26th-Z

I don't know if this is general knowledge in the Z community, but 17th just traded and she is headed my way for a bath in the great revivation spas of Wauchula, Florida. Her Majesty heard that she was involved in some escort service in Chicago and was pretty ragged out. She was evidently bought and paid for by some wealthy Southern gentleman who is going to fix all her imperfections of age and return her to her glorious beauty. That makes three of these low VINs recently trading. Greetings Enrique and Ron! I liked your comments. I would agree with an expression like "once in a lifetime" dependent on the perspective as Enrique pointed out. The car is only worth (ever) what someone is willing to pay for it. Will these cars be worth $50,000? I hope so. I think that when we are talking about spending $40,000 on restoring a car like this, it depends on how it is being restored. I think that sum includes hiring someone to do the work. I don't think I'm going to have that much money in my cars. I know 26th will be less, but I'm doing a lot of the work. "Restoration" does not necessarily mean "parts replacement". We have been fortunate to see authentic original parts circulating in the past few years and it is true that this source is drying up. However, restoration does include the concept of restoring the original part. Much controversy exists in the restoration world about what is referred to as "original patina". Then there is the concept of remanufacturing an original part. What I see fighting the market for value in the low VIN models is the sheer number of examples. I am amazed that these cars even exist and are still being found...much less restored. What has me slightly concerned is the idea that these cars are not so rare and how many of them are being restored.

Thanks Jim! The organizers of the ZCCA convention car show (Daytona - October) asked me to hold a judging orientation workshop during this show. We are looking for people who want to judge the convention show and getting an organizational meeting together. I know we have had many discussions about ZCCA judging on this site. For all of you interested, I will be at the show with ZRush and will be talking about judging at the convention. See you July 14th in Clearwater!

Shekhar Mehta born in Nairobi on this day, 1945 Shekhar Mehta, the only 5-time winner of the Safari Rally, was born in Nairobi, Kenya. The most grueling rally race in the world, the Safari originated in '53 at the behest of the Royal East African Automobile Association. East African racing clubs had maintained an interest in running an international rally event ever since the road from Nairobi to Johannesburg had become a popular route for endurance tests during the '30s. Logistical problems prevented plotting a race course form Nairobi to Johannesburg. In '53, in an unstable Kenya, the Royal East African Auto Club organizers seized on the idea of a race that would remain entirely in East Africa. A race course starting & finishing in Nairobi & circumnavigating Lake Victoria was considered ideal. Racing enthusiasts gathered support for the plan by suggesting that the race be held in honor of Queen Elizabeth's 6/2 coronation. The idea was approved by colonial authorities, & the race was on. Since that inaugural race, the Safari has become one of the world's premier rally races. Initially running thru the east African nations of Kenya, Tanzania, & Uganda, today the Safari is limited to Kenya for political sovereignty issues. The longest Safari Rally ever, Mehta's debut race in '71, covered 3,852 miles of unpaved paths & open country. The event covers land at altitudes ranging from sea level to 10,000' above sea level. In '71, 107 cars began the race & only 32 finished. Mehta won his 1st Safari Rally in '73, becoming the 2nd Kenyan to claim the title. He dominated the event in the late '70s & early '80s, winning 4 Safaris in a row w/navigator Mike Doughty guiding their Nissan/Datsun. Mehta died in 2006.

The pictures remind me of the ad and auction for 27th. I would imagine 305 is in better shape than 27th, but by comparison for the price conversation, 27th was sold at around $2,200 and I got offers for twice that in the days following my purchase.

Arne, I bought a set of filthy Libres three years ago for $400 only to find, after I cleaned them up and dismounted the old tires, that they were not a matching set. Fortunatley, the seller took them back and I only lost my cleaning efforts. Then I bought a set from a guy in North Carolina who was a notorious internet frauder. Lost $350 on that set. So I decided to buy Watanabes instead. I might suggest that any wheel you buy in any condition is in fact used and that you consider having the wheels restored no matter what condition they appear to be in when you buy them. Therefore, a little curb rash that makes them inexpensive to begin with is a good thing. Chris

Kats, I am with you! I will never sell my cars. Yes they might be more valuable some day but I do not care. I will still drive them. If I only wanted to make money, I would not invest in cars. Everyone knows that. My post #40 was so tounge-in-cheek. You guys need to lighten up!

You can say all you want, but the racing record is here in America. Sure the Z was raced in "other" countries, but the record number of overall victories and consecutive championships is here - home of good-'ol Meric'n Enginuuity. Call us cowboys, but we know 'zaclly' what to do with a soft, voluptuous spinner like an HLS30. Too bad they don't have Corvettes and Mustangs to blow off in England or Japan. Sure, any red-blooded Yank loves the sophistication of the foreign Fairlady, but we did just fine with our imported babes.

