Randalla

Just a reminder that I will begin shipping 240Z tail lamp bars this coming week. If you are interested in ordering, e-mail me at parallax.randy.lewis@gmail.com letting me know how many sets you'd like me to set aside. PLEASE MAKE SURE TO INCLUDE YOUR MAILING ADDRESS. Before shipping I will send you a PayPal invoice. As soon as I receive payment confirmation from PayPal, your shipment will be in the mail. Thanks guys.

Zup, small point, but wanted to let you know how painstakingly my focus on quality was. You may or may not know that the three fastening pins for each bar are two different sizes and as a result so are the push nuts which are included. The two nut sizes are just 1/16" different but I wanted to be sure they were right. Thanks for recognizing the subtleties.

Below are the photos I promised earlier.

Have picture that I will be uploading soon. Currently having some issues but count on them later today.

I’ve been following this thread for some time, watching to see if someone would reproduce 240Z tail light bars, what the quality would be like and what the cost would be. Several here have promised to make them available, but to date no one has parts in any quantity to sell. My name is Randy Lewis. I’ve owned many, many early Z’s, 510’s and Roadsters and have been part of the Datsun community for over 20 years. I drive and show my cars frequently. I’m regularly accused of being anal about quality and I’m always complimented on how my cars show. In February, I was encouraged to reproduce 240Z tail lamp bars by local club members. I can personally attest to the cost to reproduce complex parts to OEM quality standards. The cost of the tooling alone is thousands of dollars. This is not a venture for the weak of heart. Never the less, I made the decision to proceed seven months ago. I determined I would only do this if I could offer OEM or better quality. I’ve forwarded my production samples to several well-known and respected individuals in the Z community (including MotorSport Auto in Orange, CA) to validate production quality. I’ve received a volume of pre-orders based on their assessment. My parts are triple chrome plated and have all the proper mold marks on them, as the tooling was produced from OEM parts I provided my supplier. The black paint fill in the center of the bar is identical to the originals. Each set of bars (left and right) will be shipped in poly bags, complete with the correct push-on fasteners and installation instructions. I guarantee the quality of the parts you receive. If you’re unhappy, you can return them for a full refund within 30 days, less the cost of postage. • Tail lamp bars sold as a pair (right and left sides) • $175 for the pair plus postage • $15 flat rate postage anywhere in the U.S. (except bulk orders) • Package sent Priority Mail (insured) • Orders for 20 or more pair discounted 10% • PayPal accepted for payment. • Orders accepted immediately • Shipping to begin within 10 days I don’t know how long my initial run will last but I’d encourage you to act fairly quickly as these parts have been in demand for some time and I’ve already committed some of my initial production run. Orders will be received via e-mail at: parallax.randy.lewis@gmail.com You’ll be advised via e-mail when your order is ready to ship. Order will ship as soon as I receive payment notification from PayPal.

Further update. Limped the car home today and removed the booster to see if I had any available adjustment between the booster and the master cylinder. Based on what I had been hearing, I needed to shorten the actuating rod to allow more free play so the brake fluid would in the master would bleed back, after letting up on the brake. My understanding from what I have read is that if the rod is too long, with too little free play, the brake fluid will expand as it heats up after a number of braking stops, eventually locking the brakes. The pictures show what I found. The reaction disc is not attached to the piston end of the rod but it is in place inside the booster and the piston is flush with it when assembled. As you can see, the rod can not be adjusted shorter, as far as I can tell. The rubber grommet looks is in two pieces (looks to have come apart) and the metal toothed retaining ring has a break in it in one place. When I push in the actuating rod on the pedal side of the booster, it sounds like the rubber seal inside is OK as I can hear vacume but I'm not sure how to test it further.

I did find the leak at the passenger side rear where the hose and steel brake line met. I took them apart, applied some teflon tape and reassembled. I've been checking this area since and everything is now dry.

New update. Today I loosened the nuts holding the master to the booster and gained about 1/4" in order to see if more travel would solve the brakes locking. After driving the car about 5-6 miles I thought that had solved the problem, however a short while later the problem returned. This time however I checked the temperature of the rotors and drums. The drums were cool, so I'm pretty sure they are not the problem. The fronts on the other hand were very hot and there was lots of black brake dust on the wheels and the drivers side rotor was heavily glazed. So check me on this...since the front brakes seem to be the culprit and the rears are cool, can I rule out the master and the booster? The front brake calipers are the Toyota truck upgrade and they have been in place and working flawlessly for more than 10 years. Now I'm wondering if a have a bad brake caliper/cylinder, or if the front/rear biasing valve is hanging up and causing this condition. I should also say that the pedal seems to gradually get harder the longer the car is driven with less and less free play.

Zed Head, I like your idea of loosening the bolts holding the MC to the BB a bit. Makes sense if what you guys are suggesting the problem is. Creating a little free play without taking everything down again should verify this is where the problem is. I won't get to it till later in the week but will report back and let you know if that solves the issue. Thanks again guys.

Guys, thanks for the quick replies. FYI, I did not change the adjustment on the rod between the pedal rod and the booster when assembling. The rod between the master and the booster on my car has no adjustment, it's a solid rod with a small piston on one end and a bullet shaped end on the other. Again, the only new variable I added was a new master. Is it possible the new master is different in some way from the one replaced?

