jfa.series1

The stock finish is satin black - no reflection onto the windshield.

Hi Dave, The write-up I was thinking of was just the electrical aspect for your lights and sidemarkers in keeping with this post topic. I suspect there are any number of 280Z owners that would be interested in this creative mod. Beautiful work! Jim

Here's the sidemarker kit for 240's. I have it installed as part of the relay upgrades and it works great. We need a tech write-up from Dr. Dave on how he did it for his 280Z. Actually... we need a tech write-up on the entire project! http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/classic10l/12-4654

WAAAYYY COOL!!!!

Its a far better purchase than this mess in Houston: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1970-Datsun-Z-Series-/222586197679?hash=item33d32bd6af:g:KVEAAOSwn~ZZbpyE&vxp=mtr

Very nice work on the dash. If you want to stick with incandescent bulbs for the instruments, consider the Eiko A-72. It is a 4W bulb that is a perfect fit. My experience with the MSA offering several years ago was that they were not a good fit unless you were willing to give up the lens over each bulb. I really like the additional brightness from the Eiko's.

I've been using only Mothers California Gold carnauba cleaner wax (paste) since getting the car painted 7 years ago. I credit the great clear coat work by my painter for giving me such a fantastic foundation to work with. The carnauba goes on super easy and polishes out just as easy with clean microfiber cloths. I don't trust myself with a power buffer and working with the cloths allows me to get to all tight areas with no fear of damage.

That's the way all Series 1 cars came. Not sure when a strap was added to the left door.

Put it in the oven before bedtime, leave the oven on WARM all night. By the time you get the smoker ready it will have been in for about 12 hours.

My approach to brisket is a bit unconventional but its worked well for me for many years. I start with a packer style brisket - trim nothing. Put it in a big roasting pan fat side up, dump a bottle of Allegro marinade all over it, cover and put it in a WARM oven overnight. No rubs or other prep. Next morning get the smoker (similar to yours) going with charcoal then switch to oak for heat. When the temp is up to 250, remove brisket from oven and transfer to the smoker, fat side up, large end near the firebox. Add mesquite chunks (or specialty wood of your choice) periodically throughout. It usually takes about 5-6 hours at 225-250 to get the meat up to 195. Remove from smoker back into the roasting pan, cover and let it rest for 1/2 hour. Slice and serve! The overnight prep really cuts down on the smoking time but I still get a lot of color and smoke in the meat.

Whether its new cars, tools, smokers, ...etc., we need pictures or it didn't happen. I've been known to smoke brisket and chicken - haven't had any of my food rejected (yet).

Another item sold but still lots of parts available to tart up your ride a bit, here's a few:

If you decide on the Wesco Roadster unit, this is what it looks like with the retractor mounted at the shoulder belt location above the quarter window. The other end of the belt is attached at the outboard seatbelt location on the floorboard.

I seem to recall a rant emanating from NS last year - something about don't buy cheap Chinese tools. Words come back to haunt? Janet probably has to pay good $ to get nails done like that.

Your car, your life, your choices. The pic you posted shows the retractor attached to a plain bulkhead that is not reinforced for a seatbelt attachment point. To me that looks like a pretty messy and potentially less safe installation. The roadster belt alternative is a clean 3-point install that utilizes the factory belt mounting points.

Sold: Harada antenna motor 240Z valve cover fittings 240Z NOS steering rack bushings 240Z/260Z front sidemarker kit S30 rear sidemarker kit, no lenses 240Z accelerator linkage kit w/max-throw-stop 240Z hatch fittings kit 240Z brake proportioning valve

Hey gang, I've got a tub full of reconditioned and restored parts looking for new homes, offering to the home team before trying eBay. Check out the attached doc to see if there is anything on your needs list, get back to me with a pm or email. I can supply pictures if requested and can flex a bit on price for most multi-item purchases. As noted in the doc, shipping is not included. Payments via PayPal. Jim Parts Sale.pdf

Reminds me of the old story - "Gotta be a pony in there somewhere!" Glad to hear you found your project. With your hoard of parts, the car may already be half-finished.

Not willing to trust my life to 46 year-old belts, I opted for the Wesco Roadster Retractable belts (model # SBS-roadst-prev-welr-n). Like some others, I mounted the retractor to the shoulder belt mount above the quarter window. Get the 11" sleeve for the buckle side and the buckle will always be at the right height for easy access. No need for the optional hardware kit if you have the OE bolts & washers. Easy to use, well pleased with the product. http://www.wescoperformance.com/resebe.html

That's mounted correctly.

A few more COTA pics: The first is my rider for the parade laps, Yoshie Suzuki with the Fairlady Z Owner's Club - Z Project Tokyo. Yoshie drives a black 350Z coupe. If I understood her correctly, she is a nail designer - check out the micro fruits glued to her nails. Next is another shot of the staging line we were in for over one hour - that's @Zup and @S30Driver ahead of us in the first group. For reasons unknown, the track had a Mercedes group scheduled until 6:15.

Stephen - great set of pics, thanks for posting the link. Here's a link to a video of the parade laps I uploaded to YouTube last night. Its shot with my grandson's GoPro Hero2, set at 720p and 60 fps (for the technogeeks). I tried to be cute and mount an external mic by the exhaust for that rich L24 sound but the cheap mic failed me - AARRRGGGHHHHH! I'll get some additional pics edited and loaded later. Enjoy!

With the exception of some tourist time yesterday to see the LBJ library and state capital, I've been too busy to take pics. No opportunity at the judged car show - I was non-stop busy during the 1st round judging. That didn't complete until close to 3:00 with no break for lunch. I was too hot and tired to take pics after that. You'll have to be content with others posts here or FB posts. Today is parade laps at COTA at 4:00, I plan on getting some pics and in-car video if I work the GoPro correctly. The afternoon forecast is 102 degrees, heat index about 110. Gotta luv Texas in the summer (or not!). Shades of Memphis revisited sans the super high humidity. It didn't help that on our trip down on Monday we chased a cold front and had rain for the entire trip from Dallas to Austin while towing the Z. Getting the car cleaned up to display at the car show was a real chore!

Datsun Spirit owner Eiji Hosomi paid me a nice compliment yesterday at the ZCON judged car show. I was grabbing some much needed shade and rest after the first round of judging (my inaugural participation) and Eiji came up and asked if he could ask some questions about my restoration. He's had a lot of problems with the aftermarket door seals and wanted to know how I handled it. I told him about Kia Sportage seals - either new or from salvage, and you should have seen his eyes when he operated the doors and found them closing so smoothly. We also looked at my innovation on the hatch outer seal and he was surprised at how easily my hatch closes with the PRP repro inner seal because he's also had problems there. We covered several other areas of the car and had a great conversation. He's a big fan of 14" wheels with tall aspect ratio tires and factory springs to provide a comfortable ride. Really a neat guy and one I'd like to spend more time with. (Yes, I ended the sentence with a preposition.)

I'm drawing on my 240Z set-up for this response so no guarantees. The wire is likely for the buzzer that signals that the key is still in the ignition when you open the door. You should find a female spade connector nearby. That wire (buried in the harness no doubt) ultimately connects to one of two wires on the button switch on the A-pillar. Hope this helps.