Arne

Any changes that Nissan made on their own (not mandated by regulation) were improvements. So if we ignore the spaced out bumpers and required emission-tuned flat-top carbs, a '73 makes the best driver of all 240Zs. The '73 had all the improvements of all the prior years, plus some of its own. So better transmission, improved diff location, better seatbelts, seat recliners, intermittent wipers, back-lit heater controls, etc. Back-date the bumpers and carbs and a '73 is a great weekend driver. If you insist on total factory (no back-dating allowed), then the next best would obviously be a '72. Which in no way means the earlier cars were bad, just a bit less good.

As further confirmation, Guy (as if you needed it), my former car (7/71) was also exactly as you describe. Definitely a soi-disant Series 2. It may be worth re-mentioning here that the "Series" designations are not a factory thing, nor are they in general use anywhere except in North America. These designations are handy constructs of US enthusiasts to simplify the identification of the major variations. This was due to the fact that the early '71 cars were essentially the same as the '70 models, which makes identification by model year inconvenient. So the '70 and early '71 cars are lumped together as "Series 1" cars.

A 3Ω coil is essentially the same electrically as a 1.5Ω coil with a 1.5Ω resistor. I ran my '71 both ways at various times, tach worked fine either way. After my 3Ω Pertronix coil died, I went with a 1.5Ω Crane PS20 which came with its own matching resistor.

Not necessarily. But in my dealings with Les I'd have to say that he runs a small, regional race-prep and restoration facility. He has a very basic Internet presence only because that is expected these days. But I figured out early on that he is far more comfortable doing business the old way - face-to-face if possible, and if not, by phone.

I replaced my door seals when I painted the car. Doors were not removed for painting, so I know the difference in how the doors shut was totally the seals, not adjustment. Obviously, correct adjustment is important. But if the doors are still difficult to close when the doors and hinges are properly adjusted, it may be time to blame the seals.

It took a long time for my Precision door seals to crush to the point that I didn't have to slam the heck out of them. I'm not certain that mine were as bad as yours, Bryan, as I never felt that I was afraid of damaging anything during door closing. That said, if I were doing it again today, I'd give some thought to using the Kia Sportage door seals instead of the Precision. Or another thought might be seals from Black Dragon. Apparently some of there seals are not from Precision. If someone could verify that for the door seals, that might be an option, too. Another possibility would be to talk to Vintage Rubber. Call them and explain the current problem, and see if they would give any assurance that their seals wouldn't be the same way.

Do you mean Datsun Parts LLC? If so, you may want to search the site here a bit before sending off your money.

If I lived in CA, I'd be contacting my senators and representatives and let them know how I feel, especially those members of the Transportation committee listed in the flyer. Emphasize the sanity, and the talking points in the flyer I linked above.

Those of you in CA may want to weigh in on this... http://echo.bluehornet.com/hostedemail/email.htm?CID=2293974006&ch=94D234387CB85FC1A9EE78A65516CE6E&h=9000054d1ae9a2b9b478d0b6e1fe9ab8&ei=NU6wVTNNz

Dash heater panel has been replaced with a later one. Both the center vent and map light hood are incorrect for a Series 1.

Tom, I'm curious. I've heard of a dash shop there in Medford - Dash Specialists, 1910 Redbud Ln, Medford, OR 97504. Are they still in business? If so, and assuming you have heard of them (they apparently have no web presence), why did you select Just Dashes instead?

I know where you are coming from, Steve. The uncertainty is worse than the wait itself. I've had an episode or two of significant delays in catching up with Les, but I'm confident that he will contact you when he is available again.

There's plenty of knowledgable 240Z owners (and maybe even former owners) here in Oregon who might be willing to look at the car with you to help assess it's needs and values. Where in Oregon are you?

E12-80? Check the salvage yards for other Nissans, as well. I've grabbed them off of early '80s 210, 510 and pickups. They are not ZX-only parts.

KYB does not recommend you use GR-2's on a lowered car. (In fact, if you read the warranty fine print, doing so voids said warranty. Don't know how they would know if you don't tell them, though.) I did have problems on a non-Datsun with that a couple of decades ago. That said, I know that there are people here who have that very setup, and say it's fine.

I've never seen a "kit" of rubber bushings either. I just ordered them all individually from my local Nissan dealer. There really aren't all that many to deal with.

Incredibly rare here in the USA, and not at all common anywhere else, either. For anyone building a factory rally tribute or replica, these are a required item. I certainly wouldn't want to risk driving on them now, besides the value, true magnesium wheels tend to weaken as they age, I believe.

I second the recommendation for KYB. Tokico will likely be harsher than you might want for daily use. Also second the advise to skip the dust boots. But do replace the bump stops, the black Energy Suspension (7-6104G) are great. Be warned that the KYBs will raise your ride height a little, maybe 1/2" or so. If that bothers you, you could cut a coil off of each spring. But if your original springs are a bit sagged (not unusual by now), the KYBs will probably just bring it back close to stock. I used almost totally stock rubber bushings on my car when I refreshed the suspension. Over the past 30 years, I have ruined the ride on more cars than I care to count by applying performance improvements. Poly bushings should be used very selectively for real world street use. I'd limit them to just the sway bar(s) if it were me. The rest I'd stay with rubber. That was what I did on the red car, and I felt it was an acceptible driver. Firm (as a sports car should be), but not harsh.

The Dynomax mufflers are reversible. Mount it whichever way fits better in your car. PS - moved thread to Exhaust.

The image next to your user name is your avatar, not the profile picture. Look for the avatar in your profile settings.

Going to refresh the 912 now, Randy?

No, but this has happened to me before. Typically in my experience, when Les is unable to be contacted, he is at or prepping for a race somewhere.

Merged threads.

Mike, I have the advantage of having seen your car in person. And while I understand the desire to have something that is cleaner running than the triples, I don't think that any EFI that uses the stock 280Z/ZX manifold and plumbing is going to look good under your hood. Another concern would be that I can't remember which head casting you have on the car now. If it wasn't an injected head originally, it may lack the port notches needed to use the stock injection manifold/injectors. Alternatives, then? Well, assuming that you are convinced there's no way to tune the triples to run decently (and by the way, I can't recall what carbs you have, Webers? Mikunis?), one of my first choices for your car—both for tunability and looks—would be to beg Steve to build you a triple SU set up. I think your car had one of those setups on it when it was first completed, no? Or if you decide to tackle an EFI conversion, don't limit yourself to the stock manifold. Talk with Bryan (zccjdm.com) about some of the injection kits he can order. He has a custom 6 individual throttle body kit, an OER kit that looks like triples (3 dual-venturi throttle bodies on a triple-carb manifold), and even a kit to put a pair of big throttle bodies on a stock SU manifold. Good looking stuff. You'd still need to use a Megasquirt to run it, but Bryan may have some experience with that, too. And since he's close by (Redmond)....

Fishing for guppies, I figure.