Oiluj

We bought a nice eliptical trainer, and the bide got me two books on aircraft cockpits from the Wright Bros to the SST. Very interesting!

You mean I should be putting oil in my engine? So THAT'S what I've been doing wrong! *grin* Seriously, I've always had good experience using Catrol 10-30 in my current and past Z's. Probably better alternatives, but it's worked well for me with no unexpected engine wear issues. Caveats: Outside of the ocassional autocross, I don't race my cars and live in a moderate climate. No snow and it rarely tops 100 degrees F. YMMV...

First, I agree with pointing him to the search section, then invite questions after he's done some research. That approach has worked well for me. From what I've read, gas shocks will tend to push-up, providing less lowering than hydraulic shocks with the same springs. I installed the eibach springs with tokico blues on my 240Z. Back springs lowered the car about 3/4". The fronts did not lower at all. Turned-out I was sent the 280 front springs... I just used a dremel tool and carbide cutting wheels to trim the front springs one coil. Problem solved. No obvious negative effects on handling and the car rides fine. Over the small bumbs, much different ride quality than the stock springs. One caution: Going with the heavier MSA front sway bar did make the ride noticably harsher. She corners much flatter, so from the driver's seat, it was a good trade-off.

Very nice looking car. The bumpers look great. It's better looking than mine when I bought her!

5-Speed will be on next year's version. It's not installed yet.

Attached is the Capri wine label. My wife assembled it. She's much better with graphic programs than I am and it shows... It came out much better than the Z label.

Good info.

Nope, I'm not. But that's why this type of thing takes me so-oo long to do... Thanks!

Alan, I think Porsches to be well engineered vehicles and as a mechanical engineer have great respect for their design. However, I'm not counted amoung the cadre that "worship" them. Neither do I think that our classic Z's are more than what they are. The 914, 914-6, 912 & 911T were indeed "Porsche" vehicles that the early, less expensive Z did trounce within it's class for several years running. That's not Porsche bashing, it's history. Without any supporting data or documentation, whether this had an impact on Porsche's design or not is a matter of truely unqualified opinion. I think it probably did, you don't. I have no problem with that. If anything, your comments disasscoiating the 914-6 as a Porsche product sounds a little bit like 911 snobbery to me... However, as you pointed out, Porsche is often considered to be a "benchmark" sports car brand. That's why it was pointed out in the M&S article that the Z beat the Porsches. To be compared against a superior product is actually a compliment to the Porsche brand. My posts have obviously hit a raw nerve for you. Sorry about that. This simple difference of opinion has taken-up too much bandwidth already, so this is my last post on the subject.

Must be a hood damage virus going around. Called my buddy and he told me he "dinged" his freshly painted hood installing the rebuilt engine in his 70 Capri. The hood has to go back to the body & paint shop. Bummer!

Put together a few "Z" zinfindel wine labels to give as gifts to a couple gear head buddys. (The shift pattern is actually straight, though it looks crooked in the pic)., Did this before when I owned my 1960 MG: "MGA Merlot". It was actually a much cooler than the Z label, as it was octagon shaped to mimic the MG logo. Next is a Capri chardonney label for my buddy who's doing a cosmetic restoration of a 70 Capri.

FastWoman, I perceive you to be like Arne in that you take care of your cars. One thing I can say is that not all dealer mechanics are created equal. I've seen some real "certified" hacks over the years.

Congrats! I really like that color on the 370.

Very Creative! I'd switch-out the coat hanger wire for hard music wire. It's far less likely to fatigue.

Welcome to the club. Z's are great, fun cars. Look for as rust-free an chassis as you can find, unless you have sheetmetal/welding skills. Otherwise it can get pretty expensive. Good luch with the car!

Arne, One observation. You are a "car guy", do much of your own work and take very good care of your cars. I'd venture a guess that many Bimmer owners never look under the hood after they buy one, then expect Honda/Toyota reliability and just drive them till they break. That might explain the difference in your experience. Same could be said for many cars. British cars had a terrible reliability reputation in the US. I found my MGA to be very reliable, but understood that it required more maintenance than the average Toyota to achieve that level of reliability. Just my 2 cents.

Everything Carl said. Don't give-up your leverage with the insurance company! Worry about health first, but I hope you get what she is/was worth.

