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Don't disregard automatic Zs. Looking at Zs over the years I've found the automatic Zs are usually still in better shape, a better chance that they were garaged sometime in their life, usually were driven less spiritedly and don't cost quite as much. It's really easy to convert an automatic to a manual in Zs and the used parts aren't very expensive yet, especially if you go with a four speed. Carbed Zs ended with the 1974 260Z. Anything after that was injected.

For not really wanting to go, I had a really good time. From the people, new food, landscape and things to see it was really eye opening and amazing. As I recall things of what stuck out to me I’ll try and note them. Otherwise I’m going to share some pics and add a few notes for each. At the end I included a misc. section with just random pics and comments. We did a lot of things and to document them all would take me forever. We flew into Tokyo Haneda Intl. airport which is closer to the city, but a smaller airport. Going through customs was a strange experience. I had brought every drug prescription and what it was for from the Dr.’s, for the Kids, me and my wife thinking I would be flagged if I didn’t (that was what I read) no one cared. The whole customs experience was very confusing. That aside, it was hot in the airport. In Florida, it seems every common area has AC and set at least to 75. If it was on and set to 80 we were lucky. This was a very common theme everywhere in Japan. Hotel Lobby’s would have AC, but the halls in the Hotels did not! It was always strange to see what was cooled and what was not. I paid some company to have an English speaking Japanese person meet us at the Airport and get our train tickets setup. Not studying any of the train information before arriving was not smart. Don’t do what I did, educate yourself as much as you can on the trains and subways especially in Tokyo. Tokyo made NYC seem like a playground! So, we finally get on our train to Kyoto which was a 4-hour ride if I recall after landing from our 17 hour flight! We stayed 4 nights in Kyoto, 1 in Mt. Fuji and 5 nights in Tokyo. Looking back, we should have stayed 3 nights in Tokyo and 6 in Kyoto and explored more down south. My wife and I talked about going back and exploring the South more and the North. This was our travel route. Down to Kyoto from Tokyo, day trip to Hiroshima, back to Kyoto, then around to Mt. Fuji and then back to Tokyo. The Shinkansen (Bullet Train) was amazing! 180mph smooth as glass. We did do first class for our Japan Rail Pass. It helped on the long train rides, but around Tokyo not applicable. People I had heard that lots of people knew English in Japan. Not true. Most people had no clue what I was saying, nor I them! People would speak full on Japanese to me and I just nodded my head went about my way. Well I didn’t get arrested so “yes” must have meant something! The pic below is train life. And the pic below that is my son and I crammed into a train in Tokyo. We were on trains a lot getting around and I just couldn’t get over how sad and withdrawn people seemed. Maybe sad is the wrong word, maybe in their own world. Everyone was either reading a book, playing a game, texting, staring off in space or sleeping. No one really talked. Very few if any couples. While in the Fuji area, we had a half American, half Japanese Taxi driver who said it is very common for Japanese to not know who their neighbors are. Off the train walking in the City and more so in Tokyo, was like walking at Disney World. Very crowded and everyone just did what they wanted to do. There was no left side or right side, there was just the side the thought they should be on. It was constant moving and avoiding everyone. My wife and I did find this unusual because the culture seems so time driven and organized that you would think it would apply to walking too. We had a few experiences with people being so nice and going so far out their way to help you it almost seemed unbelievable. One lady at the train station, walked us to where we needed to go only realizing she gave us the wrong directions. All of the sudden she shows up in front of us and was like, so sorry, over here, and took us back where we needed to go. American companies Like Starbucks and McDonalds seemed to do very well in Japan. The McDonalds we ate in Kyoto, we were sat at a reserved table, our food was brought to us, the restaurant was immaculate, and everyone was incredibly nice. It was a very strange experience. I would say almost every employee really enjoyed his or her job anywhere we went regardless of what they did. Smoking was very common in Japan. 