motorman7

I wonder why they don't start with the 1970 model year? I would have thought 1970-1972.

Washed the Z as it had about 3 months worth of dust on it and took it for a spin around the neighborhood. The car is very smooth and quiet. I am surprised that the original mufflers are still working well. Shocks are not bad either. The ride and noise (fairly quiet) are about the same as the '70. I am very happy with the ride. Turned on the radio, ran the antenna up and I got music-YES! I really am not sure what year car the stereo came out of but it has FM stereo. The word 'stereo' lights up in red when I am getting and FM stereo station. Very cool. Took one photo outside in the sun. Will send the Pic to Hagerty's along with a motor pic for insurance documentation.

Thanks everyone for all of the best wishes. I appreciate your support and thoughtfulness. Rich

It is a sad day in the life of HLS30-02614. Yesterday around 4:00 PM William Rodner, the original owner of HLS30-02614 passed away at the age of 88. He lived and long and good life and took phenomenal care of the car for 38 years. I will keep this short. I am forever grateful that my dad had the confidence in me to pass down to me one of his greatest joys to carry on the flame. I think of him every time I see the car and still call it dad’s car. My dad taught me how to work on cars and take care of them. He was a very kind, gentle and caring man. May he rest in peace.

You are correct, my bad...Roadster event in Solvang on April 30, 2011. Should have been more clear on my earlier comment: for me, the MSA show is 800 pound gorilla. Whenever they have the show is when I show up. Every other event revolves around that.

"Schedule confilcts" of Datsun/Nissan events? In my mind, other than the JCCS, there are no other "Events" for Z's in SoCal. Note: I consider an event to be a show with more than 100 cars.

Having tuned and running flat tops on my 73, and round tops on both my '70 and '71, I have several observations. When the engine is cold, the round tops run better and are more predictable. The flat tops are a bit more finicky than the round tops and like to let out a backfire or two before they are happy. Once the engine is warm, my flat tops are on par with the round tops. The round tops are much easier to work on and remove. The flat tops are a chore to remove due to the extra waterline that runs through them. In addition, the 4 nuts that secure them to the manifold are a bit harder to access due to the larger size of the flat top carb. The flat tops are really a cross between a standard carburetor (the float bowl section, 'Power valve' section) and the side draft carbs (Needle with vacuum chamber). To work on the float bowl, the flat top must be removed from the engine. Although, the nice thing about the flat tops is that there is a sight window on the side that allows you to check your float bowl level without removing tubes and taking measurements. Use a small mirror and you can check the levels very easily. Not so easy on the round tops. I read all three of the listed references and felt that the zparts article was the most fair. The author made one key point that is often overlooked and is critical; that being the Power Valve. It is the equivalent of the accelerator pump in a standard carb. If your accelerator pump in your standard carb is bad or disconnected, car runs lame. Same with the flat tops. As the zparts article said, this is often the trouble area with flat tops. The 'pump' instead of being a metal piston, like a normal carb is a thin membrane. Membrane tears, then carbs run bad. The fix is pretty easy, put in a new membrane. This can be done without removing the carb from the manifold -but may not be recommended. Also, the holes that the gas pumps through are small and can clog. Make sure these are clean. Anyway, since I have worked on both types of carbs and am running both types of carbs I felt that I could offer an unbiased opinion based on real life experience. Peace out

smog pump bracket missing (that's not a bad thing). Wire may be for condenser on original point distributor. Maybe you have electronic ign?

I couldn't find one for my '73, so I used some black cloth tape to make it look similar to my smog hoses. Not perfect, but it looks clean.

Continued work on the interior. Fixing two cracks in the center console with gorilla glue and some plastic strips on the inside for strength. Used some epoxy on the outsid to fill the cracks. Will paint with the black outdoor furniture paint as discussed in the console restoration thread. Took out the PO's Kenwood cassette player and installed my retro radio. Quite a chore to put this guy in. Was able to install the radio without completely disassembling the heater control panel. I did, however, undo all four panel screws and pulled it out about an inch. By removing the fuse box and lower U channel that support the console, I was able to squeeze it in. Looks great and powers up nicely. Now back to the console. Hopefully I can get that in this week.

Love it!..Makes me want to start another one, and I'm not even finished with my current one. Wish I had that kind of garage space, but I live in So Cal.

