26th-Z

Oh, be certain the Texas guys will show up in force. Have you never been to Austin or a ZCON? If you have never been to a ZCON, I highly recommend spending the time and money to do it. You won't need to "meet up". You will be immersed...for days. Its quite the experience.

What model year is that Z? Lovely color combo - red with a white interior. There is a Lion Country Safari in Loxahatchee. I worked for a guy who raised lamas for the park. He had a big farm in Tallahassee. When he was younger, he was an extra in a Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan movie. God speed, Ernie!

I'm sorry Jerry. Here, have an orgasm. http://www.carguygarage.com/

Ummm....hire an architect. I agree. It needs MUCH more thought. Wouldn't hurt to read the building code either. As it is, it can't be built. It's unsafe.

That's interesting. I've never seen one of those before.

The "OIL" (710) cap is early original and the Elephant cap is later. It is my understanding that the symbol is that of Standard Vacuum Oil Company, a 1930s joint venture between Standard Oil of New Jersey and Mobil Oil.

Yes. "Hoover" is the proper Datsun terminology for the part (inclusive). "Hoover" is a little old school, however. "Dyson" would be a more modern term.

Yes, you need the foam. I would go for a couple of sets of clips.

page 24. And you would enjoy this photo from the same thread along with a couple of my pictures. See the seal on the back of my panel? That was a foam seal originally. It decomposes. That panel has to be sealed to the hatch for the vents to work.

Nice heel into the front fender of the TVR. Looks like its too cold for those pansy-assed boys she has posing with her. I'll bet she owns the car.

Cool. I have the August 1970 road test issue.

"...the Datsun rep told us that they had to borrow the show car from Datsun USA" answers one of my big questions. Good find!

Reminds me of Miss Fair Lady. But what's with the title of this thread? How did we all get duped? And duped of what? Or is this an "alternate history" thread?

You see, Philip; Bob Sharp DIDN'T get the car after the New York show. That information just doesn't jive! John Morton is campaigning a Datsun roadster (in C Production as a "240Z") because he didn't have a 240Z at the time and Bob did. That's what this is all about. You have data and pictures from the Cumberland race. Why don't you submit the photos to the archive? That archive is based on user contributions. They just don't have any information about the Cumberland race. The point is that it wasn't the first outing with the car.

These are very nice pictures! Your internet surfing moves are the ballet of a free-rider. However As I said in the "Crusher" thread, there is a record of Sharp finishing second in the CP race at Summit Point, West Virginia on April 12,1970. And I provided the link to the website (which is a fascinating website collection of historic racing photos). Sharp's entries in that archive list SCCA National races. I wonder if Cumberland was a Regional? In these pictures, the car has no front spook - interesting. I'm surprised that there is no SCCA decal. Back then, there wasn't much advertising on cars. Everyone in the SCCA had pretty plain cars. The cars you are looking at from Sharp and Group 44 were cutting edge SCCA racers in car preparation and graphics. What a great photo of the 240Z squat with the inside front wheel up in the air! Lovely suspension mods, Bob. Now compare Sharp's record in his 240Z to John Morton's http://www.racingsportscars.com/driver/archive/John-Morton-USA.html Morton / BRE was racing a Datsun 2000 in C Production registered as a 240Z on April 26, 1970 at VIR. It doesn't appear as though Morton / BRE campaigned their 240Z until September when Morton won in Ontario on the 20th and Phoenix on the 27th. What I get from this is the well worn rag about how Bob Sharp got the "crushed" show car quite early and well before Peter Brock got his. Yea, yea.

Nice photo find - May 17, 1970. Bob Sharp raced his 240Z at the SCCA National, Summit Point, West Virginia to 2nd place on April 12, 1970. He also ran an SCCA National at Bryar Motorsports, New Hampshire, June 9, 1970. He dnf'd with a blown engine. http://www.racingsportscars.com/driver/archive/Bob-Sharp-USA.html Rude reply to the "from the horses mouth" post to follow.

