Marty Rogan

Craig, I am doing fine, except for the long winter Z driving withdrawals. Back here we have to make do with buying parts and doing little projects to the car over the winter. This year's project is to update the suspension on the track car. It's getting all new Suspension Energy PU bushings, MSA lowering springs, new ball joints/tie rod ends and Illumina's. Plus, everything will get a couple of coats of POR-15. Well, come to think of it, it's more than a "little project"!! 5 hours of track time ...Woweee!!! That is a real bargain for $140!!! I am sure that will be great. You make me green with envy. Last time I was on the track was in October, with the Speed Seekers. It was 5 - 20 minute sessions at Road America for $175 a day. Check it out here: http://www.speedseekers.com/ That truly was a blast!!! I was looking for other events today to get back to RA. Unfortunately, it looks like Speed Seekers April event will be cancelled due to an internal squabble. Well enjoy the track time. Sounds like you will need to rest up before and after that event. Later, Marty

Hi Craig! Sounds like a great event. If I wasn't 1,500 miles away, I would be there in a heartbeat! Nice price too. How much track time will you get in? Marty

Robert, Be very careful how you take of that vinyl. Don't just yank on it an rip it off. I have heard of people ripping it off only to find that they put ripples in the metal roof. Sorry, I can't rember what the proper proceedure is. Maybe if you did a search on this site you might find something. It does look kinda distinctive against the yellow paint, but still not my style. Good luck getting it off. Marty

Well, they are just ok for me. Remember mine are on a 240Z. I can't speak for anything about a 280z. Mine are the Stage I, which are somewhat lower than the spring rates you are quoting. Don't remember the rates off the top right now. Ride and handling wise I do like them. Height wise I don't care for them much. They were supposed to lower the car by 3/4". In actual use they RAISED the car. Not sure what that is all about. Maybe its just higher than 35 year old saggy springs. Maybe it has something to do with the the Tokico HP gas shocks. I really don't know why, but I am not crazy about the look. As you can see in this pic, there is a lot of space above the tires in the wheel well. http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=7461&sort=1&cat=500&page=1 Marty

I don't know what the stock spring rates are for a 280Z. the description on the Courtesy website looks like they could be the basic stock springs. Marty

Mark, My only experience with Euro springs is on a 240Z. They are supposed to lower the car by 3/4", not sure about a 280Z. When I put mine on, they actually raised the car as compared to the old original springs. I would recommend you talk to the Performance Nissan people for more info. Are these supposed to be genuine Nissan parts? Those spring rate do sound like Stage II springs. Marty

Alan, Thanks for digging out your old part. I went back to the parts CD for a closer look. Initially I only looked at the earlier version (which is what I needed) which you don't see the take off tube very well at all. When I zoomed in on the later version, I could clearly see that the take off tube is at a 90 degree angle. In the mean time, I went to Kats website. His car is almost identical to mine, being built only a couple of months earlier. His has the take off tube at a 45 degree angle also, just like the new part I got. And we all know what a stickler for details he is!!! What really confused me was that my 70 and my early 71 (blt 1/71) both apparently got fitted with the later version of the A-B valve some where along the way. I guess that also solves the mystery of whether it will work or not. The car doesn't care which side the take off is on. It is just a matter of which is more CORRECT for the year of your car, if you even care about that. Well, I am really happy I got the right part. These things are getting like hens teeth to find. A big thanks to all of you guys for helping to figure this out. Marty Now to put that bad boy where it belongs!

