26th-Z

Not only is that a real Dino, it's the 246 GTS Dino that won the Cannonball Baker Sea to Shining Sea Memorial Trophy Dash in 1975. 35 hours 53 minutes, New York to LA with Jack May and Rick Cline. The GT40s are replicars; CAV and / or Superformance. I would imagine the Porsche is a Beck Spyder replicar. The Gremlin is a real one. Looks like a real nice turn-out. Always a great collection of cars...very valuable cars!

You make an interesting observation, Alan. Although the title of the thread suggests pictures exclusively, it would be nice to know a little about what we are looking at. For instance, "Datsundoc" posted a couple of "early Bob Sharp" photos a few posts up. Early? How 'early'? One of the pictures is of a G-Production SPL311-1600. Does anyone know when the SPL311-1600 raced in class GP? How about the other picture, an SPL311-2000 in C-Production? C-Production? Does anyone know why (and when) that car raced in C-Production? And...is that really Bob Sharp in the GP 1600? Is it not Joe Hauser? Yes, a little explanation could make this thread far more interesting.

Looks like I missed a good one. My loss. Had $BMW issues last week. I wasn't going anywhere Saturday.

Ohhh...nothing shameless about the plug really. I was just surfing through the site and the initial question made me smile. "!Dude!" You're about five or six years behind the curve! The days of junking for early Z parts are long gone. Junking for early, early parts that I would find valuable exist only in memory now. But I DO have some good junking stories! Jim Frederick and I came back from the national convention in Long Beach in 2004 with a great cache of parts. Can you imagine what the airlines would think of 2 suitcases full of car parts today!?! I recall junking with Jim in upstate New York at the Syrcuse convention. Not much luck, but the event that afternoon would challenge a Three Stooges movie. Saw a really robust, intact early 911 but little else that interested me. Then, I struck gold at the San Antonio convention in 2009. MikeB and I had a salvage fest, gourging ourselves on an early '70. I came home with original vented hat brake rotors. Junking today is rarely any luck for anything in my corner of the Z world. Best of luck, though. Just the gentle act of loitering in a salvage yard is always good for the soul.

One of the unique things about the American export 240Z or HLS30U and UA concerns what the dealers added to the cars to increase their profit margin. In some cases, such as A/C, one might argue that the dealer installed items suited a market demand that was not provided by Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. In all cases, all dealers did not install the same items on all the cars so the arguement of "as sold" isn't really valid. The only non factory item 26th was delivered with was carpeting, surprising as that may sound to some of you. By all looks, 27th was delivered the same, but I don't know 27th's history as well as I know 26th's. Until the 1972 model year, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. did not officially offer optional equipment in the North American market however Nissan Motors in North America, or Datsun, did repackage and sell optional equipment under the Datsun brand. Quite a bit of it was manufactured by AMCO. I have a small collection of those items including a clip-on vanity mirror for the visor. There are plenty of car clubs that have far more strict rules concerning originality than the ZCCA. I would suggest that all you guys complaining about dealer installed equipment just want the rules changed to suit your own situation and that isn't fair across the board. I have had plenty of arguements with people about this. It isn't a fair way to judge the historical correctness of the car as all things are not equal across the board to everyone. The comparison to pre-war cars at Pebble Beach isn't valid either. Those cars are judged on beauty. Purely subjective. Corvettes (Bloomington) on the other hand are subjected to a meticulous inspection involving lifting, touching all all sorts of assultive assessment - read the rules for the National Corvette Restore's Society. Hell, you think you Z guys have it difficult! I would like to suggest that if any of you really want a trophy, got down to the trophy dealer in your town and have one made. Award yourself top honors and don't forget to mention that you recieved the secret handshake recognition!

