Pop's Z

Arne, On my '73 they are satin black. To my knowledge they are original (75,000 miles). FWIW I think that little shiny screws would be distracting when driving. Mike

James, this is just what you need to do...import a pristine 73 like mine and convert it to rt.hand drive. I would sell it to you for $20,000, but Amanda would come over here and kick my butt. You need to finish the one you've been working on before thinking about another. Can you say addiction? By the way the new Hagerty insurance mag is saying that Datsun roadsters and 240 Zs are a good buy for the collector. Who knew? We are all ahead of our time. I've spent so much time and money on mine that I think I'll keep it until I can "break even", by which time I'll be so old my kids will be arguing over who gets it. Cheers, Mike ps: Is it done yet? Driveable?

I put this shroud on to accompany the 3-core radiator I got from MSA. Be sure to secure the top of the shroud to the top of the rad. I used some stainless wire. The top of the shroud has a tendancy to be pulled into the fan which is not good. When you mount it you will see what I'm talking about. Pull on it towards the fan and see how easily it moves. Also the advice to get the rad. rodded and boiled out is good. My rad. had 73,000 miles on it in a well-maintained car and was seriously plugged. Also the side mounts were both loose and one was actually not attached any more. Since I put the 3-core rad. and the shroud in, my car's temp guage never moves from the left of center. Cheers, Mike

Speaking of tornados, the town of Windsor, Colorado which is 8 miles east of Fort Collins was hit by a 1 mile wide tornado which destroyed part of the town. It missed us by just a bit...it pulled back up into it's cloud and went on to hit Laramie, Wyoming. It left a 35 mile path of destruction. Scary! Mike

Rick, There is actually an ad on TV here for something or other that has a large insect appearing at someone's door and speaking to her. You may be ahead of your time...or not. Cheers, Mike

Bo, the clutch disc is a Paraut-Japan (motto: "As it is people who drive automobile, Paraut seeks high quality and safety reliability. This is the message from Paraut"). It seemed ok...time will tell. It was listed for a: car Laurel:SC33, model Skyline:HR31. Size 225*150, spline 25.4*T24. I'm not to sure what that all means, but I know Nissan made a lot of parts that fit a lot of different models. Darrel, too late, it's gone back to MSA. Besides I can use the $$ for other things. FWIW the shifter out of my 4-spd actually feels shorter/quicker. It doesn't go as far forward as it used to, but the movement to the rear is the same. There are no clearance issues (console-wise) on my 73. Cheers, Mike

Bo, Thanks for the spell-check. My spelling is only so-so, especially since I've been known for brain farts (ask 1 Bravo 4, right, Rick?). I was just too lazy to go down to look on the box. I had heard of Exedy before. Thanks for the Daikin disc info, too. That's exactly what it was. Like I said it all seems to work really well. Cheers, Mike

Tim, Kenny and I put the 5-spd I got from Dave on Sunday. I'm pretty sure it was not a 77-78 one. I'm pretty positive it was from a later car, i.e.: one "ear", different shift ears(wouldn't fit the nice quick shift I bought from MSA), speedo retainer bolt hole on the down side, the car feels real "long-legged" now, etc. I told Dave the joke was on him. Anyway I got my clutch disc, pressure plate, T/O bearing and clutch collar(very important to match up the collar with the pressure plate i.e. either all 240 or all 280) from MSA. I used all 280Z parts. With my classiczcarclub discount the pressure plate was $70.16, the disc was $42.07, the clutch collar was $17.79, the T/O bearing was $13.99, pilot bearing(unneeded...the old one was fine) $5.07, and the clutch pilot tool was $5.95. The pressure plate was an Excidy, The disc was some brand I never heard of, but it all came together well and works just fine. If you get "genuine Nissan parts" it will run you about twice as much for the pressure plate and disc. If you have any questions about it give me a shout by email or phone. Cheers, Mike

Rick, ya' crazy Aussie, you have just too much time on your hands. I'm amazed you didn't blame this one on that "make-believe" invisible sister of yours. I would write more, but I'm too tired from the 5-spd tranny swap performed yesterday. I'm gettin' too old for this mechanic business. I'm glad I don't have to do this for a living...it would take all the fun out of it. Hello James, car done yet? Cheers, Mike

Hi Tim, I installed Dave's headlite harness and parking lite harness on my 73. It was straight forward (except on a 73 it wasn't plug-and-play...I had to find and cut and splice on the light switch harness. That involved some email exchanges with Dave and some wiring diagram stuff), and Dave's products are professionally done and first-rate. Dealing with him is always easy and communications were also first-rate. He is a good guy and a treasure for our club and our cars. I met him at an MSA show a few years back and he is fun to talk with. He is always available to help Z car guys with electrical or any other problems. You can't go wrong with Dave or his stuff. Cheers, Mike

