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Been working hard to improve my photography skills so I shot my dad's orange Z this morning. These are my favorites. Shot with a Canon 6D.

http://www.alfaparts.net/dat280.html His Datsun panel selection is still small but he plans on offering more. Not great photos on his site but the detail looks crisper than Tabco products.

The lighting makes a huge difference to me. Before sunrise, after sundown they look redder.

I just saw a link to this on Facebook: http://www.vintageconnections.com/Products/Detail/180?fbclid=IwAR0HVhjrJgKGzxMYHPycwJpWO9Ap0gIyhjS4IIK0YQlwjk7P7wnjk2GxvN0 It could be helpful to someone who needs to repair electrical connections in his/her Z.

We are talking about replacing the original bushing with something that has similar characteristics. We know the PU aftermarket bushings transfer a lot of diff noise to the body so making any bush out of PU doesn't seem to has any advantage. I have made PU insulators for the fuel lines and other stuff for my own 280Z, but getting it to hold to the metal components enough to take the stress would be hard to achieve. It would need to be a part from another car with a similar purpose. For example the original positon for the bolt was in the vertical position, otherwise it would probably fail quickly due to stress it was not designed for.

Or if you own or work on multiple Zs. I did comment on the Facebook post to ask if they could make a list of what's in the kit. Of course, it doesn't have the dash harness to engine harness connectors for a 73.

Datsun was a brand in the USA, sold by Datsun dealers. There were no Nissan dealers in the USA when the 240Z was introduced. So technically Datsun introduced the Datsun 240Z in the USA in 1969. Therefore the author of the book is correct, the rest is just semantics. Eventually the brand name was changed to Nissan in the USA but long after the 240Z was sold.

Thanks Brandon! The Datsun 240Z is an incredibly beautiful automobile design and you have certainly brought that out in your pictures. The best shots of the 311 pictures you took.....nice work!!!!

Here's some discussion about the insertion of those rear outboard bushings in this thread: https://www.classiczcars.com/forums/topic/55369-1971-hls30-14938-lily-build/?page=2&tab=comments#comment-525861 From that other thread: I also found a tiny bit of asymmetry with the rear spindle pin bushings as well. I don't know if it was designed that way, or if it was an accident, but I found a slight difference in the distance the metal collars stuck out of the new rubber bushings. One side was longer than the other, and all of them were consistent (as though it was done on purpose and not an accident). I put all four of them in such that the smaller distance was inward towards the strut body and the longer portion was on the washer and nut side. I found that with the bushing pressed into the center of the control arm receiving cylinder, the distance between the two bushings worked out to almost exactly the width of the strut knuckle casting. I found that if I reversed the bushings and centered them, I ended up with a gap where the strut knuckle fit. Of course, it was a small gap and would have easily clamped down as I tightened the spindle pin nuts, but I figured if I didn't have a gap in the first place, that would be better. Also, putting the longer end on the outside allowed more room for the rubber sealing washer. Don't know if all the aftermarket bushings do that, but I bought Raybestos 570-1030 - There are two bushings per box, so two boxes per car. If you squint right, you can see the asymmetry in this pic. See how the center sticks out farther on one side than the other: I found I liked the fit better with the short sides inboard towards the strut body. I found that if I reversed the bushings and centered them in the arms, I ended up with too small of a gap where the strut knuckle fit between the two bushings. Of course, since it's just rubber, I could have forced the bushing centers apart a little and forced the strut body between them, but I figured if things lined up naturally without having to do that, it would be better. With the small sides in, when I centered the bushings in the receiving cylinders in the arms, it worked out almost perfect such that the distance between the two bushings was very very close to the width of the strut housing. Seemed to perfect to be coincidental. So I don't know if they were really designed to be that way, but it worked for me. And if you're seeing the same small difference on OEM bushings as I saw on aftermarket MOOG, then I'm starting to believe it really might be intentional.

I firmly believe there are other options for rubber moustache bar bushings out there but the problem is figuring it out. The original bushings pressed in (lightly), and then were swaged over for permanent retention. I bet a workable solution would be to use a new bushing of "similar, but slightly smaller OD" than the original and press the new one into the remains of the old bushing. Kinda like what you do with poly, but do it with a new rubber bushing instead. All that needs to be done is for someone to find that "similar, but slightly smaller bushing". I saw some pics of Miata diff mount bushings that looked interesting... Anyone have a Miata that could measure some bushings?

