SteveJ

Dave, I know what you mean. I saw an ad for an 83 Turbo near me. I showed the wife. She said I'd have to get rid of one of the other Z cars first. I just couldn't do that. There's no way of getting another past her because she thought I'd sell the 73 after I got the 74. I WAS planning on doing that, but I changed my plans. Now she's on to me.

Thanks for the pictures, E. They help a lot.

I would appreciate that, E. I tried the grinding method and wasn't satisfied with the results. I just paid for a new set of strikers and would love to see if your fix would improve the door latching.

E, do you have any pictures of the part that is commonly missing?

So are you looking for honest critiques/feedback?

My guess is that the lock/latch is not rotating enough after coming in contact with the striker. This is frequently evident by the door wiggling, yet not coming open. Unless the lock rotates fully, you cannot operate the push button locks. This can be verified by manually roating the lock with the door open. You will need to rotate it 90 degrees if I recall correctly. You can tell by doing it slowly and listening for two clicks. At that point, you should be able to lock the door. Be sure to unlock the door and lift the door handle to rotate the lock into the open position before attempting to close the door. If the manual technique works, the issue is with the alignment and/or wear of the striker on the door. Some people have resolved the wear issue by grinding a small amount of material away from the striker, allowing the lock to rotate fully. I believe there is a thread here that links to a Hybridz thread describing how to do this. Steve

Well, I took the plunge and ordered a set. I'll let everybody know how well they work for me.

FYI, common wisdom (for whatever that's worth) usually says to replace the regulator & alternator as a pair. I didn't do that in my 73 when the regulator went south, but apparently a lot of people see the two die as a set.

I would go with Jim's advice. To me, it's the prudent path.

Did you happen to see this thread? I'm trying to get the effort going for the Georgia Z Club, and I've been in touch with the club coordinator with Grassroots Motorsports Magazine.

That's just an excuse. Kennels are not that expensive, and if secured properly, they can keep kids contained for hours on end (Please for safety's sake remember to fill the water bowl.). It's only about an hour and a half each way to Road Atlanta, and it's probably the last year for the historic races to be held in conjunction with the Mitty. Add to that the presence of BRE & BRE replicas, and there are NO acceptable reasons to live in Georgia, own a classic Z car, and miss the Mitty.

Click on the link in my previous post.

It's called a dogleg because it resembles the angle of a dog's rear leg when it is sitting down. Attached is a picture of a dogleg taken from Pg 21 of the current Black Dragon Automotive catalog.

I will say that in defense of the old guard at Zcar.com, I found many answers just by searching that site. Also, I once chastised someone for asking for spoonfeeding since it took only a few minutes to search for his answer using terms from his post. This was despite the fact that he claimed he searched and could find nothing. It seems like the newbs flock to Zcar.com first, get their spankings, learn some etiquette, and find sites like this. Note: Tony D, one of my favorite straight-talkers, pointed out that Zcar.com gets flooded with lazy newbs around the time of high school breaks (Summer, Christmas, Spring Break). I haven't seen anything there to prove him wrong on that.

Frank, Where in Georgia are you? The Mitty is coming up 30 Apr - 2 Mar. There should be a lot of Z cars and other classic Datsuns there.

Oh, stop being such a weakling. Why before the internet, we had to walk 5 miles in the snow, uphill both ways, while a hurricane was raging above us, just to get some information on our Z cars. Dang Europeans.

I did not attempt to fit the retractor into the depression. It is not designed to do that. The retractor is mounted at the roof. It is not near my head that I perceive.

IMHO, I found a good replacement. I described it here. It's easy to install, no drilling, etc., and it has the sleeves for the center buckles.

Dave, Could you share the name brands of the products you used (paint & epoxy)? I wouldn't mind experimenting some, too. Thanks, Steve

Actually, I was thinking that you have to be careful. If you scrub your rear end too hard with a wire brush, it might keep you from being able to drive your Z.

What do you hope to gain from a dual Webber conversion? I've had both SUs and Webbers, and I didn't really find any value added to having the Webbers.

I think I see a theme developing here...

My first thought is a parts washer and wire brushes to get the gunk off.

Read this book.

Mine does, too, but he sure enjoys my cars (87 Supra Turbo, Mazdaspeed6, & Z cars).