Topics Last Week

What model years / production dates Is this coolant line hose bracket correct? Thanks, Keith

Looks like one of my wiper motor harness firewall grommets

Here are the thread rules. Again. For any hardware you are likely to encounter. 4 x 0.7 5 x 0.8 6 x 1.0 8 x 1.25 10 x 1.5 - bolts that thread into the engine block. Trans, head, brackets, 10 x 1.25 - All other M10 bolts, ie suspension and body are 1.25 12 x 1.25 - wheel studs, front spindle to steering arm, trans mount (later), TC rod ends, Flywheel , spindle pins 14 x 1.5 - diff strap bolts, front control arm pins 16 x 1.5 - Crank bolt 20 x 1.5 - Rear Stub Axles Threaded pipe fittings are all BSPT, A/C and EGR excluded. There is a 1/4x28 SAE thread somewhere for you to find as a test. There are 7/16-20 SAE too. Another test. And what the heck is up with those short fat rear control arm bushing bolts? And why do I have 2 or 3 dozen of them? The first 7 on the list are the ones you should have taps and dies for on hand at all times. Better yet the thread restoring kind, not the thread making kind. Print this out and post it on the shop wall.

Finally got my exhaust finished. With the kenmeri header mated to my Fujitsubo exhaust. There was a small gap between the flanges. Designed up a small spacer. This is 316 stainless.

Yesterday, the postman delivered a big package from Japan again. This time with a load of cool documents. The first one (Bottom right) is the Race and Rally preparation manual. I bought this one for a friend, since I already own one. But it's always cool to see those. The second one is a combined S30S(A) / GS30S(A) brochure for the standard Fairlady Z / Z-L and the 2by2 versions. See also Color samples at the bottom right: For whatever reason, one of the Japanese lots included a US-Market 240Z Brochure. Not something I would usually buy, but since I didn't have it in printed form yet it's cool to have it anyway. From the Japanese market again, I got this Fairaldy Z / 240 Operation manual, which also includes the Z432 versions. These are particularly useful to find some details of the interior for my knowledge posts. This is the later version that also covers the ZG and other HS30 variants (the early versions only covered the Z / Z-L and Z432): Then I got two of the Japanese marked fold-out Fairlady Z sales brochures. It's basically a brochure on one side and a ZG Poster on the other side. I was buying one, when a second one was included in a Lot of documents. Once I got them, i realized that i already had one, So now i end up with three. But, I intend to frame one as a Poster and I realized that there are different versions. Both the Material (paper-weight) and print is different: For me no doubt the coolest item is this Nissan Racing school brochure: With the Checkman Sponsored GTS-II Works car on the back. Especially this version of the car with the "Batmobile" rear aero. I just love everything about it. The sponsoring, the aero, the livery. Another Magazine was the "Nissan Graph" Customer magazine from April 1985. Which also included some racing school details. I'm working on a knowledge post about this, that's why I started to collect some information about it. One general 1971 Japanese Nissan brochures also included the ZG: And the general lineup on the inside. I guess this magazine was issued at a Car show in 1971 or at the dealerships? It also included some cool drawings of the 216X Concept car: Another similar brochure (without date) from Nissan Tokyo, which again shows the ZG and some other nice cars: On the inside you find the lineup from that time, but with a regular Fairlady Z and Z-L shown. Another cool book is the J's Tipo Fairlady Z Archives (002). J's Tipo is a Japanese car magazine, and this book is basically a collection of all their Fairlady Z related stories from various years, compiled in one book. After I met Morita san, the Author of the Fairlady Z Story and History books, in Japan recently, I had to get "Volume 2" of the book. I've owned Vol 1 for a long time, but never the second one, since it wasn't so relevant for the S30. But now I had to get it :-) Then i also got this Jack and tool stowage reproduction Sticker from Germany. I had this Genuine Datsun Parts sticker for a long while and always wondered how I can present it. When I found this piece of Aluminum sheet, I got the idea to make a sign out of it. So I cut the aluminum. And then put the sticker on it. So I ended up with this cool sign. And found a good little Spot for it: I also found a nice place for the NISMO sign, but it looks a bit small on this big wall, next to the huge Datsun sign. I have some projects planned for the next week and hope I can get back working on the car itself, so stay tuned for some updates, soon.

so I swapped out the master last night and it’s unfortunately still leaking in the same spot so it has to be the line at this point like you were saying?