1967 1/2 , 2000 Roadsters are the prize of the roadster releases. Low production rate...and beautiful cars.

http://www.editgrid.com/user/mlwilliams/Z_Car_Registry Wow, looks like the registry has been cleaned up or revised to a date when the info was correct. My three are all shown correctly on this one. Haven't seen that in a while.

http://classicdatsun.com/ Les at Classic Datsun has the correct paint. Good stuff. Used it on all 3 of my motors

Yes, couldn't wait to take it for a drive and get some pics. I love driving it around. Well, since I shouldn't have much more in the way of expenses, I popped for two new fender emblems from 'Parts for my Nissan' on e-bay ($95 for the pair after tax and shipping). I called the number of the seller and got Tustin Nissan so the emblems should be pretty nice. Cost for the project is now at $5545. The emblems arrive today, so hopefully I can put these babies on SECURELY and drive the car to work tomorrow. I estimate that I still have about two months worth of work to do (weekends mostly) on the car and then it should be pretty much done. I need to fix the center console and install the old AM radio. Then I will work on the underside and clean up the gas tank, rear suspension paint, front disc shields, etc,and undercoating touch -up.

Thanks for checking on this Dave. Looking forward to the updates. Rich

I’m not sure $15 would do the job. When you add up location rental, security, awards and porta-potties the costs really add up. I think they should closely mirror the costs of ZCON for entry fees. I would think at least $30-$40 per car entry; of course that includes a show t-shirt and a goody bag. Also, I would see about getting a number of sponsors for the event, adding their logo’s to said t-shirt. A good place to start would be all of the JCCS sponsors. I’d invite ‘Z friendly’ vendors to the show and have them pay a small fee ($100) for a spot at the show. Same for food vendors. Would also like to see the a section for the 64-70 Datsun roadsters (Pre-Z's) there. They have large group here in SoCal. Lots of ways to raise cash for this. Then again, maybe they are doing this already. As for volunteering, count me in. I’d love to help.

The one thing to remember with all this is that an event of this size is a major undertaking and probably not a big money maker for them. In fact, I am sure there are upfront costs that require them to foot the bill until proceeds from the show come in. That being said, I think the best we can do as a group is voice our interest and volunteer our support for such an event to help minimize their work and cost. Hopefully this is all that would be needed to make the event successful. Rich

I am really hoping they have the “big” show. This is the one event that really brings the So Cal Z community together. The 2009 event was the best Z show that I have ever been to. As president of the ZCCIV, I offered Joseph at MSA our clubs’ support for a West Coast Nationals event. (Typically a number of our members volunteer to help out with the annual JCCS event). Our club would be more than happy to help out with volunteers to help make MSA’s work a little easier. And, I am sure the other local clubs would help as well. So, hopefully all the cards fall into place. We will be watching this one closely.

I am really thrilled here. Got the motor running nicely with just a few tweeks. Tightened the alternator belt to get rid of the bad Screech on acceleration. Added oil to the flat tops and that took care of the back firing. Motor revs nice and smooth and runs great (I like my flat tops ). Got the Oil in the trans, fluid in clutch and brake cylinders and bled both. Took it for a spin around the neighborhood and promptly lost the fender emblem. Spent almost an hour retracing my tracks but couldn't find it. Will check e-bay to see what I can find. May buy 2 just to have a back up. Well, since I got it going, had to take a mini photo shoot. Unfortunately the sun was setting pretty fast so pictures aren't the best, but not bad. I like the colors together. Was able to clean up the license plate pretty well. used scoth brite and a coat of clear to make it look descent. The bottom and sides were pretty rusty so ended up rubbing through the paint in some areas. Hopefully the frame will hide some of that. Garage is looking nice with 3 Z's. Wife hasn't complained yet about me booting her car out. I think they are different. Under the hood, mine had two gold decals with a lot of writing. After doing inventory of my hoses, I found that I have most of the original braided hoses. I even have the original heater hoses. I am thinking I will save up for a bit and pop for Espirit's hoses at MSA. I have them on my '70 and they are beautiful. They would look nice on this one.

