RAZ1

Carl, the sad part is, I had confirmation since the very beginning.

He's Back. Just an fyi that James Burgess (aka: ZmeFly) is back from the dead. He has popped back into the Z community over on Got-Z.com. http://www.got-z.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=23307&start=30 He also has a new cardomain site: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/354161 For some dumb reason he is using his same screen name that he had here. For anyone that dosn't care about this update, I'm sorry, but I will not let him scam another person if I can help it. Be very carefull when you deal with this guy, no matter how up and up a deal might sound, you can bet there is a scam around the corner. Now it is truely confirmed, he did not die. And I just noticed that DeltaDawn came back and edited her post. Go figure.

Way to go Eric, I thought the "whoa is me" approach would work. I said it at least 5 times there and I'll say it again, best Z in the graveyard. And at $270.00 one hell of a bargain. I should have given you a cell number and you could have come by the house and picked up some of this sheetmetal that I have. Oh well. maybe next time.

The pictures don't show you that there is a replacement door on the drivers side and the day before we got there the owner said someone ran into the car crunching the front pass side fender. How somebody ran into it out in the middle of nowhere is beyond my comprehension. Even with those problems, the car was worth $355.00. It is also sitting in soft sand with low tires maiking it a real PITA to move. I'm telling you this place was a riot just to walk around. Z's of every generation in many different conditions ranging from crap to really crappy. I have to say I had a good time walking (in the woods) around looking for stuff. Every once in a while I would find a diamond like two decent front bumpers for a 240Z or center consoles with no cracks. I'm telling you this was the disneyland of Z car junk(yards).

Thought Eric was going to post by now. I meet up with Eric and we when out to get the car. It was quite an adventure once we got to where the cars were at. It was a graveyard of cars and trucks. The Z that Eirc had bought was a lot worse off then he expected. The front radiator support was completely ripped in half and the front inner fender had been replaced with another part from another Z and welded into place. Not what I or Eric would call a project worth taking on. There was another Z (white) there that someone had ripped from Eric at the last second on Ebay that sold for $350.00 and was in much better shape. I was talking to Eric and said that that would be the best canidate. He talked to the owner about buying it since the Ebay buyer had not come to claim the car and it had been almost a month. This guy also turned around and tried to sell the same car in the classifed section with no bites. He even had the nerve to email Eric and asked if he wanted to buy it from him. Ok, I'm getting off subject. I could only stick around till 12:30pm and when I last left Eric he was still trying to get the owner of the boneyard to sell him the white Z. He was going to lay it on thick, ie: I came all the way from CA, I don't want to go home empty handed, etc. Just getting the cars out from where they were sitting was a chore in itself. One dirt road (1 lane) and minimal area to turn around. To me it was the storage area from Hell. It was kind of funny listening to the owner talk about people coming on to his property and stealing parts. You would probably start laughing when you saw where this place was and how far off the beaten path it is. You can't even see the cars from the dirt road that leads you into his land. I held back from making any smartass remarks, but the door was defintely open to make some. I hope Eric was able to talk him into selling him the white Z because towing a U-haul trailer all the way from CA to NM and back empty would make for a sorry reminder of what a $250.00 Z is really worth. At least he was taking his family to see the Grand Canyon on the way back to CA. So the trip wasn't a total waste. I hope he made it to Flagstaff ok. He was going to write an update here last night. I'm sure he'll have a lot more to add to this story when he gets home. Thinking of buying a car from my area? Please ask, and I'll look at it first and let you know if it's worth the trip. This happened to me once before (but for 10 times the money) and I learned my lesson the hard way. Won't make that mistake twice. Eric, hope you can make it down for the MSA show. Stop by the booth (SZM) and I'll give you a bunch of goodies.

DatsunZGuy, where did the avitar come from. My friends and I used to do those kinds of drawings back in the late 60's, early 70's but with muscle cars. That stuff was really big back then.

I'm staying there. Where in NM are you located?

Hey Eric, I'll be there. Look for the multi-coloered Z. You can't miss it. Art

Hi Vicky, we're thinking of adding a classifeds section. Should be at the dragon. Just have to decide which airport to go to and maybe hitch a ride with someone coming from that direction. That would be more fun then renting a car.

