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Installed Eibach progressive rate springs and Tokico HP strut cartridges in the rear suspension last weekend. With the struts out, I painted the undercoated wheel wells with Rustoleum silver metallic, followed by a coat of clear before reinstalling the suspension components. Also almost completed the headlight harness upgrade while waiting for the paint to dry on Saturday. Since most of my rubber suspension bushings still look good, I decided not to switch them out with poly at this time. I’ll see how it “feels” before making that decision. I can always do that during the rainy season, if required. The front struts are out of the car and the larger front sway bar from MSA is in-place. It really is much larger, making me glad I had a few extra welds added to the frame in that area. My plan, (subject to my wife’s plans for me), is to install the front suspension and four piston front brakes this coming weekend. After installation of the front suspension comes the task of disassembling the rear axles. They don't appear to have ever been touched, so after almost 36years, I expect this may be a difficult and time consuming task. I need to do this in order to install the rear disc brake kit. It will also give me a chance to inspect & service the rear wheel bearings.. Could be interesting… The engine is done and waiting to go on the dyno at Rebello Racing. I’m really looking forward to seeing how she runs! Should get it back next week. That’s it for now. More to come…

Welcome Jumbo Jet. I'm in the process of restoring a 72' 240Z. My advice is to buy the best condition car you can find / afford, (no rust or major body work, good engine, etc). It will cost more up-front, but will probably save you money, time and frustration. Do a search on restoration costs in the archives. It will help you with planning. To give you an idea of my restoration cost experience: Caveat 1: I'm on the left coast near San Francisco where labor prices are higher than some parts of the country. Caveat 2: I'm adding a number of upgrades that would not be required for a "stock" restoration. I spent $7.5K on paint and it looks good, but a show quality job would probably have cost $9K. I'm spending just over $4K on a Rebello Racing engine upgrade. My engine ran fine, I just wanted more power. Spent $2K on suspension upgrades and another 1.5K on new wheels & tires. Interior uhpolstery, carpet and misc panels were about $1.5K total. (Changed the interior color & had to replace all vinyl and plastic panels). I have also spent about $500 for incidental expenses & small items, (and also lost a couple hundred in "mistakes" along the way). Hope this helps!

I've got the MSA spook. It's attached w/ 6 fasteners and fits petty well. Construction seems fine, though Les's might be made a bit heavier. I got the ducted version, with the intent of "someday" putting driving lights in the vent pockets.

My previopus 240's never had that problem, at least up to 75 mph... Never tried rolling windows up beyond that speed.

I saw an eBay listing for a "solid" billet (metal) front differential mount. It would certainly eliminate movement, but I'm thinking it could be pretty harsh and might require precise alignment of the driveshaft. My guess is it might be OK for a dedicated track car, but not that great on the street. Just installed a new "stock" rubber front mount on mine. Not considering a switch, just curious what others think...

Hi All, 1) Anyone know of a source for 240Z the diamond pattern vinyl? The rear kit I bought from MSA fits poorly and two pieces are undersized. Given this, I think I'd be better off making new pieces from vinyl stock. I actually sew pretty well... 2) I decided to make & install my own door pillar vinyl and upper front trim pieces from vinyl stock. Problem is, it's one of the few areas of the car for which I don't have pics. I searched the forum gallery, but could not find any. Specifically, I'm looking for how the front vinyl piece above the windshield and the front pillar vinyl come together, just outboard of the visor mount. (One piece needs to overlap the other). Can someone please take a pic of this area on their 240Z? Thanks in Advance!

Fixitman, I'm planning on going 2" or 2-1/4" and I have a good custom muffler shop nearby. I really don't need stainless, but it sure is is pretty! I live in the SF Bay area & I don't plan on driving the car when it's wet or raining. I'll PM you regarding the Borla parts as I get closer to completion. That is a very nice looking engine bay as well! Thanks,

Welcome!

