jackwarnock

Hullo All As I progress slowly through the "refreshment" of my 1973 Fairlady 240Z, I am looking to renew the exhaust system. This information is helpful for thinking of options. I have made enquiries of HiTech Mufflers in Sydney recently and they suggested Ceramic extractors mated to a stainless steel exhaust. The exhaust would have to be crafted to suit car. Cost - AUD2000 approximately!! Obviously the MSA system that xray refers to is much less money, but a long way away! Would any Aussie people have any advice as to who/where to seek out a new system for the 240Z. I would appreciate any advice greatly. Thanks for your help. Regards, Jack

Hullo Frank I really enjoyed your story. There won't be many stories like this to be told because it just doesn't happen. I bought my first 240Z in August, 1971 (HS30 00741). I had to sell it in 1976 unfortunately. Several years ago I wanted to revisit that 240Z experience of so many years ago. The first thing I did was to check on the registration (NSW Australia) of the car. I found that the original registration of the 1971 car was "available" - meaning that my original car was probably beer cans. The original registration was BBQ-240. I reserved it right there and it is now the only connection with my current 1973 Fairlady 240Z (HS30 103407)purchased in 2003. When I went to take delivery of my new 240Z in 1971 I asked the dealer how he managed to obtain the registration number (BBQ-240) and he looked at me strangely and wondered why I would ask!! He explained that he wasn't aware of the interesting plate - it was what the registration office issued him at the time. I thought it was quite an amazing coincidence!! Great to read your story. I think many of us will be interested in seeing some photos and hearing of your refreshment of your "old" 240Z. Thanks again. Regards, Jack

Hullo hd240z Thank you for your response. You helped me focus a little more on how I use the choke(s). I have just done a start of the veicle after it has been sitting for approx 30 hours. Outside temperature 19.5 deg C (67 deg F), so not too cool. I did pull a little harder on the choke lever and it seemed I got more movement/action on the chokes than I had previously. The car started really quickly!! Given I should check it again in a day or so and do some fine tuning on the cable/choke adjustment as well, I will see if something as simple as this has solved the problem!! I am thinking I probably wasn't using much choke at all and making it very hard for the engine to get enough fuel. I am looking forward to the next "test" to see if this is in fact the solution to my problem. Thanks once again for your input. Regards, Jack

I need some help with the same problem. Recently my 1973 Fairlady 240Z has been very difficult to start. It seems to be starved of fuel (on start up) as described earlier here. The car is fitted with 3-screw SU's, not the original flat tops. The car has the large black cannister fitted to the front right side of engine. All fuel lines and the in-line filter are new or near new. The car only has the mechanical pump fitted to the engine. There is no electrical pump fitted. I have fitted a new distributor, coil, resistor, spark plugs and leads. Timing has been set properly and plugs set at correct gap. The air cleaner is new and clean. I don't believe I have always had the problem quite like it is now. Maybe it has been worse since I replaced all the vent and fuel hoses associated with the fuel tank?? The fuel tank was perfectly clean when I checked it when I had it off for hose replacement. On start up it takes many attempts to pump enough fuel into carbies (with chokes fully on). When it does first try to fire up it appears to be only firing on say 3 cylinders, until more cranking gets the engine to fire. I believe it takes far too much effort to start, but once going it runs very smoothly. The engine will fire up straight away after it has been running for awhile, but sitting overnight it is then very difficult to start again. It appears that the fuel "drains away" whilst the car is sitting, but I have no idea what is actually happening. The starter motor has been overhauled. I have a new battery and new battery leads. The engine turns over very strongly, but I have to crank for far too long to get the beast to start. I believe I have provided all the basic information about the engine. Cannot think of any other relevant information that might assist you good folk to help diagnose my problem. Any helpful advice would be most appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Hullo All Just to add my "two-bobs worth" to the other comments: I have had a lot of trouble getting parts for my 240Z in Australia. I often try Nissan first, but rarely find what I am seeking available there!! Mostly I find the people in the US are more reliable and have a bigger range. Price is unfortunately getting higher! But the exchange rate is helping right now. Recently I purchased a pair of windscreen wiper arms from the US. The supplier said they were for a right-hand drive car, but when they arrived it was obvious they were left hand drive units. They were VERY expensive, but I asked a local workshop to "convert" them to RHD, fearing it might not work out. For him it was no big deal and they look exactly correct! The Great Ocean Road is a great drive in anything. I hope to travel it again with Caravan in tow in April, 2008. Regards, Jack

Hullo All I did get a real chuckle from this!! I was wondering when someone would suggest things might go "POP". Regards, JackLOL

Are you playing chicken with the train??

