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November 1971.... St. Paul, Minnesota. I had just returned from living in the Philippines for a year and a half and needed a car. I had taken a new Pontiac Gran Prix SJ to the Philippines and sold it there before I left. On a stop in Tokyo on the way back to the States, I saw a Fairlady on display in a window on the Ginza. A lasting memory. While I had considered getting a Volvo 1800 or a Lotus when I returned, the 240Z was just too unique and exciting to pass up. Unfortunately, at that time, there was a nine month waiting list for 240Zs at every Datsun dealership. However, I found a dealership that allowed me to buy my way to the top of the waiting list and drive off in a new 1971 Datsun 240Z for just 15% over sticker price. Now, 46 years later, that Z is parked in my driveway and if it wasn't 110º outside, I'd take it for a spin. Dennis

@JLPurcell I remember that thread Jerry----I've thought about Snake Oyl before, but your thread indicated you had some less than perfect results with them. Seems you got it all worked out, but I had reservations and they're pretty pricey. After seeing Ziggy's excellent result with the 69 underhood decal, I'm hoping to place this additional work his way.

For perspective, keep in mind that 46 years ago $3.7K was about six months' pay at my reasonably good job. Today, I could buy a nicely optioned 2017 370Z for a little less than six months pay. So, it's all relative. BTW, if you're paying that much for a bucket of......... in 2017, I can get it for you a little cheaper Dennis

I called Schneider and the guy says they only get .190s now and the customer files them down to size. I asked about hardening and he says they are good throughout, not to worry. Then I asked my hillbilly question, can I grind them down with the side of my grinding wheel? He said that would be fine for the biggest part but to finish them off with a flat file. I may do all 12 myself? I have more time than $$$. Guy do you know what type valve stem seals Eilji used on your head? If they'll work with your cam they should be fine with mine, very similar profiles, and a heck of a lot easier than the metal banded Viton Ford ones I was planning on using. I'll have to drive mine down where it looks like your's just slide on like the OEs.

If you could find those over hangs, use a piece of wood or pipe pointed down and put a jack under it. Put a little pressure on there then come back later and check it, then if it's not broken free more pressure. My '77 was a PITA but a '72 just lifted right off??? Start at the back, the head gasket won't be as squished down.

Did you get the two small ones in front, to the front cover? The bolt that spins probably has a ring of rust and/or sealant that won't let the wide threads past (edit - actually it's probably stuck on the hole in the head gasket).. You can clean it off later but if the bolt just spins then the threads aren't holding the head down. Probably not the problem. The head gasket can be sticky. I hope that screwdriver or prybar isn't stuck between the head and block. That would be bad.

I got it started. All that was apparently necessary was to remove the relays under the hood and reinstall them. Apparently there was some corrosion--which I couldn't see- on the terminals. In any case it fired up. However, we barely made it back to Brunswick, about 60 miles. As it turns out the fuel filter was almost completely clogged, the distributor cap had a couple of small cracks, and the fuel regulator diaphram was torn sucking fuel directly into the intakes. Parts are on order and hopefully it will be in good running condition shortly. Then to the body shop for an estimate. Thanks for your replys.

After viewing your pictures of the quarter panels I am convinced you would have been burned at the stake for witchcraft 200 years ago....

Original Ad on Kijiji in 2003 He left out a few items... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Year: 1977 Make: DATSUN Model: 280Z Model Detail: COUPE Price: $7,500 Mileage: ------- km Date: 7/7/03 Ad Type: Private Comment: 5 spd. blue int. blk. int. AC, US car, no rust, AM/FM/CD, air dams, new neader & 2.5' exhst. rebuilt eng., incl. orig. 4 spd. trans. & exhst. Manifold cert. $7,500. or b.o. (519)423-6788, Ingersoll, after 4 PM. (CGFTWH) ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Photos from PO -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day 1

Brought it home....busy day. Now it's time to put the finishing touches on her and drop it in the green 72.

@siteunseen, now I just work-eat-sleep, once I cut the booze out it was amazing how much I started to get done and how much more money I had to spend on the car.

