kmack

"What did you use for the seams along the floorboard by your feet? Whatever Datsun used came up in white pieces." 3M makes a product called Body Sealer. It's black and stays pliable throughout it's life cycle. It gets a skin on top but never really hardens. Makes for a nice seal between metal pcs. I used it all over my car sealing anything and everything I could reach. It runs about $4-6 a tube depending on where you can find it.

If the motor dies in the clock, I would not try to open it up and fix it. It is way too hard to try and put back together. I trashed one motor on one of my spare clocks because I bent the shaft trying to put it back together. The motor still turns but there is enough resistance in the motor itself that when hooked back up to the clock internals, it won't move anything now. The other clocks I have, the motors all spin great, it's just the clock internals that get gummed up and need to be oiled. I would not suggest tinkering with the motors unless you are very familiar with tiny, fragile objects.

beandip, I could have made the stands taller to allow full rotation of the car, but that would have put it too tall for my garage (w/ the garage door open) and a bit high when working on certain areas of the car. As for the footprint of the stands being narrow, the stands you see pictures of on my website were the first built. I have since widened the footprint. There was always the possibility that whole set-up might tip over, but there's a possibility that my house could fall down also. I widened the footprint for 2 reasons. 1: my floor was not completely level, so the stands rocked a bit while rotating the car. The bigger footprint allows a more stable stance. & 2: because I felt a better piece of mind. It was just a little added safety since I planned on selling the stands. I once pushed and rocked the set-up w/ the car on its side. It never once seemed like it would go over, but I still felt better about widening the footprint. The plans I send out reflect this also.

This may seem somewhat trivial, but it's happened to me and I wore my arms out in the process fighting it. I had the speedo cable drop down and get in the way of the tranny bellhousing once while trying to put the tranny in. Couldn't get it to go all the way in, had 3/8" left to go. I fought for almost an hour, before I finally got on top of the engine looked at it all. Felt like an idiot afterwards, though. :tapemouth

I hope that wasn't someone you once dated, Keith...

Thanks for the plug, 2Many, but I haven't really looked at a 280ZX as far as rotisseries are concerned. Although if some one wants me to build them one, I will try it.

Would you see any benefit to using a N42 head on an L24 block? If the N42 head has the same chamber characteristics as an E88, but with larger valves, wouldn't it let the engine breath better? Therefore giving slightly better performance? I've heard of people using the E31 w/ 280 valves, why not just bolt up a N42 instead?

FWIW: Lower rocker panels From MSA - about $30 ea. Replacement Floor pans - btwn $200 - $350 for a set. There are no known repair panels for under the battery tray. If you have the time and knowledge to repair/rebuild the car, then go for it. They are worth saving. Don't do it as an investment, though. Parts are relatively cheap (in most cases), it's the labor that gets you.

"Do you think they'd let a 4wd Frontier bring up the rear in one of the ralleys?" It wouldn't have been a problem at last years Convention here in San Antonio. A member from Houston even drove his Frontier in the drags! Of course "Mad" Mike drove a big 'ole Caddy in the drags and AutoX.

"...this car is just for my pleasure to build up for a street/race use i'm only 21 so i think i have all the time i need" 1moeZ, I bought my '71 when I was 21 also. That was in '93. I just finished it this past June. I did all the work myself except for the frame repair. My rust wasn't near as bad as yours but I was going to school at the time also. Just keep a time frame in mind on this project. Set yourself a REALALISTIC time goal. And do your best to stick to it.

I myself like the look of the new Mustang concept, but not the convertible one. Only the fastback. Now that is the way you bring back old styling into a new car. This concept is a direct decendent of the late 60's fastback Mustangs. Great looking car!!! 2 thumbs up to FORD!

What type of SU's are those? They don't look like the typical ones found on a Z. I like the look of yours much better, but what are they from?

I've had that file for almost 2 years now (dated 5/2000), I don't have a clue what website I downloaded it off of. I thought about doing it to my gauges, just haven't made the final decision yet.

