26th-Z

Please do some research about ethanol before you post a lot of misinformation. Ethanol mixed with petro fuel is not any more coorosive than water. It is a renewable resource and it doesn't emit as much greenhouse gasses. The high food price thing is pure propoganda. 40% of our nation's corn production today goes to cattle feed. The government pays farmers to not grow crops - we all know that. Ethanol farming is a new economic opportunity. World wide. Ethanol / methanol fuels provide 87% of Brazil's energy needs and 95% of new automobiles sold in Brazil run on flex fuel; 85% ethanol. As a result, Brazil fuel prices are far lower than ours. Brazil mandated ethanol / methanol flex fuels ten years ago and they are the world wide model example of energy self suffiency. Currently, ethanol costs around $2.50 a gallon to produce. You may think it is more expensive, but then you say all the gas in Huntsville is ethanol mixed, so more expensive than what? By growing more crops for ethanol, we are planting more green; the primary source of scrubbing CO2 from our atmoshpere - thus reducing global warming. Yes, ethanol blends used in our old cars will result in decreased mileage and there is not much that can be done about it. More and more new vehicles will be equipped for flex fuels and those vehicles won't have the problem. But let's face it. We are financing the terrorists waging war against us by purchasing their oil. There is no shortage of oil. The OPEC nations just don't want to pump it out of the ground for $25 a barrel when they can get $140. Flex fuel automobiles have demonstrated energy independence in other countrys around the world. We Americans can do it too. Write your congressman and demand farm legislation to promote the growth of ethanol crops and waste production of methanol. In the mean time, change your fuel lines. They are probably original and need to be replaced from age. My 3c

The Japanese S30 model (or ZL) came standard with carpeting and the less expensive S30-S came with rubber floor mats. The Japanese had the luxury of ordering their car with certain specifications whereas the American imports were resigned to what we refer to as dealer add-ons. The bill of sale for 26th lists carpeting as a standard feature, but as I have come to understand, carpeting was manufactured and installed in America. Mike, you might want to chime in on this one. I was surprised to hear what you discovered. I have no idea if the ZL model came with both rubber matts and carpeting. From the sounds of our conversation, the American imports may be the only model with both. I have some original rubber. Here is the deck matt for 26th. I also have the floor rubber for behind the seats. They came from #403 which was a Canadian car. Good question; "did the floor matts in Japan say Nissan".

Even 40k is surprising to me, John. I would think way higher than that. But the only thing to do with the car is vintage race it and there are a couple of the GTP cars doing that now. It takes pretty much a full time mechanic or two and a rig far more elaborate than a trailor behind the station wagon! Awesome beasts they were! Those cars generated so much downforce that it was difficult to keep tires on them. Was it Bob Akin who was killed in one of these at Road Atlanta? Vintage racing at Road Atlanta?

Yes. That was HLS30-60354 in the eBay ad.

Thanks! The starting price is quite interesting. low

Congrats Bob!

Well that blue and white checked flag is the State of Bavaria, isn't it? Do you think it could be a Geortz thing? I need to change the flag on my geisha.

It has to be the full moon passing in Gemini along with the rising sun moving into the house of Gemini. Usually everyone here is pretty stickly on the facts rather than the opinion and gab that is going on here. Ohh, I hope no one believes the war crimes / name change / afraid of failure garbage. Yes, Alan, the name change was - in the American market - a gaff beyond description. And it devistated Nissan. No close scrutiny of the books required. But what has me rolling way beyond Carl's grammar and the mild misspelling here and there is the very title of this thread! When I first opened up the subject, this is what I thought it was about.

During the battle of Tsushima Straight (Sea of Japan Naval Battle, Russo Japanese War 1904-1905), the Japanese fleet under Admiral Heihachiro Togo destroyed two-thirds of the Russian fleet. As the battle began, aboard the flagship Mikasa, Admiral Togo ordered the hoisting of the Z flag: “The Empire’s fate depends on the result of this battle. Let every man do his utmost duty”. It was the largest naval engagement of the pre-dreadnought battleship era. Historian Edmund Morris calls it the greatest naval battle since Trafalgar. The Z ensign is a common symbol in Japanese culture. As I posted previously, the Z is a symbol for the concept meaning ultimate.

This thread is way too funny.

Zulu The Z is a symbol for infinate...ultimate. zulu.bmp

Here are som tips from photgrapher Kerry Drager in his article: "How to Photograph Car Shows". Go early and stay late. In fact, visitors often can get into an event before the "official" start time – while car owners are setting up shop. This allows you to take advantage of the early-morning light and the casual, pre-show atmosphere. Likewise, day's end may even yield some last-minute, warm-light images. The soft-and-even light of an overcast day is ideal for recording bright colors and fine details – just be sure to minimize the amount of overpowering white sky in your picture. In midday sunlight, shooting success hinges on flexibility: For instance, in the morning, a subject may be engulfed in shadows, but in the afternoon, the same vehicle may be shining in sunlight. At car shows, I put all of my lenses to work: from wide-angle to telephoto to macro. Other items: • A polarizing filter boosts colors by reducing glare. But preview the effects first to determine how much polarization – or how little! – you want. • Pack a small notebook in order to jot down the car's make and year, and any other interesting tidbits. • A tripod lets you use a low ISO for the best color and image quality. When operating in tight corners and in big crowds, however, a tripod can get in the way.

