EScanlon

>I still don't know exactly what the "Tool Storage- moved to rear deck pockets" should look like. The tool storage compartments in the Series I were not compartments in the true sense of the word. They were Plastic Covers that hinged from a floor bracket to the vertical steel that comprises the rear axle "step". The tools, handle, rod and the wrench were put in a bag and the jack was mounted below. The cover just hinged up and hid it from view. Think of the tray table in an airplane and you get the general idea. The covers had 3 sides as well as the face of the cover. The fourth side was where the hinge went. One side was bigger than the other, but don't recall which. When they did away with the Series I Tool Storage, what they did was cut two holes on the floor of the rear deck, closest to the seats, and put a pair of hinged covers with a latch that you turned to open it. The space directly behind the seats was no longer used for tool storage at all, the tool storage was now hidden underneath the floor carpeting on the rear deck. To determine if your car is a Series I or II, just look at the rear deck floor, underneat the rug, closest to the seats. If you have a pair of openings with lids in there, then you have a Series II, if no openings, then a Series I. From what you posted earlier, I would say that you had a Series I based on the Tool Storage being mounted on brackets behind the seats. (Another Tell-Tale Sign.) However, we have to remember this. No car manufacturer as far as I know, would have a clear cut THIS serial number is the last one and THIS NEXT serial number is the first one, when it comes to a complete set of changes as the Series I and II were. More than likely, as your car indicates and so does mine, they change through attrition of old stock. My console has the fuse cover / ash tray combination ONLY found in the 70 and EARLY 71's. That's the console with the defog switch and coin box back behind the shifter. I also have the Tool Compartments in the floor of the rear deck. My wiring harness has the fuel pump wiring but no fuel pump, (indicative of a late 71, 72 model). Yet the dash does NOT have the indent for the decal to the left of the hazard switch, yet my cigar lighter is mounted above the hazard switch (indicating an early 71). My seats are the KNOB style and not the LEVER style. My doors do have the two stage open mechanism. My vents are on the roof pillar and I don't have any vents on the hatch. Yet, I still have the 3 piece hatch seal, which is shortly going to be replaced with a one piece. The bottom line on this is that you won't be able to determine a DEFINITIVE demarcation on Series I VIN # and Series II VIN #. You are going to find that close to that "change over" VIN and Production Month, you will have "hybrids". Those vehicles are the trickiest to find parts for, as YOU have to keep track of what you have. Wish I could give you a good set of "Rules of Thumb" to go by, but I don't. Probably the best thing to do is to order one of the Microfiche CD's from here and spend some time identifying what parts you have and which ones do and don't apply to your vehicle. Bottom line, since your vehicle has already been set up with the vents in the hatch, go with that setup. Get the "240Z" emblem for your roof pillars and get the vents for the hatch. Remember, what YOU do for your car is what is half the fun of owning it. Just my 2¢

Here's another important tid-bit on the issue: ================================================== 1971 HLS30 018000 thru 051583 (I added a "0" to 1800 to correct what's at zhome) Notable VIN Month Highlights HLS30 019889 01 Last of Series One Body Style (rear hatch vents). HLS30 21001 First of Series II Body Style = omitted = HLS30 48863 10 Last 1971 Model Year Car Build (HLS30 51583 latest reported so far). 1972 Model Year - HLS30 48863 (earliest reported so far). Flip Forward Seats, New Hub Caps, Center Console Redesigned, gas tank door latch eliminated, 5 inch wide wheels made standard, new 4sp. trans. design, rear end moved rearward 35mm (about 1.5 inches). 11 Pockets added to floor pan for Auto Seat Belt Retractors ================================================== This is also from Zhome.com Specifically the Production Changes from 69 to 73. I only selected a couple items due to relevance to this posting. My 71 Datsun 240Z AT was manufactured 9/71 and it is indeed a Series II 1971. My car has the center console with the ash tray / fuse cover combination up front under the radio. The coin box behind the defrost switch and the knobs for the seats. Yet, when you go to the wiring some of it is from the 72 run. What I'm saying is that if your manufacture date is close to the end of a given "style" or option run, it is possible that you will have mixed items. The key is to investigate and know for yourself what is what and buy accordingly. RandyC's anomalies may be explained in any accidents the car may have been involved in. The front and the rear may have been replaced, and not necessarily at the same time. As a result the discrepancy between the good work in back and the not so good work in front could be a simple dealer versus non-dealer repair. If your car was brought over late 4/71 - 5/71 it is very possible that the repair panels in the warehouse were STILL the Series I. Remember, they wouldn't have necessarily considered a need for replacement panels so soon after a change, when the change was only cosmetic as far as the panel is concerned. Additionally, they wouldn't have shipped all those panels back to Japan just to have them scrapped, they would have used them. Check behind the plastic panels for evidence of a new weld line. That will probably tell you more. Your seats and seat belts are in line with the production up until 10/71. Mine also has the vents and the round knob for the seats as well as the push button seat belts. Hope this helps.