78 280zcar, my problem is I have parts like fenders eye buckets, hood, doors (shaved handles) etc. and I hate packing them up to ship. Small stuff I can deal with, large stuff is just a PIA. Don't worry I would never just trash a perfectly good 240Z hood. Someone locally will buy it sooner or later especially since I sell stuff for cheap. er34gtt2000jp, there is a perfect windshield at the U-Pull-It here in town. I can try to stop by and see if it's still there. If it is I might be able to pull it for you and you can pay me what the yard charges when you get here. No more then $40.00 if I remember correctly. Let me know.

Parts! I have enough parts already that I'm going to start throwing some away because I have no more room to store them. I'll meet up with you on Saturday morning just to see what these people have. You need to let me know where you are coming in from and where this place is that the car is stored and I'll pick a place that will be easy to meet at.

Will, the reason you didn't get to shake my hand was because the hand shaking line was very long that weekend and I finally just had to say enough is enough. But if I remember correctly you were next in line. Better luck next time.

er34gtt2000jp, if you can get them to let me take a look at the car(s) I will look it over for you and report back it's actual condition. I'll know right away if the car is native to this area or a transplant from a rusty state. I can also look at the other cars and tell you which ones might be a better canidate if the original one doesn't work out. I can look at it any time this week. I have some freed up time since the latest issue of SZM is about to go out in the mail. Let me know, I'd be more then happy to check this out so that you make the right decision. PS: tomorrow is suppose to be 68 degrees, perfect weather for looking at Z's Art

Lots of old Z's in NM. I was at the U-Pull-It last week getting all the sheetmetal, doors and bumpers off of a almost mint condition 72 240Z. This car had no rust, it looked waxed, the front bumper was perfect and the floorboards looked as new as the day it rolled off the assembly line. This car should have never been in the yard, but without a title they would not sell it whole. While I was there a guy walked up to me and asked if I was intrested in buying a early 240Z (70 or 71) for $500. I'm sure the guy would sell it for less. It's complete but not sure if it's rust free since I didn't look at it that closely. It was rough though. Good deals on old Z's come around here every few weeks. You just have to be on the lookout for them.

Sounds like the BCCD. If it is bad the quick fix is to attach the wire that leads to it to the "IGN on" terminal on the ballast resistor. This will keep the BCDD turned off. I think once you do this the problem will go away. Still might want to find another one that works. I took mine apart and tried to fix it without success so wiring it as stated above was the next best thing.

I saw this concept car in person and I can tell you that it will never make it to production in our lifetime. There is a third seat in the back (a 3-seater?) that folds up and down. The problem is, if you have a rear window in place (it didn't when I saw it) the passenger will have to be slumped over because his head will hit it or you could have a 2 year old sit there. It looks like a rumble seat placed too far forward. Has a 350Z type look in the front and a Prowler type look from the rear (reversed). The doors bulge out when looked at a certain angle that makes it look ugly. And I think they did some very good photoshop work to make it look like the car can actually be driven.

I also have a spare roof that I'm someday thinling of replacing on my 280 only because I have a V8 in it. The odd thing is, my sunroof doesn't look all that great as far as the finish look goes. The seal looks like it should leak, but I have been in some heavy rain storms, the car sits outside most of the time and not one leak. My guess is this sunroof has been on the car at least 10 years. I will say that it is very functional for my application. It's one more area for the hot air to vent. Also, if you want to build up rigidity in the car because of the sunroof, you can always do what the guys do when they make a convertible out of an early Z. Weld in supports between the rear strut towers. But heck, just having front and rear strut tower braces will help a lot.

How can you say all sunroofs leak. Unless you've been in every early Z that has one. Mine happens to have a sunroof and it has never leaked. I bought the car that way so it doesn't bother me one way or the other. My guess is if you roll a Z with or without a sunroof, your going to get the same result. A flattened roof. So structual intregity only goes as far as the serverity of the accident. I was once in a rollover accident in an Acura Integra. Rolled four plus times (lost track after the fourth) and it had a sunroof in it. It played no part on the outcome of the accident. The roof held and did not compress. I'm alive today because of a soundly engineered car, not because it did or didn't have a sunroof. Oh, and I was wearing my seatbelt.

