d240zx2

My Z was received at the Port of Houston in late March/early April of '70. It has no undercoating, just paint with 40 years of road grit embedded. I tried a power washer to clean it off.... didn't even give me a glimmer of hope.... Frank

My Z was in storage for 9 or 10 years. The PO did it right, though. He filled it with about a 50-50 mixture of gas and Sta-Bil. The car started and ran (though not too well) on that old gas. Had the tank removed and inspected... was clean as a whistle! Frank

I had Dave convert my taillights to LEDs and am VERY well pleased with his service and quality of work. Within 60 days of receiving the converted lights and having installed them, a series of LEDs failed in one light. Dave stepped right up and warranteed the job and I had them back within 10 days, shipping time included. You cannot go wrong with David Irwin. Frank

Wherever is fine, Stephen. I enjoy driving the Z, so if you'd have said "Galveston," I'd be more than agreeable..... BTW, give ZCarDave an email shout about this. Maybe he'll drive his '71. Frank

I would suggest crunchable things, like front turn signal housing/lenses. I was able to get a replacement, but the pickin's were slim. Headlight buckets might be another item. Sheet metal?? Anything else???? Frank

I'd like to clear this up a bit. Firstly, I said that technically, my ownership did not qualify under the text of the question as to which of us had the longest continuous ownership. So, Carl, thank you, but I do not qualify as a "contiguous" owner. Secondly, I purchased my Z on 15 April 1970, and have the dealer-signed warranty booklet, owner's manual and window sticker to substantiate that statement. Thirdly, congratulations to those of you having the foresight to have held on to your gems. You never had to realize the mistake you could have made by selling your Zs. Regards, Frank

Check w/Roger Schmidt at zbarn.com He's got a lot of early Z stuff...I use him when I'm needing something pretty rare...never let me down. Frank

Count me in!

Link is dead.

Technically, I don't qualify as a contiguous original owner. But I did buy my Z on 15 April 1970. Got a bad case of dumb-arse in '77 and sold it, but got lucky in '07 and got it back. The car will have it's 40th birthday next month, and I will celebrate our reunion again on tax day, 2010. Frank

Why not replace them?

I've seen much worse. The car is definitely salvageable and based on what you said, you're more than capable of doing most of the work yourself. It's basically a "cut 'n paste" operation (to borrow a computer term), but you need to get all the rust blasted away before doing much of anything. I'd yank the drive line and blast the entire car, just to find all the rust. Anyway, you've got a couple of cars you can work with. And the parts you showed are definitely '70 vintage. Good luck! Frank

Good wifey you've got there. That is excellent work!!

No particular "cause." Batteries sulfate constantly and when it has sulfated all it can, it dies. Typically, 5 years is the MOST you can expect from a battery and most die before then. There are exceptions, I know, but you can use that as a rule of thumb....

Try grounding the case.

I consider me to be an enthusiast! In all aspects of the word. I enjoy tracking the old gal, showing her off at shows and events, indeed, just driving her on the street gives me immense satisfaction. The list of mods done far removes her from any consideration as being "stock" and I think the mods have been nothing but improvements from the original car I bought 39 7/12 years ago. For example, the suspension was wallowy (is that a word?) so I put in a BRE race set-up. Now it's firm, but not overly so. I thought the L-24 was a bit puny as about 110mph was all I could glean, so I upped the ante with a performance cam, triple Mikuni-Solex carbs and headers. That got me to 135mph. Then came hi-speed stability as an issue, necessitating the installation of an air dam and rear spoiler. Problem solved. Wifey complained about the seemingly high revs at street/highway speeds, and a '82-'83 5-speed took care of that. I wanted a bit more punch, and an R-200 3.90 took care of that. It's an evolving thing...I'll never be done tweaking her. H-4 headlights w/covers and David's magic headlight harness, LED taillights and 280ZX alternator upgrade package complete (so far) the modernization of the appearance/functionality department. This car will always be a large part of my life, and when that's done, hopefully a large part of my family's life as well. She's a keeper..... Frank

Roger is a gem. He's helped me a couple of times with very hard to find parts for my '70. A good man. Frank

Lots of knowledge here. Just pick the appropriate venue. Use the search feature extensively as chances are the questions you have have already been answered. If not, answers will be available....

Based on your latest diagnosis, it appears that the leaking cylinders are the culprits. Pull the drums and inspect for odd-looking wear. Also closely inspect the shoes, springs, etc. to insure everything is still where it should be. A FSM is of great importance, so get one if you don't have one. I don't think half-shaft u-joints would squeak, but rather would make more of a rumbling or grinding sound. Frank

Outside rear view mirror is gifted to psdenno, the first to respond. Frank

I have a NIB outside rear-view mirror. Yours for freight.... Frank

Passenger side is the side I need. Lens and housing both were smashed. Oddly, the bulb lived...small favors... Frank

Nope. Per my avatar, my turn signals/parking lights are below the bumper. The avatar shows the right lamp assembly more clearly than the left, but it's the left I need. The avatar is an older photo of what the car used to look like. Frank

I was having too good a time yesterday and lost control out of turn 5 at Harris Hill Road. :stupid: Consequently, the car tried to climb that hill (made it up about half way). The initial contact with Mother Earth disintegrated my air dam and right parking lamp assembly. I've got a new air dam on order from MSA, but need help finding the parking lamp assembly for my '70. The driver side lamp assembly escaped unscathed. I posted a 'Parts Wanted' ad on this site, have written ZBarn and Arizona Z. Any other suggestions? Any and all help appreciated !! Frank

My worst car was a '68 Mercury Montego. Gawd, was it pretty. Red with black vinyl top and interior. God married in it, and on the honeymoon trip everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) fell apart. The A/C failed, the front end decided to go it's own way, the brakes took a vacation....all this happened at 24,500 miles, just after the warranty expired. I traded it on a new Mercedes 230 sedan and never looked back. That Mercury was the last new US produced car I ever owned.