zbane

Welcome to the z madness! You've got a great story to go with the car, I imagine your father will enjoy working on it with you (even if it's more you working, him telling you stories) Get those pics up (we like pictures ) and make use of that search function-it'll keep you reading for days on end (great for when the weather isn't cooperative)

Carl-BRE now sells enclosed car haulers. I know it is rather short notice, but perhaps they could "sponsor" the Baja Z by providing a trailer... Think of it as an accessory http://www.bre2.net/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=B&Category_Code=car_trailers

Now, I have seen the big screen version of TPB, quite funny, and worth looking for.

Ah, don't worry about that. If/when you get the roadster, you will find that you have been bitten by the bug...and then you will start looking for other Datsuns, invariably ending with a Z purchase... and then you'll know where to come for assistance! Now, the photos you provided in your other thread do show quite a bit of rust, and you should take that into consideration before you make your decision. Are you good with metal working? Try to look at the vehicle with a serious eye, not an emotional one. When they are done, they are cars of beauty...when they are done.

Agree with both these points. Take your vehicle to several repair shops to get an average estimate. IF you choose to keep this out of the insurance adjusters hands, and deal only with the person that hit you, you will have more leverage in getting the cash side taken care of at the onset, rather than having the person try to back out after the repairs are underway. The person that hit you might see that this will be an expensive job and will choose to go the insurance route (assuming the person has insurance, not just a card saying so... ) If you do go through insurance (and you really should) then choose the shop that you think will do the best work, though do keep in mind that if you go with a shop that is recommended by the insurance company the repair is guaranteed for as long as you own the vehicle. If it doesn't meet your standards, or the paint starts flaking off six months after the repair it will be taken care of at no cost to you. Do your homework-check the local shops; go to a cruise in and ask the Hot Rod people where they would go/have gone. Then see what shops are on your list and the list from the insurance company.

It might help if you could post some specifics about the car: vin # and manufacture date might be of more assistance. Colors change, vin numbers (usually) don't.

Fantasy: Well, while I'm at it, I might as well... After all, it makes sense in the long run. Reality Check: It may make sense, but it doesn't usually make good sense. It does, however, make a pile of parts...

Whenever I have gone to the auto parts store looking for hose, I take the part of the car it will be going to with me just to make sure. After all, there is enough of a difference between 5/16 and 1/4 to make fitment an issue-and if we are talking about fuel lines, that is not an issue I wish to deal with... In your case, you could take the Fuel Pressure Regulator in and match to that. As I recall, the outlet side of your fuel pump is the same diameter. The Inlet side is different though. Also, make certain that you get fuel line labeled specifically for Fuel Injected engines. I had a clerk try to sell me non-EFI rated hose once...

I avoid parking on the downhill side of those pens where you would put your emptied shopping cart-I've seen them roll away in the wind and plow right into cars hard enough to dent them. Whenever possible, I do park at the end of a lot-near or far to the entrance isn't an issue, I just want to know that only one person can park next to me, and I get as close to the curb as possible, in case my neighbor has a large truck. Personally I am more concerned about smash-n-grabs than anything else; our cars have plenty of glass, and not much space to put valuables where they will be away from wandering eyes and mischievous hands.

Well at least it didn't happen to you at the Nissan dealership as it did to me. I was asking about ordering a replacement hand brake cable and the parts person asked me for my vin. I recited it verbatim (I imagine most of us can do that) and the person insisted that I was mistaken-not enough digits, and no vins started with HS-it had to be a J). After discussing the change to 16 digit vins in '81, and again specifying that my car is a '79 I ended up just pulling the car around and showing the parts person the dash plate, firewall stamp, and door jamb. I've not gone back to the Nissan dealership for just that experience.

Why part her out? You can get new rails to weld in there. If that's the worst section, I would see no reason to deal with it and go from there!

Kats, you are very welcome, and I'm glad I could help (even in just a small way).

Kats, Perhaps "Mr. K's Tenets of Customer Service" would be appropriate. Though Mr. K's Philosophy works as well.

