Black Pearl

Thanks for everyone's input. The holes are all there for the louvres. I haven't even started pricing those nice to have items yet. Kenz240z, thanks for the parts break-down. $3500 is a good guess, though I would have to at least add a fender and door (the picture must not show how truely bad the top of that fender is). Hood I might be able to fix, but black is pretty unforgiving. Regardless, price and parts is in the $4k neighborhood. I can get a much nicer example for that kind of cash, though it would not have all those new parts. I am going to offer him $400 and go buy a MIG welder. I can't make it much worse, and if I sell it before fixing up the interior/suspension I should be able to get my money back. I think just putting the bumpers back on and vacuuming the interior would double the price.

Kenz240z, thanks for the link. Nice restoration, but that car was a mess. This one is solid, other than the passenger side frame rail and fender. The passenger floor is rusty, but I could not get a screwdriver through it. Paint is original. I have the space, but I am trying to decide if that is where I want to spend my free time. Cozye, your repair work is motivating.

All great advice. Thank you. I already have a '78, so my sole motivation for buying the car was to put it back on the road for resale. After inspecting it, however, it does not appear there is any money to be made on the car. I hate to see a car that original wither away, particularly a black pearl which I have a fondness for. Unrealistic projectitis kicked in of course. Mechanical, interior, and paint I can do, and I am pricing out the needed parts. I have not welded enough to be decent at it, but a $500 car would be a good place to learn. My decision is coming down to is the satisfaction/experience of the project worth what will probably be break-even (me working for free of course) financially? I'll keep you posted on what I decide.

I have been out of the Z car market for awhile, but I came across this '78 Black Pearl, 5-speed, that runs, but the brakes are not working. The car is pretty rough: Needs new seat foam/covers, carpet, probably both fenders, driver's door, maybe a hood, tires, brake work, paint, etc. The floors are solid, but the passenger side frame rail is rusty. The bumpers are in the car and look fine. I could probably get the car for $500. Is the car even worth saving? Thanks. . . . . . . . .

Finished installing the new exhaust system today, and the car runs great. The exhaust is a little louder than I like, but not bad over 60mph. Speaking of 60mph, on my first run the speedometer was way off. It read 50mph when I felt like I was going much faster. I swapped out the speedo gear from the original transmission (it had a black gear) for the one in the replacement trans (it had a larger red gear), and now the speedo reads 75mph at 3000rpm. I did not run a timed mile on it yet, but does that sound about right? I cannot remember what it was before. Lastly, there was a little oil on the clutch. It did not slip, but it smoked for a little bit. Some of it might have been oil on the exhaust system too. Thanks.

If your comment is regarding my trans problem, I could see how you would think that based on all the oil inside the trans case. There may be a slow leak, but my main concern was the major failure in trans case. sblake01, thanks for the trans info. Guess I lucked out on that purchase. WingZr0, thanks for the understanding.

WingZr0, sorry for hijacking your post. Turns out my problem is different, at least I hope it is different, than what you are experiencing. I pulled the trans yesterday, and there was a crack in the front cover. You can see it below the fork in this picture: I did pull the exhaust, since the previous owner had purchased a performance exhaust that came with the car. After two days of being sprayed with Liquid Wrench, the bolts came off fairly easily. I installed another 5-speed, but it has three sensors on the side, compared to the one on the broken trans, and it also has the fill on the driver's side, vs. passenger side on the broken trans. Does anyone know the difference between these transmissions? I have not road tested the car yet, as I ran out of time to get the new exhaust installed, but ran it while up on the lift and all seemed fine. I assume I do not need to hook up any of the sensors? Broken Trans: Swapped Trans 1: Swapped Trans 2:

Thanks for the heads-up. It is what makes the forum great.

Unfortunately that is what I was thinking. A while back I bought an engine and transmission for $300, that a guy pulled for a V8 swap, in case I needed some parts. He said the tranny was a 5-speed, but I cannot tell by looking at it. The fill hole is on the driver's side, vs. the 5-speed in my car has the fill hole on the passenger's side. I could not find any numbers on it. Any way of identifing the trans as a 5-speed without opening it up? Walter, thanks for the good tip. Had I figured that out on my own the trans would be in the back of my truck now. If the current case is cracked, and my extra is not a 5-speed (hopefully one of those will work out) there is a shop on ebay selling rebuilt units for $650 - http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Datsun-Z-240Z-280ZX-Rebuilt-OEM-5-Speed-Transmission_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem25581765a8QQitemZ160391718312QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories Has anyone used these guys? Thanks for everyones comments.

Good timing on this post. I was showing my teenage daughters how to drive a stick yesterday on my '78 5-speed, and my oldest must not have understood the instructions as she went from 1st to 4th without pushing in the clutch or lettling off the throttle. It was only at about 2000rpm, but it sounded like the transmission dropped from under the car. I get out, and 90w is draining out the bell housing. Sounds like parts are bouncing around in the trans like popcorn. I limped the car home, but the tranny sounds like a mess and almost all the fluid drained out through the bell housing. I am sure the clutch got covered in oil. I started to pull the transmission this morning, but the manual says to pull the exhaust, and the manifold nuts are really stuck, so I am letting them soak in penetrating oil for a few days. I did pull the drain plug and it was covered in shrapnel. My questions are: 1) What could have happened that would have popped the seal (it did not leak at all before) and does that mean the housing is toast? 2) It was making a little noise in 1st-3rd, but was quiet in 4th and 5th, was this just a disaster waiting to happen? It just did not seem like that extreme of abuse to bust up a transmission. 3) I assume if oil got on the clutch that it will have to be replaced? 4) Any recommendations on a good transmission rebuild shop in Dallas, or companies that sell rebuilt units? I will pull it myself. 5) Any specific things I should think about replacing, besides throw-out bearing, pilot bearing, and maybe the clutch? Thanks.

Very nice and helpful shots. Thanks.

Great info, thanks. I will check the offset of the wheels that were included with the car. Is it correct that zero offset means the hub is centered in the wheel (same distance from the hub to the outside or inside of the rim)? C

I also have a dealer installed A/C, with a similar switch. I think it is a combination of your A and B, in that it controls how often the compressor cycles, in order to regulate the temp. I say think, as my A/C is currently not working, but a similar unit I had in another car operated in that fashion. Fan speed was controlled with the factory switch. C

Thank you sblake01. I am finding you have answers to just about everything. I found some Freeze 12 kits on eBay, and I think I will give it a shot. I have a couple of R12 cars that need a charge. Thanks. C

Where can I get more infon R414B? Do you have to replace the dryer, etc., when making the swap from R12? Thanks. C