Poindexter

Howdy Cousin! I'm HLS30-23788, how about you? First question, what options- if any- did you come with? I'd like to confirm the stock trans, as I now have a 5-speed. I first saw an almost-new 240Z in this quite unique color in a school parking lot, and immediately fell in love. I swore that I would own one someday- among other "big-boy toys" too. That was 1973, and it took me around 22 years to finally find a worthy partner in grime. Then being a further moron, I didn't put it on the street to truly enjoy driving this priceless object of my teenaged heart's desire until 2 weeks ago- early May 2008 at the time of this writing- although I had been doing a lot of mechanical work, on and off. Tons of wear items/hoses and belts- all OEM replacement parts- have been installed along the way. There was just something about that color that really stuck in my mind. That being said I almost repainted her in Saturn Yellow, that hideously beautiful, attractive yet putrid blend of eye-wrenching neon yellow/green that some fire companies and offshore clothing manufacturers use. Depending on the source- Europe, Australia or the US, it's been called plain 920 Gold, Klondike Gold or Safari Gold, and apparently was only available for part of 1970 and 1971- I really want to track down more production information- specifically I'd really love to find actual production numbers, especially the delivery information, which port, which dealership, etc. Anybody have any leads on how to proceed with this research? TIA.

Cool. Howdy neighbor. I'm in Freehold all of the time, as a good friend lives there. I'll definitely check out your meeting later this month- if it's being held then- and you should look into the cruise-in in the parking lot at Beacon Street Grill on 66 in Neptune every Wednesday 6-9PM. Sometimes it's quiet and sometime it gets absolutely packed, but it's always fun, and the Grill has the best New England Clam Chowder this side of Essex Mass.! If you see me at your Cruise, please come over and say hi, as I guarantee that I'll have the only original 920 Gold (orangish) Z there.

Isn't the cardinal rule in collecting the rarity of a particular piece? With only 37 ever built in the world, I can't imagine how many other production cars are this rare...in all of the world. To imagine a car built in the hundreds of thousands, then to be reduced to a tiny list of only a few dozen...wow. Gorgeous car!

Wow! Am I glad I found this site. You all seem so nice to newcomers, and are such a wealth of critically-important information. At this point I really must buy a few of the important publications so I'll learn all of the parts and procedures- and decide for myself how far I'll tear into her. Besides the FSM, what's best- the Haynes or Chiltons? And I'm going to visit my local Nissan dealer tomorrow. They've been there forever, and my Dad bought several cars from them over the years- and that means they treated him well. It can't hurt to introduce myself to the Service Manager too. Has anybody actually tried to "duplex" their bushings, with some locations using rubber and others with urethane, or am I thinking too hard on this one?

To Sailor Bob and Jeff G 78- Thank you both! You've given me exactly what I wanted to know, all of the benefits & pitfalls and especially what to expect from both materials. After much consideration, and I hope I'm not in for another monster drain on my wallet, I think that rubber is the answer for me. As much as AutoX seems like a lot of fun, I doubt I would have enough time to devote to getting good enough at it, plus I don't think I'm ready for the toll it might take on my beautiful, but I feel still delicate, old girl. I don't have enough experience to gauge, but it's still a relatively complicated mechanical device that's almost 40 years old, and I imagine that rough handling would end up just breaking things. I will be using her during the warmer months as a DD. As she was in storage for almost 15 years, it's way past time for her to stretch her legs already! I'll be driving mostly over varied roads, as between here and Manhattan they go from completely ratty and bumpy to new, but except for a minority of the newest State or Federally-maintained roads, and a minority of town roads, there are just millions of patches everywhere and I find myself constantly changing lanes to avoid even the smallest ruts and bumps- this mainly because of the terrible shape of the bushings on my Z. I can't imagine how great it will be to get rid of the majority of the clunks...but not all I expect! This seems to seal my fate and points to rubber. I don't want to do anything that will make the car feel older, but I also don't want it to feel sloppy either. I just hope that the costs for rubber bushings are reasonable- as if anything new to do with this car ever is! Are there even aftermarket rubber bushings? I don't ever recall even seeing those in all of my research- urethane seems to be trumpeted everywhere. Or perhaps are there more compliant (softer) urethane bushings with a feel slightly closer to rubber, but without being overly-soft or rock-hard on the other end of the extreme? Finally, what about a mixture of both? There have to be some areas where using urethane will tighten the handling nicely without making the ride jarring, and other areas where rubber adds just the right amount of vibration isolation? I would rather avoid all of the rattling and vertebrae-smashing. After all, Nissan used all rubber when they introduced the car and it handled pretty good for the time. Again thanks for taking the time to answer this newbies' questions.

