MikeW

Years ago I fabricated a cheap aluminum bracket to mount the choke handle assembly to the transmission tunnel, not to the plastic center console. Now I don't have to worry about cracking the console since there's no longer any pressure on it.

Well, I don't know what the tolerances are. Other than the obvious decimal place problem the .293 vs .291 may not really matter. However, if you're going to give the precision to 3 decimal places you might as well get it right. Me giving it to the nearest millionth of an inch is rather pointless as well.

Well, they're both wrong: 6.7mm = 0.26378 inches 7.4mm = 0.291339 inches (divide mm by 25.4 to get inches)

I'm happy with mine mainly because of the price. It was $189 from MSA and showed up a few days after I ordered it. To replace the 3 original metal pieces would have cost a lot more. Since it's a bolt-on replacement I can always go back to the original later if I change my mind.

I bought some nice wrenches from Ace Hardware recently. They may be cheapo Taiwan products for all I know but they work very well. I'm sure other vendors have the same product but the ratcheting action makes these better than a non-ratcheting combination wrench. I bought 10mm, 12mm, 14mm, and 17mm figuring that those size would cover much of a Z. http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1286811

Personally I can't imagine buying any car on EBay without seeing it in person and thoroughly inspecting it first. How many ads say "rust free"?

I don't think I've ever seen a firewall for sale.

My front was banged up as well and I went with the urethane air dam from MSA. It's actually made by Xenon. It replaces all 3 front pieces. You have to drill holes and move the turn signals (on a 240 anyhow). I think all of the commercial air dams work this way. The only kind that doesn't bolt on to the existing valance is the "spook" type. You can see what mine looks like in a few of my gallery pictures. It's still the un-painted black.

I'd prefer to see some sort of internal lists without prices. Occasionally people post that they're parting out a car or have something or other for sale. A bunch of people will chime in with requests. Sometimes 4 people will all want the same part or months later will ask if something is still available. People also say they're looking for certain things (seat mechanism screws or map lamp enclosure, etc.). I've asked for things and have privately purchased stuff from members here. I've also provided stuff. It would be great if there was a mechansim where everyone could simply create a list of "stuff they have" and "stuff they want". The going price is not an issue since there'd be simply too much variation in condition, etc. As things are sold you could then cross it off the list but list the price to give others an idea of market values. The important thing is that the list be kept up to date. If you say you have something and then sell it or if you take those doors to the landfill make sure that your list is updated accordingly. We all might have something that someone else is really looking for but it's just sitting there collecting dust. I don't think the current forum mechanism would work for this but perhaps there's something else that would. Instead of a "My Gallery" we need a "My Parts".

As far as I know the 72's didn't come with any factory air. Mine (which I removed years ago) was a dealer installed option with a big Borg Warner compressor. I'll probably go with the complete kit just because it's easy. $700 or so for the Courtesy or MSA kit (they're probably the same kit) doesn't seem at all unreasonable. I've paid more than that to get AC repaired in more modern cars (i.e., a new compressor, etc.)

I'm interested as well. The problem, however, is going to be finding enough people that are also willing to do it at the same time. Some already have their cars stripped down so it's not a problem. Others might still be driving the car and will need to somehow schedule the downtime.

I noticed that as well before I mentioned the shipping costs being a factor. I have no idea what it would cost you to get a complete engine from the west coast to Oklahoma but you better figure another several hundred dollars. Air freight would certainly be more.

While the prices quoted are no doubt in Australian dollars ($2500 AUS = $1700 US) be aware that shipping will be expensive. Also, if you were to have a problem with your engine you probably wouldn't want to have to ship it back.

I recall having 13mm exhaust manifold nuts but 12mm intake manifold nuts. Of course - they might not have been original.

I wouldn't spray WD40 in a lock. If anything you need to use graphite powder to lubricate locks.

Uhh, I hope it wasn't too much work - that's his car.

According to the Victoria British catalog (not sure if it's accurate), 78's started in 8/77 with HLS30-4200001. As others have pointed out, model years are more of an American thing and there wasn't always a precise switchover.

What's the VIN? Aug/Sep was typically the transition date between US model years so it's likely that you do have a very early 78.

That seems like a huge gap. For an $8k difference you could make a good living buying one such car a month, transporting it east, and selling it.

This makes sense since the main labor is loading the car in a shipping container and hauling it to a dock. A car in LA doesn't have far to go to get to a port like Long Beach. Transporting a car within the US would generally involve paying someone to drive a transport vehicle and probably include the cost of their return trip.

Duh. I must have missed the "panel" part. How about here: http://www.datsunrestore.com/catalog.html

Hmm. I test drove a G35 coupe 6-speed a while back and was very gentle with it. If I ever decide to buy either I better ask for one with 0.0 miles on the odometer.