26th-Z

The Florida Z Association is preparing for their first event of 2006 – The Rights of Spring Autocross / Solo – April 22nd in Gainesville, Florida. Fifty cars are scheduled to take the track, a .65 mile driver training course with high speed straights and tight corners, for a full day of Z-car fun and excitement. The event is open to prepared and street machines; competing in four different classes for trophies, bragging rights, and points toward the annual “FZA Challenge”. Come race with us! Tune your machine and driving skills with the best Z-cars and Z-drivers Florida has to offer. Registration is still open and you can read all about it as well as register on-line at the FZA website http://www.flza.com/fza/index.jsp or download the files and mail your registration from the website of the registrar, Her Majesty the 26th http://home.earthlink.net/~cwenzel/index.html Come join the fun! Don’t want to race, but can’t miss the fun? Join us for the day of Z-car talk and discuss our plans for the upcoming 2006 ZCCA international convention in Dallas and the 2007 ZCCA convention. Hope to see you there! Questions? Write to Rights of Spring cwenzel@earthlink.net. Chris

I really enjoy the study of the early cars and the very first days of introduction. Kats and I have become good friends over our common interest. It's a double edged sword in some ways. Many unique parts I find on my cars were later replaced / upgraded for obviuos reasons; they didn't work very well! For instance, the internal cab venting was cutting edge at the time, but the rear hatch vents had a tendancy to fill up with snow and ice causing them to break and leak exhaust fumes back into the car. As a result, the rear vent location was changed to the quarter panels underneath the emblem in later models. Kats did a thread on the very early quarter "chrome Z" emblems noting that the casting for the chrome Z emblem is different from the white Z emblem. Both are hollow casting designs, however the emblems that were made for the prototypes were cast solid. I took one out to Long Beach for the ZCCA convention and asked Mr. Matsuo about them. He told me they came from the very first batch of emblems intended for the prototype models. I find them on examples of the first 100 cars or so. Things like this make for fun conversation - completely anal - but fun. I'm a trained designer and I understand the thought process during design so it is with great delight to sit and talk with another designer about what he was thinking and the solutions he found. Designers have a tendancy to talk with pen and paper. The thought process described in drawing form is called delineation. Here are some conversations about the "scoop" headlight bucket, the seat vents, and the problem of hiding the hinge for the hatch deck. The strut design that holds up the hatch came from the French Mirage fighter jet canopy. When you ask me if I am doing a concours restoration, I don't really know how to answer. I intend to do my best to be "authentic", but there are some things associated with restoration that will be simply too difficult to reproduce in original form. I'm not doing a museum specimen, but I am keeping close to the spirit of the original. I will also use parts that did not originally appear on the car. 26th, for instance, will sport the original headlight covers that we never saw in America. I intend to show the cars but I also intend to drive them occasionally.

Ok, I guess I should jump into this conversation. Kats is here - Greetings Kats! - and I can tell you many, many things peculiar to the early cars. As Kats knows, I have had several conversations with Yoshihiko Matsuo, the man I consider the original designer of the Z, who worked with the first cars as they were produced from the original prototype models. I have photographs of the original prototypes. As many of you also know, number 16 and number 19 live close to me. Let me begin by saying that in my opinion the first cars were more extensions of the prototypes than pure production examples. I suspect that quite a few hundred of the early cars were "hand" built before the Z car was fully sorted and mass production techniques we are most familiar with were used. From my conversations with Matsuo san, many parts that were developed for the prototypes were used in production before Nissan fully developed their patterns and molds for the mass production models we commonly see. Some day, I hope to write an essay on how the unit body was assembled in the beginning. Nice picture of the hood bumper, Kats! It looks like you have a new one. Very nice! That is simply a rubber cup and was later replaced with the bumper that allows for adjustment. Seat guards? Well, what can I say? They broke very easily and if anyone finds any, I would like two pair, please. They just screw to the bottom of the seat frame and if your seat frame has holes in it, it probably had seat guards originally. Here is what I would say about the screw and grommet on the interior panels. If your quarter window vents have this tab welded on to the frame, you probably had screws and grommets. The screw would be chromed and the grommet would be either chromed of clear plastic. I would say the clear plastic grommet is correctest. A screw and clear plastic grommet was used to secure the interior window trim on the vertical post of the quarter window. The early cars did not have this and as a result, the trim is not secure in this place. Same for the door trim. Without the screws and grommets, the door trim warps and pulls away from the door. Here are a couple of pictures:

You want to pull her over and what?

