Mike W

I have been told that the original color on the tail light panels was a dark grey with some metallic content. This same person indicated that the closest color that he has found to match the original is a paint by SEM. Part number is 39033 and is one of their trim paints. It goes on relatively flat, but I also used Eastwood diamond clear over it which really brings out the color and does add a bit of a shone to it. I used this on my tail light panels, exterior mirror, as well as my front grill. Here a picture of the tail lights to give you an idea of how it came out. Mike.

Jeff, Really nice job. Looks awesome!! Seems like you have been bitten again by the Z bug. I suspect the Town North event coupled with a few visits from Blue got you re-energized! Will keep you posted on the drives that we have coming up with CZOT. They won't start until the weather gets a little cooler (September / October) and so hopefully by then you'll have the lime green machine ready to cruise with us. Mike.

I run Konig 16 X 7 0 offset with 225-50 Michelin Pilot Sports and no issue with the center caps at all. Car has never handled so well. Only issue I had was some very slight rubbing on the rear tires at the top of the fender well when I would go over large bumps in the road. A slight roll of the rear fenders cured that problem. Here's a few pictures so you get an idea of how they look. Mike.

Go to this link. I think it will be a good starting point for your project. Seems pretty comprehensive. 240Z Choke Knobs Compared Mike.

Blue, If you do decide to come back to Houston and bring your wife please keep me posted as well. I might be able to convince my other half to make a trip to Houston and hook up with you as we'll as zedy. Not sure I would bring the Z just due to the heat, but it would be great to connect again in any case. Hope to see you again soon. Mike.

Awesome. Look forward to meeting as well. What brings you to the austin area? See you Saturday AM. Mike.

Blue, Yes there is an austin CZOT event this Saturday at Town North Nissan. I have been the club organizer for this so if this is what you were referring to then yes it is on. You can find more info on it at czot.org or the czot Facebook page. Alternatively you can send me a pm and I will give you all of the details that you want. Mike.

LeonV, Your car sounds awesome and I really like the video overall. Thanks for posting that. Steve, I told you that you would love the Hypo Jets. They bring a level of refinement that I don't think possible with the standard jets from Weber. Your car already ran great so I'm really glad to hear that these made a noticeable difference. Now..........For the ultimate in refinement..........Go for the e-Tubes!! You won't regret it. Mike.

Dan, If you are referring to the entire center piece / hub for a mag type wheel, they would be $40 each for the group buy. If you are referring to just the "D" Medallion, they would be around $20 each, again only for the group buy. Mike.

Just one last reminder that our group buy ends on Thursday of this week. This is the date when we must receive your parts so you still have time if you get them off to us by tomorrow. If you have any questions, just send me a PM. Mike.

I wanted to provide a few more pictures of other parts we have chromed from the Z. Some of these like the 280Z door handle finishers originally came as chrome while the tie down strap buckles I believe were originally CAD plated but you can also see what they look like in chrome below. Don't forget that we will need to receive your parts no later than May 30 to take advantage of this special group buy, so start collecting the parts you have always wanted chromed, whether they be for a Z or some other make / model. Mike.

I also want to let everyone know who may be interested in this group buy that our special prices do not just apply to the parts listed above, but we will also offer group buy prices for any other item from your Z as well as parts from any other make and model. If you have a different Z part or a part from a totally different car just send me a description (and ideally a picture) on PM and I will get back to you with a specific quote. Mike.

Just checked my old invoices for these. Bear in mind it was about 9 months ago so things could have changed since then. In any case, shipping for the jets was free, but shipping for the inserts for some reason was $4.95. Still a far cry from $30. I also bought emulsion tubes from him, which are arguably heavier than the jets and jackets combined, and he only charged me $5. I would check back with him. I think Leon is correct - something is wrong. Mike.

Mike McGuiness at Banzai Motorworks has them. His website is here: Banzai Motorworks Scroll down to part ST-13 and there it is. I purchased one from him a while back and it worked perfectly. Also, while you have your motor out for the bag replacement, I would strongly recommend cleaning out the joints that hold the arms together. They get really gummed up with old grease and dirt and this makes the wipers even slower than normal. I completely rebuilt mine when they were out and it made quite a difference in the way that they operate. Hope that helps. Mike.