The parts CD agrees with what the parts supplier is telling me. Part number wise, anyway. P/N 14835-25601 fits cars up to 6/72 P/N 14835-N3301 fits car from 7/72 The supplier compared my pictures to the stock on hand. They say that the part on the left in my picture corresponds with P/N 14835-N3301. That totally contradicts with the part Allan received. So, we have seen Nissan ship the same LOOKING part for BOTH Part numbers! Interesting, but it doesn't get me any closer to answering the original question. Which is CORRECT for a 1970 model? Secondly, will what I received actually WORK on my '70??? Unfortunately, I won't be able to try it out for another couple of months till the snow melts. Marty

Well, that's what I am trying to figure out. The one on the left came off my 6/70 car. I also have a car blt 1/71 that has the identical part. I looked at a picture of Vicky's yellow '72, which has the one on the right. The parts CD says that the later version was for cars built 7/72 and later. Unfortunately, you don't get a detailed enough picture. I am thinking that if the input/output matches the hoses, it should function properly. The only difference should be which side the center nipple points to; toward the engine, or away from it. If I have a choice, I would prefer to get the correct one. Marty

Attention all you 70 and early 71 owners! And the rest of you that enjoy getting into the nitty gritty details. I have a '70, blt 6/70 and the A-B valve quit doing its thing. This is a show car, so I trying to replace it with as correct of a part as possible. I got a hold of an NOS valve, P/N 14835-25601, which is supposed to be good up to 6/72. However, it doesn't look the same as the one that came off the car. My early 71 has a valve that is identical to the one on the 70 as well. If you look closely at the picture below, you can see the differences. The one on the left is the one that came off the car. As you can see the input/output nipples are reversed on these 2 versions. The center nipple is also offset on a 45 degree angle on the new one I got. So, which one do you have on your car? Plese specify the yeatr also. Thanks, Marty

First of all, it sounds like an interesting find and the price does not sound too bad. Secondly, if you are buying it as an investment, forget about it. You will spend tons and tons of money getting this car into "investment quality" condition. Usually, you never get back what you have put into an old car. That is just a well known fact among auto hobbyists. You should buy the car because you like it and would enjoy working on it, or enjoy driving it. IT sounds a little odd that it has rust in the dogleg and the wheel arch, but is described as having a nice paint job. Did the owner paint over the rust? Or was it stored in a damp garage and rusted after the paint was applied? So, to be nice, and to increase its value, the rust will need to be fixed, and those sections re-painted. Body work is not cheap. If the rebuilt engine is not the original engine, as confirmed by the plate attached to the strut tower in the engine bay, that knocks at least 20-30% off the value of the car, since it can never be truly "restored" to its original condition. This sounds like a decent project car, that you can enjoy working on. You may be able to put it back together without having to spend huge amounts of money, as compared to buying a car in worse condition. However, it sounds like a lot of the car is in boxes. If parts are missing, it will cost you to replace them. Parts are getting more and more expensive these days. Anyway, I don't meant to discourage you. Just buy the car for the right reasons. That you have always liked 240Z's and would enjoy driving it. Yea, its value will go up the longer you have it, provided you keep improving it. It is highly unlikely that you would actually make a profit on it though. My 2 cents. Marty

260DET, The spring rates are: Front 129 / Rear 182. I got the Illuminas from JDMwerks. They have an eBay store and list them with a Buy-it Now all the time. Do a search under 240Z and you should be able to find it easy. Marty

Hi All, Well, since I started this thread, I thought I would tell you guys what I decided to do. Koni can only replace or rebuild shocks built after May 1980. I traced mine back to 1972. So there is nothing I can do with them. Rather than paying a lot of money for another non-adjustable Koni, around $140 each, I decided to go with the Tokicko Illuminas for $365, total. I have read a lot of racers comments on them and they seem to really like them. It will be nice to have some adjustability in the suspension. So, after a bunch of research and discussion, here is the set-up that I am going with: Energy Suspension Bushings all around; 24mm front sway bar/19mm rear; MSA front strut bar (skipping the rear for now since it has an SCCA roll bar installed); MSA lowering springs (129 front/182 rear); and 5 way adjustable Illuminas. This car will be used for high speed, on track autocross duty and for street driving, probably about a 40/60 split. What do you guys think about that set-up? With all these new parts coming in, I can't wait to put it all back together and try it out. Of course, I still have to wait for this fricking snow to melt!!! Marty Hibernating in Chicago, in pieces.

