jfa.series1

I could not locate the correct paint for the air filter box when I restored my car so I polished up my filter box and took it to an auto paint supply (English Color) and had it scanned. They did a custom mix into an aerosol can for me. As to the jack handle, mine is more of a red color, not the air filter orange. I have another one pulled from a parts car, also red. @zed2 - I still have that custom can, call me if you want to pick it up for a mix job.

Yeah - saw those cool cookie pics on FB yesterday. Wendy is still spoiling you!

Thanks. That's pretty much along the lines of the high-build products I mentioned and what I'll end up trying. It will take several passes to deal with some of the rust pitting in the TS reflectors.

Some quick searches suggest that here in the colonies we are not so enlightened or empowered. I found the product in your area and similar in Australia, but not in the US. We have high-build primer and that seems to be it.

@EuroDat what is the spray putty product you mention? Can you provide a brand or specific product name? Thanks.

Your photo shows a tire size of 225/50X15 and a calculator says you are about 1" smaller diameter than OE so that is not the problem. Other than the 8" wheel width being the issue , are you running a 0 offset?

Per the MSA site, the foam cushions are NOT L/R specific. You should be able to swap them from one side to the other. BTW - if there has been some crushing over the years, consider adding some upholstery foam sheeting. It is available in various thicknesses. Been there, done that!

My dealer installed the aftermarket A/C by cutting holes in the inner fender and floorboard for the freon lines. I measured the panel thickness at 0.032" and picked up a piece of scrap at a salvage yard to make plugs to flush butt-weld into the four holes.

Here's a pic of the wires in place on my car, the only one I have of this area. You'll probably have to rub a "fish" wire down thru the opening where the wires emerge.

In some of my previous posts I’ve mentioned the large group of parts I purchased a while back. I recently mentioned to @siteunseen that I would make a post about the origins of the “hoard” and here is the story. The Hoard In the fall of 2018 the president of our area Z club received an email about some 240Z parts for sale. Knowing that I had a hobby business refurbishing parts, the contact was passed to me. I contacted the person and gained a little insight to the situation and made arrangements for an inspection trip. A buddy - @zed2 and I drove up to Denison TX on the TX/OK border and met a man who owns his own railroad station. Not just any old wood frame RR station but a magnificent two story brick edifice. After a quick tour of the historic building, we set off in caravan, headed a bit south for Bells TX. Our guide explained that a very close friend was in the VA hospital in Dallas, dying of cancer. His friend had been a lifelong Datsun mechanic and during the years had parted out a number of Z cars. Some years previously, the mechanic had relocated from Colorado and moved his collection of parts with him. Our guide explained that by selling some of the parts he hoped to help his friend with expenses. When we arrived in Bells, we entered a property of about 5 acres. There was a dilapidated mobile home, a scattering of about 10-12 240Z’s and a couple of 280ZX’s , but our attention was drawn to a 40 foot overseas shipping container. We looked over some of the Z’s, checked out a deteriorating pole shed with various parts inside, then made it to the doors of the container. Our guide unlocked it and swung the doors open to what can only be described as an “elephant’s graveyard” of parts. Along both walls of the container, boxes were stacked about head-high with a narrow aisle down the middle. Our guide provided us with a couple of flashlights and we moved into the container. Most boxes were marked with a felt tip pen as to their contents. About half-way in, we found layers of heads carefully stacked and marked – mostly 6-cylinder, some 4-cylinder. Next to the heads were three complete engines, bagged parts of valve trains and a stack of shock absorber boxes filled with cams. Opposite the heads were several 4- and 6-cylinder blocks. We continued into the container, briefly inspecting boxes as we moved to the rear – a complete set of 4-screw SU’s, a set of triple Weber 40DCOE’s, and much more. We found that most parts were felt-tip marked with the model year and his private condition code of “I, II, or III”. Earlier conversations with our guide about “some” parts availability had been vastly understated! We were in sensory overload trying to comprehend the extent of the container and property contents. Time was short that day and I had only brought a small amount of cash for what might be the availability of a few restorable parts. I picked out a few things and paid for them while making arrangements for a return visit. We returned a week later only to learn the mechanic had died. His brother and heir (in Nebraska) had talked with our guide and another friend and gave permission for additional sales. In the course of several hours, Zed2 and I moved and inspected the contents of every box, hauling selected boxes and items outside for a final decision. When we could haul and inspect no more, it was time to wrap up. I made a final review, putting a few things back even as Zed2 was adding to my pile. I listed everything and wrote offer prices beside each item. The other friend of the mechanic was familiar with the Z parts and reviewed my list and offers, tweaking a few numbers. When it was finalized, I wrote a check to the estate and prepared to load up. I dropped the rear seats in my Xterra and began pushing in boxes, the cargo area filling from front to back and to the roof. Later at home I had time to better inspect and inventory the boxes, and learned that many had additional items not listed on the outside - small treasures and nice surprises. I kept in touch with the mechanic’s brother and listened to his intense frustrations in dealing with the delays of a rural county probate court from his home in Nebraska. He knew that I had an interest in additional parts purchases and promised a call when he was next in town. As it turns out, the neighbor next door was very interested in buying the property. When I did not hear back from the brother, I know that a sale had taken place to include the cars and parts. This was a great example of an opportunity briefly appearing and then gone. I’ve worked through some of the boxes, with refurbed items listed on this site such as fuel rails and heat shields, a ’70 AM radio restored and a ’76 AM/FM not yet touched. The “nest” of inspection lights is currently in play as is the box of turn signals, with so much more still in the garage attic. I hope you’ve enjoyed this tale of how the “hoard” came to be.