Pete, I own and drive a BMW. The first thing that comes to mind is that the cars are in different classes. A 2002tii is a sedan and the Z is a GT sports. Kind of like asking to compare a huge SUV to a Mack truck. Another observation I would like to make is that the series one 240Z was not equalled in performance until the debut of the 280ZX turbo, however you mentioned cams and performance upgrades. Once you get into that conversation, the playing field is wide open. But the obvious answer to your question comes from one of the original ad campaigns which said; "Drive a Datsun, Then Decide".

Scans from the parts catalog - S30, PS30, HS30, and HS30-H. And so that Ricklandia might understand a little better, the "Datsun 240Z" imported into North America is just one model of a whole family of Z cars manufactured by Nissan Motor Ltd. To understand the Z is to embrace the whole family.

My Dearest Gentle Jan, That discussion belongs some place else indeed! Certainly not on this web site! You see, Albrecht Goertz had NOTHING to do with the design of the Z. You will only get howls of laughter from everyone here if you bring up his name. I know he would like to think he had something to do with the design, but we don't believe him. We believe the design team led by Yoshihiko Matsuo is responsible for the design and we have overwhelming evidence to substantiate our thoughts. Conversely, we have nothing more that a few pictures of Mr. Goertz standing around and that really means nothing. For that matter, if you would like me to sit in your car and blip the throttle, I would be happy to smile for a picture. You see? You are very welcome to join our love for Z cars and talk about the timeless design, but discussions about Albrecht will not be received well. I hope you will consider our view. Personally, I don't think your air dam design is all that bad. Move the parking lights to below the bumper and make the brake duct smaller. Align the vertical edge between the brake duct and center duct with the line of the fender edge above and I think you will have a very good looking modification. All the best, Chris

There are several types of Hitachi distributors available for the L24 engine. The D612 is shown in the North American catalog for cars up to 7/73 and differs from the D609 in the ability to set the advance and retard for emission controls. My parts book shows 22100-E4603 replacing E4601 which indicates up to 6/72 with no apparent difference. None-the-less, 22100-E4603 is available from Nissan remanufactured for $102. Part number 22100-E4603RE

http://zzxdatsun.com/

Does your badge say Fairlady of FairladyZ? You want a Nissan badge to go with that - part # 90808-E4125 - unless you have an automatic, in which case you want the "full automatic" badge - part # 90809-E8225 - to accompany the Nissan. My book shows flat "pushing clips" and sealing washers instead of the common barrel clip. I suggest you begin your search outside of North America. Japan would be my first choice.

I have one broken seat cushion guard for the passenger side. I know of a couple in North Carolina, but more so, I know of several cars which would wear them proudly and correctly. If you decide to make repros, let me know if you need help and count me in for at least three sets - maybe more. Chris

Here is the old thread from Kats about the seat cusion guards. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9188 I just went through two of my parts books looking for the door panel screws. All I come up with is 80919-22500; clip-trim board which is the spring clip that fits in the door panel board and clips into the door. No screw. I am almost positive there are four chrome screws and grommets that fit the rear hatch panel to the hatch, but all the parts books list plastic rivets. Indeed there are rivets involved, but I would have to look at my hatch and panel to see what it looks like.

Have never been able to find the part number for the seat cushion guards. I do not have any screws fastening the interior door panel to the door. All my panels clip into place.

And painted black with a brush, I might ad. Of course, I'm exposed to seriously early cars which from all looks of it were fairly hand built. By the time we get around to looking at 260s and 280s, I get a little lost from lack of exposure.

Paint over cadmium plating. You can use the F word when you are really talking about the factory, Juan-Pablo. :-)

The hood latch hardware is plated and finished as such. Hood hinges are plated and painted to match the car color.