Found the problem; oil pump/distributor rod was 180 degrees off.:stupid: Pulled the distributor, dropped the oil pump and rotated the shaft 180 (lower, rotate, lift) using a pair of needle nose pliers. Re-assembled. The whole process took only 15 minutes, much less than I thought. Turned the key and got a short 2 second run of the motor. Went to the carbs and fully tightened the big screw on the left flat top. Turned the key again and the car started right up- very nice. Took out my Uni-syn and balanced the idle air flow, so idle is running nice. I increased the throttle to adjust high RPM air flow and got a screeching from the smog pump belt and some light backfires so I shut the motor down. Ran out of time, so figure I will do final tuning of the carbs on Saturday. Nice to have it idling well, that's a big step. Should be able to take this out on the streets Saturday. I can't wait. Just need to put gear oil in the trans and fill and bleed the brakes and clutch. There are still some interior items to take care of, but nothing that will keep me from driving the car. The amazing thing is that there are no water leaks. Was kind of surprised as I was expecting at least one or two with all the hoses and fittings on this motor. Got some great wire hose clamps from grnsky for my hoses. Now they will all match. Will clean those up, re-zinc them and install in the next week or two. Total project cost is now $5450. $15 for 10 wire clamps (such a deal) and $6 for the hose tape. Definitely looking great for the money I have into it. Yes, I have 3 to enter. That's a good start. I am really hoping that MSA pulls through with a show similar to the 2009 show. That one was awesome and huge – twice the size of ZCON. I contacted Joseph at MSA and offered our club’s (ZCCIV) support if he runs a similar event in 2011. We could provide a number of volunteers to help out. I will try and get all the SoCal Z clubs to support if moves in this direction. Otherwise, I will just keep going to the local Rod shows with my ‘Furin cars’. Rich

I don't think anyone in the family has the same passion as me, but then again, I have probably gone off the deep end. My wife and daughter do like going to the shows. Actually got my wife to drive the '71 Z to the Vista show while I drove the '70. They usually crochet or read while I chat with people at the show. While I was touring the show, they actually filled in for me and answered questions that people would ask about the cars. My daughter likes the shows more than my son and she has a little bit better taste. Once I get the silver one done I can bring three to the shows. Will make it a big family event. Now, if we only had more events. May have to move to the east coast for that.

Well, we are getting close here. Spent the last couple days cleaning up hoses, repainting the air box and zincing some final parts. Got the smog pump in and all the attachments. The hoses on this thing are a small nightmare. It is hard to find hoses for a '73 anywhere. I was able to get the smog pump 'Air In' hose from Classic Datsun, but that is it. The PCV hose and 'Air Out' smog hose were in bad shape. So, I got some cloth tape from Home Depot and tried to wrap them similar to the hose I got from Classic Datsun. Not a perfect match, but much better than the old look. I did get the air box on and all the 'millions' of hoses hooked up. Need to get Decals for a '73 if available. Need two for the radiator and one smaller rectangular for the air box. Also need to get the gold decals that go on underside of the hood if possible I put oil in the motor and gas in the tank and cranked it over. Unfortunately no quick start. Didn't have much time to check why (movie night) so will work on that another day. Hopefully I can be driving this around next week. Really love how this has turned out. Once the motor is up and running, I will work on cleaning up the underside.

Only because my wife drove the yellow one and did her crochet while I toured the show. We had the only two Japanese cars there. No awards for foreign cars, but that's OK. I like the conversation best. The guy who won best Camaro (and believe me, there were a lot of Camaro's there) loved the '70 Z. We ended up talking over an hour. His car was a near flawless restoration. He gave me a lot of cool tips on prepping the Z for shows. Best story was a guy who made it from New Jersey to LA in 38 hours in his Z (Going back to school at USC). Said him and his friend made one stop for food in New Mexico. Only other person at the restaurant was the police chief who was with two women at the bar. Police chief loved the car and told the two college kids where his two officers were posted. He said they could go as fast as they wanted but slow down at the area where the two cops were. Sure enough, the cops were right where he said they were. They slowed at the right time, just as the chief told them. Very funny.

So, one of my Z goals this year was to enter my Z or Z's in car shows that are not specifically Z, or Datsun shows. So I entered my '70 and '71 (pre-'72 cars only allowed) in the 24th annual Vista Burger Run. There were over 500 cars there. I had the only 2 Z's in the show. There were also about 10 other English and German cars at the show, otherwise it was all US cars. Got a nice response from a number of the visitors and collectors. The comment I kept hearing over and over from people was that "the Z was the best car they ever had and they never should have sold it.":ermm: Love the AMX's and Pantera's. Doing my best to try and increase the exposure of the Z.