26th-Z

Ya'll gotta understand... Some one of these days I'm gonna have Her Majesty the 26th and Princess 27 sitting there in a car show all looking beatimous and stunning. You're gonna walk up and say; "nice cars but do you have the original service manuals from those years?" And if I couldn't wip them out to show you, how would you know that I restored the cars in the most correctest manner? You would prolly think I'm some slacker or something! Prolly chuckle under your breath...(this poor bastard hasn't a clue....) You see, to some people owning this particular manual is very important and I can actually point to something peculiar about the early engines that I wouldn't know without one of these early books. I have to admit that I think the asking price was shattering. I'm so glad I have mine.

I was just about to post the Ssnake-Oyl link. Your type of early, lift-buckle style is unobtanium, ddezso. Parts for the buckles themselves are NLA, so be carefull with what you got. From what I can see of your photo, you still have the original finish. The center part was wrinkle black and the buckle body was satin black (semi-gloss). No emblems or labels - just plain. I agree with Montoya and from the looks of your picture, I would say your belts are no longer safe. Ssnake-Oyl will fix you right up. They refurbish everything.

That is a published in Japan, November 1969 chassis service manual for the American import 240Z. Probably the first publication from everything I know about them. It is quite rare, as you can imagine, quite unique (very much unlike subsequent publications) and like many rare collectable books, the seller thinks it is worth a lot of money. What other explanation did you have in mind?

My part books only goes up to July '73. Your first picture and the blue picture look like 86700-E8800 from 8/71 on. It has the sliding ash tray. Are either of the consoles notched for a padded arm rest hinge? The part book shows the arm rest. Do the automatic consoles differ from the manual? That might explain the chrome ring. I have one of those also. The last picture is much later and I am guessing fits lighted switches.

The choke knob on the left is 18415-N3401 or 3601 from 8/73, I believe. The one on the right could be 18415-E4101, E8700, or E8800 from 9/71 to 7/73. One says CHOKE, the other is just the symbol and the part numbers are different between Canada and USA cars. I have no reference to other export variants or the domestic. 18415-E4100 is the early choke knob Kats is talking about. It is unobtanium, the set screw is different, and the mechanisms are also different. There are 11 different part numbers for the mechanism. The choke knob on the left is for mechanism 18410-N3602 or N3403 for Canadian cars. The choke knob on the right could fit in a 18410-E8800 up to 1/72 or E8802 from 1/72 to 6/72 or N3300 from 7/72 to 2/73. The original assembly 18410-E4401 is the choke / throttle mechanism only good up to 1/70. It was replaced by E4601 which came in two variants - braided wire cable and they were replaced with solid wire. I understand the width of the levers is different between models and it affects the slot in the choke plate on the console, but I have yet to document this with my own eyes. Hope this helps! CW-

The used ones you linked to, DougN, are way incorrect - way wrong parts - don't buy those.

That was great, Alan! I hope my computer screen comes clean after seeing your pictures of the R380. So, on a scale of 1-10, how much fun did you have? (Edit) Oh !! !! I'm sorry. Should have paid attention to your title. A business trip, eh?

Oh boy! Is this going to be fun!

Defroster switch. I have clear glass.

Anyone have a blanking plug for where that switch should be?

The hardware for the early straps is different because the early cars didn't have tool bins in the rear deck. Straps are on eBay from time to time and shouldn't go for more than $20. Be sure you get the plastic belt loops. The hardware is plated silver zinc - same as the door strikers.

The tools that came in the '72 as well as the tool storage arrangement are quite different from the '70. Bookmark this site for details of the early cars. http://www.geocities.jp/datsunz903/

Sorry to come into this late. I see some really great comments and I generally agree with the majority of them. But the base question is what a '72 with 50,000 miles is worth. Mint / near mint condition. There was an article in the Wall Street Journal some months ago. Search the archive here. We went over it. A '72 in near mint condition with 50,000 miles is worth somewhere between $15,000 and $18,000. I see cars like this in collections in Tampa and Atlanta. It should appear almost brand new. 50,000 miles on a 240Z is nothing. You should be able to tell right away if the car is genuine or a restoration.

The 1970 service manual was split into two books - the chassis manual and the engine manual. I don't have any spare engine manuals - just the chassis. They were combined in 1971. The yellow '70 manual is in VG condition - clean. The '71 manual is virtually brand new. $40 for the '70 - $50 for the '71. PM me. Chris

My club has been thinking of doing a calander. The trouble I see is selling enough of them to justify the cost of printing. The calander we are talking about was only printed 100 copies which makes it rather expensive. And you only get a few months to sell them before they are worthless. Do any of you have experience with this? Do calanders make money for clubs?

That's a ZL allright. Notice the Hitachi 8-track radio and the foot rest. All trademarks of the ZL interior.

I don't know, Ed. One of the guys in our local club forwarded this around.

I got this e-mail a couple of weeks ago. Copy-clipped TIME TO PLACE YOUR CHRISTMAS ORDERS FOR THE 2006 HEART OF AMERICA Z CAR CLUB CALENDAR. Thanks to the efforts of Michael Blankowski, we’re ready to print this year’s fabulous Z-Car Calendar. Once again, Michael has spent many hours in designing the layout and inspecting dozens of photos, and the end result is a very professional, very artistic showing of club members’ dream cars. PLEASE, send in your orders today and take advantage of last year’s prices: $20 for one $19 each for two $18 each for three $17 each for four or more. Make your check out to HAZCC, and mail it to: HAZCC c/o Mick Mithelavage 4117 SE Paddock Drive Lee’s Summit, MO 64082 Out of the hundred to be printed, 33 have already been reserved, so send in your order NOW. Any questions, please contact Michael Blankowski at mblankowski@kc.rr.com. Thanks for your Z Club support !

I'm lovin this! Thanks Guus!

Briefly answered, but I encourage you all to read about balancing and blueprinting - I'm certainly no expert. However, I have built a few engines in my life and this is how I understand it. The engine has a number of revolving and reciprocating parts. The crankshaft revolves and the pistons and rods reciprocate. Like getting your tires balanced, the crankshaft and everything connected to it that goes round and round with it, is subject to the weights and balances of the parts. This includes the clutch, flywheel, and front pulley / dampener. You know what a tire feels like when it is out of balance; the same is true of the revolving crankshaft in your engine. The reciprocating pistons and rods also affect this motion and their weights react to the balance of the revolving parts. Because of the RPMs involved, this becomes a very accurate situation. Other things come into play, like harmonics, but keeping the explanation simple; the closer one can get to perfect revolving balance to the revolving parts and equal weight to the reciprocating parts, the less power will be consumed making up for the imbalance and less wear on the engine. The engine will rev faster, have more horsepower, and will be smoother. The designers of the engines specify a certain tollerance of weights and balances. But every time you change a clutch, for example, you technically throw the engine out of balance. I just did the engine for 26th and my machinist said it would feel much smoother. The top of the block deck was stamped with numbers that correspond with the piston weights. The pistons were stamped accordingly, and they were within 3.5 grams of each other. They are now equal weight. Same for the rods, rod caps, and bolts. The crankshaft was balanced with the front pulley, flywheel and clutch plate assembled. I'm supposed to notice the difference. On a side note, the crankshaft for an early engine like mine was subject to a vibration within a certain RPM range. This "flaw" was later corrected with another crankshaft design. You may notice a metal plate welded to the side of the oil pan on an early engine. (26th's engine number is L24-2338) This is because the oil pans cracked in this area due to the harmonic vibration of the early crankshaft design.