sdaughtry

Is it something like this that I found on eBay (via Google), and if so, do you know if the big-box auto stores (e.g. O-Reilley's; Autozone) would have something similar: Performance Tool Door Handle and Window Crank Removal Tool ea W80646 | eBay

Hi Jim - I'm using the clips that were included with the NOS window crank handles, and i had ordered an additional set of clips from MSA...

I will definitely try the thin rag trick - we tried a dozen times or so with putting the retaining "U" shaped clip onto the handle, slid the window crank onto the regulator (with me standing on the opposite side of the door/leaning through the window opening/pulling inward on the door panel to make the regulator visible) and then pushing on the window crank to try to get it to 'snap' into place... didn't work... time to look through the rag box <g>.

I have new door panels installed on my '73; I purchased NOS window crank handles but cannot get them to stay on the regulator. I pushed inward on the door panel as much as I could and slid the window crank handle (with the retaining pin inserted onto the back side of the handle) onto the regulator, but I don't see how I can force the retaining pin downward to secure it onto the regulator. Is there some nifty trick/tool that I need to use to get the crank handle to stay on <g>?

My Z is now out of paint and awaiting some finish fine tuning - and time to address another problem <g>. The previous owner decided to fill in the emblem mounting holes on both fenders + the hatch - does anyone have the schematic (for lack of better terminology) on _where_ the emblem holes were originally located on the fenders/hatch so I get the placement correct the first time + what is the diameter of the mounting holes for the fender/hatch emblems?

I will definitely check the bolts - there is no horizontal slop whatsoever, only vertical. The driver's side cannot be budged at all - if the hood spring was weak/dying wouldn't both hinges have slop in them?

Passenger side hood hinge - when the hood is shut if I grab the front of the passenger side hood near the headlight bucket I can wiggle it up & down probably 2" - the driver's side has absolutely zero 'vertical slop' whatsoever. Any idea if this is an adjustment issue (and where do I start) or is this refurbished hood hinge shot and it's time to scrounge up a new hinge? I thank you in advance for reading/replying!

The paint was bought from NAPA this afternoon - according to their computer, the 901 Datsun is identical to what BMW used from 1973-1984. Paint will hopefully be sprayed Monday (providing the weather is warm enough here in Albuquerque). Will post pics after the paint is applied - I've never seen a true factory 901 painted Datsun so I'm mentally picturing the toolbox lids behind my seats (perfect shape - assume factory painted - minus the metal flake) to be a true indicator..

Your ZED is exactly the look I am going for.. it's my understanding the paint used a few decades back can't even be purchased any more (due to EPA regulations) - not to mention that Datsun back in the 1970's probably didn't put a whole lot of effort into paint to increase profits <g>. Matching paint seems to be a science - I've had a WRX STi and a Dodge Challenger 392 repainted in the past couple of years - the STi was jacked up (they didn't match the silver perfectly - and the body/paint shop was a Big Three car dealer) and the 392 they sweated matching the paint for a week straight, as the computer's formula produced paint that wasn't a perfect match - they had to eventually produce small batches and then eyeball the color to match the rest of the car. Your car is stunning, and hopefully the effort being put into mine by a very meticulous professional that I stumbled onto here in town will make me proud <g>!

My car is nearly ready for primer; will be sprayed next week. I have some pics of 901 silver colored 240's downloaded to determine how close the formula matches. I will let you know!

Found it! http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/body-paint-s30/33061-ppg-paint-mixtures-color-code-901-32910-light-grey-poly.html Thank you EuroDat for your posts!

Greetings - thank you for the quick reply. Could you provide a correct link to that thread - the one you have above doesn't go anywhere

I searched the forum and learned two things: 1. The interior metal components (e.g. tool lid cover) with the factory silver is NOT the same as what was originally sprayed on my '73 exterior (which shows 901 paint code on the engine bay sticker). My car has been resprayed sometime during it's life a metallic silver, but it wasn't a quality paint job. 2. No posts shared how fellow ZED owners matched up their 901 silver when they purchased their paint. My car is currently in the body shop to get straightened / painted - I am sticking with the factory 901 color. What I am hopeful for is someone can help me with some type of paint code that the paint supplier will be able to use to get the Datsun Silver Metallic 901 color right the first time. I've looked all over the Internet (thank you Google) but that one piece of information has thus far been elusive. I believe my body shop craftsman purchases his paint from the local Albuquerque NAPA store... don't know if that helps. I thank you in advance for reading through this post and taking the time to reply

Bruce - your recommendation worked like a charm - idle now raises about 400 RPM when the choke lever is completely pulled backwards after trimming the rubber off the end of the cable housing. Thank you!!!

I recently purchased an item from him on eBay - easy transaction, arrived quickly, and he is willing to provide adt'l information about the item he sold to me.

Bruce: I bought a NOS 1973 choke cable assembly from MSA about 2 years ago and had it installed when the existing choke cable snapped (where it bends in the "U" shape under the lever). Are you talking about shortening the cables where they attach to the carbs? Esmit208: I relocated the choke lever because I didn't want to snap the plastic center console - I could feel the choke lever twisting to the right when I pulled back the lever - I used the same design posted elsewhere on this forum to secure the choke assembly to the center console - it wasn't for aestetics

Possibly answered on the forum but I couldn't find it. My 1973 has ZTherapy carbs & a new choke cable assembly. I had my mechanic reposition the choke lever off of the plastic center console and onto the tranny tunnel. Prior to this work, when I moved the choke lever all the way back it would raise my idle speed (which I need when the car is cold - otherwise she wants to die); now moving the choke lever doesn't affect idle speed. My $1,000,000 question - SHOULD the choke lever also raise the idle speed (meaning that he didn't correctly adjust the choke cables)?

