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What was old is new again! A nice aftermarket Alpine radio was in my car when I purchased it, but I have always want to put an original Hitachi radio back in. Luckily for me, a buddy of jfaseries1 , Scott M moved here and I was able to work a deal with him for one of his spare radio's. After recently working on some of Zup's early radio's, and with the nice weather here of late, I got the bug to get it installed. Tested, refreshed & cleaned the radio up, removing the corrosion they all seem to have on the top plate. Then, with the schematic & a new 6 pin male connector, (thanks for sourcing that for me Zup) I was able to return the wiring to factory spec. It works great, a little more finishing & trim work, and should be good for a 2 or 3 point bump on my interior score at Austin Zcon.

One other detail for now... I don't have the flat tops for that car. HE has the flat tops for that car. And they're ON the engine. Modified flat tops with some custom improvements:

Anyone with a 240Z seat belt buckle sleeve in good shape they'd part with? Going to re-dye it so cosmetically it can be dirty and grimy, just needs to be complete and good physical condition.

Mr Purcell I had a the same color combo as your 240 but recently sold it. I remember a conversation about the correct rocker stripes and since then have found some for a good price. I can't remember if you already had your's or not but here's the link. http://stripegarage.com/collections/datsun-240z-260z-280z/products/datsun-240-z-triple-stripe-vinyl-decal?variant=14729170374

Basting the pig. Chris, I'm miles from a dipper so I'm planning on doing it myself.... dipping my car hill-billy style at home. I will hook up a treadmill motor to my rotisserie and drip phosphoric acid from an overhead hose. A plastic sheet and frame will collect it on the bottom where it will drain to a reservoir and be pumped back up to the drip line. I'm not sure if it was ever done before but hopefully it will work. It is a bit like how they re-use formaldehyde in medical school on "specimens".

Car is heavier now so you might think about adding more HP. A warm engine is a happy engine.....

But, now with your newfound color photo lab, you can process the film yourself, Cliff. It was meant to be! Dennis

Personally, I'm not a big fan of auto-ranging. I've found them to be annoying. And I don't think I would use a "continuity" setting much either. I just use a low Ohms scale. What is "continuity" anyway on a meter? Some arbitrary threshold below which they sound the beeper? About the only advantage I can see is that it might be a little faster than waiting for the reading to settle?

I can't begin to tell you how may hours/days/months/years I've spent in the darkroom. The smells of Dektol and Fixer are instantly reminded to me. Dennis is right, once you find the right buyer. That microscope thing you mention sound like what is used to focus with, a grain focuser. Reminds me of an old joke. Two girls are watching a photographer making a photograph with one of the girls explaining to the other each step the photographer is doing. And she says "next, he's gonna Focus." The girl next to her looks shocked and says "Bouf Us?" Sorry, I had to let that one out……... I've still have all my old stuff too, except for the enlarger.

My strategy (if you can call it that) with the engine is to put the money here, because this is the thing I can't really fix myself. The rest of the car isn't really an issue for me when it comes to doing the work, but I want to make this engine as bullet proof as possible because it's way outside my wheelhouse, so I'm not skimping. The machinist we're working with has a few decades of L-series experience so I'm pretty confident we'll reach that goal. Will it be the most powerful L28 ever built? No, but I'm confident it will be more reliable that my 2009 Subaru Forester's engine.

"White 240Z"? White 432, clearly...

The rings are JE Pro-Seal We've got a cross-hatch but I don't know what grit our machinist used during the final honing (I'll ask, 'cause I think that info would make Matt's build log more complete). I've never before installed rings like the set we used here. They were pretty much the choice of our machinist but they were also the ones JE talked with me about when I called them for info on ordering. Thanks for mentioning it... They have a Chrome Top Compression Ring,... a Moly #2 Compression Ring,... and then, what appeared to be a conventional oil control ring set. I think chrome rings are tougher to seat than molly, so this was an interesting configuration to me. I was taught that ring material determined the cylinder wall finish but I haven't had to actually bore and hone a block in years, and materials have changed. With the different rings here, I think we may have a slightly protracted break-in period. Again, I'll ask those questions and get back to you. I'll have more info on all this stuff, later. Cheers

