Arne

No, I hate RTV. I use Permatex Form-a-Gasket on both sides of the gasket, then install.

Well put, Carl. A very good analysis of what we seem to be hearing. And I'll go on record right here to say that I personally am firmly in the "enthusiast" camp. I don't really resent the "collector" crowd, because it is their passion that is driving the market, and their needs that will ensure that the parts I need to maintain and drive my car are still available. I will say that I don't really understand the "collector" group entirely - I can't imagine owning a fine, restored sports car and not wanting to take it for a weekend cruise.So yeah, I'm still an enthusiast, even though I will go far out of my way to keep my red 240Z either stock, or at least within easy reach of stock. I just like my car that way, and enjoy driving it pretty much as it was built.

Very clean! Not sure that I personally care for the taillights, but that's just me. Nice work!

I can see both sides of this argument - assuming the cars do in fact check out to be un-rusted. The first car - I personally wouldn't pay $15k for it, but that's because I know (first hand) that even better cars are available for less. But if the body and paint was done right, the simple fact that it's not stock in numerous ways should not (and probably won't) keep the value down all that far. There are still a great many people who really aren't concerned about total or absolute originality, and will pay a good amount for a clean, good running 240Z that is basically ready to drive. These people are the people who would buy my yellow car, if it were done. I understand them, because that's really what my original intent was when I bought my first 240Z. Clean, stock looking at a casual glance, and a great driver. That's all I was really after. On the other hand, cars like the second one are ideal for someone who is interested in true 'restoration'. Shoot, other than being a Series 2, my red car is probably a good candidate for that as well, save for the sunroof. All original, 60k miles, all it really needs is a high-quality refresh, not the full-bore job. And eventually I'll do just that. But for now, it's a really great $7500 driver. And there's the point for both cars. I've seen enough by now to figure that the $7-8k price range seems to be the sweet spot right now. I don't think I personally would be willing to pay much more than that for the first one, and less than that for the second. There are still good cars at fair prices out there, but for the most part, you aren't going to find them on eBay...

Yes. I've always done it that way, and Redline states their products are fully compatible with fossil-oil. No flush is needed.One thing to bear in mind, though. There are numerous tales of older cars developing leaks after switching to synthetic gear oils - normally at the output seal, or sometimes the shift selector seals. This is apparently because the synthetic cleans built up sludge out, and the old, worn seals can no longer keep the oil in. If you haven't replaced the output seal recently, you may want to consider doing that at the same time. Possibly the speedo-drive o-rings also.

True. They also contain perfumes, fillers, dyes and such that either have no use for this application, or that might be detrimental. Why try to press something into use far outside its designer's intentions when properly designed solutions already exist? Makes no sense!Let's see, the vinyl and rubber dressing I use from Griot's Garage works fine on my tires and bumper rubber, so maybe I should use it as a hand lotion??

That's why I'd use Sil-Glide. Won't wash off, won't melt, won't hurt rubber. Why mess around with trying to adapt some household product when specialized automotive products already exist? Skin lotions??

Hard to find here in the States.

If this happens when the revs are high, it is a symptom of something else that isn't quite right - too much drag in the aforementioned needle bearings. If the problem goes away (or is noticeably less) when the idle speed is around 800 RPM, and you don't notice any odd noises as described above, then I'd recommend a gear lube change. Ideally to a synthetic with lots of detergent qualities. I generally use Redline MT-90 in mine.

Gary, that generally indicates that the clutch is not fully engaging with the pedal down. Since it was evident when the car was fully warmed up, I'd check for air in the clutch hydraulics. The other (more serious) possibility is that the needle bearings between the transmission input shaft and the mainshaft are dragging when they get warm. The would require you to tear down the transmission and replace the bearings. I should think that this problem might make a bit of noise in any gear other than 4th gear - the noise would be worst in first and reverse and get progressively quieter in each gear up from there to 4th. If you have a five speed, fifth would sound similar to third.

Consider using SIL-Glide, a high-temp silicone based paste lube, often used for brake sliders. It is specifically designed NOT to deteriorate rubber.

