Marty Rogan

Matt, I had a similar problem with my track car last year that drove me crazy tracking it done. Under heavy load it would bog and lose power. Long story short, I discovered that the carb insulator gasket had blown way underneather where you could not see it easily. With the car running, spray some car cleaner all around the area of the seals. If the engine RPM's change, that is your problem. The other thought is that your floats may not be adjusted properly. Good luck tracking it down. Marty

Oh, well, I had to ask. If anyone sees a crack-free interior tail light section, give me a shout. thanks, Marty

Hi Arne, Its looks like a blue car in the pictures. Has it got a blue or black interior? If blue and in good shape, I might be interested in some of the interior parts. Marty

I don't agree with you that the value is declining. From what I can see, the opposite is true. WE had a Z Club show on Saturday at the Volo Museum, which is NW of Chicago. They were offering appraisals as well. The guy next to me had his 260Z appraised. It is a very nice, one owner car with 43K. It came in at $12K. It is green and had an automatic. Based upon that, I would put my '70 at at least $14K. What cars fetch on EBay has very little relevance to their actual worth. Final bid values depend on who happens to be bidding at the time, their Z Knowledge and an emotional bidding factor that has nothing to do with what a car is actually worth. I think if you did some research into what restored or unmolested, low mileage original 240Z's are selling for with private collectors, you might be surprised. I believe that they are commanding a pretty handsome price. Carl Beck, you want to chime in with some recent input on values? Later, Marty

IF, !!!!! You mean WHEN!! The first time I did a driver's school at the track, I was hooked. There's just something about driving your Z full out and at the limit without the worry of traffic cops nabbing you. You will be doubly infected. You already have Z Fever, for which there is only 1 known cure. Now you will turn into a track junky! It's all good fun though. Enjoy, and let us know how those brake coolers work. Marty

Hi Kyle, Good to hear from you. I was wondering what had happened to you. Just some friendly advice. Brakes are not the area you want to go cheap on. Just think of all the hard work and money that went into building that beast, then think of it as a pile of twisted metal. You don't want to go there. You have got that baby capable of 130 MPH, you gotta be able to stop it!! The Toyota 4 piston caliper upgrade is well documented. I have used this set up for about 3 years with outstanding results. I have done 5 30 minute sessions on the car at Road America (which can be really tough on brakes) and have not had any brake fade issue. Here's what I have on my car: Toyota 4 piston calipers from '88 Forerunner, V6 Wheel spacers (got mine from JSK, but they aren't selling any more) I think Modern Motorsports carries them. '84 300ZX vented rotors Axxis Ultimate pads (Ceramic/Kevlar) good for street or track, but dust a bit Steel braided lines (which you already have) When you you compare the cost of this package to the cost of reapiring/replacing the car, this is pretty cheap insurance. And if you will be going 130 MPH, make sure you have got good tires. That being said, have a great time at the track day! They are a blast. Wish I could do it every weekend. Marty

Thanks! Sometimes their descriptions are pretty wierd! Marty

Well, Here's another part that seems to be hiding on the parts CD. I need to get the # for the dip stick tube that goes into the block on an '83 L28. I imagine it's the same on all L28's. TIA, Marty

Dan, Yep, That's it. So, does that look like an electrical part, ? No wonder I could not find it. I was looking under the head section. Thanks, Marty

I am having trouble locating this part on the Parts CD. Anybody know the part number for the elbow pipe that screw into the back of the head and goes into the heater hose? I need to order one right a way. TIA, Marty

There is another guy in the WCZC that usually has a ton of Z parts. I need to talk with him on another matter, so I could ask if he has a good one lying around. Marty

Hi Mark, I found it on ZCar.com. I picked up an 83 motor and trans from a guy in Rockford. They come up once in a while around here, but not very often. You don't see any Z's in wrecking yard around here either. Just keep looking. Marty

I just put an '83 5 spd in my early '71. Wish I would have known you wanted to get rid of a racing tranny, as I am going the opposite direction, and building a track car! Oh, well. Anyway, I used the stock 240Z drive shaft. Fits in with no problems. What you do with the rear end depends on which diff you go with. If you have an R200, you will need a 280Z moustache bar and the bowed out cross link bar that holds up the rear swing arms. If you stay with the stock R180, you don't have to change anything. Also, if you have not done so already, you will need to trim the front of the shifter hole in the tunnel and install the later style inner rubber shift boot. Hope that helps. Marty

