EScanlon

When you sand the old paint job, if the metal is less than perfectly smooth it is a given that you will sand down to the metal in spots. The purpose of sanding LARGE areas when sanding a blemish is to feather (i.e. gradually slope) the chip / crack / blemish. Unless you are going for a Black Paint job afterwards, AND you've feathered out properly, the probability of picking out the "low" is slight. Remember, you WILL need to use primer, AT LEAST in the areas where you've cut to the metal. You don't need to sand the whole panel down to metal, just feather out the areas where you've cut to metal so that it isn't a STEP from the top of the paint to the bottom of the metal. Besides, if you have 1/16" or .0625" or thereabouts from the paint to the metal, then you could definitely stand some more sanding in order to fade the blemish. Hope this makes sense.

Well, I'm hoping that my answer doesn't offend you, but apparently you need to review the basics of a paint job. The Main purpose of Primer is to provide a bond for the paint to the metal. It's secondary purpose is to fill slight irregularities in the surface with enough build up of material that it can be sanded down smooth. It's third purpose is to provide a uniform color background upon which the paint can be applied without having to resort to several coats. There will no doubt be others who will add / deny some of these items but in my experience this is what Primer does. Primer is kind of like a "glue" which adheres to the metal, and then allows paint to "soak" into it in order for the paint to stick on the metal. Paint as a rule, will NOT stick to metal without some form of primer. For that matter, paint will not stick to smooth / shiny surfaces. There ARE paints formulated for that, but usually not what you would use for a car's body. Primer also will not stick to smooth or shiny surfaces. Depending on the application, different types of primer are available. In preparing a blemish free car, all you would need to do is to etch the metal in order to provide some "teeth" for which the primer to adhere to. There are Self Etching primers out there for new metal, and this is generally what the manufacturer's use. Self Etching will NOT as a general rule, etch old paint. On a car that has been painted before, you need to "scuff" up the prior finish / metal in order to get the primer to adhere. This is where sanding comes in. If you have several layers of paint, or if you have chips, or if you have known uneven surfaces, now is the time to sand the panel in such a manner as to smooth the surface out. You can use a dual action random orbital sander commonly referred to as a D/A sander. This tool allows you to quickly smooth out a panel and to feather out chips and cracks. Once you have the panel smoothed out you then primer the WHOLE panel with primer. Choose a color that will allow you to apply your paint without having to use several coats of paint, in order to hide the primer itself. For Example, White Paint use Light Gray Primer. Black Paint use the good old Maroon / Dark Rust Red or find a Dark Gray. Generally lighter shades of paint require a light gray primer, darker the maroon or dark gray. If you are familiar with the whole process you could sand your whole panel and then just spot primer the exposed metal. Scuff off the "skin" and then paint. I hope that this helps you.

Pre-shock Absorber mount bumpers, NO. Post Shock Absorber Bumpers, I believe Yes.

I've seen several posts regarding Charlie Osborne's Floor Pan Kit and everyone who has used them has been extremely pleased not only with the gage of metal but also with it's ease of installation (dimensions are right on target) as well as the fact that it duplicates the "original" floor pan design. Z Findings Charlie Osborne 603 Compass Court Kingston, Ontario K7M 8V9 Canada Tel: (613) 389-1397 www.datsunzparts.com www.datsunzparts.ca E-Mail: zeddfind@kos.net

NICE! And nice avatar too!

