26th-Z

The operating manual for my BMW says to not use the cruise control in wet and slippery conditions. For what it's worth.

Alan, I think price and marketing in North America had a lot to do with the initial American spec. The American market had costly emission requirements too. I suspect Datsun was completely unaware of how successful they would be and sold the cars as inexpensively as they could. It's all speculation, but I suspect Americans would have gladly paid more for the 240 Z optional equipment, had they known what a great car it turned out to be. Datsun seemed to have had a treasure chest of parts from which to construct many variations of the basic S30, as you point out. What they chose to sell in America had a lot to do with the way they saw themselves in this market. Brian Long references popular British cars as the predominant competition, however the American muscle car reigned at the time of the Z's initial introduction. First marketing campaigns emphasized economy and style whereas we look at the Z now from a performance aspect. I don't think anyone realized the potential of the Z until a year or two later with the race results from Brock, Morten, Fitzgerald, et.al. Most Americans I talk to about my car didn't even realize the Z was first sold in 1969. Most talk of their '72s or later when the components we are discussing became available in the States.

Indeed an interesting Mod if that's what it is. The door panel has the correct indentation. The seller mentions a broken door handle. The butterscotch looks very faded. The steering wheel is correct. Do I detect an incorrect air cleaner? Early cars did not have the cold air damper on the front.

I turn 50 today and live in Sarasota, Florida. I have HLS30-00026 built in November of 69 and I am restoring her. I'm an architect, single and have a daughter in college.

Hello Viper, Going to restore one, eh? So much of what you spend depends on what you have to work with. Or, what you start with. Pick up a copy of "How To Restore Your 240Z" to get an idea of what you are getting in to. There are a couple of active members right in the thick of it and have been posting great discussions and photographs. They have been dealing with everything from rust to nuts and bolts. So cost is relative to your expectaions and what you have to start. My Z is fairly complete, original, and in need of a thorough restoration. I have all issues from worn out car to rusty chassis. Mine is a low serial #, so original is key for me and I want to drive the car occasionally and show it, but not compete. I'll give you some of my estimates, experiences, and let the rest of the members comment. I budgeted $1200 to strip my chassis clean to bare metal. I'm going to dip it. Cleaning the doors, fenders, hood, deck is extra and I don't need to do that. Allow $4000 for paint and body work and throw in another $1000 for the hell of it. That brings us to a new, bare, painted body $5000 to $6000. The engine will be thoroughly rebuilt and I'm allowing $750 for the E31 head, $500 for the engine (rings, bearings, timing chain)and $900 to send the carbs (complete manifold and air cleaner)off to Z Therapy. Clutch - $300. The transmission is fine as well as the rest of the drive train, but I'll probably spend $200 just taking it out, cleaning it and putting it back in with new mounts. I have $600 in brake parts already and have another $400 budgeted for the brake system. If I replace all my suspension bushings while I clean and paint everything, I'll probably spend $400. I had to buy an original set of 4-1/2" steel wheels and 'D' hubcaps and tires. I already have $570 in parts (beat that!). I had a quote of $3500 to upholster the interior in leather, but so far, I have $750 in all new diamond vinyl (butterscotch), headliner and door panels. The dash - check out that forum - was around $500 to restore. I have anothr $300 easily in other interior do-dads. My seats are fine. Carpet kits are around $200. Replacing as much rubber as I could, I have around $500 in rubber parts at this time. Replacing tail lights and other items can get pricey. New tail lights are $500, I think. Bumpers are expensive. Rechroming is not cheap either. I have estimates for rechroming that make buying a brand new bumper on Ebay look like the easy way. Ok. I didn't address everything, but that's what my picture looks like. Figure in the tools you'll need and rent on the space to do all this work, and you really get up there. What am I at - $15,000? Sounds horrible, but that is probably what taking a car completely apart and re-assembling it is going to take. Restoring pieces is usually less expensive than replacing. I've made a big pitch for the blessing of available parts; parts are available. You just have to look for them. I would love to hear other comments from other projects. Hope I helped. Good luck to you. I'll finish with a brief story about my father wanting a convertible 356 Porsche and talking about cutting the top off his. I told him it would be less expensive, less hassle, and greater satisfaction in the long run to sell the hard top and buy another convertible. The best advice I can offer is to buy and pay for the car you ultimately want to have up front. Restoration ain't cheap.

