SJGREEN71

Well I for one don't think your new price is too much. Let me be the first to say that my payment is on it's way to you. I was disappointed when you said you would no longer make this harness. I commend you for providing detailed plans for all to see as your gift to the Z community. Even with the plans, however, I found that locating and paying for the parts was much more than I had anticipated. The parts alone, if you only want to make one or two harnesses runs you $40 or more. That is not even including tax and shipping. The copper in the wires is heavy, and shipping adds up quickly. If you buy small quantities of wire locally, the price per foot is much more than Dave can buy in quantity. I spent countless hours trying to find the 3-prong sockets you need to make this harness plug and play, and to avoid cutting into the stock harness. I even spent over $20 with autosparks in the UK for some sockets that looked like they would work but it turned out that the pins and plugs inside the sockets did not match up to the OEM wiring harness. This was an expensive mistake on my part. You can avoid all of my sorrows by just buying Dave's harness already assembled. So the $125 is more than what Dave offered this harness for in the past. But get real people. When you take into consideration his cost of materials, and the cost to ship the harness to your door, he was essentially doing the assembly work for free. While that was very generous of him, he now wants a fair price for his design, testing and assembly of this harness. So why not help out a fellow Z enthusiast and send your money in today. You will thank yourself when you can see so much better driving your Z home on that dark and stormy night.

You might want to check out something like this: http://www.classicdatsun.com/new/panels.html

Love the battery tray. Hoping you get your reserve. I will be watching with interest to see how high this one goes.

Well Enrique, it depends. Do you have a '68 or later 2000, or an earlier model? The high windshield roadsters ('68 and later) had two sets of holes in the floor (I don't know if this was also so for the 67 1/2 flat dash 2000). If you poke around in there you might find that you can mount the whole driver's seat an inch or so further back than it is now. It makes all the difference in the world for the long legged driver.

Greg, The performance and styling you can get out of a Datsun Z or roadster, in my opinion, is much better than you can get out of an Austin Healey. A pre-1972 Z or '68 to '70 roadsters in drivable condition can be had for $3 to $4 thousand, and with another $10,000 can be a really spectacular car. If you are lucky, you can find one that someone else has elevated to the spectacular standard for less than $10,000. You can't find a pre-owned modern sports car close to 2,000 pounds (say a Lotus Elise) for less than $40K. Light weight is a big part of the pre-smog Datsun experience. If you settle on an early Z or high windshield roadster, there are a lot of tuning options available. Both cars came with a factory option of Mukuni/Solex carburetors which bumped the horse power by about 15%, though this came at high RPM, and at the expense of gas milage. With the Z, Nissan maintained the same engine block for many years, so if you are not concerned with a numbers matching car, you can easily put a later model 280 engine and 5-speed transmision in the light weight '70 - '71 car, maintaining the original Hitachi/SU carburetors. If you want even more power, there is room for a Detroit V8 in there. The stock '68 2000 roadster made 130 HP, and 150 with the Mukuni carbs. Not bad for its day, but many people have placed an FJ20 or similar Nissan engine in these cars for greater power and reliability. The blocks and lower end of either the Z or the roadster are almost indestructable, mind you, but the 2000 roadster, with a somewhat clugy overhead cam araingement requires that the timing chain and sprockets be replaced every 60,000 miles or so at a cost of $1,000 parts plus an equal amount for labor. The Datsun 1600 offers the top down motoring experience without the timing chain issues, but at a somewhat more modest straightline performance. 1600 roadsters can be stroked to approach the 2000's horse power. As far as the esthetics of either of these cars, I believe they are both pure sports car designs that are on par with anything out of Britan, Germany, Italy or the US. The Datsun roadster was designed by Albrecht Goertz, who also penned the the classic BMW 507 (a beautiful car). The 240Z was designed in house by Nissan, but with heavy input from the US head of Nissan, Yutaka Katayama AKA Mr. K. It is his input that allowed these cars (both the Z and the high windshield roadsters) to be designed so that a 6' 4" American male could fit into these cars. Nissan actually measured hundreds of US Marines to make sure 95% or more of them could fit into the Z. As far as design goes, you can see the influences of the Jaguar XKE, and Ferrari GTO in the Z cars, and I always likened the roadsters to the Astin Martin DB series with their hood scoops and under stated tail fins. So if you are interested in the Z, www.zhome.com and Carl Beck, as Garth had suggested are a good bet. The early Datsun owners tend to be a welcoming crowd, so you should not have difficulty finding someone to show you their car. Here is an example of a high windshield roadster like the one I used to own. I would recomend the roadster mailing list, if you are interested in finding someone local who will show you their car. http://www.datsun.org/roadster/info/list.html Good luck with your mid-life crisis car. I bought my roadster the first time I got laid off, and my Z when my wife filed for divorce. Hope your crisis is happier than these....

Hey Greg, I'm 6' 4" and I fit fine in my '71 240Z. My head is right on the head liner, but no problem unless I hit a really big bump, and then I just duck. Leg room in no problem at all. If you are more interested in a roadster like the TR6, you should check out a 1968 through 1970 Datsun 1600 or 2000 roadster. No problem with head room in the roadster (even with the top up). Leg room is good too. Only problem with the roadster is sholder room is a bit tight (not a problem with the Z). Let us know where you are located, and maybe someone will let you try their car on for size.

