Walter Moore

But the spitting and snarling is part of the fun when you are young... It doesn't get old until you do. (Which means that for me it was old long ago...)

My clock works sort of, but loses several minutes every day. I always wondered if it was worth trying to "adjust" it or if I should just break down and have it turned to the "Quartz Side"... (Pun intended...)

Glad to hear that they work. I need to replace my door seals, and windshield. I was originally planning to buy the more expensive Nissan windshield seal, but now that I have to live on a reduced salary, I will likely end up buying the full seal kit from MSA and just living with it.

When I bought my 240Z (in 2002) it had been sitting in a warehouse for more than a decade. The transmission that came in it was from a 280Z, and the syncros for 2nd gear were shot. The title (from 1983) listed the purchase mileage at 134k miles and the odometer read just a little over 40k. From that I assume the car had about 140k miles, was on at least its second transmission, and that one was pretty much shot. A stronger transmission would be a good thing...

The drums that I bought from Motorsports Auto in June of last year were aluminum. I can't say that they ones the sell today still are of course. Checking my receipt from last year, they charged me $90.95 each for two drums. I think that they were Brembo parts, and there was a thread here somewhere that claimed Brembo had stopped making the drums for the Z. Still, it wouldn't hurt to call Motorsports and ask...

No Bondo? What is a Datsun without Bondo? (Hey, keep the magnet away from the rear fenders buddy...)

I don't know anything about E-Fast, however I have had some interesting experiences trying to get older Windows programs to run on Vista. The first thing that you might try is to disable "User Account Control" in Vista. Microsoft added this security feature to Visa so that under most circumstances all users run with only "standard user" rights and then have to switch to "administrator" rights when they do dangerous things, like install or remove software or modify the firewall settings. Essentially they just borrowed the "root user" concept that has been a part of all Unix systems since the 1970's. The problem is that User Account Control blocks programs from accessing the registry unless the installer has properly configured the access rights of the registry keys involved. Even more troubling is that the API that is used on Windows machines to access .ini files is the same API that is used to access the registry. Since the .ini files are not in the registry, apparently the security permissions don't default to the standard user level. As a result the API call will return a security failure, which the older program will not know how to interpret. Most legacy software, and much new software continues to use .ini files rather than have to deal with the registry because it makes the software installation process much easier. (Easier for the poor smuck who has to write the installer, not necessarily the end user.) I have found that in may cases, the only way to make software that was written for NT, or XP to operate on Vista is to disable User Account Control.

The "snow haters" and those people who need to get somewhere without using a helicopter.

I doubt that you could have done anything to the ignition system that would only affect one cylinder. I also thought that the ballast resistor existed to protect the breaker points, so I do not know why a car with electronic ignition would have a resistor, unless it originally came with points and someone converted it after the fact. Actually, I don't know when Nissan went to electronic ignition. Unless proven otherwise, I would proceed with the assumption that your problems with the #2 cylinder are not related to cranking the engine with the coil wire disconnected. Now, I have seen people damage a cylinder head by plugging one of their spark plug wires into the coil and cranking the engine for an extended period of time trying to start the car... That isn't what you describe, so start looking at the cylinder with the problem.

Hello. Personally I think they are a little saucy...

Yep, can you say "Flood damage?" I like the way you say that...

Look for a loose connection either at the fuseable link connection by the starter, the amp meter, or the main fuse box. It sounds like you have a high resistance connection somewhere that is restricting the current when you apply a heavy load. It might be a failing fuseable link, but I am not sure it they can fail in this way without burning through. In any event, I would try to find this quickly because a loose connection is likely arcing, and that will eventually cause a fire.

I cleaned my steering wheel with steel wool, and then stained it (Mahogany I think...) and coated it with tung oil. It looks great.

Bruce, His picture is exactly what my engine looked like when I started rebuilding my car. It's a "heavy salt in the long cold winter" thing... Which is why my car stays parked indoors all winter unless there is a really heavy rain followed by a warm spell. (Like last week.) But you were just kidding I am sure.

I remember my 71' having three screws holding it on. I don't know about the later cars.

As Phred mentioned, the 17mm nut on the bottom is the lock nut. I have seen those so tight that I couldn't move them. Sometimes it is easier to loosen all the lock nuts when the engine is cold, then snug them just a little, start the engine back up and get the engine warm for the final adjustment. (They really need to be adjusted hot.) Edit: remember to re-install the valve cover before starting the car... I have had to use a flare-nut wrench and a hammer to loosen those nuts before. It took me about three or four tries to get my valves adjusted correctly the first time. Remember that setting them a little loose (too much gap) is safer than setting them tight. (Less performance perhaps, but also less likely to burn an exhaust valve. And remember when you finally have the valve lash adjusted to not over tighten those lock nuts. Good luck Mr. Phleps...

You can get a rough guess of the maximum offset by taking your maximum available back spacing, the distance from the wheel mounting surface to the first obstruction which is typically the spring or strut tube, and subtracting 1/2 the maximum section width of the tire you want to mount. (The tire is normally wider than the rim, so it is what counts.) The bad news is that you just about have to look up the section width for a particular tire on a particular wheel in the Tire and Rim Association year book. For example, I assumed that on my 71' I could live with a backspace of 5 inches, so the equation becomes 127mm - (section width / 2). For a 215/60R15, on a 15x6 wheel the section width is listed in the book I have at 221mm. That calculates to a maximum offset of 16mm, and since my wheels have a 10mm offset that tire would at least fit on the car. (The speedometer accuracy is a totally different question). I am sure there are more accurate ways to get this information, but I am throwing this out as a suggestion. Use it at your own risk.

Did you notice this thread: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?p=282194#post282194

When I rebuilt my car I found a "roach-clip" in the shift boot... Seems at least one previous owner had a slightly different idea of the correct air freshener sent for a 240Z. I bet that it fit well with that orange shag carpeting that was in the car at the time as well.

Saying "he doesn't have a better camera" is usually a bad sign... Just my opinion.

The picture exactly matches the way that the air conditioner was mounted in my car when I bought it. One of my sons was interested in the 240Z right up to the point where I cut those hoses with loping shears, unbolted the compressor, and pitched it in the trash. After that point, he lost all interest. Personally, I know how poorly those compressors worked because we had a similar unit in my wife's 1967 Mustang. It had to be recharged every spring and would almost cool the car, but only if you ran constantly at highway speeds. I shutter to think how badly it would likely work on a 240Z at idle...

If you end up cutting the floor to allow the shifter to work, you will also have to go to the later inner shift boot. The original style boot will not seal properly in the larger hole, and will bind up when you try to use 3rd or 5th gear. You can buy them a lot of places, but just so you understand what I am talking about here is an example: http://www.courtesyparts.com/shift-boot-240z-260z-280z-280zx-m/t-p-568965.html?cPath=7724_7755& You only need to cut out about 1 inch if I remember correctly. I didn't actually cut my floor personally, the P.O. had installed a later 4 speed before I bought the car, and when it failed I went with a 5 speed from an 83 ZX. I still have my original differential, but eventually I suspect I will put a numerically higher ratio unit in the car because the ZX transmission is poorly matched to the 3.36:1 differential. That is another thread entirely.

Not to quibble, but the fuel injection control box is technically an analog computer. But from the perspective of a modern digital computer you are technically correct the car doesn't have one. There is another subject altogether, how many people know what an analog computer is(was) and how they work? Why do I suddenly feel so old?

I love the 5 slot mags.