Mike

John, I would check all of your connections. And, I would double check all of your connections. I had similar troubles with my distributor only to find out that the low-voltage connection was rusted. After I replaced the connector, it ran like a dream. I also had troubles with the similar "clamp" connection to the resistor. It actually came off completely after hitting a bump in the road. Engine died immediately. After I hooked it back up, she got me home. Check 'em all. Use some needle-nosed pliers to tighten them if necessary. You can also use WD-40 to clean out and prevent water from entering the connections. Just a few tips.. [m] ------------------ Mike Gholson 1971 240z, Mikuni Carbs, Tokico 5-way Adjustable Struts, Ferarri Yellow, Stock Engine, 15x9 wheels w/50 series Falken tires, Currently being restored.

-- Group Message from Paul Henley <Paul@henley2.freeserve.co.uk> -- Hi Nigel Like you, untill I started my restoration, I was a beginner at doing basically anything wth cars. Like you , I asked others for advice,who knew about such things. The main response I got, was ,that to do a proper, full , 100% resoration, then a "rotisserie" was a must. So I borrowed one from a friend (it was hand made and was last used to hold a Triumph Stag) and modified it to suit my Z. Basically the shell of the car is suspended at the front and rear of the car. The two pieces of the rotisserie are bolted to the front and back of the car. At the back I have used the cars existing holes, used to fit the rear bumper. At the front, the car is bolted on via the holes in the chassis used to fix the tow hooks onto. It is a little difficult to try and explain without the aid of drawings etc. But if I was to offer one single piece of advice to anyone (especially a novice like me) about to undertake a resoration, it would be , USE A ROTISSERIE. You cannot comprehend how much easier it will make your resoration, and provided it is substantially made, I think it would be alot safer. Imagine, rebuilding a car, without actually having to get underneath it !! I am able to rotate my car 360 degres with next to no effort. I have access to every square inch of the underneath of the car and at any angle. If you wish, (and anyone esle) I will send you some pics via E Mail and try to do a more detailed drawing of the rig. It is only made of lengths of angle iron and scaffolding tubes welded together and so is fairly inexpensive, but it really is a winner. One other benefit that I can think of is that for anyone who does not have access to a large garage, I think it must be a big space saver, imagine having total access to your car , without having to move it at all. I think the first question you have to ask yourself is "Do I want to tidy up my Z or do I want to totally strip and rebuild it ? " if your intention is the latter, then I'm sure you won't regret the extra time and expense in using a rotisserie. Well that's my view. Paul Henley UK, 73 240Z presently susspended (and has been for 8 months) in a rotisserie. ----- Original Message ----- From: Nigel Mulvey CPP <nmulvey@lightstorm.com.au> To: 240z-Club <240z-club@peak.org> Sent: Friday, April 14, 2000 9:50 PM Subject: <240z-club> Rotisseries > -- Group Message from "Nigel Mulvey CPP" <nmulvey@lightstorm.com.au> -- > > As part of my continuing self education into the pros and cons of Z > restoration I would be grateful if someone on the list could give me an > insight into the use of rotisseries. It would appear they would be the ideal > way of doing underbody work. > > I noticed a pic on one of Pete Paraska's pages, was this homemade? How/where > did you attach the car and what with. > > Please excuse my naivity but I'm new at all this. > > Nigel Mulvey > Sydney, Australia > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------- > ©The Internet 240z-Club - Our Web Site: http://www.240z.org > Our Bulletin Board: http://www.240z.org/forums.htm > Send your Email messages to: mailto:240z-club@peak.org > -------------------------------------------------------------- >

