geezer

I'm no stranger to long distance driving. You have come up with a very good choice of what to bring. I would add: -a tire plug kit, not legal for a shop installation, but has saved me. Should be considered only as an emergency measure. -a good light source for doing roadside repairs at night I really liked Beandip's approach, of establishing a list of members where you could expect help along the way. You could expand that with printouts from MapBlast with repair facilities or whatever else marked out on them. Since you need to bring a fair amount of stuff with you, why not load it into the spare tire well and put a spare that will work on top? That's if a solution isn't found beforehand. Sounds like a great trip! PS-didnt see 12V air compressor listed

I agree Stephen, the entire thread has gone far enough. In retrospect, I don't think I should have even started it. Mike said it best. ''If you have a problem with a thread, REPORT IT''. I should have just replied to the PM and stated my case. Initially I was PO'd to recieve it and read through the entire thread, to find that I did indeed touch a nerve. Reason why doesn't matter, but I do come from the home of the $8.00 haircut ($2.00 a corner). Thing is, the other member is probably someone I could hang with all day and never run out of things to talk about and not offend once. Myself, Im not easily offended and will certainly try to better consider how someone will take what I say in the future. My apology was accepted immediately and I am gratefull for that.

Count me in Will. It's worth that much in reducing sourcing aggrevation alone.

Jeff - I will be Stateside sometime before next weekend and can pick them up. I did go through a big fiasco a few weeks ago with US Customs and the matter still isn't settled, so I don't know what to expect. They seem to think I should pay import taxes on parts a second time. Just a paper problem but they may be on the lookout for a desperado like me.

Jeff - I had to clear the calender for the next 2 or 3 days. Were expecting grandchild #4. I'm on standby now. I didn't know about the show and it sure doesn't matter now. Hey, I told you I had these parts stashed away quite a while ago and if you needed something you could look them over, no? I just need to clear some garage space. When I hit Moparfest I'll need the big trailer. Why don't you come with us to Toronto? I got room for you, just meet us here.

Hi Zak - My son and I are bringing a truckload of parts that are in my way. Mostly large items that are difficult to ship. A lot of hoods, fenders, transmissions, rear diffs, etc. If there is anything else in particular you or someone else needs let me know and I'll see if I can help. I gave Greg the heads up.

I think this is something that should be brought out in the open, to give me the opportunity to apologize to anyone I may have offended, even if that was not my intent. I was surprised to get this PM. I'm not so surprised now that I have given it some thought: Hey Ron, If you want to insult folks, with comments about being a girl, take it to another forum. We don't take kindly to this sort of childish behavior. The statement I made and was percieved as "childish behavior" was not directed at anyone, but used as a reference to myself, jokingly at that. I am certainly not under the impression that everyone is able or willing to change a tire. That's your choice. I'm just like everyone else that frequents this site, looking for answers to questions I have, helping someone if I can and taking an interest in the cars and projects of others. I have never typed out anything on this site with the intention of being hurtfull or insensitive. If anything has been taken that way I sincerly appologize.

That would certainly work John, but what do you do about the rear disc conversion? I was thinking along those lines anyhow.

The question of what will fit comes up quite a bit and I don't think we have ever heard from someone with a definitive solution to this problem. I don't think anyone has ever come forward and said "here's what I did..it works". It has started me thinking of other alternatives. One thought, would be using a specialized spacer that could work with a smaller rim, even if it protrudes out, you could still travel on it at least as well as a space saver. Another thought is, temporarily removing the caliper with a shim fitted inbetween the pads and suspending it safely out of the way. You could at least make a regular size spare fit in the well and it would get you to a place where a permanent repair or replacement could be bought.

That's something that was born in me. When I get a flat, I have a spare with me and the flat is fixed or the tire replaced as immediately as possible. I spend a lot of time in the middle of nowhere and won't get stranded all day if I can prevent it. As far as calling someone on the cell...What am I, a girl! (no disrespect towards girls, who many change their own flats). I've wondered about the space saver spares and also a Honda or other same bolt patterned wheel that would clear the disc upgrade. What does fit? & Who's using one?

Here's a used one http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/DATSUN-240Z-260Z-280Z-EXHAUST-MANIFOLD-AND-DOWN-PIPE_W0QQitemZ110114043677QQihZ001QQcategoryZ33632QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Pretty useless pic but I emailed it full size.

