Good Morning Everyone!
Wow! Thursday already. Time is just flying by. We had a big glitch here at Hubcaps.com, so if some of you think you’ve read this post before, you just might have. Our servers had a problem and lost my last post so I’m posting it again. Chris Milton-Hall, from Spruce Head, Maine writes to us regarding his 1971 Datsun 240 Z. When he needed to purchase the original wheel covers for this car, he came to Hubcaps.com. We found a beautiful set of our NIS030 hub caps and had our restoration work their magic with them.
Chris writes: “I bought the car new in April 1971 from Hart Taylor Datsun Lincoln Mercury in Rochester, NY. The serial number for the car is HLS3020075 – it was built in January 1971 and is one of the last “Series I” 240Zs produced. The Series II cars began to be produced that same month with some very minor changes from the first Zs (most easy to spot change was the change from rear vents in the back hatch to rear vents through the “Z” logo on the rear side pillars.)
The car was driven regularly for a number of years as a daily driver – but never run in the salt/snow – always stored in winters. Also we lived overseas for a number of years so the car was stored once for 8 years and once for two years. In 1993 I bought a Miata and basically just parked the Z in my back yard (with 47,000 miles on it) and did not run it again. The picture on the cover of the Brooklands book was taken in 1992 by the publisher of Brooklands Books who is a good friend of ours. If you get a copy of the book you will find our name on the dedication page.
We moved to Maine in 2003 and trucked the car up here. We are fortunate enough to live very close to an excellent body and collision shop (Automaster Collision Center). Larry Oakes, the owner of the firm, restored the car for me over a two year period back to pretty much the original spec. The engine had frozen up over the years and had to be rebuilt. The carbs were removed from the engine – reinstalled a year later and run perfectly without any tuning. I had to install a slightly upgraded suspension as some original parts (springs) were not available, the exhaust is not stock and the Koenig wheels are not stock. Other than that, the car is pretty much as it came from the factory. It has been painted the original silver color (albeit a two stage paint with clearcoat rather than the original single stage). The interior, other than the carpets, is original. The seats were in excellent shape with the exception of a break in the driver’s seat cushion. That was repaired by a local craftsman. I had, like most owners of the day, taken the original wheels and hub caps off the car almost immediately in favor of aluminum alloy wheels. I happily left them behind when we moved from Rochester in the ’70s. However, I did want to have them available in case I show the car which Is why I bought them from you. (Who knows, maybe I bought back my own wheel covers!!) We live close to the Owl’s Head Transportation Museum in Maine and have already shown the car there once.”
Chris, thank you so very much for emailing us these pictures and this great story. I love reading about these classics and you gave us some great info. For the rest of you out there, think of us when you’re looking for classic hubcaps and center caps. Our restoration department is fabulous and we’ll work with you to get you what you need. Email me here at Karijia@Hubcaps.com .
Till next time,
April
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