motorman7

I don't think that is correct for California. Registered my Z's at the DMV and didn't even have to pop the hood for the inspector. Seems they just check to make sure the cost you specify on title transfer of your car is legit for the car, i.e no $500 Ferari's. They also check the S/N which is visible through windshield

I believe you are correct with that. I know my 1970 thru 1973 are exempt. I remember a guy offering me his 1975 Z telling me that is was the best Z to have because it was FI and was smog exempt.

Hi Jerry, I see your car at Les's shop all the time. It's looking very nice! Love going to that shop, it's like a candy store. The cars there are just beautiful.

I know Arne had some difficulty with the ZX dizzy, but it worked like gold for me. I was running the Petronix and couldn't get the motor to run well over 4K. Put in a ZX dizzy that I got from the Pick-a-part for $40 and it'll now rev till she blows- I've hit 7-8K revs with no problems. I am running 6 into 1 MSA headers, SM needles in my SU's, and stock mechanical fuel pump. Rich

Looks like you hit the nail on the head. She really likes it and is now calling it her car. She double checked to make sure that I would make the car operate normally and reliably (my last roadster started with switch and push button and she doesn't want that). Also telling her friends that she will be driving the car when it's done.....I'm good with that, I just like fixing them up and making them look pretty.

I think your right on the effect and the shoes. The red purse color match seemed to be an important item. STORY CONTINUED: Brought red roadster home to alien wife and she seemed to be very pleased with the car. Even gave me a hug when she saw it. I am guessing that it reminds her of the color of her home planet or the transport units on said planet. Either way, the alien seems to like red. Alien wife was was also enthralled with vehicle license plate numbers of '2DQR088'. She decided that the DQR stood for Damn Quick Roadster. I was surprised at the aliens understanding of the vehicles speed capability. Knowing that a 1600 roadster is not that quick in the stock configuration, I am guessing vehicles on her planet move at a slow rate of speed. Will have to get more information on this. Below are pictures with which the alien seems to be pleased. Take special note of the color. Also shown is the alien's purse.

Those are sweet! Any guess on what kind of horsepower increase they will add? Rich

Aaahh, the home improvement catalog may be the item. I'm guessing my $1000 project car may cost me $2000 (or more) in home improvements. She has three younger sisters, all married though. One with an MB, one with a BMW and the third with a Harley. Funny, The two youngest are twins. After the first two girls (wife and second sister), her parents figured they'd try one more time for a boy. That's when the twin girls came. Time to stop.

Not sure where to begin on this so I’ll just start with the details. I currently have three 240Z’s occupying my three car garage. When I purchased Z number three, I booted my wife’s Mazda Tribute out of the garage so I could keep all three Z’s well protected in said garage. She was Ok with that. Now, a 1970, 1600 roadster that I have had my eye on for a while is available. I spoke to my wife and told her I would like to pick the car up this weekend and restore it, and she was totally fine with it. She said as long as I paint it red (the color of her purse) and let her drive it, that would be great. The original color is red, so that’s good with me. No fight, no hassles from my wife over picking up another car. I even tentatively offered to sell the Silver Z and she said I should keep it because I like it so much. What’s the catch? I’m guessing aliens have abducted my real wife and replaced her with one that will accommodate my obsession. Not sure what to think here. Will keep everyone posted of the strange goings on. Rich

Coming home from work, noticed the engine was hot and steam coming from right side of hood. Pulled over at nearest gas station to find the problem...not hard to find. Looks like a little un-authorized Arc welding took place. Attachment of battery cable to solenoid was loose (even with lock washer), and cable rotated up touching hose clamp that was touching engine block. Circuit complete for arc weld. Totally melted clamp and put hole in hose. Never had that happen before. Easy fix though. McGyver'd it to get it home, then replace clamp, trimmed hose, taped cable and re-tightened. Easy fix.

Hi Mike, No, the Irvine Cars and Coffee is a weekly event with phenomenal cars, but it is not part of the MSA event. It is only about 10 miles away though and takes place early, so for the last couple years a number of us have hit the C&C first, then went to MSA. Unfortunately my camera batteries died so I don't have any pics from the MSA show :-(

I agree 100%. I had other obligations on that day, but will pass that up in order to attend the Concourse. It gives the Z cars great visibility. Glad to hear you will be there also....the more the better. And we need to get rtaylor there. He is a past winner.

Aaahh, wasn't aware of theat section. Very nice. Will upload some pics in a bit. Thanks for the info.

part 2

Was really a great day for the Z cars. A number of Z's hit the Irvine Cars and Coffee early in the morning, then went to the MSA show. Attached are pics from the C&C show. MSA pics have been posted by previous posters. Best part of the MSA show was the huge crowd that showed up. Seemed like a lot more than last year. Lots of people to talk to and a lot of people restroring there Z's. That was great to hear. There was one gentleman at the show who is the original owner of his 1971, series 1, 240Z. It was a very nice car. S/N in the 14K region. Also, got a personal invite from a representative of the Muckenthaler Concourse D' Elegance. Gave me a pre-approved form to enter to the show with my '70Z. Looking forward to that one.

Got my three ready. Have a couple friends driving two for me. Very excited as this will be the debut of the silver Z with the flat tops. She's looking good. See you there. Rich

Wasn't going to say anything, but decided I have a few thoughts to share (it's because I'm getting old). When I think of this car, the thing that keeps coming to mind is the antiques road show. You see over and over how things are worth more in their untouched condition. Unfortunately, many of the people on the road show 'clean-up' their antique resulting in a large loss of value. The same can be said about coins. Take off the patina of that 1909 VDB penny and you've turned your $800 penny (yes, $800 penny) and turned it into a $40 peice of shiny copper. Present both pennies to a kid and guess which one he picks? The cost to restore a car to that condition is often brought up. That is a non-issue. How much to restore your antique to its original condition? In doing so youv'e just missed the point, and 9 times out of ten, more than halved its value. The beauty of the e-bay car is it is virtually untouched. There are very few like it, very few. Are there better looking cars, absolutely. Faster Z's, definitely. As for worth, that is for the market to decide. But cars this original are hard to find and rare. Just my two cents -(and wish one of those cents was an untouched 1909 VDB).

Hey Z owners in SoCal, don't forget the Irvine Cars and Coffee and MSA show this Saturday, April 16th. Should be a lot of Z's and a lot of fun. Hope to see you there. Rich

Took my yellow Z to a TV commercial shoot here in San Diego. The TV commercial is for the San Diego County Fair. They were looking for a '70's vehicle and I was selected. They liked the bright yellow color. (not an original color, but your average TV viewer won't know). The short ~6 second spot showed two actors dressed '70s style running to the car and getting in to go to the fair. Was cool to watch. Nice to see the Z promoted and they took some good shots of the car. They also gave me $150 and a catered lunch for about 2 hours of my time. Not bad.

I doubt the spoiler had a flex agent applied to it. It was painted at the somewhat local Maaco shop. Other than the spoiler, everything else came out great. The spoiler had some major peeling at the flex points. I touched up the peeling by doing some light sanding of the area and adding 'bulldog' adhesion primer. I then put the touch-up paint over that. That, combined with the center support, seems to work pretty well.