Mark Maras

News to me too. How many years did they include it? Evidently my 74 was disarmed properly. No red button on mine & the seat belt switch is not working. Is the red button a remote start or something else like a reset button of some sort? Inquiring minds want to know.

My early 71 has a plastic tank. I thought they all had an evap. tank of some sort.

I'm with the Reverend on this one. Logically, to me, it would seem as if the reg. would go before the carbs. I don't doubt what you say, but I'd still like to know why it goes after the carbs. Anyone?

I'm reminded of a 510 story involving a party, a week long torrential downpour & friends in a local sports car club. Late one evening when the party was running dangerously low on "supplies". Eric, courageously volunteered to brave the storm & return to his house & pick up more "supplies" so the party could continue late into the night. It seems as though Jim's 510 was parked behind Eric's Audi Fox. Jim, who didn't want to go out in the storm, was in no shape to drive nor any shape to make any kind of wise decision throws Eric his keys. Eric, who is in no better shape than Jim grabs the keys & is gone. Taking full advantage of the opportunity, he is driving briskly when he comes to the crest of a small hill & in front of him is a flooded road. He stands on the wet brakes & comes to a stop with the car in the water. As he is sitting there collecting himself, the front of the car starts to drift to the left. Panic time. He throws the trans. into reverse but the car doesn't move except to drift a little farther. He opens the door, he jumps out, water goes in, he grabs the rear fenderwell & starts pulling. As he is pulling, the sinking car finally makes contact with the road. The car is still running & in reverse as the car is backing up he hops in, takes a detour home where he pulls the 510s belly plugs & then returns to the party to explain to a totaled Jim & give him the plugs. It seems there was a lot more to explain the next day when Jim's head cleared & he hopped in his car & found it soaked. Amazingly, Eric & Jim remained friends during & after the two week 510 dry-out.

If 15-20 mm is the end clearance, I'd push the prop. shaft all the way in, mark the housing, then pull the shaft out 15-20 mm and give it the shake test. If it goes away you need a longer shaft. If it remains, I'd look at the rear housing bushing. Hope this helps.

Thanks for sharing that great Datsun story. It looks like Blue & the Captain (& probably most of us) have many more. Please guys, Don't leave us in suspense.

What a great time we had today, Another artery clogging breakfast, the same cute coffee girl. (Geoff got her picture this time), lots of of Z talk, beautiful weather & a couple of Zs that drew in some people that joined the Z conversation in the parking lot. Geoff & Jim headed back to Seattle after to spend the rest of the day installing new valve seals in Jim's Z. All in all a great day for everyone. Mark

Mustache wax! I've heard of that. Let us all know how it works!

It looks great. You took the ugly duckling & transformed it into a swan. Good job. Give yourself a pat on the back. As far as the polishing goes, This is what I see coming & you probably have already considered-The cyl. head "(which used look just fine) now looks like a$$ next to the polished bits, Looks like a little more clean up is necessary."

I'll throw my hat in also. I think we all have a soft spot for the roadsters probably 510s too. Love to see some pics.

Intermittent problems are a major PITA. My first guess would be timing issues, but lets look at fuel first. A few questions please. When did the problem start? Did you tune it before or after the problem? Have you tried pulling the choke on during these episodes? If so, what effect did it have? The chokes can be used to rule out a lean condition. How is the idle during the episode? Does the engine rev. easily & smoothly under no load? A sign of lack of fuel volume. On the elec. side, try pulling the plug wires one at a time (insulate yourself) while idling & see what effect it has. A bad condenser, even if new, can be a nightmare to diagnose. They are cheap, put in another new one just to rule it out. Then I would go at it with a multi-meter & check actual voltage in the secondary system while it's running well(baseline) & again when it craps out & compare.

No, I haven't tried VW seats but the seats in my 97 Subie Outback are firm, very comfortable & have lots of adjustment. They also have manual height adjusters & heaters. I'm going to do some measuring in the near future to see if they will fit but I doubt there will be a size problem, the originals were not a a small seat. Mark

I've used a torch tip cleaner to coerce some clearance in the oiler holes. I was surprised how choked the holes really were.

It's beautiful now. Definitely was an ugly duckling. Can't wait to see it completed.

There has been a fair amount of discussion about replacement seats. Most seem to be changing to Miata seats, as I recall. Do a search here. I'm sure you'll find a lot more info than I can remember. Mark

I took a better look at the lenses,. The early 71 lenses are shorter than the ones in the early 260. The 260s meas. 3 5/16" x 15/16". The info on the lens is DOT SAE L2 IKI06024 JAPAN, the same # for both.

TomoHawk Woops, I sent he previous offer to the wrong person. Brain fade. If you think the lenses are the same as the early 71, PM me your address & they are yours. Mark

I've used 11g. fence ties cut to the proper length. alum. or galv. steel.

Jim I still have the rear lenses on "Hiro" my 71. Although the housings have different attachment points, than my 74, the lenses appear to be the same. Let me know & I will either bring them on the 18th or I can mail them to you sooner. Pay it forward. Mark

I can take a look at it for anyone that might be interested. Not much info. Mark

Gee, What could possibly go wrong, go wrong, go wrong. He's a great candidate for the Possum Lodge.

Nice bunch of parts. Certainly worth $300.00. I believe that choke assy. w/ "cruise control" is rare. My orig. 71 looks the same minus the cruise lever & linkage. Trim plate also included 2 slots. Are you sure there isn't anything there you might need on your trip East? Mark

I think we are all part of the problem. I love my 1/2" elec. impact gun from H.F. & a few other things I rarely use it but when I need them it's good to have them. If I was using them daily I'd buy a much better brand . Also, I believe we all bought Zs, even if used. which had to have a negative effect on Detroit. That said I always try to buy USA, except cars.

Great info. I've been curious about the gas blending for a long time & the effects on engines. After reading the links I'm concerned about my son's RX7. The negative effects on lubrication in a 2-cycle, as well as a 4- cycle, engine are worth looking into further. Thanks Mark

I feel the same when it comes to electronics. Take a look at the first gen. wiring diagram. It is simple & easily understood. I would think that it would be a good starting point if you want to get rid of the extraneous bull$hit wiring that kept increasing year after year. Probably would be easier to eliminate some of the unused wiring rather than going to a 1st gen harness although it wouldn't be that difficult to make your own. Throw in some relays for an update & you'll have a clean engine compartment except for the "grass". The more the better.