87mj

I think I saw that poor thing....craigslist? Indiana somewhere. Right? I'm up by Fort Wayne. I think it was calling my name. Always exciting getting another Datsun. Good luck! Gary

I am far from being a body mechanic but I was curious how you are able to mount a 240z on a rotisserie since the sheet metal is so thin. Especially at the rear valance. Isnt that just a piece of sheet metal with nuts welded to the back?

I really like the dated look of the vinyl. If it were me, I would try to maintain as much of the "240z" personality as I could. I would keep an eye out for transmission tunnel vinyl. I would also replace those seats with aftermarket. Then send me a PM indicating you are wanting to sell your factory seats. Seriously, I like everything about these cars and the closer to stock, the better. But its your car.

Ok I admit I procrastinate but I got them on today. I went for a test drive and I didn't feel any difference in increased road noise. Maybe even less but I am sure it was my imagination. Less noise seems impossible to me. I felt more confident running down hilly back country roads knowing I wouldn't bottom out. Also I have a 240z and always liked the stance of a 280. My personal preference and opinion is it looks more balanced with a modest rake in the back. It took me about 1 1/2 hours to get them installed. The first side was most of the time. The second literally took about 20 minutes since I knew what I was doing. Here are the steps: Jack the car, remove the tires and strut caps. Unbolt the brake line mounting bracket (this will prevent you from opening up the brake lines) Unbolt the axle (half shaft?) from behind the hub. This will allow the strut assembly to fall without stressing your brake lines. Unbolt the 3 nuts holding the top of the strut in place. Hold on to it since it may fall loose. Install the spacer Press down on the brake drum while putting it back up into place. I needed assistance for this step. After the strut is bolted back on to the car, reinstall the brake line and axle. I should note the bolts in the spacer are somewhat loose. I could see unbolting the nuts at the rear deck causing the spacers to spin so I put locktite on those and tightened them down as well as I could.

Yes it should have. I love that option. It makes the interior look like an old airplane.

I believe a 280 has the larger spring isolators in the rear. You may be able to replace those with 240z isolators and still use your factory springs. That would lower the rear by about 3/4". I have never owned a 280z before so someone else may be able to chime in but I believe the front isolators are the same height on a 280 as they are on a 240z so wouldn't be able to lower the fronts using that approach.

One more comment about this from my experience. I have a low mileage '71 and a "parts car" '71. The steering on the parts car was tight with no play in the steering shaft but the low mileage car had play even after replacing everything in the front (except for the inner tie rod ends). I was sure it was the ujoints. Upon closer inspection, the nut was loose on the steering wheel. My troubleshooting skills need a little work.

Im not sure I get the whole "low vin" thing. If I were shopping for a 240, I would take good factory sheet metal over a low vin any day. I know I am wrong though because everyone wants a low vin. I'm wrong. Right?

I know this isn't helpful at all but I thought I would mention it. When I was a kid (long ago) I had a similar problem with my '73. At times, I struggled to get it started. I resorted to pulling the fuel line at the filter. Then I put the hose in a glass jar of gas. Sometimes it pulled fuel and sometimes it didn't. So I replaced the fuel pump and the behavior was the same. I was a dumb kid at the time. So perhaps I was thinking more of my girlfriend than my car? Regardless, I never did figure it out. I am sure that car went to the scrap yard 30 years ago.

I have a '71 and was having trouble bleeding mine out. What would appear to be a successful bleed always resulted in poor braking performance. I was sure I didn't allow air into the lines but I suspect I was wrong. The thing that helped me was install speed bleeders.

I cant imagine how it would increase vibration. The original insulator is currently mounted against a solid surface in the strut tower. After a spacer is installed, the insulator will still be mounted against a solid surface bolted to the strut tower. So either way, the insulator is mounted against metal. But I will find out soon enough. I saw those things and bought them right away. They haven't arrived yet though.

Assuming you are going to paint the floors, what do you plan to do with the sound deadening tar? Are you going to try removing it first or paint over it?

