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Lets be completely clear, yes, I love my panasports. They are perfect in every way (Guy looking at you bud! ), but sometimes you just want something different for a while. Can you have too many swiss watches? Can you have too many .45 caliber Firearms? Is it possible to have too many vintage cars? I say no too those and many other questions like...No honey I have not had enough cookies today. So I could no longer resist the temptation of the satin black konig rewinds sold by MSA for 479 shipped. So badda bing one click later they are on the way. Lets talk tires. Recall I have tried three different sized on my 15x7 wheels up to this point. 205/60/15 with front fiberglass spoiler lowered a bit on tokiko springs and struts was fine 205/60/15 with OEM bodywork lowered on tokiko springs and struts were NOT fine 195/60/15 with OEM bodywork lowered on tokiko springs and struts were fine 205/55/15 with OEM bodywork lowered on tokiko springs and struts were fine 205/55/15 with OEM body work lowered a bit less on Eibach pro spring and tokiko struts are obviously flne So having said that, I have more 15x7 wheels coming in that will need tires. Since I raised my car up a tad I was thinking of trying 205/60/15's again. I know Guy is a big fan of the 205/55/15, but I was wondering with the 3/4" of ride height if I moved the wheel far enough down the arch of the front OEM bodywork if it would fit. Not sure. I am also thinking of adding the stock 240Z side sticker that runs along the bottom of the door and sides of the car. Yes the same side sticker I peeled off when I bought it... Don't judge me!

Here's mine. It's just about done. I wish it was bigger. Some cars will have to stay in the other garage - 1978 Datsun 620KC, 1975 Datsun 280Z, Fiat Abarth, Mini Cooper S, etc. I have a little more drywall and insulation to do. The left side is a barn area for the horses. The smaller room is a clean room for painting and doing simple jobs. I put 6 4' LED lights in the walls to make it easier to see when painting. The thicker concrete is for a 2-post lift. Chuck

The above b&w photo is another interesting find. I have an arcade card, ( same size as a postcard with no printing on the back) of the very same photo of the above Z. However, at the bottom my has the following printing. "Datsun 240-Z Printed in USA Courtesy of Parker Advertising, Inc., Jason Hailey Photography." Bonzi Lon

Garage area Work area Arcade area

Same car and photo shoot. HLS30-00007

Hello All, I got serious about buying a Z over the summer. I've been in love with them since I was about 8. I've been reading the forums for about six months and after test driving two found Layla three weeks ago. She's a two owner car, originally from VA but owned since 1976 from the guy I bought it from. He bought it from a Datsun dealership when it was three years old. He drove it around TX and TN in the 70s and 80s and into the 90s. 159,XXX original miles. He said the first owner installed a roll bar, chrome rims, and headers. I have all of his registrations and most documentation of stuff he's done to it. It has pretty much sat in storage for the past 10-15 years with him spending $2,000 a couple years ago (have receipts) trying to get it back on the road. He said this car has outlived any relationship he's ever had, and backed out of selling it to someone else once before. I'm not going to say I stole it, but he gave me one heck of a deal in my opinion including a military discount. Before I bought it I had it put on a lift and did a dry compression test on the engine. It is "virtually rust free," with the factory undercoating still on it. It was repainted 10 years ago in the factory silver color. There is a 3"x3" patch pop riveted onto the driver's side floor, and 2"x2" hole on the passengers side under the seat, likely from the A/C condensation. He told me he never looked under the car. Not necessarily believable, but I believe some people never do so. I also have the FSM and the Mechanic's manual, not sure what it's called, and the carb balance meter. There is also a 1.5" hole under the batter tray. The interior looks great in my opinion; it has a dashcap with one crack, seat covers, stock floor mats, brand new carpet otherwise. Headliner is original and looks great. The engine compression yielded 145-150 psi in all cylinders except one; 1st cylinder was 135. I would've liked higher numbers, but the engine has a good amount of miles so I'm happy at this point. When I test drove it, the car was a little sluggish, but the guy was just frustrated saying "it's not the car it used to be." He said his local mechanic refused to rebuilt the SUs. Since I've had it, I've done the following things: Things I've done thus far: - Castrol high mileage 10w-30 oil change with "engine restore," Lucas oil treatment, and sea foam. Normally I wouldn't put this many additives in, but the car has basically been sitting for 10 years. - Filled gas tank with 93 octane gasoline and fuel system cleaner to help burn off carbon deposits. (I think I'll go lower next tank) - Adjusted intake and exhaust valves to factory specifications. - Replaced rattling muffler with a Magnaflow Turbo XL model. - Replaced 2 year old champion spark plugs with Bosch platinum version. I wanted NGK plugs to go with my wires but they weren't in stock. Plugs were gapped at the higher end of the factory recommendation to accommodate for the higher octane fuel to 0.035". - Spent two hours cleaning the upper half of the carbs and balancing them to factory specs. I will rebuild them within two months. - Cleaned/degreaser valve cover. - Next steps are to put in new distributor points, condenser, and oil pressure sending unit. Flush transmission and rear end gear oil. Buy a timing light and dial in the timing. Replace/upgrade coil. I have been meaning to start this thread since I bought the car; I am behind so I'll be updating the progress I've already completed on a gradual basis. The pictures are after the things I did listed above. Thanks for reading.