>> ! >> ...the tire trick is putting your big phat meatz under the rockers >> while you have it up on stands, in case it falls and tries to KRUSH-U! >-------------- > >Ya, I sorta figured. But, doesn't that damage the rockers if it >falls? I guess it's better to damage the rockers than YOUR BODY! There was no damage to either my rockers or the wheels/tires. First of all, if the tires are correctly positioned, the seam at the bottom of the rocker will be in the middle of the tire. After all, you don't want all the weight on the edge of the tire, causing the tire to pop out. Secondly, in my case, the car only fell a couple of inches, so there was not too much kinetic energy involved. >But, I'm still of the opinion that ONE should not attempt to get >under a car unless they are POSITIVE that it won't fall. One of the reasons (besides feeling stupid) that I don't often tell this story is we get into the questions about why it happened in the first place. First of all, you need to understand a little about what racing a Z is like when you compete against other more modern cars. While our competitors are hanging around telling tall tales about their racing bravado, we are almost always thrashing on the car. Some of that is self induced because my wife has the misconception that I should be paying more attention to my family when I am at home, so most of the work on the car occurs at the track. Most of it is due to the brakes needing constant attention to work well enough to be competitive. On a given race weekend, the car is up on jack stands about four times to change/clean/adjust/bleed brakes. A set of front pads lasts about one race, and fresh ones are on the car at the beginning of each race. Used pads are OK for practice and qualifying. The time that the car came off the stands, I had checked stability by pushing on the car, and it had been up on the stands for a while because I had been checking all the nuts and bolts to be sure they were tight. I was tightening the bolts on the back of the diff with a 24" breaker bar when I noticed that the boards that the rear jack stands were placed on were sinking into the ground on the edge closest to the rear of the car. By the time that had registered, the car was moving backwards and the jack stands were tipping over. It seemed like it took a long time, but I had just began to move when the car fell. Only after I crawled out from under the car did I realize just how close I had come to dying. Back to your question -- there is no way to be positive. All you can do is take adequate precautions and be as safe as possible. Did I learn a lesson? Of course I did -- I never get under a car without thinking about what happened that day. Even in a shop with lifts, I check to see that the safety catch is engaged. When you jack up cars as often as we do, you will eventually have a problem. That is why it is so important to have a back up system to protect yourself and to be as cautious as possible. Tires, wheels, cars, and anything else material is negligible compared to loss of life or a limb. And yes, the guy who taught me this knows I really owe him my life. My reason for posting this (much to my personal embarrassment) is that since that day, I have heard about a couple of people that have lost their life in similar situations and I hope that I can pass on the gift my friend gave me. Wayne Burstein wburstein@compuserve.com Mountain Motorsports Racing www.zhome.com/racing/mmr.htm Sterling, Virginia WDC Region SCCA, ITS #10 IZCC #214, NVZCC

The link should work by now. We had a few problems with our ISP.

-- Group Message from "Wayne Burstein" <wburstein@genicom.com> -- While both have their uses, I gave my ramps away years ago because I need the jack and jackstands and don't have the room for both. You do have to be a little careful with jacks and stands as Richard posted. Here is a little story I posted to the IZCC list a few years ago that is worth another look: I used to crew for a guy that raced a 240Z and every time a wheel came off the car, we had to slide it under the rocker panel until the car was taken off the jack/stands. This became a habit that undoubtedly saved my life. I was at the track tightening up the bolts at the rear of the differential when the car rocked off the jack stands. Since the only part of my body that was not under the car was from the knees down, the full weight of the car would have come down on my chest. If I was lucky, I would have been crushed instantly, but there was no way I would have been able to breathe. Since the wheels were under the rockers, the car only dropped a couple of inches, and luckily the wheels and tires were undamaged. It was late at night and no one was nearby. After I rolled out from under the car, I began to realize just how serious the situation had been. I am not at all embarrassed to admit that I had a serious case of the shakes for quite a while over this. Besides the obvious tip of putting the wheels under the rockers, I learned about not doing dangerous things without someone else nearby and about having a redundant system in dangerous situations. Hope this technique helps others as much as it helped me. Wayne Burstein wburstein@compuserve.com Mountain Motorsports Racing www.zhome.com/racing/mmr.htm Sterling, Virginia WDC Region SCCA, ITS #10 IZCC #214, NVZCC -------------------------------------------------------------- ©The Internet 240z-Club - Our Web Site: http://www.240z.org Our Bulletin Board: http://www.240z.org/forums.htm Send your Email messages to: mailto:240z-club@peak.org --------------------------------------------------------------

