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A sample of some of the Holy Grail parts collecting dust at the shop

Hi all--- Sorry not to have replied sooner---I was immediately back at work and had to travel to several states for several days after the show. Missed so many of you, good friends!! I can't begin to tell what an honor it was to compete with Rich's immaculate fresh restoration of Bob's (Jayhawk's) Z. Rich is a master and a gentleman. His meticulous attention is preserved as archival documentation in this thread for all to see and emulate. As I conveyed in a PM to Rich, I had always wondered how a "rolling" restoration would fare with a fresh restoration done very well. I feel those hopeful thoughts are somewhat vindicated and I am relieved now that it is possible. I have always thought (and think Rich would agree) that the stock restoration of a 73 240Z was one of the most difficult challenges of all due to the many unique differences found in that particular model year. (bumper rubber trims, flat-top carbs, emissions, hoses and water plumbing, thermostat housings, electrical relays and switches, cigarette lighter, etc., etc.) The chance to compare, apples to apples, 2-73 240Z cars at a Zcon was huge for me. Rich and I shared several corrections that we each made to our cars before the judging. It just doesn't get any better than that in friendly competition! As Rich said, had he more time and a few parts the outcome could have well been reversed. We both made bonehead mistakes which we have learned from and will try not to repeat. This Zcon was so special in so many ways. Big Congratulations to my dear friend Jim Smirlies (S30driver) for his 1st place in daily driver. Fiona (his 77 280Z) never looked so beautiful since I have known him (and her). I wish and wish that those of you that we not able to attend the Branson event will attend and be seen at Nashville! It is just 1year and 2 months away----Let's GET READY!!! Zup

You have text message exchanges like this:

That's quite the softball you're throwing for Cliff!

Thanks for the kind words Zup. It was just a little crazy last week, so I'm sorry we weren't able to reconnect. Jim, your car was stunning! Congratulations on the 1st place award, well deserved. Re: the book, your wish is my command. Will be signed and dated and in the mail headed your way tomorrow. Really enjoyed meeting, albeit briefly. Wished I'd had more time to hear about your flat tops. I've refurbished, set up and shipped round tops all over the country for years, but now you've got me intrigued about the flats. Cheers, Randy

Just got back from Branson after towing 4,100 miles RT. Yeow! The show was a blast! The Scarab book is worth the $35 just for the back cover alone, since it has a picture of our car on it. Is was fun getting to meet a lot of really nice folks. I saw some of the nicest Z cars I have ever seen at the show and came home with some great ideas. As soon as I can stand up straight I am headed to the garage! craZee

I think the judging was probably pretty fair for the car. Honestly, we just ran out of time to fix all the small details, and those get noticed. We were actually taping and repainting the finish on the hubcaps in the trailer the day before the show, among other items. I know there were a few small clamps missing, some wrong screw/bolt heads, the ends of the bumper finishers (unique to the '73) had some cracks and could have been finished better, I need to find some of the pre-formed hoses for the engine bay as the bends in my substitute straight hose showed some kinks, I installed the long plastic edge finisher just behind the seat backwards, the Kioto headlights were the wrong style, etc. Nothing real major, but just not right. Now that the show has passed, we have some time to fix these items....and a chance to eventually see the judging sheets. The only thing that bothered me was that the judges were critical of the cloth wrap 'style' fuel hoses. Apparently they prefer to see a Nissan stamped fuel hose, over a hose that looks very close to the factory original. This was actually a point of discussion among a group of us, including judges that said the original cars never had cloth wrap style hoses. Fortunately, Jim Fredricks showed up to set the record straight and confirm the cloth wrap style. It was great talking with Jim at the show, he schooled me on some of my fastener zinc color errors. Overall, I am very happy with the outcome and really enjoyed the show. I am looking forward to going to Nashville next year and seeing the cars from the east coast.

It's a late 80's/early 90's GM EFI system, so I would any self learning is limited. I don't recall anything about self learning on the website, either. The fact that I could back off slightly (under load) and get the car to respond leads me to believe there is some kind of lack of fuel for a brief period...that and the bucking.

I'm stumped on all of the sudden overflowing but here is what Mark is referring to I believe. When it's assembled and overflowing I would suggest sticking a red straw from a can of WD-40 down the overflow bung to make sure the float isn't stuck somehow once the lids are on.

That's a safe buy in "Significant Other" terms - won't take up garage or driveway space and doesn't need any repairs. ? Dennis

February 1972 paint after a cut and wax by an 80 year old professional. Back home... With her black satin panties on...