Carl, Guidelines are not benchmarks. They are guidelines. We can certainly use the guides to keep us in the same conversation, but they are not standards, levels, criterion, points of reference or any thing other than vaguely defined subjective categories which may or may not apply to the value of the day. Lets not confuse the issue, please. Chris

I don't know, Arne. They are stock for my cars and I snatched a pair as spare parts, at least, for you should see the Hitachis on 27th! My plan has always been to send the Hitachis out to Ztherapy and I wouldn't be surprised in the least if they needed parts. If I end up with three sets of carbs, I'll probably make a performance set.

Hey Carl! Is your numbering system a recognized published value system that you can point to as reference, or is that the "Carl Beck" numbering system? I am not intending to sound rash or arguementative by any means, but I don't necessarilly agree with the detail of your descriptions. I don't think number one cars are all that rare. I think plenty of them are driven and I would say a 90 point car would qualify. Also, a 90 point car does NOT necessarily mean bone stock and in that respect, the point / value system currently in practice by the ZCCA is far more restrictive in the stock classes than any other. Good case in point: Charlie Osborne drove his stock entry to Syracuse last year, washed it, won a Gold Medallion, and drove it home. No question in my mind, it is / was a number 1 car. One of our active ClassicZ club members showed up in Syracuse with his wonderfully restored Z, took top honors in his modified class, qualified for the Gold round of judging, and then drove his car at Watkins Glen the next day. The Gold Cup modified 240Z from last year was driven. Another interesting thing that happend last year was that the cars scored higher indoors under artificial light than they did outdoors in bright sunlight. You have offered a valuable benchmark for everyone's reference, but I would like to respectfully dilute the description, just a bit. Real-world judging, either ZCCA or AACA, is not that definative and highly subjective. It is also a "snapshot" in time and place. Finally, with all due respect, you forgot to mention the #10 category. This is highly subjective, but a 10 car is one that just leaves the viewer awe struck from 6 meters. My proud example of a 10 car is the honorable Princess 27th! Chris

Arne, 10/70 seems to be the swing month for valve covers. They seem to be highy sought in Japan these days. I would be interested in the valve cover to fill requests I have. So don't sweat the unorignal thang. Her Majesty recognises you as a mature and responsible fellow Z gentleman and waves unstockified blessing upon your ride.

Arne, There was a time, a year or two ago, that you would have thought these parts were made of platinum with diamond studs. I saw prices on eBay that astounded me - what the $300 radiator hose and such. I remember how pissed I was at getting outbid at $65 for a metal fan blade in those days. There were a number of people out there, with early cars, buying up parts at premium dollars and it was discouraging. Now, it seems most of those people, including myself, have all those parts and the market for some of the early stuff has dropped. I have had the honorable experience of paying way too much as well as paying darned near nothing. One day, I was searching the classifieds on Zcar.com (remember when they were long listings?) and an add popped up for an early ash tray while I was surfing. The guy wanted $25 for it. I phoned the guy right away and wired (remember wiring money?) cash to him that night. He was somewhat astounded, but early ash trays were going for $50 - $75 on eBay at the time. I have a similar story for Nissan 2400 OHC valve covers. Now...I see prices flattening off. But this is just what I think - so take it for what it's worth. I'm not going to stand and argue about how accurate I am. There are several types of early air cleaners and your's is probably the later style, but no matter, they are worth anywhere from $25 - $60 in used restorable condition. 4 screw Hitachis come without float bowl drain plugs (early) and with drain plugs. I just stole an early set on eBay for $125, but the most common are the drain plug style and they go as high as $200 for clean looking examples. Clean E31 heads are around $300 complete with all the valve train. I don't know about E88 heads. Heads that have been machined are normally much less. I have never dealt in engine blocks, but most guys are paying around $100 for a used block in original spec that may or may not clean up. I just paid $45 for an early example transmission, $25 for a differential, so on. Hope this helps. I'm interested in the air cleaner. Chris

No, Ben. The car is in Japan. A couple of guys you know went to Japan last fall, attended some car shows, talked to some Japanese Z people we know of and relayed the situation to me as though I was going to buy it! Chris

Jerry, Milwaukee guy, eh? I grew up in Mequon. Are you on the West coast? Come join our Florida clubs. Chris