Got my order in to the dealer. should be here Tues-Wed. A local buddy of mine had a ring, so I am all set. Thanks! Marty

Yep, that would be the one! I'll have to find a ring somewhere, as I was told they are NLA from Nissan. Anyone out there have one they could part with??? Thanks Webdog! Marty

I have been looking on the CD and can find the P/N for the early shift boot, but I can't seem to find the P/N for the 72-78. I am looking for the rubber boot that covers the tunnel, screws into the tunnel and lets the shifter extend through the middle of it. Anybody happen to know that P/N?? TIA, Marty

That's a good point. I'll have to try that. However, I had a '78 5 spd in there perviously and it popped out of gear while decellerating in 3rd and reverse wouldn't stay in unless you held it. That one was supposed to have been recently rebuilt too, with a receipt to prove it. But, it is still possible that both could have problems. Thanks for the suggestions guys! Marty

I installed an '83 ZX 5 spd in my '71 240Z, along with the L28. I was not crazy about the idea of cutting the sheet metal in the shifter area, so I had the shift lever cut and welded to come out further to the back of the pivot point. I also bent the sheet metal upward at the front of the shifter hole to create more clearance. It seems like that may not have been enough to avoid interference problems. I think the rubber boot is bunching up at the front and putting enough pressure on the shift lever to pop it out of gear. Either that, or the new shift boot rubber is so stiff that it pulls the shifter out of gear. For those of you that have cut into the tunnel, what have you done to seal the area, so that watter does not get in? If you have any other ideas on how to correct this, I would love to hear them. TIA, Marty

Any body seen these, or have any experieince with them? http://www.zcar.com/classifieds/index.php?method=showdetails&list=advertisement&rollid=33180&fromfromlist=classifiedscategory&fromfrommethod=showhtmllist&fromfromid=37& They look nice and have a very atractive price. $480, shipped. Just don't know about quality,etc. Marty

While starting my '71 the other day, I heard a loud pop, saw a puff of smoke over the intake area. I also smelled burnt wiring. Looked all over, but could not find any burnt wires. My MSD coild was making a really weird noise, even after I had disconnected the battery. I figured the coil must have fried, so I replaced it, and the new coil is making a buzzing noise too. Also, when you rev the car above 3k, the tach momentarily drops to zero, then bounces back. I am sure that is related to what is going on in the coil. I am using a Pertronix. Everything else is stock '71. Any ideas on where to look into this? TIA, Marty

That is good info to know! $900 on an exhaust! That's pretty much overkill for me. I ended up ordering a Delta Force Race muffler and a Dynomax race bullet muffler to place in the trans tunnel. I will then get some custom 2 1/2" pipes bent for it. I'll let you know how it turns out. http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=FLO%2D325108&N=115&autoview=sku http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=WLK%2D24215&N=115&autoview=sku Thanks to all that contributed their opinions. Marty

I got the MSA springs. I believe they were rated something like 129 Front and 182 in the rear. The car has a 1" bar in the front and I think a 5/8" bar in the back (maybe 3/4", I don't remeber exactly). I am very happy with the handling of this set up. I would ABSOLUTELY go with the Illuminas. They are a little more expensive, but they give you a whole lot more choices in set up. Besides, how often do you really buy shocks? Marty

Sorry it took so long to get back to you. Funny thing is that I really like the ride. It is very controlled and a nice comfortable ride to boot. the Euro springs really helped the handling. I still get a fair amount of body roll, because I went with stock rubber bushings. this is more of a cruising and show car. I have a track car with PU bushings, stiff springs and Illuminas for the high performance. By the way, the Illuminas don't raise the car up and are adjustable. If I had known this before, I would have put the Illuminas on the Blue Z too. How did yours turn out with the rears installed? Marty

Thanks Al, Sure it helps! I had not heard of them before. How well does it fit in the stock muffler location. I am hearing that it should not be longer than about 16 1/2" back there. Marty

I am in the hunt for a performance exhaust system to go with my Pace-Setter, Jet-Hot coated header. I wanted a Dynomax turbo muffler and 2 1/2" pipes. Unfortunately, my preferred shop burned down. The runner-up shop carries Magnaflow and Excellerator. Anybody have experieince with either of these? I have not run accross a shop that handles Dynomax yet. I thought Dynomax was fairly common. Is that a mail order only brand? Thanks, Marty