Poindexter

FRP or polypropylene would make great materials. Almost everything else- besides steel, of course- would crack IMO with the inevitable multiple impacts from rocks. Fiberglas would never make it. Or CF. Too rigid. FRP or poly have a great amount of inherent give in response to sharp impact. They can be thermoformed I believe too, which is a fairly simple process for these thicker materials. I bet there would be several people here that would buy these. I'm in. Anybody know someone coming back from Japan that could take them back in luggage? It would probably be worth the extra fees. I want one of the hinged radiator shrouds too! They're the easiest to install. PS - kats, any idea what my license plate says in my sig line below? I got the image from the net- and have no idea what "I'm" saying.

The only thing you have to avoid is anything made with an asphalt product- like the bituthene. It's meant for roofs only. Heat will break it down, then it will slump and stink up the whole car. Almost every product mentioned in this thread works fine- and I did tons of research. The biggest difference seems to be price on the standard mat products. Just no asphalt- like the original DynaMat. I don't think they even sell the old stuff anymore, as the most common ingredients today seems to be neoprene, vinyl or butyl rubber- layered with other materials like thin foiled aluminum or lead sheeting. They are superior to anything from years ago.

FWIW I just got a price from a well-known high-end auto carpet manufacturer, and they gave me a cost of around $300 each for a minimum order of 2 sets- in - get this- WILTON WOOL! The same stuff found in Rolls Royces. This for passenger area. This may be one of the few areas where I would go to a better, non-OEM material in a car- especially since mine is a DD. They told me that ordering multiple sets allows them to lay out the cutting pattern to most efficiently utilize the material. Does this sound interesting to anybody? If you've heard of Wilton wool carpeting, then you know of it's quality and history.

Thanks, sblake01! I would absolutely like to try it out. It's also good to hear from wal280z that the fonts would match. I forgot about that. So by all means PM me your info and I can PayPal you, USPS money order- whatever works best for you. No rush- I just bought another crate of parts from Black Dragon, MSA and Courtesy, waiting for the next rainy day. The only real unknown is whether the gas sender will dance nicely with the gauge. But then again my speedo reads almost 15mph too slow at 75. It never ends. The alternative I'm also considering is changing all 3 of the smaller existing gauges to a new set, consisting of gas, voltage, and oil press/water temp, and ditching the clock. I'd sorta rather not go there, as my Z is 100% original as came from the dealer- except for the transplanted 5-speed, tires, a Fiamm Ferrari triple airhorn (switched allowing either a "city"- neep neep or "country"- the loud HONNNNKing horn) and the radio/speakers. I even still have the horsehair padding and original carpeting/luggage straps, etc! But exchanging one Datsun OEM part for another is OK in my book. Unfortunately I'm afraid that will set off the usual chain of events- WIAI- and then I'll end up changing the tach and speedo too, then I'll swap the illumination to EL, and pretty soon I'll have strobes, valve stem LED's, lighted washer nozzles and under-car cold cathodes too! Yuck. Although I can see adding a small CCD pipe to the dome housing- as seen here. Please make it stop!

Is the 78 voltmeter/fuel gauge just a drop-in conversion from the stock 71 style ammeter/fuel gauge, or are there more considerations? I really want to upgrade my stock alternator. Thanks.

I'm going to print this out and show it to my last mechanic- who did a shoddy job of installing my new brakes. Especially the part about Blanchard grinding, and garnet paper resurfacing. My new mechanic pointed out much of this to me when he surveyed her. Thanks so much for taking the pains to introduce such a very informative- and critically important- subject.