No, AutoZone isn't going to carry old Z parts. Have a look at Motorsport Auto and run through this site's search function for other specialty dealers of parts. There are many of them.

Welcome to the club of wierdos, Darbji. Obviously you have not met the royal highness Her Majesty the 26th, Garage Queen. She is sister of the Princess 27th in direct lineage and related to the great RAC Rally warriors HS30-00026 and HS30-00027 through a marraige of convenience arranged in Japan. Both Her Majesty and the Princess are Japanese spinners and exist soley for driving pleasure because of the family creed; "Enjoy the Ride".

Pat, The last time I saw that poster for sale it was well over $200. The old original Z promotional posters are very collectable and pricey. If you think these are rare, try the racing posters! Or the rally posters! I have this poster I would sell - 24x36 size. I took the photo.

You may be looking for Z-Wolf? Contact the Suncoast Z Car Club.

Thanks for the pictures, Kats. These are great!

Where Kats gets undercarpet jute! Now that's the $64 question! Dan, the only thing I can think of beneficial to installing the cups for the clips is to prevent rattle noise. I would install them. Like the jute, no one will ever know if you have it correct or not. Chris

Ain't nothin like the real thing... I was looking for Libres when I came upon my set of Wats. I don't have more than $500 in my set including lug nuts and center caps. Send Eiji an e-mail at Datsun Spirit and see waht he may be able to find for you.

I have the set of push button belts shown in the picture I posted. Let me go dig them out of storage. PM me. Chris

Three pictures of seat belts and a link to the company that restores them. http://www.ssnake-oyl.com/ The first picture is of the correct belts for a '70. The second picture is of the lift style buckle. The third picture is of the later push-button type with the Z logo. The correct belt buckle is black with a portion of the lift handle in a black wrinkle finish. I love the second picture because it is of the early belt style with a 1972 ID tag sewn on to the belt. Very odd. Anyone will tell you that a 30 year old belt is not safe at all and should be re-webbed and reconditioned. Ssnake-oyl will recondition the belts with all new webbing but they aren't cheap. I think a set is $250 or so to recondition a set. Chris

New listing on eBay http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Datsun-240Z-240Z_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ6188QQihZ011QQitemZ320117642256QQrdZ1 To clear up some of the comments and questions from the old listing. The owner of the Vintage Z also owns the VW dealership and this is from his personal collection. The old reserve was $32,000 when the starting bid was $26,000. I am told the car is in very nice condition.

Did anyone post any pictures?

I use Klasse and love it. I use the two part liquid system.

Oh cool! I need a RR quarter panel - no speaker holes.

Mike B, This car is in great shape for its age. It looks to me as though the firewall / battery box is your worst problem and I would like to see frame rail pictures all the way back under the floor before I would go off to replacing them. Some great low VIN items on all your pictures. I see you have the plastic inspection lid clips. Need a fuel door knob? Clear hatch glass? I don't see the lead for the demister. No deck insulation! On #237! How bout that! I cannot disagree more with the comment about value. This car in show condition is worth 20, easily. More like 30 when you are finished. So here's what I think of the cowl issue. Fix it correctly. Hope these pictures help. These are from the Fairlady Z parts catalog Pub. No. C-236. The firewall is not shown, but the cowl pieces help me explain what you will probably encounter. The first pic is the whole page. Then I cropped the area of the rust spot and drew an arrow to the fresh air chimney. The picture is reversed to show what it is like on our LHD cars. See the tab bent up all along the front edge of the lower cowl member? It is welded to the fire wall. Evidently pine needles built up between the fresh air chimney and the firewall and rotted out the bottom of the cowl pan and the face of the fire wall. To fix this with a welded-in patch of metal will require the removal of the dash along with the heater fan and fresh air box above it. It is almost impossible to work in the area from the top because of the upper cowl frame member. These two members, welded continuously to the firewall, make up the top cross brace from door pillar to door pillar. This box section is open to fresh air from the cowl vents and collects water. The picture of the passenger floor is showing the damage of the cowl leak. That whole area needs to be cut out and replaced. It needs to be sealed up from water, I suggest cutting out the weld spots and removing the battery box. That whole area needs to be cleaned up in a big way. I am not a fan of POR. Repaired properly, that area will easily last another 35 years with a proper paint finish.

Best of luck. Try Datsun Spirit http://www.datsunspirit.com/ CW-

I'll bet you find more rust behind that pop riveted panel on the firewall. The big rust hole above it is the seam between the cowl and firewall infront of the fresh air shimney. Taking the dash out is the way to attack the problem. Low VIN guy standing by to help. Thanks for the heads-up, Fred. Chris

Alan, You beat me to post! But I concur with your comment. There are no Nissan published "factory" associations that I have found.