ktm

I contemplated repainting mine, considering I have a blue/black combo going on with my suspension pieces (blue strut assemblies, t/c rod, steering knuckles; black crossmember and control arm). The pink Tokico springs and green ST sways bars will make it look like a rainbow under my car.

Not fair! I would kill for a set of turbines. The Bay Area is just a bit too far for me (live around Irvine).

Beautiful car and an incredible find.

They come in two colors, green and grey, just like their sway bars. I was hoping for grey sway bars when I placed my order, but as my luck would have it I got green.

Trust me. Take a good, long, hard look at the bottom of your floor pans. Do it. My car (1972) has both the factory and aftermarket (Ziebart) coating. I too thought my pans where in great condition until I happened to notice some minor cracking in the Ziebart. Upon closer inspection, I discovered some rust on the bottom of my pans. No surface rust, more rot rust. The undercoating is great stuff when relatively new, but it does start to crack. These cracks allow water to accumulate which promotes the rot rust. I am in the process of stripping off all of the undercoating on my car, starting with my wheel wells (my entire front suspension/steering is in pieces) and pans. The metal in the wheel wells looks damn near brand new.

I removed mine a while ago, as well as the associated appurtenences (anti-backfire valve for one). It is currently sitting next to my work bench.

The biggest issue with these cars is rust. If you can get a car where the body is structurally sound and free from 'rot' rust (they all have some rust), you are 90% of the way to ownership. Mechanically these cars are rock solid and easy to maintain/get running. Parts for these cars are relatively cheap and widely available, with the exception of some interior pieces (a crack free, original dash is $$$$$). For a car that has been sitting so long, you are going to want to replace ALL of the fluids: differential oil, trany oil, engine oil, brake fluid, clutch fluid and gas. Replace the fuel filter. You may want to bleed the brakes and check the pads and rotors. Honestly, I would just tow the car unless your friends will let you work on it at their place. Chances are the bushings will need to be replaced as well if they were not replaced already. Be prepared to drop at least another $1000+ within the first 6 months to get the safely streetable. Safely is the key word. Still, as I said at the beginning, the biggest issue is rust. The biggest ownership issue (for me at least) is exhaust leaks. These cars have poor aerodynamics and as a result, exhaust is pulled into the cabin through any crevice it can find. You'll spend hours looking for these crevices and sealing them up if your car has this problem.

Honestly, do a search on the forum here and on zcar.com. There is a lot of information to be found. I am not saying this to be mean. The number of threads you'll find will far exceed the number of responses you'll get. To start you off, there are a few options available to you (and use the names are keywords in your searches): MSA, Arizona Zcar, Tokico, and ST (don't think Eibach makes the 260 springs anymore). You can get a set of Tokico HP springs AND shocks off of ebay (JDMwerks is the seller) for $389 shipped. I just picked some of these up for my 240 after much research and deliberation.

One question (not to offend), why did you get the MSA kit over the ST bars? The ST kit comes with all the mounting hardware for the rear. No cutting/drilling is necessary.

Thanks for the tip Jon. I have drilled through the frame rail and will use a 3-in. bolt (the rail measures 2.5-in.) that is double-nutted. At the top I intend to put a similar plate that is found on the bottom in the stock configuration.

....did you use the stock, flat plate that the original brackets bolted through or did you just both the ST sway bar clamps directly to the frame? Thanks.

Thanks Arne.

Curtis240z, thank you! A quick question for you, is that the typical protocol for determining male/female electrical connections? How would a male connector (where it should be female) short to ground? Again, thank you.

Enrique, I understand that I need a second wire on my switch, but I need to know which wire from the harness (red or red/black) connects to the remaining wire with the male bullet plug on the switch. Secondly, my red and red/black wires in the harness are missing their connections. If one of them had a connection, I would be able to determine what wire connects where. You are correct in your recollection, 72's do not have a Neutral Interlock. Thank you for the help.

Yep, I am going with a set of poly bushing in the control arms. I figured it would be ok if I removed all of the sharp edges, but confirmation certainly helps to assuage my fears. I would have burned them out myself, but I did not want to annoy my neighbors (live in a townhome, have a garage) with the acrid smell of burning rubber.

The diode finally went south? I know (from this forum) that the 240z tach is susceptible to heat when the diode starts to 'wear out'. The tach would slowly climb and then peg itself until it cooled down. The fix was to solder in a new diode that is available from radio shack.

out. The gouge is very minor and is only prevelent near the edge. A quick, careful grinding eliminated all the burrs. Should I be concerned or is it ok?

I have located the harness and I know the appropriate wires (red and red/black) to connect to the switch. My question is what wires on the swtich do each of the harness wires connect to? The reverse switch has one remaining wire with a bullet connector. Does it connect to the red or the red/black wire? Thanks.

You did not mention anything about a distributor cap either.

I'll second the Dremel. I use mine for damn near everything, to include metal polishing and rush removal (though I go through the metal brushes quickly).

What year car? A 240z? If so, is it hot out? The tach in 240zs are known to malfunction when it gets hot (95+) outside. I believe it is the resistance (?) loop on the back of the tach which causes the problem. Under normal operation, this loop heats up due to the current passing through it. When it gets hot outside, the heat is unable to dissipate as well and the tach starts to creep up over time. Eventually it will just peg at redline.

A big thank you nwcubsman!

It's the pivot bolt nut and bolt head. The 17 mm socket is too small. I have already removed the T/C rod, endlinks, sway bar, brake caliper, and rotor/hub assembly. Prior to removing the outter tie rod (18 mm castellated nut), I want to make sure that I have all of the tools to complete the disassembly of my front suspension. Thank you for the replies.

Search turned up nada; FSM, Haynes and How to Rebuild turned up nada. I don't have the appropriate sized sockets or wrenches. I am going to buy 2 of this size. I have sockets up to 17 mm and I specifically bought a 27 mm socket so I could turn the engine manually. I have two rachets, a complete set of box wrenches, a breaker bar and a torque wrench. What I don't have are the larger size sockets hence my question. Thanks.

I have both a Haynes Manual and an FSM. My firing order is correct: 1-5-3-6-2-4. Number #1 lead is pointing towards the radiator.