Hardway

If you really want it, ask the wife first. Focus on how much they are going up in value and just how little this one needs to get running again. Be prepared to offer something she has been wanting. Whatever you do, don't surprise her with it. Wives don't like surprises, unless it is wine or chocolate.

As ZCON is quickly approaching and will be in Austin this year, a lot of the work I have been doing has been in preparation for the various events I will be attending. One event I am looking forward to is the parade lap at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA). Even though it will only be a parade lap, I am leaving no stone un-turned on the car as I do not want anything to spoil this opportunity. A few weeks ago I had noticed a very small amount of coolant coming out of the rear driver side of the engine block were a temp. sending unit had been installed. Wanting to resolve this I figured I would pull the sending unit and use one of my thousands of bolts to seal and plug it. Unfortunately that was not the case. Once I had a temp. sensor off I determined the previous owner used a piece brass pipe which was not the correct size or thread for the boss on the block. After trying a lot of different metric bolts, nothing I had fit correctly. A 12mm bolt was almost there but still had a little wiggle room. My research showed 13mm is pretty much obsolete so using an online calculator I determined 12.7mm = 1/2 inch. Could this be the only standard non-metric bolt on the entire car? I went Lowes and purchased a 1/2 inch bolt in both course and fine thread along with a cap screw in 1/2 inch fine thread since it was in the same drawer. After a quick test the 1/2 inch fine thread bolt was the winner. I tested the plug just for good measure, wrapped it in some yellow sealant tape, and installed it. JOB DONE! For anyone that needs to buy one of the cap screws, it is a Hillman brand fastener, model 880938, Lowes item 137329. That's it for now. I am ready for ZCON and looking forward to meeting many of you in person.

With the brakes wrapped up I bled the system with the help of my wife. The new springs accomplished what I was going for but as a good friend of mine Mike W suggested, my car would really benefit from some taller tires. I fully agreed and went about finding a set that looked good on the 14" mag wheels but did not make it look like a 4x4. The old tires were on the mag wheels when I bought them. They were 185/65/14, made by some off brand, and I had no clue how old they were. After a few conversations with a tire shop but not liking the actual tire they offered, I went with a set of Douglas tires in 195/70/14. I bought them at Wal-Mart, they were $40/each, had a great reviews, and they are MADE IN THE USA. They were just the ticket! On a brief but spirited drive they handle well, there is no increased steering effort, and seem to compliment the stock suspension nicely. With new tires!

After driving the car a little I quickly determined the suspension was only slightly then before. Since the rear springs are from 1970 its safe to assume they are worn out. I did not want to lower the car which pretty much left no options from a stock replacement spring standpoint. After researching the the Moog spring chart I settled on a part of CC223 springs. After cutting three coils out of them they make for a very good stock rear replacement. You can read more details about them here -> http://www.classiczcars.com/topic/57675-my-stock-rear-spring-replacement-wmoog-cc223-springs/ Originals vs. CC223 Coils cut and spring installed During my coil spring trial and error phase, one of my rear wheel cylinders stopped responding. They have Tokico cast in to them so I am unsure if they are original or replacements from back in the day but I will hang on to them. Seeing that OEM wheel cylinders are several hundred dollars now I opted for a pair of Centric brand wheel cylinders for $60 shipped from Amazon. The biggest difference is the brake line location between the old and the new that requires either bending the old brake line or shaping up a new one. Since the fittings on my brake lines were pretty chewed up I opted to bend and shape up a new pair of lines using the old one as a guide. I bought the 20" brake line from O'Reilly's and used the round body of my bench vice to shape the new line along with some hard line pliers. All in all it took about 10 minutes per line including test fits. With the wheel cylinder and new brake line in all was left was to reassemble everything else. The shoes looked almost new so they were re-used.

Another project I tackled around the same time as the exhaust fume reduction project was addressing the sagging rear suspension. At first I thought it was just the strut inserts and sure enough, once I had the rear assembly apart, the strut was pretty much dead. Using a 2" socket and making some modifications with a heavy duty rotary tool and a grinder, I made myself a gland nut removal socket. This made removing the nuts as easy as pie and also did not damage the nut or any other components. Seeing that the strut that came out was a KYB I wanted to try something different. I found a set pair of rear strut inserts for $30 shipped from a place on Ebay. They originally labeled as being made by AST, see picture below. But what arrived was labeled Maxorber. I notified the seller since I bought them thinking they were made by AST who happen to be a performance suspension manufacturer. The seller has updated their pictures last I checked. They were packaged well and upon closer inspection I started to notice some things. Here is one next to the old KYB insert. What I noticed was the construction all the way down to the welds was very similar if not identical to the KYB. Furthermore, they even share the same part number. Since I had them I went ahead and installed them. The Maxorber insert sits a little high in the tube but the included gland nut compensates for this. Even though it was yellow zinc plated I applied a fiar amount of anti-seize to the threads just in case. Installation went as planned with no drama. I figured they had to be better than the old blown KYBs. Only time will tell for how long and how well they hold up.