30% of men and 8% of women smoked per a Japanese Dr. I spoke with. Restaurants had smoking sections inside, so did the trains. You couldn’t miss it was the bad part. One afternoon I’m standing at the vending machine and it’s just taking my money. Three older ladies walk up and presume I’m Ignorant. They are talking to each other in Japanese and at me too and having me shove money in. We all had a good laugh with nothing but hand language, puzzled looks and me out $3 for a $1 bottle of water. It was one of those funny experiences I’ll never forget. One thing I noticed about myself, I look people in the eyes when I’m walking and as such, saw lots of colored contacts in Japanese people. I would say 1 in 4 Women had them and 1 in 7 men. It was more of a young person thing, but I did see quite a few older people with them too. My wife thought I was crazy, so I had to keep pointing people out. Anime is huge in Japan. Everything is “Animated”. As you’re going up in the buildings we even stumbled across an entire floor dedicated to Anime Porn! We can’t read Japanese and honestly it was sensory overload in lots of places like Akihabara (Huge shopping district in Tokyo). To me, prices were no better than the US and, in some instances, more. I spent < $20 on stuff to bring home. This pic was at an Anime Convention we literally fell into. Minus the costumes, these were the contacts lots of people had, all different colors too. All in all, we are all the same. Just a different part of the world with different cutlers. I say this because when you watch Japanese kids be kids, they are all the same as American. They just want to have fun and be kids. I really believe were just taught to be different. Kyoto The city itself sits in a valley surrounded by mountains. There are lots of Mountains all around Japan. Japan made me think of Pennsylvania and the Allegany mountains. Just beautiful, but Hot in Kyoto! We visited some shrines, Nijo-Jo Castle, Bamboo Forest, took a day trip to Hiroshima, saw the A-Bomb Dome and explored Itsukushima Island. In Kyoto we used mainly Taxi’s. It was expensive, but even with Taxis we walked a bunch. Average day of walking was 7-10 miles. I slept like a baby every night. Kyoto traffic was busy, but almost choreographed that everyone knew exactly when they could go, what the limit was, where to go, but close to being on the edge of chaos! Every moment seemed like a case of close calls, but it was just normal everyday life. Tokyo traffic was slow and congested. This pic below is from Nijo-Jo Castle (1626). Pics never do things like this justice. You really must be there to appreciate the detail. Kids really enjoyed the Shrines and temples. This is Fushimi Inari Shrine. (711-1499) This trip was really for them. My son turned 25 this month and my daughter 22. This was Kiyomuzi Temple. Founded in 778, built in 1633. This place was amazing. I shared this pic so you can see how it sits up on the mountain side. The walk up, the placement, the structures were just amazing. Again, pics don’t do it justice. I’m not Buddhist, but I can appreciate the settings and buildings. Hiroshima Visiting Itsukushima Island in Hiroshima Bay. We went first to the Island and then to Hiroshima A-Bomb Dome. The island was beautiful. Deer roamed around and you could walk up and pet them. On Itsukushima Island, my wife had to get in the water. She was like I’m not coming all this way to not get in the ocean in Japan! Mt. FUJI From Kyoto, we left for Mt. Fuji. We had this tendency the entire trip to be up by 5AM and back in bed by 9PM. It just worked. It was light out by 5:30AM so we just went. Also, being so hot we found it cooler. Anyway, we left early from Kyoto. It seemed like it took close to 5 hours. We had 3 or 4 train transfers, with the last being a Train that seemed like it came off the set of Harry Potter. It was a private line, but got the job done. Just really neat. We only spent ½ day in Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi area where our Hotel was by Mt. Fuji, but we did see Fugaku Wind Cave in the Aokigahara Forest. It was freezing in that cave and still had ice in it in the middle of the summer! The lava was beautiful as it came down the mountain all over grown with trees. I think the last eruption was 1700’s time frame. Fuji is still an active volcano. This pic was from the top of our Traditional hotel we stayed in that night. The Hotel was interesting sleeping on the floor! Not the most