I recently picked up a 72 ITS 240 which is in dire need of new shocks. I currently have Tokico illuminas with ground-control coilovers where at least one has no damping at all. The problem that I have is that the gland nuts were loose so almost all paint had been worn off the strut body, so I don't know what part numbers I have. I thought this would be a good opportunity to upgrade to something better for my track only car. Also, where is a good place to buy the shocks from? Also, what type of oil do you use in the strut tubes?

Bret

72' ITS 240Z

73' 240Z

Probably the best thing to do is to call Ground Control and tell them what you have, along with the length of the strut insert body.

Depending on how long those shocks have been in there, they may or may not be available, or they may be using a different insert now that performs better. Used to be they used inserts that were actually for a car other than a Datsun....

You'll need to know how long your inserts are, as you will need to get one that is the same lenght or shorter (which you might have to shim at the bottom) to fit inside your housings correctly.

Illumina's are good, Koni's, and there are a couple other manufacturers now that make excellent inserts, but, you will have to go to a good supplier such as Ground Control to get the proper ones....I believe GC is selling the Advance Designs struts inserts as well. What you get, is probably more dependant on your racing budget than anything else... Once you decide on an insert, you can shop around for the best price. www.shox.com and a couple others might be able to get what you need once you figure out which part numbers you need.

As far as what oil to put inside the housing, just use most any old motor oil you might have lying around, it's mainly there to prevent the inserts from corroding and getting stuck inside the housing, although, to a small extent, it does act as a heat sink as well....