A very early Z

Among the collection of Dattos at Peter Lehmann's was this very nice refurbished early 240Z. Attention to detail included fitting (refitting) a pair of those mudguard mirrors favoured by the Japanese. I think they were removed by the dealers in Australia prior to sale, replacing them with door mirrors. There are so many Zs getting around (Jane's included) with XY Falcon mirrors.

One of the ways of telling a really early one, apart from the low chassis number, is the placement of the extractor vents in the tailgate below the back window. The vents were soon moved to the side, roughly where this one has a 240Z badge.

That's Jane's white one across the paddock after the majority of Bolwells had departed. This car is such an early one that it arrived in Australia before the Datsun dealers were set up to market them. It is pre compliance plate and pre chassis plate and came into the country via New Guinea.

On the way home we stopped to check on this year's Merlot grapes which are looking pretty good.

.....and just to show that there is a following for everything, here's a collection of Premiers and Kingswoods proudly lined up outside the Clare Castle.

A Nagari Surprise

This rather familiar looking Bolwell is "on the market". Reg. No. NORM46.Described by its owner as the "best handling Bolwell ever", it's for sale for $63,000 - no offers. More details and a full description to follow. Meanwhile, comments are invited and expressions of interest may be sent to vidstud@gmail.com

Pantera roadster

It's not just Bolwells that get the top chop. Here's a Pantera that's had the treatment, currently for sale for bugger all in America. I've been reading lots of rude comments about it but I kinda like the idea.

More on the Kadala Mark 7

These are the wheels that come with the car, standard Torana by the look of them, which stands to reason as the donor car was a Torana. The paperwork and credentials for the Torana have been kept just to be on the safe side as have the actual Bolwell details and registration material.Experienced Bolwell people will recognise that the condition of the body and chassis is very unusual as they have not suffered the deterioration normally found in well used cars after all those years.
As a Kadala car it has the larger footwells similar to the Nagari and the Nagari dash is standard and not fitted later as happened to many early examples.
The chassis, too, is different in these later versions. e.g. the main side members are bent in a "U" shape with the "U" facing into the running gear rather than the "Z" shape with the top part facing the centre of the car and the bottom coming out under the floor pan at a short angle.
Other inventory items include:-
*Bolwell tags and builder's diary with rego number quoted
*donor car tags (original builder was a car dealer in Bendigo)
*chrome door window surrounds and the windows
*windscreen and rear window
*door handles
*headlights
*windscreen wipers
*heater demister unit
*front end which includes Torana disc brakes and two wheels and tyres 215:65:14s
*triple SU equipped Holden red 6 motor with custom extractors and cast plate Opel gearbox and gear shifter (these boxes are highly sought after among the restorers of early XU1s I believe)
*an additional Aussie 4-speed
*engine mounts
*starter motor and alternator
*a couple of radiators
*pedal box and pedals
*steering rack, steering column, steering wheel
*door trims in black
*sports seats in black, one needs minor fabric repair
*rear end including brakes
*trailing arms
*several diff centres
*boxes of springs and shockers
*2 more wheels and tyres 215:65x14
*fuel tank
*tail lights and chrome surrounds (Galant and rear panel has been smoothed to fit)
*more boxes of stuff
The car was stolen by and recovered from a man who wanted to make a drag racer out of it, hence the dismantled nature.
To the knowledge of everybody concerned there are no issues with the car in any legal respect and it has been known to car club members for many years.

The Mad Dat ute

The purple Mad Dat ute was there on Sunday too. Just look at the attention to detail on this car! The beautifully made tray cover and the roll bar you'd hardly know was there.

Here you can see the carbon-fibre bonnet.

........and here's part of the reason it's so damn quick at Mallala.

Peter Lehmann's.

There were 5 Bollies at the MSCA trophy presentation day (all Mark 7s) at Tanunda as well as Jane's 240Z, Lynne in the Turbo MX5 and Norm's Clemente. It was good to see a good collection of Mark 7s again although a few went home early.

At the start at Golden Grove another Mark 7 appeared, Bryan's black one. I shouldn't say black, although the paint mix was equal proportions of Mercedes Black and RX7 Black, but just look at the car in the sunlight, it sorta looks blue.

These were a couple of shots I took a few days earlier in Kapunda just to show that cute little bobtail and the shape of the rear quarter windows.

AMC AMX

Isn't this AMX a beauty. I took this photo Tuesday night outside the Gawler rooms. It belongs to fellow club member, Doug A, who seems to be as much into Ramblers as I am into Bolwells. The AMX is a 2-seater coupe with a high compression 390 cu. in. (6.4l) AMC V8. It looks great in signal red. Doug bought it 20 years ago as a body shell and a few boxes of bits, including the engine in bits. He collected parts for 20 years and then took 12 months to restore it to this. What a great job.Another good car there on the night was a 302 John Goss Special (blue bonnet not green) but it was too dark to take a photo. It belonged to David, a young bloke who had just joined the club. He bought it in Sydney on eBay and flew over and drove it back.

The guest speaker that night gave us a good rundown on importing cars from America. Makes you glad Australia is full of nice cars anyway.

Roger's front spoiler.

Remember last month we talked about the simple but effective rubber front spoiler Roger fitted to his Mark 7? On Sunday, Roger and the car were at the presentation day at the Peter Lehmann Winery and here's a photo.

This is a "big block".

Had to show you this. The car is a 1961 Dodge Seneca 413. That's a 413 Cross-Ram V8. It's got a 4-speed behind it which is pretty rare in North America. This one lives in San Diego. The Cross-Ram is rare anywhere in the world though. Just how far is it between carbies? Can't see it fitting under a Mark 7 bonnet. I read where there is enough metal in those inlet manifolds to cast some 4 cylinder engine blocks.

more JWF Italia Spider

Beautiful isn't it?

JWF Italia Spider

Rob Suttie's dad has finished the Italia an it looks fantastic.

I'll post some more pictures later on when I get a chance.

Mark 7 project for sale

This is a late, Kadala Mark 7. The body and chassis is in exceptional condition as it was driven only briefly before being dismantled and it has recorded Victorian registration credentials and the paperwork to go with it. It has a hot 186 & 4-speed. Just about everything is there except for a wiring loom, guages and rear shockers.

$10,000 will buy it. email vidstud@gmail.com Telephone 0413 226 009.