You must have contacted the wrong business. His website shows the wheels still available.

The guys with the money, so funny. If they had their way people would have to pay to comment on the cars. The high end BaT car auctions are more like a big money poker game. Who's bluffing who. They don't want to know until the sale is over. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1971-datsun-240z-345/

Oh, and this came today. PTunerz thermostat housing. Had to bolt up a Canadian part in honor of my Canuck brothers…

I believe the success rate here is pretty good with the past history mentioned in earlier posts presented. What puzzles me is the cost of the relay. I’m sure there are folks here on the forum including myself have a factory one available since I converted to OER Carbs.

I've had my 76 280Z for 25 years. Other than headers, it's basically stock. When I got the car, it came with 195 50R 15 tires. With those tires the car pretty much steered itself on the highway and was good on curves at higher speed. On the negative side, the tires seemed way too small in the wheel wells, the speedometer was off by 10% and trying to turn it into a parking space took way too much arm strength so early on I got a set of 14 inch Panasports and 195 70R14 Pirelli P6000's. I'm happy with this setup but find, sometimes in a sharp turn, I get a little sway. The 205 60R 15 setup is almost identical in height, diameter etc to the 195 70R 14. I see from this forum that a number of people use the 205 60R15's and was looking for your advice. I'm not racing or doing anything performance based but I do enjoy a lot of New England 45 mph country roads. Am I apt to see noticeable benefits to the slightly wider tire and reduced sidewall? I still have the 15 inch wheels the car came with so the investment would only be in a set of tires and, of course, I could always go back to the 14's. Your thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks. Dave

That's a lot of money in tools!

It's unfortunate so many cool looking concept cars don't get built or the coolness gets lost in the transition to production line

