Bonzi Lon

You are in the KC area, so I might suggest you visit Black Dragon Automotive in Lenexa, or online, www.BlackDragonAuto.com, they still have a paper catalog upon request 1-800-789-DRGN. You will save shipping costs if you go there. Then there is genuine Nissan parts from Courtesy. Maintaining, customizing upgrading,,,etc... is not cheap on ANY car. (unless you want it that way) Bonzi Lon

Wonderful job. That white really makes the new beautiful blue interior POP! And the under-hood sparkles like a jewel. If you and Arne decide to meet, pick me up in Kansas, we can meet him in Denver. Then make a fine tour, Arne leading, you, then me, red white & blue. Bonzi Lon

There is a Z Club in KC, or was in 09, they were well represented at the Midwest Z-Fest in Tulsa that year. That would be a major hook-up for parts swapping. I know what you mean about no Z's around here. Seven years ago a salvage dealer stopped by and bought a junk car. He saw my dusty primered Z and asked if I needed any parts. I told him no, everything was there. He said 'good, I just crushed 22 of them last week'. Bonzi Lon

I was able to find the large hose at my local John Deere dealer, fuel rated, 300psi, heavy enough not to kink. Bonzi Lon

It's the other way around, be in (darkness) before the sun rises. Bonzi Lon

'A fool and his money are soon parted'. Dad Bonzi Lon

spdcrazy, call Bruce Palmer at ZTherapy, the video/dvd is available through them. You WILL learn a thing or two. Bonzi Lon

Thanks for the information. They are on my wish list. Now, I wonder if I can get a set shipped......with the car attached. Bonzi Lon

Those 'things' on the Cobra are the pick up points to get the car off the ground during a race, front also. I'm sure some one has a photo of the lever tool in use. Bonzi Lon

My general information notes on intake manifold numbers are: E46--68-71 4 screw SU E88--72 3 screw SU N33--73 flat top N36--74 flat top Notes also said the N36 were the ones that had a little more volume, and flowed a little better. No true numbers were given to verify though. Bonzi Lon

You have a very beautiful car. I fell in love with this body style first time I saw it. Silver and black make it. Mighty fine ride you have. I notice your wheels have changed. What are they? I like them. I'd put them on my Z if available and would fit. Very seldom do I see 5 spoke with 4 lugs. Again, nice car & wheels. Bonzi Lon

I have used Mike B's referenced fizzle can paint, mostly for cost, convenience, I needed it then and lots of it. The first sample wheel cover looked to shiny compared to the original tail finisher, side by side, so it was toned down with a coat of light matt finish. The grille, tail finishers, 4 wheels and 5 wheel covers were done, including the matt finish. If you are doing the wheel covers you will have plenty of taping to do. I've done it twice! :stupid: Use the finest thinest masking tape available. The first was regular masking tape, pulled up in places. Blue Scotch plastic tape second time around, much better results. One roll is enough. They are not exactally how they left the factory, shows a little more chrome, not as dark looking. Makes the scollops pop. The red reflectors had turned orange and pink, replacements were NLA. Solution was dark blue 'Testors' in a bottle. Bonzi Lon

This is my original 73 hood emblem. I hope there is enough detail. They were not perfect, look at the chrome bit above the 'D', then the one below. Same with the 'N'. Upon further examination, the original R quarter emblem pot metal is seperating, not the chrome. Back side is the left, it too has started, but not as bad. Bonzi Lon

Carl, the 73 quarter emblems are metal, all others are plastic. On my original ones, the chrome was seperating from the pot metal, making it impossible to cloth dry. I found NOS metal ones for my refresh. Bonzi Lon

Wichita had -19 (record low). My Z is under a blanket. Bonzi Lon

What they say about shifting is correct, weird as it sounds. I did it all the time in a 75 Vette I had, once I was shown how. Fun little trick to amaze and astound your passenger. When you get comfortable with it you can really run through the gears. Bonzi Lon

We used magnesium in a ductal iron foundry. Once caught on fire you could drop it in water and it would still burn. It is an impressive burn when 750 pounds of molten iron hits 10 pounds of mag, blinding. Lloyd Bridges used magnesium sticks in "Sea Hunt" to light up the darkenss of the deep. Close to here, in the early 80's, some dirt trackers were in a wreck and the mag wheels caught fire, killing 2. Mag wheels were then banned. Bonzi Lon

My electrical knowledge is limited, but I do know you will need a 'ballast resistor' in the mix. Is the ballast resistor wired in? Bonzi Lon

I used a deep well 1 1/16" socket on a ratchet, or 27mm is the correct size. Did not remove fan, just loosened the belt. A standard length socket with a small extention will work too. Bonzi Lon

The Z was at Painter Ray's when a delivery guy dropped off a package. He looked at the car and asked if it was a 260 or 280? I told him it was a 240. He looked confused and said, 'never heard of that one'. I went back to sanding. The Z had been painted and some bits put on, but no emblems. I pushed it in the drive to sweep the garage floor. A kid about 12 on a bike stopped to look at it. "Cool Ferrari, why'd ya paint it blue?" Bonzi Lon

IIRC there are 4 holes on the bracket for the welds to fill. Look for the stain of the previous welds for proper placement. He clamped and welded spots in all 4 holes. Short bursts so not to burn through. very solid now. It is not the easiest place to weld, thankfully he was a small and bendable. Bonzi Lon

Once you get the plastic covers off and look in there you will be able to make a decision. I have not seen (paid attention to) the 280 strut bracket to see if they changed altogether or a mirror image was made for the right side. Maybe someone has a pic? I found out placement of the bracket is critical. A buddy of mine had a portable mig, took him about 10 minutes, cost me a 12 pac. Bonzi Lon

esmit208, there are several threads on how to make several styles. One inexpensive way is with 2 Harbor Freight engine stands and some rigging. Bonzi Lon

manny1973, yours is now the 6th 73 that has had the bracket welds fail. From my own records over 5 years. The spot welds appear to be small / weak at all points. Mine failed in 79, rewelded during refurbishment in 06. The only paint damage will be on the rain gutter under the weatherstrip. The inner welds are on a peice of metal about 1/2 inch from outer body. Mine never got warm there, wet rag for caution, but the gutter area was toast. Dis-connect battery before welding. 2 struts? -- Been there, done that. -- Didn't work. -- The way I did it. I removed another bracket from a 71, it was welded in better than the 73 by far, reversed it on the passenger side, with the pivot same distance, which makes them off-set, then the plastic won't fit without a trim. Drilled, made a bracket for the hatch attachment. At the time, I didn't know the 280Z strut was a lower pressure. I installed both 240Z struts. Fail! :stupid: Very hard to close and about takes your nose off when opening. :tapemouth The bracket must of been off a little bit as it made the passenger side lift 1/4". :mad: Said bracket was removed and is now unreconizable. So, back to original design, welded solid and always close the hatch with my hand right above the strut attachment. Bonzi Lon

This is not mine. He stopped by in late 09 and has done changes since these photos. His web site is http://www.ratzun.com/ At the time of the photos it was a 502 Chevy with an 1171? blower, E85, street legal drag car! This car had had many incarnations over the years. Within our conversation, we came to the conclution he was the one that rebuilt my 73 engine at the Datsun dealership where he worked in 1980. Bonzi Lon