Marty Rogan

I am preparing to put a "78 5 Spd into my early '71. I have already obtained a shifter, with the proper bends to avoid hitting the trans tunnel. One thing that I need to confirm, is what clutch slave to use. From what I have researched so far, I believe I should keep the 240Z adjustable slave, correct??? I am keeping the 240Z clutch/throw-out bearing. TIA, Marty

Vicky, You took the words right out of my mouth! This color looks way better on an early Z than a 350Z. I like the body kit too. Anything to get rid of those huge 280Z bumpers! Very nice job! Marty

I just bought a nice set of Moog ball joints the other day at Car Quest for about $50 a piece. My memory is slipping here. Isn't it the size of the tie rods ends that changed? I got a set of later knuckles from Z Barn pretty cheap. The knuckles off a '73 will work fine for you. Marty

marimus, If you are getting the painting labor for free, you are crazy not to have the engine bay painted! It is some work to do, but it is totally worth it. You will need to remove the engine and trans. Remove everything else in the engine bay attached to a painted surface. The brake and fuel lines can be left attached, but move them away from the painted surface toward the center of the car. You will need to scrub the hell out of the engine bay. And then scrub it again. You don't want to get any fish eyes in that new beautiful paint. By the way, my '70 is painted that Ford color too. I believe it is called Ford Midnight Blue. My wife's van is the Toyota Blue, which is nice. It just does not compare to the Ford blue when in the sun though. That is just brilliant. check my gallery for mor pics. But, its up to your perferences, it's your car. Marty

The rule book does look pretty daunting, but you have to realize that it has to cover a wide range of cars, W2W and autocross. The part that applies to your car is a lot shorter. It's focus is safety and fair competition. MC has decent tech inspectors. Again, the focus of MC is to have fun racing, at a low cost. It is run by people who enjoy racing, and staffed by volunteers, who are mostly racers themselves. They aren't there to ruin your day, but they do insist on safety for you and the others out on the track with you. I will be running in their Time Attack Autocross in C modified (CM). I believe the W2W Z's do run in IT. Do you have an SCCA License? I believe they honor that. A great way to check out MC would be to attend one of our 3 driver's schools. The first one is April 9/10, with W2W races on the 10th. They have a mandatory classroom session usually the week prior. There are several Z's running in MC. I believe I have seen 3-4 W2W racers, and there are about 6 or so running AX. Come on up and check it out! Hope to see you at the track. Let me know if you sign up for a date. Marty

Capt Mark, Check out ebay. I got a master set of Energy Suspension PU bushings for about $135. As far as shocks go, I would match up the Koni's for the front. As long as you will have the whole suspension pulled out of the car, you might as well put in new ball joints and tie rods too. Once done you shouldn't have to touch it again for a very long time. Marty

Hey Sopwith21, If you are looking for new group to race with, you should look into Midwest Council: http://my.execpc.com/~mcscc/index.html It is made up of 9 Clubs of all volunteers whose sole purpose in life is to get the best racing experience at the cheapest cost. I have been racing with them for 2 years now and I have found them to be a real friendly group. On the couple of times that I was having car trouble, several people came by to offer help, tools and even Z parts when I needed them. They usually have a nice beer and pizza gathering at the end of the day too. Don't get me wrong, despite the laid back attitude, these guys are serious about their racing too. The events are very well run and they are going to several new tracks this year. I see that you are in Indy. That's not to far away. We have people that drive in from St. Louis, Minnesota, Michigan and other far away places. Can't wait for the racing season to start!!! Marty

Well, its a big PITA to change the bushings, but well worth it. You can get a set of polyurethane Energy Suspension bushings (Master Kit) for between $135 - 150 on ebay. Installation can be done yourself if you are handy. Do a search on the website for bushings, as it has been discussed a lot. I am in the middle of my second suspension rebuild and it can be time consuming if you have to do it part time. If you take it to a mechanic, they will likely charge around $1,800 for the job. Maybe less depending where you are in the country and if you shop around. Marty

Here's a shot of my car. It's not the lime yellow, it's the more true yellow color with silver Panasports. Not exactly the same, but it should give you a pretty good idea. The gun metal Rewinds look like my Pana's with a healthy dose of brake dust. Personally, I like the silver look a lot better. Marty

Like Bambikiller said, you won't notice any difference with a header, except for added noise and potential exhaust leaks. Datsun actually did a pretty good job on the flow in the stock manifold. keep it. Get 2 1/4" pipes bent and install a nice turbo muffler. This will let the car breathe a little better and provide a nice sound as a bonus. Stay away from 2 1/2" pipes, since they tend to have a booming sound at around 2500 RPM. Marty

ezzzzz, I am sure no expert on diffs either, but have been trying to learn more lately. I believe the CV type have half shafts that snap into the diff, on the diff end and bolt onto the wheel flanges on the other end. The other type bolt on at both ends. Do you have an early or late '71?? I am curious to find out more about the shifter on your 5spd. The description of your shifter sounds like an early A type tranny shifter (cone shaped rubber grommets?). However, I don't think that would bolt up to a 5 spd trans. What do you mean by a "non-dogleg 5 spd"? I have an early '71 that I have looking into installing a 5spd from a '78. I have located a stick shift that has been bent into and "S" shape, bcause I really don't want to cut into the trans tunnel and console. If you switch to the CV type diff, let me know, I might be interested in your old one. Marty

Yes 1.25 is the pitch. I found my bolts at the local Ace Hardware. I would recommend that you replace the brake hoses to stainless steel lines while you are in there. They really help firm up the pedal feel. I would also pick up a set of Speed Bleeders. You will be doing a lot of bleeding to get all the air out with this set up. Speed Bleeders allow you to do the job without an assistant. I also recommend that you get a 10ft length of clear tubing and their collection bag. This allows you to sit in the drivers seat and pump the brakes to your hearts content, till you don't see any more air bubbles coming up the tube. Check here: http://www.speedbleeder.com/ I also used Axxis Ultimate pads, which are a kevlar/ceramic compound. It gives outstanding stopping performance. You'll love it. Good luck and welcome to the club. Marty

Dreco, Just one more thought. Are you sure its tranny fluid? If the rear main seal on the engine goes, you can get engine oil in the bell housing. It usually wrecks your clutch too. Marty

Schevets, Definitely use hardened bolts like Beandip said. I bought a 4 legged stand, but I still did not like the way it sat bolted up to the tranny bolt holes. It felt very tippy. I removed the alternator suport brackets and was able to bolt the stand to the side of the engine. It was much more stable and I was able to roll it around easily. You definitely need to go slowly and watch for pebbles and floor cracks when wheeling it around. Good luck! Marty

If it only had 5,800 actual miles, why would it need to be restored? Seems like it would only need to replace the items that deteriorate from sitting. My money's on 105,800 miles. Marty

I would be very helpful to us if you could post the guys name, address, website and contact information also. Thanks, Marty

Hi Kats, Great films, thanks for sharing them with us!!! Do you have any information about what happened to these test cars after they completed the tests? Marty