Site looks cool, but be careful of one thing: You have the word "ebay" in your title/logo/name. This could get the attention of the folks at E-Bay and cause you problems. If you aren't PART or a Subsidiary of them you could find yourself in legal trouble. Although the name is becoming a common use word, you will find that the lawyers love this kind of challenge. Case in point, there is a woman in Oregon by the name of Samantha Buck who has a coffee shop down the street from a Starbuck's. The name of her coffee shop? Sam Buck's. The lawyers for Starbucks HAVE sued her to change the name of her establishment, AND they won! Their argument is that the name is close enough to their clients to delude consumers into thinking they are entering a Starbucks. Besides the cost of the litigation and the hazzle, you don't want to find out that the law protects them and not you. Just my 2¢

The center console is correct for the early Z's, through 71. That this car is an Automatic AND it has the Hatch Vents is unique as that places it as a very late 70 or very early 71. The pillar emblems also identify it as such. (The hatch vents were being discontinued about the time the automatics were being introduced.) The late 71's and 72's had the console changed to where the ashtray was now just behind the shifter with a slide cover. This was about the time that they changed the seats to include the switch that activated the warning light for the Seat Belt, and the Choke warning light. The armrest on the console was always a dealer and aftermarket option. All in all a pretty good find. It does show some rust on the front bumper guard, so it does need some carefull look / see for other typical hidden rust. The Tail Light Finishers are the original color! That's a rare find! The bottom line is this, your original post mentions that you don't have the time or money to address this jewel. If you are planning on selling it, why not give the folks here a shot at it first. You know that we're all aficionados and would take care of it properly. Personally, I would tell you to avoid e-Bay although it seems a popular front for selling many items and even completely "restored" cars. How much are you looking to sell the car for? Keep us posted!

Of the ones you have posted, I like the last one best. It shows the unique "sugarscoop" of the headlight which is common to all the 240/260/280 vehicles irrespective of "nationality". So whether the car is a Fairlady or not, 240 or other won't matter and that would open the "theme" of the club to be other than 240z's only. 2¢

Tony: While you no doubt have earned an honorable mention in the Macguyver School of Automotive Repairs, you need to read what everyone is telling you here. I've no doubt that you have effected a "repair" that will maintain the pieces of the car together, and for the most part appear to hold them as they should be. The problem is that there is a strong possibility that your bolted on pieces of metal will tear through whatever amount of metal you have left just when you need it to be strong. Such as in braking, or effecting a turn at high speed, or during acceleration. This in and of itself is something to be careful off, but when you post that you then went and started racing other cars with it..... Well, maybe your intent is to be mentioned in the Darwin Awards. Or this is a lame attempt at getting everyone all worked up over it?

Actually, I became a Z-natic (thanks for the term) in mid 72 or 73, when we were playing a game of something in the street. One of the guys that hung out with us, his dad being outrageously rich, had just bought him one in the US, and imported it into Mexico. I resolved that day that one day I would own one. It just took me 30 years to do so. While I was in the Air Force, my Squadron Commander had one that he had bought from the dealer after it had been used as a demo car. He'd had it ever since he had been at the Academy in Colorado. When I saw it, I offered to do the paint job and body work for material and a paint gun, and that is the first one I restored. Enrique

Removing lock nuts without damaging the wheel can be tricky with the vise grips. That's because the only vise grips that will open wide enough to grip the lug nut hard enough are the regular or larger size ones, and that can be difficult with the rims only being 14". Easiest method, and again your experience may vary, is to go get a cheap socket from the auto parts store. Not sure what size as it depends on the style of the lock nut, I've heard that a 12 point works better than a 6, but it might be the other way around. Then you hammer it onto the lug nut and use the socket to remove it. I found it easier to peruse the different car parts stores, find the key that I needed with the set of lug nuts, and buy the set. Most of the "unique" locking lug nuts aren't unique at all and there are only a few patterns out there.

Just my conjecture and not based on anything else other than observation. The defroster lines on the glass CAN warm up the glass enough to melt ice and snow. With the lines running vertically the water run off just slides right down and does not help get the rest of the window. By putting the lines horizontally as each line melts the runoff goes down the slope of the glass and in turn contacts the snow / ice build up above the next line etc etc. When I lived in the midwest and I would use the defrost on my Mercury Capri it would take a few minutes and suddenly all the snow / ice would literally sheet off the rear window. Kinda cool to watch.

Worst case scenario, there are a couple boneyards up here in the northwest that may have one. Let me know.

