Zedyone_kenobi

My front carpet is in really good shape. I have no complaints save one. While the carpets are in dandy condition, with the sound deadening foamy stuff glued to the bottom of the carpet, they are not attached to my floorboard. Is the sound deadening foam suppose to be glued to the floor? If so, is there a recommended way to do this? I have thought of spray adhesive as the obvious choice, but that could get messy. then I thought of using super strong velcro strips. Less messy, but may be noisy. But it would allow me to periodically clean underneath the carpet and check the floorpan on the inside. Curious as to what others have done.

I have only had one... DRAT.

It is standard pedal configuration... Just on the 'wrong' side of the car.

Pics my new Z friend.. need pictures.

Oh, man, I will be VERY careful.

clay bar and rubbing compound have been tried, worked great on the dirty bits, but the parts I want to fix now feel like rough overspray, not just dirty paint. They are not just visually dirty, they are tactile and rough.

I think you are doing what all the great historical DIY'ers do. You are making the best with what you have. Good for you. Keep up the picture updates! I wish you great luck.

Well I have bought a large handful of wet automotive sandpaper, and I want to give my engine bay a go to try to get the original color back. All my surfaces feel like overspray and are relatively rough. I think if I knock down all of this it will get the grime out and feel/look more OEM. I have tried soap and water and that did help a tad, but some of this stuff is just too set in to come out. Can people give me a few basic 'do no harm' wet sanding techniques that I can try? I want to get the engine bay in a more detailed finished look. Thanks!

Gillette Mach 5 baby!

INF I think your car looks spectacular. And you are completely correct about why I changed to 195/60/15's. The 205/60's had a slight rub. I think if the car is at stock height, it may not have rubbed, but I have no way of knowing. I can speak to the quality of the 960AS Bridgestones. I had my first track day and they performed wonderfully. Not as sticky as a dedicated summer tire, but my gosh, they proved to be quite nice with the right air pressure. 35F/32R is what I found provided a really nice cornering feel. Feel is what I want to stress. While they give up something to dedicated summer tires for stickyness, you more than make up for in feel. I am not a fan of all seasons at all. This is my first pair in fact. But I found these provide a good ride for our aging cars, while giving us lots of grip. So not be scared to go to a 195/60 profile. It is only 10mm narrower than 205 and it is a really good match for the 7" rim. The smaller contact patch also livens up the steering, and makes the car a tad more nimble in my opinion. I am an autocrosser by nature, just getting into track days, and these tires are well capable of handling the power of a stock 240Z. If I could find a max performance summer tire in a 195/60 I would get it, but these 960s took an hour of abuse at the track with repeated 85-90mpg sweepers and they never really gave up. I think part of that is their quality construction, part is due to the light weight of our cars, and part is due to the relatively low power of our cars. Good luck and let us know what you decide.. here is a picture of my 195/60's if it helps you out.

I know they did some VIN moving around at the factory, meaning they did not all get released in chronological order, but his 71 looks a lot like my 71.. what am I missing

I hear ya, but I may look into getting them painted. I think I can probably do it myself as well if I am careful and really take my time. You are right on all counts by the way.

LOVE the tire and wheel combo.. you are really making me want to sell my panasports VERY much now. I want gunmetal rims, always have. I can speak volumes about the pole positions. I just ran a track day with mine and they took 1 hour of beating and still look great. Are they as sticky as summer tires... NOPE, but are they darn good for an all season. Yes... they allowed me to enter corners way faster than I thought they would and were able to communicate so much to me through the wheel. I was leary of all seasons as this is the first pair I have EVER bought, but the 960AS pole positions are a very good tire. I think your setup looks spectacular INF. The tires are the perfect size IMHO. Having tires straight up and down or just BAREly wider at the rim than the tire is a very good way to ensure a nimble feeling car, as that geometry tends to give a stiffer sidewall. I may want to sell my panasports again!!!

I hear ya... I LOVE my ZT carbs. Really made my car drive like a whole new machine!! Next I am going to get the Distributor recurved!