5 days, that's pretty good

http://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/IMG_3041.jpg Classic Sports Racing Group (CSRG) hosted the Sears Point Challenge at Sonoma 10/3 and Finale event at Thunderhill 11/1. Z Car Garage participated in both events, supporting several client’s Datsun 510 race cars running in B-Sedan Group. Great weekends filled with competition, camaraderie and plenty of Alfas, BMWs and Datsuns sharing the track. Enjoy our race reports with photos and video! http://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/510255373-1272423368226503-5578166857124943186-n_orig.jpg http://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/IMG_9860.jpg Sears Point Challenge 10/3-5 http://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/IMG_2948-e1763078243264.jpg ROB: Beautiful weekend at historic Sonoma Raceway (which will always be Sears Point to me). We had a a few bitchin’ 510s including Tom Dockery and Kenny. Super excited to test out the suspension fresh and adjustments on Noah’s Bluebird coupe. http://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/IMG_2972.jpg http://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/IMG_2970.jpghttp://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/IMG_7372-e1763077690637.jpg Everything seem to be working well with Tom, Kenny everyone up to a really good pace, it was fun. http://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/IMG_2973.jpg Lots of cool hardware in the paddock: http://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/IMG_2954.jpg http://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/IMG_2950.jpg http://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/IMG_2980.jpg VIDEO Turn the volume up and enjoy the sounds and sights from the paddock at Sonoma Raceway! Vintage Spec Miata http://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/VSM-Welcome-1024x831.jpg ROB: The Classic Sports Racing Group (CSRG) is excited to welcome Vintage Spec Miata (1990-1997) to all of their events! This is a fun, affordable way to get into vintage racing. Each event we see more really clean VSPs coming out to race. Season high for us in Sonoma, with I believe 10+ cars out there: http://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/IMG_2996.jpg Speaking of glorious…we would like to introduce you to “Little Butters”, our 1991 Vintage Spec Miata that will be available for rental throughout the vintage race season. Contact Rob at ZCG for details. Since this is a new build for I drove it for the weekend to make sure it was sorted and ready to rock for any client that wants to enjoy it. It has a competitive race engine, Penske shocks which are the current suspension for SCCA Spec-Miatas. Just to pay tribute to how wonderful Mrs. Butters Z (our Series 1 shop 240z) is, we painted it Safari Gold. It’s nickname is Little Butters, Josh likes to call it “I can’t believe it’s not Butters” and then we picked the number 23 because we are Nissan dorks. http://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/IMG_3012.jpg Anyway it was fantastic to have the car out and then honorable mentions are Lora B, she keeps kicking arse in her Spec Miata and Allison as well. Also on Saturday and Sunday we had Ross Lindell in the Randy Pobst National Championship-winning Miata (1992)…pretty cool that Miatas are old enough to have their own vintage class and then also have one of the their own ambassadors: http://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/IMG_2997.jpg http://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/IMG_2976.jpg Super excited for the season to play out at Thunderhill. Huge thanks to Josh and Cooper for keeping us safe all weekend , Meghan and Oliver for taking care of the snacks and the tire recycling. I love that event. CSRG is magical. If you haven’t been to one those events you ar emissing out, so come on out! WE’ll be posting out race scehule soon after the holidays. http://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/IMG_7852.jpg http://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/IMG_0067.jpg CSRG Finale 11/1 ROB: Every year CSRG ends their season with the Finale at Thunderhill. This event is lightly attended and results in tons of track time. There’s an Enduro on Sunday with with a faux LeMans start… and it is just rad. The Saturday night dinner is a special event and we are seeing more and more people showing up. It’s been two years since I have had my Datsun 510 out and it was a great way to end the season racing it. http://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/IMG_3048.jpg Troy Ermish brought his 510 and we had a really nice B-Sedan field with a ton of Dimes out there. Most important 510s to us obviously include Tom Dockery and the return of fire captain Todd R, Noah, Tom, Alison and Rob was out stable for the weekend: http://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/IMG_3064.jpg It was just awesome having so much track time. Everybody was kicking arse and taking names, and by Sunday afternoon I think we’d all kind of figured that we’ve had enough track time which is unbelievable for us to say. Once again Josh and Cooper kept us all safe all weekend long and we rocked it. Oliver was on tire recycling duty and Meghan on snacks while enjoyed the small town feel of Willows. http://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/IMG_3047.jpg http://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/IMG_3052-e1763077766504.jpg We enjoyed Saturday night dinner with CSRG and it was so much fun to see everyone. I hadn’t seen Josh Moriarty in a long time and he was out there kicking arse in his 510. There was a really great group of these ex-GT3 cars (tube frame/ fiberglass bodies). Jim Froula was in one (240SX) and a kid I run Spec Miata with (Joseph Carl) was out there with his Dad in a super cool vintage 1st-gen GTU RX-7. http://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/IMG_5168.jpg VIDEO Turn the volume up and enjoy the sounds and sights from the paddock at Thunderhill! ROB: We had perfect weather and another race reason in the books. Can’t wait for 2026 we are super excited and will be traveling this year. There will be a big Japanese big-bore/bash with Sovren in the PNW and I’ll be going to the Rose Cup at PIR in my Miata. Get out there and race! If you have any questions/thoughts about racing with us please contact Rob at rob@zcargarge.com Tom Dockery http://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/IMG_3049.jpg Tom Dockery continues to enjoy racing in his Ex-Norm Balzer B-Sedan 510. Here is his report from both CSRG events along with some great in-car footage TOM: The Sears Point Challenge was a fantastic weekend filled with learning and improvement. With Kenny, Noah, and me as students, Rob skillfully coached, challenged, and encouraged each of us to push our limits. As a result, I managed to improve my lap times with each session, achieving a new personal best at Sonoma. http://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/IMG_3061.jpg http://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/IMG_3029.jpg The CSRG Finale at Thunderhill was fun, although it had its frustrating moments. We shared track time with the higher horsepower group 8 machines during all 10 sessions. The frustration stemmed from some group 8 drivers opting to start from the back of the field despite their qualification times. As they worked their way through the field, they didn’t always take the easiest path, requiring slower drivers like me to let them pass, which affected my race pace with competitors I hoped to stay with. VIDEO Volume up and enjoy. in-car video action from Tom Dockery’s Datsun 510! TOM: There were positive aspects too. I learned the freight train signaling method to coordinate with teammates at the start. Noah and I used this technique to block a NASCAR Cup car that tried to prevent the faster B-Sedans from overtaking in the corners. Josh and Cooper provided excellent support on both weekends. At Thunderhill, Josh performed a fuel pump swap while Cooper replaced a lower radiator hose, ensuring we didn’t miss any sessions. http://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/IMG_3009-e1763078029675.jpg http://www.zcarblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/IMG_2970.jpg See more photos in the gallery below (Thanks Meghan!) and stay tuned for our 2026 race schedule! View the full article

