jcdozier

Urethane is a better choice for "sloppy" drivers like me. The first time you angle park into a curb (kerb) that's higher than you thought, the fiberglass is probably going to be damaged. Even is you miss the embankments that 2ManyZs favors, there are a surprizing number of "opportunities" out there. If you have already lowered your Z, even some of the more robust speed bumps can be troublesome. I "bottom out" on the speed bumps in the parking lot of the local municipal court, (jury duty, not defendantI ) and the curb at the local post office is a challenge for "normal" cars.

Good advice posted above, especially the reference to ZTherapy. For a good bit less than a set of their state-of-the art SU's, you can get a rebuild kit for the ones you already have. I rebuilt mine last year, and compared to rebuilding something like a Holley 4-barrel, it was a stroll in the park. SU's are simplicity at work, and they work well. IMHO, every SU owner should get a copy of ZTherapy's video "Just SU Carbs" that Scot Bruning made while he owned ZTherapy. With that and a flow meter (MSA sells them) you can tune your own SU's just as well as the "experts" at the Z shops.

Ditto Dan and 2ManyZs on a front spoiler, and it doesn't have to be one of the big ones that replace the bumper and displace the parking lights to work. Besides looks, the rear spoiler is probably better at disrupting the air flow and reducing the amount of fumes sucked back into the car than it is at improving handling at anything less than legal-plus-ten speeds. I have a small hatch-mount rear spoiler on my 240 and I don't have the inside-the-car fume problems so many folks report. Of course, I also have good fuel-tank vent hoses and a good hatch seal............

There are a few Type-1 240's with an auto trans - I have one of them. The "A" auto trans was first used in the Z's starting about September-October 1970, and the Type-1 production continued into early 1971. Fairly early in 1971, Nissan switched to the "B" auto trans, so not many Z's have the "A" trans - most, if not all Type-2 and later Z's will have the "B" auto. If you are like me and have an "A" auto in your Z, too bad. Can't get parts anywhere - MSA says nobody has made any for a loooong time. Parts houses, like NAPA, only have the "B" trans in their reference books. I was planning to get a "B" from the junk yard, have it rebuilt and replace the tired "A" trans. However, after seeing Dutch's and Bean's posts, I think I will start looking for a Maxima overdirve auto trans instead. Anyone know what year Maxima has the right transmission?

TOM: Just think of all the possibilities for the bucks you save by not putting in the stereo..............

In addition to ebay, as suggested by "beandip", both Z-Car and Z-Driver have a "cars for sale" section on their web sites. www.zcar.com www.zdriver.com Good hunting.............

I strongly suggest you take Daniel's advice and fix it fast. One of my sons (the mechanically-challenged one) learned to pay attention to the ammeter the hard way - blew the side of the battery out. We had a major clean-up job, with LOTS of baking soda to neutralize the battery acid. Even if your battery doesn't leak, or worse, explode, overcharging causes the electrolyte to boil. That isn't condusive to long battery life.

I have a '71 240-Z that "lost" it's shroud sometime in an earlier life. When I had stop-and-go overheating problems, I installed a thermostatically-controlled fan in front of the radiator - "cured" the overheating problem for me. "Pull" is probably a little better than "push", but I didn't have the room on the back side of the radiator.

I, too, am the owner of a "great pumpkin" 240-Z (1971 Type-1). I almost passed on it because if the color, (and the automatic transmission) but I had been looking for six months and was weary of the search. Over time the color has grown less objectionable, (or perhaps that's the onset of senility). My sons still occasionally tell me the color looks like something one finds in a baby's diaper, but they still drive it when their ride is in the shop. This is another 240-Z that won't get a second look at the car shows, but then I didn't buy it to show it - I bought it to drive. Except for the Mallory electronic distributor and Promaster coil, almost none of my "upgrades" are visible, (ok, I painted the 4WD calipers red and they can be seen through the slots in the wheels). It does have the slot "mag" wheels and a small rear-hatch spoiler, and since it is third on the list for the 2-car garage, it also has louvers on the hatch to save the carpet from sun damage. I have considered a color change, but to do that right the car has to be disassembled. More than the bucks involved, the time without the ride has been the reason I haven't done that. Maybe I should get another 240 for a ride while this one is "down" for the color change?

These 4WD creations keep poping up - this is the second I have seen this year. I have a 240-Z and a 4WD Toyota 4-Runner - I wonder how difficult it would be.................???

One event in March, six in April?

No rust - L28 engine - electronic ignition - 5-speed - new cluch -only one small body ding - looks good in the pictures. Even if you have to pay a little more than $2500, it LOOKS like a pretty good deal. I'd say it is worth an hour's drive to check it out.

Great pictures, Bill. It looks somewhat better than the early version, but it's still butt-ugly. (And I'm not referring to JLo's butt, either.) Did all of the current automobile designers have mothers who were frightened by a big triangle? Seems round and square lights are a thing of the past.

