Mike W

So I just purchased a brand new Harada intake from the same person on eBay who is selling the used ones from Sanyo for $230. The new Harada was $450, came with all of the linkage, gaskets, etc. His shipping was incredibly fast. I received it from Japan in about 5 days and I live in Austin, TX. That was faster than some of the stuff I have purchased on ebay that was coming to me from other places in the US. The seller was also great at communicating as I had some initial questions for him before I made the purchase. One of the things I really like about this manifold, as compared to the Cannon that I am using now, is the built in return spring mechanism. Hopefully this will let me eliminate the external ones I am using now. The throttle rod is also massive as compared to the one on the Cannon. The Cannon rod is 5/16" / .31" while the one on the Harada is 10mm (or .394 inches). I am also hopeful that this beefier rod will help the throttle action and also provide a smoother return to idle. It's out being powdercoated now but I will pick it up later today and begin the fitting process. Here's a picture from the ebay ad. Mike.

This is what I use on all of my cars. It is microfiber but has a 5 mil sponge laminated in between the microfiber. So you get the absorption of a sponge but with a delicate micro fiber outside so as to avoid scratches. I get mine from Autogeek and you can find more detail here: http://www.autogeek.net/cobra-guzzler-hd-towel.html About $20 for a large one. Highly recommended. Hope this helps. Mike.

I agonized about this when I was beginning my suspension overhaul. I really wanted the better handling that the poly offered but did not want the harsh ride as well as the potential of noise. I opted to go with all OEM rubber bushings wherever they were available. I believe the only places I used poly were the rack bushings and the tie rod end links. Surprisingly all of the other bushings were still available directly from Nissan at that time. I think that I even have a spread sheet with all of the part numbers (for late 260Z). Very happy with the ride as well as the improved performance. Even though they are rubber, they are new and compared to the 40 year old units that were in my car, it was a definite upgrade. Hope that helps. Mike.

There is only one place that I am aware of that still sells the inner tie rod ends and that is a place called Rare Parts. You can find them here: http://rareparts.com/ The actual inner tie rod end is located here: http://shop.rareparts.com/smtp/shopdisplaycategories.asp?iyear=1974&imake=0041|NISSAN&imodel=1009|260Z&iproduct=0049|STEERING,%20GEAR,%20PUMP%20&%20COMPONENTS The part number is 26575. I have used these and they made a significant improvement to the performance of my steering system. The only issue is that they only make a right hand threaded version (to the outer tie rod end). So unlike the OEM setup where they used right hand threaded outer rod ends on one side and left hand threaded outer rod ends on the other, you will need to use right hand threaded outers on both sides. Other than that, they work great. Hope that helps. Mike.

So I think I've replied to a similar topic in the past, but will summarize my experience here. First I have a late manufacture 260Z so it was already equipped with an electric pump as well as mechanical. It also had the original convoluted wiring scheme that only turned the pump on under certain conditions. One of my goals of this mod was to be able to "prime" my Webers with the key in the on position. I find that when the car sits for a while the Webers will get dry and the mechanical pump by itself was not sufficient to provide that prime. I did eliminate the mechanical pump entirely. I wanted to be able to use the existing mounting at the back of the car near the tank for the new pump, and managed to find a brand new pump that was a carbon copy of the original one that came with the car. The pump is a Facet / Purolator FEP-60SV and bolts right up to the OEM mounting points. The pump does give off some noise / ticking which is noticeable when I'm priming the carbs and the car is not running. I actually like this as I know for sure that the pump is running, but one my car is started, you don't hear it at all, especially over the exhaust. I completely removed all of the OEM hard lines as well as the return. I run a SS braided line directly from the pump up to the passenger side part of the firewall where it terminates into a FPR I believe made by Summit Racing. From there I run a line from the side output of the FPR around the valve cover where it terminates into a 3 output fuel log which feed each of the 3 Webers. It works great without a return and I've never had vapor lock problems. Hope that helps. Mike.