Hmmm.... Only thing I can think of is to put the bolts in before you raise the shaft into position. Then again, it might not be possible. The only reason I suggested rotating the shaft is to position it so the bolts can slide in easier. On mine, I had to rotate it because the two plates (held together by the u-joint) would pinch together at the top. They would widen at the bottom just enough to get a wrench in. As far as clearance, it is tight. I think that might be normal. If it's TOO TIGHT, something might not be positioned correctly. Or your tranny/diff mounts might be shifted. ------------------ Mike Gholson 1971 240z, Mikuni Carbs, Tokico 5-way Adjustable Struts, Ferarri Yellow, Stock Engine, 15x9 wheels w/50 series Falken tires, Currently being restored.

No Carl, your car won't fly off the road if you install them backward. I usually put my nuts (okay, no laughing) on the side which is easier to tighten. Use self-locking nuts, they will give you that extra added feeling of protection. Now, as far as putting them in, jack up the rear end, release the e-brake and put the tranny in neutral. You can then rotate the whole assembly by pushing on the rear tire. Once you rotate it, you can reach each of the bolts easily. Have someone there to hold the tire while you tighten the nuts. [m] ------------------ Mike Gholson 1971 240z, Mikuni Carbs, Tokico 5-way Adjustable Struts, Ferarri Yellow, Stock Engine, 15x9 wheels w/50 series Falken tires, Currently being restored.

MikeT. What are you trying to pull out? Are you trying to pull out the flat panel around the vent levers? I think there are also screws on the inside of the dash. Pain to get out.

I moved this to the "Emergency Help" forum.

Reference Materials - Manuals by, Mike Gholson If you're smart, you'll buy multiple manuals. Don't rebuild your Z-car with only one manual. It was unfortunate for me to find out that some manuals may have a incorrect specifications. In my circumstance, I torqued a ball-joint bolt right off. Upon consulting another manual, I found out that my setting was 10lbs too high! This was not only a shock, but, I had to go order a new bolt. Therefore, here are the manuals I suggest (in order of importance): 1 - Factory Manual Buy this at your local Nissan dealer or you can order it from Courtesy Nissan. 2 - How to Restore Your Z-Car (by Wick Humble) This manual doesn't have all the data you need, but, it has "real life" ways to make that rebuild a whole heck of a lot more simple. It's a great book that has a lot of valuable information. 3 - The Z-Car CD-ROM I'd be nuts not to recommend the Z-Car CD. It contains computer graphics which have been scanned directly from the original Nissan Microfiche. It has *EVERY* part number and diagram that was only given to the dealers. The best part about this CD is the fact that you can print out pages and take them down to the dealer. I highlight the parts that I need and assemble a shopping list from that. Check it out here: http://www.240z.org/cdrom.htm 4 - Haynes I've found pictures and descriptions in this manual that have helped me debug problems. It's also a great cross-reference. And, if you believe it.... it has more information about torque and other settings when compared to the factory manual. 5 - Chiltons The Chilton manual has some information that can be valuable for cross-referencing. They also include diagrams that aren't available in other manuals. [This message has been edited by Mike (edited 03-22-2000).]

Check out this link if you're thinking about putting 280z parts in your 240z. http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/2824/engine.html