comfortable. Supposedly we were lucky to see the top of the mountain. I guess it’s covered in clouds more so than being visible. At night, you could see all the climbers with their HUD and lights on climbing to the top of the mountain to watch the sunrise in the morning! Yes, crazy if you ask me, but thousands of people do it each year! The views from our observation deck on the hotel were amazing. Again, the photo doesn’t do it justice. Tokyo From Mt. Fuji, we went back to Tokyo for the remainder of the 5 nights. I was not prepared for how big Tokyo was, the amount of people, 38 million including the surrounding areas and that where we were staying was the heart of party central Tokyo, the ward of Shinjuku. Shinjuku train station is the busiest in the world! We did not know that either. It was the station closest to our hotel. It was confusing, cramped, under construction, with Paper signs in some spots. Every elevator, in every train station was small. So small that you could fit a wheel chair and the person pushing it and that was it! Also, the yellow lines are for the blind. Walking with suitcases was a nightmare because the yellow bumps. Took us awhile to figure out these were for the blind. This pic was the first day we arrived in Tokyo (Shinjuku Station) for our stay there. It proceeded to get busier and busier each day up to when we left because we were approaching some Japan holidays. This was the hotel we stayed in (Large High rise that says Hotel Gracery). Notice Godzilla on the side. Was easy to ID as a landmark. This is right in the heart of the red-light district. The key is to not walk alone. Otherwise everyone comes up to you. I was solicited and so was my son. The hotel was one of the best I’ve ever stayed in. It was only 3 star rated, but to me it was 5 star. Everyone went out of their way. Really amazing service. When I needed to go to the hospital for my AFIB, they found me an English speaking one. In July, I had my first AFIB episode in the states. Night at the hospital cost the insurance $20K! I was in the Japanese hospital for 3 hours, Dr. Never left my side, blood work, I.V., testing, etc. $269! My son had to see the Gundam Statue. He grew up watching the cartoons. We did a lot of shopping, ate lots of different food, some good, some weird and went to Disney 3 different days. Both my daughter and son bought so much stuff they had to bring a second suitcase back. My son and I did manage to drive go carts on the roads of Tokyo. It was a complete blast. Would totally recommend this. Street legal, driving with traffic and running red lights! The day we left (Aug. 12th) we were worried we wouldn’t make it out. We were being chased out by a Typhoon! Misc Whenever I eat out in the US, I put down a napkin for utensils or lean them on my plate. I just think restaurant tables are gross. Japanese solution, Brilliant. They did this for both chopsticks and silverware! In order for your room to have power you had to leave your key in. Of course, there is always a work around! Nothing worse than being out all day, hot and sweaty, to come back to a hot hotel. No thanks! In order for 4 adults to sleep comfortable we got 2 rooms in each hotel. The beds were slightly larger than a twin, maybe the size of a full! I couldn’t imagine 4 of us in one room! This was about an hour wait in this very small, quaint, restaurant for wagyu roast beef rice bowl. Worth the wait for sure. The theory goes if there is a line and you’re hungry, get in line. It’s likely very good. We were half way through our day at Disney, my daughter just breaks down and says thank you so much! She was so grateful. These toilets were the bomb! If you want to feel clean, get one! My entire family misses the toilets. Just today my wife commented on this. I may surprise here with one for Christmas. I noticed this EVERYWHERE we got drinks. They do not fill up the glass or cup. It’s always a good distance from the top or only half full. This was one breakfast morning at our Hotel. Well, what did I spend? I’m sure there was money spent on Cameras, new laptop, clothes, other misc items not included below. But this was what I spent to get there and while there. I found cash was necessary but lots of places took Credit Card (Cardo!) Yen to dollars for dummies. 1 yen is about .0094 pennies. So, the easiest thing to do to convert, was simply drop off the last two digits. 1000 yen is $10. And It’s always less in US dollars, easy. Item Cost Plane tickets for 4 $7,600 Hotels $4,102 Cash $880 Cell Phones $440 Train Tickets $2,400 Credit Card Charges $3,068 Total $18,490

