SJGREEN71

'71 Datsun Z. I have been told that the most important thing in looking for a Z to restore is look for one with minimal rust (they all have some). If you find one with a body beyond repair, but great mechanicals, and you have the room, you might want to pick it up as a parts car. If a stranger offered you a '71 Z with this amount of rust, and in need of major mechanical repairs, and offered it for free, would you take him up on the offer? If not, all sentimentality aside, you should invest your money in a Z that will not require much money to restore.

My son and I went down Friday in his '68 2000. Alvin posted some pictures of it, a light green high windshield car. Not a show winner, but he got the prize for youngest roadster owner (17). It was fantastic to see 75 roadsters all in one place. 240ZX, was that you in the Z with the wild flame paint job? Nice ride. My ears are still ringing after driving 500 miles round trip at 90 mph with the top down, but it was a great time.

Might I suggest a '68 to '70 Datsun 1600 or 2000 roadster. I got 40 mpg once averaging 85 mph coming back from Shasta one year with the top down. Of course that was mostly down hill. The roadsters are tough, and once sorted out are quite reliable. With a beefy steel frame, they also don't seem to be as subject to rust problems as the Z's.

Hello again, I got the shift knob today and the knob part fits perfectly. Very nice quality wood and finish. Too bad Momo doesn't make this kind of suff any more. Anyone who is interested in a wood knob for the Z should be encouraged to look at what is available for the XJS. My only problem is that there is no room for the finishing piece (shown just below the knob in the picture). Any ideas on how to get it to fit? The knob part consumes the whole 1.25 " of the threaded part of the shift lever leaving no room for the finishing piece that is a little over 3/4 inch. The finishing piece is made of black metal and is threaded in the same 8mm as the knob.

Hey Everbody, I just bought this shift knob on eBay, and I am hoping it is going to work with my '71 series 1 240Z. It seems to have the proper 8mm X 1.25 threading. An old post on this forum says that some Jaguar knobs will work. This one is the MOMO OEM knob from the XJS. AT $39 it is no more expensive than many aftermarket knobs for the Z, and it looks a whole lot better. Ebay item # 7963603602 http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7963603602

I have never seen an aftermarket headlight cover with chrome trim. I would consider this one on eBay if it were clear. Anyone out there know what product this is or who made it? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=42606&item=4524330950&rd=1

I would have to agree with David. I have a '71 VIN 17709, and my speedometer starts at 20 mph, not 0 and I have flow-through vents on the rear hatch whereas this Z on eBay seems to have them on the sides. What gives? Is there some kind of official paper from Nissan that validates which VIN #s were part of the program?

I think you guys are missing the point. Even if this car was not restored "by technicians at Nissan," Nissan did commission the project. They commissioned it as a stock restoration, however, and this car shows too many signs of PO (previous owner) syndrome. The current bid is at $16K, and reserve is not even met! To return this car to original, the new owner will have to spend thousands more to remove and replace the CD player, dish slot mags, big a$$ speakers, and whatever other "improvements" the PO put into this poor car. I'm not saying that it's bad to modify a Z, just that if one is restored to original condition and with factory blessing, it only looses value when it is modified.

History can be a fascinating thing. Solex began as a French/German inspiration in 1910, and through many twists and turns of fate became the carburetor of choice for automotive manufacturers as diverse as Maybach to Volkswagen. It would appear that at some point Mikuni was granted a license to produce the Solex design in Japan, supplying carburetors to Nissan for the Datsun 2000 Roadster and early 240Z’s. Learn more about Solex here: http://www.rheinmetall.com/index.php?lang=3&fid=1391

I think we found the weapons of mass destruction the Bush Administration keeps talking about!

I bought the car pictured from Les a few weeks ago, and I can tell you the quality of the CF hood is excellent. I went for the original steel hood, myself, as I wanted a more stock look, so Les still has the gently used CF hood, and I'm sure new ones as well. Give Classic Datsun a call if you are in the market for one.

It's not that hard to bid in the last few seconds, and there is little incentive to bid any sooner. Even if you are off doing something else when the auction ends, you can still bid in the last few seconds..... www.auctionsniper.com

Most anyone who has frequented eBay for any time probably has a rippoff story. Mine was at least a cheap lesson, a magazine subscription for a price that was too good to be true. I did everything by the eBay rules, and paid through Paypal (this was before eBay acquired Paypal), still no satisfaction from either one. eBay did not cover losses under $25, and Paypal did not seem to have any policy at all on theft. The thing that got me was that I pointed out to eBay some new listings from a new seller (my seller was long gone by then) with almost the same wording as the listing that got me. I figured the same person had set up shop under a different name. As far as I could eBay made no attempt to investigate. I still use eBay, but I am a lot more careful on who I will buy from.