The hose is the upper crankcase breather hose and normally connects to the back of the air filter housing. You should filter that connection so as not to introduce contaminants into the engine and, of course, keep it open to allow the engine to breathe.

Lubricate the column.

Hey Rick, Glad to see you back from vacation. I sent you money today BTW. I have built a few race cars in my day and concur with most of Rick's thoughts. I tend to be a cleanliness freak and fully believe that a clean car is inherently faster than a dirty car. In any high performance situation, the chassis is the basis of the car and is just as important or more important than any other component. By the time you get through aligning and strengthening the chassis, you might as well strip it clean. One does need to have a good mind for it though, because all race cars crash. That's just part of the game. Once again, a well prepared chassis is safer. I, too, have seen bondo cars. I once saw a guy get hurt flipping a bondo MGB. Pulled the roll bar out of the body. It all boils down to where you want to run in the pack. Front runners have well built chassis'.

There are small spaces in the bottom of the baffle to equalize the level between sides and allow flow. In all probabilty, your resto was done correctly and everything is fine. There was another thread about this recently.

This is a great site to talk about Z's. No wonder the membership keeps growing.

Yea - that's why I bought the chrome bumpers.

During the life of my Z, the original bumpers took their dings and eventually rusted. I filled and painted them a metallic charcoal to match the grill and tail light valance. They were simple bumper bars with no guards or rubber. They looked real good like the chrome ones I have now. Perhaps you would like the same treatment.

This one took me a while!

Notice the guy in the next car!

More of the fancy graphics like the Mini:

I bought a bra for my loveliness. Mine just says Z on the front. I think the car looks good in a bra. Silly as it sounds, 2ManyZ's is completely right about the fit and what it will do to the finish. As nice as your's looks, landmizzle, wear it for show and out on dates. Makes the headlights look bigger.

Thought you all would enjoy the new fall fashion in car bras. Get one for your Z!

http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/car_care/1998/10/Gas_Tank_Restoration/index.phtml The POR suggestion is for you do-it-yourselfer's. Motorcycle shops deal with this issue all the time and a good ole radiator repair shop may help you also.

Aside from the discussion of whether or not you should disconnect the heater, the quick repair to a leaking heater is to loop the hose back in the engine bay. You don't want the hoses, so you are left to your imagination to decide how to block it all off. The head plug needs no more than 1/4" - maybe 3/8". A brass plug can be turned if you like, or you can buy one. Cover it with teflon tape and screw it. The Y hose fitting can be threaded and capped or you could cut the pipe off and weld a plate over the hole. I don't recommend taking the plumbing out around the intake manifold. That area is perfect for fitting stainless braided hose and fittings, but it involves a lot of welding and fabrication. With the heater simply disconnected, the system volume will be lower and you may experience higher running temperatures. The comment about eliminating the windshiel demister is valid and will force you keep the inside of your glass very clean.

POR makes a gas tank sealant and I think they sell a cleaning kit also. You may want to consider sealing a tank that got nasty.

I have 11/69 HLS30-00026 and have the sun star mirror. The red dot came with cars equipped with elephant oil caps! Seriously, you're fine. This is one of the technical peculiarities of our early series one cars.

I know exactly what you mean, Gavin. I'm stuck in a similar situation with my early VIN car. I don't dare make modifications I cannot easily reverse. Too bad, they all look like fun parts and I would not think anything of making a replicate or look-alike car. I have considered making modifications with only bolt-on parts so as to have several versions of my car. Changing bumpers from simple "Euro" bars to complete bumpers with upright guards and perhaps the Amco chrome bumper guards would make quite a difference in appearance. Change the headlight buckets to those fitted with covers - wheels- and instant sportive look. Alan, please post the scans of the "Sports Options" catalog for us and share some more of your roll bar experiences.