Powderkeg

Ray, This is in no particular order and as Arne mentioned it depends on how you use the car. Replace the bushings. New headlights. New Headlight harness, parking light harness or anything else Dave Irwin sells. Different seats or reupholstered stock seats. Rust treatment. Ztherapy Carburetors. Replace differential mount. 5 speed transmission. New stereo. Refurbished clock from Ron at Zclocks.com. Dave Ruiz 76 280Z

Keith, I may be stating the obvious but make sure it's been smogged and the registration is current. Dave Ruiz 1976 280Z

Charles, Black dragon is a good choice. Courtesy Nissan in Texas. I use the Energy suspension bushings on my stock (mostly) 280Z. I just use it as an occasional daily driver. I really like the Urethane bushings. They seem to hold up better than stock bushings. If you do decide to go with Urethane, many people advise to keep the TC bushings stock rubber. The reason is there have been cases where the urethane on TC rods have been the supposed cause of TC rods breaking. But I digress.... Good Luck Dave Ruiz

Mitchell, WOW! Morphine didn't help! I had a previous attack in 2008 and ended up in the ER. Morphine worked like a champ! Vicodin is my friend ...even if it's been aged for 2 years. Serves me right for neglecting the McDougall diet. Pass the water! By the way...your Z is absolutely beautiful! Dave Ruiz

Contact Black Dragon Automotive for the 260 insulators. Part #56-422 @$9.95 each. Dave Ruiz

Phillip, I've also been told to slam a 6-pack of regular Coke (I'm assuming it's the Phosphoric acid) I won't begin to bore you with all the other "remedies" I've been given. Dave

Rob Here's a photo from my 76. Dave Ruiz

Gary, After suffering through a kidney stone attack Thursday night, the rapture couldn't have gotten here quickly enough! However yesterday my wife and I cleaned the horse stalls ( I have a Z...she has 2 horses!), went to go see the new pirates movie ( very fun), cleaned more horse stalls, had Salmon and wine glazed sunchokes with a bottle of Bogle Pinot noir and home made brownies. Read an passage from Revelations for insurance. Still here! Dave Ruiz

Are the insulators in the photo too thick? You might try an insulator from a 260Z. I converted my 280 to 240Z SU's and used the thinner 260Z insulator to give more room to get the 24OZ air cleaner past the strut tower. Dave Ruiz

If you need a thinner weight oil...just add Exlax! NEXT...

Wow the Franz Oil Filter! I used this back in the 80's on my 77 Datsun pickup. I don't remember ever having a problem with it. As I recall it was recommended to use their brand of paper as it was a lot more dense than normal t-paper. I did replace it with standard t-paper and it ran fine it didn't break down. When I did go to replace the roll, it was just a in tact oil-soaked roll of toilet paper. Like I said...it ran fine. This was in the mid 80's. Would I use it again? I doubt it. I wish I could offer solid evidence either way. It appears to be used extensively in the trucking industry with good results but I defer those who are better informed. Dave Ruiz

Shorty, Check the level of your brake fluid. Dave

There was a nice example of the Toyota GT 2000 in the Sean Connery Bond film: You Only Live Twice Dave Ruiz

JK Thanks! Ron At Zclocks did a fantastic job rebuilding it. Did you get your brake problem solved? Dave

The handbrake has a white plastic contact underneath the handle. Check the wire and all connections. The red brake light should come on when the handle is engaged. Dave Ruiz

Rob, Very Nice! What are the side mirrors? Dave Ruiz

Ben, Most of the bushings are pretty easy. The sway bar mount bushings and end links are the easiest. Some do not use urethane bushings on the T/C rods because they are too stiff and can cause the rods to break. There are varying opinions about this. I currently have the Performance T/C rod kit with aluminum socket from Black Dragon and works wonderfully. Although I haven't done it yet...the rear control arm bushings ( with the spindle pins) are considered the "Right of Passage" of the Z car owner. I sounds like you have all the fun tools. PB blaster and Kriol are your friends. I also got the Street Racing Suspension DVD from Ztherapy and was very helpful. Good luck! Dave Ruiz

Rob, I think someone did this exact conversion on Hybrid-Z. I copied the procedure but haven't done it. You might search for : Mounting a 280Z Horn Pad to a Wood 240Z Steering Wheel at Hybrid Z < I think there were photos. Here's the write-up: Parts needed: 240Z Steering Wheel with ring. 280Z horn pad. Procedure: Use the mount that holds the pad to the 280Z (the one with 3 screws) and re-drill it to screws on top of the 240Z wheel. Mount with its 3 screws (the ones that go into the plastic). Pull the horn wire through. I haven't done this so, unfortunately, I can't tell you from experience but the original article had photos. Dave Ruiz

Arne, Try the Baldwin sometime... it's a nice red filter and might look nice on your Z, which is beautiful by the way! Dave

Chris, If the brakes haven't been attended to for a while replace the shoes along with a kit with the springs , shims, etc. If you have the original Aluminum drums I'd do my best to keep them viable as they are hard to come by. But you can also use the cast iron drums. If your driving is pretty basic and you keep the brakes maintained I wouldn't worry about 4-wheel disk brakes. The original design is pretty bullet proof. I live in the hills where to main road is dirt and have taken my 76 through some of the hilly roads of Mendocino leading to the coast. The stock brakes have behaved perfectly even with the sudden stops behind the tourists from Marin in their Prius'...Prius's..Pri.....whatever! If you are doing heavy duty performance driving/racing then I have to defer to others. Dave

I've used the following on my 76 280Z ( I believe they are the same for the 240 260 and 280Z): Nissan 15280-43G00 (From Courtesy Nissan) Baldwin: B 120 K & N: 3001 Wix: 51521 Fram: PH 8A Dave Ruiz

Bill, Try ZTherapy. Dave

Bulldog, Type in "Datsun vintage air" into yahoo and you'll get a write-up about installing a vintage air system into a 77 280Z. It's written by "Xenon"who contributes to this site and has a lot of helpful links. I know it's it not for a 240Z but it may help you out. Dave Ruiz

Dan, Have you tried Courtesy Nissan? Dave Ruiz

Jan, I got a set from Summit Racing: Optilux 1450. It came with Fog lights and relays and easy to follow instructions. I also got an On/off LED switch from Autozone: Pilot Rocker Switch PL_SW22B. I relocated the License plate to the center and placed the lights under the bumper on my 76 280Z. John at H4 Lights.com sells quality lights as well. Dave Ruiz