Thought I would post because I had some interest from some people asking if I would make these. Due to the amount of time and labor involved, it wasnt worth my while to make these for a those that asked. After all I have a project to work on of my own and other things I could be doing besides work . These inner rocker panels are replacements for a 240z as the pictures attached are those of my car. I am unsure about the 260z and 280z whether these would fit them or not. Please chime in if your certain to let others know. If enough people are seriously interested in getting these from me then please post up or send me a PM, if not then I guess this thread will be closed down. The inner rocker panels are constructed from 18g cold rolled sheet (CRS) metal which is just a tad thicker than the factory material (at least on my 240z). I use cold rolled as it is supposed to be a bit stronger than hot rolled and cold rolled has a smoother finish. These are not an exact match to the factory panels but close enough. The seat belt mounting plate is made from 1/8" (CRS) and the nut for the seat belt bolt is a harden Nut. If your Z suffers from rotted out rusted inner rockers then these panels would be great, save you the hassle of trying to do a questionable patch job... Price wise as of now looking at $380.00 shipped anywhere in the USA (out of Country may be subject to higher shipping rate) mainly because shipping a long box (60") like this is a bit pricey, but this is based on estimated shipping cost with Fedex, actual cost may differ which means if its lower then I can knock the price down. boxes and packaging material will be at my expense to ensure the panels arrive safely. Please note I do not have any already made except the ones pictured which are for my car. Let me know what you think and feel free to ask questions. I will keep this updated when it comes time to submit an order, if it gets this far. Thanks for Look!

Juts a further FYI. Official Crane instructions for installation and mounting of all Crane coils. There is no mention that Crane oil filled coils cannot be mounted horizontally: http://www.cranecams.com/uploads/instructions/9000-1091_.pdf

What model year is that Z? Lovely color combo - red with a white interior. There is a Lion Country Safari in Loxahatchee. I worked for a guy who raised lamas for the park. He had a big farm in Tallahassee. When he was younger, he was an extra in a Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan movie. God speed, Ernie!

SOLD!

Check out this floor plan. Is this the ultimate garage? I would probably consider leaving a few open bays near the work area for friends, but otherwise it looks good to me!

Great to hear it person whom I am still crazy jealous of the fact that you have those headlight covers...

Early 1969 Red Overlap Japan (LHD): USA (San Francisco?) Japan (Studio ...no badges) \ Japan (Studio but fake badges drawn on) Clearly this early Owner's Manual Cover is the red badge-less car above used in the maintenance photos. Japan (Studio not red... prototype maybe?) Not sure about this studio photo Weird bumper Maybe plastic prototype Again a weird bumper and fat tires.

Zedy, Nice choice on the Rewinds. I run the gun metal grey version, 16 x 7. I went with the 16's as I felt there were a better selection of tires, both now as well as in the future. I also went with 225-50's for tires but did have a slight issue with rubbing in the rear when I went over big bumps in the road. Ended up rolling my rear fenders which solved the problem for the most part. Still get a little rubbing on rare occasions but definitely livable. I also have Eibach lowering springs as well as Tokiko Illuminas. I think the car has a really nice stance and definitely handles nicely. Here's a few pictures (before I completed my brake upgrade).

Thanks! Yeah, that's pretty much the version I remember. I never heard the scientist version. I mean, It's poop humor... Why try to Classi it up and involve scientists?? So I'm not sure that's not the first joke I ever heard, but that's about when I made the leap from "What's black and white and read all over?" kind of joke that your teachers tell. This is the first one I remember that came from friends, not authorities. The first one I didn't just smile from because I "got it", but the first one really laughed at.

According to the fiche, the "Datsun" plates were used on US cars until 1/76. After this date, the "non-Datsun" plates were used on all US 280Z's. However, the plates fit all early Z cars.

And this couple, they looked happy. Z has many wonderful features, styling, performance, reliability, and smiling ! Kats

Blue, I really really love this photo, this red 240Z is my favorite. Thank you for sharing it, is this color version provided from Nissan too? I am still not for sure that this red 240Z is #00007 , because the bracket for the master vac hose is ordinary one. I think we talked about this before , Mike B also pointed it out. Very early car has different bracket for the hose. If possible I would like to see your 1969 240Z's bracket . Kats

I'm sorry Jerry. Here, have an orgasm. http://www.carguygarage.com/

I'd suspect that the coolant visible along the valve cover gasket is dripping, oozing, etc down onto the exhaust manifold and turning to steam. If you can collect a drop of the suspect liquid, put it on the HOT exhaust manifold. If it steams, it's coolant. If it smokes, it's oil. When I'm looking for the source of leaks, I always start at the rear and trace the leak forward on the car. When I can't find anymore liquid going forward, then I look up. Works every time. In this case the coolant alongside the valve cover is coming from up forward. Likely the thermostat housing or something close to it.