@siteunseen Thanks for thinking of me. I have a set of stock springs, now fully stripped and ready for powdercoating when we all get out of jail.

@EuroDat Thanks, a most enlightening tutorial.

@Zup @EuroDat @240260280 I have not yet pulled the reflectors from the light bodies but looking ahead, what method did you use to reattach the reflector? Thanks.

Thanks. Always a Dallas area car, there's a lot to be said for always being garaged and driven in a salt-free environment.

Today marks 49 years of togetherness for the Z and me. A daily driver for 11 years, stored for another 17 years, disassembled and stored in pieces for 10 years, restored over a 2 1/2 year period, and now enjoying its second life for the last 9 years. Pic #2 was taken just before disassembly.

Thanks to @EuroDat @Zup @240260280 for the pics and tips on cleaning up the TS lights.

I'll post a separate story of the "hoard" and how it came to be.

Get the lenses and many other high quality reproduction parts here: https://www.240zrubberparts.com/

No meaningful updates on the inspection lights topic, the bodies went off to plating a couple of weeks ago and I don't know if the business has been shut down by the virus situation. New lenses are on order from Steve Nix, all the switches have been cleaned and serviced. Today it was back into the attic to get a couple more boxes of the parts hoard down for work. The first box had a set of taillights that look to be in pretty good shape and four license plate lights. The license lights have been completely disassembled for cleaning, plating, painting, ...etc. With any luck I'll be able to realize three complete refurbed units from the parts. No work yet on the taillights. The next box was an assortment of turn signal lights - the verdict is still out on the quality of the contents. I did try to break down one of the assemblies and was faced with the typical rusted tiny screws along the bottom edge. You know... the ones that either wallow out the Phillips head or just snap off. Still, there are some promising looking parts in the box and likely a few sets of complete TS assemblies.

I came across this 8 1/2 X 11 mini-poster a few years ago. Of all the colors in the 240Z palette, Nissan certainly got it right in choosing this one. 920 Safari Gold rules!!! The poster refers to a 1998 service bulletin, that would suggest it was published as a follow-up to the Vintage Z program.

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/public-health/2020/03/24/texas-lt-gov-dan-patrick-spurns-shelter-in-place-urges-return-to-work-says-grandparents-should-sacrifice/ Sadly, this commentary comes from my own state, blatant hypocrisy from an avowed pro-lifer. Clearly its time for the old folks to begin heading to the lime pits. This will greatly assist the current administration's goals of eliminating Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security so that the money can be redirected to corporate and financial bailouts..

I went to the grocery store this morning during "senior hours". OMG - is this my peer group??? Limit 1 on so many things, clearly they want me back soon. The limit 1 on red meat was interesting - a fine selection of T-bone and Rib Eye steaks (at a fine price!). Deli packs of lunch meat were cleaned out except for one variety - no one wants Black Forest Ham. I did discover there is hope - beer and soda stacked in the aisles and no limits. I'm sure the brewers and bottlers are just pushing out the inventory so they can switch production to hand sanitizer. I went to the senior center in my town one time and didn't go back because everyone there was acting their age.

I was fortunate to come across one of those locally a few years ago. It had been shipped to a local dealer for their parts department but was not a US-spec model so it was unsold for quite a while. A local Z owner bought it for his car but never installed it and it resided in his garage attic for over 20 years - long after his Z was only a memory. I spotted an advert for it and scooped it up. It's now installed on my car.

I think the 3rd wire on the left side is for the key in the ignition buzzer when you open the door. Your choice to add a wire for this annoying little feature or just go with the 2-wire for the overhead light.

OK - check out the springs Free Length. Almost twice the actual size.