Shortening Struts Submitted by, John Coffey Moss Micro, Inc. jcoffey@mossmicro.com http://www.mossmicro.com As a result of my parts for sale post I've received a few questions about shortening struts. The best description of he "why's and how's" was sent to me back in 1996 by Wayne Burstein: ---------------------------------------- Let's start by defining the task at hand. We want to lower the car in order to lower the center of gravity. I'll skip all the analysis on why we want to do this because there are lots of good books on the subject, and confine my comments to what you might run into in performing this on a Z. First I need to define a couple of terms: Bump -- suspension travel in the compression direction (i.e. the result of hitting a high spot in the road). Rebound -- suspension travel in the opposite direction (i.e. the result of going over a hill and the wheels leaving the ground). The first problem we run into is that when we shorten the springs, we are reducing the available bump travel in the strut cartridges by the same amount we lowered the car. With all the travel available in a stock Z, this is not too much of an issue when we lower the car only an inch or so. For those of us who are racing our cars, we often lower them much more; for instance, in the SCCA's IT class, we are allowed to lower the car until the rockers are no lower than 5" above the ground. This causes a problem because the suspension is almost fully compressed when the car is sitting at rest. When you hit a bump, the suspension quickly bottoms out (hopefully on a bump stop of resilient material). This is a real problem because in effect, the spring rate increases very dramatically and negates all of our efforts to drive the car smoothly. When driving at or near the limit, this often is the beginning of a very impressive crash. Well, we now have the car at the desired ride height, but need to increase the travel in bump. The way to do that is to shorten the struts. Now things get pretty messy. This is dependent on the length of the struts but the struts need to be long enough to insert the cartridges of choice. For racing, the ones that I would recommend are Carerra, Koni, or Tokico, in that order ( this should cause a bit of discussion on its own). If we automatically shorten the strut to exactly fit the cartridge, we might actually shorten it too much. This leaves us without adequate rebound travel. Just in case this does not scare you, it should. I learned my lesson the hard way when I had the rear wheels pick off the ground while cresting a hill that had a slight turn to it. That made for a looooong full lock slide at 100 MPH! Ok, now we need to decide just how much we want to shorten the strut housing. The desired end result is to have about equal bump and rebound travel. In other words, when the car is sitting at rest, we want the struts half way compressed. On a street car, this is fairly easy to do, because we generally set the car up once and never play with it. Race cars are another situation entirely. First of all, different tires require different ride heights -- for instance, switching from 60 series to 50 series tires lowered my car by .75", causing me to have to raise the car by the same amount. We also play with spring rates, and assuming that we are using coil overs, need to keep the spring collar low enough on the strut housing to avoid it interfering with suspension travel. The bottom line is that before cutting anything off your struts, you should carefully think about what you anticipate doing to the car over the next few years as far as tire/wheel, strut, spring or ride height changes, and then come up with a compromise that works for you. FWIW, most people shorten struts 1-2". If you figure out that you want to go more than this, recheck everything before cutting. Yes, you can add a section, but speaking from experience, it is much easier to remove than to add. I almost forgot to mention this, but if your strut housing is longer than the cartridge, you need to put a spacer below the cartridge inside the housing -- typically, these are just pieces of tubing that is slightly smaller in diameter than the inside dimension of the housing. Just a couple of tips to consider: 1) The best way I have figured out to cut the struts is to use a large pipe cutter. This gives a fairly straight cut with minimal cleanup -- you need to grind the burr off the inside of the housing and bevel the outside edge before welding them together. Be careful not to make the cut so high on the strut that you hit the threads for the gland nut! 2) To remove the original spring perch, the quickest way I have found is to cut through it just above the housing with a grinder or cut-off tool, and then grind the remaining metal off. I found it much easier to do this before cutting the strut because even though I was not cutting the section with the perch off, it did interfere with the cutter. 3) After lowering the car, you need to align the suspension because you have added negative camber at both the front and rear wheels. Of course, you should probably do this any time you remove suspension components anyway. Finally, Carerra was of invaluable help to me in figuring out what to do and how to accomplish these modifications, as well as supplying many of the parts I used. You can reach them at: 770-451-8811 Sorry to be so long winded, but this is a fairly complicated task to plan and implement without too much trial and error.

Continued Article -- by John Coffey > For those that are interested, here's the answer: > > Car 1 was the fastest with a time of 60.322 when driven by the driving > instructor! > > But, Car 3 was second with a time of 60.389 and Car 2 was third with a > time of 60.411 with the same guy driving them! Even in autocross > those time differences are fairly small. The person who drove all > three cars owns Car 2 so we can assume he got everything out of that > car that he could. I own Car 1 and my best time of the day was a > 61.312. I also drove Car 2 and my best time in that car was a 63.4xx. > The owner of Car 3 had a best time of 59.7xx and he was the fastest of > all the Z drivers. He didn't drive any of the other cars and was > stuck in the 60.5xx range until he made a heroic last run of the day. > > What were the guesses from the two lists: > > Car 1 - 5 people > Car 2 - 2 people > Car 3 - No guesses > > Sorry, no prizes for the correct guesses. > > What do we learn from this? Probably that there is no one correct way > to setup a suspension for autocross. A good driver can adapt to the > capabilities and foibles of any car and quickly get the most out of > it. There might be more ultimate potential in any one particular car, > but it takes some time and practice to wring it out. > > Thanks for playing. We have some lovely parting gifts at the door...

