blue 72

Cylinder Head and Short Block $ 1,440.00 So, umm, was the whole engine replaced or reconditioned? Not a very good selling point, replacing the numbers matching block.

I've been down this road. I broke one of mine clean in half once. The replacement was purchased from ZCarSource. That was easy for me because I live close enough to them at the time. Another cheap way out would be to find one at a junk yard. MSA even lists them under "brake tube bridge" on their website.

Welcome to our little world. I'm jealous of the deal you got. Mine was $900 and in plenty worse shape. I did, however, do almost all of the mechanical work and interior while working full time and attending college full time, so it can be done. I second the recommendation of getting it drivable with the L24 in there. At least you'll have a benchmark of sorts. Then you'll have to start scouring junk yards in your spare time (what's left of it) and try to find a 5-speed car to liberate of precious parts. I'm sure things will snowball from there. It's only a matter of time. Oh, and you might double check the fuel pump. You could pump it by hand if need be to make sure the diaphragm isn't wasted inside (or turn the engine over and watch the fuel filter to make sure it squirts fuel). That's my only item to add to the list.

I think that I'm the first Datsun owner in the family. Some of our old family cars did include Japanese goodness, like a RX-3 4 door, and a '69 Toyota Crown wagon. My father, on the other hand, has been a mechanic longer than I have been on the earth, and has plenty of stories of his own about fixing Datsuns. He told me once about having a 240Z in the shop he was working at. He'd repaired something on it, and had to test drive it to make sure everything was working properly. He decided to gun the thing down a fairly busy street with a center divider down the middle. He claims to have been doing over eighty (iirc) when he saw lights flash on across the median. Evasive maneuvers brought him through the adjacent neighborhood while the officer was turning around. He managed to sneak his way back to the shop unscathed. So there is some history there, but I'm just now making my own with my Z.

I don't know if Dave's neighbors would like all those sitting in his backyard. Perhaps Jeff at Zcarsource might be interested. He's got a good sized collection already.

Congrats on the find. I hope it gets the full restoration it deserves. I'm curious as to the paint code for that blue. Any chance the sticker is still legible on the radiator support?

I'm not normally a fan of that green, but anything that nice I can't help but admire. I was quite surprised at my local show in July. Someone actually drug out a Datsun 2000 and I got to chat a bit with him. There is also a nice 280ZX here in Southern Utah with a custom paint job, but I've never met him at the two shows I've seen it at. I feel your pain.

I'll have to start taking a camera with me now. When I lived in Phoenix there were dozens of yard I pulled parts from, and plenty of interesting finds. I came across a '71 and '73, early and later 280's, and plenty of 300Zx's, even a Honda 600. Here in Southern Utah it is a different story. "Datsun? Oh yeah, Z car... Every time we get one of those in we think we're gonna make some money parting it out. Never have, no interest, they all get crushed." Kinda sad really.

I have a few E and N series manifolds, and side by side you can see the interior differences. Like Bruce said, more open, and a more direct shot into the head. My N-36 came from a '73 240Z with the square top carbs. I had the extra vacuum ports filled on the intakes and drilled the water passages into the carb mounting faces as well. They're mounted up to my 3 screw '72 carbs. Check out post 12 here http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=135702

Been posted here already. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31635

I couldn't help but notice all of the parts that are missing from this vehicle. I would hope that they are included, or you will find yourself spending lots of money to replace them. What I could spot: Taillight surrounds, cover behind license plate, Rear bumper guard, antenna, side marker lights, front bumper and mounts, headlights, turn signals, emblems, windshield wipers, horn pad, dash, steering column covers, kick panel, battery, air cleaner element and cover, engine bay inspection light, engine bay vents, center console, radio and heater console, shifter boot, grille, hubcaps, etc... The entire car has been resprayed once too (lots of overspray everywhere by the looks of it). I'd do some serious inspection for body filler and rust. A few plusses though, like good taillights and some decent looking interior pieces remain, plus the tires. Good luck on the rest of your inspection.