She's road worthy! Just took it out for an illegal run up my back road and it was beautiful. I had forgotten how nice a stock car is, so tomorrow I need to tweak the wheel alignment on the front and torque down the control arm bolts. I was hoping the rear end was going to sink a bit more and that 2 mile drive did the trick.

Agreed, I think I'll pick up that motor next weekend and work on it in parallel with the rest of the build. In other news, I managed to get myself another steal this morning.. ?

Just tested the ignition switch as the FSM details and it has continuity across the correct pins at the correct positions.

I have 2 "A" style transmissions, 1 was in a flooded out car so I expect it is not good for much other than some parts. The main shaft still spins but the shifter mechanisum is rusted up solid. If zKars can't fill your request. I believe I can.

I agree 100%. I would love to have Grose valves. I bet someone could get the patent and start remaking them. Seems like they were in Massachusetts maybe? Anyway... @Captain Obvious I'd buy four.

Mine just gives me a list of _hit that she wants done but is not willing to do. That's how I can tell she thinks of me.....

Same thing happened on my Z years ago, had to remove the float, it had fuel in it. Replaced with another float, ran fine.

A possibility is the ramp angle of the float tang. I'm going to let @siteunseen describe the problem and the fix.

It's a fujitsubo exhaust system.

I think I have one. Can't check for a few days though. We are gallivanting around the great Canadian plains at the moment.

Sorry , I missed your post. Stock Felpro - so 1.25mm. Head has probably .025 shaved. .090 ex .120 intake

I vote to re-use your best bolts. I assume you are on a budget for this rebuild and although nice to have the new bolts, especially the turbo version, I think you will be fine after you chase the block threads. You don't want to unnecessarily cut into the mico brew summer budget. Mike however may deduct 10 reputation points from you per used bolt.

I have to spend a day or maybe 2 giving it a good cleanup and polish and wax and do the chrome. But these days it's around 40/41c here, I cannot do anything then sit behind the airconditioning .... and swim.

I would grab that N42/N42 engine while you still can, a spare is always a good idea but these days with prices going it will also be an investment.

There is a different colour symbol for “Senior” driver. I believe it is orange and yellow.

I believe that symbol is on the back of cars in Japan of a new or old driver to alert other drivers to be careful around them Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks its a fun car to drive. I make that trip four times a week. The car is a early 260 vin#2100 with factory AC makes it a little nicer to drive.

Disassembled, cleaned, and lubricated all switches in the turn signal, light, and wiper controls. I now know them very well.

Love it! If Supercuts cannot do this for me, I can fall back on this: https://www.amazon.com/MyPartyShirt-MPS-13817-S-MC-Poser-Wig/dp/B018GM6HP0/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=vanilla+ice+wig&qid=1564099622&s=gateway&sr=8-2

Carl is right on regarding if you make through round 1 to round 2 at ZCON you have a very good Z. Judging for a Gold Medallion is always very critical regarding the correct parts, fit and finish. Congratulations for your awards. Bob

do some research before you start replacing bushings, that is if you go with aftermarket stuff. Lots of folks here complain about polyurethane. Noise and ride quality can suffer from what I have read. Floaty maybe just from blown dampers in the struts. I rebuilt mine (new oring) added oil and the improvement was very noticeable.

That chick on Deadpool.

I got o2 bungs installed. So far so good. I am super rich at idle, but pretty close on higher rpms, I need to do a drive with them installed, but I have a bad noise coming from the suspension or rear end. I kind of have it narrowed down to either half shafts, driveline or something improperly installed in the rear end, everything else has been checked and re checked. This video is with the cars parking brake on. It's like a strange clunk/ click noise. I am hopeful it's something u joint, but it's such a strange noise I am scratching my head. Maybe something in the LSD? It also does it at low speeds and lots of gas pedal on and off in 1st gear and 2nd gear.

I’m ready.

Ahhh, the BFH to the rescue once more. One of my favorite tools. Had a mechanic tell me once about how to remove a stubborn bolt that I was beating on and would not budge. He said " Get a bigger hammer". It worked.