I see the new book repeats the oft-repeated mistruth about the Z's "debut": "Datsun formally introduced the car in New York City on October 22nd, 1969, following that with its Los Angeles debut two days later with the same car." In fact, Nissan had formally introduced the S30-series Z range (not just one variant...) to invited press, dealers and key suppliers at their Ginza, Tokyo head office and showroom on October 18th and 19th 1969, as a preview of the new cars before the general public would see them at the opening of the Tokyo Motor Show. How does the New York Pierre Hotel event on the 22nd trump the Tokyo Ginza showroom event on the 18th? Both were private, invitation-only events for the same types of attendees. If the Pierre Hotel event counts as significant, then so should the Tokyo, Ginza event. And the Tokyo, Ginza event happened FIRST. The REAL debut - the public debut - of the new S30-series Z range was on 24th October 1969, at the Tokyo Motor Show. Over the course of two weeks more than 1.5 million visitors would pass through its doors:

My 6/71 and 12/70 both have the same black "undercoat" which was liberally covered in overspray. The coating is quite tough. It is not tar based at all, but more like a truck bed liner material, believe it or not. The texture is not as rough as typical truck bed liners. The thickness is something like 1mm as a best guess. On impact areas of my car, I have been using 80 grit on a DA to feather edge, sanding to bare metal while feather edging. There is no primer on the bottom of the car. Just this stuff. Least amount of overspray is in the tunnel. All four wheel wells appear to be intentionally sprayed with color. Car is silver - hear are some pics: In some areas such as the back of the spare tire well, they really loaded it on causing runs... No primer underneath this stuff, at least on the bottom of the car. Front wheel wells may have primer under the "undercoat":

Love the pics with everything laid out in proper geographic location. Excellent!!

Haha!! Agreed! After you clean that up, yours should go to 11!

My son has the perfect filming car . His Model 3 will out run me all day , but also quietly film me . Third gear pull.

Cliff - you crack me up . you know I couldn’t figure this signature stuff out earlier because unless my I Pad is sideways I can’t see my sign in . Thanks for the help . Maybe someday you will be as cool as me.

You could pour your own. https://itwperformancepolymers.com/products/devcon (type urethane in to the search box) https://www.flexsealproducts.com/

Just a thought, you might want to disconnect, clean, and reconnect each connection while you go through the wiring. Almost all my electrical issues on my car seemed to trace back to bad connections.

My father bought his '78 280z brand new in February 1978 and the 5 speed was a $165 option in both 1977 and 1978. I currently have 2 1978 280z's with original 4 speed transmissions as delivered new from the factory. Here is one of them which had previously been on BaT: https://www.motorcarclassics.com/1978-datsun-280z-c-92.htm

A very simple thought: you may have melted a wire or connection. The first thing I'd do is get under the dash on the driver's side with a strong flashlight and start tracing wires, looking for evidence of burned or melted wires or connections. I would devote specific attention to the back of the tach. As the electronics guys would say, you have released the magic smoke that makes the electronics work.

I look at them from time to time but they seem comparable or higher than the price I get by drop shipping parts at the Montana border, driving down and picking it up. (Math: 6-8 hours depending on the border wait plus $80 fuel plus a few $ storage fees plus GST at the border. So it works for big ticket stuff, heavy stuff, stuff that won't ship to Canada at all, or stuff that ships free in the 48). We make a run 3-4 times a year. @wheee! could play too but I think this "Pony Express" is a little too slow for his liking....

Hey everyone, just a follow-up to this thread and some photos of the end result. I made some brackets that hold two air filters, a 1.75" from K&N (I found them on sale at MSA) and the standard 3.25" filter kit from Redline. Without the bracket, there was just over .5 inches of clearance, but with the additional filter bump there is now over 2". I got it assembled yesterday, and the car definitely breathes better, especially at higher RPMs. The last dyno test showed the airbox I was using was reducing the overall horsepower by about 10 (even when it was sucking in hot air from a non-moving car), and while I didn't put it on a dyno yesterday, I think these filters have almost the same result as running wide open. Also, I noticed that it goes more lean now at the higher RPM, so I can probably increase the main jet a bit. Seems to support the idea that it wasn't getting enough air before. Incidentally, there wouldn't have been room for larger K&N filters as the master cylinder was in the way. Photos attached.

I thought this might be of interest. Its a scan of a page from Nissan Publication No.184 ( "Z-1" ) dated November 1969, which was for the Japanese market. The translation of the numbered items is as follows: 1 = FRONT MAT 2 = REAR MAT 3 = TUNNEL MAT 4 = FRONT JUTE 5 = REAR JUTE 6 = TUNNEL JUTE 7 = FRONT INSULATOR 8 = REAR INSULATOR 9 = TUNNEL INSULATOR The notes underneath detail the differences between the S30-S ( Fairlady Z basic no-frills model ) and the higher-specs of the S30 ( Fairlady Z-L ) and PS30 ( Fairlady Z432 ). They describe "Asphalt Jute" and "Happo Enbi / Enka Vinyl" ( Chloridated Vinyl mat ) as standard equipment for the S30-S. "Happo" could be translated as 'bubbly' with a little imagination - so this sounds like a description of the cross-section of the rubberised / vinyl mat. Second part of the note states that the S30 and PS30 had carpet as standard equipment.