2ManyZs

I believe like most aluminum wheels yours probably had a clear coat paint applied to them, is it the paint that is going bad or is it gone altogether and the aluminum itself is corroding? I would advise against using a wire brush on them, it will only leave scratches on the surface. A much better alternative would be to have them blasted clean with glass bead or plastic blast media. It should clean the surface without pitting the aluminum. You could then use a clear coat paint to restore them or have them polished first, then put a clear coat on them. If you can find a shop that will bead blast them I believe you will save yourself a lot of work, doing them by hand would be a tedious job. You could try it by hand with an aluminum polish but this will only work if there is no clear coat on them at all. If you have access to a blasting cabinet it would be short work to clean up your wheels, I have one and it works quite well, but I think the glass bead is actually a bit too coarse for the job. Plastic media would probably be your best bet as it will not etch the surface like glass will if you aren't careful. If you can find a shop that will do it I doubt it would be too expensive and you could save a little money by doing the finish work yourself. Eastwoods has paints for wheels in different colors and they also sell the clear coat.

Gee, mine hasn't changed since I hit the big 5-0.

Personally I love the look of the spoiler and the fender flares. Not very often you see a convertible with flares to begin with and I think the spoiler looks great since you took the time and did a nice job of blending it in.

Since you are using the black POR-15 on the rest of the underside you could use it inside the fender wells to be sure that you won't have to worry about any rust. If you are not concerned with originality go with what you are using, unless the car is going to be black, in which case no one will notice it. Since there are a couple areas there that are prone to rusting the POR-15 would be a good idea. Many people prefer to paint the inner fenderwells black so that they are not as noticeable, making your wheel and tire combo stand out a little more. Or if you prefer you can paint it body color, it's all a matter of what you want, it's your car and you ultimately have the final decision on how you want it to look when you are finished.

I think the Libra wheel was made by American Racing. They brought the wheel back recently as the 200S. Some versions came with polished spokes and some had a rough cast spoke. If I'm not mistaken Nissan never offered a factory (optional)aluminum wheel on a Z-car till the 77 or 78 model year, a lot of early 240's now wear either these or the later 280zx wheels.

Probably the same way I remembered Brian, I looked at the old issues and saw I had 4. You get 4 for a year so then I checked the dates and realized they should have another one out. :eek: Sure enough, I was missing an issue. Got it now and a 2 year subscription.

I don't think Nissan had any other wheels for the early cars, the slots were about the only ones I know about. BTW, I still have my set that look just like the ones in the picture. They are 14x5.5 and were made by Western Wheel. They are an exact match to the wheels in the pic.

The Mikunis are a better choice for the street than the Webers, but like Bill said, on a totally stock engine they are a bit of overkill. If you have a later engine (smogger) with the lower compression you will possibly have problems setting the mixture correctly. If you have a pre-73 engine you would have a much better starting point. A slightly more radical cam, maybe one step up from stock and a header and free flowing exhaust would be a good idea if you don't have that already. Of course this is assuming your engine is in top-notch shape to start with. If it is getting a little tired I believe you will be creating a large headache for yourself trying to get the carbs adjusted. If you are planning on a lot of modifications to the engine and drivetrain these carbs should work right into your plans.

There is a 1970 240 on ebay right now for sale. The guy selling it has had one or two other Z's posted before and all these cars supposedly were given to charity????? I sure wish I was the lucky charity!! Seriously though the car doesn't look too bad, even though the seller doesn't seem to know a great deal about Z-cars. He says the 70 models were the only ones that had the vents in the hatch, but we all know better. Doesn't look like it would take too much investment to make a decent street car out of this one if all the parts are there. Check it out and you decide.

They are definately after market wheels. Western wheels had them (Hurricane i think they called them) and I think 2 or 3 other companies made a similar wheel. I had a set like them but they were only 14x5.5 inch. I might still have them, I can't remember if I sold them or not.

I agree with Royce, don't trust a used head if you don't have to. To many Z heads are floating around out there that are cracked or so warped that they are junk. For the best comparison on heads check out The Datsun Garage web page under the top 5 web-links. Lots of good info there. If you are taking off the head it would be wise to go ahead and change the timing chain at the same time. If the head needs that much work the chain and tensioner probably aren't in much better condition and you will only have to tear the engine apart once. If you haven't gotten one already get a Victoria British parts catalog (it's free), just go to their web-site and apply for one. Their prices are as good as Motosport Auto and they do have a few parts listed that MSA doesn't. They sell individual valves, valve stems, and hardened seats as well. And they have a decent price on the timing chain kit too.

In my opinion the only truly accurate oil pressure gauge is a mechanical one. I have had Z's that showed 0 at idle and some that showed almost pegged the gauge at idle. Not only is the gauge somewhat innacurate the sending unit is always suspect. Sorry, never trusted anything electrical(especially in a car that is now over 30 years old) so the only way to find out is to take a reading of the stock gauge and then check the oil pressure with a mechanical one and see how much difference there is. You can pick up a decent mechanical gauge at an auto parts store for 20 bucks or so and hook it up temporarily and go from there. Why take a chance on ruining an engine whe you could have saved it for 20 dollars?

mmagnus, let me go check all my parts drawers this weekend. I can't remember if I have a spare M/C for my 72 or not. If I don't have one I may take that one of your hands.

