jfa.series1

Are you limiting your search to Canadian cars? Are there significant issues with bringing in a car from the states? If the import regs are not too difficult for an antique vehicle, look at some California cars that have a strong chance to rust free and not heavily modded. Jim

Check with Bryan Rolfe at Seatz Mfg. to see if has your white covers. All his work is restoration quality at competitive prices. Great products and great service. http://www.seatzmfg.com/seatz/index.htm bryan@seatzmfg.com Jim

And I thought it was bad when my car was held prisoner for 9 months! Jim

FWIW... this could easily be one of those "break your heart and bankbook" cars. I doubt that you will get out for as little as $15K on top of your purchase price - especially since you state an interest in restoration. Ask yourself what street value you will have when you finish and have invested all this money. I assure you it will be substantially less than your investment. Better to hold out and locate a car in much better shape as your starting point. Jim

Datsun spoor! Jim

+1 on Enrique's comments. Here is a link to several OE switches on e-Bay. They are also available direct from Nissan and others - MSA, BD, ..etc. Note that the 2-wire switch for the right side is NLA from Nissan, they stock only the 3-wire left side switch now for both sides (one wire is idle when used on the right side). http://motors.shop.ebay.com/eBay-Motors-/6000/i.html?_nkw=240z+door+switch&_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_rdc=1 Jim

So... just how long are you going to keep us waiting for pics, VIN and build-date details??? Sounds like a great find with a nice back-story. Looking forward to hearing more about your project and progress. Jim

Your build date may be the issue. Check out the thread below to see if you are are dealing with the early style steering knuckles. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?40798-240Z-ball-joints Jim

Blue - your pic is of the left (driver's) side. You have three connections in this area: side marker light, power antenna, & radio speaker. I can't recall which pair does which and my car is all closed up now. The power antenna is probably at the end of the line, these are probably side marker and speaker. This should help you with a schematic search. Don't forget to check the supplemental FSM. Jim

Blue - I presume you have your interior dog-leg trim piece for the area below the quarter window. Hold that piece against its body location and you will see a notch for the wiring harness. That is the location for the for the harness to enter the body cavity on its way to the back. As to the door sill question - the harness runs along the inside of the car from the firewall back the point I mentioned. You should see some of the flat hold-downs along this path as it jumps over the two seat braces. When you finish, the harness will be covered by the pebble-grained vinyl trim that runs along the interior rocker panel. Jim

Tough to get those curves with aluminum! Jim

Blue - I recently had my original windshield and hatch glass re-installed by a pro who was well familiar with Z cars. Up front, he said he planned to use no sealants, only a generous use of soapy water to lube the gaskets into place. The gaskets I supplied were the PRP items sold by Black Dragon and others. FWIW. Jim

What you have done is "hot wire" the starter. Since that works, the "excite" wire you mention sounds like the ignition wire coming from the switch on the steering column. The most likely culprit is the electrical component of the ignition switch. It is easily replaced. Jim

One thing I forgot - a generous coating of heavy grease on all surfaces of the rack bushings will really help ease them into place. Jim

I just completed a full resto which included going with the complete MSA urethane bushing kit and Tokico HP shocks. If I had it to do over again, I would not do the bushing kit. The resulting ride for a street car is just too durn harsh. I completely agree with Dave on the steering rack - this is a MUST fix. Jim

The FSM makes a note of removing/breaking the carb linkage before lowering the transmission. Easy to overlook! All the steps in the FSM are straightfoward and easy to follow. Jim

OK Carl - a couple of engine pics, but only because you asked. You topped me in at least one area - you replated your fuel rail. These shots are of the "fully dressed" engine just before it went into the car. The carbs work was by Z Therapy. One item to watch on your MSA exhaust system. There is a welded-on hanger on the "S" pipe. For my car it was not in the correct location to easily attach to the hanger bracket mounted to the differential. I angled the MSA rubber insulator on the "S" pipe and got it attached but it placed too much stress on the original hanger and it split off at the molded rubber. I plan to get a bolt-on hanger fabbed and be able to attach to the diffy hanger. Jim

Carl - I think you are going to love the MSA exhaust system, the fit and finish is excellent. I purchased the same components and my car just came back alive in the last two weeks after 30 years of being stored. The exhaust really makes the most of the smoothness of the straight 6. Wait till you get it up around 3-4 grand! I don't think you will be disappointed. Our engine rebuild pics could be twins, I'll not try to steal your thunder with a post. Great job! Jim

Great detective work. Congratulations! Jim

Here is a tip to countour metal to a soft curve: put on some cotton or fabric gloves. As Enrique said - start at the front. Work the trim piece into position with long smooth stokes along the entire length. Don't just push down at any one point lest you break the tension in the metal (not too likely with this piece). You want to coax it into shape. Jim

Your description suggests there is a leak between the two pistons. Presuming you have the rubber cups installed in the correct direction AND there really is a slug of fliud between them (how does it get in there?), the leak may be in the bore surface. Did you run a brake hone thru the bore to eliminate any minor surface blem issues? My wheel cylinders looked good when I rebuilt them but I still had leaks until I went back in with a hone. Good luck on keeping your Series 1 running, we need to keep all them out there to "show the flag"!!! Jim

Mike McGinnis at Banzai is a really good guy and deserving of support for keeping hard-to find and previously NLA parts out there for us. He provides great service. Jim

Courtesy typically does this one time each year, no fixed date. The show was moved back a bit this time from last year's event. They coordinate it with the Z Club of Texas. Chase - I enjoyed meeting you and your dad today. Looks like you two have a great partnership going on the car projects. Jim

Arne and Steve, Thanks for the clarifications and great instructions on testing. I'll get into that this week. BTW - I do have the headlight and turn signal relay kits installed. Jim

Enrique - thanks for the for the straightforward clarification, nice and simple. Is there a fix for this situation? I want to keep up with the state of the electrical system. Jim