Ok let's get this party started, since it appears the cover is not sold yet. I'll offer $250 USD + postage for the cover to Sunnyvale CA 94043.

I'll post pictures if it doesn't work.

Get two alligator clamps for the pumps terminals. You need a quick way to kill the juice if something starts squirting fuel any way. They're cheap. Mine had some kind of "Bondo" looking pink stuff on them too. Vibration, weather proofing?

It'll yellow slightly on the hot parts, my thermostat housing, but not too bad. I bead blasted my valve cover and used it on that and it still looks good.

Never heard that one but I'm still laughing. One day, three scientists decided to conduct an experiment that nobody had ever tried before. They decided to leave a cork up a Pigs arse for 3 weeks and at the end of the three weeks they would take the cork out and see what happened. Well, they noticed that after 1 week the pigs legs had turned blue, after 2 weeks its head turned blue and finally, after 3 weeks the entire pigs body had turned blue. So one scientist said to another "i think it is time to remove the cork" Well, those scientists set up a room so that the pig was at one end of the room, and the scientists were in a line behind it, like so: Pig Scientist Scientist Scientist And they got a monkey to take the cork out. well, as you can imagine, when the hapless monkey took the cork out of the pigs arse, $^!# went everywhere. The scientist at the back of the room was up to his knees in it, the scientist in the middle of the room was up to his chest, and they couldn't find the last scientist, so after searching around, they finally found him, and found him laughing hysterically. "What is wrong with you?" one scientist asked. "You have just been buried alive in pig $^!# and you are LAUGHING!?" The Third Scientist replied, between his laughter, "You should have seen the monkey trying to put the cork back in!" I found a more familiar to me version. I'm no scientist but have been to a County Fair. Two guys were trying to win the "Biggest Pig contest" at the county fair. So they stuck a cork in the pig's... ahem...under his tail, and left the cork there for 3 weeks. The pig got bigger and bigger and bigger. They won the contest, but were afraid to pull the cork out. So they trained a monkey to do the job, training him with a cork and bottle. The day finally came to relieve the pig. The monkey pulled the cork out and the pig exploded, pig manure exploding all over the room, knocking the men to the ground. The monkey was killed, and Both men ended up in the hospital. One man couldn't stop laughing in his hospital bed. The other man, "Why are you laughing? I don't remember a thing". His friend couldn't stop laughing and said, "You should have seen the monkey trying to put the cork BACK IN".

Haha!! First jokes! I don't remember all the details of my first joke... All I remember was the monkey trying to put the cork back in.

Update Feb 2017 It's running driving car. AC holding charge. Updated tach shows 10 grand and gauges converted. Cayman seats are in but still need power hooked up. Whitehead R200 with 4:11. Glass is next and then off to upholstery. l Don's iPhone using Classic Zcar Club mobile

I haven't done it myself, but I second Zed's assessment. Once you loosen the screws, the collars should slide along the rod. Does the screw thread into the collar itself, or is the hole in the collar a through hole and the screw threads into the throttle rod? I ask because if the screw is threaded into the collar and the tip of the screw presses against the rod when tight, it may have kicked up a burr where the screw tip deformed the rod.

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…..

I drive my '78 280Z everyday 40+miles. The car is made to be driven. Unless you are at the level to keep a garage 'queen' , just drive the thing and enjoy it. Fuel injection was made for reliability. Did I mention I DD mine in DFW traffic everyday, except some rainy ones? It starts everytime I turn the key, AC still blows cold(Lord, please let it last!), it has never over heated with the stock cooling system, and I still smile each time I get in it. I feel like I know every inch of it by now.

jayem_bo Your Driver side set is pretty much ready, just need to give it a light coat of primer, however it is way to cold outside for me to coat it right now. Oh yeah, also need to make the seatbelt plate too.

Thanks Wheee! UPDATE: unable to update my main post so this post is the most up to date information regarding pricing and purchasing. Attached are pictures of the tie in/support plates I was talking about previously. They show what they look like and where they go on the car. These plates are what the rockers mainly weld onto so it is important that these are in good shape when you are doing a repair of the rockers. These plates are made from 20g CRS and is similar in thickness to the factory material. Pricing: $380.00 shipped for a set of Rockers (as of this post date, I have a pair ready to ship out, send me a pm for details if interested) $450 shipped for a set of Rockers + set of front end tie in plates + set of rear end tie in plates. Please let me know if your interested. I am now making these upon request, allow me about one week to make a set before shipping.