Carl Beck

I'd have to know a lot more about your 240Z - as it stands now. How many miles? Pure Stock at present? The first thing to upgrade are your driving skills. The truth is, most drivers can't push a pure stock 240Z anywhere near its limits. A really great driver will take a pure stock 240Z and turn better times than 90% of the people running in higher and/or modified classes. Successful track days are really all about the drivers ability. Past making sure the car is "safe" and in good mechanical condition - the first upgrade most older 240Z's need - is a compression test and then a good fresh valve job. Second would be a good set of S.U.'s that are tuned properly and aren't sucking air past the throttle shafts. After that - I agree - Electronic Ignition and proper distributor timing curves and ignition advance. Next - better brake pads and fresh rear shoes - there are several newer technology pad compounds available - start with them. Next - good shocks and better tires. Next - 2.25" or 2.5" free flowing exhaust Next you have to decide what "class" you want to run in. Personally I think it is better to start in a STOCK class - and learn to be competitive there with a basically stock 240Z. Once you are running at the front of the pack in that class - then start adding modifications and moving up to higher classes. {that will also give you time to see other Z's in the modified classes and talk to the owners to see what they thought was important or not} A stock 240Z will give you lots of warning before it lets go and spins off the track. A certain amount of body lean, lots of tire squeal.. Once you start upgrading the cars road holding ability - you get less and less warning that the car is ready to leave the road... So I would work on gaining seat time first in a stock Z - then later moving up. But why add expensive modifications at all - - Why reinvent the wheel? Arizona Z Car, Triple Carbs, Racing tires, Suspension upgrades etc etc... ???? - - -- - Keep your Stock Z for pleasant weekends and road trips.... Then go buy a used race car that has everything already done, including a lot of the safety equipment alread installed - it will cost about less than half as much as modifying your car ... If you start Track Days etc in the STOCK Class - you'll have a season or two to find the best deal on a used race car... Better still - your "stock Z" will retain most of its value if you ever need to resell it - and if you buy a used race car at the right price - you won't lose your shirt on that either. Just my opinion... FWIW, Carl B.

Ask your friend - if his friend can scan them at a fairly high resolution? A good digital image from a scanner would be good enough to duplicate.. IF HE HASN'T Put them on the car already...

"it" what is it? Did you mean to say that after you "reinstalled" the same transmission, the pressure was gone? Or are you saying that you replaced the clutch line? Big difference between reinstalling and replacing.. Did you do anything else when the trans was out? BTW - DID you know that was a 5spd? Or is it a 5spd. You didn't say to begin with.. Carl B.

Yes Yes they are all the same NO - not if you changed the clutch Pressure Plate. The collar has to match the pressure plate. Almost all the replacement Pressure Plates are now the size/height of the 280Z and/or 280ZX pressure plates. So as mentioned already - you will most likely have to get the collar for a 280Z/280ZX. Lay your NEW and OLD Pressure Plate flat on the floor. Measure from the floor to the top of the pressure plate fingers. The original 240Z Pressure Plates were thicker so the collars were shorter. The New Replacement Parts are thinner so the collars are longer. If you measure your older and newer Pressure Plates and they are the same height/thickness - only then would you use the same collar. {you never know what some previous owner put in there - so you can't assume its the original Pressure Plate}. FWIW, Carl B.

Weren't there two styles for the 240Z's One early with a flat tip and a later one with a pointed tip?

Looking at the pictures - I suppose that Guy also has a Silver Cherry Picker for use on the Silver Z and a White one etc... Notice also how "presentable" the Yellow Cad Plating on the original fuel/brake lines are? A very low mileage example.. FWIW, Carl B.

It is a VERY misleading Ad. The First Issue of the Franklin Mint 240Z Model was Orange. I believe they produced 1000 in Orange. They are hard to come by. The Second "Limited" Edition was White and they produced 2500 of them - they came numbered and with White Gloves included. I bought two of them a couple years ago for $65.00 each as they were being cleared out. The Seller has the WHITE one for sale - and they usually don't bring the money that the Orange one will. What is even harder to find is the Display Case.. Nonetheless - the Franklin Mint Models are very very detailed - where all other die casts are far less accurate. You can read the VIN on the Dash of the Franklin Mint Models. IMHO the original Orange Franklin Mint Models were worth the original $125.00 price if you appreciate fine detail and craftsmanship. Bill restored the car and sold it - the following owner re-restored it and put a lot more time and money into the restoration. Then it was used as the model - to produce the Franklin Mint die cast. FWIW, Carl B.

Are you sure it's a "Roadster" box and not one of the early Competition Boxes? To use the 5 spd from the roadster, one had to change the bellhousing, the output shaft and the tail housing. Nissan Competition sold the parts necessary to accomplish the reconfiguration. In which case you wound up with the stock gearing that came in the roadster. An alternative - was to buy the 5spd.'s from Nissan Competition Parts - which was available with three or four different ratio gear sets. Some of these early Type "A" competition boxes can be very expensive to buy today depending on which gear set is installed. So I'd be sure to determine the exact gear ratio's in that early box - before you try to sell it. FWIW, Carl B.