I'm copying the following from the article at www.zhome.com Specifically: http://zhome.com/History/New71Late.htm ================================================== Contributed by: Carl Beck & Elliot Welz. Last Up Date 15 Feb., 2001 The "Series I" Datsun 240Z's were produced between Oct. 1969 and Jan. 1971. This production period covered two Model Years (1970 & 1971). However Datsun did not implement design or production changes based on Model Years, but rather on Calendar Years durring this period. So with the begining of the Calendar Year 1971 Datsun introduced what they refered to as the "New 1971 late model Datsun 240Z Sports". We refer to these as "Series II" Z Cars. Listed below is a summary of the design/production changes incorporated in the "Series II" 240-Z's. This information was published in a Datsun Factory Service Bulletin dated: Febuary 1971, VOL. 137. According to this Service Bulletin the changes were to be put into production with HLS30 21001 and HS30 0501. Copies of this Service Bullentin were contributed by: Elliot Welz, ZCOOR #115 Summary of changes: BODY: 1. Ventilation Air Outlets- Change in fresh air ventilation system outlets to rear quarter panels from decklid 2. Two Step Door Check Link>. holds doors open, was full open, now full and half open) 3. Seat Belt Release changed from latch to button, and hangers from seat to rear panel 4. Reversible Key-for starter, steering lock and glove box. 5. Steering Wheel- has punched out holes, they were indents 6. Center Vent Defuser- redesigned and add vertical deflectors 7. Sun Visor - enlarged by about 1" in length 8. Tool Storage- moved to rear deck pockets 9. Reclining/Flip Forward Seat - Lever replaces round knob CHASSIS: 1. Tire Specification - from 175SR14 to 175HR14 BODY ELECTRICAL: 1. Speedometer- starts at "0" mph instead of 20MPH 2. Oil Pressure Gauge recalibrated 3. Map Light- hood added to map lamp to reduce glare 4. Windshield Wipers - speed up from 68 strokes per minute to 75 spm on "High" speed. 5. Defogger Switch -- changed to include warring light 6. Tail Light Assy- now has four bulbs instead of three 7. Headlight harness changed to prevent electro-chemical attach on lamp terminals

Joe Your car definitely sounds like a Series I. The two holes you describe are the receiver holes for the barrel clips on the pins of the emblems for the quarter panel. The right ones for your car are the ones that say "240Z" on top of a circle. If your car had the indent hole and hence 3 barrel clip holes around the indented hole, the emblem you would need would be the one that just has a "Z" in the center. These are for the Series II and they are side specific. (i.e. Right/Left) The Series I had a pair of Vent Grills below the rear hatch window. These vents were in fact FUNCTIONAL. Inside the hatch you should have some ducting that connected to the inside hatch panel. This is how the Series I did the passive vent air circulation system. But since the car's aerodynamics tended to suck the exhaust back in through the vent, it was changed to the window channels. Many of the emblems you are looking for are hard to find USED let alone NEW. However, I have a source that has been able to get them NEW and in the NISSAN BOX. The 240Z Channel is no longer available in metal. You can sometimes get it from someone on e-Bay or at swap meets, but rarely new. In fact, there's a guy selling a pair of metal ones on e-bay right now but you can tell the paint is chipped and need some TLC to be good. They're up for auction, but you can buy them now for $50. Here's the URL: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=600626991 My source is the Datsun Dude. He has several listings on e-Bay right now, but you can contact him directly at z@datsundude.com Here's just a sampling of the items that go hand in hand with your restoration: "Datsun" Fender emblems http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=600418903 Datsun 240Z Roof Pillar Emblems http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=600419568 Door Striker Set http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=600419393 Hatch Jamb Hardware Kit http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=600605764 I've found that he is extremely fair and his perfomance is second to none. Another source for emblems and the like is Too Intense Restoration. Check out his web-site at: http://www.DatsunRestore.com/ His e-mail is AMODEM04@aol.com Feel free to tell them I referred you. I don't get anything but they like to know who's putting their name out amongst the bulletin boards and friends. Have fun and Good Luck finding what you want.