At the risk of upsetting others, I also think it looks ugly! And I can't fit in those cars!! Like the Lexus SC430 - my head would be 4" or 5" above the top of the screen. Same with the Honda Sports, and Mazda RX etc etc etc. At least I can fit in the 240Z!! I am 194cm (6' 4"). So my choices are dictated by the length of the Bod!! Good luck to those who like the 350Z and can FIT IN IT!! Regards, Jack

Hullo All I hope this doesn't take us all too far away from the original Thread. I am very impressed with the restoration by Kats of his 432R car. There has been a little discussion about costs when this car was first released. I am very interested to know what a car like Kats would be worth now (in say US$)?? The quality of Kats' restoration must be up there with the best, so would set something of a benchmark for values of Z cars. Can anyone comment? Here in Australia there have been sales of "Aussie Muscle Cars" reaching AUD500,000. In particular Ford Falcon GTHO Phase III cars have sold in this price bracket. When I bought my first 240Z in 1970, mates were buying GTHO Falcons. The cost was "about the same". I cannot recall the exact prices of course. However, the best of those GTHO's are know worth (cost???) seriously big money. So my question is: What is a top quality 240Z (like Kats' 432R for example) worth? I think this would be most interesting to know!! Regards, Jack

Hullo All I have recently replaced all the Fuel and Vent hoses at the rear of the vehicle, together with the fuel filler neck (complete unit) and the rubber flap that protects the paint work from the filler cap. The fuel filler was expensive (AUD136) and the hose with the 180 deg bend was too short to reach the Vent tank!! I had to join this with other new hose. I used a brass joiner for that connection and also replaced the plastic 3/4" joiner for the fuel filler with a brass one also. Job is now complete and it is much better having no more fuel vapours wafting around. Hopefully all those problems are now solved for many more years. Regards, Jack

Hullo All Yesterday I completed the installation of my retractable seat belts and had my car re-registered after 6-months off the road. The seat belts work really well and are so much more comfortable and secure than the old set. They are not in the "full harness" category as far as safety goes, but are certainly much better than the originals. It is a compromise, but I am not prepared to compromise on safety. Regards, Jack

Hullo All I am interested in finding out how to restore/refresh the "chrome" strips on my door panels. Mine don't look great and I would be pleased if I could end up with original appearance. It appears to me that the "chrome" strips are moulded onto the vinyl door panels. Is this correct?? The vinyl panels look very good, but the "chrome" is ugly in some places. I cannot explain what has happened, but the "chrome" is peeling off the blue surface underneath. Any help or ideas would be appreciated. Regards, Jack

Hullo All I recently purchased the Upgrade Headlight and Parking Light Harnesses from Zs-ondabrain (Dave Irwin). I was able to fit the new harnesses pretty quickly, but had to modify the Headlight buckets and have new harnesses made up to connect Daves headlight harness to the H4 headlights I wanted to fit. After a couple of days and visits to my local Auto Electrician I have a new set of H4 100/80 Narva Headlights fitted, which make a huge improvement to the 55/50 original sealed beams. All the vehicles in the rest of our "fleet" run the 100/80 Halogen lights where possible, but we also use Hella Rally 4000 with 100 Watt halogen driving lights, where possible. So the 240Z is not as good as the rest of the vehicles, but dramatically better than standard. The best lights are on our Lexus LS430, which has upgraded headlights and Hella HID Xenon driving lights added. I don't expect that the 240Z will receive that good a set of driving lights though!! Thanks again to Dave Irwin for the ideas and the harnesses - and great help too!! Regards, Jack