Another project in the rear of the car was installing new taillight gaskets and re-sealing the vented interior hatch panel. This project was fairly straight forward and was critical in eliminating the exhaust fumes. The 'before' pictures show just how bad everything was. With the taillights off, now was the time to clean them up and polish them. Looking back on it I wish I had polished them more along with cleaning and painting the center bar. This can still be done with them on the car but having them on the bench does make it easier. For now, the before and after picture shows just what a little elbow grease can do. With the new seals in I also installed the black filler panel I have had for a few years. I think it provides a better contrast in the rear versus the silver panel that was on the car when I purchased it. The interior hatch panel was cleaned up, the rubber flaps were flipped over so they lay flat, and a new perimeter seal was applied. The panel was re-installed with no issues.

It has been awhile since I posted an update on #8011. I have actually been quite busy with various projects on the car, many of which are posted throughout the forums on the site. With each project that is completed the car shines a little brighter or performs a little better. Back in February I was on a mission to seal up the rear of the car to reduce and hopefully eliminate the exhaust fumes that were coming. Additionally, I wanted to replace the hatch vent grilles as the grilles on the car had been drilled and riveted for installation. This project went down a rabbit hole fairly quickly as I discovered my car was missing the unique clips that hold the vent assembly together and provide the locating point for the barrel clips that secure the grille to the car. With the help of some dedicated owners I ended up having a local sheet metal fabrication company make a run of the clips. You can see the entire saga in great detail here -> http://www.classiczcars.com/topic/57001-series-1-hatch-vent-duct-clips-restoration-info-needed/

Mystery solved! After a lot of trial and error I figured out the hole size and thread. It is 1/2 inch -20 (fine thread). I had tried several 12mm bolts and they were close but still left a little wiggle room. I thought it might be 13mm but I quickly found that 13mm is almost obsolete and 14mm would be too big. Using an online calculator, 12.7mm = 0.5 inches. So I ran to Lowe's and I could tell 1/2 course thread was too aggressive so I bought a 1/2-20 bolt and a 1/2-20 allen key cap screw. I tested with the bolt first and eureka, IT FIT! I then tested the cap screw and it fit too. I wrapped the cap screw with yellow sealant tape and installed it. I topped off the coolant, let the car warm up to temperature, and took it for a spirited run. All was dry and looking good so I call it job done! For anyone that needs to buy one of the cap screws, it is a Hillman brand fastener, model 880938, Lowes item 137329.

This update is a little late but I got the new tires on the Z. I wanted something that would fill the wheel wells without making it look like an off road vehicle. I ended up going with 195/70/14's made by Douglas. They are sold by Wal-Mart and at $40 per tire, they had great reviews, and at only $9 per wheel for mounting and balancing, it was the best deal in town. Plus, they are made in the USA! I have not had a chance to drive it much as I am working on another project but I think its great way to wrap up the project. I had seriously thought about buying some 15 or 16 inch wheels but by the time I added tires my total cost would be anywhere from $800 - $1,000. What do you think?

I have a set of these on my 240z and always have a few people ask about them at Cars and Coffee. I will never part with them but for those wanting to make a set or make a coil wire for an incomplete set, check out the site below. http://www.sevensinschoppers.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=162 They have a color called Neptune Green which looks very close to the NGK green. They also have Martian green which is lighter but may be more correct. Contact them to see about buying as many feet as you need. May have to get the boots and terminals somewhere else but projects like these are do-able, just got to look outside the box.

So you are thinking of dropping it off at a salvage yard and trying to get some cash for it? If so, you won't get anything as they wants cars with engines as that is the primary value. Your best bet is to put all the parts on Craigslist and make it clear the buyer must buy the whole lot. Your pricing will have to be very inticing, like around $100 or less just to get it out of your way and put a little cash in your pocket.

Unfortunately the plug I ordered is not the right size. It is about 1/8 inch too big and course threaded. Anyone have any idea what size that hole is?

And based on the pictures there is still some breathing room around the tires. Crazy!

Thank you Nick! Order placed, $11.60 shipped. Should be here in a few days.

