2 choke levers? tires?

[BadDog]

I just got this '73 240Z http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1810300641&ed=1015520699&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOA:US:2 and it was just delivered to my door this morning... it's a beautiful feeling, but there's something i need to get figured out before I get it registered and actually drive it anywhere: It has '72 carbs, but the original choke was "bypassed" and 2 choke levers were installed, 1 for each carb, just above hte hood release lever. I'm just a couple years older than this car, and have never driven a car with a manual choke... my only other Z was a '78 I owned about twelve years ago, which was fuel injected, needless to say...

How do I work these things?

Is there a good reason why you would want 2 choke levers? Can anyone give me advice on what to do to get back to using the single original lever? I plan to "refresh" this car and keep it as original as I can... I'm even going to put back to original 8-track stereo

Also, I think this car was stored for a long while. The tires are pretty old looking, all cracked, and are "Sears Sport Tread" or something like that.... what are people using for good "original-look" tires? I plan to keep using the original wheel covers...

[guy_geo]

Well, congrat! Car looks sharp, but I have no idea why 2 choke levers...

Welcome to our board and have fun reading! it is a nice place to be instructed on Z machines!

[2ManyZs]

Well, Congratulations. Nice car.

As far as the choke levers go it sounds like the previous owner didn't want to spend the money to replace the choke lever with the original. You should be able to get a replacement from Motorsport Auto or Victoria British. Get the cable for a 72 to match the carbs on the car. They aren't too hard to replace although you may find the center console might have been cracked or broken( perhaps that is why they chose not to replace the originals) but you should be able to find any part you need here or if you prefer to buy new MSA and VB offer them. BTW, few Z owners can live without one of these catalogs, go to their wb-sites in the web-links and request one.

How do you work them? Easy, when the engine is cold, chokes full on until you have driven a mile or so and slowly ease them off. Z's are notoriously cold blooded, so if it spits and sputters just pull back on the chokes a bit till it runs smoothly.

As far as the tires go, I'm not even sure what brand a Z came with when new. I guess it is up to you to buy what you like the looks of and what your budget allows.

[guy_geo]

From waht I gathered in my books on Z, the tires were Bridgestone, 165 or 175 13 inches for the States, ans in England tehy were using sometime Dunlops.

[Si|v3r72]

The original tire size should be shown in the glove box. Mine are listed there as 175/14. I believe the a/r is supposed to be 70.

I'm replacing my 195/70/14's with 205/70/14's this week. Probably a Dunlop D65 Touring tire - speed rated T and 80000 mile treadwear.

Congrats on the new Z!!!

[BadDog]

Thanks for all the quick replies! There were only a few things that I was dissapointed with upon delivery:

1) How dirty the interior was. (2 hours of vacuming and plenty of Lexol did wonders...)

2) The quality of the repainting the car had. The finish is OK on a whole, but there is overspray on weatherstripping, door panels, etc. The roof is pretty dull, and the paint is flaking and cracking on the edged near the rear window, etc.

3) One frame rail has a small amount of bubbling but is solid. Floor pans are good, but there's a tiny pinhole (drain hole?) on the driver's side, and some rust in a depression right up aagainst the tranny tunnel vinyl (below throttle?) I'll have to find out how to tackle that....

4) The passenger side threshold has rust bubbling, and the garage I had check it out for me in TN found rust on the hatch and passenger side rocker panel... I have to figure out how to tackle that, along with tackling the rust on the back side of the bumpers, the bubbling under the battery tray, and various little surface rust trouble spots around the hatch...

5) Yes, I know about motorsport and have their catalog, but not Victoria British. I'll try to find them on the web... in fact, this morning I will order some Necessary Parts like inner & outer shift boots (shredded) shift knob (there's an 8-ball on it now...) I will ask about the choke assembly. The original lever in my car may be broken? It's very short...

Re: the tires, it pretty funny how inexpensive such small tires will be... I'm used to buying tires in the the hundred-dollar and up range for the kind of car I drive everyday I think I found some Potenza RE92's on Tire Rack for soemthing like $40 a piece

Overall, I'm pretty pleased with the car. I've been looking all over the internet for months for an originally silver Z without body rot. I was originally looking for another black '78 280Z 5-speed like i used to have but after I saw this car I fell in love and had to have a 240 or early 260. Since I wanted "refresh" a silver Z to "original as possible" it was great to find the car I have because it had 1 owner and still had it's original hubcaps even, along with a box with the original carbs (which I'll just hold on to), 8-track radio, etc. Even the carpets are in pretty good condition. I can tackle the minor rust somehow, and have the car stripped to the metal and painted within a few years. In the mean time, I can enjoy working on a car and driving it on the weekends without worrying about how to get to work on Monday if my car is half apart

BTW, Si|v3r72: Will 205/70/14's still fit on the same wheels that you have the 195/70/14's on? I'm afraid I'll have to get used to driving on skinny tires

[Ken]

You can check out my four spoke Libre wheels in the photo's under my name in members gallories. The tires are Yokohama's

195-70-14. You can get a good idea how they fill the wheelwells

on my silver 72 240z.

Congragulations on your car. Looks like a keeper! And, just enough left over that you can plan your upgrades and refreshing of those areas that you mentioned.

[jcdozier]

BadDog:

Congrats on the "new" car.

In addition to MSA and VicBrit, you might want to look at the Z Barn - they're in Tennessee which might give you a break on shipping over, say, MSA. No catalogue - their web site is www.zbarn.com - they have some new stuff and lots of used parts. I've had good experiences with them.

Eric Neyerlin is another source for used parts, but he's in California - www.zparts.com. I haven't dealt with him, so I can't give a recommendation.

[AxtellZ]

Hi Baddog-

congrats on the car- where in "upstate NY" are you? Might be able to find some local Z folks to hook up with. I am south of Rochester www.zccr.net for my club, or www.zany.com i think is the Albany area gang. Zya

[BadDog]

I live in Oswego and work near Syracuse...

BTW, does anybody know of something mild that I can use to try to remove overspray from door vinyl and weatherstripping without destorying those pieces?

[Si|v3r72]

Originally posted by BadDog

BTW, Si|v3r72: Will 205/70/14's still fit on the same wheels that you have the 195/70/14's on? I'm afraid I'll have to get used to driving on skinny tires

Yes, my wheels are 14"x6", which will accomodate up to 215's I believe.

BTW, nice choice of model/color - my fav too .

[BadDog]

like I said, I saw the picture of that restored silver 240 and fell in love....