Topics Last Week

Either he's making it harder than it should be, or this is not a conversion for the faint of heart.

I remember the vendor, 'Auto World', from back in the 1960's (I still have their 1965 catalog sitting on my book shelf). I didn't realize that they were still in business. The website pays some homage to the original operation, but doesn't make it clear whether there's a historical link between 'then' and 'now'... "Oscar Koveleski founded Auto World in the basement of his home in Scranton, Pennsylvania in 1958. The small mail order hobby business grew to great proportions and became known for its annual product catalogs, which were filled with every car-related item an adolescent hobbyist might desire." The current iteration of Auto World is based in South Bend, Indiana.

I just used the link that Zkars provided in his #2 post. The Gyraline website currently features their Black Friday deal and offers the option of having the price displayed in the currency of the customer's location. IIRC, I had to select the 'G1' (iPhone) or 'G2' (android) product first, add it to my Cart, and then go to the Cart to see the price. I tried this posing first as a Canadian customer, and then as a American customer. The quoted price in Cdn $ for a Canadian customer was significantly higher (numerically) than that for an American customer -- but maybe that was purely the result of performing a currency conversion. Additional costs for shipping/handling and duties/tariffs might get tacked onto the Canadian price afterwards and not become visible until later in the check-out process. A quick internet search indicates that Gyraline was incorporated in Delaware in March 2024, with operations based in California and Texas. I have no idea where they do their manufacturing. Given the the nature of the design and the relatively low production volumes, it could be as simple as contracting out to a US-based additive manufacturing company ('additive manufacturing' = commercial-grade 3D printing).

@siteunseen THANK YOU! This is the kind of info I was looking for. Much obliged.

My 12/70 has the flapper. And I'm REALLY late to the party! I just picked up an air cleaner housing that only has one hose barb coming out of it (I'm assuming it is for the valve cover breather hose?), has the filter retainer ring on the inside of the filter and there is no sticker, but has sticker residue on the top. What sticker would have been there, and what production dates of cars would have come with this style of box? Jan. - July '70 cars?

Looks fantastic. That is almost identical to my end goal for my early 260, wheels and all. Which silver paint code did you go with? I'm thinking about Porsche arctic silver for mine.

What I have...the red/blue are flat head, the blue/clear are philips, and the black/clear are torx. This seems to be the standard from what I've seen in stores for decades. Maybe some older tools were different.

S30.World I wouldn’t give it another thought. Many folks on this site have purchased tanks from them including myself and were very satisfied.

My July '70 car, #6521 has all of those features as well. I knew about your points 1 & 2 but not 3. Interesting, I learned something today, thanks.

On the hunt for an automatic transmission shift bezel in brown. I'm hoping someone made the switch from auto to manual and has one on a shelf somewhere in good shape. Thanks!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flyback_diode

http://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/IMG_3873-e1641173598875-1024x674.jpeg On Saturday, November 8, Breakfast Club Rally hosted the Mechanical Mystery Tour. Known for their wonderful Northern California events, the MMT is especially exciting because it is held in our backyard near the Santa Cruz Mountains. We love attending BCR events. They are always well-organized and the variety of cars is tremendous. http://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/MMT_2025-01-scaled.webp http://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/20251108_084405.jpg Our client Jim H attended the MMT rally with his 1971 Datsun 240z. It is now sporting a Rebello 3.2L with Jenvey ITB EFI, Recaro Specialist seats, CD009a 6-speed transmission, our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes and Z Car Garage CV Axles! http://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/20251019_072243.jpg http://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/20251019_072149.jpghttp://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Screen-Shot-2025-11-20-at-5.02.36-PM.png Jim had a great time driving on the event and kindly shared these photos. Also attending were our clients Miles and Kurt W. in their R32 Skyline GT-Rs: http://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Screen-Shot-2025-11-20-at-5.02.45-PM.png http://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Screen-Shot-2025-11-20-at-4.55.29-PM.pnghttp://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/20251108_084227_resized-e1763331493656.jpg http://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/20251108_082126_resized.jpg More photos in the gallery below! http://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/20251108_085740.jpg http://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/20251108_103642_resized.jpg http://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/20251108_104109_resized.jpg Thanks Breakfast Club Rally! More MMT event photos from BCR’s professional photographers can be seen HERE. http://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/893619B6-2B18-4EA9-A444-44828A910742.jpg View the full article

Installing KYB Struts with KYB dust cover and bump stop. I noticed a fairly significant gap between the housing tube and the bellow. I thought it needed to be sealed to the housing. Is that true? Opinions welcome.

