GunnerRob

My '78 280z had the weatherstripping on the window frame like your picture shows. My '75 280z doesn't. And the latest MSA catalog indicates that only the 75-78 models had the weatherstripping on the window frame. I know that my '75 Z's window frames are original to the car, so maybe my Z has leftover '74 frames? Ain't this FUN???

No offense taken. Clarification on things like this is one of the reasons I appreciate the members of this club. One can never be TOO informed. Now I know to be suspicious if someone tries to sell me a "wooden" window roller!

I agree with you Bambikiller. There's an old saying that still applies to this situation and that is "Dead men tell no tales." And they don't testify either!

I could be very wrong. The roller I had was broken as you described and had 30+ years of crud on it that made it appear to be made of wood. I thought it was kind of weird to be made of wood, but I've seen some pretty strange things used for the sake of cutting costs. Thanks for the correction.

My dad always referred to his (now mine) 280z as a Japanese Jaguar. I tried to get "JAP JAG" at the California DMV. They wouldn't issue it to me because DMV headquaters told them it might be offensive. I replied that because the XKE influence in the Z's design is a compliment to Datsun it would be just the opposite. They didn't agree so, no personalized plates. But, you're welcome to try it if you want to.

There is supposed to be a roller installed between the top inside edge of the door's outer panel that stabilizes and keeps the window in its correct alignment as it travels up and down. I looks like a skinny barrel attached to a thin sheetmetal clip. The "barrel" was made of wood with a hole through the center where a steel pin holds it to the clip. MSA has them as part number: 30-2151 left side & 30-2152 right side. Hope this helps, Rob

Actually the only reason I sold my 78 Z is because my dad left me his 75 Z when he passed away. At the time I lived in an apartment complex and couldn't do the repair work the 78 needed anyway, so I sold it to a friend who had one before and wanted it for his daughter. Besides, the 75 runs stronger and had options my 78 didn't have, besides the fact that it was my dad's.

Tomohawk. It's easy to remove those chrome/squeegie strips, like 2manyZs said, just gently pry it off on the outside of the door, in an upward direction, with a large flathead screwdriver by twisting it. You might want to cover the tip of the screwdriver with a shop rag to protect the paint from getting scratched or chipped. After you get it loose you should be able to pull it off the rest of the way with your fingers. I've had both of mine off and it was easy. When you take the chrome/squeegie strip off, be careful to notice where the window roller is located beneath the chrome strip and try not to let it fall down into the door. If it does you'll have to take the door panel off to retrieve it. Replacement is truly the reverse of removal. Just make sure you line the rear edge of the chrome strip up with the window frame. You may want to do one door at a time so you can refer to the old door for the original position of the original strip. Good luck, and let us know how the replacement chrome strip/squeegie works out. I'd be willing to bet that most people here could use them.

My wife had a friend who worked at AAA. In the late 80's she told my wife that AAA underwriters were so selective (read expensive) that they weren't writing policies for Porsches, BMW's, etc., AT ALL. At that time our rates would have just about doubled had we gone with them. We stayed with State Farm. Maybe you could tell Hagerty you store your Z down in the basement under your house!

In reading this thread and the thread at HybridZ, I've noticed that these t/c rod failures only occured to the 510, or am I wrong. Are the 510 and 240/260/280 Z front suspension systems identical, or so similar in design that we should associate their weaknesses with one another? I had a t/c rod nut back off on me once to the point that it became road debris. I noticed that my tire was rubbing the fender and checked it out. Sure enough, the t/c rod had come loose at the mounting bracket at the frame. I don't drive my 280Z hard very often, so I really didn't notice a loss of control. FWIW, I've been using PU bushings for about four years time now, including the t/c rod incident.

Have you tried setting the bra out in the sun for a while? It may be that the bra needs to be streched out a bit in order to fit snugly. Or you could try using some KY jelly!

One more time!?!? Never mind. Feature boken.

Sorry. Picture won't post.

Happy Easter!

Hey Mark. I'm glad to hear that you're going to do the work yourself. I'll tell you, from my experience, doing the work myself give me a great amount of satisfaction (when it worked!). Ya, that is cool to know about the history and that it came from the "home country". Is it a right hand drive (HS30) car?

Hi Mark. I say "jump right in there" (with the help of the videos and the good people on this site). I think you'll find that the SU carbs are pretty simple in design. When I was 17 I had a guy who raced MGB's help me rebuild the SU's for my MG Midget. I was like you. I'd never done anything like that before. But after getting into it, I found there wasn't nearly as much to them as I had imagined. We not only rebuilt them, we also set them up for racing! Very simple. I was glad I didn't let fear hold me back because that experience, which took place more than 3 decades ago, is still fresh in my mind as one of the automotive highlights of my life. I just wish I still had that MG! It would have financed my 280z restoration project!!!

Was it Joseph Smith?

While driving around a blind corner at about 50 mph, I killed a duck that hit my car just above my windshield. Does that make me a QUACKWACKER?

I have those chrome bars on my 75z. They were an original option for that year and were called "overrider bars" around these parts.

Nice site TomoHawk! The "tools needed & diagnostic tools" section is handy. Good tip!!!

Oh, I see. My mistake.:stupid: Sorry.

Wouldn't that be 2.5 sec. slower?

Maybe we could provide a link on our main (home) page to a section or article designed specifically for the first time Zcar shopper/buyer to help them make intelligent decisions. It would also introduce them to all the other information this club offers. If we were to offer this service, we would also need to (flag?) our site to come up on search engines for a search on "240z buying advice" or something similar. I tried this and we (our club) didn't come up. I dunno if this is going too far or not. What do you guys and gals think?

By golly, you're correct. Thanks for bringing this to my attention Stephen. At this time I'd like recant my previous statement in this thread. FWIW, I did send a letter of apology to the seller of the car that's the subject of this thread.

I sent the seller these questions: "Since when does an automatic transmission have a manual shift lever and a clutch pedal? What happened to the original radio? It's missing." And here's his reply: "I don't like the way you ask questions, somewhere along the way somebody forgot to teach you communications skills........." I get the feeling he's getting alot of heat from people who are onto him. You'd think he would wise up after listing the car so many times without a sale.