Steve, I just checked the size of the hypojets that I ordered from Keith and they are in fact the same 28 thousandths that you are looking at. I was also running 60F9 prior to the hypojets. You've driven my car so you know how it runs with these. Of course I also have the Obert eTubes (hint hint) which I think you should consider but only after you have experienced the hypojets. In my case the hypojets got me to 80% of target and the eTubes made up the rest. I think you will be really pleased with the impact of the hypojets. BTW - Were you able to readjust your timing so that the car runs normally now?? Mike.

Duffman - from a preparation standpoint each and every piece we receive is stripped of any old plating or coating that was on the piece originally and so the customer does not have to do anything to prepare the pieces for new plating. The condition of the old plating is of little concern as it will all be removed prior to being re-plated. We do look for defects in the base plastic to metal to determine platability once the original plating or coating is removed. If the base piece is free from pits or other defects then we are usually good to go. If for example a metal piece had defects left from rust this might not be a good candidate for re-plating and in such a case we would contact you directly to discuss the situation. Based on the description of your part above it does not sound like it would be a problem. Hope that helps. Mike.

During the restoration of my 1974 260Z, I found numerous plastic parts on my car that needed to be re-chromed in order to restore them to original condition. Trying to find an affordable plating service that could perform this work was nearly impossible until I ran across a service that had been promoted on this site with a group buy opportunity. I took the plunge, had a number of parts from my car re-chromed, and was very happy with the results as well as the pricing. This service was provided by Mike Robbins, aka 9teen7t240z. As a result of this transaction, I had numerous conversations with Mike about the potential of working together to broadly promote this capability to the restoration industry in general and the Z community specifically and ended up becoming the first authorized distributor for his capability. I have geographic responsibility for the state of Texas and Mike has also asked that I serve the needs of the Z community given my passion for these cars as well as the work that I had done on my own classic Z. To kick off this new partnership, we have decided to offer another group buy opportunity to any and all members of the Classic Z community and we will offer our plastic plating services at discounted prices only for this one time opportunity. We have the ability to re-chrome literally any part on your classic Z car (other than bumpers and wheels), plastic or metal, although our plating specialty and largest differentiator is our plastic capability. We have already plated hundreds of parts for many satisfied customers and our prices are unbeatable. Below are a few examples of the work that we have done. The group buy special prices for the most common Z parts are as follows: 240Z Heater Control Faceplate $90 260Z / 280Z Taillight Surrounds $200 / pair 240Z Tailight Finishers $100 / pair A/C Vents (center and round) $44 each 260Z / 280Z Door Pull Finisher $20 each Door Handle Escutcheon $22 each 240Z Series 1 Hatch Grill $34 each The group buy opportunity will work as follows: 1. Customers will have the opportunity to take advantage of this one time discounted pricing until May 30, 2013. 2. All parts from the customer will need to arrive at our US based depot by the date listed above. 3. Customer will be responsible for shipping to and from our US depot address. 4. All parts received will be inspected for platability. Customer will be informed of any issues that may arise during this inspection and before the plating process begins. 5. Turn around time is approximately 4-6 weeks. Upon completion of the plating process, parts will be returned to the customer. 6. All payments will be via PayPal. If you have an interest in participating in this one time opportunity please send me a PM so we can begin the process and also so I can address any questions or concerns that you may have. I look forward to working with all of you and helping to bring your classic Z’s back to their original glory. Mike W.

Steve, I've been thinking about this a lot. Is there any chance that you may have unhooked or dislodged one of the timing curve springs when you re-installed the new module? This would represent less force on the advance mechanism causing it to advance too quickly and resulting in the pinging that you are getting. Just a thought. Otherwise I can't see why the new module would do this unless it was just faulty to begin with (It's Mallory so that could be it) or was installed incorrectly (not likely given that you did the work). Mike.

The green / white wire is the power feed for parking lights and dash lights. The contact that you have circled should be connected to the parking lights and dash lights themselves. I am going from the perspective of a late model 260Z / early 280Z which is my reference point. Hope this helps. Mike.