I've had this saved on my hard-drive for awhile, hope it helps some.... 240gaugeset.zip

"These plans are in no way designed by or checked by a registered engineer, and I assume no liability for damages incurred or caused by products built using these plans. Any product built using these plans is done so at your own risk. All I know is that they are working just fine with my car on them. These plans are to be used as a guideline for fabbing up your own stands. They are good as seen, but may need to be customized for different circumstances. Stands: The front and rear stand themselves should be identical. The only difference being in the mounts themselves. The tubing I used was 1/8” thick. And I ground all the welds on the bottom of the stands flat so they would not rock back and forth. Also, pre-drill all your rotation locating holes in the pipes before you mount your car. A 3/8” or ½” bolt 4” long works good as a locating pin. Rear Stand Mount: You will need to make an accurate measurement of the mounting holes for the rear bumper. Drill the holes into the mount as precise as you can. I used flat bar for the long piece of the mount instead of angle because there is a slight bow to the back of the 240Z’s and I didn’t want to make spacers. It holds fine as is, but don’t compromise on the thickness of the bar. Front Stand Mount: The length of the long bar is 30” +/- ¼”. You will need to verify this on an individual basis. The 2” x 2” angle iron needs to be at least 4” long. This is where the front mounting holes will be drilled. There are threaded mounting holes on the bottom of the core-support where a skid plate attaches on all Z’s. Use these holes for mounting the front mount. You will need to make an accurate measurement of these and drill them into the mount as precisely as you can. The 2-1/2” pipe needs to be longer on the front mount than the rear mount. This is to accommodate the extension off the core-support where the grill mounts. Figure on this piece being a minimum of 10” – 11” long. Notes: The two stands can be tied together or left free standing, independent of each other. If you decide to tie them together, you will need a piece of flat bar or angle that is about 12’ long. If you weld them together, you will have to cut them apart for storage when you are through." rotisserie-rear stand.bmp

Ok, here are the plans I made and used when I was rebuilding my 240. The files are a bitmap file, so just about any program should be able to open it. Please keep in mind: The stands themselves are made to be universal between the early Z series cars (240, 260, 280). The mounts are the pieces that change for each model car. I have given rough estimates on the measurements for the front and rear mounts for the 240Z only. You'll need to verify the dimensions when building. If anybody has any questions, just PM me or send an email. There are pictures of my car up on the stands on my website and few here in my gallery, so check them out. rotisserie-front stand.bmp

I'll post copies of the files in the downloads section of the forums. Keep in mind the drawings are predominantly for the 240's. I'll make it clear in the downloads.

I have plans for the rotisserie that I built for mine. If you were in the US I could build you one and ship it. Don't know what the cost would be to ship overseas though. For anyone else who's interested here in the States, I will build and ship anywhere in the 48 states for $300. (Deposit is required, though)

If you would have asked this question last year, it would have been a lot longer..... But here is the short of it: 1 - New tires (ordered, but not received yet) 2 - finish polishing '82 ZX 6-spoke wheels (for new tires) 3 - install new carpet set (ordered but not received) 4 - buy & install new stereo & speakers 5 - buy & install full dash cap 6 - refresh & install orig. engine & trans 7 - color sand and buff paint job (working on a glass like finish) 8 - take the car out on the track at least twice 9 - get the wife off my back for still having not finished the car That last one is going to be the toughest of all. She's had almost 9 years of practice yelling at me about the car. It's almost a habit now.

Unfortunately 240Z, that is the first thing to go on most seats. You'll have the hardest time trying to find just a good seat bottom. I looked for awhile before I just finally broke down and bought a re-upholstery kit. but good luck on your search.

The drive shaft should be fine (as long as there are no big dents in it) and most likely doesn't need to be replaced. You can replace the u-joints, though. They shouldn't set you back more than $15-20 each. A vice, hammer, and a little patience should be all you need to replace them yourself.

If those suggestions don't work, I have an extra L24 block that I'll let go VERY cheap (need to get it out of the garage). Shipping may be an issue as I'm in TX.

Take a look at the centerfold of the Winter 2002 issue of Sport Z Magazine, '74 260Z GT2 car. From certain angles (shown in the mag) this car could easily be mistaken for a 350Z! Paint it that wierd metallic orange and you can see what I mean....

That looks like what the new 350Z was styled after. Strange resemblance, isn't?

Have you looked at Falken tires? I have heard that the Azenis series is the next best thing to actual race rubber. Even better than the Victoracers in some circles. http://www.victoriatire.com/tires.html?cart=10410148303283221&brand=Falken&NAME=Azenis I'm (finally) getting a set of Falken Zeix 502's right now. Prices are good also.