Welcome to the Connecticut Z Car Club Forums




Username:  
Password:  
Log me on automatically each visit
Register 
It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 12:34 pm
Welcome to the Connecticut Z Car Club Discussion Forums   
If you have trouble logging in or encounter any issues, please send an email to webmaster@ctzcc.com.

All times are UTC - 5 hours





Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 6 posts ] 
  Print view Previous topic | Next topic 
Author Message
PostPosted: Tue Sep 08, 2015 3:10 pm 
Offline

Joined: Tue Sep 08, 2015 12:44 pm
Posts: 3
But I have family in New Fairfield....

I have had a Black Pearl for the last 15 years or so. Got it from a retired bus driver in Oregon. He bought it new, and logged every fillup for the entire time he had the car. From March 78 until 2000, he entered mileage, amount of fuel, cost of fuel and mpg every time he visited the pumps. Just the kind of seller I was looking for. It had 69k miles on it when I got it, and has only 79k miles on it today.

The car was tricked out with every available dealer installed option when it was purchased off showroom floor.

A year or 2 after I got it, a passing truck's wheel peeled off one of the chrome fender skirts. When I found (perfect striping underneath!) that I couldn't repair or replace that skirt, I decided that I would invest in a repaint. The car's paint was all original, but it showed some fading in a couple of spots on the roof.

Here is what she looked like the day she arrived in Montreal...

Image

I hired a top tier local paint shop to do the job, and they took it on as a winter project. They kept the car for 6 months and worked on it when they had a lighter workload. All panels that could be removed, were removed. They were shocked at how easy it was to disassemble. It all came apart with little effort. Zero rust was found anywhere on the car. I sourced an OEM windshield from Japan, as well as all new OEM badges and the odd rubber bits.

At the time that I bought the car, I joined numerous Z clubs, and several dedicated to Black Pearls. Many of us got together and hired a company to reproduce Black Pearl striping kits from a tired unusable new factory original as a sample. Smooth move, as I purchased it long before I ended up needing it.

What she looks like today...

Image

Anyhow, I haven't done much surfing on Black Pearls in a long time, but somehow it crossed my mind to do so this morning. One thing led to the other, and I ended up at this club's page. I seem to remember the name Ross Williams from my earlier days with car. I noticed his car on the cover of a magazine last year, and realized how much it looks like mine. The scary thing is, is that the driver in that car looks a lot like me as well!

Cheers to all.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Tue Sep 08, 2015 3:52 pm 
Offline

Joined: Wed Apr 09, 2008 5:53 pm
Posts: 14779
Location: CT
Welcome! How cool to have another BP in the Club! Ross is the founding father of the CTZCC and still a proud BP owner; he'll be on here shortly. I have spent a lot of time in Montreal over the past few years, and was totally convinced there were absolutely no S30s up there at all. Glad to hear you represent the Z world with such a fine example!

Very good that you located the correct wheels for the car. Do you still have the chromed spoke wheels?

The Canadian 3M company did the original BP stripe kit back in the day. Here in the states you could only get them at the Datsun dealer, and they had to put them on for you (you "weren't allowed" to do it yourself). Common sense prevails and I'm glad there are ways today for people to buy the kit.

We have a few interesting events coming up this month and next, including our annual Z car show this weekend; why not join us?
It's about 7hr drive btwn here and there.

Glad to have you aboard. What's your name?

Frank T

_________________
1970 240Z


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Wed Sep 09, 2015 9:27 am 
Offline

Joined: Tue Sep 08, 2015 12:44 pm
Posts: 3
Hi Frank,

Thanks for the welcome.

There are actually quite a few Z's in and around the Montreal area. I used to participate in the local Datsun Zoom club, but stopped when they stopped doing "show" days. They still exist and still do outings together, but not with the same strength of numbers that they had in the past.

Ahh... those chrome spoke wheels. They were pretty, but they were absolutely impossible to balance. I don't know how the previous owner lived with them. I actually sold them on Ebay many years ago, and they sold for a fairly substantial amount of money. The ones currently on the car were found on ebay as well. They were in fine condition, but I sent them out to be brought back to new.

I used to be willing and able to travel for shows. Been to quite a few (have plaques and trophies!). Its been a while, though. I haven't driven her much the last few years, and wouldn't attempt a road trip without having her looked at and tuned up. Maybe next year! As I said, I have close family in CT.

Cheers,

Bobby.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Wed Sep 09, 2015 9:32 am 
Offline

Joined: Wed Apr 09, 2008 5:53 pm
Posts: 14779
Location: CT
Thanks Bobby ~ Might I have bumped into you in Rochester NY, at any of the wonderful Z Car Club of Rochester events? Their preZident, John Taddonio, is one of our active members and hosts a lot of Canadians each event. I sat and ate piZZa with two gents from Montreal at John's house in July, but I never saw what they were driving. Might that have been you? We discussed parking tickets in downtown Montreal, because altho the Canadian constitution requires all laws to be displayed in both French and English, all the parking signs are French-only, making downtown an $86 money trap for the uneducated. :?

_________________
1970 240Z


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Wed Sep 09, 2015 9:39 am 
Offline

Joined: Tue Sep 08, 2015 12:44 pm
Posts: 3
I don't know about Rochester. I remember attending an event in Albany. I was invited by a couple of guys who had come to Montreal for our show. I would have been there with my wife and not another guy. I did go to Toronto a few times, with my son and my brother.

Montreal is a great city, but petty politics has led to some silly "language laws" that go far beyond what is truly necessary. It can be frustrating eve for those who are here full time.

Cheers,

Bobby.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Mon Sep 21, 2015 3:34 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Thu Sep 01, 2005 1:12 am
Posts: 2228
Location: Darien, CT
Hey Bobby,

Sorry for the delay in joining the party. We are really glad to have you with us as a new member. Your car looks AWESOME! If your last name starts with "M", I believe you are the person that I used to speak to when I was managing the Black Pearl Database. I still have my reproduction kit from when we put that order together.

It would be great to see you and your car at a meeting or event, but I assume the distance is just too great. But if you can be persuaded, we have a grat end-of-season event coming up on October 24th, our tenth annual Fall Outing. See the following link for more details: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=8764

Keep in touch my friend! (and keep that car away from trucks on the highway :)

Ross

_________________
Ross Williams
1978 280Z Black Pearl Edition 38k Original Miles


Top
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 6 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 5 hours


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 12 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
cron









Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group
mile200 v1.0.1 designed by Team -Programming forum- .