Greetings all. During a trans oil change earlier this week, with RL MT-90, and while the car was up on the lift, I noticed that almost every suspension bushing is either very old and cracked or entirely missing on my 2/71. This explains the clunking. My question is- for someone with above-average general mechanical skill, but almost zero specific Z-related skills, how difficult is it to change out the suspension bushings? My Dad always had the biggest tool-bench out of anybody I knew growing up, and he passed down his good hands, attention to detail, and mechanical aptitude to me, as well as his massive tool set. I've always worked on the electrical system of my Z, as well as other cars too, but never the engine or suspension before- which I've previously left to the "professionals". Besides the general tools, I also have access to a professional overhead car lift at a friend's house- which I imagine makes a lot of difference- at least in comfort and ease of access- and being able to work standing up under a car instead of creeping underneath. (I'm 6'3") I realize that this is a very broad question, so I'm intentionally framing this as a 3-part question. (1) Which bushings are easy (easier), and which ones should I perhaps leave for my mechanic? (2) ALSO- I have read that some bushings are best when left to rubber, and some respond best to urethane. (3) When working on bushing replacement, are there any other parts that should be replaced when the car is torn apart? I already have new done all new ball joints, tie rods, master brake cylinder, clutch master and slave cylinders, as well as front calipers. I want to end up with a daily driver (for the summer at least), I don't want to lower it at all, and haven't planned for replacing springs or struts- as they're all in very good condition. But I mostly want to soak up the sharper road impacts. I'd rather not pay for my mechanic's boat, or put his children through Harvard, as the bills are *seriously* adding up- and I have the time free now- plus it's a great way to get to know your car better. Please, your comments are essential as nothing beats direct experience in this very specific area. Much thanks in advance!

Another NJ location checking in here! I'm in Monmouth County- on the shore east of Red Bank, (GSP exit 109) where I might have one of the very few 240Z's around. They're so rare around here that yesterday I pulled up next to a pretty girl at a stoplight in a 350Z convertible, and she asked me what kind of car I was driving! Yikes... Since I brought my sweetie out of mothballs after nearly 15 years of storage, and since I started driving it daily about 2 weeks ago, almost everywhere I go I get stopped and usually end up having a nice conversation with people that either used to own a Z, wish they did, or want to! This area is actually quite "famous" for having a very serious summer car culture, as best represented by our local songwriter (and neighbor) Bruce. You've heard of him I think. Cruising along the beach in your favorite car in the summer had been a way of life for many around here- for decades- especially in Asbury Park- which unfortunately had fallen on hard times, but is now in the midst of a rebirth. It's still very common to see tons of cool custom and sports cars cruising around up and down the boulevards bordering the seashore in most of the beach communities around here, from Sea Bright, south to Belmar and Spring Lake. I'm in the midst of a serious mechanical restoration of my sweetheart- 2/71 240Z, all original except for the 5-speed from what I assume to be a turbo version, as it has a very short first gear. 920 gold over black and under 70k miles- on the engine and body at least! Every Wednesday night from 6-9PM at a local restaurant in Neptune, they have a Hot Rod get-together. It gets between 50-200 cars, made up of about 50% true hot rods, around 25% muscle cars, and the rest well diversified. It's a lot of fun to meet and greet other car-lovers, but I would love to have more (any!) Zeds showing up there. I do my best to represent, as my girl certainly garners a whole lot of attention- being an especially rare car, in great condition, in a very rare color. As much fun as the mixed meets might be, I would LOVE to have a dedicated Z get-together- especially as the weather gets warmer. There are some fantastic locations in the area that would easily accommodate dozens- to hundreds of cars- with every service imaginable...I can dream can't I?

THANKS! My first question is can I do any damage driving her like this? Next- does the check valve need to be immediately replaced for proper function- and is this a big issue? Is time or cost a major thing? I'm not sure how long it's been broken. Some people apparently believe that some parts can be disabled for whatever cause...is there any reasonable purpose for those lines to be intentionally pulled off? Except for the well known fuse block issues and the horrible gas tank vent hose psychotic design, I assume that the engineers knew best when they designed the car- so I believe that everything should be connected as delivered- unless there is a tried & tested reason otherwise- do you agree? You have a beautiful engine bay! Thanks again.

