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What is special about the ones labeled "automotive relays?" Are they water resistant or something or are they just a grade that is commonly used in lots of automotive applications?

I too have this problem. After reading a lot in this forum, as well as others, I am guessing that the non-hardened valve seats have deteriorated from lack of leaded gas use by the previous owner. I guess it could also of course be the rings, but I would be surprised if this was the case since the engine only has 110,000 miles on it. In either case, I think it is in need of a rebuild or a swap-out. I am not really insterested in building a super performance Z, as it is fun enough to drive in stock form, IMHO. Oil consumption is pretty high, I need to add about half a quart every 100 miles! I do not really plan on driving it much more until I do something about this problem. I know several people on this board have sent their engines into companies like Jasper to have them rebuilt, were you happy with the results? How much was the total cost with shipping and everything? I wish I had the time to rebuild it myself and learn a lot along the way, but I just do not have the time at this point . I would much rather have the entire engine rebuilt at this point, rather than just pulling the head and having some headwork done - Rather get it all at once and have a nearly 'like-new' engine to enjoy and treat well from the beginning. Sorry to hijack your thread biker, just seemed like the right place for my post to be since the problems sound identical. Andrew

Have you tried looking at Radio Shack? I don't know that they still carry them for certain, but that would be the first place I would check. Our local Radio Shack sure scaled back on carrying electrical components. All they seem to care about these days is selling TVs and cell phones.

I can't believe i've never chimed in here before, out of all the times it has come back to the surface of the forum. My name is Andrew and I am a 19 year old college student at UT Arlington majoring in aerospace engineering. I have a good GPA right now, so I am currently planning on transferring to UT Austin next summer. I plan to first get a bachelors in aerospace engineering, then complete the ~30 credit hour difference and pick up a bachelors in mechanical engineering. The only thing I see as an obstacle to going to Austin is finding an affordable place to live that has a garage(I don't think I could sleep at night knowing she is exposed to the elements!) and is relatively close to campus (if any of you Austin Z guys have tips about this, please let me know :cheeky: ). I have been in love with the looks and character of the early Z for a while now. I picked mine up through an ebay auction for a car in the "rust free" area of Modesto, CA. Let's just say I learned a few good lessons about dealing with people that will certainly serve me well when I decide its time to get another Z! I must say, we sure do have a lot of variety on these forums, and it shows in the kinds of diverse opinions people have! This is the most useful Z-car website I have checked out. Andrew

Look on page 25 of the 20th Anniversary Edition MSA catalog (the one with the orange cover). The picture above "Side Window Louvers" is of a 1st gen Z with these louvers fitted, and taken from the catalog : "SIDE WINDOW LOUVERS Use these side louvers as a nice complement to your rear louver, or on their own. Their one piece ABS construction make them a snap to install. 50-1081 70-78 Coupe $119.99 4lbs 50-1082 79-83 Coupe $119.99 4lbs 50-1083 79-83 2+2 $119.99 4lbs 50-1084 84-89 Coupe $119.99 4lbs 50-1085 84-89 2+2 $119.99 4lbs" They are even listed similarly in MSA's online catalog http://www.zcarparts.com/store/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=SWL

Yeah, they are in the MSA catalog for $120, listed as "louvers, side window"

Carbs have more character! There is a guy who posts on zcar.com who claims to get 28+ mpg on an SU carbed L28 on the highway, and even 34mpg once on a long drive, then run low 14s in the 1/4 mile with the same setup! http://www.zcar.com/forums/read.php?f=1&i=356939&t=356798 post is about half-way down by a guy named "ase mat."