I plan to pick up my '71 Z at the show, so I will be there. Actually, Les Cannaday will pick me up at the Greyhound station in Oceanside in my new '71 Z. The bus was the only way I could find to get there on time for the show. I just hope I get some sleep on the way down. After taking an all night bus from San Jose, I may feel like death warmed over, then I have to turn around and drive back toward San Jose that same day. I plan to stop in Pismo Beach over night, then hoping for good weather, arise early for a solo run up Hwy 1. I plan to get on the road by 7:00 AM Sunday. There is no better high than a traffic free drive in a classic Datsun from Santa Barbara to Monterey on this beautiful stretch of highway. God I love California.

Well these cars only weigh a little over a ton fully loaded, so power steering should not be necessary. Get down to the qym for a few weeks and the steering will lighten up.

Only two clasic Z's. but hey, there were two roadsters there! My son's '68 (silver one shown in pictures), and Calvin's radical gloss black 67 1/2 beauty. It was fun touring the Winchester house. I've lived in the area for 30 years, and this is the first time I've taken the tour.

Mike, This was a great get together. Thanks for getting the word out and putting this on. Some really beautiful Z's and other Nissan products showed up. 30 years in Silicon Valley, and this is the first time I have actually toured the mystery house.

$200 per month in Santa Cruz doesn't sound out of line. Maybe Boulder Creek, or Bonney Doon might be less costly. How 'bout the nudist beach up the coast. Hippies love old cars.

I'd like to thank all those who have posted in this thread. This is really good information, and much more "real world experience" than I could read on the specialty insurer's web sites. For me, I am better off staying with my regular insurer, even if it means having no collision insurance on my own car. To me, the whole point of having a GT car is to drive it, and drive it hard on occasion. In the small chance that I end up causing injury to someone else, I want an insurer who will cover me regardless of where and when I am driving.

There are a number of organizations here in California that hold "track days." These are not races, there is no competition for best lap time or any thing like that. The sole purpose is to improve your own driving skills at speeds that may not be legal, or safe on public roads. But something could happen very quickly out on that track, and someone could get hurt. If I crunch my car due to driver error, I'm not happy with the 1,000's of dollars to fix it, but it's not going to ruin me financially. If I am looking at a pain and suffering law suit from someone I hit on that track, however, that could wipe out my retirement and take my house. So for me, liability and property damage are more important than replacement cost on the car. From what I understand traditional insurance carriers are set up to cover this liability in track day events. Are there any of us out there who carry specialty insurance and participate in these kinds of events? If so how well do you think you are covered in the event of personal injury?

Well that's what I am talking about. Say I only drive the Z 2,000 miles per year, but a very few of those miles are on a "driver improvement" track day. I crest the crown of a blind hill and there is some poor slob planted sideways in the middle of the track. I T-bone him at 60 mph, putting him in a body cast for 6 months. Is it worth saving a couple of hundred dollars per year, if some trial lawyer takes my life savings? At that point I don't really care if my Z is totaled, it is small dollars compared to the house, IRA's and other savings. I'm not trying to slam collector car insurance here, but I am interested in how well it really compares dollar for dollar with the major carriers when you want really serious liability and property damage coverage. In my experience these two items are what really add to the cost of auto insurance.

I think I am out of luck. Though I have a covered parking area, it is not fully enclosed, so that seems to disqualify me for coverage. I also carry pretty high liability coverage (bodily injury & property damage) on my other car. A few of questions: 1) Has anyone ever made a claim to one of these specialty insurers? 2) How much bodily injury and property damage coverage do these policies carry at these low prices? 3) Is there any way around not having an enclosed garage?

The CF hood is a real work of art, and saves 24 lbs. off the front end of your car. Check it out at http://classicdatsun.com/ Les Cannaday, who runs the place is the most honest Datsun vendor I have ever dealt with (and I delt with a lot of them with my roadster). If you want a CF hood give him a call (he is not that good with e-mail). The CF hood off the car I bought is in perfect condition, just not the look I was after. P.S. - Moderators, I'm new here, so please let me know if I am out of line plugging a specific vendor.

Nothing radical. Les has owned this car for about two years. The prior owner went throught the suspension, doing springs, struts, and eurothane bushings. The engine is an L28 with round top SUs, and Les recently put in a rebuilt 5-speed. The engine is believed to have been rebuilt, but was never detailed and painted as it was built back up. Les mounted 16X7 Panasports and Yokohama AVS ES100s that still have good tred left. The main thing I was worried about was rust, and reading on this board it seems a lot of seemingly knowlegable people have discovered horrific rust issues after they bought a "rust free Z." I had a '68 roadster for the last 10 years, and have dealt with Les on many occasions and always found him to be honest and straight forward. So while this is not a "rust free Z," in his experience in observing the car over the last couple of years Les believes this car does not have any rust in areas that would compromise it's structure. The frame rails, battery box, doglegs, deck lid threshold, and wheel arches all look good. Normally I would not take this much on the advice of the seller, but in this case I feel comfortable that I made the right decision.

Yes, that would be the one, however, I took the stock steel hood option so the CF hood is still available. The CF hood is a quality item, just not my style(I scored too low on the "ricer test").