Greetings all. I tried to search for answers in the forums here- without a clear enough answer. I promise to read the "How to Restore Your Z" book, but for now I just noticed a broken fitting on the engine, as well as noting the apparent lack of several vacuum hoses, and I'm freaked that I might be damaging something by driving it- it is my EDD now, so I really could use some advice from that huge well of experience that all of you people possess. It's a 2/71 vintage, HLS30-23788, under 70K miles, and always garage stored- totally dry and clean- for most of the past 15 years. California car with almost NO rust and totally clean floorboards! It's all stock except for the 5-speed- with a very short first gear- so probably came from a turbo(?) I put it back on the road 2 weeks ago and did a LOT purely mechanical restoration work like all new clutch master & slave, brake master, ball joints, tie rods, etc...that kind of stuff. It was tuned then too, as well as having everything either cleaned out or replaced- like the gas tank, radiator, all filters and fluids, new braided s.s. brake lines, all new belts and hoses, new battery, etc. Trans oil was dirty but showed NO water or metal filings even on the magnet plug- and the trans gear oil was just replaced with RL MT-90. It only took 2 quarts- so I wonder first if that's a bit too little by a half a quart- or so I've read? Mechanic sure it was filled properly. It did have the carbs rebuilt 4 years ago, but it still sat from then, and wasn't driven at all until recently. That being said it drives nicely, a bit clunky on bumps, and it shifts a bit rough until warm, but nothing else apparently glaring- except as described below. It will need all new bushings, no biggie, but nothing stands out except for the rough acceleration on partial throttle only, and long pedal travel until the brakes engage- but then they work ***perfectly*** ...and a heavy fuel smell from the exhaust, and a touch of oil smoke. NO loss of coolant at ALL. After thorough local slow-speed-driving-only trials, it drove perfectly on the highway, tracking perfectly with only a tiny 50MPH shake. I've still kept it well below 5000RPM, especially when shifting. I'm treating her very carefully. Other symptoms- It has no pep from idle until apx. 2500RPM unless you really step on it, otherwise it stumbles badly if you don't give it a lot of gas. If you do give it enough throttle, it seems to run just fine, revving smoothly and pulling hard. It also does burble a lot on deceleration, and it does smell like it's running rich from the raw gas smell in the exhaust from outside the car. And the brake pedal travel is too much until it engages- like half-way. Now for the pictures of the main problem area mentioned above. The broken fitting on the left, for a 1-inch hose, goes right into a "T" and the front half goes forward then drops under the A/C compressor. The other concern are the two unidentified parts- one of which I think is the throttle servo, the other I don't know- which have bare stubs that seem to be looking for hoses to attach to them. I am primarily trying to find an experienced mechanic with significant experience in Z's near me in NJ, but with no luck. I know enough that I will need a good mechanic to diagnose these problems- just as I know it will take a lot of time and effort until I learn enough to diagnose and then do some of this work myself- as I don't always have to rely on others, not to mention the huge potential expenses involved. Can anybody *please* help now with some suggestions on these problems? And maybe even come up with a referral to a good mechanic in the NJ area? I imagine the responses here might include having the carbs rebalanced again, as well as having the mystery vacuum lines re-attached, but I'm hoping it's something I can do myself- and now! I do learn quickly, and I must say, modestly, that I know how to use most tools quite well, and have for many years. My Dad always had a huge tool bench, and taught me how to build, work on and repair almost anything- except for car repairs of course! I do have good hands, having built things like tube radios and audio amps in the past. It's just that I'm lacking the critical experience in this very specialized area. I realize I'm asking a lot, but I'm in a bit of a pickle now, with this being my only driver- at least until I can find a newer car to use as a DD- like a 1980's vintage MB 300SDL! link to my photobucket pictures of my car and the areas in question- under the name of Poindexter333- http://s277.photobucket.com/albums/kk60/Poindexter333/ THANKS!!!!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I just got the car love of my life back on the road after nearly 15 years, and after 200 miles and almost 2 weeks, it seems fine. Except for the fumes, and....I'll stop there! (No jinx here) So I really didn't want to be beholden to a carb voodoo doctor (and the attendant $$$) so your primer here is **exactly** what I needed...enough to make these adjustments and hopefully deal with a major contributor to my gas fume/richness (?) problem. I'm also lining the whole tub from stem to stern with a variety of butyl skin products for air seal(CO!)/vibration/noise abatement. I just want to exclude potential carb issues and this seems like the best way to start. Thanks again! 2/71 240Z, 920 Gold-Black, and all original except for the 5-speed. Bought from the original Japanese owners from California. Under 70k miles. I'll be documenting more soon.