Those H4 and other conversion kits only replace the sealed beam headlamp with a headlamp that accepts the halogen bulb. I've bought one, and all you will replace is the sealed beam lamp itself. You'll still reuse your mounting ring, containment cup or acorn, gasket, and wiring. If your cup / acorn cup is rusted, you need to get another one as this is what the alignment mechanism pushes against in order to align the lamp.

Check the connection at the headlights and also the connectors. This sounds like the same old piece of advice you've heard probably 3 gazillion times, but with the Z it's usually dead on target. The connectors for the individual headlights is in front of the radiator. Guess what it gets hit with when you are driving in the rain? The acorn pot that protects the back of the headlight is in the front wheel well, guess what hits it ALL the time? I just recently disassembled my front end to replace the headlight bulbs. I discovered that both the headlight and the turn signal assemblies had so much dirt and crud inside the plastic sleeve that "protects" the wiring that it felt like they were solid. As I removed them from the car, the plastic broke into hundreds of pieces. The connector to the headlight lamp itself could be corroded also. My bet with 2MZ's car is that he needs just a dash of contact cleaner in the switch. This will remove the surface oxidation on the contacts for the switch. D76, I would check your connections again, and do a good continuity on the fuse. Heck, replace the fuse(s), they're cheap and could be the source of the problem. 2¢

70 to 72 pretty much had the same bumpers, 73 did have a minor change in that now the car had different bolt hole arrangements for the rubber. I believe it was due to the shock absorber in the front / back. The overriders on the back DO require a hole in each of the end pieces as well as the pair of holes right below the license plate. The front overrider, depending on the style (there are 2 that I know of) will either require holes through the rubber and bumperette or holes through the bumper. Don't despair, sell them separately on e-bay and you should make your money back. Alternatively, post an ad here and see if one of the other members will buy them from you. 2¢ Why not at least post pictures so you can get better advice than the generic advice I've given here.

Not familiar with that term. Splash Guards? Those flaps that go behind the wheels? Found mine at MSA, and they fit exactly. Car Cover? Went to the local car parts (Schuck's) and ordered from them. Weatherstripping? DatsunDude, Too Intense Restoration, MSA, Victoria British (with care), e-Bay. So hopefully one of the above answers you, otherwise, please explain what Weathershields are. E Scanlon

I had a conversation recently with another Z owner, and we bantered back and forth over the Hazard Switch. I have seen pictures of early Z's (70&71) with the PULL type switch, but he informed me that the early ones had the TOGGLE switch and not the pull. So I apologize for the inaccuracy. So, in reading my above post, the switches are reversed. The EARLY Z's had the TOGGLE. The LATER Z's had the Pull-Button switch. The other information about the Fog Lamp, Cigar Lighter is accurate. By the way, if your dash does not have the hole made in the fog lamp position, that is a TRUE BLUE 70/71 Dash. Don't know about the Fog Lamp Switch Alfa, but if you're willing to ship it over to me, (hehehe), I'm sure I can let you know about it.

Rick has a good point regarding Harbor Freight. If you are NOT a professional mechanic, not into Racing, not into disassembling your engine on the weekends just for practice, then the majority of the items at Harbor Freight are more than sufficient. They are truly inexpensive, and yes, sometimes Cheap. The difference is that an inexpensive item is one that doesn't cost you a lot of money and is worth multiples of what you paid for it. A cheap item is one that doesn't cost you a lot of money, but it is worth exactly or less than what you paid for it. So, my advice is if you are looking for a tool kit for your JOB, then definitely spend the extra bucks for the lifetime warranties, the assurances of steel content, plating etc etc.; from folks such as Craftsman, Snap-On, Matco, MAC, S-W, etc.. The difference in the price will be more than made up for in years of service and reliability. Then again, if you have the money, buy the KEY tools for your tool kit from the same companies. By key, I mean, the sockets, the wrenches, screwdrivers, ratchets etc. Remember, these are the ones you will be using the MOST for the majority of the jobs you do under the shade of the tree. For "Use Once, and Stash" Tools, (and don't tell me you don't have at least a tool box worth of these) go to Harbor Freight. You'll be surprised at how much you can save, and STILL do the job right. Can you get burned? That depends on the expectations you put into the tool.