Of course, when it comes to the care and feeding of my gal, I don't take a step without lots of research, including searching through the forums too, and for the trans I went with Red Line MT-90, which had great marks across the board from many different sources. It is apparently popular in Nissans ( and others). Their website has this quote on the MT-90- "Popular in Nissan, Toyota and Mazda manual transmissions and transaxles as well as other selected applications, this is a 75W90 GL-4 Gear Oil that’s slightly heavier than MTL. Provides excellent protection of gears and synchronizers and its balanced slipperiness provides a perfect coefficient of friction, allowing easier shifting." I imagine it's kind of like how NGK almost always works out better versus Bosch in Z car spark plugs. Prior to adding it I had the dreaded "cold-second grinding"- which almost immediately disappeared, and the trans just felt noticeably smoother afterwards. For the diff I used the Red Line 75W90 NS, one of their GL-5 grade equivalents. There are other considerations when it comes to LSD's- but I'd suggest looking through their website anyway. It has some interesting and enlightening info. And their telephone support people all seem pretty knowledgeable. That being said, the premium lubes from AmsOil and Royal Purple also seem to be good too. It's not like the old days- almost everything seems to be of a much higher quality today. I spoke to their reps too, and they all have good arguments for their products. I imagine that there's not a huge difference between them all, in general, but the specifics of each car's problem areas or idiosyncrasies probably could lead you to, or can tilt the field towards which product to choose. I hope this helps you. And I hope others can contribute their actual experience with the brands I've mentioned, and any others too. Empirical knowledge always seems to be the most reliable data. BTW, I just bought a nice pile of parts, including pristine front and rear bumpers. The front is totally clean- no extra holes, guards or rubber! It looks awesome, so clean, so I'm gonna try it for a while. The other one I'm drilling for driving lights, and I'm also installing yellow fog lights in the stock holes underneath too-especially after I read a great report on the effect of "Selective Yellow" fog lights. We have massive fog here along the water in the summer, along with very dark back roads seriously helped by pencil beam driving lights. Going to be Cibie or Marchal!

You're kidding, right? Another one with the phoney ebonics-speak? I thought they did this mainly on the Howard Stern board.

I'm just about to do this step myself, and I did literally hours of research, because I just hate doing something wrong, or not to the utmost. My research finally led me towards Cascade Audio products. Primarily because I liked the physical makeup/layering of their sheet goods, and the variety of thicknesses they offered. Thin foil-like stuff, very pliable, for inside the door panels, and for "taping" seams and edges of larger areas where thicker products are used, thicker for outer door skins, and thicker still for the floor pans, hatch area, tunnel and firewall. I spent almost an hour on the phone with them going over every aspect of the procedure, and which products to use and where. Now B-Quiet, FatMat and RAAM Audio, among others, were also quite helpful and responsive too, but the availability of thin through thick sheets, each specifically targeted towards the hatch, doors- both outer and inner, firewall, floors, trans tunnel, etc. from Cascade clinched it for me. I really like one of their products (VB-3) that has a lead inner-layer, surrounded with neoprene. Other products use mainly butyl rubber. I know that lead makes an excellent acoustic and vibration isolator, and butyl rubber is also a great material for many reasons, as closed-cell neoprene also is. They also sell a sprayable film for adding heat-resistance, but I'm unwilling to paint anything, or apply anything permanently. Finally, the only thing I've been told to avoid- and it makes sense- is any product with asphalt in it, as heat and age will eventually make it start stinking up the insides, and it will also start to slump. I also don't want to hide my floor pans permanently, so I'm using the thicker panel material, but will be using plain rubber cement instead of the high-tack adhesive it comes with, sealed at the edges with the thinnest, "super foil"-like product. FYI- I have no connection with this or any other car products company. Good luck.

