gav240z

Some other threads on the same topic: http://www.viczcar.com/forum/index.php/topic,1438.0.html http://www.viczcar.com/forum/index.php/topic,1453.0.html http://www.blackdragonauto.com/ http://www.datsunspirit.com/index.html - Site has but send him an email. http://www.datsunrestore.com/catalog.html

Hi mate, I've not bought a kit from the US myself, you could go to a local person to have them done. I think Sulio (Toecutter) did this and got great results for his 260z 2 seater, not sure how close the pattern matched to original though. Datsun changed the seats, material and stiching used over the years, early seats were criticized due to wear and tear issues and Nissan changed the pattern and material used as the years went on to higher quality material and stitching (although styling didn't improve in my opinion). For that reason I'd say having OEM material might be nice, but I myself would be happy with a quality aftermarket kit provided it was high quality and close-to-original. The seat cushioning will more than likely have sagged over the years so seat skins will probably not be enough to properly restore them (actually the expense was the reason I went with aftermarket Recaro's in the end, but I still have the seats if I want to recover originals later). Then again if your building your car for concourse you may have to go the extra step and go genuine Nissan.

Any idea of asking price?

Awesome Mark, I really like the way you accentuated the bonnet hump with the stripe. I've thought about doing the same thing on my Z with a couple of pinstripes down the sides to go with the theme. That's a nice looking Z you have there. It looks very clean and original I'd say its worth 10K+ to the right person, but its hard to tell exactly from grainy camera photos. Did you have to take care of much rust when you did the respray?

I have the same article at home (In Australia) as Chris and its definitely the same car. So if the article says its James Flett it must be. I must admit the name is very familiar, but I'm going off memory now. FWIW the car went really really well on the track, infact many of the RB Z's were not as quick as James on the track at Wakefield Park. It also made an amazing noise with those Solex carbs on it. * Here are the other shots of the same car.

I should say just to be clear, not that you need my approval of course .

Yeah I took the photos of that car . It was stunning to see in person and I'm almost 100% sure its the original colour. He went to great lengths to restore the car to original condition with a hot l24 and triple carbs. Yeah in the same mag there was an engine rebuilding shop advertised which was his business. I recall him speaking to someone about the heart break he had with a panel beater and that prompted him to pull it out of the shop and work on it himself with a friend. It came up looking better than new. @acf321 - If you are thinking of going that colour on your Zed I would definitely approve .

I've asked Simon if we can feature his car on this site, I have been meaning to get in contact with him again as its a stunning car. Simon if you're reading this, can we get your beautiful Z on the homepage?

So based on that info, the box pictured above must be a 240K or 280zx box. (provided bits haven't been changed).

My car doesn't have them, but to be honest I kind of prefer them on, so I'm going to go against the consensus here and say keep them. It may also protect the car from people reversing into it (I've had this happen twice) and they damaged the front bonnet. On your car I like them on, because the car looks clean and the chrome looks good.

Or use photoshop and delete them, which would be much quicker. So did you keep the overriders? I actually prefer them on myself.

Unfortunately this is true. I've seen photos of a factory prototype S30 convertible and I'm rather glad they didn't produce it to be honest. It just didn't look right. The S30 really needs the roofline to make it the car it is. As the S30 becomes rarer, I think cars like the green one pictured earlier in this thread will be salvaged and have their roof stuck back on. At least I hope so anyway.

In Australia (this is important!). If the oil filler was on the right hand side (drivers side) it was a 260z box. If the oil filler was on the left hand side (passenger side) it was a 240K / 280zx box. As stated above however some workshops may have changed parts around so the housing may not reflect the type of ratio being used. Edit based on Zedman240's post below.

I like the way you think .

Since the Octane magazine I've been looking up whatever I can find on the Works rally cars. I figured I'd post this link here for those who haven't seen it yet. http://www.z-point.nl/ There's actually quite a following of replica's out there: http://www.z-point.nl/replicaworks.htm Enjoy!

Don't worry I won't shy away from them at all. In fact I've got a couple of issues thanks to Lachlan and I absolutely love looking at the pictures of some of the Japanese cars. In particular I love seeing the period wheels available and fitted to some of these cars and their respective styles. Infact I'm actually serious about learning Japanese, I've been considering doing it for a while and there is nothing like a hobby or interest to help you keep enthusiasm with learning a new language. While its great to see pictures in a magazine I really enjoy reading the articles provided they don't lack substance . What issue number was that 1? I'd still be interested to see it, even though it might be just eye-candy .

Yes I do recall something along those lines on CZC. I thought they might be the same car, but I wasn't sure. I might try and get in touch with Alfadog (lachlan), he usually sells Nostalgic Hero on ebay, the only problem with the articles is that they are in Japanese. I guess I'll have to learn Japanese .

Well to be honest the font size is quite small. So perhaps he doesn't have perfect 20/20 vision. Keep in mind that not everyone is 'internets savvy'. I may have missed some other discussions as a result of the edit so I'm only commenting from what I see. I'm not sure how much mopping up was required but cheer up Lurch . Well it was never going to be everyone's cup of tea. Welcome to the forum all the same.

I'm a sucker for the original paint colours available for the Z's. I really like the original Orange and Lime, Yellow colours in particular. If your stuck for a color maybe go retro?

I finally managed to get my hands on a copy. I must say I loved the read, but I wanted more much more! . I absolutely love the detail that went into the car, especially the exhaust system, amazing! Alan T got a mention too for finding those spot lights which was good to see. All the intricate differences in the rally version are really interesting. I would have loved to see more detailed photos of all the unique things on the car. Instead we got a few pics and that was it. All the same it was a good read and I'd recommend everyone get a copy .

For sure, this is the reason I haven't stripped my car back. I'm scared of what I'd find! . I think I'll wait till my pockets are a bit deeper before diving this far into body work. Last thing I want is a car sitting around that I can't drive / enjoy. I admire what your doing all the same. Its good to see you are pushing through the project and at least once all these areas are taken care of you will have a brand new 30+ year old car. FWIW all that added weight from the extra layers of paint may have been cancelled out by all the metal you were missing lol. That's an awesome course, I'd love to do one of those. I wonder if they have any in Melbourne? When I was at Swinburne Uni in Hawthorn I did a part time course welding, but we spent more time with the ARC and Oxy / Acetaline (Spelling?) than with the MIG. Have you got a link to the details of such a course?

That's a good price. I'd be very happy with that.

Are you watching me? My username on ebay is really tricky, you'll never guess what it is. Tip: People should feel free to outbid me, honestly your doing me a favor. I don't need Z parts while I'm working overseas, but sometimes I just can't help myself. The adrenaline rush of clicking the place bid button is almost too much . I'm going to have a lie down now.

+1 you can get some awesome extractors from japan but they can be mega expensive. Eiji at Datsun Spirit might be able to help you get these? http://blog.livedoor.jp/datsunspirit/archives/51070054.html#comments

I missed issue 3 because I moved apartments and I issue 3 went to my old address. I checked around but whoever received it must have thrown it out . I will need to subscribe to issue 3 and 4.