I've seen a Crown Turbo kit in person. The owner had it on his shed floor. He noted that some special mods had to be done to the float(s) to make it run right. It does push through just one SU carb, and this is years before intercoolers were in vogue. Makes for some tuning nightmares I would guess, but very unique.

I found good used ones in a junkyard. That might be a little more difficult in Australia though.

Based on what I've read, I run Valvoline VR-1 in my Z as well. Just broke in a new cam, and it put my mind at ease that I had the high zinc content oil in there already.

And on forum.autohoje.com they were even saying that that particular 280 was one of the worst they'd ever seen. I'm not sure how many Z cars are in Portugal, but that's quite the statement. I wonder what they'd think of the multi-colored bondo mess mine is.

Some good info in this thread. I was referring to the 5-speed "a" and "b" Style transmissions (AKA '77-'80 vs. '81-'83). From Bryan Little's personal vocabulary on his site: http://www.datsunzgarage.com/trans/ There do seem to be a few different nomenclatures floating around. I know it gets quite confusing, especially with 4-speed early, mid and late style trans thrown in the mix. I did get some of my own personal questions answered with your post, Jmortensen, so thank you.

Guilty of the same thing as well. However, many pick 'n' pull places will exchange the part for something equivalent. I did this when I grabbed a 280Z brake booster that didn't fit my 240Z. I personally have the '94-'97 Accord motor in my Z, and it worked exactly like the instructions on the site: http://www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/wipermotor/index.htm

Just to chime in. I have an "A" style transmission. It came from a 5 speed equipped '78 280Z and is mounted in my '72 240Z. No trimming needed whatsoever. I ran it with the original stick, and now with my short shifter kit, and never hit anything. I also recommend the following link: http://www.geocities.com/jasonparuta/gearbox.html Jason (from the above link) has an N/A '81-'83 box in his '73 and didn't have to do any cutting either.

If you're looking for a factory color, I have the darkest factory blue I've heard of on an S30. Its Datsun color code 072, a dark blue poly (metallic). Here's a picture that shows one door painted with the color. The headlight bucket is painted color code 903 which is also an early S30 blue metallic. Color code 903 didn't match the color that came on my car originally (you can see the original color is darker on the fender), so I purchased the 072 which is dead on. I would have gone with the 350Z Daytona Blue Metallic if it weren't $600 a gallon.

Been posted before on various forums. Design is by Lars MÃ¥rtensson. Check out the Datsun X-Link too.

I just checked out Jacek's other designs and they are pretty stunning. Looks like he does full on concepts as well as body kits. I guess I'm just jealous of his skill.

It is an S30 with a different nose drawn on it. Sure, it has a flush mounted windshield, slightly wider body, body color mirrors and some wider fenders moulded in, but look at it. Proportion wise its as if they traced over a 240Z and added a few flourishes like a widebody kit and a rear spoiler. Don't get me wrong, I like the looks of it, but its not a new concept, just an updated nose job on an existing car.

As far as ordering paint goes, I've never had a problem with just asking for the color code. I tell the paint store employees that I want say a pint of Datsun color code 072. They then proceed to look at me like I'm speaking in a foreign language. I then rephrase the request substituting the word "Nissan" for Datsun, and a few minutes later I have the paint in hand. It might not work in all places, but if they get confused (and they do sometimes) I've had them look it up on the internet. Different paint manufacturers have sites with some extensive archives.

My stories sound similar to others. I used to work at a hotel, and whenever I brough up my car around those 40-50 years old they had a story. Either they owned one, or a close relative did. On the road no one seems to note much, but I have had an early 300ZX rev at me from the opposite intersection just to say "hi". Every time I'm on the side of the road though, I get people stopping to see if I need anything and tell me about the Z they used to own. Of note though, most everyone thinks its a 280Z. When I tell them its a '72 they kind of go silent for a second.

I think beandip is on the right track. I just had my gas tank out and back in this week, and there are two vent hoses on top, one on the driver's side, and then the fuel feed and return lines (mine's a '72). I've had this problem in the past, but now I know for a fact that everything is tightened down securely and not corroded or worn through. You only loose a few hours to check it (so many connections to remember and detach/hook back up). Plus, I got to fish out all the odd debris in my tank at the same time.