26ounce

Ivan : I think my side mirror looked like that picture about 20 years ago, now it has gone an ugly pitted dark grey colour because all the chrome has come off. Must have been cheapies! Anyway I have been looking for replacement mirrors from recent cars for a while now, the type that attach to the door panel and not the window frame. Here is my picks so far: Late model Mitsubishi Magna : bit big Misubishi FTO : very similar to the Magna Mazda MX-5 : great except the early models Mazda RX-7 : The first series have pretty good seventies style mirrors, the rest are good too. Honda S2000 : Great but probably expensive BMW Z3 : Great but probably expensive Daewoo Matiz : Jury is still out on these ones Honda Legend : OK but big and rare Hyundai Grandeur : Look OK Toyota Supra (last model) : Great but probably expensive Thats most of the ones out there at the moment I think.

Mate, if I had a car like that I would be ranting too. Damn impressive. What has it got in the way of brakes?

Beat me to it alfadog!

I don't mind the look of the 2 seater 280ZX, I'd rate them ahead of an early 2+2. Although I can't remember ever seeing one on the streets of Oz. Did they sell them here or what?

I posted my thoughts on the show on an earlier thread. Basically I was not a big fan of it, as Alfadog mentioned there were way too many interviews with Z fans who didn't have that much to say apart from, "aint it cool". It is also very dsimissive of the Nissan company, implying a number of times that they were verging on incompetent. If you want to see a good car documentary watch the similar History Channel show on the Corvette. That rocked!

The first one is certainly a disgrace. Can't say I like much about the 2nd either, but at least it may be salvageable. Those rear flares look way too big to my eye, maybe he has put on some cheaper wheels because they look lost under the flares.

I'd go with Race, or Fighter sans wood. Nice Z by the way.

Cool, let us know how you get on.

If you could get one to Perth I'd be interested Brett.

Hey 240Z, if the underseal is brittle and old just get after it with a paint scraper. Using a scraper I zoomed throught the brittle sections on mine in no time, and had the added bonus of not having to wear shower-cap. It is the thicker gooey parts that are giving me the most problems, if the wire wheel works for you here then go for it. Carb cleaner is my solvent of choice for getting rid of any residue, more expensive but does a great job.

I was nowhere near it biker, just have friends up Port hedland way. Here is another, this time it is a photo of Cyclone Graham that went thru the Port some time back.

This weather is looking a bit ominous! Cyclone photo from northwest Australia.

Who was it that was going to try the Miata side mirrors on his Z? Having see the pictures posted above I would be keen to see how those mirrors work for Zs.

I agree with the other guys posts but to answer some of your other questions: The 260Z coupe is virtually the same in appearance as the 240z but is heavier by about 150-200 kg. As I understand it most of this weight increase was from Nissan strengthening the chassis for safety. The 2+2 is heavier again. The 260Z also came out with flat top carbs to lower emissions but they also lowered performance, the emission stuff also added a bunch of tubes & crap on the manifold. Nissan then increased the engine capacity by 200cc to try and compensate for the added weight and the emission control. If you are looking to eventually do an engine swap I would point you towards the 260Z for a couple of reasons. Firstly their stronger chassis would probably be better for high powered swaps, consider the safety factor as well. Secondly, 240Z are getting very collectable in stock form so in the long run you might actually be damaging its value. All that being said, the 240Z being lighter will be faster than a 260 with the same mods. Oh yeah, I also think you should go for an RB motor. The RB20 is cheaper than an SR now and there is a lot more documentation on RB swaps into Zs.

Thanks for the advice Joseph. I'm pretty sure I'll just brush it on. Yours is the 2nd horror story I've heard about spraying on POR-15 so I think I'll just avoid the whole issue. I'm not hugely concerned about the finish as long as it stays reasonabe, I just want make sure I knock the rust problem on the head as best i can. Of course the decision is made easier by the fact that I have no spraying equipment.:stupid: By the way, once you have scarped off the majority of the tar undercoat I have found that carb cleaner is amazingly good at removing the remaining residue. Just in case anyone else is having the same issues as I am now or in the future.

The guy who did the rover v8 swap told me this while we were having a chin wag, I didn't really investigate it any further so it's as much as I know. It was also helped by the fact that on paper the rover V8 swap is only a small power increase (under 20%).

I'm in the process of stripping back everything front of the windscreen, if I ever get through the tar undercoat that is. After I get all of it stripped back I'm going to give it a coating of POR-15. I'll get some photos after I finished and post them here. Hope this POR stuff is as good as everyone says.

I think it might be the same guy, but I have seen a P76 V8 swap in Perth. The swap was done to a white 260Z coupe by a guy called Robin. He had the same report of only a incremental improvement in power levels but a whole lot less weight in the front and no more understeer. And yes it does look sweet in the engine bay! Apparently the fact that Nissan made a factory V8 Z makes it easier to register a V8 Z in WA.

My brother has a great spanner set that has a ratchet system on the ring end. This means that when you are in a tight spot and can't rotate the spanner all the way around you can just ratchet it backwards and forwards like you would with a socket set. I would not call them invaluable but they impressed me, put them on the nice to have list.

Those new rules don't seem particularly well worked out. But then again your average mug like me would have a greater chance of success swapping an old carbed V8 than attempting a newer EFI turbo type motor. No nasty electrickery to muck around with. Anyway, by my calculations are right then you might be able to put a 350 in a 260Z. Assuming the 260Z weighs 1200kg then the max cubes is 352.8 and you just make it. Not that it helps you Ozzy Guy. FWIW If you want to stick with carbs you could consider the P76 Rover V8.

Removing this stuff is slow and tedius work! I spent a couple of hours under the car yesterday and have only removed a very small section, and even that area still has a lot of residual undercoat left behind. I was using a hair dryer and while it worked alright you don't exactly zip through this stuff. Guess I'll try and find some of this underseal remover stuff.

I've noticed this Datsun versus Datsun thing as well. Is it just me or does there seem to also be a small amount of animosity thrown into the mix as well? I can appreciate some of the great work routinely done by the 1600/1200 crowd. I'm also insanely jealous of the great aftermarket support that seems to exist for these cars compared to the Z (in Perth anyway). But I'll stick with the Z. You stick a great 1600 in a car park and most people will walk straight past it, the curvaceous lines of Z always get noticed.

Very disappointing:disappoin He obviously had no idea of the link between your 240Z and his 350Z. Personally, I think Nissan should make all aspiring 350Z owners pass a Znology multiple choice test before granting them full Z owner status. I mean you can't just let anyone walk in off the street and buy one.