Oiluj

It's might be OK, but I'd do some serious homework on the quality of the oil before putting it in my car. A transmission rebuild costs about $1,000, and I "know" Redline is a good product...

I kinda like them, but to me, it's really just a "personal preference" decision. Unless you are trying to keep the car "original", it's your call.

Went to look at a 77 280Z last night for my great nephew. He really wants a Z, but has a very limited budget. Car had lots of rust, but nothing unexpected at the very low price. Engine needed a tune-up, but otherwise looked & sounded fine. Needed new brakes or a brake re-build, but again, nothing we couldn't fix over the weekend. Interior needed a lot of work, but was usable. "Deal Killer" was the tranny sounded like it was full of loose gravel. If the noise had only been in 1st & third, I would have figured it was just the idler gear, but it made same noise in 2nd & 3rd... He's stil looking…

Go back to the basics. First, verify that you get voltage to the tail-light connectors. If you have voltage at the connectors, then just run 12V from the battery to the tail-lights to see what's working and what's not.

I LOVE the Volvo P1800 wagons, but that would be like having another Z...

Redline MT90

Well technically, not my Z... Starting to reassemble my neighbor's 72 240Z Automatic. Polished-up all the exterior lights, installed drip mouldings, adjusted one window mechanism, installed side lights & front parking lights. Doing it a liitle at a time as I have time. Plan to have it put together and on the road in about 2 months (or less).

Never been much of a Bimmer fan. I know some have reported having good luck with them, but literally everyone I know that has one has experienced poor reliability & high maintenance cost issues. But they all like the way they drive. In 2007, Design Engineering magazine had a picture of a 1997 Lexus ES 300 on the cover. Title of the article was: "Why does a 10 year old Lexus have better reliability than a brand new BMW"". I also feel the same concern as Arne describes above when I drive & park my 240Z. I'm cognizant that some idiot could hit me and total my car, which takes a little of the enjoyment out of using it. But they are meant to be driven, and driving it on a curvy road puts a super-wide grin on my face!

I like the 15" lemans, because they are more unique. That said, I really love my 15" Panasports...

All the ones I've seen have the vent holes. The panels are thermo-formed from a larger sheet, then hand trimmed, so there is some variation. Also, not all Z's are "exactly" the same, so the panels have a bit of extra material in spots to allow for fitting. It's just vinyl, so it's easy to trim with a sharp knife and finish the edge with a file. Fitting isn't that difficult.

Just as long as I'm not at the same beach!

does he use rapid prototyping to make the parts?

Nice looking car and I like the way she sits, but think a spook be an would improvement. Those wheels look like they are in good shapee and will polish-up nicely. The raised lettering's not my preference, but is very "period" correct. Personally, I prefer the molding because it does help protect the car from door dings... All that said, listen to everyone's advice, then make-up your own mind. It's your car after all!

They are just jealous...

An auto-cross champ I know told me it's not a big issue for the front calipers, but suggested I leave my rear drums "au natural" for heat dissipation.

Drove the Z across the Bay & Carquinez Straits bridges to my family's Easter gathering in Vallejo. Most of my family hadn't yet seen the Z on the road. Car drove great. Ended-up showing the car to various family members several times as they arrived. All approved and a couple suggested I let it "live" in thier garage. One young niece wants me to leave it to her after I can't drive anymore... Was more traffic than I anticipated, so I was being extra cautious and brought her home without a scratch. Did hit an unavoidable, "mother of all pot-holes". Steering seems fine, but it was a really a big jar and thump. Guess I'll have to take advantage of my free alignment check... Also had lots of attention on the road, including from a late 60's BMW, a pristene 60's MG and a Viper who traded "thumbs-up" signs. I found it amusing that several modern Porches and a couple "ricer" cars felt they had to accelerate and "zoom" past me at 90 MPH and then slow back down as I just drove with flow of traffic. What's up with that? They feel threatened by a 40 year old Z driven by an old guy?

How about original OEM windshields? Haven't seen one of them in a while.

Kinda depends on what you want to do with the car. If it's a daily driver or "weekend" car, the L24 is a good engine "as-is". If you want more power, dropping in a stock L28 is less expensive than building-up an L24, and has more upside potential. I went with a Rebello 2.7 upgrade of my L24 because I wanted to keep the matching #'s. Bored, stroked & head work yielded 212 HP @ 200 Ft-lbs at the crank. One thing to keep in-mind: with today's gas prices, based on my experience, an equivalent set-up L28 will typically get 1-2 fewer miles per gallon than an L24.

Yep. I've got a copy as well. Pretty good write-up from R&T when you consider it was 1970.

California passed a "safety" law requiring gas stations to provide fre air. Have to go in and ask them to turn on the power to the small compressor, but we no longer have to pay for air.

Looks like it's in good condition. Definitely worth spending a little time and money to make driveable.

Fantastic! So where are the pics?!

I didn'tack the engine up when replacing the steering rack busings. Just took some effort.

If I recall, the keys were just a "T" shape. As far as shiney goes, once the anodized finish is oxidized, not too much you can do but paint or re-plating. You can always try polishing a section on the underside to see if that will work.

I'll add that Les is a very responsible source. I had a shipping damaged parts and he took care of the problem without question. I've the good fortune to visit his shop twice, and he is a very friendly guy. His shop is always full of projects and a visit there is like a Datsun history lesson... I'll be calling him in the next couple weeks for some parts for my next door nieghbor's Z refresh.