It appears that you knew the PO and the care he took in maintaining your new Z, and that's a rare and good thing. Forgive me for presuming anything, but had you done a thorough walkthrough/preflight of your own? I was so rigorous in doing this myself after bringing my gal out of mothballs, that I changed all fluids and filters once before starting her, again after a week of trial runs, locally- perhaps 50 miles, and again after 250 miles. I know this is borderline neurotically excessive but it can't hurt (except in the wallet). This included coolant, engine oil, and gearbox and diff lubricants too. I also changed all water hoses, belts, vacuum lines, tie-rod ends, ball joints- almost every reasonable wear item- before taking her out on the road. Luckily I never noticed a single metal shaving, anywhere on the magnets, as that was partially the reason I transfused her- to see if any metal was in solution. I'm now re-doing the shifter later today, as you seem ready to do now- including the pin, all 3 bushings, and *both* rubber boots- inner and outer. The trans must have eaten the previous bottom bushing, as it was gone with the wind, making things pretty wobbly. I also grabbed a few extra copper oil plug crush gaskets, and a spare oil plug WIWAI. The total cost for all of these parts from Courtesy was around $15- what a bargain! I also bought another whole set for spares- why not at these prices? After seeing what some people are extorting for these parts on eBay, I was happy to be able to get them OEM from a dealer, as well as adding to a reasonable stockpile of replacement and/or wear items. BTW, it looks like even your son there is noticing the extra-clean state of your horn button- a pretty rare thing these days. And what happened to the front bumper over-rider? I'm still on the fence on keeping mine on- but I don't have the matching rear bar, so... Good luck!

What is the difference between a "sports car" and a "jazzed up 70's car"? Isn't the Z a sports car? (Actually IMO by definition I believe it's more narrowly and better described as a Grand Touring car I would think- depending how it's being used.)

Just keeps on getting better and better looking. That silver with clear lights is simply gorgeous. Can we see some interior shots when you get the time? Enjoy her! Have you thought of a name yet?

I just bought a nice lot of parts. More to come...

I've also looked into the NJMP Grand Am race too. I'd definitely go for one of the race days. But the summer is humming along, and I'd like to do something well before then too. So, I'd also suggest the regular Wednesday night Cruise in I mentioned above, or perhaps a Cruise-In to Sandy Hook. I go there often, for the fabulous photography it offers, and the several great loop drives through the dunes, and along historic old buildings. There are huge parking lots, and a restaurant with decent food and beverages right on the ocean too. And good access to the local highways and Parkway. These are easy ideas. I'd love to get together with other Z owners. As much as I enjoy the Wednesday night Cruise- they're all nice there, with no "car racism" and dozens of really nice, and some very rare or unusual cars- I'd still like to have one for Z cars, and older Datsuns too.

Thanks Nissanman. I was really worried about possible damage. I'm not completely in the clear, I still have to have my mechanic do a complete check of it. He's been a Nissan mechanic since before he bought the 70 Z when it first came out! And as to the last question- my friend did promise to lend me his car and pay for any damages he caused...until he had a day to think about it. Then he started telling me how my car is an old piece of s**t, and it was probably broken 30 years ago, and that it was my fault for letting him drive it. Unbelievable. In "A Bronx Tale" Chazz Palminteri, commenting to his young friend, observes that- when another boy ran away from the young kid because the other kid owed him money- that this was a blessing. Now for a few dollars he now knew how much of a friend the other kid was, and he'd never have to waste another second on a fair-weather friend again. Now I know. Some people....

After being told it was $20 to ship a shift knob I vowed never to give that pig a penny of my hard-earned money. Since I have time on my hands lately I might even challenge him directly and underprice everything he sells just for fun.

I've searched far and wide for this answer- including the motorcycle forums- where the question has popped up a few times. What is the proper orientation to install a new copper crush washer during an oil change? The washer is shaped like a cup, flat on one side with a small flange on the other. Rather than guess- can anybody tell me for certain? It's not addressed in the Clymer's either. I've also noticed that the stock oil pan plug does not have any magnetic properties. Does anybody have a supplier of magnetic plugs they can recommend? Rather than start another thread- another question for you all- Should there be ANY oil at all showing at the bottom of the cup where the shift arm (and bottom cup bushing) fits into the trans- in the B-type 5-speed? All of my nylon bushings are gone and probably digested by the trans already, and when I removed the boots to install new bushings and boots- I see a heavy sheen of oil, almost a tiny pool, surrounding the base of the shifter where it enters the trans. Not leaking out or anything, but still there. Unfortunately I let a friend drive my Z, and he proceeded to power-shift it like it was his mortal enemy.:stupid: Did he blow a trans seal and is that a huge repair? Trying to remain calm :tapemouth Some friend, huh?