And, as I noted in 2023, that NAPA kit seems to be NLA. But do your own checks. You might just get lucky and find one sitting on some NAPA shop's shelves. I just re-checked my old files. The NAPA kit (PN 6601000) was described as a 'RANCO HTR-100' rebuild kit. It was evidently applicable to the heaters used in the Studebaker Avanti, so it's conceivable that it was used across the entire Studebaker line (Lark, Hawk, etc). A little snooping around a Studebaker owners club website might turn up a lead. RANCO appears to have been swallowed up by Robertshaw. Most of the focus for the RANCO product line these days appears to be in electronic temperature controllers used for commercial/industrial heating systems. I suspect that the 'RANCO' of 2025 may be nothing more than a brand name (i.e. it's unlikely you'll find a RANCO factory with a parts desk). Just one thing, though: I see that NAPA Canada lists something called a 'URO Parts Heater Valve Repair Kit'. A little checking indicates that URO Parts is a brand marketed by A.P.A. Industries (Simi Valley, CA). A.P.A. provides aftermarket parts (incl. cooling system parts) for a variety of European, Asian and North American cars and trucks. In their website, they say: "A.P.A. specializes in accurate reproduction parts for classic vehicles, including a wide variety of items that are no longer available from the dealer". Maybe there might be some leads there. The heater control valve design used in the 510 and Z probably wasn't unique to Nissan. In fact, the Nissan heater design bears certain resemblances to the British 'Smiths' unit that was used in so many UK cars back in the 1950's and 60's. A little investigation along these lines might turn up a British shop that specializes in heater restorations and has a back room filled with obscure parts like a little rubber washer that will fit your 510's control valve. Try this link for a starting point... The MG Experience - Smith's Heater Restoration

A friend of mine has a smoke machine, good for finding air and vacuum leaks, if my intake gasket is not leaking, I'm not going to touch it. Jim

Could the braided hoss that goes to the brake booster have a leak? How do you check for leaks? Carb cleaner?

The next thing to attack is the firewalls . I can’t finish the passenger upper frame because I need access to spot weld the firewall panel . The firewall is sandwiched between the inner fender wall and outer . I also have an issue with the passenger side firewall panel from KF . The drivers side worked out pretty sweet and I should be able to do a decent job welding it in . The biggest obstacle is that I wanted to preserve the vin# that’s stamped on the wall so I had to cut around it . The passenger side doesn’t line up right as you can see but the pics . They said they will send me a new one . I think the panel wasn’t square on their stamping machine . KF has been really good supporting their products . I’ll also add that their drivers firewall panel does not include the doubler for the inside

This was solved today by retarding time! Thanks

It's been a whole year since the surgery! Can hardly believe it, time flies when you're on the better end of healing. Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes, they worked. Next is a mid-foot fusion that I'm dreading but the docs said after a year with the knee replacement they could do it. I had planned a day of relaxing in the driver's seat of the 240 but it has rained like a cow pissing on a flat rock. Maybe tomorrow?

Were you shipping as a company/corporation or as a private individual? I had wondered if S30.world's paperwork problems were actually tariff problems. I wonder if the guy buying the E30 head had driven across the border to purchase it, would he have had to pay the tariffs? Or how much trouble would he get in to if he didn't declare any purchases. Or called it a personal item. In a way, it is. https://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citizens/canada-mexico-travel#:~:text=All%20articles%20acquired%20in%20Canada,TTB)%20regarding%20individual%20state%20requirements.

Yep, I read that one and that is what caused my post. I have the oil pan from the turbo motor, and I have the oil pan from the original L24. I can use either, but they both need re-habbing before I can use them. I didn't want to have to re-hab both of them at this time, but I think that is what I'm going to do, as they will both need to be done at some point anyway. Since I have the pan out for cleaning up, I have the ability to modify/change/omit the heat shield from the turbo pan. Can you explain what part interferes with the header? I'm thinking I may be able to retain some heat-shielding of the gasket and still fit the headers? I'm actually considering just using the MSA header I have for now until I can save some more dollars for the ZStory headers and hopefully, the tariffs will expire as well! I've also read that the turbo oil pan may not fit into the 240 because of the sump being in a different spot from the 240 pan, and causing interference with the crossmember, but I haven't been able to confirm that either.

http://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/FullSizeRender-1024x769.jpg Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Z Car Garage! We hope you can find time to Enjoy The Ride over the holidays. Please note our hours of operation below: Week of Thanksgiving: We are open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday 11/24 to 11/26 and Closed Thursday and Friday 11/27 and 11/28 Week of Christmas: We are open Monday, Tuesday 12/22 and 12/23 and Closed Wednesday ,Thursday, and Friday 12/24, 12/25, 12/26 Week of New Years: We are open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday 12/29 , 12/30, 12/31 and Closed Thursday and Friday 1/1 and the 2nd *A gentle reminder on visiting the shop: No “Drop-in” please, must have an appointment. Not accepting phone calls during business hours-please leave a brief voicemail or e-mail rob@zcargarage.com Thanks! http://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/RoadsterFall.jpghttp://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/510leaves.jpg http://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/greenZ.jpghttp://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/476221730_1342947213560448_80462755940068577_n.jpghttp://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/467147090_1287958212392682_8043280586772983244_n-scaled.jpg  View the full article

Dou you have any spacers in the mounting hardware that can be swapped to the bottom side of the seat mount?

Well done! Congratulations from another OO.🎉