So I can speak with some authority here as I have had both the Mallory Unilite as well as the 123 Ignition. I used the Mallory without vacuum advance (running triple webers). Also used the power filter and always carried a spare ignition module with me, although I never had to use it. Had it connected to an MSD 6AL as well as a Mallory high power coil. Aside from a more modern distributor that the Unilite offered over the OEM setup, one of the primary reasons that I purchased it was that you could change the advance springs to optimize the advance curve for your particular car (Webers, headers, Isky cam, etc). However, there were 2 problems with the mallory advance setup. One was that finding the right combination of springs was all trial and error and the second issue was that to change the springs, you needed to remove the Unilite from the engine and disassemble part if the distributor. A big PITA. Regardless, I can say that it was reliable and at least with the advance curve that it came with, my car ran well and never missed a beat. I am now running the 123 Ignition and I would never go back. I use it with the MSD 6AL, which I had confirmed by one of the 123 engineers in the Netherlands. The local US rep was also extremely helpful, especially when I had a fit problem with the keyway that mates with the oil pump shaft. Got that resolved fairly easily and I understand that they machine the adapter a little different now for a much better fit. Changing the curve is a snap and in fact you can even have 2 different curves stored and switch between them even while driving. You simply connect a PC to the USB port on the 123, design the curve you want with the 123 software (with or without vacuum) and load it in. Probably takes all of 5 minutes. If you don't like the way it performs, just make the appropriate changes and load a new one. That simple. This has all of the benefits of the Unilite and makes optimized advance curves a snap to program. Agree that it is a little more expensive, but when you add the power filter, spare module, etc, it comes out about the same. Frankly having used both I would easily pay $200 more for the 123. You can find a complete write up I did on the install here: http://www.classiczcars.com/topic/48627-very-cool-ignition-upgrade/?hl=%2Bcool+%2Bignition+%2Bupgrade Hope this helps. Mike.

Try Waytek Wire. I have purchased from them before with very good luck. They have a very good selection (including marine wire if you choose) as well as lots of other useful electrical components. http://www.waytekwire.com/products/1453/Wire-Cable/ Hope this helps. Mike.

My son and I are planning to attend this and I've made reservations at the sponsor hotel. Memphis is about as close to Austin of any of these events so we don't want to miss this one. We are still working out how we are going to transport our Z there, but will hopefully have that problem solved shortly. Looking forward to finally meeting a number of forum members face to face. Mike.

Captain, I have gone through some pretty exhaustive searches on SEMS as well and you are correct that many times when you can locate them, the vendor requires a minimum purchase of 100 pieces, or enough to satisfy most of the Z world with that kind of quantity. Regardless, I have found myself purchasing these kinds of quantities in some cases, because it was the only alternative I found. In any case, in addition to the suggestions above, you can also try the following vendors who I have had good success with: 1. Auveco. Their catalog is enormous but they have just about everything and the minimum purchase is typically reasonable (25 pieces or less). In addition to SEMS, they have a very good selection of metric parts as well as plastic retainers. I managed to find an almost exact match for the door panel retainers on this site as well as a lot of other hardware. If I recall, their distributor is called Dixieland Distributors (or something close to that) and their customer service has been outstanding. They appear to be a major supplier to the auto industry in general. 2. BelMetric. Have also used them pretty extensively and very happy with their product as well as customer service. 3. Metric Threaded Products. They h ave a good selection but their minimum quantities are usually pretty high. Regardless I have purchased some things from them and very happy with the quality. I believe that I have a few hundred SEMS in both zinc as well as yellow / cadmium all in M6 sizing so if anyone needs a few of these please let me know. I have plenty. Hope that helps a bit. Mike.

Welcome to the site and to the Z family!! I am also from Austin and so wanted to let you know that we have a local Z club with a good number of our members owning the older S30 models. We are called Capital Z of Texas or CZOT for short. You can get info on us at czot.org and we also have our own Facebook page as well. Monthly meetings are the 4th Monday of each month (ie tonight) and we meet ak Pok-e-Joes in the Brodie Oaks shoppong center (corner of 360 and Lamar). Meetings start at 7 but a number of us gather early for a quick bite to eat and shop talk. Also have monthly drives as well as tech days. It's a great way to learn more about your Z, meet some new people with the same passion as you, and really learn how to enjoy your car. Hope to meet you soon. Mike.

