The early (1970) Z cars held down the two inspection lids (one either side of the hood) with slide-in plastic clips. These are no longer made by ANYBODY and I'm almost to the point of stealing them off someone else's car. (Well, almost). The later (Oct'70 -on) metal screwed-in clips won't do it.

If anyone has a pair of these clips and wants to retire early, name your price!

Thnx/Frank

I more than likely have them ? but I would have to look. I do have another parts car down at my "bone yard" that also might...its a 71 and although I have picked it over, it might still have some stuff left to salvage. It was a restro attempt never realized.

Let me know

I'll be ELATED if you can find any.

They were only used on the very first 240s, from Oct69-Sep70. Starting Oct70 they switched to metal screw-in clamps which won't work on my car.

(Well, HEY ~ you already know that! Compare your '70 #958 with your '72)

Please look ~ I can't locate any.

Frank

I guess it's yuor lucky day. I located both a L&R, HOWEVER one is in very good condition but the other is missing the nylon insert (easy to reproduce) and also has a 1/2" hole in it which currently has a key lock for what I assume was for an alarm switch. In my opion the hole can be eaisly repaired and under the right conditions I would it for you. Welding required!

WAIT ~ we're on different pages.

I need the small plastic (Nylon, actually) clips which slide into the slots on the underside of the inspection lids. They look like a kid's play ring, open at the bottom. The tops have slots along the sides which slide into the early 1970 inspection lids, and the "ring" part spreads open to clamp over a bar attached to the fender. This keeps the inspection lid from rattling. Later ZCars had metal clips which were screwed into the inspection lids. The clips are about the size of my thumbnail.

Can't draw on this forum and don't have a picture.

I think you're describing the inspection lids themselves, which are worth about $100 /pair.

I understand, I have one still attached to the lid, however as you are undoubtedly aware, plastics age and inbrittles and perhaps it would be easier and quicker to just make a pair. In my opinion dose not look to complicated and could be popped out on a small miller without to much trouble. I still have the windshield trim pieces if you are interested, let me know.

YES, PLEASE!
AND SINCE LAST NIGHT, WHEN I PRACTICALLY DESTROYED MY STAINLESS ALUMINUM WINDOW TRIM INSERTS, TRYING TO MAKE THEM "INSERT", I'M NOW IN THE MARKET FOR A WHOLE NEW SET OF THOSE, TOO.

AND DAVE, IF YOU FEEL YOU CAN 'MAKE' THOSE CLIPS, YOU'RE A BETTER MAN THAN MANY WHO'VE GONE BEFORE YOU. THEY'RE IN DEMAND FOR THE 1ST 10,000 CARS (NOT THAT MANY REMAINING ANYMORE, BUT YOU UNDERSTAND) AND NOBODY MAKES THEM. THEY BREAK ABOUT TWICE A YEAR (FOR THE REASONS YOU SAID) SO EACH REMAINING 1970 CAR OWNER WOULD WANT TO HOARD A BOXFULL IF YOU OFFERED THEM FOR SALE. MANY HAVE SAID "I COULD MAKE THESE" BUT STILL NOBODY DOES. THE EXISTING REMNANTS OFF PARTS CARS SELL FOR $1/EACH. THAT PRICE CAN ONLY RISE AS SUPPLY DIMINISHES. I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR SOME FOR FOUR MONTHS AND YOU'RE THE FIRST ONE I'VE FOUND.

PLEASE LET ME BUY THE FIRST DOZEN YOU MAKE, THEN WELL DISCUSS FUTURE SUPPLY ARRANGEMENTS! [color=orange][/color]

THANK YOU, SIR!

Hey Dave ~

Any progress on this? I'm very interested in the entire window trim kit and those elusive inspection lid hold-down clips.

If you decided to "make" them, what stock material would you use? The originals were made of nylon or plastic or something.

Tell you what ~ if you go to all the trouble of making them, I'll go to the trouble of marketing them for you! There are probably thousands of 1970 car owners out there who are glueing their old clips back together each time one breaks.

Every Z car website I've visited has at least one guy pleading for these, and everybody just laughs at him. If you could actually make suitable replacements, they'd probably make you a National Hero or give you the Z-Medal or something.

One of the nice things about our cars is that we can use many (I sure have) parts from latter years, models and even manufactures. I know that I own a '70, however I use the fender/inspection covers from a later year i.e. metal spring clips. I know that doesn’t help much however there has to be something out there (boneyard/aftermarket) that could be modified to accommodate the need. My first though would be the nylon/polypropalene clips that holds the hoods "prop rod" down or even hose or wiring harness clips. It's not a long shot and might be ezer and quicker than to mill a pair up. I would think that even though there is probably a "small" market for them, they’re only worth a buck or so. If I were to make them I would not use Nylon but rather Polyprop or even Black Delrin due to its resistance to embrittlement. If I find some time I'll try to come up with something for you, I have spare early covers and one old clip that I could mock up on. I got to do something to earn the coveted Z clip award. In regards to the windshield trim molding, I have several spare sets and your welcome to one.

HaHa! That's cute!
Look ~ if you can come up with a usable clip for the '70 inspection lids, I'll see to it that you get TWO Z Clip Awards, AND I'll make sure Black Dragon knows where to direct the 300 requests they get each year for replacements! You will be declared a National Hero and get buried beside Mr. K when both your times come. Nobody will care what you make them out of. LEXAN would last longest, but if you wanted to SELL them and retire early, you should make them out of the same cheap nylon Datsun used, to guarantee future job assurance.

I will now make it a point to transport myself to your abode within the next 7-10 days (when it's convenient for you) to see all your toys and buy the window trim. I thank you sincerely in advance.
Domo Arigato!
Frank

I happily WITHDRAW this request! Thanks to a casual message sent to me by Phil280zxt, I have located an individual who MAKES these for his personal use!

For those of you (probably most) who have never seen one of these, this is Datsun part #63209-E4100. It shows what I have been trying to describe in this thread.

These are completely unique to the early 1970 carz. They cost about $1.15 per pair back in the day, but they broke often and I remember buying and replacing them about as casually as fuses. By late 1970, Datsun had replaced them with the better-idea of the now-familiar metal clips welded onto the underside of the two inspection lids on the fenders. Datsun stopped making these and the supply pipeline dried up. They are virtually impossible to get thru NISSAN today.

I don't know if the man who makes these wants to be considered as a supply source or not, so I'll ask him before releasing his identification. They have to be a BEAR to make, so I was not surpriZed that he wanted $25 each for them. I was happy to find them at ANY cost.

This just goes to highlight the value of having a Website like this, and friends like you. There is absolutely NO WAY I could have found these without our great Z family. THANK YOU ALL!!!

Z Ya!
Frank