3-Car Comparison Submitted by John Coffey > I was at a 2 day autocross driving school over the weekend and I had > chance to ride in and drive a number of Solo street prepared 240Zs. > What surprised me was how each one drove differently based on how the > owners had the cars setup. Here's what I observed: > > Car 1 > Springs: High rate springs, 25lb difference between front and rear > with the rears stiffer. > Shocks: Tokico Illumina 5 way, set for stiffer rear compression. > Sway bars: Low rate both front and rear. > Tires: 225/50-15 Yoko RS2s. > Differential: LSD with very high breakaway torque. > > Car 2 > Springs: Low rate springs, 100lb difference between front and rear > with fronts stiffer. > Shocks: Tokico Illumina 5 way, set for stiffer front compression. > Sway bars: High rate both front and rear. > Tires: 225/50-15 Yoko RS2s > Differential: LSD with very low breakaway torque. > > Car 3 > Springs: High rate springs, 75lb difference between front and rear > with the rears stiffer. > Shocks: Tokico Illumina 5 way, set for stiffer rear compression. > Sway bars: Medium rate both front and rear. > Tires: 225/50-15 Yoko RS2s > Differential: Open. > > Car 1 was very balanced while under power and could be easily steered > with the throttle. Very responsive to throttle inputs up to a point, > too much throttle for too long would induce a spin. It did not like > trail braking into a corner (the way Bondurant teaches it) and would > respond with lots of understeer. Turning and braking would also > induce a lot of understeer. Corner entrances would either be perfect > or completely screwed up. The understeer could be fixed with a quick > blip of the throttle and (rarely) with the brakes. Corner exits were > the fastest of the 3 cars (if you did the entrance right) because you > could get the power down early. This car wanted to be driven with the > throttle. > > Car 2 was also very balanced while under power but was more difficult > to steer with the throttle. Preferred to be steered with the brakes. > It liked trail braking into a corner which was the most effective way > to get the back end around. Understeer was prevalent but could easily > be fixed with the brakes or a lot of throttle. Easy to get a good > corner entrance. Corner exits were fast but had to be controlled a > bit with the brake and throttle at the same time. Not too responsive > to the throttle, you had to put your foot into it to get a reaction. > This car seemed to have the typical 240Z handling traits. Overall > balance but you needed to left foot brake to control the understeer. > > Car 3 was biased more towards oversteer especially under power in a > corner. Responsive to gentle throttle inputs but with the open rear > if you went to far, you were gone. Car had a razor edge between power > oversteer and spinning. Understeer was common but could be controlled > with trail braking or throttle. Car was responsive to trail braking > but less so than Car 2. Corner entrances were fast and the car could > be balanced through he corner pretty well. Corner exits were almost > as fast as the other two cars but it was a result of carrying more > speed through the corner. You had to wait a bit before putting the > power down. > > Now... the question is, which of these cars had the fastest time of > the day with the same driver? Let's hear the pundit's guesses... > Next post has the answer........

This plate is located at the bottom of the hatch. It is part of the car and is spot welded to the tail-light panel. It's flat and has a hole in it to allow the hatch to lock into the frame. My panel was rusted underneath. I had to replace it. Upon shopping every resource I could find..... I found out that Nissan re-released this part just for this reason. Here is the part number: Part Number = 999M1 - M0000 Your local Nissan dealer will sell this to you for around $100.00, but, Courtesy Nissan has this panel for around $75.00. Courtesy Nissan will give all 240z-club members a 25% discount!! This is VERY good information to have on hand. Also keep in mind that Courtesy Nissan will charge you shipping. But, they usually have the part *ON HAND* whilst most Nissan dealers must order it (which takes a week).

