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Yes, nice to have the correct battery cables in. So much nicer. I stripped all of the hubcaps and prepped a couple for paint with the green tape. Unfortunately I ran out of paint, so will order some more from Amazon. The first one came out nice.

This writing is not as technical as the majority of the content posted on forums. This is a personal account of my 260Z in a nutshell upto this point. If it were not for members of this forum my car would not be where it is today. Thus, I am very thankful. I hope that some of you get a laugh or some inspiration out of this story. You can also be critical of me as I am trying to hone my writing. Sometimes I just do not know what I am doing. I am spending a lot of money on my 260Z and there is no justifiable reason. Its money I have that I should be saving for the future or for my family, but strangely the car has called. The Z started as my college car 14 years ago and I have held onto it. I drove it regularly during that time going from school to home a hundred miles away, to the coffee shop where I studied, and to where ever I desired. It was the freedom of having a car; an American dream. I then went on to dental school and the largely original 260Z went to my best friend Rich’s backyard where it sat in the baking sun. My intent was to visit the car, cover it, or drive it. Dental school was way too demanding and the car was put to the back of my mind. Once I moved off campus a year later my dad and I went to Rich’s house. The 260Z had been my father’s car and he had loaned it to me as I needed my own transportation and he was at his wits end. The Z had broken down on him too many times. But when my father and I saw the car after that year of being in the open, tears welled up in his eyes. It had cobwebs, corrosion on the chrome and the paint was faded. That was all he saw, but all I saw was my car and its potential. It had not fared well, but there was nothing I could have done. My father would have preferred to get rid of it right then and there to start anew with some other car. I kept it and over the course of nearly ten years the car was used on and off and eventually it sat in a carport dormant and neglected once again. Layers of dust caked on its surface as I was too busy for the car. The 260Z was an eyesore and even more, a stab to my car enthusiast’s heart. I could not do anything with it and nor was I ready. It was blocked from my mind and the shear mention of the car from a family member put me in panic-mode. Sports cars had failed me in some way. I worked for a dentist that put himself before his patients doing too much work and at a sub-par level to fund his car hobby. I needed a break from having been obsessed with cars for so long. I also lived two miles from work so I rode my bicycle. My wife and I then had a newborn son and I was now the one at my wits end with the car. It was time to sell. I did all the necessary things to ready the car for the new owner; tires, fluids, new battery and a thorough cleaning. I still remember the day I started it up for the first time and drove it around the block. The wiggle needed to unlock the door, the finesse of the throttle, and the quirkiness of the four speed all for smooth driving. There was an understanding of this car I still possessed as though it had been on the road all along. What was happening? I was reacquainting myself with the Z from a better place in life. My wife said she had a buyer. Her father. Why? I thought. For his grandson. My son!!! I was crying. It would be at my in-laws in their backyard under a tarp. There was no way that I was going to let the little car be forgotten again. A new chapter was opened and the future was uncertain. I got reacquainted with cars and the car scene I had missed for so long. Life got in the way, but now I had a bit of time. Over the course of a year and a half I drove the car, made improvements and realized that this was my car. I have had the pleasure of driving many sports cars, but the 260Z fit me better than the rest. If I could describe why that is I would. Years of this car’s existence has been in dormancy. Prior to my father and me owning the car it sat in a garage in Wisconsin for seventeen years. My dad resurrected the car respraying it in the original color, new bumpers, new vinyl seat covers, and a set of 72’ SU carburetors. The history of the car is now changing and there is no turning back. As a college student I searched the internet and Japanese car magazines to come up with my idea of the ultimate Z. That idea was always there and now with the help of a highly skilled mechanic it is becoming a reality. I only wish I was the one doing the restoration, but with a carport, few tools, and no time outside of work and family I have placed this project in the hands of Rob Fuller at the Zcar Garage. My vision is to build the 260Z into something largely original down to the colors and the appearance of the engine bay. Underneath will lurk a beast. The engine will be a 3.0 liter built by Rebello, TechnoToy coil overs, a Fujitsubo Legalis R exhaust, and a Datsun competition interior (driver's bucket seat, steering wheel, and shift knob). Much of the inspiration of my car is from a silver 72’ Fairlady Z in Japan owned by Dr. Suzuki. Exteriorly the only modifications are the ride height, Watanabe wheels, factory headlight covers, and the exhaust. Earlier I mentioned that I don’t know what I am doing and why I am placing so much effort and money into this car, but it has everything to do with my lifelong passion for sports cars. Since the time I can remember I have been afflicted with the car-bug. What is it that excites car enthusiasts? The sound, the speed, motorsport, the sleek lines of a sport cars? All of that I am not sure, but the persona of me the driver and the driving experience is what attracts me most. I have a passion for nearly all cars and to say I am a Zcar guy would be wrong. This Z encapsulates all cars in some unexplainable way and I can’t wait to share my passion when its finished. This writing has been long in the making and my story of the car will continue. My goal is to put as many miles on the 260Z as I possibly can. I ultimately want to do a cross country road trip with my son for the 50th anniversary of the Z. Thank you all for the knowledge and inspiration and I will keep you posted on my car’s progress. Sincerely, Ben inkbendental@gmail.com

Scored. Four U.S. Mag center caps on their way. Thanks for the assist!