A friend and I were looking at a 240Z that someone was selling. It was a total piece of crap and not worth anything. It did have an electric retractable sunroof (not the aftermarket kind). The buttons to control it were built into a panel just in front of the opening. The buttons were Datsun original with icons and everything. There is no way a dealership would have gone to all that trouble to install a factory looking sunroof. The headliner was molded to allow for the sunroof and everything. The question is did sunroofs back in the 70's retract. If not, then this was one hell of an install because it looked factory.

Sunday was a great day to drive the dragon, not a cop in sight and only a couple of trucks with trailers, usually going the opposite direction. And when they were going our way they were kind enough to move over and let us by. I rode with the guys from New Hampshire and it was a blast. Thank god I didn't eat breakfast before going out. That is one of the best, well maintained roads I have ever seen (on the Tennessee side) with some built in banks to boot. I really want to bring mine next year and if I do, I'll win the long distance award and take it away from them New Englanders. Unless of coarse someone comes from CA. This road is made for Z's and anyone that owns one should drive the dragon at least once in the cars lifetime. I've been to many Z events and I can tell you that this was truly a driving event first (without being on a track) and a car show second. usually it's the other way around. if you love to drive and live back east, this is the event to attend in the future. For once, a drive that didn't end at a restaurant. Now iI can't wait for the meet up in Denver, since that looks to be a driving event as well, but this time I'll have my car and the rocky mountains to contend with.

The locking mechanism from a 240/260 are the same as the 280 through 1976. They changed to a inside latch in 77 and 78. So the 260 doors should bolt on with no problem.