Zedevan Could you please tell us the size and style of rim you have purchased for your car? I have just ordered a new set of 15x7 Superlites to be fitted with 205/60R 15 Michellin Energy MXV8 tyres. This is all fairly conservative, with the same (close enough) overall diameter as the tyres fitted to the standard rims. I first enquired about this combination 3 1/2 years ago, so it has taken me a fair while to get around to doing it!!! I was expecting to stay as close to original as possible, but I have moved away from that idea and I am more keen to end up with a neat, clean, reliable car that I am happy to drive anywhere anytime. All I have got to do is finish all this work and get driving!! Regards, Jack

Hullo Carl B. Thanks for your comments. I am waiting for the hose with the 180 deg. bend and the furl filler "neck" to arrive, but have obtained all the other hoses - cost about AUD55.00. Overall I will be happy to go ahead and reuse the metal Vent Tank with all new hoses and a new filler neck. That way all the issues regarding filling and venting will be taken care of. I will ensure a good seal where hoses enter the cabin through grommets etc. With new hoses and clamps those many potential problem areas for fumes/fuel leaks will be dealt with. The generic hoses are good quality, so hopefully will outlast me on the car!! Thanks again for your help. Regards, Jack

Hullo All Thanks for your inputs. After reading other Posts and reviewing what I have in front of me I believe I can sort this one out. Certainly a complicated set up with so many different hoses of different sizes. I feel confident I can either fix problem with Vent Tank (new hoses) or just have the main hose (19mm or 3/4") with the 180 degree bend from top of fuel tank to fuel filler. I have made contact with Australian supplier who has this pipe new, so that is the main hose dealt with. He will also supply me with a new fuel filler tube. I don't want any issues with it, so better to replace now whilst all the gear is off the car, than come back to it later. The other hoses are more straight forward. Now I will get on with it. Thanks again for your collective help!! Regards, Jack

Hullo All Some of the discussion here refers to Factory Air Conditioning. My 1973 JDM Fairlady 240Z-L was ordered in July 1973 by an Australian lady working in Japan at the time. I have the original brochure the lady used to select the car. The lady obtained an "Estimate" (Quote) from Nissan to supply the car including: "a set of tools, a spare tire, a set of service kit, a set of floor mats and an air conditioner" The quoted cost for the air conditioner was 200,000 Yen. Unfortunately for me the lady decided not to include the air conditioner in the final Order for the car. I am unsure if cost was the issue. The Factory certainly offered Air Conditioning as an Option on the JDM vehicles. I hope this helps the discussion. Regards, Jack

Hullo again Arne After re-reading your #1 Post I noticed the reference to grommets and sleeves from Banzai. I will need to replace these as well, so any help in directing me to suppliers would be appreciated. Despite the cost, I would like to do the job properly to avoid fuel leaks and other problems. Unless the "elimination option" from Carl Beck will work, then I will need to source the hoses, grommets etc that you did. Like someone else has said, Nissan managed to use every conceivable hose size made to construct this strange Vent system. What a crazy mess. Any way, hopefully when I fix it, it will be good for another 30+ years. That will do me then!! Thanks again for your help. Regards, Jack

Hullo Arne I posted a response to Carl Beck about this issue of Vent Hoses etc earlier. He made comment that we could do without the Vent hoses, so I have sought his advice on how to do it. Meanwhile I appreciated your Post #1 above about the Vent Hoses you have used to replace yours. Thanks for the detail. However, I have been unable to find the Part #'s in my Australian Nissan Parts CD. I have a 1973 JDM Fairlady 240Z. I am not sure if the same Vent Tank (called Reservoir Tank in my Nissan Workshop Manual) and hose combination is fitted to Australian delivered vehicles of 1973 vintage. However your concise description of the hoses matches mine exactly. Today I spent some considerable time draining fuel tank and removing the old hoses. Most were fairly definitely original and very stiff - hence fuel leaks when fuel tank is filled. All the Forums/Posts I have read here confirm the problem I have had. Your Post was particularly helpful. Thanks. Now the issue is - do I need to replace the Vent hoses or can I re-plumb without Vent Tank and Hoses?? I look forward to receiving advice from Carl Beck and others. Alternatively, can you advise me of the supplier of your hoses, as I have my doubts that I will be able to find these here in Australia. I will try Nissan Australia and other suppliers tomorrow (Monday), but seriously doubt that I can source the hoses in Australia. Help or advice from others would be appreciated. Regards, Jack

