zKars

Well, the futofab BF sale finally made pick a 16 wheel. Classic 8's or Panasports? No brainer, Classic 8's it is. Thanks Dave for the sale! Santa comes early this year.

The chances of the key code tag still being on the glove box door is slim. The code is also stamped into the passenger door lock cylinder if its still the original. Bit tougher to get to. Only very few Nissan dealers around here has the machine to use that code to make keys though.

So after digging through the shifters trying to find a suitable candidate, and comparing a bit more closely, it seems there are no less than three variations on the ones with a pronounced "S" curve. I'm pretty sure the group of three match the front one in the center picture above. I have NO idea what those extra longs are for or from.... Anyone need then for joke? I have a Hurst shifter handle that would look right on home on one of them!!

Nice Z to start your project with. You seem to have your priorities pretty straight, but your 6 month time frame is optimistic. The single most common problem with resto's is them taking longer than the time it takes to loose interest in them. Its far better to do it in stages with periods of driving time to keep your interest going. One final thing. There is no such thing as a rust free datsun. You just haven't found it yet. Get the floors and engine bay/wheel wheels stripped inside and out and have a good look. I see there are plugs all over the place in the door frames that indicate it had a "Zeibart" or similiar rust proofing treatment at one time or another, so that MAY have helped some, but don't be surprised about what you find. Its just part of the datsun resto game. You are not alone. Your passenger door is from a 77-78 280, which is why it has the "adapted" latch system. Getting rid of it and go back to a 240 door is definitely a good idea. Keep it real, don't rush, and drive as much as you can. Good luck!

I sent you a PM. I be happy to help with a heater core.

They are 10x 1.5 mm bolts ~30 mm long. 2 of them. I guessed at the length, measure the thickness of the slave body and add 15-20 mm.

yup. Fan is 16" instead of 15", but the bolt pattern is the same. Should be straight bolt on.

Well then to heck with my 401k or as we call em RRSP. I'm keeping my spare heater cores in a safety deposit box from now on!

You're going to love this. This was discussed earlier this year either here or on hybridz http://www.marketworks.com/storefrontprofiles/deluxeSFshop.aspx?sfid=75198&c=421911 They have all kinds of related items too. Go from their home page and you'll see what I mean. I also have a couple of pretty good 240 heater cores if all else fails...

Rather than a way to turn it on, maybe its a way for the ECU to know the CSV is on...

This has been recently discussed. Do a bit of searching. Solutions involved everything from massive amounts of penetrating oil, time, torque and tension to drilling through the strut bottom and pounding it out with a punch from below. About the only bad (but very tempting...) idea is lots of heat, which creates an explosion hazard with the shock contents. The amount of heat needed to make any significant difference to the rust bond is likely more than is safe to conduct to the shock body. Just don't do it. Stay away from any method that would distort the strut tube or threads, which would render it useless even if the shock did eventually come out. Good luck

I know the ones you mean. The north american later 280's (77 and up? I think?) that I've seen have the side marker lights (turn repeaters to you!) and headlight wiring entering the engine bay through holes on the inner fenders, just on the engine side of the rad support, above the frame rails. None of this silly earlier way of running wires from the wheel wells down and under the car and up into the front of the rad area, all exposed to the road! We're talking true refinement here that actually had a hint of water proofing at the connectors as well! Luxury! I've never seen a supplier of these grommets. They are trapped on the harness and are originally applied as the harness was being constructed. No fun to replace even if you had replacements. Hey! They are almost the size and look of throttle rod rubber boots at the firewall, maybe they could be pressed into service? These are available as repo's. Same basic funnel shape.

Aha! Bad u-joint(s)! Good find. Don't give up hope. The reports of non-fixable u-joints are not all inclusive. Take your drive shaft to a good drive line shop and see what they say.

Norm has been in business a long time. His strengths are his excellent quality parts restorations especially hardware plating, and he has an decent inventory. I would say his prices are in the high to premium range but you generally get what you pay for. I wouldn't use him for generic parts purchasing. I often wonder why he doesn't advertise more.

My guess either a ujoint went or just something stuck in a wheel or tire. Take anything apart back there lately? Get the wheels off and start wiggling and looking.

Welcome to easy engine pulling 101. As long as the fan and rad are out, it comes right off the trans and right out. Easiest engine in the world to pull. Being a bit long, an engine leveler helps some, but not necessary. Good luck

Well that explains why "Blue" went missing in the discussions for so long. I had no question that it would fire right up. And I see NS is as ugly as usual this time of year... How about that same pic with the Z by the garage instead?

Here are the pictures of my selection. The group of three on the left are the most common. I believe the first or second are Z, the right one of the three is a zx variant with a spring loaded center. The ones on the right side are all "A" type shifters. Others feel free to chime in with further identifying remarks. Let me know. Yours for the price of postage. Jim

I think I have one (or more...) of every type of shift lever ever put in a Z from 69 to 83. Shall I take of picture of the different ones I have and let you pick? Or do you have a particular one in mind? A picture of the one you have would indeed be useful to help with the selection. Mainly the differences, other than the shape of the shifter rod, is the length from the pin to the cup on the end. If yours is just a bit short, or the plastic cup is broken internally, you might not get the total movement you need to push the rod into reverse. Does it work fine when parked with engine off, but not when driving, or it just won't go no matter what?

The difference is in what the autograph means to you. A painting is more valuable if its signed by its creator. Even better if the creator is famous. I feel the same way about my Z. It is much more meaningful to me that Mr. M's signature is "on" my glovebox door, rather than on a piece of paper in the glovebox.

In a fuel injected engine, baffled tank is a requirement. Go back and complain. They left you with an un-usable tank. Take a large friend, preferably one in a uniform. Or one dressed like a lawyer.

Arne, thanks for the clarification. All 260's were flat top carbed. No FI. thanks!

There were two different 260's in North Am. Early one with flat top carbs like 73 240 (though not identical), skinny bumpers with hydraulic shocks, and then a later one with FI like 280 and bumpers like the 75 280. The interiors for both were the new 280 style dash and console. Real Heinz 57.... No wonder folks restoring 260's have a devil of time finding parts for them! Nice Z BTW. I like the red wire that comes through the firewall at the choke cable grommet and goes to the coil best. I'm pretty that's not stock... and worth understanding what it bypasses (like the ignition switch....).

Is there a hex nut at the base of the knob? There may be a locking nut on there that has to be loosened first. If not then I'm betting the knob is not stock, and since the threads where not right, someone PO glued it on... No easy way to get that off... Worst comes to worst, remove the shifter shaft from the tranny, (remove console and rubber boots, you'll see how to get it off, its just a pin) get a new shifter and knob. Hopefully the current knob will pass through the leather boot on the console and make this easier. Good luck!

Just sounds like you don't have a properly functioning cold enrichment (choke) system. The simple fact that it runs better after its warm fits that diagnosis. You have SU's on that beast, don't you? If not, let us know what type of fuel system you have. To check fuel pressure, just put a gauge in the line after the reg and before the carbs and see what its doing during startup and while running. Carb systems don't typically keep much in the way of pressure, but rely on what's in the float bowl to get you started, then by the time that's used up, the pump should be adding fuel to the bowls if there wasn't any residual pressure. Let us know what you find