I assume you are talking about the ZCCA 'stock class' as you mention the Gold Medallion award which is exclusve to the Z Car Club Association awarded at the annual convention. The judging manual and rules can be viewed through the downlaod tab of the ZCCA web site; ZCCA.org. They have been revised in 2012 which I had no involvement, however I was actively involved in the comprehensive 2009 revision / update for which the rules for judging the stock class remain the same. A) STOCK CLASS Vehicles exhibited must be configured exactly as shipped from factory for all S30 and S130 models (240Z – 280ZX) as special noted. Factory optional ordering packages and options will be allowed for later models (280Z – 370Z) as special noted. Cars with dealer installed options, including Nissan supported optional parts, such as wheels, floor mats, body and bumper moldings / trim, etc. can enter this class with a minimum five point deduction for each case. Any dealer preparation shall be limited to removal of protective shipping coatings / coverings and installation of components shipped with the car in protective coverings. Air-conditioning must be factory installed. Replacement of consumable items will be allowed however they must be Nissan replacement parts for the application to the specific model. Consumable items shall be: battery, oil filter, fan belts and ignition wires. Other consumable items limited to tires, cooling system hoses, vacuum system hoses, fuel system hoses, and exhaust system may be allowed at the discretion of the Chief Judge of the car show however they must be Nissan replacement parts for the application to the specific model. The Chief Judge will announce this at the judge’s meeting. So...it wouldn't necessarily be "correct" to use an original size and not an original brand such as Bridgestone or Toyo. I know plenty of people who have collected what I might call show tires specifically for that purpose. The thought being that the point loss for wear or age of an original tire would be less than the automatic 5 point loss for an "aftermarket" brand even though it is the correct size. Then, there's the "cover your arse" statement at the end which includes tires for situations just like this one. Probably what it would boil down to is what the competition is like for the stock classes (all of them competing equally for the Gold Medallion) being judged at the particular convention. A savy competitor would size up the competiton and ask for a ruling at the judges meeting. For instance, if all the cars in the stock classes (elligable for the GM) were running replacement tires the issue would defer to a "correct" size but if one competitor ran "as delivered from the factory" tires, the issue should be brought to the attention of the judges and you can bet that the guy who has gone to all the effort to find as new condition original tires is going to have a loud voice! On the other hand; so you get dinked 5 points for your brand new looking replacement tires. If the rest of your car judges full points, you still qualify for the GM.

Motorman, add the reinforcing plate to the oil pan! Great job - kudos to everyone. Great project / great thread!

Rear deck photos of HLS30U-00026. Three holes in the rear bulkhead. That's about as 'series one' as one can get!

Although not claiming to be an expert, is there some reason why you can't have the SS bumpers chromed? That would seem to be the best of both worlds.

Unless I'm missing something (quite possible) the original A/C units worked with freon which I understand is going to be illegal at the end of this year. I would say that if you want A/C in your Z, buy a new kit and install it. But, of course, I would also ask why you would want A/C in a sports car? Isn't that defeating the purpose of the car to begin with? Never could figure that one out...

I think Vintage Motorsport just did a write-up about Trevor's career. There was no mention about any involvement with the 240Z, just the 510. But back to the original question; I was looking at this thread with interest as I don't recognize the struts from my various competiton parts catalogs of the early 1970s period. Alan correctly points out that competition parts developed by Nissan Motors were marketed and sold through the Datsun Competition Department of Nissan Motor Corporation in U.S.A. I also have some early BRE / Interpart catalogs and I don't see them in there either.

The importer is in Canada which is why they say Canada on the pliers. What was made in Canada was the profit from importing the pliers!

Since you had the wheel powdercoated, I assume you're not going for originality and therefor the Toyo is worth more to a collector than the cost of a new tire. The new (available) tire size closest to a 175 HR-14 is a 195/70-14. Tire Rack has them. Yes, you should be concerned about the safety of a 38 year old tire!

Because car covers are supposed to breath. A waterproof membrane over your car will cause it to rot, trapping the moisture inside the car, inducing mildew and, of course, rust. There are several products that can be applied to the outside of the cover to make it more water resistant such as tent fabric treatments, but the stuff has to be used regularly. Car covers are temporary and should never be used long term. The other thing to consider is what you are going to do with a wet car cover when you want to drive. Fold up your wet cover in the morning, drive to work, put the cover back on, and now you're wet from dealing with the thing and the inside of your car is wet! I have a love / hate relationship with my car covers.