Ahh, you are officially a member of the melted fuse box club!! It has happened to both my cars. Uusually the third fuse down, on the right; dash & tail lights. Last time it happened to me, I was picking up the car in another state, at the beginning of a 1,000 mile journey. Just a little something to add to the excitment! I bought the MSA box. It is a direct 1 -1 replacement, with no extra slots. The quality seems good and I have not had any problems since putting it in over a year ago. Sounds like it won't work for you, but I thought others might want to hear feedback on the MSA piece. And yes, it is high priced, but low hassle to replace. Marty

Just thought I would throw in my experience for reference. I have had them on my show car for about 5 years. Have had no issues whatsoever. It is very true that you don't want to hamfist them as they WILL break. I have had them on my race car for about a year and a half. Again, no issues. If you do alot of bleeding, I recommend getting the tube of sealant to re-caulk the threads occasionally. I also recommend the optional clear fluid collection bag. I bought a 10' section of tight fitting clear tubing and connect it to the collection bag. I can attach it to any corner of the car and watch the fluid flow into the bag, right from the driver's seat. You can easily see when the bubbles stop. This set-up has worked great for me. I have also put them on all of the other bleeders on the car: master cylinder, and clutch slave. To each his own, but I like them alot. Marty

Curtis/All, Thanks for the reply. I spoke to tech support at Koni USA. He confirmed that not rebounding would be normal for an oil shock. He also said that the bubbling up may be normal. IF they are leaking, oil would be dripping down the side. He said there really isn't a way to test them without a special machine. Having them rebuilt is $140 + parts. Incidentially, he said that they started making them for the 240Z again beginning last year. P/N's are: Front 861811 and Rear 861812, about $140/ea. Available from Classicgarage.com. So its actually cheaper to just buy new ones. He also said that if they were built after May of 1980, that they would replace them under warranty, with a receipt or proof of the date of install. There is a 3 digit date code on them that they can decode if you call them with it. You can contact Koni USA at (859) 586-4100. I guess I'll pull one out of the tube and check the date code. Marty

Anybody know where you could get Koni's rebuilt in the USA and how much it might cost? I suspect that I would probably be better off just replacing them, but would like to explore my options. I was really hoping to stick with the Koni's. Marty

I am working on the suspension on the '71 that I bought last year. Putting PU bushings and re-doing the tie rods, ball joints. From the receipts I got with it, the PO put in some Koni red shocks, around 20+ years ago. I am wondering if they are still good. The car handles well and seems to ride fine. I had a set on my first Z in the early '80's and recall something about being a "lifetime shock". Aren't they adjustable in some way as they get older? I pushed the pistons down and they stayed there. Aren't they supposed to rebound back out? Also one of the rears seemed to have bubbles escaping next to the piston. I figured that couldn't be a good sign. Probably leaking? LEt me know what you think. Marty

Thanks for the tips Ron! Marty

Hi Ron, I just pulled the rear struts out yesterday to start on this job. What did you use to reduce the bushing size? On the Energy Suspension bushings, do you keep the OEM outer bushing casings, or cut them out? TIA, Marty

Try Zbarn: http://www.zbarn.com/ I believe I read one of our members got this part from them. They are in the Southeast and may have some rust free shells left. Good luck, Marty

I had one of those on my first 240Z, back in the early '80's. It's the Datsun equivalent to the grille Badges you see on Mercedes. Is it worth anything? Well, I 'll give you $2 for it, for 100% profit!! Marty

Where the heck is Cambridge Ontario? Do you know if there are duties charged on used auto parts?

It helps a bit. The 79 280ZX trans was more similar to the 75-78. 80-83's were a different trans. Any crunching of synchros afterthe rebuild? Is that $600 Canadian? Where are you located? Marty

What year car is the 5 spd out of? What was done to it during the rebuild? TIA, Marty