hls30.com

I guess Big brother is watching our every move! You can't please eveyone, but you can please yourself-just do it in private! Pick a color, shoot some paint, be happy(forgot to put on a respirator didn't you...) Will

What about the Porche color, Signal Red, that is what my '73 was painted with-it seems to glow at dusk! Elbow grease is free! Clean up your parts, harvest your best parts, buff the trim, cut out rust, strip paint... There is plenty to do! I have got to get with it too. It is a nasty day here, but I have a nice airconditioned workshop full of Z stuf to clean, modify, or paint!

No problems, just worried about your gord! Are your cars ready to drive? If not, what are you doing sitting around? What color would you paint the car? Why? Will

OOOH! Not my messes, but some of these sorry buggers I share the planet with sure have made and left some-just remeber, without us, there would be no 240Z, and no paint! Cheer up Bill! Will

The problem with being young is youth is wasted on you, if you knew what we know(the older and, ahem, wiser crowd) you could get into so much more trouble sooo much faster! How 'bout painting the car Buffett Blue, getting the tag, "its5pm" and getting a bumper sticker to put in the back window that reads: "Follow me to Margarettaville!" I don't have to spell out that it is before noon on a nasty, rainy Monday here, or what would be playing on the radio, do I? Will

Come on now Bill, those rims will never fit your car! Will

The only one who has to be happy with your car is you! Paint it any color you want-I can say that because I am 40 and trying to figure out a new color for my '72! If someone thinks I am trying to be 18 again, that's their opinion and they are welcome to it! Find your perfect color, paint the Z, and enjoy the ride!!:classic: Will

Ok, who said I was Young? I am beginning to question your understanding of our translationsLOL Datsun didn't loose "the plot", they changed the focus. Something "Illustrated Encyclopedia of Classic Cars" evidently missed altoghether! The 280ZX was not supposed to be a continuation of the Z in any measure except sales figures! The leadership at Datsun thought a Cadillac would sell better, so they made one that would fit into a shape similar to a z car, and kept some original pieces to hopefully placate the S30 crowd-it didn't really cut it with the drivers in the bunch, so they really poured money and parts into racing endeavors, so that they could "Keep up appearances", and hopefully get some people to drive the cars regardless of the opinion of the press. The ZX was a comfortable "grocery getter" with some shared components, a few similar lines, and a similar name! A very nice car, but not designed to be a continuation of the Z theme of economic performance, with a small thought to creature comforts. Only a Brown-eyed mullet would tell you to F*&@OFF ! And then only one with a Bodgy brain! The rest of us would have to clime in and give the Galah a Gobful for their Spewin'! "Please Will, if you like he who should remain nameless and his wife, you can HAVE him." Me thinks he is at his happiest right where he is, and true to the Irwins, "He's a big fella with a lovely sheela, and we would hate to disturb their natural environment." Will Bill, I am still waiting for the "story" behind the sale of your Z!:stupid: :stupid:

Cranky, there's a naughty boy! Thinks just cause we're Yanks, and aren't from down unda, we can't get a joke unless we are "old farts"! Maybe we just don't get the jokes that come from a Banana bender with Kangaroos loose in the top paddock! ROFL The last time I heard us called Ceptics, it was in an Australian movie with Carl Weathers trying to find his sister. 'Course, I don't live there, and don't get anything of Australia that doesn't come from Steve or Terry Irwin! ROFL You guys have some beautiful territory, I will visit one day, and I would much rather see it in a rugged and go-getem rally prepped 240Z than an 80s cadilac made by Datsun! :stupid: (Had to keep focus on the subject of the thread!) I hope that my didn't get lost in the translation! Oh, Carl, just for you, I said UNIT! Will

Sorry ChrisA, I looked at the Catepillar snowplow right before I tried to read this thread-I forgot to allow time for my retinas to heal from the abuse! My appologies! Will

please.... please, make it go away.... We need to start a Z rights movement, and get owners/creators of "cars" like this the help they need. If we just get them off the street, they might butcher another car. They really need help, it is not their fault they have not got enough visual acuity to see what they have done-stare at that "car" for 10 minutes, and tell me you aren't impaired! Some people just don't know better, they need counselling, a support group, drug therapy, and an eye transplant! There is a great deal of good work in that car, and it will take a great deal more to fix it. As I said on the other thread, Catepillar already makes snowplow. Will