Wow! That's Nice! Please let us know how it sounds, how, loud, etc, as I'll be putting a new exhaust in mine within the next 6 weeks. Also, that undercarrige is clean enought to eat on!

I live in northern California. On my previous, (non A/C), Z, the addition rear window louvers dropped the interior summer temperature over 10 degrees.

Welcme to the forum. It's a great place with lots of useful information.

Thanks John, You beat me to it...

"Most" of us 'mericans & our kids....*grin*_____Of course , I guess that don't count if you consider they's been eat'n imported fur'n food. Sorry, I just couldn't resist!

Sounds like a good candidate for a repro part! Once you make the die, they would be very cheap to make.

Being one of the "back pressure guys" in the poll, I'll give my thoughts... 1) As has been stated above, I think it's more an issue of semantics, not interpretation or analysis of technical data. 2) If "zero" back pressure is ideal, why have exhaust manifolds and exhaust systems at all? In fact, why don't all race cars have no exhaust systems? My understanding is that you can "tune" the exhaust system using a combination of variables to maintain flow to help "scavage" the exhaust gases to achieve optimal performance within a specific power band. Like most things, one size does not fit all. 3) Then there is the more "aesthetic" nature of the sound produced and personal preferences. For example, I want a more restrained exhaust note, and don't want my car to sound like a high school kid's car... That will affect the design and effieciency of my exhaust system. 4) Lastly, there's the local noise law issues...Moving violations anyone? From what I've seen, I believe there is as almost as much art as science to exhaust system design. Having performed fluid flow analysis in the past, I found that sometimes there are almost as many "assumptions" as known or predictive variables in the calculations. Just my 2 cents...

Sweet!

If you are not worried about originality, why not go with the larger 73-78 master vac? That's what I did. Requires drilling 4 holes in the firewall, but it provides more boost. Did that on my previous, (1971), Z and was happy with the result.

The ones I got from MSA are the correct metric thread and grade. Plus, I could just buy what was missing, not a whole set. The PO had replaced two with close SAE fasteners. I bought 4 to have a couple extras.

Installed my differential this morning. However, during the process, it slipped off the floor jack that was supporting it and smashed down onto my middle ring finger. It hurt a bit, but the nitrile glove I was wearing wasn't torn and I could still move the finger so I knew it wasn't broken. I went on to muscle the differential in place without using the floor jack and completed the installation. During the process I noticed some blood leaking from the glove onto my wrist. It was almost done, so I went ahead and completd the job. Afterwards, I took the glove off and found a pretty nasty, (and deep), flesh wound on the underside, middle pad of the finger. So I cleaned-up and drove over to the emergency room at the local hospital. I got home two hours and 4 stitches later. It will be a week before I can do any work on the car that requires stressing that finger... Oh well, guess I needed a break!

Also, verify the pads are clean. If not, spray them liberally with brakeclean and "very lightly" scuff them up with fine emery paper. Do it outside and don't breathe the dust.

Here's what I did... Here's a pic of the exhaust air tube plugs I got from McMaster-Carr. They are 1/4" BSPT hex head and I think they look pretty nice. Use a little high temp thread sealant when you install them. With that big hex head, I'll be able to remove them if required...

Congrats and welcome to the club!

Just an FYI. McMaster didn’t have the “exact” metric partially threaded bolt size for my half-shafts. And I wasn’t willing to pay $28 plus $12 shipping to ***dat on eBay for a set. So when ordering my new diff mount, I asked MSA about availability of half-shaft bolts. While they don’t show them in their catalog, they got me bolts for $1.80 each and nuts for $.80 each. Much lower cost! (and I only had to buy how many I needed, not a whole set). Just shows it does'nt hurt to ask...

Welcome! This site is inhabited by great people and contains a wealth of knowledge. I have found everyone to be extremely hepful in my restoration.

Yeah, But yours looks like a concours level restoration. Mine's not. Looks fantastic!