Peace through superior firepower.

I gotta tell you that I spent a huge amount of time researching this topic. I ended up talking to reps from all of the major companies that produce these products, and IMO the people at Cascade Products have several fantastic products. I am NOT connected to them or any other supplier in any way, btw. What I came up with is using 4 different kinds of materials- from a thin "super aluminum foil"-type product inside the door skins, and also cut in strips to seal the meeting edges of the other layers. There is a slightly thicker layered material that I'll fit almost everywhere including inside the outer door skins. Then a thick pad on the floorboards, covered by more 2mm product to seal. They also have a paintable heat-resistant product, but I'm hesitant to do anything that's not reversible- and would permanently hide the underlying metal from inspection. It might add 20 pounds to the car but I would rather get rid of any rattling or potential exhaust leaks. I'm installing from firewall to hatch, from shoulder to shoulder- virtually the entire tub! Take a look at their website -- cascadeaudio.com --and give them a call so they can explain further. I spent almost 45 minutes on the phone going over every aspect of the procedure and they answered every question. But then again so did the other manufacturers too, but Cascade's variety of materials, and their proprietary layering made the difference. One thing to avoid- any product made with any kind of asphalt material. Any significant heat and these products will slump, and may smell badly too. These are usually only found in the cheaper products. This is my major summer project. Here's their application chart so you can get an idea. Good luck!

The whole car has- as I recall reading in a spec somewhere- a payload of 450 pounds. That doesn't leave much room for cargo- even less for towing I would imagine.

I was there. I live not that far from the Raceway and I go to the Summer Nationals and other races as often as I can manage. The concrete barriers at the end of the track have been a point of contention for years between the racers and the NHRA. The racers want the NHRA to buy more land at the end for runout in case of parachute failure. However IMHO no amount of runout area would have helped poor Scott. He hit the end at well over 300 mph after his parachute was burned in the explosion. It was the second most horrifying thing I've ever witnessed, after you-know-what else. He went airborne and hit the TV tower and bounced off. It mercifully must have been quick. Both he and his father, as well as other family members have been fixtures in racing for decades, and my heart goes out to them, and his family and 2 sons. I was a fan of his dad, "The Bounty Hunter", when he raced years ago, too. On ESPN2 tonight, one of his friends made the comment that at least he was doing exactly what he loved doing when he died. Rest in Peace.

Can't high-quality spray guns & compressors be rented at Homeless Depot or other similar places- or even equipment rental places? For $35 or $50, I bet you could do a better job in the engine bay, and also get a few things painted around the house while you've got it out. .02

Occasionally I text out a great quote as "message of the day" to my friends- and Sailor Bob, I think your post deserves such recognition. As a sailor and Z owner both, I know exactly how that feels. PS- The more I read about the Targa Newfoundland, the more I want to try it. Amazing idea. I could never imagine it happening around here. Perhaps not in my stock Z, but in the modified version I'm planning- that would really be something. Or in a Porsche GT-3. (Sorry)

Ahh...look at that ash tray and fuse cover...and it looks so clean. And those seats. Obviously these are places where my car is presently so deficient. I am still in the process of removing items- and prepping for a massive attack of sound sheeting from shoulder to shoulder and firewall to rear bumper- before I can reinstall the whole interior- even though it's still my DD, and to see such a clean (and complete) period interior is such a treat. I'll look at pictures of this one all day. I wonder how many here are thinking " I wonder if he bought it for less than I've spent on restoration over the past few years?" I forgot to add - does the A/C still work? It looks identical to mine, with the wires showing and all. Mine has been dead since disco.

Wow! What a car. I either love them totally unmolested and dead factory stock, or radical and built with ultimate performance in mind. Great color too. Nice find.