What's the most needed Z part that's currently NLA?

[Mark Maras]

 Fuse box cover and the ashtray are the same piece with a hole for the lighter. An ashtray lid and a spring completes the assembly.

[7tooZ]

2 hours ago, Mark Maras said:

 Fuse box cover and the ashtray are the same piece with a hole for the lighter. An ashtray lid and a spring completes the assembly.

You are right just one part number???

[cgsheen1]

What about door cards for any and all years. I'm talking about someone molding the MDF, fiberboard, pressed board - or whatever it's called - into the correct shape and with the proper cutouts. It would be nice to get proper vinyl also but I'd settle for new cards.

[Namerow]

8 hours ago, cgsheen1 said:

door cards for any and all years

Mike at Banzai Motorworks (Marlboro, MD) has offered fully-trimmed door cards for many years (1970 - 73 models).  Website shows them currently priced at $305/pair and available in black, red, white or butterscotch.  Includes the molded-in chrome trim strip.  Mike's products are usually highly faithful to the originals, so I expect that these will be accurate and high-quality.

www.zzxdatsun.com/catSoftTrim.php

Charlie Osborne at Zedd Findings (Kingston, ON, Canada) has,, likewise, offered fully-trimmed door cards for many years, although his products are restricted to the 280ZX niche market. 

http://www.datsunzparts.com/doorpanels.html

There may very well be other vendors who offer similar products, or products for different model years. 

[pogden]

What about door cards for any and all years. I'm talking about someone molding the MDF, fiberboard, pressed board - or whatever it's called - into the correct shape and with the proper cutouts. It would be nice to get proper vinyl also but I'd settle for new cards.

^ This. Every trimmer/upholsterer I’ve talked to is reluctant to try refurbishing Z door panels that don’t have good (not wavy and water-damaged) Masonite cards to begin with. They just don’t think they can restore the panel itself, and therefore the end result will be a wavy, deformed panel nicely covered in view vinyl.

I’ve seen reproduction 240Z panels, and 77-78 280Z panels, it nobody seems to produce panels for 260Z and early 280Z. 4-5 years ago I did find an aftermarket set for my 76 from a seller in BC, and I bought them. Years later, when I was ready to fit them, I found that not a single cutout or hole was in the right place (except for the lock knob). Canadian Z’s must be an inch shorter than the ones sent to the US ...


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[Namerow]

16 hours ago, Mark Maras said:

 Fuse box cover and the ashtray are the same piece with a hole for the lighter. An ashtray lid and a spring completes the assembly.

Yes, of course.  They say that memory is the second thing to go   I'll update the table.

And a repro of the lid (less hardware) is now being offered by Steve at www.240zrubberparts.com

It's the ashtray that remains NLA.  Complicated shape to reproduce.  A mold would be difficult.  3D printing may be the only route.

[Namerow]

What about the top insulators for the suspension struts?  Have these become NLA?

FWIW, I've often wondered just how much these insulators affect ride quality and cabin (road) noise levels and whether 50 years of aging affects the resilience of the rubber core to the point where they're worth replacing.  I know that lesser parts on the car made of rubber tend to become rock-hard with age and there's always lots of chatter about the latest idea for a chemical treatment to soften them up.  Another thing that nags at me is whether new-old-stock rubber parts of this type suffer from the same aging effects simply by sitting on the shelf for the same period of time as the ones that have been out on the road.

I guess the only way to gauge the importance of the strut insulators would be by doing back-to-back measurements on the same vehicle and road after swapping out the old insulators for a set of 'new' ones.  That's probably never going to happen within our small community of Datsun Z owners, but I wonder whether anyone has ever done this kind of comparison test with some other vehicle?

[87mj]

Actual rubber steering rack bushings, steering coupler and moustache bushings instead of polyurethane.

No one agreed or disagreed about the door weather strip.  Maybe it is no longer a problem?

[cgsheen1]

5 hours ago, 87mj said:

No one agreed or disagreed about the door weather strip.  Maybe it is no longer a problem?

The Precision door weather strip is crap! Not only did I install it on my 260Z, but have installed it on several other customer Z's because they bought the whole Precision kit. I finally got SO sick of mine, I pulled it off and used side-bulb welt (which is marvelous in comparison).  But we still have access to Bob's 1975 280Z "museum car" and the original weather-strip is phenomenal.

[zKars]

On 4/19/2020 at 9:23 AM, zKars said:

AM I crazy? (Ok, we all know the answer to that, but listen to me for a sec.)

If I’m reading the original drawing thing, the diff moves back 35mm in the new “better” configuration. Like an 1-3/8 or better. Since the big steel cross member is not moving, the center M10 stud on the isolator has to be in the same spot, so it must be the two holes that bolt the isolator to the diff that are offset forward 35mm. Sure doesn’t look like that much when you compare the two isolators side by each. Or are you bolting through the “other” pair of holes on the diff to make up this massive difference?

Or is the mount rotated one vs the other so the holes are at the front or rear of the cross member? That must be it...

Clue me in!

 

Well I dug around in the pile-o-parts and found a couple of old style diff mounts. One shot, the other in decent shape, though not new

I did a bit of measuring between the old and the new, and I think I found a way to get the 35mm offset to work out.

If you line up one edge of the inside of the mount so the parts that go over the cross member are in line, and turn the new mount to get the maximum difference between the location of the diff bolt mount holes, you get about 1-3/8 or 35 mm offset. There you go. 

 

 

Here I've blasted the good old mount and lined them up again with a straight edge. There is the 35mm diff in the diff bolt hole location.

I suppose that old mount is available is anyone wants it...... I can just imagine.....

Edited May 11, 2020 by zKars

[Tirnipgreen]

Battery Cables

[Richard McDonel]

Door cards.

I did get a set of these many years ago - not sure where - then set them aside for the decade or so during which I was building the car.  When the time came to install, I had to cut openings for the door latches.  Missed by a quarter inch, and it looks awful.  MSA had them in their catalogue, but were out of stock for the longest time.  Now they are offering "remanufactured" panels.  In the photo they provide, the chrome strip is missing.  

Suggestions?