Thank you one and all. I will check with my local Nissan dealer and MSA. The thing I love about this site is the wealth of information freely given with no flaming. Thanks again Cheers, Mike

Thank you Carl, I am no longer confused. Now the question is: should I order the clutch assy. from MSA (they say O.E.M."type") or should I try to order it through my local Nissan dealer? Mike

Hi all, Thanks for the good info so far. However now I'm confused. In the thread "Won't Go Into Gear" Carl says to use the clutch assembly from 280z and the clutch collar from a 280 ZX if you are replacing your clutch in a 240Z. I've asked him in that post "why"? and asked if the 280 unit is stronger, better etc. Carl if you're here...help! Thanks, Mike

Hi Carl, So what you're saying is if one is replacing a clutch assy. in the 240Z one should use a 280Z assy (disc, pressure plate, t/o bearing and collar)? Is it better? Stronger? The reason I ask is if you look at my post about clutches I'm asking this very question. I'm confused. (even more than usual). Cheers, Mike

Thanks for the replies. I'm not sure what I'll do, yet. I haven't seen the tranny. I will pick it up this weekend. I don't think I can go wrong for $100 even if it has to be rebuilt. Cheers, Mike

Thanks for the advice, Arne. Just to be on the safe side I will probably replace the whole set-up w/ 240 stuff from MSA. Cheers, Mike

Hi all again, Sorry to be wearisome, but this is the place for knowledge. As I stated in my other post about clutches I am buying an FS5W71B 5-spd tranny w/ 50,000 miles on it. This question is should I take a peek inside to check the notorious main and countershaft nuts which like to back out causing much havoc, or should I leave well enough alone? What should I look for (if that's the advice), and what should I do to prevent the nuts from backing out? I have to say that I have NO experience with trans missions, but am a pretty capable mechanic and can follow instructions. I have the FSM from Courtesy and the Haynes manual, also. The owner said the tranny had been a replacement for his 78 Black Pearl which experienced the notorious shaft nut backing out and destruction of his original tranny. He recently went for an 81-83 ZX tranny and didn't need it any more. He said it worked perfectly when he took it out. Thanks for the help and advice. Cheers, Mike

Hi all, I have the opportunity to puchase a 50,000 mile FS5W71B 5-spd tranny, and I have a question about which clutch set(disc, pressure plate, and throwout bearing/clutch collar) to use. My car is a stock 73 build date 6/73 with 74,000 actual miles on it. So is there any advantage or disadvantage to using the 280Z clutch set or should I stick with my 240Z clutch set? At 74,000 miles should I even bother to replace everything? There are no clutch issues with this car. It takes up firmly and does not slip. I will replace the throwout bearing and pilot bearing. I used the search feature and found out lots, just not about this question. Thanks for the input. Cheers, Mike

It was great to get together with you guys yesterday. I had a terrific time. I don't know if you noticed, but there were a lot of double-takes from the people driving by. You don't get to see that many old Zcars in one place too often. That being said I've posted a thread on the Fort Collins Old Town car show. Come one, come all. Can you imagine the look on people's faces when we show up with MANY Zs? Whooee! Cheers, Mike

Hi all, This is to announce the Old Town Car Show held on June 14, in Fort Collins, Colorado. It starts at 11:00 and goes to 5:00. Cost is $15 ($20 after June 6). kenz240z and myself have done the show and are doing it again this year. It is primarily a hot rod show, but the Zs get a lot of attention from the crowds. WE NEED MORE Zs!. Come on guys, I know there are a lot of Zs in Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, and New Mexico. It would be great to have a goodly number of Z cars for this event. PM either Kenny(kenz240z) or me(Pop's Z) with your email address and we will send you the link to the show. We can all meet before the show at a site to be determined and go as a group. It would be pretty spectacular to show up with a mass Z car parade. Cheers, Mike

Rick, That's a really beautiful Zed. Now, who's the old fart you got to stand next to it? Cheers, Mike (another old fart...takes one to know one)

Rick, You are a one-man yuks festival. Keep your knickers up. Mike

Well, yesterday was one of those perfect Z days. I did 5 canyons, one of them twice. One of the best things about living here in Northern Colorado is these great twisties are less than 20 minutes from my home. I had almost zero traffic to deal with and saw the two different officers of the law before they saw me. Not that I was speeding, of course. The Z was a real runner and I am now officially over the Winter doldrums. These cars are SO MUCH FUN!!! I burned up a whole tank of gas and at even $3.40/gal for mid-range it was cheap thrills. Also the fact that I'm retired means I can go out during the week when there is little or no traffic...until the tourists arrive. Cheers, Mike

Jared et all, Tomorrow is the day! It's supposed to be near 80 here in N. Colorado and I am going canyon carving. Lucky for me there are about 6 canyons near here and I am going to hit at least 4 or 5 of them. I can't wait...it's been a long Winter. Cheers Mike