Joey, I took my '71 to Leo's Muffler at 701-15B Kings Row in San Jose (408-275-1126). The place is in a terrible part of town, it's filthy, and there are a few old dogs that have the run of the place - just the quality indicators I look for in a muffler shop. I wanted a resonator installed to quiet the old Z down a bit. Mike, who did the work is a very nice and patient guy. He rummaged through a 50 gallon drum filled with various resonators, pulled one out and said this looks like it should work. He spent maybe two hours working on the car, installing the resonator and replacing a gasket between the header and down pipe that had gone bad. All for about $120, parts included. Well the sucker does hang kind of low, but Mike said he would have to tear the whole thing out and redo the parts that were already there to get it right, so I am living with it the way it is. Anyway, if you are looking for someone who will listen to you, and will let you hang out and watch, Leo's might just fill the bill for you. You might want to wear your old clothes, however, if you plan to sit on any of his furniture.

Hey Kurt, Looks like this was well bought at $718 if the rust is not too bad. Take your time hauling it back home. For those of you who are curious, here's the link... http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/70-240z-project-parts-car_W0QQitemZ8031328140QQcategoryZ6783QQssPageNameZWD6VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem Item number 8031328140

10-5002 Intake valve 75-78, 79-80 $11.13 10-5022 Exhaust valve 74-78, 79-80 $17.70

I'd like to thank Dave again for making the plans for this harness available to all. I keep looking at this plan, but I can't figure out where the 53 inches of 12/2 RV wire goes. Any help would be appreciated. Also, if anyone has found a good source for the OEM style 3-pin male and female plugs, please let us know.

Here are a couple of places to start: Classic Datsun Motorsports (760) 940-6365 345 Olive Ave Vista, CA 92083 Pierre Z Car Ctr (310) 644-3645 12579 Crenshaw Blvd Hawthorne, CA 90250 Both of these shops were involved in the Z Restoration Progam Nissan sponsored back in 1997. I am sure they can do the job, or at lease steer you in the right direction.

They typically have a lot of deals that change from year to year. Sometimes if you bring in a coke can, they take $10 off. AAA membership is also probably good for a discount, and the season pass is the way to go if you think you might find yourself back there by the end of summer.

There have been many endorsements for how good a job Dave did on the headlight harnesses, but it doesn't seem like anyone is stepping up to the plate to make these things now that Dave is out of the business. VB offers a "heavy-duty headlight harness for the early Zs for $30 and features "OE style heatlight sockets for easy installation with no splicing or cutting required." I have read some posts that say the VB product is no good, but have not read of the reasons Z owners came to this conclusion. I would be interested in hearing form anyone who purchased the VB product, and any experiences good or bad they had with the product. If VB offers a good headlight harness, even if it is not as good as Dave’s, I would be tempted to give them my business, as they seem to be the only game in town.

I would agree with Ben. There are several vent hoses that can wear out over the years. They are located between the tank and the filler in the right rear quarter panel area. Once those were replaced, the gas smell in my '71 was eliminated.

I think Michelelin did the right thing. This isn't the 50's anymore where drivers were expected to die for the sport. 9 out of 10 teams agreed to a change in the track layout that would keep speeds to a safe level. FIA and Ferrari refused, and you end up with a dull race and guess who (Ferrari) taking first and second place. No wonder F1 has so few fans in the US, however, if Danica Patrick had been in the race no one would have noticed that the field was down by 14 entries.

And Mercedes brought the May back.

I did some auto-x in my Ford Focus a few years back (H stock). I have a friend who made National Champion (though he had to borrow a Mini to get first place). It was a real eye opener when I let him take a run in my car with me a pasenger. I could not believe how late he would brake, and how hard he could brake without locking up the wheels. He could also use all of the track, exiting each corner just milimeters from the cones. If you can get this kind of demonstration from the best in class in your area you will learn a lot about how he (or she) extracts that extra second out of the run that you cannot.

I never realized that the restoration Z’s came with leather upholstery and a cassette player.

Try some Nevr Dull. http://www.nevrdull.com/

Hey '71DatsunZ, I repaired some cracks in the radio consol on a Datsun Roadster about 10 years ago using a kit purchased at a hardware store. It is kind of out of the way and not as visible as a dash, but it worked pretty well, and has held up over time. I am considering a similar kit from vinyl pro. I purchased some SEM vinyl dye from this guy and he was very helpful in answering questions by e-mail. I believe he would give you good advice on how well your dash repair might go. I would be interested as well, as I would like to avoid a dash cap, and don't want to spend $700 for a professional rebuild. Here is the web site... http://vinylpro.safeshopper.com/

An interesting article. The Datsun certainly seemed to come out on top. I remember test driving the Fiat 124 when I was 18. I was impressed with the dual overhead cam, disk brakes all around and 5-speed. I tried to talk my mother into buying one, but she made a more practicle choice of a Toyota Corolla 1600. That was a fun car too. I learned to drift in that car (though I think we called it something different then - trailing throttle oversteer). Still you don't see that many '71 Corollas on the road anymore, and I think no Fiats of that age. You can still pick up a running Z for $3,500, though. I guess time sorts out the true winners from the loosers.

I am planning a business trip to Buffalo NY Sept. 19 through Sept. 30, and want to see the IRL race at Watkins Glen the 24th & 25th. I would be thrilled to meet up with fellow Datsun people if anyone is planning on being there. Also, if anyone has a recomendation on a hotel or motel in the area, I would be most appreciative. The list of places to stay on the Watkins Glen web site is quite lengthy, and it appears many places are already booked up.

I had tires that were almost 10 years old on my Datsun roadster. Still had good tread, but I replaced them before giving the car to my son to drive. Don't want any blowouts.

Hey, if you want to check out a classic Datsun, pick up the latest Sport Compact Mag for a spread on the SF Bay Area's own Alvin and his 67 1/2 2000 Roadster with a SR20 swap.