work very well and found better results by relocating the outlets to the side wings out of the exhaust back draft. Yes, the exhaust gasses actually swirl behind the car. Smelling exhaust gasses in early Zeds is inherent and can only be stopped by a thorough seal to the hatch and venting system. The one thing that I should also mention is that an inspection of your exhaust system is in order whenever you smell gasses. Just make sure you don't have an exhaust leak.

I cruise the forums and the latest uploads at least once a day. They are a delightful moment of relaxZZation. But my favorite thing about this site is the members. I have to say you are a great group of enthusiasts to correspond with.

Depending on the condition of the car and completeness, an original, with that low mileage, could be worth in the $10,000 range. Perhaps more. Thoroughly check for rust, post a bunch of pictures, and let us have a look. That early of a build date probably came with steel wheels and hubcaps. The spun aluminum mags like mine were considered a standard dealer add-on in those early days. I have seen them on Ebay recently for around $100 a set. There is an aluminum wheel listed in the parts fiche 40300-N3225 that is commonly known as the star wheel, 5-1/2"x14" for that period car. As far as I know, wire wheel inserts were not Datsun.

My bet is on the caliper too. I'm dy'in to find out what happens.

I didn't respond to that old thread, the discussion was about the rear bumper not hooking something on narrow streets. The end caps appear in Brian Long's; "Fairlady to 280 Z" book on Japanese home market Fairlady's and 432's. Photographs of American imports do not show the end caps.

I refer to Brian Long's; "Datsun Z - Fairlady to 280Z", for this information. The S 211 debuted at the Fifth Tokyo Show in October 1958 as a four-seater open sports car. Designed by Yuichi Ohta, the car featured a fiberglass body shell powered by the Type C, 988cc over-head valve engine. It was the car that launched Nissan into the sports car market. Put on sale to the public in June 1959, the S 211 was built to order by Tonouchi Industries of Yokohama. It competed against the British Austin's and MG's in the American market and did not sell well due to the small engine; only 20 were built. A right-hand drive version of the 211 appeared at the Los Angeles Imported Car show in March 1959. It weighed 810kg, produced 34bhp with a top speed of 70mph. Ahh... four wheel drums with semi-elliptic leaf springs all around. Sold for 795,000 yen. The SPL 212 debuted in 1960 with an uprated 1.2 liter engine and was the first Fairlady. S - sports, P - Bluebird chassis, L - left hand drive. All were left hand drive and all were specifically produced for the United States market There you go - everything I know about the 211. Good luck! Restore that mother!

I tried contacting the Clarke County Police Department via e-mail with no luck. I'm not inclined, but there is a crime stopper reward program of $1000 for information. I tend to agree with you guys who have hard feelings about someone breaking into your shops. I have had plenty of things stolen. This web site lists a phone number and such http://www.accpd.org/contact/contact.html Like I said earlier, a little private detective work might reap some good rewards.

If the guy gets busted, the property will return to the owner. If the property is not collected by an identifiable owner (deceased or abandoned), the stuff will sell at a police auction. There is a good chance the guy died and the estate has no idea the stuff exists. Or there is no estate as there was no will and no apparent heirs. Someone willing to do a little research has enough to go by from the web conversation. A search through the property records could turn up a rightful owner! I gotta laugh - It might be worth it just to bust the kid and get the stuff! Then, I'm tempted to make a smart-arse remark about SC! Another appropriate comment - Ebay is possibly the easiest way to fence stolen property.

I understand 432 versions were used as Police chasers in Japan. Seems logical enough. Brian Long's book mentions it.

I am happy to confirm that the early Z's had fiberglass headlight bucket "sugar scoops".

Lets talk about this 69. What is the VIN number? You can find it in several places: Top of the dash on the driver's side, On the plate in the driver's door jamb, Stamped in the firewall in the engine bay, On the plate attached to the left front shock tower in the engine bay. The plate on the door will have the date of manufacture stamped on it. The plate on the shock tower will have the engine number stamped on it All of these numbers are important. Only some 500 69's were imported and that makes the car rare, classic, and very collectable. Even the worst rust bucket is valuable. I am definitely interested in the car. Concerning parts for the car, they are only scarce, and with some determined effort can be had at very reasonable expense. Most 71 parts interchange and some up to 73 model year. Please consider the car with great interest. Post photographs for us, if you can and good luck. You may have found a real nice car.

Gavin - the wider tire will increase the contact patch area of rubber on the road. That will translate back to the steering wheel with increased "feel" of the paving imperfections. Also, a wider offset will effectively increase the track width - center of wheel to center of wheel - thereby increasing the distance at the spindle / steering knuckle. That will translate back to the steering wheel as quicker response and increased road "feel". All of that will affect the control of the car through driver response. These issues are desireable in racing form - increased response and traction - on a smooth, consistant road surface, but present practical problems in everyday driving. You'll "fight the wheel" more at slower speeds. The logic behind the wheels and tires sticking out from the fender is to prevent debris and water from spraying up.

Hey Z KID, Where is that red Z in the jpg - eccy-mirrors? Looks just like Florida.