Update for all my fellow Vintage Z enthusiasts. I had to have copies printed for all the inquiries (8 so far) and will have them posted in the morning. Thanks to everyone for the great response. Robert S, I got you covered. Chris

This subject is rife with very disjointed "facts" "to say the least. It always has been with a number of people trying to sort it all out. It's just not easy! For instance, take this quote from Zhome.com; " Bob Speakman wrote: Our car started life in the L.A. auto show, was the cover car of a magazine (Jan. 70 Road & Track..ed), then it was sent to the 69 runoff's as a show car. Then on to NYC for the show there. We had d*** Roberts (of Nissan U.S. - Competition Dept...ed) send the car to my house in Lutherville, MD in the fall of 70. " Red car at the New York Show or green car? I still remain astounded by the Boston photo which I only found recently. MikeB has an extensive collection of material as does Dan Banks and we can form a picture of what happened way back when but as I have found many times in this Z history area, as soon as you establish something as fact, up pops the exception. Keep digging. Let's see what you come up with.

Well, that would mean that Her Majesty the 26th was imported, sold and delivered in Florida before Bob Sharp got his car. Somethings not adding up and I think you will find (as we did) that there was no Toronto show that year and what Bob Sharp is saying is not accurate. You'll have to find a Toronto show after April 1970 AND that a 240Z was on display. Otherwise you're grasping at straws. Me doth thinketh the horse cometh from the mouth of Mr. Ed!

Carl, Yes, remember the valve stem cap discussion? That seems like ages ago. I have always contended that the Vintage Zs shouldn't be judged / compared to the ZCCA stock class rules. They are unique cars on their own IMO. There are a couple of things going with this particular car that should be considered. Primarily the asking price is full blown retail / profit from what appears to be a high-end dealer. I would rather go along with your experience with watching the "average" selling market and determining relative value. Generally I agree with your assessment.

This is the listing for the car. http://hymanltd.com/vehicles/5796-1971-datsun-240z-coupe/ Many more of you indicated that you want a copy than I have PMs. My Paypal address is: cwenzel@earthlink.net and I want you to send me $15 and I'll mail these out this week.

I love your sarcasm! Where the hell have YOU been? Alan and I have been talking about all sorts of things - not a word from you! Please! Jump in on this conversation and help set the record. Here we were. Searching and searching for the Toronto show... Toronto The National Motor Show ended in 1967 and, for a while, Toronto had no auto show at all. It was up to TADA, the Toronto Automobile Dealers Association, to set the stage for a comeback in 1974. The new venue was the International Centre in Mississauga, which hosted the show until 1985. (Wheels.ca; News Features / Industry News, Auto Show History; From Horses to Hitler, Jil McIntosh, Nov. 12, 2012) The final year of the official Motor Show held at the CNE (Canadian National Exhibition) was 1967, although it would later be the site of special automotive attractions held elsewhere on the grounds. An official auto show did not go unnoticed. The Toronto Automobile Dealers Association decided to organize a new annual event. First known as the Toronto International Auto Show, the inaugural eventI ...and up pops this jokester with a picture from Montreal! duhh! Kinda like finding the Boston picture. I broke down and paid The Boston Globe to search their archives some time ago to find a couple of interesting things. So, if Bob Link doesn't say anything about Montreal, what does that mean? Just how many cars did Datsun have in North America at the time? Evidently, far more than has been thought. Did you see the pictures of the red car at Daytona? From an old Nissan video on YouTube! How the hell was that missed?!?!! Jump in on this - what do you think?

Thanks for all the private messages! I'll get this set up.

I have this picture from the seller. It is not a Vintage Z. The VIN is HLS30-22547. It is a Les Cannaday / Classic Datsun restoration, however.

Thanks I'm flattered. I have a bunch of messages so here's the deal. The compendium is a little over 30 pages long, printed on nice paper stock with color photographs and images. It includes a listing and picture of 27 of the (arguably) 38 cars restored during the program. There is a long bibliography which notes all my references taken from written articles, oral interviews and a VHS video that Pierre gave me. It is bound with a spiral binder and clear cover. It costs me a little over $15 to print one. Carl Beck just published a book and used Lulu to market the volume. I wonder if I should do the same. The compendium covers what I believe to be the full extent of the story which encompasses the Dream Garage advertisement campaign, management of the restorations, and what (initially) happened to the cars. I could work out a Paypal arrangement if you really want a copy. I have three of them printed right now. Chris