I really liked the Tee Springs shirts so I ordered 2 of them yesterday after reading this thread. Got an immediate confirmation saying my order had been placed. However, this morning I received this note from Tee Spring: Dear Mike, We're reaching out to you about your recent “Z-Car shirts!” order with Teespring. Unfortunately, Z-Car shirts! (Z-Car shirts! | Teespring) is currently being reviewed for copyright or trademark infringement. As a result we have temporarily suspended your order. You will see a cancellation or credit in your account within 5 business days. We apologize for any inconvenience and are committed to respecting everyone's intellectual property. Apologies, Team Teespring Not sure if / when this will be resolved but thought I would let everyone know about the present situation before they went through the same thing I just did. Mike.

Vintage Rubber. I used the whole kit from them, and it worked very well. A little on the pricey side but they fit well and do the job as expected. Here's a link to one of the hatch seals for a 280Z. Datsun 280Z - Inner Hatch Weather Strip Mike.

I also use an Optima Red Top with positive and negative terminals reversed from original configuration. Best battery I have ever used. Started with marine applications first and now use them in all of my cars. Instead of fabricating the bracket that Jeff G designed, I ended up going with a machined billet hold down plate that was specifically made for the Optimas. You can get these from numerous sources as well as eBay. I simply bolted the new Optima plate to the original battery plate that was welded into the Z. I had the back hold down bracket already installed, then slipped the battery in, then installed the front hold down bracket. It was a little tricky getting the bolts tightened and it was a relatively tight fit, but in the end it worked out great. Here's a few pictures. Mike.

Mitchell, They are actually held on with the same screws as used on the pedals, but the nut is a T-Nut with prongs that dig into the carpet backing. Here's a few more pictures. Mike.

I did the exact same thing from the same company. Mine are in black anodize with a silver countersink. They look great and also give you a better feel when driving. I also did the kick plate which keeps your heel in place and also prevents premature wear of your carpet or floormat. I got the idea from my son who had already installed them on his 2010 Camaro. He's pretty picky with this kind of stuff but he raved about them, so I gave them a shot. Here's a picture of my install. Mike.

I believe that I might have already posted this info in Captain's link above, but for completeness I'll add it again here. The inners are available and I have used them. Made quite a big difference in my rack rebuild. A company call Rare Parts sells them. You can fin a link to the inners here: http://shop.rareparts.com/smtp/shopdisplaycategories.asp?iyear=1974&imake=0041|NISSAN&imodel=1009|260Z&iproduct=0049|STEERING, GEAR, PUMP & COMPONENTS They are clearly aftermarket as the design is a little different than OEM, but I can say from my own use that they work great. The only thing to remember is that they only make a right hand thread version and so you need to get 2 right hand thread outers (unlike the OEM configuration). Also, I would check to make sure that you have the rack adjustment pretty tight. I believe the Captain has a reference to that in his write up as well. Hope this helps. Mike.

I can't say that mine was whiny before, but any noise that I did have coming from that area seemed to have been cleared up after changing my fluid to Royal Purple. People have reported very good results with this brand and I have had the same experience. May be a relatively inexpensive way to see if this might make a difference. Mike.

This is the only place that I know where you can get inner tie rod ends to replace the ones on our Z's. http://shop.rareparts.com/smtp/shopdisplaycategories.asp?iyear=1974&imake=0041|NISSAN&imodel=1009|260Z&iproduct=0049|STEERING, GEAR, PUMP & COMPONENTS I have used them and they provided an excellent upgrade to the 35 year old originals that I had on my rack. Once I located these I found the results of rebuilding my existing rack provided a far better end product than the "rebuilt" racks you can purchase on line. Mike.

This is the only place that I know where you can get inner tie rod ends to replace the ones on our Z's. http://shop.rareparts.com/smtp/shopdisplaycategories.asp?iyear=1974&imake=0041|NISSAN&imodel=1009|260Z&iproduct=0049|STEERING, GEAR, PUMP & COMPONENTS I have used them and they provided an excellent upgrade to the 35 year old originals that I had on my rack. Once I located these I found the results of rebuilding my existing rack provided a far better end product than the "rebuilt" racks you can purchase on line. Mike.

