Zedyone_kenobi

THats good to know. I was thinking somewhere in that range. Thanks very much for your quick reply.

When I bought my car, it came with panasports installed. The PO also gave me a set of 14 or 15" slotted mags that I have seen on many Z's. I have no intention on ever using them, and would like to sell them, but have no idea how much they are worth. What is a fair price. THey look fairly ding free, and come with Shelby hubcaps, but they need to be polished. Before I hit the classifieds, thought I would ask the folks in 'the know'

Kudos to you for making your Z yours! I am happy for you. Its stunning, and you should be proud.

pictures would help!:nervous:

I think these are just emissions parts. I am about ready to take them off, but want to be sure. I have looked them up in my how to restore your 240Z book, but they give little more than a name. I honestly do not see what their purpose is at this point. Perhaps they had something to do with some form of emissions equipment? The guys at hybrid Z said it has something to do with idle control? Any help would be great.

Bravo! Bravo! What an awesome garage!

From the sound of this, it sounds like I may just want to try to get a new strap and new diff mount. I may back the car against a curb and video what the diff does. If it moves, it may explain the bulk of my issues. As a rule you should always start with the simplest things first. Then work your way forward. THanks so much for your Video Steve. When I get on and off the gas like you did is when I hear my clunk. My arrestor strap when the car sits actually quite lose. I will look into the rear diff mount. If yours moves that much, then there is a good chance if mine is original, that could be the source of my problem. The more I think about it, the more I dont think its my half shafts. But we will check these out tonight. Again, thanks for going above and beyond the call of duty.

UPDATE: I pulled the distributor cap off to have a look at the pertronix and to see how the vacuum advance is working. Well, when you suck on the hose with all you have, the vacuum advance does not move. AT ALL. I can take a screwdriver and force the shaft inside the diff to move inside the diaphragm, but no amount of sucking on that darn hose moved it. I assume that a pertronics still can use a vacuum advance. So, long story short, that may account for why my car has issues revving. I will replace it and let you fellahs know. Also, the clunk in the back end that is mildly annoying may have been discovered. I posted in engine and drivetrain if your interested. have a great day!

I checked the mustache bar nuts, and they are TIGHT! however, I have not verified the integrity of my diff front mount. Thats today when I have time. AS for the half shafts. How much play should there be in the yoke coming out of the diffs in the radial direction, as in normal to the axis of rotation? When I grab mine, I can make it move, but just barely. I dont know how much slop there should be in those splines?

Well, I decided to try to tackle my rear clunking I heard on my new baby. I crawled under her today and poked around at what it may be. Before I tell you what I discovered, Let me explain the noises. When you put the car in 1st or reverse and let out the clutch, no matter how gently or slowly, you hear something mechanical make a very muted thud. Its just one thud, but it makes it each time you go from 1st to reverse. I also hear a thud from the back end each time I get on and off the gas in 1st or 2nd gear, like the diff is torquing up. That about sums up my clunking issues: So I crawled up underneath to see what I could see. This is what I found. The car is in neutral this whole time with the emergency brake on and the front wheels blocked. I can grab the driveshaft and turn it about a half inch. It does not translate up or sideways. This has me thinking that the ring and pinion has some slop in it, how much is normal I do not know, but this seems excessive, but the bearing on the pinion seems fine. Item two, I can grab the fat part of the left and right driveshafts/halfshafts and I can physically move them up and down with my hand a little. I am thinking that the bearings on both sides are probably worn badly, or something greater is amiss inside the R180. Keep in mind the Ujoints felt solid and did not move, I could see the whole drive shaft coming out of the diff move up and down just a little. Other than that, all else looked fine. All fuel lines feel soft and supple. The CV boots felt good with no cracks. I am thinking I may need to start looking for either a new R180 or a new set of bearings. What worries me the most is the ability to turn the driveshaft so easily. Keep in mind I am on ramps, not on jack stands. So the wheels did not move. In the vast world of clunk investigations, how does this rate? Any opinions, before I start ordering the parts I think I need.

As of today, I am LEGAL! So I drove her around a little. Got my Classic Auto plates coming in with a little personalized touch... One of my favorite places to shoot pictures. I am still learning the right angles to shoot Z's from. And what lens to use. But it will come with practice.

I was paging through the black dragon catalog looking for bushings here and there, and noticed that the R180 and R200 were both around in 1970, since my car is a 71, I was wondering if they are stamped somewhere on my car.

I am running the pertronix per the Original owner. I have a bosch coil sitting proudly on my fender...