Not mine but thought they were cool. Seller is asking $575 for the set. https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/pts/6126627093.html Text from ad. Up for sale is a set of Old School OG Nismo gauges 52 mm.:- Boost gauge- Oil temp- NO sensor- Water temp- NO sensor- Exhaust temp- NO sensorAll gauges light up as the should. These share the same sensors as Omori gauges. These are near impossible to come by , especially as a set. The gauge holders will be included. The condition as pictured.

That car was listed on the East Texas Craigslist last week for around $4000. I emailed since there was no number, never heard a thing. Those are more pictures than what was in the CL ad. The whole payment through eBay is the big red flag its a scam. Write them back, give them a phone number, tell them you want to pay in person, in cash. See what they say.

So here is what I am working with. I am actually glad I took these pictures as I can see I need to get my pick and pull out whatever that piece of debris is in the hole. It makes sense British Pipe Thread but I still need to know the size.

240260280's mirror arrived today and I will transfer custody to him at ZCON. Attached are some better pictures of it. The arm is better shape than the picture lets on but the mirror itself does not look like it has been swiveled in a long time. Car will need to be taken when disassembling it. Interesting to hold such a rare artifact of these cars in my hands. I too will be interested to see the restoration work he does on it. Enjoy the pictures!

Those are goregous EhlersRS! The shop did a great job on the covers and the D medallions. I am digging the black cap and all chrome covers, especially since yours look so minty now! Seems almost a shame to paint the covers as it will hide 70% of the chrome. I still have not done anything with mine. I did get the 4th wheel I needed so now I have a full set of wheels to go with the covers.

I've been working on my rear brakes lately as I replaced my rear wheel cylinders. The rear shoes should be adjusted where they are just lightly dragging on the drums. Based on your description it sounds like you have them set this way. The rears can hide air since the path to them is longer and the wheel cylinders are one of the lowest brake components on the car. When you drive the car, get up to a reasonable speed and hit the brakes quick, does the nose dive hard or does it stay pretty level with only a slight dip at the nose? How are you bleeding your brakes - 2 person method: one person pumping the pedal up and you opening the bleeder screw while they hold pressure, 1 person method: a bottle filled with brake fluid with a tube, pressured machine, or Mity-Vac? The order in which you are bleeding your brakes may be effecting the perfomance, you should always start with the wheel farthest from the MC. Passenger rear, Driver rear, passenger front, driver front. Your original post has you starting with the driver side rear. When you say your rear brakes are out of spec, does that mean the drum is turned beyond spec? I don't think this would be contributing to your soft pedal but long term it needs to be replaced if that is the case.

Is the MSA aluminum driveshaft larger in diameter than a stock driveshaft? There is plenty of room between the swing arm and the driveshaft on a stock setup. Can you take a picture under your car so we can get a better idea of what is happening?

I am trying to locate a bolt to replace a leaky sending unit installed by the previous owner of my '71 240z. I got the sending unit out but it was 1/4 brass pipe and not the correct thread or size. The picture below is from my lime green '72 240z but it is pointing at the bolt I need. To my absolute shock I do not have one of these in my collection (hoard) of bolts. I know it is larger than M12x1.5 as my bolt gauge only goes up to that size and it was still loose. It may be a M13 or an M14 but no bigger than a M14. Any input is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Sold for $18,250. Considering it is a '73, the colors are not the most popular, and just a few condition issues, I think it went for a fair price. You are right, classic Z's have been popping up everywhere lately. Unsure if it is hurting the value or helping it but I have not seen anyone get a "steal" unless I missed an auction. Makes me thankful I picked up my '71 240z when I did in 2014.

My 240z, all stock with round tops has around 2.6 turns for the fuel as well. I used to have it close to 2 and once I got them to 2.6 it seem to wake up. I still start with the choke on, slide it to half choke after a few seconds of running as the RPMs climb, and then after 2-3 minutes of idling or driving I slide it off. All cars and carbs are little different. Add the humidity that day, temp, etc. and you just have to keep working until to find the right spot for everything.

Thank you Captain! I don't know what the pure stock ride height looks like but I believe this to be very close. The front suspension has always made the car look nose high, partially because of the small tires but also because the rear was sagging. Below are some pictures from February 2016. The rear sag is not very noticeable but it had gotten worse going in to 2017. The real difference is in the ride quality. At speed I can tell I am sitting level versus before and going over bumps and general handling the suspension is absorbing what it is supposed to. I can still push down on the rear a little but it is stiffer than before and pretty much equal to the amount of force it takes to push down the front. Yes, even with the three coils cut off I still had to use the spring compressor to install them. It didn't take much but they are under tension once the strut assembly is back together.