It is probably someplace on the DOT website http://www.dot.state.tx.us/txdot.htm

Thanks guys, In that case, i'll probably try to start on it at the end of summer. Andrew

I looked through the archives and couldn't find any info on this. What temperatures are acceptable to have por-15 cure at? I might put off doing the underside painting until I have some time off this December. It doesn't usually get down to freezing in Dallas that early, but usually 40s-50s during the day. Will this be too cold to paint without heating up the garage some? Andrew

This was on a large car carrier, but that is where they placed the hooks to hold it to the trailer (I can see by reading what I wrote that people might think it was towed on 2 wheels by these points). So every bump on the highway between Sacramento and Dallas caused the car to bounce and pull against the hooks, resulting in the holes being torn open some. I think the tow hooks I am referring to were probably meant for just pulling the car up onto a flatbed or something, and not actually for pulling it down the road since they don't look very rugged, but I am sure someone here has had that experience before!! Andrew

I had some damage done to my underbody when I had my car shipped, the previous owner apparently didnt care how they hooked it up since it was no longer his car. Obviously not a Z fan like those on this board! They put the hooks into the drainage holes on the rear frame rail and the holes in the front crossmember. I have seen some pictures of cars with tow hooks mounted behind the front valance. I was thinking of getting some of these from the scrapyard, but I would still have to remove the airdam every time I have some mechanical trouble. I would like to hear what others think about this as well. Andrew

Walking won't save you, there are plenty of jerks that throw things at pedestrians, especially in certain parts of town and at certain times of the evening! Mainly kids cruising around after high school is out or something I am guessing. A friend of mine was walking home from someones house down the street and some kids driving by tossed a coke bottle at him, hitting his arm and leaving a nasty bruise. Have had some other friends have eggs thrown at them, both while on foot and driving in the opposite direction. There are some real jerks in this world of ours! :tapemouth

http://www.zcluboftexas.org/profile1999_body.html There are still a lot of members with first gen Zs in the club as of 1999, and most of their club photos have a lot of the older Zs. I plan on joining soon. Andrew

When Fairlady is written in katakana, it comes out of that imperfect translator as fair ready. I dont think this is a case of 'engrish!' see: http://page3.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/c36415408

Well, that sure was simple! Seems like every manufacturer does it different. My 72 does not have the flash button, just the switch between high/low when pulling the t/s stalk. Thanks, Andrew

This might seem like a stupid question, but do our Zs have a seperate high/low beam function? When I turn the light switch to position one, I get running lights, and headlights only come on in position 2. Am I missing something? I haven't done a lot of night driving yet so I haven't messed with it yet but I see lots of people posting about high beams and low beams. Maybe I am missing a switch or something? Andrew

Hey Zed, I might be interested, but I have a few questions. I poked around their site some, and some of the samples had a little speedhut logo underneath the RPM on the tach. Would the 240Z gauge faces have the speedhut logo or would we have an option on this? Do these units generate a lot (if any) heat when in operation? Would it be possible to have a gaugeface that looks identical to the stock guage (lettering, etc) but have the lettering light up at night like the fontglow setup they have? i.e. could they produce one with a custom font, like the ones on our stock gauges? How hard do you guys think it would be to install? I haven't yet had to mess around with any of the instruments or remove the dash yet, but I figure I will need to eventually for one reason or another. Thanks, Andrew

Speaking of dealing with the airdam, do you guys have jacks that let you start to lift without putting the lever through the wheel well or removing the airdam? Do you guys ever use wood blocks between the jack/car or jackstands/car to prevent any damage? When I jack it up from the side, it tends to try to pull towards me as the jack straightens out underneath, and the opposite occurs when I release it. That movement could be a problem when I try to mount it on jackstands. I even wedged both rear wheels well but it just pulled against it. Not a lot, but enough that it would make mounting it on jackstands pretty tough. Andrew

This reminds me, What kind of floor jacks do you guys have? I bought a medium sized one at sears not too long ago, and the release valve goes into effect in a very abrupt fashion when it is under load, I am afraid I will lower the car too fast and damage something! So far all I have done is raise and lower it onto big wooden blocks under the wheels, and that did not take the amount of precision I am sure mounting jackstands need. Also, when the car is up on jackstands, how stable is it? It looks like (especially when they are up so high as yours 2ManyZs) that it would be prone to falling over under some medium lateral force. I haven't bought any jackstands yet, but I probably need to before too long. I have seen them with a variety of different shaped tops, what do you guys recommend for the best hold and least damage? Thanks Andrew

This is horrible I hope he pulls through this!