Well,I took my Z out for its first real cruise. What an experience. The sounds, the sights. It was a good shakedown cruise. I checked all my fluids again, pulled the choke, and after 4 days of sitting she fired right up. What a sound. After I let the temp come up I was off. I was smiling more than I ever have after buying a new car. This car felt special, unique, and it was such an involving experience. The mechanical nature of the car talks to the driver. Of course this being my first shakedown cruise of any length, I was hyper sensitive to every sound, smell, vibration, etc. I was pleasantly surprised. 37 years this car has been on the road, and its history talked to me over every bump. What did it say. Well plenty. It was 101 degrees in Houston that day, and its water temp never exceeded 185 Degrees. Thank you new 4 core radiator. Oil pressure at 2200 rpm stayed rock solid once fully warmed up at 46 psi. At idle fully warmed up I am at about 15-20 psi. I know the PO used 10w-30, I may go to 10w-40 here in Houston. So that is a good sign and I was thrilled. At 60, 70, then 80 mph on the freeway, the car tracked straight and was smooth, with no vibrations through the wheel while accelerating, braking, or steady cruising. Hard braking was straight, and did not pull left or right or vibrate. Again, my amazement grew. What a solid car. Throttle response was instant, as was steering input. Body roll control was impressive (Tokikos) and allowed the car to feel as light as it actually is. So was it perfect, nope, but buying a 37 year old with such expectations is asking for disappointment. I was thrilled with what I found. Issue number one, The car has a slight thump from the rear of the car when blipping the throttle while in gear. I am almost certain its an old bushing issue on the mustache bar, or the differential. I will check all the rubber back there this weekend. Its not annoying, but every now and then, I hear it. So we will call that project 1. Issue number two, I figured this little sports car should pull to close to 7k. Well I put it in 2nd gear and let her rip, well at about 5500 rpm, she hits a soft wall. The tach bobs and weaves a little and she never really makes it past 5500rpm. I am thinking this has to do with timing, vac advance, maybe even the carbs, fuel delivery. etc. Project #2. This can wait as it drives beautifully below 5500rpm and the tach is dead steady as well. So I think this will not be a big issue. Tuning is something I enjoy. Issue number 3, at one time, I smelled a strong wiff of gas. But only once, and it never came back. Time to go over all the fuel lines, and perhaps replace them. Project #3. Overall, I am amazed at how well the car drives. It has the stiff throttle syndrome that some Z's have reported. I will eventually fix that, but at this point, I have already learned to drive it fairly smoothly. So no hurry on that. As I work through all my issues, I am sure I will be on this board again, but I cant wait to start turning wrenches! I am so impressed with the car, I cannot wait to get my plates on it.

I removed the over-rider bar to see how it looks. I think I like it plain. I got out my chrome polish, and put a nice buff job on it. I baggied all the bolts. I may put in on. I want to remove the rear extra bar as well, to see how I like that. The rear bar does not bother me all that much ,but I think it will look better cleaned up. As for the transfusions, I plan on doing that as well. Oil, tranny, and diff fluids all will get a good change. Then comes the radiator flush, followed by the air cleaner and fuel filter. Its all about maintenance! by the way, can you recommend good lubricants for the tranny & diff?

gotta get the kids involved early

My driving impressions so far. Its been a long while since I owned an older car. My first car I ever had was a 510 four door, 4 speed. Loved that car. It was great to drive and toss about. Driving the Z is totally different. Everything about the car feels tighter, and better put together. The steering is heavy as a non power steering car should be but lightens up and feels 'right' when moving. The shifter is fun to use, but I would like to get some bushing to take up some of the mushiness. Not really sure how the linkage looks down there, but its something I may take a shot at. The view over the hood is enticing. Makes you want to push that straight 6 again and again. The car feels very mechanical. You can feel when the clutch engages, when the brakes bite, the way the car handles directional changes. It has a very simple, yet unrefined mechanical goodness to it. I was concerned I would not enjoy driving the Z as I had never driven one until now. It was my childhood dream car, but up until this car, I had never lived the Z experience. Having been enjoying Subarus for the last 7 years I was worried that the lack of refinement would get me board. But I was dearly wrong. There is a connected feel to this car, that I have not experienced to date. Perhaps we are soul mates destined to grow old together, as I already feel a deep friendship the Z. When I get her out on the road, I will be able to do a proper review and see how much if any tuning she needs.

I like it much better without the decals as well. I have an extra set the previous owner included, so if I ever feel the need to reapply them I can. But at this point, I dont see that happening. I am itching to get it on the road and stretch its legs a bit. All the neighborhood cruising is great and all, but I want to see how she behaves at speed. I have taken her to 5k so far and the engine seemed to enjoy being reved. I don't plan on abusing her, but she should be able to hit redline reliably, if not, then I will start with timing and then some carb work. Let the fun begin!

more pics...

I have to go get it inspected, but I have the insurance, title, and bill of sale ready. We should plan to meet up sometime soon. I would love to see yours! Garage is mostly set up now... I took the liberty of removing the 240Z stickers. I think I like it clean like that.. pics to come soon!

an update...car starts and drives wonderfully. The paint is good, but there are some dull spots, that I made a half hearted attempt to clean up. I think I can get more shine out of her with an orbital, at least for 5-7 years, then I will probably paint her . Interior is just a flawless as I recall. I am sure I will find things to nitpick about, but so far, I have not stopped smiling!

Well thanks to Horseless Carriage my baby arrived yesterday. Just in time for a clean this weekend. It had some good company in that truck... A Cayman S, a Bently Continental GT Convert., S class mercedes, 335i, and a Porsche 550. But overall, watching the truck 'birth' my baby was more than worth the wait! When I first saw here, notice the merc below me. the light of day.. ahh how sweet it is. almost on the ground! touchdown! Now, after a long search and wait, my baby is home... more pics to come after I get her washed!

Car arrives tomorrow...I really do not think I will be able to sleep tonight!

haha, its a boy Oiluj.. but yeah, he is my cool little dude... update, car was loaded today, on the way to my house!!

Car will be picked up on Wednesday and begin its trip to my warm garage..