Back in the olden days of around 1979, I had the same popping noise on my '73. It ended completely after I disconnected the smog pump. I needed a new muffler at the time. More recently, my new-to-me '71 needed a new muffler. It also popped. It is not loud but annoying none the less. The lack of a muffler made it worse. I disconnected the smog pump on that one too. Then it stopped. Personally, I suspect they did that when new. It was not noticeable because of the stock muffler.

I didn't realize a 300zx was a classic car. Wow I am getting old.

To Esmit208's point, I am an old guy at 54 years old and have fallen in love with these cars since I was 15 years old. I am on my third one now. The other two were money pits in every since of the word. My first was only 6 years old and certainly went to the scrap yard shortly after I sold it. My point is I was an experienced buyer. My most recent was a near flawless car with 60k miles on it. I spent countless hours bringing it back. All new struts, front bushings, brakes, master cyl, tie rods, ball joints, fluids, cooling, tires, carpet, hoses, belt, light switches, etc. All of these things needed to be done and were no surprise to me. Old cars need a lot of love and patience. Some parts can be bought from rock auto or your local auto parts store but some require a lot of luck. Just know what you are getting in to before you pull the trigger.

I have a 5/71 which originally came with the Type A 4 speed. Sometime in its life, it was swapped with the type B transmission. Series 1 and early series 2 cars had the rear diff in a location closer to the front of the car. When the transmission was swapped, did that also require a shorter driveshaft? Do you think my rear diff is now in the same location as a '72 ? I would like to replace my rear diff mount bushing but they are NLA for a 71. I will need to use a '72 mount bushing which I think it requires a different bracket around my diff. My hope is that has already been done. Anyone think the bracket has already been swapped and diff is already moved to the '72 position? Thanks

I just put them on my '71 and I am very happy with them. They feel factory to me.

I think you have it right. Slotted mags all the way. Aged but ageless wheels for an ageless car. I have been wanting a 240z every since I dumped my last one in '87. I was going with slotted mags if I ever bought a new one. The only problem with these cars is the wheels change the look of the whole car. I finally bought a 905 red '71 and the slotted looked terrible so I switched. The color didn't match the wheels. But they will look great on white. if it were me, I would buy 4 used deep slotted aluminum wheels and send them off for polishing. It might cost a little more than new but they may look a little better too. Just make sure you can find center caps. Finding some that fit can be difficult.

But correct me if I am wrong but isn't Ztherapy carbs also polished way beyond factory finish too? My recollection is they never had a shine. Polished carbs look fantastic but if they don't look factory. Has anyone ever seen the results of sending carbs to either of these companies but request that they return them to factory finish without polish?

Color shots. That is great news. Unfortunately for me, while my joints are as good as they were in 1987, my eyes are not. Color shots will really help. Love that book.

I don't see how it is possible for it to move that much. The bushings fit inside that track that is welded to the rack. Is it possible that the brackets are from another car (240 perhaps) which allows too much play?

In comparison, this car is too expensive and the reserve wasn't met at $6,300. I cant imagine the money required to bring that car back. Non numbers matching, the rear deck was cut out, The interior was completely destroyed. Apparently the car had an uncracked dash but it was spray painted. I would rather have the cracked dash. If I were offered $6,300 for it, I would take it in a minute. http://www.ebay.com/itm/1973-Datsun-Z-Series-2-door-hatchback-/302260519081?hash=item46602180a9:g:GcwAAOSwTM5Y0tCA&vxp=mtr Parts car at best?

It makes no sense to me that the white car didn't sell. I would take that car over that BAT blue one any day. Original cars are becoming more rare every day. I was told that red sells. Could it be the color? That blue is nice. My first 240 was white. I really liked it. I have a red one now. When I got it appraised by a professional appraiser, it said it was the money color. I didn't know that. I just want one of each.

I hope I don't offend anyone. But I would pay much more for an unmodified car than a custom one. Flairs, blacked chrome, L28, seats, etc. really drops the appeal to me. I am sure many others would like the car because of the appearance, upgraded interior, etc. Also, many sell L28 as an "Upgrade" to the original 2.4. But to me, nothing beats numbers matching and as close to factory as possible. Long term, I suspect those cars will be the ones that demand top dollar.

Bump I know you guys are throwing these in the trash... help a guy out.