Wheels DOWN on Mars... !!!!! AMAZING... Pictures Coming through... wheels on Mars Did I mention that the entire System.. had never been tested? Couldn't be tested on Earth..!!

Carl kicks himself for not buying that car!! {but glad Guy did}. Carl B.

I hope everyone will be able to watch NASA TV this evening/tomorrow morning - to see how the latest probe to Mars turns out. "Curiosity" is the largest and most complex probe set to Mar so far - it's about the size of a small car! It's due to land on Mars 9:30 - 10:30 PM CALIFORNIA Time this evening. http://www.ustream.tv/nasahdtv On a personal note: Steve Lee - one of the Entry, Desent, Landing {EDL} Engineers on the project - started his Engineering Career working with me in the CAD Systems Dept. of Honeywell Space Systems, in the mid 80's. One of Steve's first assignments was to evaluate the AutoCad Software - to see if it was robust enough to use within the Design Services Dept. {at that point it was not}.. Now 25 years later - - one my daughter's first "Engineering Orientation for Freshman" courses at UF this summer - was to learn AutoCad. Needless to say it's come a long way since then and so has Steve. http://www.ustream.tv/nasahdtv BTW - nothing like this has ever been attempted - and only about 1 in 3 attempts have been successful... so fingers crossed! No matter what - we will have learned a lot! FWIW, Carl B.

Or... Find a Shop that specializes in Differential Work. We have one or two here in Pinellas County, FL - - so I'm sure there will be one near you... Then take both diff's to them and let them do the swap. As mentioned above you might want to order the necessary seals, so you have them on hand to give the Shop that does the work. Really shouldn't be too expensive a job... You just want it done right the first time. FWIW, Carl B.

Another thought - the cam tensioner is driven by oil pressure. If the engine wasn't running... the tensioner can get pushed back a bit. When you get everything back together - start the engine and get some oil pressure - the chain should be tight. FWIW, Carl B.

Cams and Rockers should to be worn in together. You don't want to combine a used cam with a different set of used rockers - the wear patterns will not match and you will get excessive wear. If you swap in a used cam - use the same rockers used with that cam, on the same lobs. Number them and don't mix them up. Otherwise you can have a set of used rockers resurfaced or buy new rockers {EXPENSIVE} to use with the used cam in a different head. FWIW, Carl B.

Thread Bumped

Great Deal for anyone wanting a car to go racing in... I'm sure that is less than a third to cost to build... FWIW, Carl B.

As pictured - what you have there is a nice, but yet unfinished project. What is said to be a solid car with a new paint job, and suspension rebuild. Kind of a blank canvas... Street Mod it? Do an actual Restore To Stock? Refresh it without worrying about period correct cosmetics etc? IF - BIG IF because there is no information given about the type or quality of the job - IF the paint and body work are first class {cost $6,500.00 or more} - as it sits now missing parts and all - - - $10K to $12K. Depending on what the undercarriage looks like...{it wasn't stripped and refinished}. FWIW, Carl B.

$14K to $16K as long as the paint and body work are still without flaws/damage... and as long as the engine compartment is very presentable etc. Waiting to see the pictures.. FWIW, Carl B.

I'm not certain - but I don't think so. A friend was converting a A/T to 5spd - and he needed the early manual crossmenber. I didn't ask if his car came with the A/T installed - or if he started with a shell. I found an early crossmember in my spares and gave it to him.. I'll check with him... Carl B.

Hi PartsPeddler - PM sent {Private Message} Carl B.

Yes - that is possible. My mind may be playing tricks on me - but I would have sworn I saw a magazine ad with that picture at the top - surrounded by a red band... I could just be remembering the ad from the time... FWIW, Carl B.

Can you give me the direct URL - that shows KYB saying not to add oil to the strut tube? I can't seem to find it on their sight? thanks, Carl B.

True - but - "available" doesn't quite tell the whole story really. According to the sight in question all the following parts are available and at reasonable prices. 27118-E4400 Heater Hose {to control valve} 16089-N3300 Braided Hose AirCleaner to Front Carb 16086-N3302 Braided Hose Water Front Carb to Rear Carb 16085-N3302 Braided Hose Con to Front Carb 27118-E4400 Braided Hose - Heater Valve 27181-N3000 Braided Hose- Heater Inlet The problem or misunderstanding is that from Nissan's point of view - they can supply a newer part that has the same form, fit and function. Not the same cosmetic look. When the parts arrive at your home - they will also have a later part number.. which has superceded the original. Order the part numbers above but they will not be the Original Braided Hoses necessary to actually "restore" a 240Z to "as it left the factory" condition and appearance. So - are the actual parts above "available" from Nissan - NO. Are replacement parts available? - yes maybe. Sometimes the EBay sellers are telling the truth - the whole truth. Sometimes NOT. You have to know the difference and you have to see the actual part. FWIW, Carl B.

No matter where you go - if you have a 240Z - Parts are getting harder and harder to find. Many of the vendors show Part Numbers as good - with a note that they are available in 7 to 10 days. Then you get a "back order" notice - and months later the back order is still not filled. Finally it is cancelled... Let's face it - the cars are 40 years old now. FWIW, Carl B.

I just saw that Ad somewhere today - - now I can't find it again. I think it was on Facebook at one of the Local Club web sights..