.....and I can, if available, help you inspect potential Z car purchases. I'm not too far away from you. I'm not an "expert" but 2 sets of eyes are always better than one.

Well, all my pictures are out of sequence! Everything went pretty smoothly, thanks to my buddy Nabeil, We are still tuning, will be putting it on a dyno on Sept 12th! I will post some pictures with the wiring finished and loomed.

Doing my part to keep our roads safe!

FOr a look at what can be hidden under a couple of gallons of bondo and shiny paint...

Actually the speed limit was 45. I had just turned onto that road from a cross street and wasn't up to speed yet. Diseazd, LOL. Thanks for the help! Yeah, it's running great. Better than it ever has since I've owned it. Amazing what happens when all six cylinders are contributing like they should be! I took it out that night... Beautiful low humidity night. I went out and got gas and hit the deer on the way home. I checked my gas mileage and I've gained about five percent after the engine work. Another benefit of having all the cylinders firing I assume. I was all happy with myself, and then that happened.

Here's something to read when you have a minute. It's our worst "dream" car.

Welcome to the club! Just FYI keep in mind if you decide to go with the 280z you'll have to smog the 76 thru 78. Smog cut off here in CA is 1975. So you can't remove smog equipment. And you need to know what to look for, If any smog equipment has been removed, if its working or not, etc. You've come to the right place though. Very knowledgeable and friendly people in this club. Good luck with your search.

For the longest time, I have watched the evolution of the Led 7" round headlight technology and recently decided to upgrade to a set that fairly well mimic the look of the stock glass sealed beams at a reasonable price. I did not want the projector Hid look, too high tech looking, plastic, fan cooling, or a blue light hue. The set I found was from Vintage Car Leds who aim their products at the customer who wants the oem glass look with the advantages of Led bulbs. I chose the 3500 series of their lamps which are moderately priced, and appeared that with the bulb (4000 LM) / heat sink installed (no silly fan) would fit in the confines of the S30 housing. Of course as many are aware, Nissan and many other Japanese auto companies use negative switching of the ground side of the headlight system, the Led's expect the positive side to switch. That being said & with Dave Irwin no longer an option to supply the 240 kit (easy to adapt to the 280 style round connectors) I decided to build my own high quality negative switched harness. I did not want to hack the oem wiring, so I replaced the lighting harness all the way to the headlight buckets. I used real 12 gauge copper wire for the main power source and 14 gauge on the heavy lifting side of the relays feeding the headlights. On the low current trigger side from the combo switch to the relays is 16 gauge. My main intent was to make everything reversible without any modifications should the day ever come to put the system back to factory spec. The headlight assembly fits in the stock housing and its inside bracket but its a close fit, I tried using my bore scope camera thru the bucket grommet hole but could not get a worthwhile picture as it is difficult to maneuver in there. Looked to be about 1/16" clearance. The one gripe I have is that the pigtail from the bulb exits at the back of the heat sink, wish is was the side to provide more clearance. I also upgraded the headlight plug connector to a more heat resistant porcelain type. This plus into the pigtail from the Led bulb. The upshot of all this is ........ a dramatic change in usable light compared to the sealed beams without blinding oncoming traffic. Also,the very low current now thru the combination switch, I was saving a nos combo switch that I just installed which has never seen full load current - it should last a very long time. Impressed so far, will try to get some action pictures driving after dark, but so far - highly recommended. In other news .... I am playing around with the fog / driving lights as a inexpensive solution to fill the gap below the 240 bumper. Its still in progress, a fun project, will notch the fabricated bar I made to clear the lower grill mount and get them about an inch or more lower. Again, all factory mount holes were utilized, including relocating the horns.

