The Wingnut

Steve, when you say the rubber mounts don't line up, are you referring to the smaller pieces bolted into the recesses on the 1/4 panels and the inside of the bumper? I disposed of the larger piece farthest forward as it was in bad shape, but I kept the smaller ones that are completely hidden by the bumper itself.. My assumption was that these pieces prevented the bumper ends from 'wobbling' and hitting the bodywork. Maybe something could be fabricated to replace them.

I managed to compress the passenger side shock. Both are now compressed and the next step is to find a stainless carriage bolt to go through the mounting holes in lieu of the large rubber bumpers. It seems to be hit or miss with these shocks. One simply required loosening a screw and letting all of the gas out, the other would not compress until I'd let the gas out and drilled 3 different holes. Having done so, I would recommend letting out the gas using the screw in the end of the shock between the holes in the mounting bracket, and drilling a hole in the outer cylinder, not the inner. Drilling the inner will result in a large amount of oil / hydraulic fluid everywhere. If you drill into the outer cylinder near the flange where it tapers outward, it should release the gas in the outer cylinder and allow you to compress the shock. Do this before you drill the inner cylinder, which should be a last resort. Wear gloves and eye protection! If you want to guard against low speed impacts, don't do this! Anything above 5 mph will likely damage the car beyond the protection that the bumpers can afford, but if you are still concerned with being hit, there is no going back once you've collapsed them.

Wow, that came out great! I hope I have similar results with mine...she's going into the shop at the end of the week.

I found the screws for the air side of the shocks. The left side collapsed without even taking the screw out, but the right side won't collapse even with the screw completely out and the air drained. I would really appreciate some help with this.

Are the vintage JDM covers the only source for the chrome trim rings? I've been looking for a vendor for a while. I'd like the covers, but I'd want them with the rings. $600. Wow...congrats rex, but man, that's way out of my price range.

Hey folks, Here's the idea: I picked up a new aftermarket fuse bus and would like to connect it to a reliable ignition switched source. I'll be connecting accessorries such as the rad. fan, stereo and other items to it that only need to be used when the motor / ignition is on. What's a high-load source I can tap into? I'm not too experienced with auto electrics(know basics) and don't want to hose anything. I've already made my heater blower quit working(fuses are good) by connecting the radiator fan into the harness(still haven't fixed this...not sure where to start) and don't want to do more damage.

The bumper is off. Four bolts and it's done. Rubber pieces are off as well. Nearly 40 views and no input? I realize a lot of people here are safety conscious and frown on bumper mods. I'm assuming the risks associated with collapsing the shocks. Anyone?

The Z is going into the body shop in a few weeks and I'm trying to get all the critical stuff out of the way before it happens. I'd like to get the rear bumper off before she goes in. How much of a pain is this? I'd consult an FSM if I had one. I figure while I'm at it, I'll pull off the extra rubber and collapse the shocks. ...I've used the search option and come up with 280 bumper coversions / shock collapse, but didn't find anything on doing this to 260s. I haven't seena fill screw on the 260 shocks. Do I need to drill a hole in order to do this?

Getting close to pulling the trigger on this. I've got a new solid hood with a shaved emblem, thanks to a friend, my old one was rusty, had a hole right through it near one of the vents. I may end up finding someone who does hot rod style louvers and put some where the 280 vents are, with the louvers going downward and venting rearward. That'll keep water out at speed and not disturb the appearance too much. I'm probably going to stick with white, although it'll be an off-white. The blue is nice, but for a car that spends its life outdoors and doesn't get washed often, it's not practical and will age quickly. I'm going for an ivory with a dark red hood stripe and rockers, although I'll hold off on the rocker stripes until I'm sure that I want to actually do it. I'm basically going after the look of the early '60s LeMans racers, when cars were still using national colors and Japan used an off-white with red hinomarus and black wheel centers. ...but I just discovered green260z.com today, and the 302 Leaf Green is TEMPTING. Oh, man. He's got the Revolution wheels that I want, too. I know this is someone here. MAN, you've got a nice car. Class act. ...I don't want to be a copycat and clone someone else's car, so I think I'll stick with the Japanese national scheme. I'm not a Japanophile, but it seems appropriate, and it my head, it looks good. I'll eventually get some deep-dish 15 x 7 wheels and a good airdam and spoiler. They'll all be satin black. I might go for ZG flares if I can find a set and bring myself to cut into the fenderwells. I need photos of a plain white 240 or 260 so I can mock this up in Photoshop. Anyone?