The very early Z's had the D hubcaps. Not sure when they went to other styles. As far as the wheel info, sorry, don't know.

All Z in Gresham Oregon. They MIGHT have one. They have a ton of Z's from all years, but the gas tank is a known part that is either crushed, rusted, or it's sold. All Z East Auto Recycling Inc. 1271 B N.W. Eleven Mile Ave. Gresham, OR 97030 (503) 666-5659 (800) 533-5659 Talk to MIKE. He's the Z guru there. He'll give you the best pricing and will know pretty much right off the top of his head whether he has the part or not. Doug is the owner, and he's ok, but he does charge top dollar. 2¢

The 70 and early 71 240Z's had the cigar lighter mounted on the console just below the radio. Additionally the ash tray / fuse box cover had a hole for the cigar lighter. The indent above the hazard switch ORIGINALLY was intended for the FOG LAMP switch, which is an extremely rare option on US cars. (In fact, if you have the switch for it, I'm willing to buy it from you). The late 71 and so on models had the cigar lighter mounted above the hazard switch. The 70 / e71's had a pull button switch for the 4 way flashers. This was a pretty obvious design in that you pulled it and the flashers worked, pushed it in and they stopped. Later models went to a toggle style switch which for some reason was felt to be confusing and that people would not know how to operate it. So they made an indent in the dash for a DECAL that says: Hazard Switch: ON (in the up position); OFF (in the down position) Since the decal would not stick on the dash properly, they indented the plastic skin so it would not peel off. By the way, I believe the pictures posted are from Zhome.com and they have an excellent article that goes WITH those pictures that explains what I have posted here. Enrique Scanlon

Also contact: Andy Russell The Datsun Dude z@datsundude.com or 480-980-6512 He has some excellent pieces (new door panels!) as well as some excellent prices. Enrique Scanlon

Depending on when in 71 your car was built, the dash may NOT have an indent to the left of the hazard switch. After 71, the dash had an indent put into it to accept a label for the toggle style hazard switch. Additionally, the 73 will likely have the wiring harness that has the wiring for the seat belt and choke warning lights, something the earlier 71's did NOT have. The buzzer that sounds when you open the door with the key still in the ignition is now incorporated into the seat belt buzzer system where in 71 it was a stand alone item. Another item would be the light for the cigar lighter that was placed above the hazard switch. Early 71's had a fiber optic transfer system where the 73's had a light bulb attached to the body of the lighter. The 71's also had reinforcement plates on the mounting areas where the lower side mounting bolts go on. The 72 and later did not have this "step" or reinforcement. In order to fit a 72 and later into a 71, you will have to bend those arms down. I have a Jan 72 dash and a Sep 71 dash out of the cars right now and I am about to do a swap myself. If you need I can take some pictures and post. Let me know.

Your hatch may have been replaced with a later year hatch. The hatch cover plate was later attached with screws that could either go straight into the metal or go into those square plastic receivers for the screws. For a while there they were also using a smaller diameter push pin rivet. I found a quick way of retrieving the rivet pins. I attached an "appropriated" (i.e. stolen) nylon knee high stocking to the end of my shop-vac's hose with duct tape, then the vac is turned on and the knee high is sucked into the hose. Then I duct tape a 5/8" inside diameter rubber hose, about 2 feet long, to the end of the vac hose. This in effect gives me a filter screen midway up the shop vac hose. The 5/8" hose gives me a flexible smaller diameter vacuum nozzle. Then insert the rubber hose into the nooks and crannies behind the panel after I've pushed the pins through. Rarely do I loose pins. By the way, the first time you do this, be prepared to find all sorts of crud behind your plastic panels. This is an area that will collect all sorts of BS, and should probably be vacuumed more than once every 30 years. 2¢