moonpup

First, thanks to all for your responses, the picture's a little clearer now concerning the mufflers' finish but now I'm a little confused about the "finisher" on the muffler. Kats, I've always thought the "finisher" was permanently attached to the muffler but the way I'm reading/understanding your post, it seems you are saying that one can purchase it seperately. Is that correct?

I have an original (NOS) muffler and recently I've seen a couple other NOS mufflers that are painted black. I'm guessing that these are ones that are either currently available thru Nissan or if NLA, were recently available. My question......Would the black ones be judged the same as the ones with the "original finish" at a National Convention show?

Just saw on the local news another case where racing caused a tragic loss of life. Apparently a 350Z, racing a black Infiniti, lost control and spun into oncoming traffic, striking a Honda driven by an elderly lady. Reports are that the lady along with 2 teenagers in the Z were killed. The Z was almost cut in two and it's engine is some distance away in the middle of the road.

Hence my recommendation to check with the local dealer first.

You're too late. He already bought it. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32227&highlight=797

I learned many moons ago to check with the dealer first....you'd be surprised as to what they still have. Good luck.

Hmmmmm............"the_cafe"

Just a slight correction, as the second convention was in Dallas, not Phoenix. Also, to help with MikeB's list, the date for the Dallas convention was June 15 - 18, 1989.

Wake up and read up! This guy is notorious for starting asinine threads.

Well, Ike is just about here in SW Houston and the winds are picking up. They are expecting them to get up to 85 mph in this part of the city. Gonna be a WILD night. :nervous: Wishing all my fellow Z'ers in the Houston, Galveston and surrounding area the best and hope you and your's stay safe and sound!

AZ-240z, While I "understand" that a number of individuals have an attraction to those "Series 1" bits, I just don't happen to agree that they are "special" enough to put a premium on. It's not like they're a shaker hood scoop for a 71 Cuda or Shelby mags. They're just parts that are different for that particular year/run and all those cars had them. Now don't get me wrong, I had a 70 (#3549 I think) that was to be my next resto before it burned up in a garage fire and I was hot on the trail for most of the same parts we are now talking about but only because they would make it "original" not "special".

Carl, I see very few examples out there in the "collector world" where the early vin/serial # (other than the first handfull made) has much of an influence on it's price or it's desirability. Take the 64 1/2 Mustang for example. Unless you have #1 (or possibly some other extremely low number), there are far more desirable Mustangs for the collector to go after and I doubt that #464 is going to attract anyone's attention. The reason a low vin attracts the attention it does in the "Datsun 240Z" market is because that's about all it has that "collectors" put an added value on. It's not a convertable, doesn't have a hi-po engine that most buyers passed on, no limited production run and nothing "major" in terms of body changes from the 70-73 model that would attract more interest. So where does one draw the line for "vin" desirability? Is it up to #50, 100, 500 or 1000 and higher?

No offense intended, but they are only "special" in the minds of those who hold them in high regard. Otherwise, they are just unique to a particular year/model.

The Superbirds were a special limited run based on Plymouths Roadrunner model. There was nothing special about the F500 other than they were the first 500 delivered and because of the fact that they were only numbered sequentialy and not actually delivered in the same manner, then who can say with any accurracy that a particular number under 500 was in fact on that first boat load.

So.....that would be a no?

Several days ago I tried to wrap my head around this.... seems it's only given me a migrane! :sick:

So...let me wrap my head around this: First, you post a thread asking for help in finding original key blanks. Next, at some point within a week, you find a dealer that has some but apparently they were not from a normal Nissan dealer but rather some kind of mysterious special dealer. Your next thread poses a "what if" only to find out.... you already do! Like DougN suggested, wouldn't it have been easier to just post in your first thread that you found some and ask how much are they worth.

surfsnake2..A few days ago you posted the following thread: Now fast foward to this thread where you first pose a hypothetical and then inform us that you indeed have what appears to be what you were looking for in your first thread. What gives? Did you have the original blank when you posted the first thread and if not, how were you able to get one so quickly?

My brother had 6 stitch tranny out of a 63 Impala!

It's actually the lock and key for the early series1 240Z. You'd have to have the part number for your particular model Z when ordering the lock.

Speaking of, there is possibly another way to get the the key you desire, but it will be a somewhat risky venture. A while back, I bought all the NOS 240Z parts from a South Texas dealer. Included were complete lock sets for both a 240Z & 280ZX, along with seperate door lock sets, hatch locks and glove box locks. All these came in the old style "red, white & blue" boxes and all had the original keys with them! So here's what I'm thinking. My guess is that I don't think replacement glove box locks were an item that flew off the shelves and there could be a supply of the old stock still sitting out there just waiting to be had. See what your local dealer has and if they're out and you're feeling real gutsy, you can have them order the part and see what you get. Kinda like buying Cracker Jacks and hoping you get the De-Coder Ring! If you get lucky and get the "desired" key, then just follow sblakes instructions and you're set. BTW... here's some pics of the keys I got with the lock sets I purchased. The first is from the 280ZX complete set and the second is from the glove box lock. Happy hunting!

Well....Here ya go http://houston.craigslist.org/cto/792839457.html

Dang...those mirrors look sharp! :eek:

When it comes to clunking in the rear, another cause that hasn't been discussed yet are the struts. You may have a strut that is either loose or shot/toast/kaput! Usually this becomes more evident on bumpy roads vs. under acceleration. This doesn't sound like the case for the original poster, but I thought I'd throw this out there for any other members trying to determine the source of their "rear clunks".

Exactly. And WHY is that? PRODUCTION NUMBERS! For years I've been telling my friends that the Datsun 240Z will never reach the $$$$ that they were seeing in the "muscle car" market. They just made too damn many of them! I often compared them to the Ford Mustang, another high production model and one that also had a significant impact on automotive history. Sure there are some early Mustangs that fetch HIGH $ numbers, but those are the limited number examples. Hertz and Shelby just to mention a couple. The plain jane standard 65/66 (excluding convertibles,2+2's, etc.) can still be had fairly cheaply. Now look at the Hemi Cuda convertible. They produced maybe 9-14 a year for what...maybe 2-3 years. Check on the prices these cars command! The U.S. model 240Z is in the same boat. Unless there's something special about it such as being an extremely low serial #, an unbelievably low mileage original, unique VZ status or documented race history, you'll never see the big bucks! (unless of course you're hunting in south Texas! )