Original post by: Andrew Levy Many of us have heard the down side of these modules as being limited to 5000 rpm on an 8 cylinder eng. Actually these modules are not limited by the operating frequency but rather the original coils were the limiting factor. The original coils where mounted in the top of the distributor cap, where the temperature is quite high. Also as the frequency increases the amount of time for the primary winding to cool decreases, so the effect is as the temp of the coil rises so does the resistance in the coil, which decreases the output. This is why MSD claims that if you replace the coil in the cap with there Blaster coil it will increase the max rpm to 6000. This setup with a MSD blaster coil can work to 7500 rpm on a six cylinder engine. --------------- / \ / \ W\ ------------- /C G\/ \/B W= positive lead from the pickup C= negative side of the coil G= negative lead from the pickup B= positive side of the coil First, mount the mod to a piece of aluminum .060in - .125in thick. Make sure that you use the silicone grease that comes with the mod. I typically mount the mod to the bottom coil bracket bolt. The following wiring directions are for 240 z models. There are two black with white tracer wires. For convenience, I connect the short one to the + side of the coil. Now connect the longer black and white wire with the green and white wire to the mods terminal B. Then a wire is connected from the coils negative terminal to modules C terminal. Here are some tips for swapping the distributors. Before you remove the old dist turn the engine to 10 degrees before TDC, make sure it is on the compression stroke by observing the direction of the rotor, it should be pointing at the number one spark plug lead. When installing the new dist, turn the dist body so that the #1 spark plug lead is lined up with the rotor. In both cases you may want to mark the distributor bodies with the location of the number one spark lead, so that you don't have to keep installing the cap to check for its location. If this is done the timing should be set at approximately at 10 degrees BTDC, which should allow the engine to be started so a timing light can be used. ------------------------------- Here are the details on the HEI ignition system that I'm running. About three years ago I built a L28 for a friends 70. I intially set it up with a MSD 6A and a 76 dist. After a month or so the MSD failed. So in order to get the Z on the road again I went down to the local autoparts store and got an HEI module, it cost about $25 dollars. Went back to the hooked it up and realized that it worked every bit as good as the MSD. I have used HEI mods. in many applications before, but never compared them to other electronic ignitions. Here are some benefits to this system. First, the stock tachometer will work with out any extra devices. Second, they are sold everywhere and only cost $20 - $30 dollars. Third, they seem to be more reliable than the aftermarket ignitions. The installation is quite easy and should cost less then $100 dollars complete. The parts needed are a magnetic pickup \ reluctor type of distributor, and a four pin HEI module (Standard ignition pn # LX-101) or equivalent, no ballest resistor is needed. First you need to determin the polarity of the wires going to the distributors pickup. Some have a red and a green wire, the red is the positive. If you have one with two green wires or you can't tell what color they are you will need to test them. This can be done by rotating the dist. shaft the same direction as it would be turned by the engine and use a volt meter to establish the polarity. This system generaters AC current so look for a positive reading when the raised portion is approaching the pick up and negative when it departs. You could try to establish the polarity by starting the engine and use a timinglight to check each combination, the one that gives you the most retarded timing should be correct. Below is a drawing of a average HEI module, the letters refer to the pins. I mounted the HEI mod. on a piece of aluminum , sheet .o6o" thick which bolts to the fender via. the bottom coil bracket bolt. Remove the factory ballest res. and locate the two black-white wires, short and long and the green-white wire. The longer black-white wire will connect to the positive side of the coil. The short black-white wire will be connected to the green-white wire. A piece of 14-16 gauge wire will need to be run from the positive side of the coil to pin B on the module. Another piece of wire will need to be run from the coils negative to pin C on the module. The positive wire from the distributors pickup connects to pin W and the neg. from the dists. pu. connects to pin G. I connected a ground wire from a dist. hold down bolt to the HEI bracket. Make sure you use the silicone sealer that comes with the module between the bracket and the mod. If the the module is not grounded well it will fail. /-------------------\ HEI module -> / \ / W C \ /\ G / - - - - - - \ B /\ dist. + /\/ \ /\ - batt. - + This setup will not work with all coils. It works best with a MSD blaster coil. You can mail order these coils from Summit and Jegs for about $25. I have gotten distributors from wrecking yards for $25-$40 dollars. The distributors where used in datsun 810's and Zs. These dist. are very reliable electrically, but not so mechanically. There is a plastic cage that holds three, 3mm ball bearings half of the time it is broken or the balls have pitted the the thin spring steel races. This only effects the operation of the vaccum advance. I don't run vac. adv. with S.U. carbs. So in this case you could solve this problem with epoxy. Another solution is to replace the bearing and cage with bushings made of brass bronze or teflon PTFE. I have also modified these dist. to use torrington bearings.