That's and over-the-top funny great idea. Do it!

Just read in AutoWeek that the DeltaWing will participate in the 2013 ALMS / Grand Am series. As this is a transition year for the newly combined organizasions, the schedule is still to be determined but Sebring was mentioned. I also read an editorial in Road & Track by Chip Ganassi that discussed a proceedure to advance design within the 'spec' realm. He suggested that the technical specifications of a particular design (say, the Dallara dw12 Indycar) be published. Every year, the rules would then be open to allow design adaptation of a particular component of the car. Year one might open up the design of the front suspension for instance. Designs and testing for improvement of the particular component would not impact the cost structure as much and allow multitudes of new ideas to be investigated. Each year, the different teams would feature individual approaches to advancing the design of the same car everyone else is racing. Interesting approach to contiuing improvement within the cost advantages of 'spec' racing.

" Please post pictures of your Lime( Nissan/Datsun/Dealer Resto) Z " Best looking Vintage Z of all of them and the ONLY picture of someone else's Z I have framed and hanging on the wall. Superb car. This car is on the cover of my Vintage Z research essay.

Great Race, great finish, 5th overall - Go DeltaWing! The attached pictures are from Datsun France's web site. Zedyone, the DeltaWing is exactly what you are talking about, racing innovation and product improvement. I don't think you could get anyone to agree that the design is for the sake of being different. It most certainly isn't and what it proves is that the rules restrict innovation; greater fuel economy, greater tire wear, all at the same speeds and durability seems quite productive to me. And spec racing is not just NA$CAR, it's Indycar as well as Grand Am to name but two series employing spec chassis. I don't know if you have ever seen a gaggle of buzzing Porsches from the GT classes, but they are pretty much 'spec' customer cars, aren't they? We have Spec Miata, Spec Ford, Spec this, Spec that, and not to mention Spec tators. I'm glad to see success with innovative ideas and now the DeltaWing can even claim to be crash tested!

Thanks for the pics, conedodger. I read an article some time ago about how we racing fans have all come to accept the 'traditional thought' of race car design and construction for the accepted means of racing. Spec chassis, spec racing, spec showmanship - all standardized, homogenized, neatly packaged into a performance we can all enjoy - how nice! The Deltawing demonstrates something we previously rejected taking efficiency to another level with respect to this (ALMS) type of racing. Audi introduced the concept of alternative fuels and the type of engine design which takes advantage of the rules, thinking outside the box with huge success. Carbon fiber replaced aluminum replaced steel replaced wood and so on. I'm very in favor of seeing success here with the Deltawing. Too bad we have come to accept 'punting'.

Pet Peeve: There is nothing "euro" about the Datsun / Nissan / Fairlady / S30 / 240-60-80 Z! It's a Japanese car. So that's ur-gelis, huh? Ha-ha, 72OJ, if it feels good in your hand... Georgia Bulldogs have a lot of bark, a mean bark, but Gators bite!

You DO realize that the DeltaWing is a four-wheeled vehicle, don't you? I find it amazing how many people think it is a three-wheeled tricycle. Yes, a spin like that in the soft Georgia clay WOULD make a car go topsy-turvy. Especially at that point on the track. The light vehicle weight and low mass is the problem, evidently. Just wasn't built for the NA$CAR mentality? That Porsche clearly turned into the car. Grounds for disqualification IMO. I must be "old school" in my belief that racing is NOT about hitting another car.

Deltawing crash at Road Atlanta - Petit LeMans http://www.alms.com/articles/and-he-walked-away

http://www.ssnake-oyl.com/ First class services and product. Don't skimp ($) on your safety equipment!

I had Matsuo san sign my sun visor a few years ago. I've had John Morton sign a number of art pieces. I once had Dan Gurney sign a race car model. I have numerous Mr. K signatures on all sorts of things. I also have a fairly large collection of driver autographs I collected from all the ALMS races I have gone to over the years; mostly on posters but a few t-shirts.

This might help. http://chemistry.about.com/od/geochemistry/f/What-Happens-If-You-Mix-Regular-And-Synthetic-Oil.htm