Leaderboard

Knowing that the piece was constructed out of fiberglass, as opposed to more malleable plastic, I was naturally concerned that the fitment would not be great, and that the inflexibility of the duct might cause the mounts to stress crack while in-use. There are a few things which need to come off in order to test-fit it on the Z432, so I elected to bolt it onto my rally car, which has been stripped for body work. I was delighted when I saw how well it fit (picture 6)! Nonetheless, I thought Id take the opportunity to cut a set of foam gaskets for it, if only to give the mount a bit of a cushion, and to plug any imperfections with the fit on the Z432 (picture 7). A little fiddling here and there, and I had the piece installed (picture 8 )- That's one more thing I can cross off my mental to-do list. ... With one small caveat - I'm not sure what the proper finish is for the retaining screw. I used black because it blended in with the finish of the part, but I'd guess it's actually supposed to be yellow cad. Any inputs?

I believe the un-mentioned issue so far is moisture. Have you routinely drained the water from the bleed valve? If you look at the tank you will like find a "Best before" date like on your milk. Compressed air cylinders have a safe working life limit as well. 27 years is likely stretching that a bit, but I think I have milk in the basement fridge that might be that old.....

end result 🙂

Today's project comes courtesy a purchase from JDM Car Parts. I've purchased several of Jay Ataka's original and reproduction parts that he sources from Japan, and although they can be expensive (for good reason - they are typically hard-to-come-by!) he's always offered prompt service, and any parts that have 60-90 day lead times are delivered promptly when they arrive state-side. There may be one or two folks who have wondered why there are a few extra tiny holes around a large circular cut-out on the right-side of their front frame (picture 1). On a stock Z432, these serve to hold the air-cleaner, which is mounted outside the engine bay (picture 2 and picture 3). In addition, they also serve as mounting holes for a special plastic air duct, used specifically on the Z432, in order to clear the air intake. For some reason that I can't entirely fathom, this part is so-very-rarely still attached to most Z432 that I've seen in person, or have pictures for. Just based on what I've seen, I'd venture to say that maybe one out of two cars still retains this air duct. What probably happens most frequently is that owners converted their cars to velocity stacks, and took all the air cleaner-related parts off their car, and somehow the plastic air duct ended up in the trash, or in a box somewhere, never to be seen again. And as one might expect, one of these bespoke plastic pieces does not come up for sale all that often. In fact, I can't remember the last time I saw a real one available for sale. Regrettably, the plastic-air-duct-omission extends to my car, which was sold to me without it (picture 4). I've had it in my mental to-do list to find such a part for over a decade. I've always known that there were fiberglass reproductions out there, but I just haven't taken the time to track one down, as I've had much bigger things to upgrade on my Z432. Fast forward to a few days ago, when I was browsing jdm-car-parts for other stuff, and I spied that Jay now offers fiberglass reproductions of this part for sale. Perhaps he's noticed the same deficiencies I have on other Z432's! I jumped at the opportunity to order one, and it arrived just 3 days later (picture 5). (continued on next post)

Yes, I'm watching the pointy tip antenna as well. How about his $500 battery cable?! I know the seller and just sold him a few rare parts for ridiculous money. There's no shame anymore. But don't worry. Your fresh air duct is going to look great.

Yep. I was frankly happy to pay it, just so I could cross off a 13-year-old TBD item. I had access to an authentic piece about 11 years ago and didn't think to jump on it, so this was actually my second opportunity to rectify this omission. That said, now that I no longer am in need of one, my First Law of Acquisitions predicts that I'll stumble across an authentic piece within a month or two. There's not much that's inexpensive anymore. We've been living in a world of $500 used ash trays and $300 inspection lights for a while now, and we'll soon see how much people are going to offer for that NOS radio antenna on eBay - the one with the "pointy top."

Are you asking how to remove the knobs from the rheostat & trip reset? Or are you asking how to remove the brackets from the dash frame?

I took a break from working on parts restoration, and cleaned up one of the neglected corners of my garage on Sunday. About two and half years of bodywork on the Z had coated everything in the corner including the 510 pictured above with a layer of primer dust - and a ridiculously expensive layer at that! The 240z headliner was one of the parts I was storing on the 510 and as I was blowing dust off of various things, I got distracted by the headliner. I destroyed one of these years ago when I tried to remove the dead foam. I think I was using a razor blade to carefully remove the foam and I cut through the vinyl. That method was not a good one. This time, I decided to carefully peel it off by hand. It wasn't too bad a job, taking somewhat less than one hour. My plan is to purchase new foam and glue it to the old vinyl. I will probably use a roller to apply it. Because I have seen vinyl come loose after a short period of time on too many Z restorations, I bought this adhesive for all the vinyl for my car: https://www.yourautotrim.com/2gacadapwehh.html I have some experience with using contact adhesive and have found it to be critical to wait a sufficient period of time. Anyway, installing interior vinyl is a project for another day - the painter still hasn't started his part on my project yet to my knowledge.

Looks like you might have a timing cover crank seal leaking as well. Now is a good time to replace that as well.