If you are searching for our Zcar CD support forums, click back and then find our dedicated section for the CD.

I realize that I'm not selling Zcar merchandise. But, I need to sell this little toy in order to finish my Zcar. If you have a Zcar, this is the perfect match. Here's the story. For Sale: Short Blurb: - 1968 Datsun Roadster 2000 - Located in Albany, Oregon - Red - Mag wheels with new tires - Runs good. - Avid Datsun owner - 3rd owner - Lots of extra stuff - Selling to complete Zcar project - Many new parts installed - Everything actually works :-) --------------------------------------------------------------- Story: I bought this car from a guy who worked at our local Hewlett Packard plant. Due to a job-transfer, he had to relocate. He could not take the car with him. So, he made me a very good deal on the car. But, it needed some mechanical work. He let the car sit for about 2 years. It's not good to do that unless you prepare it right. (he didn't) So, I yanked the engine, replaced a lot of gaskets, bearings, and so-on. I then replaced parts (shown below) and gave it my TLC. It needed *ALL* new hydraulic parts and some electrical re-wiring. But, to make a long story short... I bought the car and used the rest of my "Z-Car restoration money" to get it in good mechanical condition. Well, now that the Roadster is working fine.... I find that I don't have much money left over. Thus, I need to sell it. Otherwise, I'll never finish my Zcar (which is currently sitting in my garage as a skeleton half painted). I've done a lot of work to this Roadster. It's a great little car and it's been fun to drive. It's in GREAT mechanical shape and the next owner will benefit from my labor. It will need to have the rear springs replaced, but, those are included. I haven't installed them yet. I bought the car at the beginning of July (1998). I worked on it for about a month. I've had it running back and forth to work since then. (It sure is fun to drive on the back roads here in Albany/Corvallis). I'd like to sell it so I can get enough money to finish my Z-Car project. But, if it doesn't sell... I won't be hurt. Anyway, if you're looking for a fun little car. This is the one to buy. Just keep in mind that you should be mechanically inclined and should not use this car as your daily driver. It's purely a fun toy. --------------------------------------------------------------- Features: - Soft top with great frame (needs new top) - Tonneau top w/middle zipper - New carpet - Engine compartment refurbished and painted - Engine worked over Body Condition: - Paint. The paint job is in great shape. It should be buffed out with 800 or 1000 grit wet-sand paper. The only minor-faded areas are on the hood and rear trunk. Over all, the paint is in decent condition. It polishes out very nice. It does have some cracks and flaking on the hood. - Rust. There is a little bit of rust behind each wheel well. I pulled out all of the carpet and scraped out all of the tar paper which revealed nice floor pans. The floor pans are in medium-nice condition. No rust in the trunk. There is a small hole in the passenger floorpan that should be fixed. - Latches, lights, electrical, etc. All of the lights work great. I replaced the fuse box because the old one went bad. The headlights both work and the turn signal blinker switch was replaced with an "extra loud" unit (I like to hear it). All of the exterior latches work great. The trunk locks, the doors work great (actually sound like a strong CLUNK (instead of rattling)), and the windows roll up and down just fine. - Tops. The vinyl black should be replaced. You can get a very nice canvas top for around $300. I think they even have glass rear windows available. The car even comes with a tonneau (sp?) top in good condition (black vinyl). Replaced Parts (all stock & new): - Water Pump - Coil - Distributor - Plug Wires & Plugs - Master Brake Cylinder - Master Clutch Cylinder - Slave Clutch Cylinder - Brake Flexible Hoses - Wheel Bearings - Front Disc Calipers - Rear Drum Calipers - Brake Pads (all around) - Metal Brake Tubing - Carpet Interior all new - Clock (not installed) - Clutch Disc - Pressure Plate - T/O Bearing - Pilot Bushing - Fuse Panel - SU Carbeurators (rebuilt) - Wheels (aftermarket by Ultra) - Tires (205/60VR-14) all new - Transmission 1st & 2nd Fork - Transmission - All gaskets new - Stickshift bushings and washers - Carpet all new - Momo Steering Wheel Extra Parts (not-installed): - Tach Guage - Speedometer Guage - Oil/Fuel/Temp Guage - Leaf Springs - Lots of misc electrical - Fan radiator shroud - Extra Dashboard - Heater vents - Heater controls - MANY MANY other misc parts that I can't seem to fathom at this time. Money: I spent $2,500 on this car at the end of May 1998. I then spent the next month and a half working her over. I spent another $2,200 (or more) bucks on new equipment (receipt detail available). I'd like to get $3,500. Will consider offers around $3,000.