Michael, How do you think my 550EX flash will work on a 5D?

What a comparison shot with your car sitting aside the new GTR. The thing looks like a behemoth! I saved it to my screen saver file.

Ahhh the Tidewater show! I love this car show - great cars - always a lovely day. Thanks for the shots!

Sorry, Bob. Didn't mean to hijack the thread either. The Vintage Z story is a great blurb of automotive history and I love talking about it. I appreciate the cars very much and agree with their distinctive value. And thanks to Carl and his mentioning the Hanawa connection, I did a little more research into Bob Thomas and the corporate climate surrounding these events. Found a couple af very interesting articles. Chris

What ! ? ! Only one vote? Old #27 rules! You can't get better graphics, more authentic, original, and within the spirit of the Z than rust stains! Hell. That paint is clean enough to eat off of. The racoons do! Will, that fender is the paint color sample fender from the restoration of ZRush. A serious piece of history there! I couldn't even guess at the value of such a piece.

The trouble is that those $400 insta-shots turn out great pictures, and for most of us, pictures we are very happy with! Did you guys line up a photographer for Cleveland, Tomo?

Old # 27. Smooth with distinctive age yet slightly porno-graphic.

I think the only translation needed is; "Fewwy Spensive" and "No Paats Fo U Yank". That isn't very politically correct, is it?

(quote)Thanks for the clarification Carl. Interesting that Nissan referred to the then current Z32 as the "Classic Z's". Do you know if any of them were sold and badged as Classic Z's? If so, how many, and do they have any additional value? I have a vague memory of Courtesy Nissan offering one or two "Classic Z's".... but I was never interested in that part of the program, and it seems to have been dropped fairly shortly after the Vintage Z Roll-Out. Since there were still plenty of 90-96 300ZX's in the used car market, mostly with reasonably low mileage and good care - there really wasn't much demand for them at the Dealership level. (quote) The "Classic Z" was the initial portion of the Z-Store program prior to the introduction of the Vintage Z. There were plenty of 300 ZXs on the used car market; they were lease trade-ins and the dealers had them. That's why they initiated the "Classic Z" sales program. I do not know how many 300ZXs were sold this way, but they came with a certificate and bronze plaque. I see them occasionally on eBay Motors. Contrary to what Carl has posted, the Classic Z was half the Z-Store program. No other models were involved. Just the S30 and the Z32. Special 240Zs were restored for specific customers, however. HLS30-08808 was built as the "240-ZR". Photo below. HLS30-00222 was built for Morrrie Sage and Keith Crane, publisher of AutoWeek, had one custom built.

Here is some Z-Store literature.

There are many "sub-stories" to the Vintage Z story that make the whole affair quite interesting and contribute to the value of the cars. Carl paints a deeper picture of the corporate atmosphere during this period. Indeed Nissan was in trouble financially and the announcement that the Z would be discontinued in America was not received very well. Two events, Z-America Relay and the 1995 ZCCA convention in Atlanta, coincide with the placement of Mr. Yoshikazu Hanawa as corpoate president and CEO of Nissan Motor Corporation. Hanawa and Katayama are friends and share common corporate philosophy. "The Z Car Club Association national convention was held in Atlanta in 1995. Henry Costanzo, president of the Georgia Z Club directed the efforts of over twenty planning committee leaders. “We are delighted to have Mr. Yutaka Katayama attending our convention”, read the event program. “We are greatly honored that Mr. Katayama will be joining us for the 25th Anniversary Celebration of the Z Car”. Henry recalls the circumstances surrounding the invitation to Yutaka Katayama. “Upon his retirement, Mr. Katayama returned to Japan and had not been back in any official capacity since. The idea to invite Mr. K and celebrate the appreciation Z car owners had for him and “his” car, seemed unique and exciting”." Z-America Relay ended at the convention in Atlanta. This picture was taken by helicopter at Road Atlanta. "It cannot be understated what a large impact these events had on the direction of the future. Articles appeared in the Japanese press concerning the popularity Mr. Katayama was receiving in the United States. People throughout the industry noticed this most extraordinary expression of consumer orientation and brand loyalty. Concurrently, during this time frame, the automotive press covered the placement of a new President / CEO of Nissan Motor Corporation; Mr. Yoshikazu Hanawa. Nissan leaders were celebrated in the press and conversations dealt with the future direction of Nissan." "One of the convention events was a nighttime drive up to Stone Mountain for a laser light show. Arrangements were made for the lasers to express a special welcome to Mr. K and at the end of the show, a reception line formed to greet Mr. K. Z car after Z car paraded past the enthusiastic celebrity who had no idea how revered he was by so many Z enthusiasts. Henry adds; “We decided to do the Laser Light Show up at Stone Mountain and when I made the arrangements, they told me for an extra $100 they could put up “Welcome Georgia Z Club, Welcome ZCCA, Welcome Mr. K”, so we did it. After the show, we had Mr. K in a receiving line / parade of Z cars – over 100 of them – and the man was to the point of tears. He had no idea how popular he was and how many appreciated his efforts to bring the Z car to America”." There are some other key incidents that play into the story, however it is fair to see how well Bob Thomas' plan for a $200 million ad campagin was received. Mr. K was reintroduced to America and the Z-Store program was put into place. Initially, it was a special sales program to sell a very large stock of leased 300ZXs and was announced at the Z retirement party - Peterson Automotive Museum. Carl, I don't think Nissan ever admitted loosing money on any of the Vintage Z restorations. I have Z-Store releases that say they made money on them. I thought we just finished dispelling the rumor that the program ended over lack of parts. It didn't. It ended over the inability to produce 200 cars for sale with a 12 month / 12,000 warrenty in a period of 20 months. Nissan, employing four different restoration shops and eighteen body shops, couldn't meet the demand. Why eighteen different body shops? What is forgotten is that during this period, Southern California experienced rainy weather for a long period. Body shops were swamped with collision work. What seemed to be a fairly simple task turned into a management nightmare. "Sales waned as dealers couldn't sell cars they couldn't get". Nissan decided to focus on the new Z and funding for the program was discontinued.

