Arne

Not all Maaco shops will do the better type work, some only want to crank out the generic repaints that they are famous for. But since they are all franchises and independently owned, some shops will do the type of work that most of us want as well. For example, there's a member her (jackboxxx) who actually owns a Macco franchise in Moreno Valley, who will do top notch work (from what I've heard). Some of the background is in this thread. And you are right - good materials alone will be expensive. I'm preparing to get the rust cut out and new paint on my yellow 240Z, and that is going to cost over $3500 without the engine compartment. Nothing fancy, just decent quality work in the factory color. And if your local Maaco is going to do that type of work for you, expect it to cost about the same as any other good shop would charge.

There's a blanket statement that is very unfair. There are Maaco shops that will do fine work. Just don't expect that type of work for the cheap prices that they advertise.Don't rule out your local Maaco franchise until you've talked with them.

I had a similar problem with my first '71. It suffered the typical melted fusebox, and the resulting short(s) melted a number of wires up into the dash harness. I replaced both the dash harness and the fusebox with good used parts. It is not difficult, but can be a bit fussy and awkward work. First step is to determine for certain whether or not the dash harness needs to be replaced, or if it can be repaired. If it must be replaced, start hunting for the right harness. It turns out that there are at least 4 -- or maybe 6, I can't recall for certain -- different dash harnesses for '71 240Zs, depending on transmission and build date. Some of them are interchangeable directly, a few of them can be used in any '71 as long as you change a few other parts to match. It's been over a year since I did mine, but post some details back here and I'll try to help figure out what you can use. Yes, you will need to remove the dash to do this. It's not too tough, again just tedious and awkward. Start by removing the steering wheel, seats and probably the console to make more room. Disconnect the battery, then crawl underneath and label all the connectors, both on the bad harness and also on the switches and stuff that the harness connects to. While many of those connectors will only connect to one thing, labels will be very helpful. Disconnect all the wiring and unbolt and remove the dash pad. Then you can fish the old harness out of the dash. Lay it out and match it to your replacement, make and attach matching labels for the new harness. Fish the new harness back into the dash pad, then begin to reverse the process. Good luck, and ask for more help if you need it.

Yes, I was using the 4-way hazards in each case, but the result is the same for either turn signal. The mod is much the same as the old 510 site post, with the exception that since I HATE the thought of using wire taps on 35 year-old wiring, my car is using a prototype of a new adapter plug/mini-harness. In addition to not requiring any existing harness modifications, the process will be totally reversible. Also rather affordable. More details soon. I may have jumped the gun a bit with the movie, but I wanted to test the new multimedia site too.

It's not worth that much to me. Nice car, but a bit over the top, and not to my taste. But that's just me. I wish him luck selling it.

Asta, looking at your pictures with the experience of someone who has a pair of '71s, here's my take on it. First, the seat webbing that supports the bottom foam is either shot or non-existent. You'll need to take the driver's seat out of the car and replace the seat webbing. (Webbing was only used in '70 and 71, springs from '72 on.) A discussion about replacing the webbing can be seen in this thread - http://classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25479Secondly, from my experience, I don't think you'll have much luck re-sewing that split seam in the driver's cushion, as that's not really a seam, it's quilted. There's no extra material there to re-sew. When you add in the fact that the reason it has split open is because it has gotten stiff and hard with age, and I really think you'll be better off buying a set of the replacement seat covers. They look great, and are soft and flexible - which the old originals are not after all these years. Replacement covers are between $200 and $250 for the set for both seats, and will be well worth it. With new covers and replaced webbing, you might be able to get by with adding a bit of foam to the existing foam cushions. Replacement cushions are just under $100 per seat.

I bought a 3 row core unit from a local radiator shop. Did not have the fan guard, though. About the same price as mail order, and no shipping cost. I'd call a couple of your local shops for prices.

Look for people in Sacramento, Redding, or Southern Oregon. Say, Medford/Ashland/Grants Pass.

ROFLBrian, that made my day!! Can't see the keyboard because my eyes are watering from laughing so hard!

Talk with Escanlon on the grill badge idea, he's been working on that thought for quite a while now.

Yup, there are. Lots of cars have had those tabs (or hooks) cut off or bent so that they don't interfere with frames. If you look closely at this closeup, you can still see them on my red car, barely peeking out from under the frame. I have a bit of adhesive foam stuck to the back side of the frame to prevent it from damaging the tabs.

I too think it's a good idea, but as Mike hinted at, it's really tough to do it right. First you have the obvious problem of the finish - while lots of us would want chrome to compliment our bumpers, others will want black because that would look best with their particular cars' appearance. Then you have the issue over what style of frame to offer. Some states locate their stickers (tabs) at the top, others at the bottom. Most (if not all) require that the stickers not be covered by the frame, even if they seldom enforce that. So do you create a frame with the logo at the top? Or the bottom? How much of the plate do you cover? How will that look with today's modern graphics-covered plates? I will admit to being more than a little anal about my plates and their frames. Considering what I had to do to get the vintage plates on my red 240Z, and also that one of the defining features of those vintage Oregon plates is the embossed yellow border all around the edge, I really didn't want my frames to cover any of the plate at all. Not just for appearance, but also because I don't want the frame to damage the plate's paint. So I bought a frame that the plate sits in, rather than one that covers any of the plate. And that's the kind of frame that I'd want from the club, too. Probably hard to get, I doubt that any of the companies that make promotional frames make anything like I have. Like I said, more than a little anal, to be sure. But I bet I'm not the only one...