I see lots of posts regarding exhausts / cabin fumes, but no real consensus on how far the exhaust tip should extend from under the car. the 3 possibilities are: a) Stop short of the rear bumper Flush with the rear bumper c) Extend past the rear bumper I am redoing my exhaust system at current - the Flowmaster I had installed two years ago was so boomy that I grew tired of it and had a turbo muffler installed. I have a chrome tip (angle cut) picked out for it, but would like to ensure I have it welded on at the optimum length to not aggravate cabin fume problems while I have the opportunity. Thoughts anyone?

All, I picked up two mint condition tail light panels (that flank the center license plate). Looking at pieces, it APPEARS that the only thing holding on these two panels are small "rivets" that are similar to the interior black plastic rivets (that I used a pushpin to push out the center pin and then remove the rivet) that are positioned in a row at the top of the panels (visible when the hatch is in the "up" position). Is removal of the tail light panels just as easy, or is there something else to be aware of (yes - I'm learning to ask questions before blindly charging forward to start removnig bolts & screws <g>).

I purchased the Eiko A-72 bulbs from PlanetBulb - dirt cheap bulbs that arrived super quick. Mechanic swapped out the MSA bulbs for the fuel/oil pressure/clock with the Eiko and left the MSA bulbs for the tach and speedo. No more flickering or non-functional lights in my dashboard!

There are several posts contained in the forums that describe a choke bracket to remount the choke lever onto the transmission tunnel. My choke lever is getting very difficult to operate in it's factory location and weather is getting cold enough to mandate the use of the choke in the mornings.. Does anyone have one of these aluminum brackets available for sale that they are willing to part with? The link is here: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=15825&d=1167590642 I'm surprised that MSA (or an enterprising Z owner) hasn't jumped on this opportunity - especially since every 240Z seems to be afflicted with this problem <g>

I would guesstimate probably 7k miles at most... if it was a weekend toy I would have kept the car, but as a daily driver it became almost unbearable and very inconvienient. At least Nissan improved the cargo storage space compared to the 350Z <g>.

I owned a 370Z Touring Edition for 6+ months; extremely fast car with great cornering (once I figured out how the car dug in and pivoted in tight corners). Gorgeous blue paint; loved the rims. Very difficult to put in an aftermarket audiophile quality stereo system (limited space); horrible seats (e.g. if you pressed your head backwards into the head rest the middle of the seat would buckle backwards; very thin padding) that became very painful after 120+ minutes of nonstop driving. Very noisy interior that droned on highways; I ended up driving with my left arm on top of the door panel - my elbow ended up creating a permanent dent in the door panel that would not pop up. I had memorized every bump in the road on my daily commute to / from work. The decision to trade her in was when I purchased a new vacuum cleaner from Costco and the box simply would not fit in the car.. Car & Driver / Motor Trend usually beat up on the 370's V-6 as sounding like a tractor engine - I didn't think it sounded that bad (a bit thrashy at upper RPM levels), and the exhaust note was pretty good for stock exhaust system. Very crowded engine compartment. Beware of the car's pitiful resale value - even though the car's Kelly price was decent, I took a BATH on that car - every dealer in Albuquerque would not go higher than $15k trade-in on that car - the local Dodge dealer finally agreed to $16k that I demanded... a far cry from what I paid for her. And that car sat on the Dodge dealer's lot for 3+ months before it was finally sold... the local Nissan dealer's laughed when Dodge offered the car for them, as they can't move new 370's in the local market.

My '73 (being an Illinois car originally) has rust bubbles on the bottom of each door - I have no idea how deep the rust actually is. An additional problem with each door is a previous owner installed the horizontal exterior metal door guards (the ones that would accept the brunt of a car door smacking your car door) - instead of properly filling in the holes when he/she removed those protective strips, one can clearly see (when standing at angle facing the car) where the holes were. One last problem is where the window crank handles are attached into each door panel - I purchased NOS window crank handles to replace the crummy wood handled/chrome plated abominations (that fasten with an allen head set screw) - the clips that hold the NOS handles on won't stay fastened and I had to keep the aftermarket window crank handles in place. Not 100% sure what is going on there, but the mechanic said something about the window components being stripped and the clips wouldn't stay in place, and I'm unsure what parts need swapped internally to allow me to use my NOS window crank handles. Several years ago I purchased two gutted doors (i.e. the complete door, minus the door "guts") that stumbled across my path that were 100% dent and rust free. The $1,000,000 question is this: is it gonna be cheaper to have the doors swapped / the door guts transferred from the old doors to the new door shells OR will it be cheaper to have the body shop repair the bottom of each door with fresh metal? Thoughts anyone?

Here is what the fix ended up: the Pilot Bushing was too small in diameter to accept the Pilot Bearing that was provided in MSA's all-in-one clutch kit - the mechanic had to swap it out with a Timken PB22 Pilot Bearing. Everything slid into place like it should have with the Timken in place..