Marty Rogan

I was afraid that there wouldn't be much to do about the toe problem. The frame shop sounds like a possible alternative. Probably an expensive one though. The Euro Springs are Nissan NOS springs that still had the part number tags on them. They were placed in the correct positions, including the fronts, which has 2 different part numbers. I'll have to measure the ride height at the rockers. It looks and feels like it is riding high. Kinda looks like a jacked up Malibu from the early 70's. MArty

WEll, after a long project (since end of June) I finished off the suspension restoration last week-end. Took it over to a shop and had an alignment done. Before we get into the issues, here's a recap of what I did: 1) removed and sand blasted the entire suspension 2) painted everything with POR-15 and a top coat of Chasis Black. 3) installed all new OEM rubber bushings. 4) installed NOS Stage I Euro Springs. 5) reinstalled Tokicko Gas shocks. 6) installed new tie rods, and ball joints 7) lots of new brake lines, nuts, bolts and basically everything I could to make it look and work like new again. Oh, and this is a 1970 model, all stock everything, for show. I haven't really had a chance to drive it much since finishing, but it sure is a lot stiffer and seems to corner flatter. First issue: When the alignment shop was done, they said the toe was out of spec by +.51 degrees on the right rear wheel. HE said it was enough to cause a wear problem. Since there is nothing built in for adjustment on the rears, is there anything I can do to correct this with the stock set up? Second issue: The Euro Springs are supposed to lower the car by 3/4". Now that its done, it looks like it actually raised it up!! The clearance on the front between the top of the tires and the fender lip is 3" and the rear is 2 1/2". I have 215/60/15 tires mounted. For comparison, I measured the clearance on my stock early 71, with 195/70/15 tires on it, and the clearance was: front 1 3/4" and rear 1 1/4". It seems like the clearance on the 70 was more like the 71 before I started the project. Any ideas on how to deal with this would be appreciated. TIA, Marty

That is a cool part of this. I never could figure out how to make the Avatar thing work though. There are a lot of very knowlegable guys that hang out here and not on the mail list, so I have been doing both. Usually one or both come with a solution. Welcome aboard! Marty

Hi Kyle, Sorry I can't help you on the clearance issue. But, I thought you were the loose nut behind the wheel!!! Sorry, I just couldn't resist. Marty PS: Don't see you over on the boards much.

Open the door, and get down on the ground so that you can look up along the bottom edge of the door. You should see 3-4 round holes near where the door skin is folded onto the frame. Get a good stiff piece of wire and clean out any gunk that may be clogging them up. Marty

Anybody know where we can get a similar jute material as Kats has used, but in the US? Marty

My wife had a good idea that we looked into patenting recently. We consulted a friend who is a trademark attorney. His advise we to do a thorough Google search first on the idea first. If it shows up as being done by someone already, you'll save on a lot of attorney's fees. HE said it can easily cost you $10k+ to get a good patent filed. At the end of that, all you have is a patent. You still need to find a way to market it. Good luck, Marty

Be careful about sanding the paint if you have never done it before. I believe it takes great skill to do it properly. I have an alternate suggestion that you should try first. Get the following from a detail shop: Clay Magic clay bay; Zymol HD Cleanse; and get some Zaino Brothers wax for the type of paint you have (clear coat or single stage). Might have to get the wax from the Zaino website. 1) Clean your car very well with Dawn dish detergent. 2) Get a bucket of car wash, nice and sudzy 3) Dip the clay bar in the sudzy water, keeping the paint very wet. This acts as a lubricant for the clay bar. Rub the bar back and forth in a line with a fair amount of force. Don't ever go in a cricle with anything you put on paint! You may have to go over it a couple of times. This will lift all of the grit out of the paint. After this the paint should feel much smoother. 4) Wash the car again. 5) Put the HD Cleanse on a polishing pad and rub it in well like you did with the clay bar, except without the water. May need to do this step a couple of times also. IT should make the paint feel even smoother. 6) Put 2 or more coats of the Zaino wax on according to their instructions. You don't need alot of this stuff. If you put too much on, it actually looks worse! It should only take 1 once or less to do the whole car for 1 coat. I recently did this to an early 71 that I bought in NC. It was pretty dull and sun faded. It took about 12 hours of work, but when I was done, it looked like a whole different car. Had a nice shine to it. It is not perfect, like a fine paint job, but it really made the paint come alive. Well, as they say, that's my 2 cents! Good luck with your new car. Marty