No, that's backwards.The 240Z pillar emblems were used up through 12/70 production, as well as on some 1/71 built cars. Mid-way through 1/71 they changed to the round Z emblem. The 240Z pillar emblems are emblems only, while the round Z emblems are actually vent covers. When they stopped using the vents in the hatch, they put the vents in the pillars instead. That's when and why the emblems changed. Your car built in 12/71 was well after the change to the round Z emblem. The earlier 240Z emblem won't fit your car without modification anyway.

Don't know if there is a consensus. Either should work, but the MT90 is specifically designed by Redline to use in manual transmissions that originally called for 90wt gear oil, like our Zs did. I'm using MT90 in mine, and have no problems. I use MTL in the other (non-Datsun) cars.

I just asked Les about carpeting a couple weeks ago when I ordered my front Spook. He doesn't sell the original loop-style, only cut-pile. His pile carpet is very nice, or so I'm told by a7dz who just got his from Les a few weeks ago. Thanks for that, Enriqué, I'd forgotten that Troy sells loop as well. I'll keep him in mind also, he has the advantage (to me) of being on the West Coast. The jute padding is the factory sound insulation. Probably no need for it if you're using Dyna-mat or something similar. But for street driving you're going to want some sort of sound deadener.

Steve, if you are staying with those Mulhollands, you'll probably be fine with the stock springs. However, I found that KYB GR-2s raised my red car's ride height by over 1/2" once they broke in. That's with unsagged stock springs with 62,000 miles. I recently put my stock springs into storage. Since I wasn't interested in lowering the car at all, I cut down and used a set of the reproduction Nissan Euro Stage 1 springs. Had to cut 2 coils off each front spring and 1 3/4 coils off the rears, but now the car sits at the stock ride height, and the ride is pretty much unchanged.

Me with the yellow 240Z about 10 minutes after I unloaded it from the trailer after dragging it home.

That may not apply to 240Z springs, they are different that 280Z.

I've been planning on the loop kit from Datsun Spirit. From comments that Eiji has made to me, I suspect that Banzai sells the same kit. I probably won't get around to this for several months, though.

On a '71, there are three main issues - the covers, the foam and the elastic webbing that supports the seat cushion. All three are replaceable, and all of it is rather affordable. Figure $450 for all new OE-style cover kit, new foam and webbing kit. With these parts, if you lack the skills to do it yourself, it's a fairly easy job to pack them all down to a local shop and have them do it for you. The local shop will probably have the webbing in house, so that won't be needed if you have a shop do it.

Yup. Still working on the transmission, haven't made it that far forward yet. I'd assume that any normal condenser suitable for most any car would do. Can't swear to that, though. Yeah, still want 'em. But I haven't mailed it yet. Try to remember to do that this weekend.

As I noted above, and the attached picture shows, there are only 4 wires connected to the alternator from the factory. The two small wires in the plastic T-connector, a large white/red that connects to the 'B' terminal, and a large black that connects to the 'E' terminal ('E' for Earth or Ground). The condenser (if present) bolts to the ground with the black wire, and its wire goes to the 'B' terminal. If you have more wires than those four, they have been added by a previous owner and you'll need to trace them down yourself to see what they do and if they are still necessary.

As Jimmy pictured, there should be four wires to the back of the alternator. The pair in the plastic connector, a white/red wire, and a heavy black wire that connects to the alternator case to ground it. The capacitor is not strictly necessary, it serves to suppress radio interference. I'll try to remember to take a picture of the red car's alternator when I get home this evening. It is still totally stock, unlike the yellow car which has the ZX conversion.

http://www.vbulletin.com/

John, welcome! There's lots of info on this topic here, play with the search function a bit for terms like "pre-purchase" and suchlike. Because if any of us try to write it all here we're likely to forget something, but the site archives never forget. One of the first things you will find is that rust is a huge issue. Don't take the seller's word for it, seems like lots of people have pretty lax definitions of "rust-free". That said, for $10-13k you should be able to buy a really nice car, as long as you're not looking for a concours or show-quality example. But expect to have to travel or have it shipped, as the selection on much of the country is pretty slim. Decide ahead of time what it is that you want out of a Z. Total stock? Period-correct weekend driver? Modified road burner? Something else? Then we can help advise on specifics to look for - and specifics to look OUT for as well. And don't be afraid to ask for help. Having someone who has already been through this on their own car when you go to inspect one is a HUGE advantage. Many of the people on this site will be happy to help you should you need info on a car in their part of the country.