I think I see three of them in this picture.

Thank you, Alan. Yes, I did quite a bit of research and wrote a piece about the program. This was in 2005 and I planned to present the work to the ZCCA at their convention in Syracuse. I did not realize that Pete Evanow was to publish his book at that time and my work became a little overshadowed to say the least. At the time (2004), we were having heated conversations about "factory" involvement and "restoration" quality. I realized that very little was known about the program as the "facts" were being thrown about like a whirling durbish. Over a period of a year, I collected an amazing bibliography, cataloged 28 cars, and obtained some great collectable items. I own a full PR package on the Dream Garage campaign including the films. I have two different copies of Pierre's private films from the time. I have a collection of private corporate files from one of the Nissan management staff who worked on the project. And my ultimate is a "Life is a Journey, Enjoy the Ride" display banner that Mr. Katayama signed for me in Syracuse. Other major components of the history are still around and in the hands of a couple of private collectors. I would say with all humility that I probably know about as much as anyone could know who wasn't there! "The Vintage Z program was a portion of the Z-Store program; a marketing campaign designed to fill a market niche, demonstrate a commitment to consumer orientation, and promote brand identity. It could be suggested that the Vintage Z program filled the hole left by the discontinuation of the Z car until a new model could be introduced, however evidence suggests that this would be a coincidence; a result of events. The Z-Store program traces its roots to the unprecedented advertising and market positioning campaign known as the “Dream Garage” or “Life is a Journey” campaign. Initiated during the closing ceremonies of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, the unprecedented two minute Dream Garage commercial kicked off Nissan’s intentions to increase brand identification and loyalty, respond to consumer demands, and obtain import leadership in the United States. During a period of slumped sales and fiscal losses, the $200 million campaign intended to reverse trend." "The “Dream Garage” featured the spirit of Yutaka Katayama and his personal philosophy as the foundation of the Nissan brand, employing the company heritage and commitment to truth and honesty in support. From the extensions of that ad campaign came the concept to restore and sell the car which had brought Nissan fame. Reaction from the automotive press was excitingly favorable. Test drives reported high praise and a nostalgic smile from the author. The car was received very well. As might be expected from Nissan’s publicity efforts, media coverage was extensive." "It was (is) no simple task to completely disassemble, repair, and refurbish 38 cars in a period of seventeen months. The lofty goal was to refurbish 200 cars in 20 months. Demand for the Vintage Zs quickly outpaced supply and efforts to resolve the issue did not help. Replacement part availability became an immediate issue. Although the program used up a significant amount of stock, a considerable number of parts were either remanufactured or replicated. Combined, the time constraint and part availability issues resulted in a controversial restoration. The quality and workmanship was good but the accuracy of unique model part features was not. In addition, certain liberties were taken with the inclusion of aftermarket products and customer requested modifications. Typically, many aspects of the vehicle restoration included upgraded specifications for performance and durability reasons." "Market demand waned as the waiting time increased for a Vintage Z and the proposed price increased. Dealers simply could not promote a car they could not get. Dark clouds were looming for Nissan’s financial health and with corporate restructuring attempts on the horizon, funding was discontinued and the Z-Store was closed." There are still a few holes in the history. I have found about 28 cars and they are posted on Carl's web site. Carl takes Evanow's list of serial numbers and extracts two cars (I believe?) which Nissan kept. Then, we found one that is on Pete's list but is obviously not a Vintage Z restoration. I have a few serial numbers that are not on Evanow's list however we can't find the cars. One of Evanow's notes in my collection says that 42 cars were restored yet he lists 38 cars in his book. One of the restoration shops has completely vanished. It just isn't a resolved thing. We're working on the 38 car premise at the moment.