Last year I had to replace my head gasket. Since it was something new to me (and therefore something I was reluctant to do myself) I called the Nissan dealership about doing the repair. I was quoted @ $65 for the gasket, and another $950 for the job. This is something you can do yourself, search the site, and check your FSM. It's not that hard to do, just make sure to go one step at a time.

Ditto on the MAXX. I've had one in my s130 for a couple years now, and have had no problems cranking even when it was near 0 (yes, it does get that cold in North Carolina). Added bonus: easy replacement (if ever needed) at any WalMart-just put your receipt in the glovebox (I've got mine with my insurance papers).

I heard about that one on the radio earlier today. It's nice to hear that some garage finds are real, and really impressive! I wouldn't shake a stick at the Aston or Jaguar that were in the garage as well...

I used extensions and a lot of swearing. My biggest problem was finding the bolts, and then finding them again with the socket as my hand got in the way, and I couldn't contort my fingers out of the way...

Welcome to the club! What interior panels are you missing?

You can actually get to the lower 6 bolts needed to remove the intake manifold without removing the heat shield. I tried to remove the shield thinking it would make life easier (and it would have) but I couldn't get them all off (rusted, then rounded). I tried the dremel solution, but couldn't get it to where it needed to be-very hard to do without seeing what you are doing, and I wasn't going to use my finger as a guide... You will bust a couple knuckles, you will curse up a storm, but you will get them off. Knowing where they are helps quite a bit, and I was very unhappy with my FSM for not even mentioning that the lower 6 had to come off/be loosened in order to get the intake off. Attached are photos showing where the bolts are/should be. Hopefully your intake manifold won't be as hard to remove as mine was (I needed to utilize a hydrolic jack to break mine loose from the head once the bolts were off)

A few years ago I bought a nephew of mine the xmods R-34 car. Every now and then I would peek in Radio Shack (the only retailer here in the states, other than online of course) to see what was new. The other day I went into the store and found the Nissan GT-R sitting there, and it was on sale so... The cool thing about the xmods stuff is that you can upgrade them. I got the higher output motor (many pinion options included for more torque/less speed, etc.) and the headlight/taillight upgrade. There is also an upgrade for all wheel drive, but that one was not in stock... Anyway, the whole setup was about $70, and took about 45 minutes to assemble.

So I found the 510! Actually, I found 14 of them It might be a bit of an obsession, but the way I look at it is this: I found one at a WallyWorld. One isn't enough-got to have one in the blister pack, one to play with. So then I found two more at Target. Well, that's fine, but what if I want to give some away as gifts? So then I go to Kmart. No luck. Off to another Target, and that was the jackpot-11 of them. Might as well buy them all... So Brian (bre-240z), don't bother going to the Target that's near Circuit City. They don't have any more... And it's 37 of 42, by the way-makes it much easier looking for them.

I'll take 'em! I am way below par on this one: 12 79 S130: 6 01 I30: 6

Check the tank for crud first, then while you are at it, check the filter in the fuel pump (assuming you have an original pump). IF it is not that, then we will start discussing electrical connections. We've all been here before and are speaking from experience: search the site and you will see that more cars with your particular issue are tank related than not. Checking the tank is not hard, and doing it is free. Why start throwing money at things that MIGHT be the problem, unless you like throwing money away (in which case, I'll give you my address and you can throw it my way).

With all that you have replaced, have you stopped to consider pulling the gas tank and checking the integrity of it? Our tanks have a propensity to rust, especially if left to sit for an extended period of time. It is most likely that you are experiencing what happens when a load of crud clogs up the fuel screen in the tank and/or in the fuel pump. After the car has sat for a while, the crud settles back down in the tank and allows you to drive some more. Likewise, easing off the throttle allows the pump to slow down, thus reducing the draw through the tank.

When I got my S130, it definitely needed new struts. I went with Tokico struts all around (the blue ones) and kept the original springs. I don't know if the ride height changed from the original setup, since the zx had an obvious squat when I bought it, but the height all around now looks even and proportionate. If you aren't planning on racing, and just want a comfortable, yet capable ride I would suggest you look into those. Reasonable price for reasonable performance.