If you are a new owner of a Z, let me introduce you to this common term amongst us. Kind of like the Doctors' "Take two aspirin, and call me in the morning", with Z cars, this is one of the MAJOR and MOST COMMON both problems and repairs. Don't just visually check your fuse, do a continuity check on it. Also, make sure that the connectors for the fuse are clean and bright and that they are making good contact on the fuse. After this, you now get to the fun of tracing down the problem. I would recommend you first look at the headlight connections. Don't just look at where they connect to the headlight, but also intermediate connections. By the way, if you are new to the Z's, Welcome to the Club!

Should have voted for my car's color, but have to admit that Yellow and Red are my two favorites. I have to admit that the Gold 920 (aka Mustard) does grow on you.

I believe I've seen them in the MotorSports catalog. I've also seen them in J.C. Whitney, but don't know if they'll fit.

The Achilles Heel of the Datsun Z. Along with it's notorious propensity to rust due to thin sheet metal, you'd think that people would shun this car. But like a gorgeous woman that you know is HIGH $ Maintenance, people keep at it. The fuse box problem has had write ups in bunches of posts. The following are but a small sampling and I'm sure there are others I've missed and others could add to: http://www.zcar.com http://www.zdriver.com http://www.zhome.com http://www.geocities.com/zgarage2001/z.html Addressing the topic briefly and succintly. General repair and restoration of the fuse box is as follows: If the fuse box is still generally intact, i.e. no melt through, or damage, then remove from the car and clean all the contacts. Get a small wire brush, the type that looks like a small pipe cleaner or like a miniature toilet bowl brush and remove all corrosion from the clips that hold the fuses. You can also use a small piece of sandpaper rolled up into a tube and insert it as you would a fuse and rotate it. Carefully bend all the clips so that they hold the fuse firmly. Check the rivet that holds the fuse clip. You can solder the back of these, but be careful as too much heat will melt the plastic that holds the fuse clip in place. I personally prefer to put the fuse block on a small anvil and using a nail punch, hammer the rivet so that it will make better contact with the wire below. Check ALL the fuses for CONTINUITY. Don't just visually inspect them. Too many times the fuse appears intact, only to be the cause of electrical failures. Preferably, get new fuses. The time and effort to clean up and ensure that a 30 year old fuse is useful is way too much considering that you can usually find the fuses available at any auto parts store. Heck in some supermarkets and drug stores, the automotive section has the fuses. Lastly, check the connectors for the fuse box. Any corrosion or discoloration of the metal should be removed. Remember, corrosion first appears as discoloration, then as it progresses, looks like a weird texture. This causes RESISTANCE. Resistance causes HEAT. Heat causes meltdown and problems. In the situation where the fuse box has already melted, you CAN find replacements. MotorSports, Victoria British, ZParts, ZBarn, are but just a few of the places that have them available. Yes, they are spendy but then again not as expensive as watching your Z car burn. And regarding upping the fuse to a higher amperage? DON'T. If you have a problem with a circuit, check out the circuit, don't just put a 20 amp fuse in place of a 10 amp. The fuse is your SAFETY, and it's designed to blow if the current exceeds it's rating. If a fuse continues to blow, it's a sure sign of something NOT being right. When a fuse blows in your house, do you automatically go out and replace the fuse with a higher amperage one? or do you first try to find out what caused it?