These look decent. Holley has been collecting brands and rebuilding their reputation so quality is probably fair. A selection of psi ranges. You would want the second one, I think. https://www.summitracing.com/search/part-type/fuel-pressure-regulators/product-line/holley-fuel-pressure-regulators?SortBy=Default&SortOrder=Ascending

I wouldn't use it. A decent gauge, those hose clamps, and pieces of hose would cost over $25. It's universal because they can change the ad copy to fit any application. 140 psi. "adjusts oil flow"? "ideal weight"? Not good... Fuel Pressure Regulator Kit: Prevent stalling, flooding, and other drivability problems by making sure your carbs are getting the right amount of fuel pressure with MOJTBE products. Adjust Capacity: This Aluminum Fuel Pressure Regulator Kit is adjustable from 0 to 140 PSI maximum fuel pump capacity. Optimally adjusts oil flow to meet your car's fuel pressure requirements. Materials: Premium aluminum construction for ideal weight and superior durability. Package Includes: 1x Fuel Pressure Regulator, 2x Hoses, 1x Accessories. NOTE: Not Legal in the state of California & New York, Not complies with C.A.R.B. regulations, Not for sale in the states of CA and NY. No instruction or direction included in the package, Professional installation is highly recommended.

I haven't had that problem. They have a small center point and I use a center punch to get them started. You do have to keep them square to the surface until they get started

Yes, I've had those snap. No, it wasn't fun with the removal even if a friend helped me with it. No, we didn't have to drill into the head to remove the bolts, but he did have to spend a couple of hours with mapp gas to get them loose. Having said that, I would suggest trying an induction heater on those bolts. The neat thing is that you can buy a free-form coil that you can wrap around the T-stat housing near the head to heat the bolts closer to the head. This will put the head into the bolts close enough to the head to get the desired effect. Here's the induction heater I bought: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08PD8ZSXZ Here are the free-form coils I bought: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084TCX7NG While the price of entry may seem high, there's a pretty substantial chance this can save you from spending a couple of hours trying to remove broken bolts. If you want to see one of these induction heaters at work, look at my YouTube channel. I give a demonstration. I also used this on a 280Z rear axle nut that a friend couldn't remove with a 2 foot breaker bar. I applied the heater for about 2 minutes, and I broke it loose without breaking a sweat.

Yep, 30wt non detergent motor oil. Getting harder to find these days, but it should cost quite a bit less than the stuff at the hardware store.

Very nice seeing this kind of effort to re-use original materials. I was lucky when I removed my headliner that the foam was in excellent shape and came out perfectly with no damage to the vinyl or foam. I used a 1.25" wide paint scraper with the corners rounded off. If it helps I could get you a measurement of the thickness.

Just found this thread. Very useful! I've ordered one of these off RockAuto, still a good deal at just over $40 for the 4 Seasons 35086.

Mind posting a link for that part? Is that for both sides or just the one? I agree with the gasket. The joint at the body duct needs to be sealed. Oh, never mind, I found it. Wowsers! Expensive

You guys rock. Yes, I was talking about the knobs. After watching this i pulled as hard as I could with my body weight and they broke free. Holy cow they were on there good. @SteveJI actually tried one of those tools but unfortunately had no leverage due to my dash pad being off. Next time tho:)

If you are talking about the knobs, this is what I used to remove them in the video: https://www.harborfreight.com/nylon-pry-bar-installer-kit-4-piece-63594.html

Yes. For many of those years, it got little use. I am unsure of how many times, but probably about 6. I just changed it about a month ago before I started on a rather lengthy round of blasting all of the black parts for the car I am restoring. I was shocked at the price of the compressor oil - nearly $12 for each 16 ounce bottle. And it took 3 and half of these. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-16-oz-Air-Compressor-Oil-HDA10700AV/100096995

Thank you. I made that last year - took about 3 months to do the cut & weld work on it. I wanted to keep the gate functional, and keep the flow of the factory body lines as much as possible. On the bumper install, I removed the rear bumper yesterday. I was surprised to find that my valance is a bolt on desgin - I've seen many YT where they had to cut spot welds to remove it. Perhaps that is only the late 280z? I need to drop the tank so I can get the bumper shocks out before I test fit the rear bumper. While I was on the back end, I added M5 rivnuts and some closed cell foam as a surround for the hatch louvre, that got rid of the rattles & open holes that will only be rust magnets now the car is in NY climate

Yes. Wait. Does your car have an electric fuel pump also? Sorry, I had to think about that for a moment, because on the race Z there isn’t a mechanical pump, only two electric pumps at the fuel cell. My stock 72 Z only has the mechanical pump, in fact the system is the original equipment from 1972, no electric pump, and no added regulator. So if your car has both an electric and a mechanical pump, between the electric pump and the mechanical pump should be OK. The stock mechanical pumps shouldn’t produce too much pressure, as they were designed to supply the carbs without a regulator. You might want to check the pressures in the system. That will help you understand what is happening, and why fuel is spilling out from the carb throats. As dirty as the float bowls were, the problem may not have been too much fuel pressure, but rather dirt in the needle and seat, allowing the bowls to overfill.

Thanks Alan, your measurements are perfect! I also love the hand made manifold by a craftsman in old days. They were like an art. Also I feel there were artists in the Nissan engineers. I can spend whole day just looking at my engines, transmissions, yes manifolds and mufflers! Kats

Hi, I show this again, a Z432 Sports Option manifold and a Z432 STD manifold. Looks like GTR has similar pipes to the Z432 Sports Option, but bottom junction is different. Kats

Finished the install after work - did the motor mounts first, since I had the car jacked up anyway. The car has 250K miles, I don't think he did any suspension bushings or any mounts in all that time. I'm happy with the fit & look. Not sure I needed to splurge for the Skillard grille, but I didn't want any of the gap I've seen without a full grille The bumper fit is very good

I helped a buddy of mine replace the starter on his Toyota Tundra pickup last weekend. My main job was to keep him from unloading his pistol unnecessarily. It's located under the intake.

Our daughter just got a new Nissan. She showed me all the bells and whistles it had which included "push button start". The look on her face, when I told her my 49 Chevy had push button start was priceless.