sakijo

. . . . . Skyline owner about to commit sacrilege . . . . . I'd go with the Z.

Yes, it would look strange with lights on it, as it was not built for that. I can get you some Koitos . . . . I've got Marchals on my car, but they're hard to get. THAT'S what I like about historic cars . . . Those who know, appreciate. Those who don't know, get educated. Yes, Ferrari, Porche, Lamborghini. Everybody knows about them. BUT Nissan? Aside from BRE Zs and 510s, not too many people know . . . .

My daily driver is the Skyline. Just bought a 03 Lexus GS 300 for my return to Hawaii. It's sitting at my parents' house. The wife drives a 99 Toyota Harrier (aka Lexus RX 300). Don't know what she's going to get in Hawaii. Notable previous cars: 65 Mustang, 84 Toyota Pickup, 73 Plymouth Duster (a clunker for sure, but it just wouldn't die), 69 Toyota Corona (Grandma's old car), 88 Toyota Camry Wagon (fast! this one ate up a lot of ricers)

Thanks for the links. I guess I have to go looking for these in some old shop in some little town somewhere.

You guys are so lucky. I can't find any die-cast cars for my GC10, much less a PGC10. The 4 doors are just not as well known as the 2 doors. I have 2 1/43 KPGC10s and a mini KPGC10 and a couple of KPGC10 plastic models, but no PGC10 or GC10. Well, it's off to the local toy store to try and find one for Alan in celebration of his newest acquisition. I saw them . . . . red stripes and blue stripes. Can't remember the number on the red one, but bloody sure the blue one was 15.

Something like that just was offered on Yahoo Japan and the asking price was 50,000 yen to start. The seller also had a Nissan 2000 OHC cover that I won for way less. I think I dealt with this seller too once.

Alan, Glad to see that the car made it safely to its new home. Now, go tear up some pavement. And don't worry, I post here all the time. I think you're going to be #4 or #5 in the C10 group here.

Probably yellow = caution and red = danger for speed. Makes sense since most Japan roads are narrow and twisty. Oh yeah, the speed limit for most major roads is 40 kph (25 mph) and the expressway is 80 kph (50 mph). If the traffic is willing, you can get up to 140 kph on the expressway and 60 kph on ther roads.

Two weeks ago, my car went to Zero. Now I have a brand new 35 year old car. Pics to prove it!

I'm using the round rubber "rope" that is used to hold screens to their frames and contact cement. It comes in different diameters so you can get a good tight fit.

I don't have a Z, but the engine is the same. Gary is right - what else are you running? I have a really mild cam on an otherwise stock engine. Headers and a stainless Fujitsubo system is what I'm using. The headers are three into two and the exhaust is a true two-pipe system. Future upgrades are twin Hitachi SUs. If you're running stock, I'd recommend headers and a low-restriction muffler.

Nostalgic Hero and Old Timer car magazines have all the latest on car shows, etc in Japan. In Japanese, of course, but still. Check their web sites as well. Remember, Japanese electrical current is 100v, 50 hz - so be careful of what you buy in Akihabara. You may need to buy a step-up transformer. Most of tha latest electronics have built in voltage changers, but best to beware. There are a lot of things to do in Tokyo. Buy a good guide book now and start planning.

No, it knows. If you only carry coins, it knows you're holding out and something major will break. The thing is to carry minimal amounts of paper money and keep it away from the factory money detector.

The thing about pocket change is that it's metal. The car bonds with it as if it were a kindred spirit. That's why it cannot recognize it as money. However, it sucks it out of your pockets to "save" it from you grubby humans. I know. I've left close to 4,000 yen worth of coins in my car and it does nothing. But sit in that seat or leave the wallet on the console with more than 10,000 yen in paper money, something will break. . . .

My car is a Skyline, not a Z, but a lot of the parts interchange. The short 5-speed required no modifications and bolted right in. I don't know what it came out of, but my guess would be a Z. It is a true overdrive unit, .830 as ZSaint mentions. Works well with my 3.90 rear end and re-ground camshaft. 1:1 5 speeds occasionally pop up on Yahoo Japan, but the sellers know what they have and price accordingly. I got my trans for a song . . . . I believe he means that the shifter location was further forward than the original one. Thus, he had to cut the opening of the tunnel where the shifter comes out to make it work. There are different shifters as well, a straight one and a bent one. Assuming that he had the straight one, if he had a bent one, maybe he didn't need to cut the tunnel opening. It was th opposite for me, bent one no good; straight one ok. The driveshaft should be ok, no modifications on mine.

No, no, no! Don't even think of chroming that thing. Sandpaper, elbow grease and compound will bring that thing to a shine the rivals chrome. Of course, regular maintenance with polish will be necessary, but you won't regret it. Chrome on aluminum tends to pit and flake off after awhile. Congratulations on fimally getting your Z.

Better get a few more of them pens for spares in case the spring wears out

I went with the camber plates that Mat has, adjustable t/c rods and adjustable KYB struts. Makes all the difference in the world. Of course, I'm not a racer, just an asphalt eater. P.S. Mat - they say and write "piro ball," but actually mean "pillow ball"

My 5 speed was shorter than the 4 speed it replaced. Might be a JDM thing. Look in my gallery for side-by-side comparison.

Car prices and parts go up and down according to market demand, just like everything else. My friend had a 1927 Essex that was once worth over $25,000 and in a few short years, it had lost value down to less than $10,000. Why? Because collectors who remember the Essex were dying off and no one wanted the cars anymore. At the same time, his 1967 Chevelle 396 was rapidly appreciating. Those who are buying now are the ones who couldn't buy it when they were new. Now, they're older and have money. Of course, there are exceptions to the rule, but generally speaking, 20-30 year old cars of certain interest start to increase in value and older ones start to decline. Look at the American Muscle Car craze going on right now, being fueled by the retiring Baby Boomers who couldn't buy them new, but can buy them now. Sell your parts to someone who NEEDS them and give them a fair price. eBay madness is capitalizing on greed and total lack of respect for the cars and their parts. my 2 cents

Apparently, no one has heard of this or thought about it. Trial and error are going to be your teachers here. Who would have thought that a Chevy 250 6-cyl 2bbl to 4bbl adaptor with 3-4 spacers would work on a Toyota? I've seen it and it works very well. Some really imaginative guys out there. Good luck!

I'd say your first guess was correct - 510 carbs on a Z manifold. My 38mm Hitachis have straight float bowls and mate to a E41 manifold. The E41 manifold is drilled and tapped for 4 studs, but only has 2 installed. Your seller didn't even bother to put the insulator blocks between the carbs and manifold . . . .

They might be 38mm carbs from an L20, but I don't know about the angled float bowls. I think mine are straight. I wouldn't use them on anything bigger than an L20.

I had a Nissan Laurel 4 door hardtop. No center post. The rubber was attached to a strip of chrome clamped to the rear door glass. It was a cool car until the body flex and noise got to you. Structurally unsound.

The L20 twin carb six was in fact, the standard Z engine well into the 70s because of the Japanese taxes on large engined cars, as Carl has pointed out. This continued in Japan even after the L24 and L26 were developed. The L20 is the "original" L-gata engine and is given the dubious honor of being the largest (physically, dimensionally) 2 liter six. If one were to take the L20, L24, L26 and L28 engines and line them up side-by-side, you will find that they are exactly the same size and except for a few minor differences, identical. You don't make a big engine small, you make a small engine big. And Nissan already had the L20 in the Skylines before the Z was made.