Since nobody but Carl really tried to answer the original question of this thread, and I have been out of town, I'll put on the bullseye and cary on a while! The primary differences between the Z and ZX are aimed at changing the percieved level of comfort. The Z was made to be a sports car first-it was purpose built with the reigns held by accountants. It is not particularly comfortable, quiet, or spacious, but it gives a great feeling of connection to the road, you can feel where the car is relative to its capabilities and your driving habits, It is also one of the most beautiful cars there is. The 280ZX was built to add comfort to the Z, it has lounge chairs, surround sound, T-tops, more room, was intended to be quiet inside, fewer blindspots, more stability at high speed, a more compliant and a cheeper to produce suspension. It is like driving a nimble recliner in your living room. Nissan added more power, and a closer ratio transmission to try to keep the performance in line with the Z. The design also included a pronounced effort to reduce the propensity of the car to rust relative to the S30. A great deal more was spent on development, and Datsun wanted to please more people with the car, so they added a hunk of Americanism to the car-it is much more like an 80s Cadillac-Fat, Dum, and Happy! You don't feel the connection to the road, you are well insulated from it. Those are not bad things. Not everyone wants a car that lets you feel a dime when your tire rolls over it. Not everyone realizes that the guitar rock from the 70s is the right pitch to be accompanied by the sound of an angry in-line six! Some people would rather listen to Guitarless mustic, hear most of it, and camp out on a recliner. I have both, and I prefer to ZZip around town, and take short trips in the 240Z. The 280ZX is for the long trips, the beach, and the parkinglots. It is not nearly as responsive as the 240Z, nor does it attract as much attention. The 240Z is for sheer driving enjoyment, the 280ZX is to make the trip more comfortable by removing the dynamics of the same drive in a 240Z-there is a huge diference between comfort and enjoyment-though they are intermingled. From the factory, A Z is a drivers car, and a ZX is a travelers car. Both are great cars-they were built for different views of what is important. Get one, and make it fit your view. Will

Put me down for one! Will

Zedd findings! Several threads about this in the search, but here is a link to save you some time! http://www.datsunzparts.com/Summary.htm Good stuff, you will be impressed! Will

You are bad, very bad.......

Hey Bill, did you get the engine number? If it was original and the plate is still on the inside of the passenger side of the engine compartment, that might go a long way in catching the rapscallions that took it-btw-how do es a person miss an engine getting pulled? Will PS-still waiting for the ducky ducky story from that sale!

I have one I removed the staples from as well, some of the pieces fell apart, but fortunately they were parts that had been paired(two of each piece was used) so there is still enough to have it right. I was going to cut them out of some sheet ABS I have for vacuum forming(really close in thickness). and screw them together. MikeW, if you make them out of the heavy paper, you might saturate them with resin, or POR15 to make them less likely to crumble through time. I would make sure they can still be taken apart to facilitate installation and removal. Will

OK, you dirty rat, Look here, see, this is the way we're gonna play this, see! The Z police are on the sceene! The car has promise, but you have not given enough detail for anybody who is familiar with a Zs shortcomings to jump in with some green! You have included just enough detail to bring out the sarcastic and suspicious nature of the "Z Police" We are of the opinion that what you didn't photograph, you didn't want us to see-and what reason could you have? Prove us wrong, send clear and well lit pictures of the floors from below and under the carpet, give us a good clear shot of the battery tray area, show us the inside of the rockers! Show us what we can only suspect to be in poor shape! We want to believe, but the God of rust has taught us that the streets will flow with rusty water from the car we didn't thoroughly checkout. Prove your car worthy of the big bucks you want! We need to be sure you're not all sixes and sevens! Will

Jack it up unfer the frontcross member(from the bottom, ahead of the oil pan, after the radiator support-the front suspension is located by it!) If my explanation isn't clear, let me know, and I will post a picture-don't get under the car with out stands-cinderblocks do not count!!!! Will

I am doing the same sort of thing, with a twist. Any nodification I do will have to be done to be easliy restorable later. I want to be able to put my car back to original later on. Will

SHow quality means that the piece will have all of the little defects repaired, that will give the the piece a like new finish. Chrome plating means that the piece will be properly cleaned, but no other attention will be given, just plated. Kind of like the difference between Earl Shieb(?) and a good paint job. Earl will put a coat of paint on a car, but no bodywork will be done. A good paintjob will take care of the defects that will show through the paint before the paint is put on. \ Will

I think you may offend some of the members with your use of the word "restoration"-it means to but back as original. Mounting different seats would definitely not be restoration! What you want to do is modification-before every body gets their panties in a bunch, the only person who has to be happy with your car is you! Go for it, and post pictures! Will

Repairing the old is not terribly difficult, but the old a/c is not terribly effective either! I have had 11 240Zs, all had A/C, and only one system was up to the task of cooling the car to my expectation(combatting coastal Georgia heat and humidity). I am currently resurrecting a '72, and working on a system with all new technology that is no more obtrusive than the old dealer installed units, and works based entirely on the heater panel controls with no new holes-I want it to look factory, but work like the AC in my 2003 S80-able to get and keep the car uncomfortably cold on the hottest day in direct sunlight-without overheating the engine. As I get there, I will detail the system and installation. Will

The answers that are here pretty well cover it. I have used POR15 under bodywork and paint. For presentation PAINT to be successful you must use tiecoat primer, followed by a primer/sealer/surfacer, and then the color coat. To use filler, use a thin layer of POR15, and let it get a thick skin on it, and apply the filler to it-yes, before the POR15 is completely hardened! Do not sand it until the POR15 is completely hardened! It is easier to spot apply POR15 to areas that have had rust that are going to be painted, than to the entire car. POR15 has a tendancy(at least in high humidity) to retain brush strokes, and for the finished paint to look right , the resultant striations must be properly filled. Will