Replicating my "Frist" and finding Shelby Deep Dish Mag wheels...

[BWDenver]

You always have a fondness in your heart for your “First”!

OK, not THAT first! 

Your first car or airplane. 

In July 1973 I checked into Ft Rucker for advance Rotary Wing Flight Training at the tender age of 19.  There was a saying that once you passed your Instrument Check Ride, you could by your bars.  In most cases it was an all-downhill easy slide after that.  I jumped the gun by a couple of weeks and went out looking for a car.  and found it in a 1973 lt Brown Metallic 240Z.  When I got to Ft hood Tx I made a few changes.

One of the other mods I made was a set of Shelby Deep Dish Mage wheels.  I had to do some back woods modifications to the wheel wells to keep the rear tires from rubbing once I had the Mags installed.

The 4 lug mags had a chrome plastic center caps with the familiar Shelby Snake.  I'm trying to find a 1/24 source for those wheels, or something that looks like them.   See image below.

Thanks in advance!

Bryan Wilburn

 

Edited August 30 by BWDenver

[Fat Brian]

You're in luck, Aoshima is making a set of four lug slots right now. The rears are wider than the fronts so you might need two sets unless you don't mind the wider meats out back.

[Steamboat]

Nothing looks better on a Z than slots.  I 3d printed my own from my own design.  Not quite the same as yours but close.  IIRC I made a lot of suspension modifications to lower it to the ground.  You can have the whole car if you want it.

[BWDenver]

On 8/31/2025 at 6:16 AM, Fat Brian said:

You're in luck, Aoshima is making a set of four lug slots right now. The rears are wider than the fronts so you might need two sets unless you don't mind the wider meats out back.

Close but not close enough.  Those are semi straight walled, the Shelby wheels are a continuous curve, rounding out in the bottom and having 6 slots.  I'll either have to make them on my mini mill, or talk to someone to 3D and print them.  I have a 4K resin printer that I have yet to use.  

They are such an uncommon wheel that nobody makes an aftermarket in 1/24...  I picked them up from another pilot when I got to Ft Hood in 1974, after graduating from the Army Flight School at Ft Rucker.

The other issue is the rear window louver.  The back window was a sun attracting hearting unit, without the louver the car really heated up.  Especially after I scrapped the "Dealer Added" AC system that would shake the whole car, and not really work...

 

ZoomOn prints one that is supposedly for the Tamiya Nissan Fairlady 240ZG, but it's not wide enough for the Street-custom body.  I may have to make it out of brass.

Edited September 21 by BWDenver

[BWDenver]

On 8/31/2025 at 7:02 AM, Steamboat said:

Nothing looks better on a Z than slots.  I 3d printed my own from my own design.  Not quite the same as yours but close.  IIRC I made a lot of suspension modifications to lower it to the ground.  You can have the whole car if you want it.

Very nice 24 Oz.

 

I appreciate the offer.  This has been an evolving project.  I have picked up and discarded multiple kits of the 24 Oz to date.  I finally settled on the Tamiya Street-Custom but will need to add the lower valance from another kit.  Aside from the Valance that represents the best overall.  Still trying to find the interior color that was a sort of brown/Orange.

 

The lower valance is just a tad too wide, so I'll need to section it and shrink it a bit.  I worked with MCW to get the '76 Datsun 301 color mix as I repainted the car around then to the "brighter" color.  My first choice was ZeroPaints, in England, but are no longer shipping to the US because of the Tariffs.  

 

Screen shot from a restoration video.  You have to love the Z to like the color!  ZeroPaints has a color that looks close, but again, they are not shipping to the US at the moment...

Edited September 22 by BWDenver