Nate, I assume (from your only other post here) that you may be installing this alternator into a '73 240Z w/L28 ET. If so, my experience has been that the later 280ZX alternators have extra terminals that aren't used when putting them in the early 240Zs. The alternator I have in my yellow '71 is a little different looking than yours, but still has an un-used terminal pair on the back. I have the ones you list connected, and ignored the extras. Works fine, with the external regulator jumpered out of the circuit, and the diode (needed for early 240Zs, not certain about the '73) added.

Self-adhesive foam weatherstripping, as designed for house doors and windows. Works well, easy to find, affordable, easy to work with.

While I understand the sentiment, Tomo, I don't agree with you. Not for the stock class. Cars in the stock class are supposed to be stock. Many of them are not driven at all, other than off the trailer. If you are required to have certain equipment added to your car by law because of a disablity of some sort, to me that makes the car a daily driver anyway, and no longer stock. Shoot, for my red '71 I've got steel wheels, D caps, AM radio, cloth-covered hoses, dated plug wires, Koito headlights, metal fan, all of it. But it'd never fly in stock class due to the sunroof which the previous owners swear was installed by the dealer before it was sold. Oh well. Worse, I'm driving it. It turned over 60,000 miles a few weeks ago. I put 240 miles on it just last weekend. It gets driven in the rain now and then. Heavens!! I'm wearing it out!! Which - in my opinion - is exactly as it should be.

919 is more of a "pure" yellow, while 112 is definitely towards the green end of the yellow palette. Either are distinctive these days, but I prefer the earlier 919 color, myself.

Who sponsors the show in July at Mt. Shasta? It seems to typically be fairly early in the month.

It's not square, it's a bit rounded on two sides. I've got one I found buried in my yellow car, which had the long pigtail fuse box. My red 240Z is a Series 2 with the short pigtail box, so it doesn't have one. The grain of the vinyl appears to be a much finer grain than that of the early shift boot, but about the same weight of material. The workmanship on mine is - frankly - pretty poor. I think the apprentices must have been assigned this job. Not all that well finished, nor accurately cut. Note that the two darts on the rounded edges are not stitched down. It looks like a really quickie job to me - cut it out, fold the edges, and sew it. And do it FAST! Frankly, considering how sloppy the workmanship is on mine, I can't imagine that any two of them were exactly alike. The pictures and measurements below should be more than enough data to reproduce these.

Is there music on AM? Or just talk radio? Because AM is all I got...

Hmm. Now mine doesn't have as nice of paint as Mike's yellow car, but it makes one think - what would I do if someone was foolish enough to offer me $20k for it? Probably sell it and finish my yellow car instead...

Bruce, I counted at least three club displays...

I'm in a similar boat, Marty. I have stock steel wheels and D caps, cloth-covered hoses, AM radio, Koito headlights and dated plug wires for the red 240Z. But the sunroof boots it from the stock class - even though (like many back then) it was reputedly installed by/for the dealer prior to sale to the original owner.And that's what seems so restrictive about the stock issue - we all know what the demand for these cars was, especially the '70 and 71s. Many dealers were routinely dressing them up with dealer-installed options and accessories, knowing that if someone fussed about paying extra, the next person on the list probably wouldn't. Take it or leave it. So by mid-71, lots of them (a majority, perhaps) were not "Stock-class-eligible" before they first left the lot.

Interesting. My reply concerning the judging criteria disappeared. Didn't appear to get moved to another thread, just disappeared. I didn't think it was offensive, although it probably was a bit off topic.

I'm preparing to replace the vent lines in my '71. It will require me to drop the tank, but otherwise looks fairly straight forward. If you decide to eliminate the lines (and can do so legally where you live), I think there are a few threads on that in here somewhere. But if a search doesn't turn any up, send a PM to beandip, as I know he has personally done that.

Pull the dipstick. Is it over full? Does the oil smell like gas?

Does the princess still look like that, Chris? Or is she disassembled?