You're Bad! I'm sticking to my opinion of the bikini centerfold, I wouldn't object to their having TWO centerfolds one WITH another WITHOUT, if only cause it's the CAR I want to see. Not saying I don't like the cheesecake, just that sometimes the cheesecake can literally hide detail or render the picture unuseable for anything else other than cheesecake. And I can't agree that cheesecake would make the magazine sell more. As it is, the Z enthusiasts are a small population. Due to the scarcity of good vehicles, and the amount of money it takes to restore one, you have again, another limiting factor on the population. Since you are dealing with an older car, this pretty well defines your audience. Although there are exceptions, you would find that the general reader would be, Male, 35 to 60, Mechanically Inclined, Loves Sports Cars, Enjoys Tinkering, Either Retired or with a Job that allows plenty of $ for a time consuming expensive hobby. He's looking for information and pictures on the car, not another T&A shot. A younger male reader, under 30, and some women too, enjoy and kind of expect the cheesecake shot, but let's face it, those that are interested in Z cars and not the Rice Ready Racers, are few and far between. Cheesecake isn't going to make it sell more, since the target audience is looking at Z cars. I have given some thought on the other photos, but only cause as much as I'd like the magazine to increase the number and sizes of the photographs, I realize that unless you do something to make the different month's different from one another, they'll quickly become boring and overlooked. Understand what I'm referring to. There are few pictures that show the cars when they were NEW. As a result, many of us, who are trying to detail, restore, and improve, our cars, do not have the time or the money to access all the different places you need to go to, before you can find out that the space above the hazard switch on the dash of the 70 had the INDENT but otherwise was NOT a hole. Or that the cover of the choke plate on the 70/71 actually had silver trim on the raised edge going all the way around. Or that the majority of vehicles that entered the North American market did NOT have the separate Throttle linkage to the right of the choke but here's a photo of what one looks like. Or what the Lateral Parking Light switch to the right of the Rear Defrost looked like on those few rare vehicles that have it. Yes, I like a little T&A, but when it comes to admiring a really well maintained or restored vehicle, I want the details of the vehicle. Hence, photos, lots and lots of them. From different angles, close ups, wide angle etc etc. The photos I described are more in line with the comparison that you mention women make. Women DO compare, but not as much about the size of their breasts as we guys think, but rather as to how short other women wear their skirts, or is the shirt unbuttoned below or above the line of the breast, how tight is the fit of their clothing, does it make her look good, and finally, what are other women wearing and how are they wearing it. Yes there is a lot of interest in physical fitness, but let's be honest, the last time you looked at a picture of a man in skimpy clothing, did you really sit there and compare how big his musculature, etc. was in comparison to yours, OR did you give it a quick glance as to how he looked and how you perceived yourself to look? Women do the same. But enough on that, what do other readers think? Let's hear from you.

http://www.justdashes.com/index_home.htm This was posted at another site some time back. The process they detail on their page looks like what this place in Australia does.

Swoop; You'll hear this time and time again. How much do you have? If your maximum budget to invest in this car is $1000 then you can't even afford to get it repainted, without doing it yourself, and then that's about all you're going to do. In this case, then how much rust is too much? Any that you can see, no matter how little or how big. If you can see it, then you're already more into it than $1000, once you include the paint and other items to finish. If you're talking $1k now, for this ONE repair, and then, more later (and more later, and more later, ad nauseaum) then, it becomes, how much are you willing to cap it at? If you were Bill Gates and said, sky's the limit. Then with $5k you could get a very clean respectable unit. For more, you could get an even better unit. Have heard of always garaged, never driven units going for $15 to $25k. Rumors claime a $30k unit recently on e-bay. Sorry to sound so negative, and not offer more support, but the truth here is that you're fooling yourself if you think that it's only going to be $1k. A good brake job, where they replace all the pads and lines, turn the drums/ rotors, flush and bleed the lines, and generally do a complete restoration of the system, can easily run you $1k. So, if I were to suggest anything here, I would say, first get a body shop estimate, then get a mechanical estimate. If between those two they add to more than $5,000 then you're better off finding another car.