Interesting..., With exception of the 550, I never followed much Porsche history and would like to hear more about this. To be clear, I never intended to suggest that our inexpensive, Nipponese, everyman's sports cars were in the same class as the "highest-end" cars of the day. Just that they were more than competitive when compared to their immediate rivals. That means cars within the same category. That's why we have sports car classes that limit competition between cars of similar displacement / power. What was the price differential between the our little, tinny, upstart Z's and to what you refer to as Porsche's "finest" road cars? 2X? 3X? I submit that these cars were not direct competitors, any more than a 911 compared with a supercar like the Veyron. So I respectfully submit that within their class, the early Z's did, in fact, kick arse. Not to mention that they also did very well in the marketplace... That's why I logically infer that a major competitor like Porsche would take notice and review the performance of their product offerings in the low-end sports car market. I think there is validity to both our positions and I do respect your posting. I'm really not trying to convince you of anything, just stating my singular opinion. If we have a difference of opinion, that's OK.

From a recent R&T article: "at the SCCA’s 1970 American Road Race of Champions held at Road Atlanta (the precursor to the Runoffs), Morton’s C Production BRE Z won easily, defeating the likes of Bob Tullius and Lee Mueller in Triumph TR-6s, Alan Johnson in a Ginther-prepared Porsche 914-6 and Bob Sharp, who was building 240Zs out of his shop in Connecticut. Quite a debut for the BRE car and the sleek new Z in general, which swept the top three positions that fall day at Road Atlanta. And the following year, it seemed that the harder the Zs pushed, the more the Triumphs and Porsches broke. At the 1971 ARRC, two BRE 240Zs (Morton and Dan Parkinson) were on the front row, alongside Sharp. Allan Girdler, reporting in our March 1972 issue, described Morton’s winning drive: “[He] put on an exhibition, leading all the way in his routine madman style and power always fully on, into each corner at seemingly impossible speed, out with wildly spinning tires, using all the road in the process.” All told, Datsun Zs went on to win 10 straight SCCA C Production titles" I'd say that says it all...

Oh, the humanity! That's a complete bummer and I know *exactly* how you feel. I chipped the paint when installing the rear tail-light facia and had to do a touch-up. Also put two scratches in my freshly painted engine compartment that I can't touch-up. I've come to think of them as my "personalization" of the car. Hopefully the chip in your hood will touch-up & buff-out OK.

Our 240Z's had matching paint in the engine copartments. However, many domestic cars of the same time period had matte black engine compartments, regardless of the exterior paint color. If I recall correctly, for some "show" Mustangs, the paint shop has to replicate the correct amont of black overspray at the base of the firewall or they lose points. Also, exterior paint surface finish is supposed replicate the correct amount of orange-peel.

No first hand ownership experience with Bimmers. However, many of my friends and co-workers own or have owned one. They drive very well, but without exception, reliability compares poorly to our older Lexus's and they seem much more expensive to maintain. In fact, in 2007 Design Engineering magazine, a cover article showed a picture of a 1997 Lexus ES300 with the caption": "Why does a 10 year old Lexus have better reliability than a brand new BMW?" An iInteresting read.

Having been a big Brit car fan when I was younger, I always thought the TR6 & GT6 to be lovely. I never really liked the early 70's 912/911 styling. Can't say why, but I was attracted to the boxy look of the 914. However, to my eye, compared to the lines of the 240Z, none of the German designs measured-up. * This was 8 years before I got my first 240Z. Today, I prefer the look of the Cayman over the "bigger" Porsches. Just looks and feels more like a "sports car" to me. In terms of performance, I think the Z is what inspired Porsche to increase the performance of thier cars. Nothing like getting your arse kicked by a cheap, tin Japanese upstart to make a world-recognized sports car manufacturer improve their designs...

Yep! Before next Spring I plan to install my rebuilt 5-speed. It just needs to get a bit warmer before I want to lay on my garage floor.

After 17 years of ownership of my 60' MGA, I made a few bucks when I sold it, but basically broke even. I've probably got more $ in 240Z than I can expect to get for her in probably 10 years. However, that's not why most of us own these cars. Like my MG, (but more so), I expect to get more than my investment back in the sheer enjoyment of driving my classic Z.