I had the same kind of problem with my 240 when I bought it - couldn't put more than six gallons in the tank without gasoline running on the ground. The problem was the vent lines - replaced them and was able to top off the tank at anytime. As KMACK points out, the longer vent line taps in just above the tank seam. My experience is that it is the one to go first and also most often - mine is weeping now. You'll need to remove the inside rear panel and the inside passenger-side panel at the back of the car to get access. MSA has replacement lines.

Carl Beck has a write-up on insurance at the IZCC site (www.zhome.com). Scroll down the left side to Collectible Car Insurance.

I have what looks to be the same slot rims on my 240. They were tapped by a PO for the screw-on caps. I replaced the old, discolored caps last year with a set of the MSA ones. I didn't order the "Z" paste-ons - I like the "clean" look, (and besides, I don't care if anyone else can't figure out if my car is a Z). If you're after the original look, why not get the MSA's now and add the "Z" later when they get them in stock?

Oh, yeah - Christmas again! (Too bad Santa doesn't pay the bills.) I find I have to ration my time with the catalogue - it's chock full of goodies I would like to have.

I went with the Tokiko non-adjustable strut inserts - they were the most reasonably priced back when I was looking around. I also went with Suspension Techniques springs - they supposedly only lower the car about 1.5 inches. After 30 years, the old, tired original springs were already sagging the 1.5 inches, so I can't tell any difference between the before and the after look. I also replaced all of the old rubber bushings, including the steering rubber, with polyurethane while doing the suspension project. The handling improvement was significant. Good luck with your project.

Like 2ManyZs, I have the MSA coolant reservior. Also like 2ManyZs, I haven't installed it in the car. The "logical" location on the driver's side closest to the radiator cap is already occupied by the big Promaster ignition coil. Lots of room on the opposite side of the engine bay - probably have to relocate the voltage regulator - but it's a long tubing run and across the radiator. I'll probably wind up putting it in front of the radiator mounting panel (I know there's a proper name for the sheet metal panel across the front of the engine bay, but I don't know what it is). If the one from Pegasus is smaller, it is probably a better choice than the big MSA unit - smaller will give you more options for a mounting spot.

Akir-ra: Now you know one of the reasons the early Z's came with a 15-inch diameter steering wheel. You'll want to check your tire pressure often. Parallel parking will give you a mini-workout, especially if you have wide tires or low pressure.

BadDog: Congrats on the "new" car. In addition to MSA and VicBrit, you might want to look at the Z Barn - they're in Tennessee which might give you a break on shipping over, say, MSA. No catalogue - their web site is www.zbarn.com - they have some new stuff and lots of used parts. I've had good experiences with them. Eric Neyerlin is another source for used parts, but he's in California - www.zparts.com. I haven't dealt with him, so I can't give a recommendation.

The threaded rod w/ flat washers & nuts spreader is a good tip for getting the front control arm back in place. The control arm comes out MUCH easier than it goes back in. As far as removing the pin in the outer strut mount on the rear, 2ManyZs may be a master at understatement, ("a little work and patience....."). You may want to schedule a full afternoon and a case of beer for that job, (a six-pack won't be enough).

2ManyZs comments about the fan shroud are spot on. Mine "disappeared" when I had the Z-shop install the oversized radiator, and was probably a big contributor to my overheating problem. The electric fan cured the problem, so I didn't worry about the shroud. (It's still on my list of things to get someday.) I picked up a vapor lock trick from a Nissan mechanic - insulate the two metal fuel lines that run along the top of the engine. The quick and dirty way is to wrap them with plain old kitchen aluminum foil. Looks tacky, but works - someday I will get the real insulation tubing and put it on (it's on that list too).

guy_geo: If your question is about installing an electronic ignition, and that ignition is something like the Mallory Unilite, the short answer is you can do it yourself in an hour or so. I have the Mallory Unilite electronic distributor and a Promaster coil on my 240-Z. The whole installation took less than two hours, and that was double checking everything as we went along, (plus the required beer breaks). No "playing with electric stuff" worries - an electrician is not required. The units come with step-by-step instruvtions and easy-to-read diagrams. As was pointed out in an earlier post, the after-market electronic ignition systems aren't cheap - paying a mechanic to install it would be a little like adding insult to injury. OBTW, I used to keep lots of the old parts for "emergency replacement" too. Don't do that any more. Replaced all that old junk with an AAA card and a cellular phone.

Sorry you didn't get the car, but a bad interior is harder to fix up than a lot of the other rough spots. Your mention of dynomax rang a bell somewhere way back in the grey matter, so I went to www.google.com and entered DYNOMAX - it returned the Dynomax muffler folks web site. Try www.dynomax.com. You might want to refer back to it when you get the new Z.