I responded to this yesterday but computer bombed just after I posted, so I thought it had gone and apparently not. Each of the magazine's issues has had a "centerfold" picture of a Z car, with the car's specs on the left. Don't know if the specs are those cars ACTUAL specs or if they are the specs of what the car would have had for the configuration of the vehicle sold. At the bottom you have tidbits as to other things that happened in the same year as when that car was brand new. Generally a pleasant format, although I would agree that a larger photo would be nice, I'm not displeased with the current size. Ladies in bikinis on the cars? Hmmm, I think I would rather see a pictorial on that car, and maybe in some of the other photos have ladies in different styles of dress. Although men make up the vast majority of the subscription base of the magazine, I do know that there are some avid lady Z enthusiasts, so insert men as props also. I would personally prefer they left the centerfold as is. Just the car, it's specs, some facts and a nice shot of the car. If they added more pictures to it's pictorial, then maybe go ahead and add photos of ladies in various outfits: 1) A gorgeous leggy woman in a seductive evening dress in dark hose and stiletto heels, stepping out of the car, but the photo still gives a good look of the interior of the car. 2) A young lady in an Izod shirt wearing a denim mini-skirt with tennis shoes is waving at someone while she's pulling something out of the hatch, and the photograph gives plenty of space and visibility of the rear end (of the car, although the girl's would be cute too). The concept being, this is how the car is IN USE, not the typical posed cheesecake shot of some busty blonde with a set of wrenches in her hand a dab of grease on her nose in a butt floss bikini leading you to believe she just got out from underneath the car where she just replaced the oil pan. Not saying the cheesecake shot is bad etc, just that if that's what I wanted, then I can get the Mac, Snap-On, Proto, Bud, Miller etc etc calendar and get a ton of cheesecake. I personally like the Z car, it's lines and it's many configurations in the hands of it's owners. THAT'S what I think should be on the centerfold. But hey, just my 2¢ worth.

Don't think their circulation is yet up to being available on the newsstands, but I'm hoping I'm wrong. At least in the US. Don't know what they would be doing in other countries. That might be a thought, if you know of a vendor who would buy it and make it available to other interested people. Check with them at their website.

You can also subscribe through the internet, go to http://www.zportzmagazine.com I think you can also get & request international mailing information from them. Good Luck, hope to see your car pictures in there.

As a matter of fact, you want to stop looking at it immediately, don't go near it, stop thinking about it, in fact consider it gone. Now, in order that the guy selling it not feel like he got messed over, give him my e-mail address: escanlon@worldaccessnet.com I'll just take it off his hands so that he doesn't have to worry about having to sell it. Heck, I'll even fly out and pick it up and take him out to dinner to boot!

The magazine is excellent! Being a 240 owner I'd rather they covered the 240 more than the 300's but I'm just being selfish. They have had some excellent articles that have saved me chunks of cash. I've personally addressed the steering wheel restore and it worked great, the instructions were extremely helpful. I'm currently doing the fuel vent lines replacement and that's also saving me a chunk. The ads are specific to our cars! Yes there are a few generic type guys, but the BULK are specific! That makes it better all the way around. I'd get it even if it were twice the price.

Definitely drain the gas tank! And what's more don't just use the hose syphon method and hope that that got all the gas out. The gas tank has a drain hole pretty much at it's lowest point. If you have the car up on jacks or on ramps then IT IS NO LONGER THE LOWEST POINT. Like you found out, gas can be heavy, and when you are finally lowering the tank it's easy to think that, geez the tank is heavy. Only to discover that OH SHEET! as a gallon or so of gas suddenly spills all over your garage / driveway.:eek: I won't ask Kmack about his 8 gallons of gas if you promise not to ask about how the carpet in the garage smells. (A note aside, do you know how long it takes to get a gallon of gas to dissipate out of a garage?? Especially when it's cold?? NOT FUN!! And no matter how much you like to work on cars, there's something about the overpowering smell of gasoline that just ... :sick: ) As it is, you know you're going to have some spillage, but not more than a little bit. So keep this in mind. By the way Mike, the later 71 and 72 recovery tanks were metal, unless you are going for concours restoration, get the metal one, also, unless they pop the panel, how are they going to know?

RIGHT HERE! Here's the URL for it, don't know if it will show up as a click through, but here goes: This is the URL for the page that describes and allows you to order the CD or get a Demo http://scarab.240z.org/cdrom.htm However, after getting a message from Mike, he lets me know that if you want to down load the Demo you need to use this link for the time being, he'll have it fixed in a couple days: http://www.240z.org/zcarcd/z-demo1.pdf I personally have the true blue Microfiche that requires the viewer. Although I used this for years while in the service, I will admit that it is a major PITA. I'm waiting for the accounting part of my marriage:rolleyes: to approve it but I'll be getting one on CD too. From what everyone says, much much easier and clearer.

