GunnerRob

Nice car rzola! I especially like the exterior color. It's about the same color as my first bicycle that I paid for myself. You did a great job on the interior as well. Did you refurbish the door panels yourself or purchase new ones? If you want to keep your Z "warmed up" through the winter I'd be gald to keep it at my place here in sunny So. California! Ya right. Enjoy your beautiful toy, Rob

I replaced my front side marker light in my '75 Z about three years ago. I only replaced the reflector/socket portion with an early Z unit that didn't have the rubber boot housing. I mearly pulled out what I needed and inserted it into my existing boot. It fit perfectly and mounted in the fender correctly. I do remember having to futz with the wiring connection a bit but it wasn't difficult and I have no problems with it so far. Rob

I'm in the process of removing the interior panels of my '75 280z. I can't seem to break loose the bolt that holds the shoulder strap to the roof. And I don't want to damage or break it by forcing it. Is it normally hard to break loose, or could the threads be left hand? Thanks, Rob

Datsun76, I feel the same way as you when I have to shell out money for repairs on my '75. Then I realize that a couple hundred dollars once in awhile sure beats several hundred every month for an economy car (AKA Personal Transportation Appliance [Whitegood in the Land Down Under]). Besides, It's for a 'Z'.... baby!!!

Hi Zsled, As for your headers, there is a product made by the POR 15 people called Black Velvet. It is made specifically for exhaust manifolds and is claimed to withstand temperatures up to 1200 degrees F. I personally haven't used this stuff, but from what I've heard about POR 15 in forums at this web site, it should perform as advertised. And it can be brushed on or thinned and sprayed on. At a cost of $26.00 USD I would think it would be worth looking into. Their web address is: http://www.por15.com :cheeky:

I don't mean to get off course here, but I've got to share this one. Back in the early seventies, on hot day, my brother and I and a few friends were sitting around in the living room smoking joints. My brother was wearing only a loose fitting pair of Levi's (at that time in his life he didn't wear underwear) and when he had just about finished taking a "hit" the big long "cherry" fell off into his pants! I never saw him move so fast in all my life!!!

Biker, Thank you for introducing this magazine. I opened the link intending to check just the Z's and spent an hour reading the entire edition! I especially enjoyed the "local" flavor of the coverage as well as it's simplicity. In fact, I have it bookmarked in my web browser right next to Road & Track! Thanks, Rob

J.P. If it's not too much trouble, try pulling one off the car and look on the inside of the wheel. A lot of manufacturers cast at least their company name and wheel size there. They do look like Minilites or Minilite replicas. They do look like they would clean up nicely. At least by seeing the photo. Hope this helps. Rob

H4LIGHTS, The link provided in the body of your post directs me to ftp style parts lists that are Excel files. Unfortunatly I don't have Excel (only Microsoft Works) so I can't view them. Is there a way you or someone can convert them to Word or ascii files? Thanks, Rob

Thanks for the clarification halz. I find that most people I know, in general, drive whitegoods. Or what I refer to as appliances. I especially doubt they have ever experienced a high g-force hairpin curve or a four wheel slide! Like the guy a few years back that asked me "when are you going to sell that Z and but something newer". I told him "when they stop selling parts". He drives whitegoods. By the way, socal means Southern California. It generally refers to the area of the state that extends from the Mexican border to the south up to the Santa Barbara area. Rob

Hi Luis, If you're planning on working on a car a Z is not a bad start. Most everything on the engine is easily accessable. I can change out the starter in under 10 minutes (from the top!). I would highly recommend that you by a repair manual before you start any work on it. I use a Haynes manual. It's written in England with different terms than we use but it does have a glossary in front. I would expect that for $600 you'll be doing a few repairs on it so be prepared to work on it. 1978 was the last year for the 280z. In 1979 it changed to a larger and heavier body style and was named a 280zx. It definitly is a different car. As far as having filters for the carbs. Gotta have 'em to keep dust and debris out of the carbs and engine. I would take care of the rust as soon as possible because what you see may not be all you have, and it won't shrink. One last thing. If you know an experienced mechanic/autobody person, ask them to go with you to check out whatever car you intend to buy, even if it costs you a lunch. Good luck, Rob P.S. I've had a 280z since 1980 and I can't imagine not having one!