Hi all, just wanted to post some status of my trip to Japan. I was able to meet @kats and we took a drive in his Fairlady Z432. Man what a great car! It’s in great shape and Kats knows how to take car of his cars. We met in Kyoto as I arrived, with my family, to our hotel. Kats lives about 30 minutes away from Kyoto and drove the car up just to visit with me. He has 4 Z’s and asked me which one I wanted to see (and drive). Since I’ve never seen a Z432, it was an obvious choice. We spent about 20-30 minutes ogling the car before he let me drive it around the block. I don’t have an international drivers license, so he took the controls and we went for an extended drive around the city. I’ll post more about my observations when I am able to sit down at a computer, but I wanted to share a few pics. What a great time, and I wanted to personally thank Kats for taking time out of his busy schedule to meet with me. As you can see, it’s springtime in japan and the cherry blossoms are in full effect!

My tie rod ends were massively over-torqued. Hopefully the same guy that worked on my alignment didn’t work on yours! Disconnect both ends of the shaft connecting the steering column to the rack, and set that shaft aside. I see that you already removed the brackets for the steering rack bushings. Once you’ve removed the shaft, just slide the steering rack out sideways towards the driver’s side. Good luck with your project!

Yeah there's some type of berry they like that gets them high.

You have to take a bolt out at the rack connection where the bottom splines are of the rod. Remembering more now. The tie rods have flats on them. Put a Crescent wrench on there and another on the nut. It'll be laying on the ground so use your feet to break them loose. Rember, driver's side is left handed threads. Passenger's is normal lefty loosey.

Great write-up of your vacation! I took my wife and son to Japan earlier this year and we had a blast. I would live in Japan, it's amazing and the rich culture is so fascinating! I just realized that I have not yet summarized my trip and will have to do that soon... here's a link to my post:

Heartened to hear that you are OK Capt'n. As has been said above--it could have been a lot worse. Take care my friend!

Compare your ring baulk numbers here. Looks like they're the same part, A and B. http://www.carpartsmanual.com/datsun/Z-1969-1978/power-train/transmission-gears/4-speed/to-aug-71 http://www.carpartsmanual.com/datsun/Z-1969-1978/power-train/transmission-gears/4-speed/from-sep-71 http://www.carpartsmanual.com/datsun/Z-1969-1978/power-train/transmission-gears/4-speed

Good 'ole Al.

If the engine is running and you are readin 0.5volts, something wrong with the way you are testing it or your meter is bad. What is the fuel gauge doing. Reading full is a sign of a bad ground which could be related to the pump problem, but not likely. If it's reading empty, then you have most likely a problem with the power supply to your gauge. Sounds like you have two separate problems

Bruce - sorry to hear of the accident but very pleased that you were not injured. Cars can be repaired or replaced, not always that easy with our bodies. I hope all works out well for your ride now that you are getting to enjoy a full power experience. Jim

It can be done, but there are also mountings on the frame rails-you would need some good material, and a big heavy brake to bend it with and a jig to put(and hold) everything in the right place for welding-depending on what part of the rails you need to replace.. I didn't see the need to reinvent the whole nine yards I bought a set from Charley Osborne at Zed Findings and spent the time getting ready for them cleaning up what was there, working out how to put them in the right place and practicing my welding.. Those I bought are outwardly indistinguishable from factory parts. If you diy-be sure to post everything!

I think if I had been going faster, I would have swept his legs right out from under him and he would have rolled up the hood into the windshield. As it was, the only thing that happened to the windshield was the mess. I saw this blur, felt the BANG, and the windshield got sprayed. Took me a fraction of a second to even figure out what happened. I always thought you would see them coming. Not true. Never saw him coming. Happened in the blink of an eye.

Well I struggled with the Jenvy colored throttle bodies for a while. But I think they are growing on me.

I was just looking at his location for just that reaso

See that pin with the C clip on it? Remove and replace with a 1/4 bolt with washers on both sides, and a self locking nut. Feel free to use a M6 bolt if you want to keep it all metric. Tighten the nut until it squeezes the fork closed just enough to take out the slop but still lets the linkage move. Did this in first in 1975. Still a thing.

Looks great! Motor too. ?

Furry help is always welcomed. Cheers, Mike

Last night I did this: I got off pretty easy. You should see the other guy: Say what you want about my park bench bumpers......