Porsche club of America. blue Pearl Soul, he did answer your question with the facts of the Z car. And he threw in the 911 and 325 as well for good measure. The fact is you cannot pigeon hole the Z into thinking it oversteers/understeers/neutral by its very nature. You are obviously not going to leave it stock so he was unable to tell you how it may react. He told you that it was light, and that the chassis will need to be reinforced. Those are true no matter what suspension you decide to go with. He mentioned that good reliable power is around 240 HP, which is true as well, when the L24 is heavily modified. All depends on how the car is set up and how it is tuned to run. It can oversteer or understeer or both. It depends on how you build it. Stock, it is very good. He also told you about the brakes, they are adequate for the stock car with stock power. You can enhance its ability with lines and pads, etc, just like you can with other cars. I will take issue with the assumption that aftermarket is 200% better. Some of the fastest 240Z's used all OEM parts just properly assembled and combined. You forget how many performance parts are available in the form of interchangeable parts from datsun. The engineering that went into this car was not trival. What you need to know is that your talent will limit you more than any car you should choose. Also, if you are serious about being a race car driver, I would recommend driving schools before you ever buy a car. Then I would recommend a miata, not a 39 year old car whose parts are starting to become harder to find. It sounds more like you want a fun toy rather than a race car. Canyon runs have nothing to do with prepping a race car. If what you want is a canyon runner, then buy whatever car you want and have fun. If you are serious, then improve yourself first, then look into buying a car later that suits your style, location, budget, etc.

Keep it up Davey! One day at a time, and one small improvement at a time.

Frank, you are right, when I looked at all 30 min of footage I noticed that I usually ran the straight all the way to the left, allowing me an early turn in and I could carry lots of speed through the corner. However on my spin, I was in the middle of the track and could not get the nose pointed enough to the right, so I ran out of asphalt. Live and learn man. Wish you could have been there Frank!

Okay, I manged to upload a video to youtube...this is the one with my spin. It is much smaller. I must warn you. PLEASE TURN DOWN your speakers. I had the audio sensitivity of the GoPRO too high. It is pretty bad when I get on the gas. I think that in one hour of driving one spin is not so bad. A few guys came to me afterward and said if you did not spin once on your first track day, then you were not trying hard enough.. haha

http://vimeo.com/10146329 not sure if this works or not from this link. A friend of mine took this standing at the wall...along the back straight

Frank, you told me that before, and I completely forgot! Good advice. spitz17, thanks for the compliments on the pics, I wanted take more, but got busy racing WW2Winger, I am jealous of your Rebello power! Glad your day was as fun as mine. gnosez, I know I need to make those mods as well, if I plan on doing this, but at the end of the day, this is not a track car, as much as it is a daily driven one. I may look into doing the wheel mod though, and taking that opportunity to restore my wheel. I always preach to new people here to be honest with themselves. Know yourself and know what you want of the car. I am still going to be keeping my baby mostly stock. I think she handled herself admirably for a ~39 year old car with all seasons, and I think I actually was able to impress myself. By the last couple of sessions, I was hitting apexes, and really being smooth with the throttle. I also was able to execute a heel toe correctly probably for the first time in my entire life. But at the end of the day she is a street car, and I will keep her that way. Forays onto a track every once in a while, does not make her any less a street car. Still, some toyota brakes might be nice!

Footnote, after the spin, the car started right back up and drove around just fine. All I did was mow some grass, I got through the whole day without a scratch.