You can buy the parts CD from this site!!! IT is a must have item. Not sure where the link is at the moment, since I have not looked for it in a long time. Surely Mike can help you find it. Marty

Classic Datsun Motor Sports makes the BRE "Spook" under license from the original molds: http://www.classicdatsun.com/ I have one on my car and like it very much. Marty

Ken, I thought their was nothing you could do with a melted box. Never would have thought of using JB Weld to build it up. The inner holder od my tail light circuit is suspended in mid air too, and it still works! It sounds like JB Weld is the duct tape of the adhesive family! Marty

One thing I learned to do a while ago, is to put the wheels, or a sturdy tool box under the side sills. In case the car falls, it will land on the wheels, leaving some space, so as not to pancake you into the floor. Marty

TexasZ, Let me guess which circuit melted down .... Third one down on the right side, the dash/tail light circuit. Am I right??? I have 2 early 240's a 1970 and a 1971. Both melted down in that same circuit. MSA is coming out with a more modern replacement for the fuse boxes. The "Long Pigtailed" version, which is correct for an early car, is supposed to be available in October. At $199, it is not cheap, but neither are used ones that could suffer the same fate. I am keeping the stock one on the 70 show car, but going with the MSA model when its available for the 71 racer. Anyone out there tried one of these? The later "short pigtailed" version was supposed to be available first. Marty

Did the US spec 240 Z's come witha spalsh pan. I have owned 3 of them, and have seen dozens of others and cannot recall ever seeing a 240 with one fitted. Marty

So, where are you located? Thanks, Marty

If you have an early car, you problably need to adjust the slack at the clutch slave cylinder. If it is out of adjustment, you can have trouble getting it into gear. Later models have the self adjusting slave. Marty

Beandip, I run 215/60/15's on my car with slight clearance problem. I have to bend the back edge of the front valance in a bit. With a 14" rim you may not have a clearance problem. 205's would fit for sure. I am using the Yokohama AVS tires. They are great performing tires at a very reasonable price. Check out Tire Rack for prices. I use them on the street and the track and would highly recommend them. Marty

If you are looking for NOS parts, check with Chloe at Midwest Z. She is very resourceful in getting scarce parts. I have also gotten linkage parts from Too Intense Restorations. Good luck, Marty http://www.restorezone.50megs.com/ http://www.midwestz.com/

Mike, I totally agree that correct color would be prefereable. I am just interested in his results. I did get a set of blue seat covers from MSA, but I was not very happy with them. The pattern was close, but not exactly correct. The grain of the vinyl was flat out wrong. If I could find original Nissan blue covers, I probably couldn't aford them. But, if someone out there has them or knows where to find them, I'd love to hear about it. Marty

Hi Kats, Your seats look great. I have never seen that plastic protector piece before. I just acquired a seat bottom Saturday, that appears to have remnants of that piece at the anchor points. Is that still available from Nissan? I also have a blue interior in my 6/70 Z. Are your seats original Nissan seats that were black and then dyed blue? I am interested in hearing more about your special techique. HAve you had any issue with the color coming off when the seat material flexes? Thanks, Marty

Fred, I also had a Previa that my wife drove for 8 years. Other than being a little slow, it was a nice, very roomy vehicle. We replaced it with a Toyota Sienna. Its built on the Camry platform with a nice V-6 engine. A little smaller than the Previa, but big enough. Also the new Sienna is about as big as the Previa. Its hard to beat Toyota quality. Do you get Siennas over there? I would go that route over a Pontiac or Chevy. Good luck, Marty

Mark, I saw that too. Looks pretty nice. They said they won't have the long pig-tailed version available till October. $200 is a bit steep but, I had to pay $80 for the last one I got, and that was used. How long it will last is anyone's guess. I think I am going to bite the bullet and buy one for my 71 race car and hopefully solve the problem once and for all. For the 70 show car, I will have to take my chances and stick with the original crappy design. Marty

I just got off the phose with MSA. He said that they were expecting a shipment of the rear panel for the 70-72's in early August, but it hadn't come in yet. Quoted me $250 for the part. It goes from the valance up to where the tail light surround is. That would meet my needs. Marty

Thanks. I looked at the MSA catalog last night. It showed the 70-72 model as NLA. The 73-74 has the shock absorber bumpers, so that panel would be different. Is the P/N 30-7240 for the 74 model? I don't have the catalog here in the office ? Marty

That's kinda what I thought. I was planning to visit a body shop today and wanted to know if there were any options available. Looks like he'll have to fab a panel. Marty