I agree with Zed that this is a concern. I rebuilt both of mine and they slid freely (albeit with some force) and smoothly. Did you get the balls and spacers back in the right order and did you ensure that they stayed in the grooves? I found this pretty tricky and a few of them went in a little hard, but once the shaft was all the way in, everything moved as expected. I have pictures of my install if that will help. Just let me know and I will post a couple. Mike.

Like siteunseen, I have also used the MSA premium exhaust system with their coated headers. Fit and finish was excellent and the install was very straightforward. About the only thing I was not 100% with was the included DynoMax muffler. I had issues for a couple of reasons. First, the sound was not exactly what I was looking for and second, it was a very tight fit getting it up in the cavity in the rear and as a result I would experience the muffler vibrating against the body frame at times, especially when it was cold. I installed this on a late manufacture 260Z with the early 280Z bumpers and this configuration leaves less room in that cavity than the 240 or early 260. I ended up replacing it with a MagnaFlow polished muffler that was slightly smaller than the DynoMax, so the fit was better and it virtually eliminated any vibrations that I had before. I also like the sound of this better as well. It is throatier and sounds great as you go through the gears. I have even had people comment that they thought I had a V8 under the hood. Mike.

Rick, I might be able to help on this. Turns out that I was very interested in hearing exactly how my new exhaust sounded and wanted something better than what I could hear from the drivers sear with the window down. So I purchased a small stereo microphone that I mounted right about the exhaust and ran to my Go Pro inside of the car. I now have a lot of audio / video of my car in all different sorts of driving situations. I guess I would just need to figure out how to separate the audio from the video and find a way to get you some audio clips so you can see if they are what you are looking for. Is this what you were trying to locate? If so I'll do some work this weekend and see if I can get a few clips for you. Mike.

chefman, I live in Austin as well and would be happy to help out a fellow Z owner if you continue to have problems. Just let me know and I'd be happy to lend you a hand. Mike.

Jeff, I played around with a number of different solutions for isolating the radiator from the frame. Zedy is 100% correct that dissimilar metals can cause unwanted corrosion so it is important that you do this at some point. In any case, what I found worked best for me were some rubber grommets that I purchased from McMaster Carr. I had to purchase a bag of 50 or so, so I have plenty of them left over and would be happy to offer you a few for your Z. I also have all of the correct hardware to go along with the grommets. Just give me a shout and I'd be happy to provide you what you need for a proper mount. Mike.

Jeff, I had the same issue when I went to electric fans and did not want to mangle my new radiator with either temp probes or the "through the core" tie wraps to hold on the fans. My solution to the temp probe turned out to be quite elegant and provided a great deal of programmability in terms of how the fans are actually used. I went with a Dakota Digital fan controller which you can find here: Electronic Fan Controller 70 Amp It is an awesome product that lets you have complete control over fan turn on / off temp, running time after engine shuts off, etc. They also provide a temp sending unit that I ended up installing directly in the block of my Z engine. Turns out there is a fitting/plug (which I believe is there in order to drain the block of water if necessary) on the rear part of the block on the drivers side which I was able to remove and install the sending unit I purchased from Dakota. I recall that I had to find the right thread adapter to make this work, but it was very straight forward. I am not at my home at the moment so I can't get you the thread details, but if you need them I have them at my house. This gets wired directly into the Dakota controller so it will know the exact temp of the coolant within the block. This totally eliminated the need for the probes that go through the core of the radiator. I ended up mounting the controller in my glove box so it is accessible from the inside of the car. Turns out there are a few LED indicators on the controller and being able to see them while in the car can be useful at times. This turned out to be a very elegant solution, is completely reversible if desired, and brings some modern technology to an older style cooling system which gives you a lot more control. This unit, coupled with the radiator and fan mounting bracket that I purchased from Wizard Cooling along with high performance SPAL fans, has proven to be the most effective cooling system I have seen in a Z yet. I can be sitting in traffic in 100 + degree Austin weather and never go over half way on my temp gauge. In fact when the fans kick in (they sound like turbines by the way) you can actually watch the temp go down even while standing still. My old system never performed quite like this. Hope this helps. I'd be happy to show you what I've done if you ever decide to go back to the electric setup. Mike.