No 5-speed. I bought another 4-speed out of a Datsun truck. It had a little different gearing and operated a little lower. But, I plan on adding a 5-speed to it when the time comes. And, of course if I have money. It's still a long road ahead. [m]

I also tried this back in 1989. I cut the tunnel sheet metal and bent it back. Not a very nice job, but it did the trick. I also used contact cement to adhere a larger-flange rubber booty. This eliminated most of the road (and engine) noise. The stickshift also liked to pop out of first gear because it was rubbing against the plastic console. This was fixed by using channel-locks and a little muscle (snap). Again, not the best way to do it, but it worked. This whole thing is gone and the stock opening is in place. Since I am restoring this baby, I'll probably need to do something similar to your idea. Keep us posted! I'm sure I can use the information when I get to that point. [m]

Well, it *IS* possible to find a nice set of used Mikuni's. I've seen them for sale every now and then. You'll just have to keep your eyes open. Why do you want them so quickly, anyway? The stock SU's (round-tops) are very nice. Keep running them until you can find a nice set of Mikuni's. I did a lot of reasearch (mainly questions to the club) comparing the Webbers to the Mikuni's. Webbers were more popular among the weekend street warriors while the Mikuni's were desired by the track racers and engine junkies.

Why are you selling it? Tired of the project or can't afford to finish it? I have a very similar project that's just sitting around right now. I have too much money into it to sell. Due to sentimental reasons, I probably wouldn't be able to give it up anyway.

I should correct myself. Mikuni carbs are no longer manufactured FOR THIS VEHICLE. [m]

Sorry Jim. Mikuni carbs are no longer manufactured. They stopped making them about two(?) years ago. You can usually find them for sale by individuals on this board or on another Z-car related site. Check out this site: http://zhome.com They might have a link to a parts-for-sale list or something. This place hasn't taken-off yet, but it will soon become the place to sell z-car related stuff. As far as the carbs, they should run you anywhere from $400 up to $700 (used) -- depending on their condition. I paid about $600 for a nearly-new set (never been installed). You'll have to make a few modifications to your throttle arm, but that's not to difficult.

I am unfamiliar with the flattops. I have the rounttop SU's. But, the mixture settings are controlled on my rounttops from the bottom. The mixture nuts are difficult to get to, but they are located where the small fuel tube enters the bottom of the carburetor. If you are looking up at the bottom of the carburetor screw... Tightening (righty-tighty -- lefty-loosen rule applies) it will send LESS fuel to the carb. I'm assuming you probably know that. But, hopefully my information about the location of the fuel mixture is correct. The adjustment screws on the top of the carbs control the airflow (balance and volume). [m] [This message has been edited by Mike (edited 02-28-2000).]