What are Dads for?.............Can you say BONDING?

At last, both rear panels welded in. Bout time! Did the passenger side this weekend. Pretty much the same process as I did the Drive side, except this time I used a shrinking disc on the Passenger side in some areas to lower the high spots, still has some wavy in it but not as bad as the driver side. I took a crap load of pictures from all angles for you guys to see based on the lighting. Some far and some close shots. The really close shots, you will see how uneven and wavy the welding zone is. I probably can get some more waves out with the shrinking disc and hammer and dolly the welds in some areas, but on a car like this, I am satisfied, not excited, but pleased enough to move on. Just take what I did and learn from it for the next project. I still need to work on my welding, as in laying the weld bead. Still trying to get the welding part figured out. Having gaps in the fitment doesnt help, so getting the fitment right may help me out more. Also I think I am still laying to much filler in the weld, though with good Butt Fitment, I wouldnt need much filler, which goes back to having good fitment from the start. Also on my list to buy are Body Filers to shave down the welds, like block sanding bondo. Starting to think now the angle sanding grinder I have is a no no if I want to achieve the invisible weld/smooth transitions, hehe. Another thing is the base metal seems to cave in on its self at the toe/edge of the weld. I am gonna have to work on how to eliminate that aswell. Its not under cut if thats what your thinking. I may have to play around with the pulser feature on my welder, could be I am spending too much time in the act of welding which means too much heat that is not needed. Also I wish I had done a better job on the profile of the crease. The dies I used were to sharp, needed a little bit of a radius to better match the original crease profile. Enjoy! Well Now its time to get the rear side markers shaved and the gas door shaved. Then get the flares mounted, panels trimmed and inner fender well made. Just never ends... Stay Tuned!

Upon starting college (1977, Wlikes University, Wilkes-Barre, Pa) my twin brother and I begged our parents for a "vehicle allowance" because he would be going to school 3 hours away in New Jersey and this would be our first "separation". We never thought it would work but it did! After a very long conversation to make sure we understood the value and importance of his gift, our amazingly generous Dad gave me a check for $15,000 to be split between my brother and I in the purchase of 2 new vehicles. This was just one more episode in which Dad showed his love and sacrificed his own perks to benefit one of us kids (and we're 5 boys!). We understood the message and never let him down. I had dreamed of owning a Z for about 3 years and knew that they were very close to 8 grand by 1977, which was more than the $7,500 allotted to me. I kept my desire for a Z secret and started a campaign to convince my brother that the best car for us was a Pontiac Trans Am. He would buy a white one, I would buy one in black. We visited dealers and worked out a deal for $6,700 each, fully loaded, out the door. We would have about $1,000 for "extras" . He fell for it (I still laugh at him for that) and I backed out at the last minute (as planned) and rushed to Fred Schuler's Datsun on King Street in Wilkes-Barre and bought my amazing yellow 280Zap for exactly $8,000 plus $500 for a technologically advanced AM/FM/cassette/CB radio by Clarion that would switch seamlessly between functions during those numerous 3 hour rides from Pennsylvania to New Jersey and back almost every weekend listening to Billy Joel's "The Stranger" and the soundtrack to "Star Wars". Never before or since have I enjoyed or loved a car more. I traded it for a 1980 280ZX once I started medical school but dreamed of driving a Z again for the last 20 years. Literally, I had a recurrent dream of driving my '77 yellow Z around town only to wake up when it would break down and nobody had the knowledge to work on them anymore ! A friggin' nightmare. I decided to hunt down a 1977 280Zap 4 years ago and read every forum I could find (thank you so much). I opted for a final year of S30 production May of '78 280Z in amazing condition and have immensely enjoyed driving and working on it with my 14 year old son who loves it and will eventually inherit it, closing the circle and paying it forward.

Now mechanical is OK. I started cleaning tranny case. Taking hot tub. over night. grind sharp edge Masking it. and paint it. I notice peach tree in my back yard grew up too much. Trim it while waiting for paint dry and finished.