Happy New Year guys, all the best to you and your loved ones for 2018! Thanks to all for the comments, great information and truly appreciated. I will be getting into working on the L24 engine, carbs and transmission in order to make sure that when they go into the car are running as expected. Any tips or previous posts that can help me with that? Many thanks again. Regards

Thanks Blue and Gavin ! This speed meter is cool too , it makes us proud . Our cars should be treated like Ferraris and Lambos. Kats

It's tough to tell by the picture how much the fire "tweeked" the 2 cars and if the heat compromised the structural integrity of them. But Nissan certainly "tweeked" the beautiful S30's original look when they decided to offer the 2+2 260Z and then again on the 280Z . I don't want to offend any of the 2+2 folks out there, but not a good look in my opinion. But even after being burnt to a "crisp" the original S30's shape still looks beautiful to me.

Well I can definitely supply the bolt and washer, and at the very least a stock bushing. I have to look and see if I have a spare poly bushing, If I do, that's coming as well. Please send me a PM and we'll arrange shipping details. Slightly late Xmas present, K?

That is probably the most prudent course of action. That way you only have to bleed the system once.

This might be useful also. I just skimmed through it. http://zclub.net/forum/showthread.php?t=29016

Our microfiche images were created about 15 years ago using an external service that I paid. At the time, they had some pretty good equipment, but, I also spent about 50-60 hours cleaning up the final images you see today. I'm sure the scanning technology has improved since then, so, this could be looked at again. The microfight was in new at the time (donated by Nissan) and never used by a dealer. I still have them, and with today's scanning technology we might be able to get better images. We had a project going a few years ago to collect and store all documentation about the early model cars. Unfortunately, that project didn't go far when one of our leaders had a stroke. @Victor Laury was a great guy and had collected quite a few documents and had them scanned. Anyway, since then he has passed on and I fear the documents are lost. Although we do have a lot of documents collected by members, we could start this project again and have them posted on the site. I still have a number of documents that were donated to me directly and still need to scan them and post to the files area, too. Anyhoo, if you guys start looking into this more seriously, I think it's a great idea for club members. Instead of keeping them on your own sites, I highly recommend also putting copies into our files area as well. Personal websites and cloud shares often get lost in the shuffle, or, can go away forever if (god forbid) a health issue arises. So, please be sure to post them here if you find something good! I have long term plans to keep this website going even if something happens to me. Mike

another observation about a professional mechanic, I am not one but I do see how if a car came to me with a lot of after market changes from OE may make me hesitant to want to take it on. Not that aftermarket is bad but it you would have to consider who was doing the work and to what degree was it done right. I think untouched cars that have worn out parts are often more desirable, simply due to the belief that incorrect work may not have been done. I used to work on a lot of vintage electronic gear, something I always hated to see was a set that had obvious work done on it. You never really know if the work done actually fixed a problem or became a problem. I would much rather work on an untouched chassis as I could be pretty sure a proper restoration would be easier than trying to unravel prior work done.

a few things, there are factory OE bushings, and then there are PU after market bushings (I see red bird has a lot of those), both available. I prefer factor OE when ever possible, they do have a correct method of install, such as not tightening the bolt until the car is loaded (on the ground not suspended in the air with the wheels hanging). This is due to the fact that the bushing is bonded to the inner metal part, tighten the bolt with the car in the air supported by frame and you pre stress the bond (when lowered to the ground). The PU bushings don't have this issue as there is no bonding (they are installed with a lubricant between the urethane and the metal inner part) . While being a mechanic is great, unless you know the ins and outs of a Z car, then forums with members that eat and breathe this stuff can be a better source info about what parts are available and what best practice may be. There will still be bad advise, so you need to try and figure out what people to listen to. One way of knowing is listen to those the have the most success with their own cars. Also if you get a consensus of opinion, avoid the outliers unless they are the only ones with success. One last thing on tightening, the FSM has specs on most every nut and bolt, IIRC these require 100ft lbs, which is a lot, maybe more than what might seem right if not consulting the FSM. there is not a lot of room under the car when its on the ground so if trying to tighten that way is may be possible that someone takes a short cut and just does not get on it hard enough. For me the best practice would be to load, tighten then lift and torque to spec, at least with OE bonded bushings. The bushing you currently have (red showing in photo) is an aftermarket PU style.