Steve, As you know I run a similar setup in my car and have always been concerned about the reputation that the ignition modules have for blowing out due to voltage spikes. Based on that I installed a Mallory surge supressor / power filter quite some time ago and have never had an issue. It is a direct connect to the mallory distributor circuit and comes with all of the right connectors to install it inline with the Mallory Unilite. Part number is Mallory 29371. Also I had a similar incident as you about 9 months ago (actuall shortly before the rally). I was headed to downtown Austin for a photo shoot that I had been invited to by Hagerty Insurance and my car just died on Mopac / Loop 1. Not a great place to be on a Monday Am at about 9:30. In any case it was definitely something electrical and once it was towed home I zeroed in on the Mallory module as well as the Mallory MSD ignition system. Long story short, I went to a local speed shop and picked up a real MSD ignition as well as a new Mallory module (which they surprisingly had on the shelf). It turned out to be the 6100M. The store owner told me that the actual replacement part for my dizzy was something different (I believe it may have been the 905) but that this module was identical and 1/2 the price. So if you need to get one the 6100M will probably do the trick. I carry with me at all times for a spare but have never had to use it. As it turns out, it was not the module that was may issue (a fuse if you can believe that) and so I never had a chance to try it, but it looks identical to the original one in the Unlite. I'm very happy with my Unilite and have never had any problems, but perhaps the inclusion of the power surge module has saved the day for me. Hope this helps you out. Mike.

So I have the Top End Performance 3 point bar up front and am very happy with it. I believe that it definitely helps to control body flex and as a result the car just feels like it handles better to me. It is also well made and was powder coated nicely in black As for the mounting, it is pretty straight forward. The sides each mount to the top of the strut towers using 2 of the existing studs from the strut assembly. As for the third mounting point, there are 2 tabs that are welded to the bar that slip under the front of the cowling and the frame piece that it is secured to. To secure it in place, it is best to move the wiring harness that runs along that part of the firewall out of the way first. This gives you more room and you won't risk drilling through some wiring when you drill the mounting holes. Drilling the holes was actually the only tricky part ensuring that you get them in the right place. In the end it was not very difficult. I was a little concerned at first that this area was going to be too thin and eventually with movement the bolts would become loose and even start to elongate the holes, but after more than a year of use, it is still rock solid. About the only issue that I have had with it is that for any maintenance that requires removal of the valve cover you have to remove the bar first. This used to be a PITA as getting the nuts started on the cowl mounting bolts usually took some finesse and could be time consuming. We solved that problem by welding nuts to the underside of the strut tabs. Now removal and reassembly is a breeze. I've attached some pictures of my install as well as some closeups of the mounting area near the cowl. I believe that the OP was requesting these at some point in this thread. Hope this helps.

Agree on the cadmium and the impact that it has on speed. I had trouble keeping up with Zedy at the Texas Vintage 1000 rally and come to find out, it was the cadmium all along. Mike.

Zedy, This could be a great chance to hook up again! I have marked this on my calendar and will do my best to try and make it. Just finishing up a bunch of little odds and ends getting ready for the Nismo Fiesta in San Antonio next weekend. You should try and get a kitchen pass for Sunday and come for the show. Last year there were about a dozen S30's so it is a great event for the older Z's. Mike.

I had the same dilemma when I refreshed my engine bay last year. I ended up removing all of the brake lines, cleaned and sanded them thoroughly, and painted them with a product from Eastwood called Eastwood Brake Gray which is supposed to be brake fluid "resistant". I've attached a few pictures so you can see the before and after of the brake lines. I am very happy with the results. As far as the fuel lines are concerned, I ended up ripping them all out and replaced them with a single run of AN6 hose that goes from the rear fuel pump all the way up to the engine bay and finally to my Weber carbs. Much better and cleaner than the original fuel line setup. I also do not use a return and have never had any issues with this arrangement. Hope this helps. Mike.

Hardway, When I did my U-Joints about 1 1/2 years ago I decided to go with the Spicer brand given all of the good reviews they received. The only place I could find them locally in Austin was at Inland Truck Supply on East Anderson Lane. They are an authorized distributor for Spicer and although they did not have them in stock, it only took about 1-2 days to get them in. They fit perfectly and I have not had a problem with them since the install. I also used Inland to balance my drive shaft as well once I replaced the U-Joints on it. I do not have the Spicer part numberrs handy, but if you need them let me know and I will look them up for you. Hope this helps. Mike.