gilltech

So the spoke ones are real spokes? Real spokes look 60's-era to me & say 'old money' hence suit the old Jags, Astons, Ferraris etc. On a Zed? Hmmm - maybe, maybe not, undecided. With alloys I prefer either the factory 260Z alloys or the jellybean style as they just look right & are era-matching. Many people like the 'Minilite' style I think it's called, but they're not to my taste on anything. When old wheels are 14" it's a pain as it doesn't give one much choice with tyres these days.

By 'spoke style' do you mean the old Cheviot Hotwires? They were on my 260 when I bought it, nice enough to look at but bitches to clean & keep clean, too many tight triangular corners, so I sold them off, they weren't a good offset anyway.

'Numbers matching' for the majority of enthusiasts surely means that the imprinted chassis & engine numbers match those on the engine bay data plate, & in the original paperwork. In the case of American cars like the Mustangs there is also a metal data plate or sticker with matching VIN which provides codes for it's delivery district, date, body colour, interior, trans, & rear end. Some factories went further & fitted a body buck tag which provided codes to assist the assembly line workers to fit the correct spec parts as the vehicle proceeded down the line. All those are important to collectors wanting originality.

I know what it looks like, my early-74 260 has blue tint. But then it was NZ-new. Yes the blue does look different, clear glass if anything has a slight green hue. So where has your car come from that it has the blue tint?

Sorry I can't help. But for what year, or were they all the same profile & bolting pattern? Slightly off topic, but did the Aus-new cars not all get the blue tint?

WTB - 260Z RH-side turn indicator / parking lamp housing & lens; wanting complete unit with clear lens, with or without wiring, in good condition. I'm in Brisbane.

Check for rust, rust, rust. Ensure any Z car you look at is complete, many parts are getting hard to track down after 40-odd years. Examine any car with your head not heart. That green car looks a bit of a basket case, even the owner describes it as a parts car. However, check it out & see if it's a viable project that you are prepared to take on. If it's been parked up for 20-plus years without fluids drained there may be some serious issues with seized up mechanicals. But good luck in your quest, let us know how you get on.

No title. Parts car - which is what the owner bought it for. Find a better one, you'll be glad you did.

Well, the rear sway bar hanger brackets were there, but no bar or any sign like rub marks that one had ever been fitted...so I just got one in from the US & bolted it in. Maybe another point of difference between NZ & Aus spec cars, or maybe it was an option as you suggest? My car is a pretty basic spec.

Ditto mine, 44014, yes to skinnier strut tubes, 240 front hubs, no rear sway bar. Notwithstanding the collectability therefore desirability of the earliest S30 & the 'exotic' JDM versions, given my financial resources, limited as they are, I think I actually have the best of both worlds, admittedly more so once I'd swapped in the round tops. But, to each his own. I would be a happy & enthusiastic owner of any Zed, early or late, 2 or 2+2. They're just that sort of car.

I've owned mine for 32 yrs, since 1984, but IIRC that's not the club forum record. It comes down to personal taste. Personally I prefer the 260 dashboard & interior to the 240 which I find a bit too bland, like the '60s car it is. Especially the door trim panels, couldn't get much plainer, maybe it's the racing heritage? But IMO the 260 dash integrates better with the console. Am not fussed on either of the 240 or 260 taillight designs though, too bulky, I can see why some people fit those Corvette or Ferrari looking taillight kits. The early 260s didn't have the emissions gear either, unless you're referring to the flattop carbs same as the last of the 240s. The 260 body shell is generally a bit stronger than the 240, better around the rear wheel arches & the rear hatch which has two gas struts not one. I think the 260 addressed a number of short comings of the 240. As for A/C, was that standard on your Aus-spec 260s? Must have been an option on our NZ-new / world spec 260s as mine doesn't have it.

As per the comment at top of the 240Z chart, the quota in the last few months of 1973 must have actually been 260Zs. My early '74 260 2-seat was sold new in NZ in Feb '74, so clearly must have been built a few months prior to that.

Check your earths, a bad earth can create all sorts of maladies.

Looks alright, rather imaginative in fact.

FWIW I'm interested in obtaining a spare bonnet, probably slight preference for the fluted/vented type. In Brisbane north-side.

PM sent.

Dat2kman / Jason, I'll take the RH short one off your hands, mine is distorted & doesn't clip down properly & stay clipped so best I replace it. Am local so can pop over to The Gap sometime to suit.

Where are you though?

Yes I realize it needs a very fine cut indeed. Not a DIY home job with the usual hacksaw, but a visit to a suitable engineering shop. There is also a plastic insert to the end, which I often note to be missing on these trims, which helps tidy the end somewhat.

By that do you mean including a 280ZX? AFAIK, excluding the '260Z style' alloy wheels which the early 280ZXs also used, the later style alloy wheels like the 'iron cross' design and the others fitted to later 280ZXs were 6". Dat2kman will know about this, last time I was at his place he showed me a set of 6" 280ZX wheels, said they were useful for the Fairlady 2000s etc. You there Jason?

Perhaps a 2+2 moulding can be trimmed down to suit a 2-seater? Would be easier to find one of those as there are a number of 2+2s being parted out at present from what I see online.

Maybe try advertising on Gumtree?

From what I recall of Datsun 160J & 180B SSS cars in the '70s they all had tombstone seats, I suspect apart from having different vinyl coverings with SSS logos impressed in the vinyl they were basically the same as Zed seats. The floor brackets/seat runners may have differed.

Peter t - PM sent.

Those 180B SSS seats look identical to Z seats.