Halz, What are Whitegoods? Rob

Hi halz, It's the San Francisco bay area. Don't feel bad. I've lived in California 42 of my 49 years and it wasn't until I lived in S.F. that I realized where the "Bay Area" was! I thought at first it may be the Santa Monica Bay area. It's funny how we become accustomed to regional terms without realizing that people outside our area don't know what we're refering too. Hope that helps, Rob

Hey Mike, I agree with you on the FWD look. We're talking about Z cars, not Eclipses here. I too like the traditional dish look, especially in a mesh or 5 spoke style. I could live with up to a 3/8" (9.5 mm) spacer, but a 1-5/8" (42 mm) spacer, I feel, is too thick. I looked into the site that onemore240 suggested and found a mix of styles that look pretty good, but there were no prices that I could find and the babalfish link was broken so I couldn't translate the Japanese text. Have you tried online forsale posts? I have looked through these on occasion and found some decent prices although not much in 17" sizes. You might try this site: http://www.zcar.com/classifieds/class_parts/ If you find a reasonable vendor let us all know. I know that alot of members would appreciate it! Rob

Mike, Here's a place that has the Konig Toxxin in 17"x6.5 for $160.00 each. I haven't heard of nor dealt with this outfit, but it looks worth a try. http://www.extremeracers.com/parts/wheels_tires/17_wheels/17_konig_toxxin.html By the way. I feel the same way as you about the VERY high cost of wheels.

This is a prime example of why some people should not be allowed to own a Z (or any car that needs periodic attention)! There should be a LAW!

Dwight, You've discovered what I learrned a long time ago. If you want to keep the Z, have your wife drive it once and she'll fall in love with it as well! I've managed to have a Z (two actually) since 1980 while having two kids, and my wife and I are both looking forward to getting our current one cherried out. It also helps to have a second "family" car that's reliable. Congradulations on both counts! Rob P.S. Can we post photos of Z kids?

No, not really. I lived in Orange Co. and Ventura, Ca. when I used them and it does'nt get very windy in those places. As I recall, when I lived in Vallejo and worked in San Francisco, up your way, it got REALLY windy at times! If you're going to secure the cover underneath, make sure you since it up tight and you should be OK. Rob

tttz, I've had two custom car covers that were made of a flannel type material and they had plastic grommets at the bottom near the doors for a cable that you pass under the car and a lock into place to keep it from blowing off and to keep people from taking it. If yours doesn't have this setup, try finding the plastic grommets at a fabric or hardware store. You can probably use bungie cords if your'e not concerned about theft. Good luck, Rob

Very nice job Mike. I wouldn't be too concerned about the time it has taken on this project. Perfection takes time. Especially when you have a regular job and are hosting/developing/moderating a great web site! BTW, I noticed that the battery tray is missing. Are you going to relocate it to some other location? Thanks for the pic's of inspiration. :classic:

Ya, I like the new look. It's done in good taste and I like having the alternating color bars in the 'Active Topics' section. :classic: BTW, what is the 'Shout Box' for? :stupid:

Happy days are here again! I went ahead and bought a replacement driveshaft from MSA for my '75 at a cost of $225. It fit perfectly and is well balanced. No more driveline slap (or clunk)! I'm very happy with how well it turned out. I was a little worried about getting the right part because a few years ago I was sent a left side brake caliper when I ordered a right side unit. I installed the driveshaft myself and it went pretty smoothly except for the differential/driveshaft bolts. It turns out that the bolt heads are on the forward side with the nuts and washers on the rear and there is not enough clearance around the bolt head to accept a socket. After panicking a bit, I called a friend/Z shop mechanic who sold me my 5 speed for help. He told me the trick is to put a wrench on the nut (in back) and turn the driveshaft with a large screwdriver to break loose the nut. It worked flawlessly! Thank God for knowledgable people like yourselves. Now for the leaking differential front seal!?!? I hope this info might benefit someone out there in ZLand Thanks for all your help, Rob :classic:

Thank you for reply Alan. I for one am new to this world and would greatly appreciate a helpful hand on 'posting etiquette' so I don't step on peoples toes or waste their time. Good Idea! :cross-eye

I found out today from my Z mechanic that both u-joints on my driveshaft need to be replaced. He said that they are 'crimpted' in, that only the '75's did this, and that it would cost about $325 to replace them. I asked if it would be better to swap the entire driveshaft with a different year model that I could replace just the u-joints in after they wear out. He said that, again, in '75 only, Datsun increased the rear flange bolt size from 8mm to 10mm and there again we're looking at machine shop work to match the '75 flange. I could swap out the differential and driveshaft for any other year, but there goes more money into it. My question now is, can a different year driveshaft flange, say a '77 or '78 with the 8mm bolt holes and a replaceable u-joint be drilled out to 10mm so that it can be bolted to my '75 differential? Any help, advice, and thoughts are very welcome. Thanks, Rob:cry:

I found that vacumm leaks can cause these symptoms. Such as a loose oil fill cap, and/or a break or hole in the large (about 3/4" diameter) rubber hose that's below the intake manifold. (having/getting a manual is a good idea!)