daddz

I wonder if we can interpolate why the sequence was produced in a certain way if possible. I recently had a discussion with a fellow Z owner and we discussed why Nissan would have not produced more 'mules' for longer periods of testing before releasing the car to the public in turn letting the owners become the test pilots? Both of us came to the conclusion that Toyota would probably not have done a similar thing nor Honda for that matter. All of this opens up some room for the collectors of early S30 cars but again makes restoring one of these cars such a headache as it can be difficult to determine what would have been installed at the factory at any given time. The date coding discussion we have going will at least help future generations in their efforts to preserve these cars?

Too funny! In thinking about the future of the Z33 it would have been interesting if the domestic market had received the brickyard red in the first year's production since a RHD Z33 AX8 would be neat to see if it had been built. As I stated before I guess I will appreciate the heavy pig once it becomes a little older. The one thing the factory is doing now is letting one order a Z33 with all the NISMO components from the factory (as in they will be printed on the window sticker) which was not done in 2002 when I ordered mine. With regard to the stock 240Z class I wish I could have been there in person to see all of the detail as you and 'kats' have mentioned. At the Tidewater Show in May a fellow showed up with an unrestored original yellow 240Z (early '70 production) and it was detailed to such a high degree that I wish it could have been displayed upon an outdoor rack so that everyone could enjoy the many hours spent on the undercarriage. Supposedly the car has only covered about 34,xxx miles from new! I will post some pics when I get a chance.

Chris, You don't want a big, fat, heavy 350Z do you? If you decide to get one they can be fun but when you step back into an S30 you will scrath your head and wonder about all of this 'progress' that has befallen us in the past 36 years. I think I may keep mine parked another few years as I seem to like cars when they are at least 10 to 15 years old.

To answer your question: yes, unfortunately! The '77 280Z that I am speaking about used to be mine (HLS30-375108 02/77) but I gave it to my father about four years ago and he drove it for about a year and then a leaky injector kept the car in the garage. Finally after having swapped a used injector another one began leaking and at that point I convinced my father to tow the car southward so that my ex-Nissan mechanic could attend to the injector problem. Only thing he is sloooooow and it has taken the better part of two years to bring it to this point. At least he caught the beginnings of another problem while replacing the heater valve under the dash and installed a new heater core while we were at it. In any event I replaced the valve cover breather hoses as well as the auxilliary air regulator hoses with new Nissan pieces and while I was at it a new Nissan fuel filter. I drove the car about 65 miles roundtrip last evening and that seemed to do the trick. The fuel pressure regulator that the Nissan dealer sold me was the wrong one (it is for a '78) so that one will go into the inventory. So for now there will hopefully be no need to drop the gas tank. BTW, if anybody's interested my avatar car ('78 280Z HLS30437667 11/77) is going to be for sale this month.

Another possibility which comes from the car sitting for extended periods of time and which may also be causing one of my 280Z's to act strangley is this: in the fuel tank you may have a clogged pickup; there is a small screen at the end of the pickup and it may well have become clogged. You may end up having to punch through the screen to cure the problem but the gas tank needs to be removed which is sort of a big job. In my case the 280Z in question is a '77 280Z that has been sitting since April of 2003. It has recently received new Nissan injectors, injector relays, exhaust and intake manifold studs and gasket. I have replaced all of the vacuum lines with silicone hoses from hose techniques. The spark plugs were replaced with NGK BPR6ES11's, new NGK spark plug wires, Nissan dist. cap and rotor and new Nissan air filter. While I was at it the fusible links and covers were replaced and the contacts cleaned while I was at it. I am about to install a new Nissan fuel filter and Nissan fuel pressure regulator as I did not have access to these parts prior to now. The car would not start for about a week after the initial drive home from the shop. It had stalled on the way home and restarted just fine. Once changing the cap, rotor, wires, etc. it refused to start. After letting it sit for about a week it started and has been doing so for about two weeks. Like yours, mine would stumble on start up and smooth out once given a bit of gas. I will install the parts mentioned above and let you know how it goes. I really do not want to have to drop the gas tank if I can help it. Good luck.

How true! I once saw an ad on ebay for an old Nissan President eight cylinder engine in San Francisco and the owner wouldn't ship understandably but the asking price was less than 1,000USD. It would have been worth buying an old S30 and removing the seat to drive it back across country? I believe like alot of other commodities that old rare Nissan parts and some cars have started to catch up with inflation and in some cases have begun to outpace it. I just read about an old Prosche 356A cabriolet "rusting hulk" sold for 8,600USD and it was a complete basket case. Just as they say though "they are not making anymore".

71 240Z HLS3008323-- No name as of yet--thinking of 'zetto' from 240ztt 77 280Z HLS30366531--The pilot's car--referring to the original owner being a Navy pilot. 78 280Z HLS30437667--The colonel's car--original owner was a retired Army colonel when I bought it from him; it is also known as the "sunroof car" as it is in my avatar and has an aftermarket sunroof installed which I hate. 78 280Z HLS30448652--This has been called the "junkyard car" as it was bought from a junkyard car. 78 280Z HLS30453361*--Currently known as the parts car but as it comes apart it may achieve a name. 78 280Z HLS30456240--This one is known as the "DD" car having been acquired from the late Dtasun Dynamics. 81 280ZX hdtp--This is simply called the gray car but this name may change as it has the Epsilon wheels on it so maybe a name referring to the wheels might be in order. It also originally came from San Diego Datsun so I might start calling it the San Diego car. 82 280ZX hdtp--This one has no name yet either but it came from Huntington Beach so maybe a name incorporating that? This one made it across country without a hickup so maybe a name for its durability? 86 300ZX hdtp *146597--This one was called "Lady Clara" by its original owner and I haven't referred to it as such and maybe that's why it has consumed alrge quantities of cash and parts? 86 300ZX hdtp *148652--No name as of yet but this one made the trip from Sherman Oaks, Ca. to Florida without too much trouble so a good name is in order. 03 350Z AX8--The "pig 30" seems to come to mind as this name also refers to a friend's nickname for my father's Hunter 30 sloop which according to my friend is a pig in the water and not very fast or quick to change directions. Since the zetto san ju san is a fat heavy pig this name often comes to mind. 72 Toyota Celica--No name for this one yet but it is a neat little jewel of a car. 87 Toyota Supra--No name for this car either but it is reminiscent of a sumo wrestler in my eye because it flaunts its girth with pride. 91 Ford Mustang GT--No name for this one but I have a fondness for it and it has been a fun tail happy car when provoked. This car reminds me of the old Porsche 911's in the sense that with a manual transmission the car can be driven like a hooligan and still bite you on your arse if not careful.