grndfx

The feedback from our first sales have been great and I'd like to personally thank those members who decided to take the plunge and buy a set - I know when a new product appears on the market place and no one has any real idea of how good it may be or the reliability of the seller, it is these first few buyers that take the risk for everyone else. I'm pleased that our panels have been so well received and hopefully this will help those out there that may have had reservations. Also I'd like to let everyone know that we have now started to sell the CF panels on Ebay and the listing can be found here - http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=013&sspagename=STRK%3AMESE%3AIT&viewitem=&item=230204014139&rd=1 And finally I'd like to mention that Motorsport Auto have agreed to stock the panels and they should have them available in the New Year.

To answer some of the questions that have we have been getting - and to give the thread a bit of a bump. a) Yes, the panels are still available and currently there is no waiting list - orders are normally shipped within 48 hrs of receiving payment. The Carbon Fiber Panels are made using a resin infusion process (vacuum bagging) - this creates a superior quality piece with uniform thinkness and excellent surface finish. Although more labor intensive to manufacture, the infusion/vacuum method will consistantly produce a qualty part. c) We can ship worldwide and have already sold sets to Sweden and the UK. Thanks for all the great support Steve.

Thanks for the positive comments on the CF panels, Zach - I'm glad you're happy with your purchase. LS1 240Z - your comments are very appriciated and the suggestion for other parts has been noted. And we are planning on eventually selling these on Ebay as well at some point- just as soon as we've filled all the orders from the forum and we have some spare panels to sell.

Thanks for all the help and input regarding the 260Z rear lights. It now appears that our Carbon Fiber panels will only be a simple direct replacement for 240Z's. Anyone with a 260Z or 280Z will have some modification work to do if they want to use them - its not that hard a conversion but then you could use the Euro lights as well.

Our initial examination the 280Z showed us that Datsun decided to switch to a molded plastic surround, which then attached to the bodywork in a completely different manner than the 240Z - the thin steel panels of the 240Z and our thin carbon fiber replacements meant mounting was a snap and nothing complicated to replicate. The 280Z on the other hand appears a lot more complex to reproduce, so initially we will hold off on producing these. I'd like to ask the members of HybridZ about the rear lights of the 260Z, as we've had several inquiries about using the CF panels on this model. Did the 260Z use the same lights and steel surrounds as the 240Z, or is there a difference? Although the rear of the S30 cars have basically the same depression in the bodywork for the rear lighting, I know the 280Z'z had a panel across the back with different cut-outs for the light housings - what about the 260Z's or the 2+2's ? Any help with regards the 260Z rear lighting would be very much appreciated - as I'd like to say for sure if our Carbon Fiber panels would be compatible. Thanks again for all you support Steve.

The panels are carbon fiber replacements for the steel panels that the factory use to trim around the taillights on the 240Z. You remove the steel pieces and put the carbon ones in their place. The picture that Aziza posted showing a one piece panel was just a picture of the lay-up as it comes out the mold, before it is cut and trimmed - this seems to be confusing some people as to what is being offered. So to clarify once more - it is two separate panels that replace the steel panels - there do not join together or do anything that the steel panels did not do. If you look closely at a 240Z, the taillight surrounds are two separate panels that go behind the license plate and stop. The gap between them is hardly seen or noticed with the license plate in place Hope this helps Steve.

'As what was mentioned at the first of the thread, will it be possible to get it in the un-cut version so we can choose which tail lights we want to use?' The tooling for the CF panels creates a solid part that then has to be trimmed and cut out for the taillights. Originally the carbon fiber cloth was laid over the area for the taillights in a nice presentable manner, but one of the changes we've made to reduce the production costs is to use this area as a kind of dumping ground - here the carbon is sliced apart and allowed to distort so that the surrounding area can be laid down evenly and cleanly. (the time-consuming aspect of carbon fiber is getting the cloth to lay down cleanly without distortion, and by using a 'trim out' area as a place to allow the cloth to distort means less time in messing with it - and therefore less cost.) It is possible that we could produce such a panel, but it would have to be a special order and costing would have to reflect the extra work time involved in laying it up. If its something that you really want drop me an email or PM and we can figure something out. Thanks Steve.

OK - good news (at last) We were out at the production shop Monday and the new tooling appears to be working as hoped. Parts are now being made ..... hurray! We have a few sets ready to ship now and more coming in at the end of each week. Due to the nature of our carbonfiber production, only one set a day can be comfortably produced - to try and do more would compromise the quality. The final production part differs slightly from the prototype that was fitted to Aziza's Z - we now use a black edging trim around the light opening to give a nice 'finished' look. Aziza passed on a list to me that shows there are a lot of you interested in getting a set, but I am not going to use it as some kind of purchasing order list. We appreciate you 'putting your name down' but now that we are in a position to supply parts, we will send them out in the order we receive payments. Secondly I have to clarify what it is we have actually made, as there seems to be a little confusion here. The 240Z's (and I think the 260Z's) had a stamped metal panel that surrounded the rear lights, and was simply attached my a couple of 'poppers' at the top and then pushed into some clips at the bottom. Our CF panel is a direct replacement for this metal panel and will attach in the very same manner. It comes only as a left & right sided pair - no one piece part. For those asking about a 280Z application, unfortunately Datsun totally changed the rear lighting setup for this model and as such our CF panel is not designed fit. With regards Aziza's 280Z - in this situation, firstly we had to modify his car to allow for the fitment of the earlier 240Z lights so our CF panel could be used - but even so, the 280Z has no clips holding the bottom edge of the panel and it is currently just basically hanging there, held in place by the license plate. If some of you out there with 280Z's feel the conversion to 240Z lights is within your grasp, then our CF panel should not pose to much of an issue to install. But just to say once more, the CF panel has been designed specifically for the 240Z and its mounting. We don't currently have a website or any online store, so those that want to purchase a CF panel set here's what to do. Price has now be finalized at $275.00 plus shipping Send me an email to scr2004@pacbell.net with your mailing Zip Code (or Country if out of the US). I will then send you a Paypal request for funds that will include the shipping costs. Initially a Paypal payment is the easiest and quickest for us to process, but we will accept other forms of payment.. Cash or money orders can be mailed to the address indicated on the Paypal request - personal checks can also be sent but time will have to be allowed for these to clear. Parts will be shipped according to the order that payments are received (and cleared) . Please don't use this posting to order parts, PM me or send an email with your shipping info and I'll respond with the Paypal request. I think that's it for now. Thanks for the warm welcome to HybridZ and all the kind comments. Steve

Firstly I'd like to thank Aziza for all his great work with answering your inquiries regarding the CF taillight panel that we have been promising to bring to market - he has been kind enough act as a liaison for us, but I think it only fair that we now introduce ourselves directly to the forum and take some of the heat off of him. I appreciate that many of you are now getting a little impatient - so are we. We had intended to this part available a long time ago, but our initial production run created a part that was, in our opinion, too costly to be successful in the marketplace. Although we wanted to start selling them, we also wanted them to be affordable. For this reason, over the last several months, we have explored several options to reduce these production costs. Although it has taken a lot longer than expected, our new modified tooling was taken to the production shop this week and product should be available shortly. Costing has still to be finalized, but the CF taillight panel should retail for about $250-275. We were attending the SEMA Show in Las Vegas all this week, but I shall be meeting with the production company over the weekend and shall post an update on Monday. All going well, we will start taking orders then and start shipping next week. Once again I'd like to thank everyone for their patience and our apologies for taking so long to get to this point. I'd also like to ask that any questions or correspondence now be sent to us - I think Aziza has earned a break Steve Ritchie scr2004@pacbell.net