The day started off wonderfully. Beautiful skies and no rain in sight. I had finished the front brakes the day before and packed most of the car. I had the usual stuff. Extra brake fluid, a floor jack, a quart of oil, my copy of LeMans with Steve McQueen on VHS for good luck, a tire pressure gage, my torque wrench, various cleaning rags, my still camera and my GoPro. I also brought a measure of liquids to drink and and lots of sunscreen. Here is a link to all the pics I took that day http://www.flickr.com/photos/sdamico/sets/72157623495822017/ The cliff notes of how the day went. It was just simply amazing. I may never autocross again it was so much fun. In my run group there was a good variety of cars. A C6 Corvette, an EVO, David Morrale's 240Z, a 330i, an RSX type S, a WRX wagon, a couple of miatas, a Nissan 240SX, and a 350Z. Good variety, but I was easily the lowest HP car of the entire day except for the cobalt rental car that was there...I think I could take him. In other run groups, there were GT3's, Caterhams, an Ariel Atom, a gaggle of Elises of various trims, we even had a Radical show up, so certainly quality of the cars was unmistakable. My first run out with my tires at 35F/32B was a good balance. I had just finished bedding in my new pads on the way to the track, so we would see how they would hold up. The track had two good straights and many long sweeping turns that had very deceptive decreasing radi. It was challenging to teach my brain how to brake, take the late apex and roll on the throttle. The first 15 minute session (there would be 4 of them and then a fun run) was awesome. No run group had more than 8 or 9 cars in it ever. Passing was only allowed in the two designated straights. This was ideal as a faster car would only have to wait a maximum of 30 seconds to get around. I got VERY good as pointing cars by me on that first session. I went out second, and the tuned subaru, RSX, and BMW all found enough HP to get me on the straight, as I was still listening to every single rattle, and engine note to hear if my baby was flying apart. Of course it never did, even with repeated lapping which was getting more and more aggressive which culminated with a 70 mph spin off track through the grass, but I will get to that... I am still uploading videos and tinkering with sound... What I learned is the 240Z is just phenomenal at 5000 rpm in 3rd gear, WOW, it has me laughing it was so much fun, as the nimble little 240Z became an all out screamer in the Upper Rpm band in 3rd gear. I was never able to get to high rpm in 4th, as I just did not have enough track. I think the fastest I got was 95ish +/- 5 mph. Going to fast to look to be honest. I also learned that the car is an incredible handling machine. I felt like the vintage Z racers in the early 70's who tore up the tracks, and I can easily see how good this car can be when tuned, as stock it is so composed, predictable, and toss-able all the way to the limit and a little beyond (again, the trip trailblazing off the course!). It was so easy to drive fast, and I never once felt scared or worried about what the car was going to EVER. Granted I have a decent amount of autocross experience, but the I was worried about the high speed cornering, but the car proved to be a noble steed, and never gave me anything but good feedback as to what the tires were doing, what the engine could take and when it could be pushed harder. It responded to throttle wonderfully! It could be made to oversteer a tad at turn in, and would give you safe predictable amount of understeer at exit. Again, it proved to be a very fast car through the corners. Fast enough to give a 350Z a quick lesson on the benefits of light weight and a wonderful chassis. The brakes held fantastic, the engine was sublime, the gearbox was silky. It was a joy to feel all the work and effort I have put into this car. I think she really enjoyed stretching her legs.. I came away with a few lessons.. The Bridgestone Potenza 960AS tires were very fun to drive. By far not the stickiest tire I have ever had, but they were a decent for an all season tire. I think I could have had more fun with some good summer tires though. I was lacking for grip. Good seats are a must if you plan on doing this often. My slick vinyl did nothing to keep me in place and the lap belt is great for car shows, but I spent most of my energy holding on to the steering wheel to keep me behind it. I would have rather used the wheel to finding the corner than to hold me in place Get a good battery tie down. I had a horrible thunk during the first session, that I thought was my car blowing apart. Turns out it was just the battery sliding around on hard left handers. A thicker steering wheel would have been nice too. My hands never slipped, but a thicker wheel would have been more comfortable. Lastly, know your limits and check your egos at the door. There is always going to be a faster car than you. Respect those who have put in more time than you and let them pass. Give them a clear 'point-by' and they will take GREAT care to pass you quickly and safely. Then try to learn from them. There will always be faster drivers and faster cars. Find your comfort zone, and stay there while you listen, watch and learn how to become faster. I will post my videos as soon as I get done with them.. but for now here is the raw footage of my spin off the track. The sound is totally screwed up. I should have read my owners manual on the sensitivity of the camera. So turn the volume down, when the car revs up all you get is static. At lower rpm, it sound very dim. FOOT NOTE, my photo sharing website will not let me upload the full length.. I will play with youtube tonight.

NO worries. I got that PM and wanted to respond, but got busy with my 2 year old. Track days are hard for me to negotiate with the boss. Lots going on. The track day is the 13th.. Today. I am about to leave for it in 20 minutes. Thought I would bump this post to let my fellow Z'ers know I am off to see what the silver bullet can do. I think she is as ready as she will ever be...time to find out! Took her out for a drive yesterday to bed in my new pads, and still think they have some to go before they are really set, but all seems well. She can lock up the tires if I mash on it. So I suppose that has to be good enough. Wish me LUCK.

That may be true sblake, but the advice and experiences may be relevant to somebody in the future. That is the beauty of this board. Good information just flows like a set of triple mikunis.

Not sure if that is an accurate test Hemi. I have read that you should look at your plugs after driving it under a load at various rpm. I am not sure if having the car in neutral simulates the same thing... I could be wrong though...