Enrique, you are hired! here are my thoughts on your points: "Yes, many of the articles will be "beginner" stuff." Very true, I have to think about the whole, not part of it. "As far as "everything" being documented..." I might have been a bit vague with that comment. What I meant, is that I can fix just about everything that has to do with the car by just doing some research at book stores and looking at other magazines. Just because it's not directly related to the Z doesn't mean I can't figure out how to fix it You take the information that's out there and adjust accordingly. "Regarding Typo's, yes they occur and also differences in opinion" You'd be amazed at some of the letters and emails we get whenever we make the slightest error. if there is one thing I've learned, people are passionate about this stuff. "In my opinion that many people don't know much about their car is one of the most important services that your magazine fulfills." That is the way I approach it. Some of our most popular articles were the fuel tank how-to, the steering wheel how-to and the troubleshooting the electrical system article. "Mechanically apt people look at your magazine in order to see what others have done." Nice idea, but they are usually the first to try and tear us a new one. When I said 80%, I didn't mean that they weren't important, just that the answer can be found in any number of repair manuals on the market today. The internet has made it easier to just ask the question and wait for the answer. Why buy a manual when you can get the information for free. "As far as taking something from a website: I don't imagine that you would literally cut and paste the thread." We have agreements with some of our writers. One in particular is Joe Demers. When he writes an article for us he agrees to not post it on a website until after the issue it is in has been released. A lot of people that write articles are quick to post them on the web, when in fact I would love to publish them in the magazine first and after the issue is in the mail, they can do whatever they please with it. You have to be on my end to fully understand how many people are out there just waiting to catch us in what they would consider a major mistake. You would not believe how many people come to use through the internet asking to write articles. We are always glad when they do. But the problem is when we contact them and say it is a go, all of a sudden they fall off the face of the earth and we never hear from them again. I'm guessing they weren't expecting us to say yes. The people that write to us in letter form are usually the serious ones. "Lastly, since you are doing a project car, why not publish a request for submissions" I will probably do that after the first article. The first article will have no wrenching involved. It will be taking a look at the car and letting the readers see just what this car will need. After that I'm open to suggestions. But readers have to keep in mind that this will not be a ground up restoration and that we should be looking to do things to the car that are going to make it road worthy and look decent doing it. Keep in mind that when a magazine has a project car, advertisers want to be involved. So a lot of the parts needed are supplied in exchange for publicity, like the carpet kit and sound deadening material. And yes this article will write itself. I always check out the sites to get ideas. "what about you hosting a story submittal forum here" Not a bad idea as long as people don't get scared off when they realize what it takes to fully document a article, ie: hires images of the entire process, notes on top of note on top of notes so that you can go back and write the article after the job is done. And lastly, not being scared that your writing skills might not be up to par with what you think the magazine is looking for. Remember, that's what editors are for. I'm not a professional writer by any stretch of the imagination, but you would be hard pressed to tell after the editors get a hold of it. Mike, more good points: "Ditto... I am glad there is a Z magazine that features early Z's at all." Our hardcore supporters with 1st gen Z's see it that way and understand what we are trying to do. "The publishers are going where the money is. Wouldn't you? I mean, it's not cheap to publish a magazine and pay for salaries. Start spending more money on early Z stuff.... attract advertisers..... write articles..... keep the subscription.... etc." So true, without the 350Z, there is no Sport Z. It is a proven fact that you can't produce a niche magazine if a car has been out of production for 30+ years. Aftermarket companies aren't interested in creating molds and machining parts for such a small market. Junkyards will only have a certain number of years before there stock piles go awayand along with it the avenue to cheap parts. I'm a 1st gen Z guy and if there is one thing I have learned is that we are cheap bastards and want everything for nothing, well just about. And for the majority, if you say that's not true, you're kidding yourself (how many just laughed when they read this sentence?). "It's really a catch-22. If you stop paying for the subscription, the potential market declines. And, this means that early-Z advertisers won't pay ..." Soooooo true, I would like to think that patience is a virtue and as the magazine continues to thrive, our core supporters will reap the benifits. Remember, any exposure the early Z can get will create a better awareness to the general public making it move away from the cult status and into the coniousness of the mainstream. The 350Z does more for the older generation Z's then you might think (this subject is for another discussion). Can anyone tell me why no other major publisher has ever tried to market a Z magazine? Hell, I haven't figured that one out yet. You would be surprised that even with the internet and all the Z people on these sites, it's just a small percentage to the number of Z owners that don't even know that there are dedicated websites, Z clubs, national conventions, local shows, etc. That is where we (SZM) comes into play. By being on the newstands we bring an awareness to the general public that could care less about surfing the net. We can't stop people from jumping ship and we understand if they do. It just means that we have to work that much harder to get someone else to jump aboard. "I seriously doubt that revenue from subsriptions keeps the magazine going. It's the advertising." Sooooo true again. All magazines have to be advertising driven or they are doomed to fail. The more subscribers you have the better chance you have of attracting advertisers. There is a reason why Car & Driver and MotorTrend can sell yearly subs for less than $10. You are just a number in their database to justify ad costs to advertisers. We brought the G35 into the fold without taking any pages away form the Z. We did this by expanding the pages. By doing this, we attracted 6 new advertisers instantly. Smart move or selling out? You be the judge. "Anyway... my point is that stopping your subscription will actually harm the issue more than help it. If you want to see more earlyZ info... write to these guys. Hell, RAZ1 is part of the magazine... We also have a forum for the mag here...." Mike, I knew there was a reason I like you. Like I said, I visit these sites constantly and will always respond if questions are asked. the hardest thing for us is people who assume the worst, post it online and we find out they never contacted to find out what's really going on. And we all know that everything posted on the web must be true (not).

Hi Tim (240ZX). I did some checking and I found the issue (Spring 2003, pg 9) with your car in it. Just to let people know we just don't randomly take images and use them whenever we want. You sent us the picture of your car as part of our Z Sightings response. I figure you must be aware that anytime you send a picture to a magazine, you are at the same time giving them permission to use it. That's what Z Sightings is all about. The last thing I want is for people to think we are out to scam them.

