i can’t believe I’m asking this, but how do you remove the air cleaner housing on a ‘72 240Z?!  The front wingnut is too long to fully extract - it hits the front strut mount area on the driver-side inner fender.   Without extracting both Wingnuts, I can’t remove the housing.  There’s gotta be something I’m not seeing.  Can someone help a Z brother out?  

I should have mentioned - it’s a stock air filter housing.

Just unscrew.. leave 'em in and take the housing off. The bolts don't come out.  If there is not enough place, maybe your enginemount is defect and the engine is tilted to that side.. there should be enough place to get it out..   can't believe i answer these questions..  

It is a bit of a puzzle. Many have struggled with this. You sort of have to hold the filter into the housing, drop the rear a bit, and slip the rear of the filter past the rear air horn to get it all out. Yes the front bolt has to stay in the housing while you do this. When you finally get the housing clear, turn it upside down and spill the bolt onto the floor where it will roll under neath the car. At least that's how I do it.

Once you get the technique, you'll wonder what all the fuse was about.