So when I got home this evening, the first thing I did after exchanging pleasantries with SWMBO was open up my Amazon boxes. I found the spray can of Kroil, and went out to the garage to spray the plug on the O2 sensor bung. I changed into car working clothes (Very redneck chic, I might add.) and went back into the garage. I sprayed the plug again, and then I pulled the car out of the garage (under its own power) and got it up on ramps. I looked at the access to the plug on the O2 sensor bung. It was too tight for the impact gun. The breaker bar would have to work. I got the socket on the plug, but I realized that I just couldn't get the right leverage. So what's the solution? Of course, it's a 2.5 lb hammer. I forcefully tapped on the breaker bar, and I finally saw it turn! I re-positioned the breaker bar and got another 1/8th of a turn or so. After a couple of more small movements, I decided that I didn't want to be using the breaker bar until midnight. I paused and sprayed some more Kroil on the plug. Then I fetched the long handle ratchet and put it to work...only it has a shorter handle, so I lacked leverage. So what's the solution? Of course, it's a 2.5 lb hammer. I tapped the handle of the ratchet, and it started moving the plug. I kept getting the ratchet to turn. Either the head of the plug was going to break off, or the plug was coming out. I did a quick check to verify that the plug was coming out, and soon it was done. I coated the threads of the O2 sensor with anti-sieze and installed it. I connected the O2 sensor and got the car running. It runs a LOT better with the O2 sensor installed. I reattached the choke cables since I found I still need them when the car is cold. I have the throttle bodies adjusted, though the idle is high. On the other hand, the idle was high with the carburetors, too. Now I need to button things up and pick up a $4!+load of tools scattered about in my garage. Then I can do a test drive.

I think that the reason I still have the receipt - is that I still have the original Warranty Cards for each wheel. (just in case - LoL)

I found this topic interesting as I have been running the AR LeMans wheels for years (about 88 miles everyday). Mine are 15" x 7". The lips stay polished for about 4 weeks. I made the mistake of clear coating the centers. The magnesium doesn't like the clear over it. After a year the clear started to get white flakes under it. No matter what they look like, I still get comments like, "What are they?" and "Where can I get some?" I love them. They are very cool nostalgic wheels. Just thought I'd share.

I think it is natural for people to have a bias toward their local market variants, and in pre-internet days not so many people got to see other market variants - so they didn't even consider them. What I do not understand are people who tell us not to look, or that a particular market/model is not worthy of attention. It is bizarre. Every variant has its own significance and the more contemporary variants you look at, the more you learn about them and your own market variant. There is always something to be learned. I own variants from three different markets; Japan, UK and North American, and two different models from one of those markets (Japan). Each one informs not just about itself, but also teaches us something about the others. I find it fascinating to compare them, and I'm still learning something new every time. I contend that you cannot understand each model/variant fully without looking at its production line and showroom siblings. It's a pipe dream, but I'd like to have an S30-series Z event where we managed to corral at least one of every variant/sub-variant and market model, and every different production spec and showed them all together in one space with full access. No velvet ropes around the cars and no cars locked. I think it would be both interesting and informative. Just a pipe dream though...

My own "theory" on the 240ZR is mostly based on my own, admittedly limited experience, and privately held understanding. Clarifications are always welcomed and appreciated. While it's true that the chassis number of a factory "ZR" does not exhibit a code signifying a "ZR" designation (that I've ever seen), one entirely significant differentiator that I'm aware of is that at least some (Most?/All?) factory "240ZR" cars will have an L24 installed in a hybrid/bespoke chassis, which for the sake of argument I'll call an "-R" chassis, because it bears a mild resemblance to the 432-R chassis - similar in some key ways, but also different in key ways. With this understanding, the presence of such an "-R" chassis in an S30 with a standard "S" or "HLS" stamped serial number would cause me (rightly or wrongly) to categorize that specific example as a "ZR". The only thing I can add is that all the factory S30 Works cars that I've ever seen - maybe 6 or so (out of perhaps 50?) - are thus configured. Works cars of course have other key bits and pieces that one would not find on a street car or privateer car. What I'm unable to speak to is whether all L24-powered cars with the before-mentioned hybrid/bespoke "-R" chassis are Works or Works-prepped cars, or whether there are genuine "ZR" cars that are rightly called so, even though they have stock S30 production chassis. This knowledge would be above my pay grade.

Nice. It's already running well enough to get to Nashville? You've got a year to finish the tune!!

Much respect.

Pretty cool! Congrats on the wins!

Wow!! Congratulations gentlemen.. Just think, you're giving new life to the once dreaded flat top carbs. Touche! m

Much deserved congratulations to all of you! Beautiful cars! Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

YES!!!

Fantastic! Boat anchors for the win!! And great pic of those winners. Congrats guys. Congrats to all involved!! I miss you guys!

The flat top contingent takes the top two spots placing 1st and 2nd in the stock 240Z category. The outclassed round tops just can't compete.

On display at ZCON 2019. Nice lighting.