Sounds like you got some good stuff. The 6700 is a color enlarger that's well regarded. I have a B&W darkroom setup. Prices on eBay run around $400 for the enlarger. You probably have a few hundred bucks more in other items unless you decide to take on a new hobby. Dennis

Thumbs up on the Crane Ignition parts. I've heard that Fast EFI has purchased all the stock and production rights from S&S Cycle. ( Crane went bankrupt after the 2008 crash ) . I wonder if Fast is getting new production made in the USA or out sourcing to China. Might be best to purchase NOS or used on Crane stuff till that question is answered. Summit and Jegs still have a fair bit of NOS Crane Fireball parts on hand. I've used Crane ignition products since the mid 90's. Very high quality parts. Put MSD to shame when Crane came out with the HI-6 CD box. Cranes E-coils were also the bench mark when they came out. Still are.

I'm cool with 205s, my issue right now is finding a affordable, light wheel, in 15". Tire of choice is Dunlop Z102.

I don't think the difference is worth it. That's the problem with the 14" size, few choices and what's available is getting pricey. For comparison, last fall I bought a set of Sumitomo's for the colder weather (can't run my Dunlop's below 50 degrees) 215 60 15's for $276 shipped from Tires-Easy.com. Very pleased with them.

My 205/55-15" fit good in my opinion. Hankooks from directtire.com. the right pic at the bottom of my replies.

Robot chicken Asian car style!

I drove out to check on this car this afternoon and its every bit as sad as the ad photos suggest. Its a 01/71 car, VIN 19270, last registered in 1988. Lots of rust - floorboards, outer rockers, doglegs, rust and bondo in both rear quarters, rear valance, bottom of hatch. The cowl panel has gaping rust holes. Interior a real mess, inner rockers look to be compromised. The left door was jammed but able to force open so its likely the body is bent. The tires were pretty flat so unable to inspect frame rails. The seller thinks he has a $4k treasure. I suggested the money required to make it a decent car would put owner seriously underwater on finished value. I told him if he's interested in selling it at a parts car price to get back to me - I'm not holding my breath.

I posted this on the restoration of seat belts a while back. If you do not find a sleeve let me know and I will take a look at what I have. I purchased a number of sets to put together a set for my project.

What the heck did I just watch???

Interesting & Nice! I would have gone after that car just for the provenance it has ...

I'll look tomorrow when it's light . What year is yours from?

Ah Greg, so funny. Some idiot has parked their car in front of my house for two days. I've got a hand full of sheet rock screws I think it needs for better traction.

The point about the 280 is that they are built a little stronger, more refined if you will, than a 240 and like Hardway mentioned, more plentiful therefore currently less money than a 240. You'll get essentially the same experience driving any Z of that era compared to todays standard including the lack of safety. I wouldn't say 240s are classier. They are a little quicker and snappier, but they still aren't a GTR. Neither is a 260 or a 280. I appreciate your want. Everybody here on this forum has it. We wallow in it on a daily basis. I encourage you to scratch the Z itch but do it with a little forethought. Have something you can depend on and drive in rain also. The fact of the matter is that almost all of us have a modern(ish) vehicle to DD (mine is Toyota Highlander) and these Z' are a passion to us. Safety is one of those things that seem's to come to mind right about the time you realize you have responsibilities to someone other than yourself. If your girlfriend gets a title change, that's something to think about. Now if you'll excuse me, there seem's to be kids in my yard that need runnin' off…..

Kind of thought of it but not sure they would be interested in something like this. I've never sold anything to a business, though I guess I might could ask just to see what they say. I see, so a kit consisting of the front lower section of the quarter panel, the rear sections of the inner and outer rockers, the rear tie in plate sandwiched between the rear section of the rockers ( not sure what its called), and possibly the lower part of the door jam, also perhaps the lower front part of the wheel well. I'll have to think about that, it would indeed be a nice repair kit for the dogleg area.