Tom (240ZX), what a sexest remark, . Actually those woman do work on there cars and a couple of them know as much as most guys do. And they also aren't afraid to drive them like some guys I know and have seen at Z events around the country. And before you jump down my throat, I said some, not all. When was your picture published? I would like to see it. We don't publish a picture of anyones car unless they sent it to us. And we don't pull them from websites. They are too lores for printing. Don't be sorry for speaking your mind. I'm not when I do. So here it goes. As far as our articles being beginner stuff, which ones in particular? We can't re-invent the wheel. It's been 35 years since the Z came out and just about everything that has been done to a Z has already been documented. I can't do a how-to on how to rebuild a L6. First, it would take to long (to write it, that's what books are for) and second, you guys would eat us alive if we missed one thing or a typo gives you the wrong information. We have to keep in mind that there are alot of people that know very little about their car and we have to think about everyone, not just the 20% that do know everything. I'm going to be doing a how-to on a carpet install in conjuction with sound deadening material. Granted, this would be considered beginner stuff in my eyes, but I don't think that should keep me from doing it so that our readers can decide to do it themselves. My 300ZX vented rotor upgrade on a 1st gen Z was so easy I was afraid people might think it was a joke. But I also understand that there are people that would look at that and say it's too much work. I could write an article on how to hide your wiring harness from the firewall forward or show everyone how to re-route your brakelines so that you don't have them running inside the engine bay. But these kind of articles go beyond the norm and are not as easy as just taking a wrench to something. And if someone thinks the vented rotor upgrade is hard, re-routing brakelines would be considered insane. I know, I've already done this stuff. Anybody that is mechanically inclined, will probably think all our articles are too basic and that's okay. But there might be some hope for us since I consider 80% of the questions asked on Z forums to be basic, which tells me that someone might learn something from the magazine. remember, not everyone surfs the net. Granted, everything I say can be considered bias, but it doesn't make me any less of a Z car enthuiasts. I will continue to plug along because I feel that this might be the last chance for a Z magazine to survive and will do anything it takes to make it succeed. I'm thankful that there are people out there that think the same way. Thanks for wishing us good luck, we can never have enough of that. Enrique (EScanlon), you bring up a lot of good points. We have done quite a few crossover articles, but if it's not specific to one generation, people will still say it is not about their car. I visit ClassicZCar, zcar.com and Hybrid Z at least 10 times a day. If I were to take something from a website and have it redone for the magazine, people would scream bloody murder that we ripped it off and that we should be ashamed of ourselves. We have to be very carefull about that kind of stuff. The 240Z project car is going to allow me to look at the little things as well as the big ones. Some parts of the project will focus on a specific area of the car and some will talk about just one thing on the car. The car was choosen because it addresses a lot of needs that are common to just about every 240Z that hasn't been restored yet. Such as rust issues (nothing major, but enough to replace some sheetmetal), body work (lots of it), engine work (yet to be seen how much), brakes, interior work (all of it), minor electrical issues and the fact that this car has the carberation system from a L20A, which if I'm correct was not available on Z's in the US. So one of the first things I'm going to try and do is track down where it came from. And for now, I think I'll keep that setup because it's different. I hope I can find a rebuild kit for it. If you saw the car (and you will see pictures of it in the Summer 2005 issue) you will see that this truely is a "project" car and I have my work cut out for me. The word "nothing" was not out of disrespect, but for stating a fact. One good note, the slotted mags look to be in pretty good shape. I guess I'm done for now. I can always chime in sometime down the post. Keep in mind that critisim (good or bad) is a good thing. It only helps to make us better.

Gary, sometimes it takes a while, but we do pay attention to what people have to say. Keep in mind that no matter how much 240Z stuff we put in the magazine, it won't change the advertising part of it. There are only a handful of early Z aftermarket companies with the potential to advertise and we already have the major ones. There is not much of a market for regional shops since the magazine distributes all over the world. So advertising will always lean towards the 350Z making the mag look that much more 350Z heavy. One of the main reasons we decided to get our own 240Z project car was because it is very hard to depend on outside sources (owners) to get early gen articles from. A lot goes into writing an article. You have to make sure to fully document everything which slows down the process. We have a few writers that can do this, but not enough to have something on the 240 on a regular basis. The project car will ensure that every issue from now on will have something for everyone. Remember, this project is not about matching numbers, performance upgrades, or creating an award winning Z. It's about taking something from nothing and being able to drive it across the country without worrying about how far it is to the next exit with a gas station. And just maybe, we'll learn something new along the way.