Arne

Yes, let's talk about the metal clips. Now that I see them in Bonzi's picture, it looks like they have one curved leg that would press up against the tab on the floor. A neat idea. Now I want some too, so if anyone has a source for these, or has a set of 4 they'd like to sell, I'm interested. Close up pictures of these clips would be nice, as well.

Yeah, I know that Les' cut pile is nice, I would prefer the loop. Keep the comments coming...

Those are ZX wheels, 81-83 IIRC.

No details or pictures, but here's a craigslist ad that sounds interesting: http://sacramento.craigslist.org/car/551212091.html Someone in that part of the country ought to take a look at it.

Please do report back once you get it.

I suspect many of us have a few of those stories to tell, Jerry, although maybe not of quite the same magnitude of your Shelby boner. In high school, I had a pristine '63 Galaxie 500XL two-door hardtop. Factory buckets, floor shift, 390, etc. Similar to the picture below, but in Wimbledon White with black interior. I sold it for a whopping $500 in 1974. Should have just put it in storage somewhere.

I'm getting ready to replace the carpet in my red 240Z. I want to stay with the original style loop pile carpet, rather than the more modern cut pile. So far, I've found at least three suppliers for the loop pile, MSA, Too Intense and Datsun Spirit. Has anyone bought any loop carpet from any of these vendors recently? If so, what was the quality of the carpet kit? Did it come with replacement jute?

Dustin, as I posted in your fusebox thread, please don't take this wrong, but your recent questions lead me to believe that you do not (or can not) do much work on your car yourself. We here on this forum can not give you accurate service quotes, as we're not the ones doing the work. If your car requires work that you can not do yourself, I'd recommend finding a local shop who can work on an older Datsun and get your quotes from them. If you need help finding a shop, perhaps some of our Texan members can help you with recommendations, if we knew where in Texas you are located. You'll find that a large majority of Z owners here do all their own service and repair. For that reason we really don't know how much labor costs.

I imagine several of us might be willing to do that. If you find a likely candidate in Oregon (still fairly non-rusty here, no road salt), I'd be happy to look one over, if the timing isn't too bad work-wise.

Yup, look like 14x6 Ansens, the typical rather shallow offset. The hard part will be to find center caps for them.

Dustin, please don't take this wrong, but your recent questions in this and other threads lead me to believe that you do not (or can not) do much work on your car yourself. We here on this forum can not give you accurate service quotes, as we're not the ones doing the work. If your car requires work that you can not do yourself, I'd recommend finding a local shop who can work on an older Datsun and get your quotes from them. If you need help finding a shop, perhaps some of our Texan members can help you with recommendations, if we knew where in Texas you are located. You'll find that a large majority of Z owners here do all their own service and repair. For that reason we really don't know how much labor costs.

This thread is one of the best on this subject: http://classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22619

To convert from automatic to a manual transmission takes more than just the transmission, you need a pile of other parts as well. Plus you'd better plan on at least 8 hours of shop time if you can't do the job yourself. Could be rather expensive to have to pay someone to do it. Here's a link to a write up I did on this conversion in an earlier 240Z. The process will be similar for your 260Z but some of the parts needed will be a bit different. http://classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21274

I don't know how rare, but it is/was an aftermarket part made by Amco. Many dealers installed them prior to original sale to pad the price. Edit - found this picture in an earlier thread. Magazine ad from the early '70s.

The mark on the crank pulley can be misleading if the engine is built up from mix-n-match parts. The pulleys and timing marks were not all the same for various years of L-series engines. When assembling the engine, you want to find TDC for certain (via cam lobe position and/or piston travel) and verify the timing mark, remarking it if necessary.

If you won't mention the pinstriping, I won't mention the fuzzy dice, either. :tapemouth

But do NOT offer him dark beer. He only drinks the pale stuff. :wink:

Here's a set in Salem, but no caps or lugs, and will need to be stripped and refinished. http://salem.craigslist.org/car/527448567.html

And following this statement above is a very well written analysis. Excellent explanation, Carl. I agree with it all. Exactly the point I wanted to make. Although I must admit that I did pay more than $6k for mine - a full $7k in fact. And - as an enthusiast, not a collector or restorer - I will admit to you guys here that the slow refresh that I am performing has brought my investment up to almost $10k now. And that is before the still needed paint, carpet and seat rebuild.But here's the key. As Carl pointed out, the subject of this thread will need all the same stuff that my car needs, even for an enthusiast, who is probably the least picky buyer of the bunch. So add $5-8k to the purchase price to have a high #3 or low #2 car to drive a bit for fun. So I still think it's a $10-12k car, being on the East Coast. A bit less if it were here out West.

They will definitely look good on it, can't wait for pictures.

Here's a current thread with some of that.http://classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29271

Just like for the bra, there is no problem leaving the cover on when the rain is falling. But you DO NOT want to let the cover sit on the car while it dries. Especially if the sun comes out. So I would recommend removing the cover prior to the storm, then replacing it when the car is completely dry. Or -- you could move to a place with a carport or garage... :wink: Edit: I have never understood why this forum doesn't have a winking smiley!

Last year Classic Motorsport Magazine (March 2007 issue) put the 240Z on their Watch List, saying that clean rust-free cars (mostly from the West Coast) at $7-10k were a good buy, and sure to get more expensive in the coming years. This year's Watch List (March 2008 issue) still lists the 240Z, but they now claim that clean rust-free cars are frequently trading for $10-15k, and that we should buy them now before they get to $30k in a few years. FWIW.

I just installed a plastic fan and clutch on my car a couple weeks ago, Steve. I only have a two row crank pulley though, so I'm not sure how much clearance I have down there. My understanding is that the clutches for plastic fans were all the same until the ZX came out. The 260 and 280Z fans were apparently a bit larger diameter than the 240Z fans. But the one I used is a 260Z fan, and it still even clears my original fan guard on the top radiator tank. I don't have my car with me here at work today, but can look at it later this evening.

No 12/70 car came with a hand throttle, that was in the lowest of the low-VIN only.