I have a 72 240Z with stock brake components. The other day I backed out of my garage and noticed a very soft pedal. I discovered the front brake cylinder reservoir was nearly empty, so filled it back up. I had a little more pedal, but obviously air had gotten in the line. I didn't see any fluid on the floor so assumed (I know, a bad idea) that I might have a bad master cylinder and maybe it had bled into the booster. While taking the master and booster out I was looking for fluid that had gotten past the seals in the master and perhaps contaminated the booster (all was dry). Since the master had a life-time warranty, I went and got a new one. Figured it couldn't hurt. I bench bled the new master before installing, re-bled the master back into the reservoirs once everything was back together and then bled the brakes in the proper sequence. Everything seemed good, nice high pedal and the car stopped great while testing it close to home. On a longer run however (5 miles) I began smelling brake lining just before the brakes locked up, causing me to have to pull off the road to let them cool down. My wife had pulled the emergency brake on while pumping the pedal for me (I usually just leave the car in gear) which I only noticed after pulling off. I was sure after releasing the parking brake and letting things cool down that everything would be fine, which it was until driving the same distance again (5 miles) when it locked up again. So, I'm not sure at this point what's going on. It seems like the brakes get progressively tighter as the car is driven. The pedal gets very hard before the car becomes undrivable. I should also say that I removed all four wheels and inspected to see if there was any brake fluid seepage. I found one line, at the passenger side rear, which was a little damp so I tightened everything up which seemed to stop the leak. Sorry for the long post but I wanted to provide as much information as possible to help diagnose. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.

Swapped out my stock springs for Eibach Progressives. Left the KYB inserts alone as they had less than 20K miles on them. The springs did drop my car the advertised amount (1 1/4 inches) but now one side of the rear of the car sits at least an inch lower than the other. The fronts measure the same. My ride has gone south and feels like I am getting irregular bouncing when going over bumps. I have two questions. Is it possible that I blew out one of my rear strut inserts with the Eibachs and that's why one side is sitting lower than the other? Could one blown out insert make the car bounce as much as I am experiencing? I know about the supposed incompatibility for Eibach Progressives and KYB's but it seems strange to me that one side actually now sits lower than the other. I'm not happy with the look or the ride. I'm considering replacing all the insert with Tokikos but want to make sure that's going to solve the problem before shelling out $400.

Looks like some Tokiko's are in my future. I'm currently running Panasports and 215-65-16 inch Hankook tires. Thanks guys for weighing in.

Two months ago I purchased a set of Eibach Progressive springs and installed them on my 72 240Z. My goal was to lower the car about an inch, which the springs accomplished. I did not install new strut cartridges when replacing the springs however because the KYB struts had no more than 10K miles on them. My ride at this point is pretty awful, very bouncy. I'm wondering if this spring/strut combination is not compatible or if maybe the struts are shot or blown out. The car rode and handled fine before the new springs. Anybody have a similar experience and find a solution? I've read through the posts on springs and struts but did not find this specific problem. I'm tempted to replace the KYB's with Tokiko's but I don't want to drop $400 if that wont solve the problem.

SteveJ, I also have a 1972 with Pertronix. My tach works fine and I have not wired around the ballast resistor. When I wired around the BR the coil got too hot to touch because the current was not being stepped down. Wondering if the issue may be the coil on the car. Pertronix has several coils, each with their own internal resistance values. I'm certainly no expert but wondering if someone else can either confirm or dispel my theory.

Hey Rich, I was there last night as well. Agree, it was a very nice evening all the way around, well organized, plenty of food and nice atmosphere. By the way the 1971 yellow 240Z you photographed is one of my Z cars. I'm bringing a different one to the show tomorrow. I live in Scottsdale so have the luxury of being able to bring down any of my Z's. Also just posted my early 260Z in the classifieds section. If there is any interest from anyone at the show, I'd be happy to arrange to see it. I'll look for your name tag.

I went last year for the inaugural and took two cars. This year it's a three day event. Really a lot of fun last year. I'd highly recommend it!

I think there really is something to this dual ownership thing. I own three early Z cars (71, 72, 74), a 2001 740i and a 1986 635 CSi. Though there are really no similarities from a styling point of view, maybe the appeal is in them both being driver's cars with great design.

Check out Summit Racing. I just ordered some steel chrome center caps for my American Racing "Spectres." Only paid about $30 for all four.

Type "Vintage Datsun Wheels" into your browser. Contacts name is Mike

OK, I'm giving you the best two wheel resources I know. Don't forget me! Both of these guys are in Oregon I believe. The first is Just Wheels at nwlink.com. (I don't have a phone number). The second is Eric Neyerlin at Z Parts. Eric knows more about Datsun wheels than I could learn in three life times. Call him at 541-679-0791. He probably has the best stick of vintage Datsun wheels in the country. If one of these two guys don't have them, or know where to find them, I think you may be out of luck.

You're good! Have you ever seen a set of these running around in the UK? Still have never seen a set Stateside. I'm guessing these are pretty unusual. Thanks so much for the reply!

I just picked up a set of the wheels that I can not find any information on. I know they were purchased in the early 80's in Japan by a U. S. serviceman and I was told by the seller that they were vintage even then. I have searched every jdm wheels database I could find, but am not any closer to identification. I know they are jdm / almex and the size is 4 X 114.3 X 5.5 and that they were manufactured by the Yokohama Rubber Company. Beyond that I have very little else to go on. I absolutely love the look of these. They will likely end up on my Roadster. The seller had them on a Fairlady Z at one point. the only other casting marks are "YSE455-1" and the size includes a "JJ" designation and the number 25 (offset perhaps). I would be very grateful for any information at all.

I am just about to change out my booster as I am having the same symptoms (hiss when brakes are applied with car running and RPM's rise by about 300). I'm curious why the RPM's rise with this condition. My best guess is that the carbs are being leaned out somehow, when air is seeping past the booster diaphragm. Anyone else care to offer thoughts.

Nice clean job on the spray bar. Seems like it works as good as it looks. A couple of questions. Did you enlarge the holes that spay the cam? Looks like a very steady stream of oil now, which should enhance lubrication. Any thought of producing these for sale at some point?