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I think you hit it right on the head. We’ve seen a surge of driver quality Zs hit the market. Timing and presentation are two vital parts in a successful auction, lately one or both being absent in many. I think that’s pretty clear with the ‘72 being listed right now bringing in strong money. Had it not been presented so professionally, I’d doubt a car with a cracked dash, non-original engine, and filthy underside would pull that kind of money.

Well they are stainless steel so you would have to roughen up the metal with at least 120 grit to get anything to stick. But with keys they are probably going to chip pretty quickly, especially the rear hatch lock pushing in and out so much.

Oooo, that's the kind of Z I like, so much potential. But of course it's in CA.

Demand is healthy, but It goes without saying that scarcity is a key component to price appreciation. With one to two listings a week on BaT alone, the data makes it pretty clear that decent-quality 240z's are pretty easy to come by. It also appears that buyers are becoming more selective, seeing how there's always another example waiting to be listed, just around the corner. I'd venture to say that top cars will still bring eye-popping outlier results for the foreseeable future.

This weekend I started refurbishing the driver's seat of my 280Z. Did the passenger seat last week (leather covers and new foam from Interior Innovations). Aside from a small crack in the seat back sheet metal (which I tried to reinforce with fiberglass), the passenger seat was fairly straightforward - cleaning everything up from previous owner's work took more time than actually fitting the foam and covers. The driver's seat is a bit more challenging because one of the metal rods on seat bottom that the hog rings attach to was cut off. I've made a new one and a friend of a friend will weld it on this coming weekend.

Indeed the early oil pans are different; the drain plug location and a 'reinforcement' plate on the side of the pan. I am not aware of any capacity differences. My service manual lists engine oil capacity of 5 liters or 1.3 US gallons. My parts manual list a part number change around 5/71.

Got a day to work on the Z today. Trying to get the interior squared away…..long time coming. I’ve been putting in sound proofing. Also cut and fit the vinyl for wall behind seats. I like it! It’s not sitting flat yet because it isn’t glued yet. Side note, I went to my local grocery store yesterday and a S30 turned in right before me. I was like….what!!!! I followed the guy and we ending up having a 30 min conversation in the parking lot. He has a 77 280z and is the original owner. He’s also a pilot and been retire for some time. I then find out he lives in my same small town less that 3 miles away. He said he got a treasure trove of parts. 3 engines, transmissions…on and on. Here is a pic of his car I took yesterday. His name was Bernie Culp(said he’s been a a ZCON a few years back). ….nice guy. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Got a day to work on the Z today. Trying to get the interior squared away…..long time coming. I’ve been putting in sound proofing. Also cut and fit the vinyl for wall behind seats. I like it! It’s not sitting flat yet because it isn’t glued yet. Side note, I went to my local grocery store yesterday and a S30 turned in right before me. I was like….what!!!! I followed the guy and we ending up having a 30 min conversation in the parking lot. He has a 77 280z and is the original owner. He’s also a pilot and been retire for some time. I then find out he lives in my same small town less that 3 miles away. He said he got a treasure trove of parts. 3 engines, transmissions…on and on. Here is a pic of his car I took yesterday. His name was Bernie Culp(said he’s been a a ZCON a few years back). ….nice guy. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Don't forget the washers on the pumps. Lock washer against the bolt head then flat washer against the aluminum pump.

No, you don't need to remove the engine for that.. why should you? I would google for some stuff that cleans out your kitchen boiler.. i never had a engine that bad clogged.. get a advice of a good radiator shop, they have the expertise on this.. (ask for a descaler for your cooling system.)

Finally received the seat cover kit from Z Car Source, turned out much better. 👍

so Aisin would be the way to go and shouldn't rust?

You might be thinking of stamped steel versus cast iron. I've never seen an aluminum impeller. Compare the AISIN and Airtex pictures to the others. I think that most people like the cast impellers. They were hard to find for a few years but it looks like they're back. https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/nissan,1978,280z,2.8l+l6,1209260,cooling+system,water+pump,2208