There have been numerous reports on the little plastic bearing holder underneath the distributor base plate getting old, brittle and eventually cracking. This is true whether the distributor is point or electronic. The problem usually begins with a sticking advance as you are reporting. The new plates are available from Nissan. Sorry don't know the part number, I'll have to check the microfiche later, but the garage is currently in upheaval. Maybe someone else with access to their microfiche or if you have access to the cd microfiche available here then you can call Nissan and get the part new. If you let it go until it breaks, then you'll think that your car died and needs a complete engine overhaul.

In their Premiere issue Sport Z Magazine had an excellent article on replacing the fuel tank vent hoses. The author even went to the trouble of providing the part numbers from a McMaster Carr catalog. I found you can get all but one of the hoses from NAPA. The only hose you can't get is the 1.25" hose that goes from the top of the filler neck to the vapor recovery tank. The biggest problem you may encounter is in getting a couple of the hoses to effect the tight 180° turn. You can however, get metal springs in the right diameter to fit snugly inside the hose which will allow you to bend the hose without kinking it. It's most important to remember that the tank has three vent orifices that connect to the recovery tank. The recovery tank has 5 orifices. The extra two go to the filler neck and to the return line from the engine compartment. By plugging the lines at the recovery tank you've made it so that only so much gas can get into the tank before it starts compressing the air bubble above the gas. Additionally, you've also plugged one of the vent lines from the engine compartment. Don't know what that could / will do, you'll have to ask one of the engine guru's but you're taking a short cut that may lead to trouble down the road. Yes it is a pain to have to drop the tank to get to the hoses, but the end result should be a better smelling vehicle after filling your tank, and it will also allow you to clean under the rear deck and avoid any rust problems later. Hey, it's just my 2¢ worth.

Turbo Boxer: You didn't mention your abilities with regard to bodywork, mechanical, electrical etc. This, in my opinion, is a strong factor in deciding whether or not to get a less than perfect car. If you are totally ignorant on body working, I would pass on anything requiring pulling dents, replacing metal, repairing rust, broken doors, etc etc. The amount of money you would have to spend to get these items taken care of piece by piece in a body shop would put a nice down payment on a house, maybe even in the SF area. If you were to pick up one of these, I would recommend you take it right to the best body shop you can find and give them lots of money and carte blanche to effect whatever needs repairs etc. Expensive, you bet, but not as much as doing it a little at a time. Granted, if your budget doesn't mind $1k every other month for the next couple years, as opposed to $8k right now, then go for it. Mechanical and Electrical ability, again the same advice applies. Although with mechanical, you can find a good mechanic that will fix your car to what you want. However, if you are planning on doing an engine transplant, turbo install, Nitrous, oil cooler, etc etc, then you might have the same problem as with the body work above. Electrical experience? Sounds simple, well, unfortunately the Z cars are notorious for their electrical problems. Look at some of the posts here and at zcar.com and you will see that even some of the so called "guru's" are also baffled about some of the problems reported. Granted some of the people could use a course in how to write, let alone how to describe their problem. (Descriptions such as: Yesterday I got in my car, put the key in, turned it real SLOW, and all of a sudden PSSSSST!! and smoke came out of the fuse box area and the ignition. Now the car won't start, any ideas as to what could be wrong?) LOL The kind of experience you have will determine if you need to look at a car that has already had someone spend the time and money to get it past the trouble spots, or if you want to tackle a frame that needs metal replacing along several rust lines, a wire harness swap due to a bad stereo install as well as fixing an aborted turbo swap into a 240 while still maintaining the original 240 tach but yet using the 79 distributor. If you're looking to get into a Z quickly, and be able to drive it all over the place in a relatively short frame of time, i.e. like buy it now and be done with it this summer, then I would suggest you look around and get a car that has had a lot of work already done to it. The amount of money and TIME you will save in the long run will definitely offset your investment now. If however, you don't mind having it be a Garage Queen for weeks / months at a time, then go for restoring one.