conedodger

Perfect Jeff! You should make a few and sell them!

Carl, I considered that too. In fact when Nicho brought it out (you should have seen the look on his face. He was so pleased with himself!) I got out the die grinder and hooked it up to my air line. Then I tried the bottom mount and it worked fine. Not sure what battery I have but I am an inch off the frame at the battery mounts. Anyway, it is in and I am mobile again... Rob

Nah! I was all over the TAP Plastic idea. But it is a nice ego boost that Nicho was able to help. Kids need that. Little successes.

I figured it out... I went out to the garage and my 11 year old came with me... Eventually he said in his particular tone "watcha doing?" I told him I needed to somehow raise the battery about an inch to get the bolt to engage the hole in the firewall and I showed it to him. Then, I made the off hand comment that if I had the darn plastic adapter that came with the battery, I could just stick it underneath the battery and lift it like it is supposed to be. He lit up and ran to his room, back he comes with the adapter which apparently was being used as a stand for a diorama he had built. Long story short, it now is secured with the new MSA battery kit. I am a happy dog. (insert wagging tail smiley) I can drive my Z!

synapse for me... I just got the MSA battery tray mount kit. The car is a '73 240Z and the battery is an Optima Red Top. The problem of course is that the Red Top is not as tall as the original battery. I suspect the solution is to put something under the battery tray to boost it so that I can engage the bolt at the back and secure the battery properly. What have you guys used? Something plastic would be great as it wouldn't rot under there. It looks like 3/4" to an inch that it needs to be lifted. I know someone has dealt with this before...

! I daily drive a 911 as well, though mine is an '84 with low miles. I know Otto by reputation. Who in Porsche world doesn't! I am mostly a 914 guy on the Porsche side of my garage. If you go to Willow Springs with Cal Club look for another 240Z that is so well prepared it looks like its greasy parts could have meals served on them. The owner is a Skunk Works engineer I met while I was attached to NASA at Dryden. He does most of his own work though his engine was built by a guy in the LA basin. He can give you the set up you need for "The Fastest Road On Earth". Very nice guy. Lives in Lancaster on the West side... Look at your carbs. If they have a flat top on them you have a problem. Otherwise you are probably good. My '73 has triple Webers. I would have to guess that any '73 that isn't owned by a concours weenie has had those carbs ripped out by their evil throats. Otherwise, it is sitting in a field rusting away because it couldn't be tuned.

Welcome to the madness! Nice gift. If I were you though, I would learn to do the basics because it can be tough to find shops that work on these cars. Perhaps I am just picky though... I have practically bought out Motorsport Auto. Thank goodness they found more stuff. You can trust them. I am waiting on an order right now.

Do a Google search for Z owners of Minnesota. I believe they went by ZOOM back in the day...

I have even found a Nissan dealership that cannot cut from the codes!

Go ahead and lose it. I have a bunch of them!

This thread was started in mid-November but I wanted to get you all an update. Just a few minutes ago, one of my Porsche buddies from Portland Oregon pulled out of my driveway after driving down with my dash that has been cuddled in a blanket in a friends garage in Seattle for a couple months now. He ran some other parts down and will run some parts up as well... I cannot tell you how perfect this dash is. Not only is it in like new condition, it has all the gauges in place, all the pull switches and such and they are perfect as well... Darn thing even comes with a brand new, never installed glove box door. That will have to find a new home because I intend to use the Katayama autographed one I got in the Datsun Heritage Museum Auction... Special thanks to Mike for the heads up! I hope you all find a dash this nice and at such a great price... Now how about some help getting this interior installed? Guys???

Where in NorCal?

Resources. You need to have resources. By that I mean you have to have a house with a garage space you can dedicate to the car for a period of a year or more. In most cases that means you own it and you have no intention of selling in the next few years. That means that you have the money to buy what you need and the skills to learn it and probably do it over and over until you get it right. I know of one 914 guy who has painted his car 3 times now because of either too many runs or color sanding through the edges. You make mistakes you have to be willing to do it over. There is another kind of restoration though that takes few skills. It is called a checkbook restoration. If I lived in SoCal I would just go to Classic Datsun Motorsports and write a check to Les... Done deal and a perfect restoration. Hopefully you have an enthusiastic friend who can help with the financing!

I think the 999... part numbers were dealer added parts. Carl would know more but I think they were Datsun authorized aftermarket to pump the price.

I know a guy... Chris Moore. Kind of quiet on the Datsun scene lately but he might have one. He got married and had a couple kids a while back. Last I heard he was teaching at ARC. He owns some pretty sweet Datsuns. What harness are you looking for? Year? I just bought a newish 73 dash that is supposed to be coming with everything still attached. Maybe I will have an extra dash harness...

I know of a shop in Napa. They work on mostly Porsche but the owner does know his way around a Z car. Original Customs. Ask the lister to drop by and have Mark look at it. Tell him the shop is located behind Napa Auto Parts in downtown. PM me if you want a phone number. I am 70 miles a way or I would do it personally.

Congratulations Bob! Bottom end is easy. Just keep it all clean and put it together. It's the top end and the timing chain that requires a brain...

What Dave said, but check for rust too... Your body is twisting a bit I suspect.

Nice... Perfect crossweight! I just did my Porsche 914 and got similar results, though quite a bit lighter than that...

You did just fine. I just responded to your PM.

I have a set of carbs, manifolds, and an aircleaner. $150 for the lot and I would guess I can get it down to you somehow if you don't mind waiting a bit. I have to pick up my wife and child at SFO on either the 14th or 16th of January depending on how long she plans on staying in the Philippines.

In a box somewhere I have a bunch of older issue Z cars. I even have one that is made in Poland and supposedly rare. Misspent money I think. No fun if you don't display them and I don't. I will take some pics of them soon...

I only use mine for maintanance. You have to remember Jon, 3/4 of my "herd" is rear/mid engined and aircooled. The sissors lift works wonderfully for them. I bought my 240Z basically mechanically done. So, I don't really need to get at the transmission etc. If I did I can crawl into the sissors area. A bit creapy but the thing does have safety gaches to keep it from coming down on me. All of that said, I would prefer a two or four post that I could lift one and park another under. In fact two would be perfect. But I am dealing with a 58 year old home and it would require pulling out the concrete and replacing it and raising the garage door. Too much bother. Someone around the Z world dealt with garage doors a few years back. He bought my newly built engine and drove up to get it in a garage door installation truck.

Actually, that would be perfect. I know several 914 guys in Eugene and it is a quick one day up one day back trip. Back in the day, I probably could have gone up and back in a day. Ahh the idiocy of youth...

Now to get the darn thing home from Seattle to Sacramento. The shipping price is almost as much as the dash cost. I may have to drive up there as I don't trust UPS or FedEx to get something that rare to me in one uncracked piece. Anyone driving from Seattle to Sac soon?