Will - To give you a better image of the best I came up with I'll send a pic by email so you can zoom in better. I am not as equipt as you for measuring things this small. Between my reading glasses and a magnifying glass the best I can determine is: the overall length is 9mm, thread pitch appears to be .3mm, outside of thread measurement is 1.42mm(could be a bad measurement on my part). The head diameter & height is not as large as you want, but I did come up with a matched pair. They are slotted heads. They also have never been used. If you think they are worth your while to remeasure, I'll send them on down and hope they get there faster than the last time. I still think an optometrist that's been around for a while will have a good selection in this size range.

Ok Will - That's enough information to come up with one suitable. The 3.1mm head height is to provide more support for the knob to keep it from breaking. The one I have in mind would work well with a washer of the same diameter bonded to it. I need to come up with another thread gage. I'm using a gauge from my metric SnapOn tap & die set. The smallest gauge is .35mm and the smallest die in the set is 3mm (useless in this case). That makes it guesswork until I get the thread measured properly. I'll do it tomorrow. A thread pitch of .30mm is tough to measure with a .35 gauge.

Will - I came up with several, one in particular that would work. The only problem and I don't know if it would show once installed, is the 3.15mm head height you specified. It comes up short. Overall length is a little longer than needed though. I will try to get pics up later. Two other possibilities to find a better match would be an eyeglass outlet, or sign up on a model railroad site and ask them. Just don't show up back here wearing one of those big hats!

There are many excellent products available, including the one ChrisA pointed out. I just haven't tried them yet because I've been trying to use this up first. Bought this can about 15 years ago and use it for everything. Never had a problem taking anything apart again no matter what environment the fasteners have gone through. Sub zero to extreme high temps. and wet conditions. This can is still more than half full. You might want to consider a smaller size.

That's perfect Will. I'll start going through my bins. I can probably make one if I don't find one. I usually use a mix of gun bluing to come up with the right color.

Hey Freckles :eek: - You should have applied a few more coats after it was set up a little. I usually put what is left over in a jar of the appropriate size (to limit the amount of air left in the jar) and then find something else to paint within the next few days. It's a little too pricey to waste. Sometimes it will skin over in the jar if you don't get back to it in time, but you just break through the skin to get to the POR that hasn't set up. PS- Looks good though.

Will - Can you post a few pics of the screw from the other knob? Would they be identical? I have a wide assortment of screws of this type and will look through them and possibly find something you can use. I can gauge them from the measurements you gave but I am unsure of the shoulder detail. Is it a square shoulder? How wide & deep is the slot?

Kats - I could spend hours looking at the absolute beauty and detail that goes into your projects! A second and third viewing later I notice more & more. The level of restoration is astounding! Most of us can only dream of recreating such excellent examples. Thank you for sharing your pictures & video clips. That's the first time I've heard an S20 and have never seen one in person. A real treat!

Looking good Fred! That's a good idea to keep to the hoods safely out of the way too. Some good lighting, fresh paint and a few Z's will go nicely with the new epoxy. Heck, if there was a fridge and a LazyBoy, I'd move in!

Adam - It doesn't seem all that bad. If you dont have any alignment problems, visable cracks or rust through, it is only cosmetic. Years down the road if you plan further work, replace them then. I'm replacing mine now, along with the rockers, floor pans and rear quarters. These cars are about the easiest ones I've done as far as replacing these parts go. The availability of the parts needed is something I'm not used to. That's something for all of us to consider. How long before replacement panels are NLA?

Those are great looking wheels Jeff! I like them better than the all silver version. If someone would prefer the silver, or wanted to repaint/powdercoat, this used set I spotted on Ebay might be worth a look. I am tempted but have something else in mind. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=010&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=200097486237&rd=1,1

Randy - Your choices are an alarm, or preventing spark or fuel. The easiest method to implement is to eliminate the spark with the use of a hidden kill switch. A thief isn't going to waste time troubleshooting your ignition system. He (or she) will just move on to an easier target. Also, you can use a secondary failsafe such as killing the fuel pump if your running an electric. I know that a pro can remove a device such as The Club in mere seconds.