All excellent advice. Thanks everyone. Unfortunately I'm fighting off a nasty flu bug right now, so it'll have to wait 'til I'm feeling better. It hit me like a brick wall yesterday.

I've got a U-joint going out in one of my halfshafts. I've got two new(to me) halfshafts ready to go in but after jacking the car up and trying like the devil to just break torque on one of the nuts, I gave up. Any suggestions? Seems like these things were not meant to come out simply on their own, you'd have to take apart the rear suspension to get them out. I'd like it to be a simple "4 bolts here, 4 bolts there, now for the other side" job, but it looks like an all day project at this point. Suggestions, anyone? Can I do this on my own with a couple of open end wrenches, or am I screwed?

...it's also a result of too much advance or not a high enough grade of fuel. Try to find a happy medium.

"reassembly is the reverse of disassembly"

Gotcha. There's a Nissan dealer close by, hopefully they won't mark it up too terribly much. Thanks!

..little help here?

Anyone? Bueller?

Just attempted to replace the gasket...I put the sealant on the valve cover surfaces, lined up the gasket... ...and it didn't fit! It was short in overall length by about a half inch. The rear contours for the cam sprocket area were also wrong. I had to clean up the old gasket and put it back on. Disappointing, to say the least. Did I get the wrong gasket? Is there more than one type / size of valve cover? The block is clearly stamped 'L28'.

...indeed, gasoline as a fluid is not a problem, it's the vapors. I'm a KC-135 crew chief, we deal with fuel all the time...JP-8 has a very high flashpoint, it's almost like kerosene. You could drop a match in a puddle of the stuff and it wouldn't light. If there was vapor coming off of that puddle, though(hot day, evaporation)...WHOOOMPH! At any time we're working, there's a 25 gallon halon fire bottle close by. I found a small halon fire bottle that I keep wedged between the seat and trans tunnel of the Z. I had a '72 Plymouth Fury with a hole in the tank from flexing due to bad venting. I got an instant fiberglass patch kit from Kragen and put it on there in 20 minutes on a Saturday. Never had a problem after that, but I did it with the tank almost completely empty, and early in the day before it was warm. I uncapped the tank for about 10 minutes prior to vent vapor / release pressure. I sanded the patch area thoroughly. The cap went back on and I mixed the resin far from the car. I made sure that the time spent with the hot resin in contact with the tank was minimal as I didn't want a chemical reaction, if there might be any. Best thing to do is bite the bullet, pull the tank, and either replace it or have it professionally boiled out / coated / repaired.

...huh. Mine must've disappeard long ago. Well, now I know.

Nope! Just a straight up big fat bolt.

I'd second this. Pull the NA L28, drop in the L28T along with the trans and diff. Part out the '83 and sell the NA L28. Have fun with easy power gains from modding the turbo motor. With $8k to spend, you could have a absolutely insane car.

Yep! Front and rear, mostly the front.

Car's back from the mechanic and fixed. ...problem? Bad U-joints. SCARY bad. Check 'em, guys! Don't drive on them!

I'm not big on white...my Z is currently white and I'm itching for the ice / sky metallic blue that it used to be. Now, white with a nice contrasting stripe / accent color, like red or orange...that's a neat, sporty look. Off-white is a very period / vintage look as well, you just don't see it on current production cars anymore.

Does Victoria British no longer sell Z parts? I can't find anything about Zs anywhere on their site. THe catalog I have from them had many new sheet metal pieces available.