When I searched ebay for the iBooster, I actually looked more at the Hondas because I don't think they have the booster mounted at an angle like the Tesla. I'm still not sure about what reservoir would be best to use in this application.

An ammeter can fail, but that would also cause the car not to run. Bad wires at the ammeter would also cause the car not to run.

Thanks for everyone's input! I definitely will be using a respirator for all the body work. Melting back the filler seems like the way to go. I can hopefully get a better idea as to how it should all go back together and what metal needs to be welded in. More water must have pooled up on this side as the driver side is clean.

Poppin' back in for a bit, although @conedodger and @Yarb see me quite a bit in The Rusted Zed Pub section. 😎 🍻 It's been a few years since I've spoken with Gary Moisant but I'm pretty sure he's still around up in Oregon. Can't get him away from the race cars! The last time I spoke with Keith @2ManyZs (many, many years ago) he was having some health issues. I reached out once by email a few years ago but never heard back. Edit: I reached out again to Keith yesterday and he is still around, still has his Z but it is still unfinished. So, I popped back in here because I ran across something the other day that made me think of this thread. I saw my old Z for sale on Marketplace!!! She's about an hour's drive away and actually less than a mile from my mother-in-law's place! Paint still looks good (which I'm pretty proud of!) but that four-letter "R" word has started coming back with a vengeance! The guy who is currently selling, bought her not too long ago from the guy I sold her to. I stopped by yesterday on my way home from Austin, TX to see her, talk to her, and wish her well in the next part of her life. Still has good bones, but the level of repair is far more than I'm willing to tackle at this age and stage of my life. It was cool to see her again and I can't say I didn't shed a tear or two... We did go down the roadster route for a few years but not anything from Datsun. We did the Miata thing. Cool, fun little car that was a blast to drive. Helped that it was already set up for autocross which made street driving an absolute blast! Top down every single drive, even if we got caught in the rain (as long as you stay moving...)! But alas, as the wife and I both start looking toward retirement all of the toys have been traded up for a large center console boat for fishing down on the TX Coast! Grandkids are on the way and life's focus has just changed. The Z will always be a part of my life and I will die loving the sleek lines of the S30s, but I don't think there will ever be another one in our garage. Add it to the list of cars that "We should have never sold!" 😉 Y'all keep the rubber down and the RPMs up!

I was describing its function, not the actual material wire. The trigger wire for the new tach is its own independent circuit. I was also trying to tease out if you're replacing the stock tach or adding another tach. Are you sticking the new tach in the hole where the old one is? Your other basic question might be "how do I keep my ignition system functioning if I remove my factory tach?". Since they are tied together in the 240Z's. Just breaking the "how do I connect my new tach?" question in to its elements. Seems like you're on top of it. Good luck.

https://www.amazon.com/Zig-furniture-upholstery-tempered-sinuous/dp/B01FE3PSZE

I got the rotary replacement kit from the Z Store (ZStore.com) but not sure if they still have the kits.

Ah yes. The "right setup" would include proper harnessing (no cutting or splicing), relays to isolate the power, adequate drivers for the blubs, no flicker, and adequate cooling. Also my opinion of the right setup would make it look period-correct for the car. Overall, I believe the only real reason to consider LED is to provide more powerful light output for driving. There's no real power savings needed on a gas powered car unless maybe to support a lower rated alternator. In my case, I don't really need LED unless I just want to go down that path for fun. I also considered LED's for my Land Cruiser, because the light output is pretty weak. However, I also decided against it because I couldn't find many options that met my requirement above.

Also, Japanese market variants had the option of factory stereo from beginning of production, so there are speaker holes in both sides of the interior quarter panel trims and the sheetmetal underneath them was designed to accept speaker mounts on both sides.