I agree with EScanlon, the only reason I said to use a block of wood is that the sponge blocks in Eastwoods kits are not really hard enough, however they do sell the rubber sanding blocks which I think are as good if not better than sponge. Of course the sandpaper in their kit will only work with their sponge so you would need to buy a sheet of paper seperately.

I'll admit I was wrong on this one. But I think I know why, I've been looking at mostly early cars (pre 73). I guess they decided to change the location after 72, since I'm quite sure they were all on the drivers side. XYZ, if your car has never been painted I'd have to say that the sun has faded it enough to make it look like the 918 orange. Personally, I have never seen a 110 red car up close, only in pictures. My 71 was 918 but I'm going to re-paint it in 110 red since I'm not a big fan of orange (out of 7 cars I have owned only two were not originally orange). I guess the 110 isn't as dark as I thought it was.

Ok, that's 2 that make me look like a fool. I've probably been under the hood or 40 or 50 Z-cars and these are the first two that I've seen with the paint code sticker not on the drivers side. Guess we need to find someone who has been under the hood of more than I have.

No problem, I wasn't too smart, I went out to the garage then checked all my manuals and parts books right here in front of me. Didn't have to go outside in the first place.:eek:

You might want to check the width across the bolsters on the backrest. They might come a little close to the door or door frame, other than that they look great. All you should need to do is to make the slider bolt up. They should look great in a Z. The overall width of the bolsters on the back rest and maybe the seat bottom is the only place I think you may find any problem. The stock seat is so close to the transmission tunnel you need to check the overall width of the seat to be sure. The way the tunnel narrows in at the bottom causes most of the problems, the hardware might fit, but the cushion won't or at least that is what I have found.

Good tip. Just for everyone's information, Eastwoods has a small kit they sell for touching up paint chips with small pieces of ultra-fine paper and the polish to go over the repair. I believe their kit has small foam blocks for sanding, but you could always use a small block of wood instead as I think the sandpaper has an adhesive backing.

Daniel, you are correct except for one small point. It's not the just the 260 that is different, it's all the cars after the 72 model year. My 71 has the large reservoir on the front yet both my 72's have it to the rear. Don't ask me why they changed it, they just did. BTW, I had to run out to the garage because after reading your post I got confused since I knew I had seen them both ways. Just had to double check myself. The series 1 has the large one in the front and both my 72's and my 75 280 have it on the rear. Darn it was cold out there......:mad: Daniel is right, you have to have the one for a 70 or 71. Want the bad news?? MSA's price is 50 bucks more for the 70-71 master cylinder over the 72-76 master cylinder, and VB's price difference is 90 dollars!:tapemouth I know what you are thinking since I really should replace the one on my 71, but I think I might wait till I really have to!:eek:

Yes, it is possible to have your bumper re-plated. If the metal is still in good condition it would be possible to do it. How much is the next question. I have no idea what a plating shop would charge. You should check around your area and find out then decide if another used one is going to save you a considerable amount of money. New bumpers definately not cheap so if you want nice bumpers you should do a little research and find out what it would cost to re-plate yours, it may even be a little cheaper to have both done instead of buying one replacement.

XYZ, please don't take this wrong, but I believe someone has re-painted your car at some time or another and has put the wrong sticker on it for whatever reason they may have had. Why do I think this? In the almost 20 years I have been tinkering on Z-cars I have never seen the paint code label on the passenger side of the core support. They have always been on the drivers side on all the cars I have ever seen and yours is up-side down compared to the factory ones I have seen. Every one I have seen is put on so you read it from the front of the car. I may be wrong, if I am you can call me an idiot. The color on your car does look to me like the 918 orange, however, looking down near the frame rail in front of the core support it almost looks like your car may have been red at one time. Perhaps it may have been the 110 red from the factory and someone re-painted it 918 orange?? I have had three 240's that were 918 orange and I can pretty much assure you that daisensei's car is 918 orange.

I don't know, but the 110 red cars I have seen don't look orange at all. The 110 is a little darker than the 905 to the point it is almost a maroon color and not a bright red. If you look in the Members Rides section daisenei has a pic of his 73 and it is definately 918 orange.

If'n there were two vapor tanks used on the later cars and you figure out which one he needs let me know and I'll check my parts car to see which one it has. I know where two more parts cars are here in town so maybe I can find the right one.

As a daily driver 45 ft/lb's should be OK. The main reason for increasing the breakaway torque is when the car is used for racing it limits the amount of slippage. Less slippage means less heat and wear, so unless you plan on doing a lot of autocrossing or road racing I believe it would be better to stay with the stock setting. On a daily driven street car you would want the slippage for easier handling in turns, too little slippage and you would basically end up with what amounts to a "locked" rear. No fun in a tight parking lot. Not only that but you will increase the understeer (plowing) as you increase the breakaway torque. Less breakaway promotes oversteer. So you would have to adjust your driving style or suspension settings to overcome any increase. Just as an FYI some of the old racing teams shimmed theirs anywhere from 180 to 350 pounds. Most just welded the spider gears and ran a locked rear. If you were to tighten it I would resist going over 100ft/lbs, especially if you plan on driving this car on the street only. Just my two cents........