Hullo Carl B. I have plenty of problems with aged and leaking hoses on my 1973 JDM Fairlady 240Z. Earlier today I checked for forums re these hoses etc and read Arne's posted on May 02, 2007. Following a good read I checked my Aussie parts CD and cannot find comparable part #'s to match those provided by Arne. I then spent some considerable time draining tank and removing old hoses. Some had certainly been there since new!! All my hoses match the descriptions provided by Arne. I was going to start my search for replacements tomorrow (Monday), then I read your Post quoted above. I imagine it will cost some $200 to $300 to replace them all, so I am interested in your comment that the Vent Tank and hoses can be dispensed with. That makes sense, but can you give me some guidance on how to do that please? I will need to replace the fuel outlet and return hoses as I go. There is also a 6mm (1/4 inch) hose that links the top of Vent tank to front Cannister (described as an Air Supplier tube in my Workshop Manual). Should I retain this somehow?? Can I block off all the other outlets from the fuel tank? There is one on the left hand end of fuel tank (14mm outlet) which runs across the inside back of car to Vent Tank. There is another (17mm outlet) on the top rear of tank that comes inside car near right tail light assembly, then to Vent Tank. There is one (10mm Outlet on top front of fuel tank) that comes into car behind right rear wheel arch and onto Vent Tank. Finally there is a horseshoe shaped hose (19mm or 3/4" outlet) that connects Vent tank to neck of fuel filler. Carl could you please advise how I might go about re-plumbing this "mess" so I end up with less cost and fewer potential leak areas?? Any comments/feedback that others can provide would be greatly appreciated. Regards, Jack

Thank you for that!! Once again I have learnt something new today. I trust the "fod" has caused minimal damage and you can repair it and get on with starting the rebuilt engine. I am contemplating engine and transmission removal and rebuild at the moment. Of course the biggest concern is the money that keeps draining into my car!! However, I am "refreshing" the car and every step leads me to considering more things that maybe I should do whilst I am waiting to complete the other jobs. It seems an open ended "plan" that keeps developing as I go along. Several years ago I completed a ground up restoration of a 1952 Chevrolet which was my fathers car. That turned out to be a big job, and I think I am trying to avoid that with the Fairlady 240Z!! The Chevrolet has now been in the family more than 54 years. Regards, Jack

Sorry, but what is "fod in the #6 cylinder"?? Regards, Jack

Hullo Will You appear to be getting your teeth right into this one. Your description of the function of the Oscillator is most interesting. Is there any chance that a replacement unit or a repair process can be found for the Oscillator. For a total amateur like me, having a simple fix would be great. Of course , if a solution is to rebuild the Rally Clocks with a new operating mechanism, then it may be woth considering. I'll bet there are many Zeds out there with similar non-functioning Oscillators. Regards, Jack

G'Day All I have been quietly chuckling away here about the amount of stuff you guys are prepared to carry in your Z cars for a modest trip. Here in Aus it is not unusual to travel 500+km (300 miles) one way for a dinner, concert, social function etc. Admittedly not in the Z car .....but!! I imagine that taking all that gear will leave little room for you or your clothes etc. I don't take as much stuff when I go on trips through the centre of Australia, across remote deserts, say for 8 or 10,000km (5 or 6,000 miles). I mean no offense, I just find it funny!! Good luck with your trip. My Z is going nowhere as it is stuck in the garage waiting for parts!! Regards, Jack

Hullo Will I have the Rally Clock installed, and the Oscillator which has been in and out of the car several times as I ponder what to do about its non-function. Someone suggested to me that a smart electronics person should be able to repair, but I have no idea where to find that person. Recently I reconnected the Oscillator, it "hummed/buzzed" a little and the clock worked for several seconds. I thought the magic fairies had arrived and the Oscillator was alive, but no such luck. It will be interesting to learn if the Oscillator can be repaired. Until mine is a goer I cannot tell if the clock is OK. It is all fairly frustrating. Regards, Jack