Zed Head

Does your brake guy still have the car? What's he doing?

The 260Z project car sold for $10,000. Kind of funny how the sellers often remind people to "refresh the page" even though BaT refreshes automatically. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1974-datsun-260z-122/

Does the car have more value or less if the original 4 speed and R180 are reinstalled? 10,000 mile, 8 years driven, stored for 45 years, original 1972 240Z. Should the new owner return it to its original form?

I have trouble figuring out what category the car fits. The early number cars have their own. The well-done "resto-mods" also. The cars with past famous owners, maybe. Full, well-done, restorations certainly. This is a very low mileage 72 with a 5 speed and headers, and some goofy stuff in the drivetrain. I guess it's the low mileage and lack of weathering? People are still enthusing about it. Calling it a "preservation" but it's not original. It's a time capsule of somebody's thought process from the period, I suppose. Just trying to understand...

Apologies for this, after that peaceful post, but it reminded that I had had this song running through my head recently.

Very weird end. Some guy bumped the bid by $21,000 to $75,000 this morning. Another guy came in at the end with a $1,000 raise. Bidding over, he got it for $76,000. Latest commenter says the "low" price has ruined the Z market. Looks like it will be a traveling show car. And, the seller did buy it as an investment. He did good. Some of the last comments. Somebody thinks it was worth over $154,000.

The 10,000 mile 1972 240Z auction is ending today. The comments are full of people gushing over how fantastic it is. Seems odd. It's modified in various small ways, has some minor paintwork and maybe some bodywork, the headlight surrounds have been blended in to the fenders with body filler (probably crack at the seam after a few hot-cold cycles and driving distortions), and has the weaker R160 differential with the wrong propeller shaft. It's neato but doesn't seem to be "all that". It sat in storage for decades, a guy picked it up (probably cheaply from an estate sale or something), he cleaned it up and is going to make some money. Interesting from an investment perspective, but as far as the buyer goes - what do they do with it? It's not a restoration. It's just somebody's old low mile Z that got stuck in storage for many many years. Restore it or drive it or just take it to the shows? https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1972-datsun-240z-382/#comments

I said rough but should have said "stiffer". Like the seller did. ". No rattles or squeaks in the chassis, suspension is stiffer than factory but not overly," But, the seller has apparently not gone the urethane bushing route, so that will keep a soft ride. Looks like a nice car. "All rubber bushings, tie-rods, ball joints, transmission and differential mounts,"

It's not actually yours and you're advertsing? I wasn't aware of Cars&Bids, looks like an interesting competitor to BaT. It wouldn't be considered a restoration. More like a "resto-mod". It's been modified. Hard to make a recommendation without knowing what you're expecting or plan to do with it. The comments suggest that it rides a little rough because it's lowered and has a few problems that you'll need to fix or have fixed. The engine could be worn, somebody has already been inside to install the camshaft. Hope for the best, plan for the worst. Good luck.

Both front and back have to be bled and rear shows adjusted correctly in order to get a firm high pedal. You can get a good idea on if the rears are adjusted correctly by how high the parking brake pedal rises. It should come up about a quarter to a third of the available travel. Since you were using the rears with the parking brake theyr'e probably adjusted correctly. Your brake guy should know all of this, the way they function is common across many brands of car.

And, a possibility on pressure buildup might be if there is a large air bubble in the front calipers. The bubble compresses when the pedal is pressed and will squirt quite a bit of fluid back in to the reservoir when the pedal is released. That is how I figured out that my calipers were on the wrong sides, with the bleed screws on the bottom. Something to share with your brake guy if he has problems. A not uncommon problem.

I just realized that, apparently, Nissan got rid of the brake warning pressure differential switch in 1978. They replaced it with the fluid level warning switch.

The leak has to be fixed first. A good shop will know how to do that, and bleed the brakes. Shouldn't really be speculating until those two things happen. If the rear brake shoes aren't adjusted correctly the piston in the MC can bottom out before the shoes make contact with the drums.

This one got withdrawn by BaT due to some undisclosed issues. A bent frame component.

Click the three dots, upper right.

I reported this bot back on the day it first posted/was born in the weatherstrip thread. Using the Report function. You really shouldn't be including me in your scolding. Not a big deal, just a correction. Maybe the Report function isn't working?

It might be something simple, like the owner had a catalog and told the dealer "I want these parts". Or the dealer had the catalog and ordered the parts based on what Carl Beck showed above, the only two shown, as a set. The dealer got the parts, installed them, and said "this shaft isn't right, it will take another month to get the right propeller shaft". The owner decided to drive it in the meantime and never went back for the right shaft. Assume intelligence and good intentions from all involved and you'll feel better. The owner's name is on the receipts. Maybe he's still alive and can answer the question. At this point I'm more curious about why a guy in Elkhorn Nebraska bought the car.

So, Waverly ordered the wrong shaft when they ordered the transmission. For anyone wondering, the 5 speed transmission used here has a flange on the output shaft. The slip yoke is replaced by the splined section. In case you stumble across one in the future.

This bot tried the weatherstrip thread first. The format reminds me of the South Park episode. The first statement is encouragement, followed by garbage advice. Kind of interesting. This is a great deep-dive question and you’re not overthinking it at all. That’s a cool idea and definitely adds character to a ’74 260Z. Totally understandable — those old sub-harnesses on 280Zs take a beating from road grime and corrosion over time. Not a stupid question at all—this confuses a lot of people when a car comes apart. That’s a pretty common issue on older 240Zs, so you’re definitely not alone. First of all, happy Thanksgiving to everyone. This is actually a pretty common issue on these cars.

The splines are exposed to transmission fluid, no need for grease. Probably a bad idea anyway, since the synchros only want to see proper transmission fluid. Not sure if a bit of grease would have much effect but why chance it. Do smear some oil on the seal and maybe the outside of the slip part of the slip yoke so the seal doesn't get damaged on insertion.

I've pondered that problem in the past. I'm pretty sure that all arrows are meant to be pointed forward. But I think that the effect is the same forward or backward. Sideways changes the direction of the holes inside though.

Thanks, I do put some effort in to finding the civil middle ground. I know that you see these cars through a different lens than many. There's a new one on BaT. Might have more potential. Too bad it's not the original white though. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1973-datsun-240z-300/

Respectfully disagree. Get it running and drive the heck out of it. Focus on function over form. It still looks decent. Restoration is a whole nother thing though...

Change of genre. Play it loud.

Stumbled across this while doom-scrolling. Probably streaming somewhere else also. https://www.youtube.com/live/WHfWIzltu9g?si=8a_AzydY6t6D3waf