MikeW

I have to give them credit for the way the ad is done. It's nice to see pictures of all the ID tags and numbers and they generally give honest descriptions of things. I do note however that the dash is clearly cracked given the awful carpet covering and they don't mention anything about that in the section on the interior. I also note that the seat covers are not original even though the seats appear to be. At least they didn't start the auction with an outrageous starting bid; it will be interesting to see what the reserve is.

Are you sure it's not just a choke cable adjustment problem?

Dave answered this previously: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showpost.php?p=157989&postcount=42

Wow, the buyer managed to talk them down $95. Based on Carl's evaluation I feel sorry for the buyer ...

That's not bad at all if the car truly has only 33K miles. The pictures look good although I'd like to see more.

Perhaps you could get someone local to go and have a look at it for you before making the trip. I would say that $250 is worth it for a 240Z in just about any condition; surely it's worth that much for parts. You'll need to actually see the car before determining whether it's worth restoring.

With FedEx you can fill out a form instructing them that it's Ok to leave the package unsigned. https://www.fedex.com/ca_english/signaturerelease/

I think there are two separate issues here. The reduced amperage through the fusebox and original wiring is the main benefit of using the relays - no question. This is turn gives you brighter lights due to less resistance and therefore higher voltage - another big advantage. As far as the combination switch goes - and I ended up repairing my own - it's the actual switching on and off that's the problem, not the duration that the lights are on. With DC current, there's always a small arc when the switch is opened or closed and over time it damages the switch. Presumably the contacts would get damaged faster with higher amperage so using the relays should help there as well but once your lights are on leaving them on for hours should not cause the switch problems. My understanding is that this is the main reason that automotive manufacturers have not gone to 24V or higher systems. The big reason to do that would be to use smaller gauge wires for everything - saving weight and money - but the increased voltage would kill the switches faster.

I think you should pull and examine all of the spark plugs. I'm guessing that one of them is going to be different than the others ...

One more point to emphasize how compelling the relay harness is: the stock headlamp fuses are 10A. We all know that these fuses can get hot and cause the fusebox to melt. After installing the upgrade I switched to 3A fuses. Just now I went and measured the actual current through one of these fuses. Actually, it looks like only one of the fuses is actually needed now (the fuse that was formerly just for the R lamp). low beams: 0.13A high beams: 0.33A That's with upgraded Silverstar 55/65W headlamps.

That's what I was thinking. Of course, if he's not getting a spark then it would be even worse. How's the car running?

Bad fuel pump? It's not like there are many places where fuel could get into the oil. Edit: I see now that you probably have an electric pump so it has to be somewhere else. Are all of the injectors working properly?

Can you post some pictures?

Nissan specifies 20W oil for the dampers although people have successfully used other oils and even ATF (automatic transmission fluid). To insure that they're both functioning the same you need a tool called a unisyn flowmeter. You can get the meter as well as a great video showing how to tune the carbs here: http://www.ztherapy.com/products/masterprices/master_price_list.htm

I never got anywhere with that idea. The database part is easy. The hard part is providing a mechanism for users to submit and view the information. As I mentioned in an earlier post I think it would be best if this site could host the database as well as the web page for accessing it. I don't know if the software that runs this site has any mechanism for this sort of thing. I personally don't have a web site/domain suitable for this.

Uh, that was me, not Victor. I'm taking a cruise out of San Pedro.

Yes, those are the longer bolts. Do you already have the proper (10mm?) hex key? You may need a long breaker bar as well.

From the Georgia Z Club newsletter that arrived today: "Georgia Z Club (not Nissan) will be a marquee sponsor. We will have our own 30x50 foot tent just like the other Japanese manufacturers." Let me know if you have any questions and I can bring them up at the meeting next Tuesday evening.

Wow, you are hanging off the hill. It even looks like a few houses on your street slid off the hill ... BTW, I'll be in LA the week after next for a cruise out of San Pedro ...

My advice in this situation is to not get confrontational. It may be too late after the first exchange. This is all just speculation but it may be that there are other reasons behind this, not just that they're being jerks. Perhaps you were working on your car at 11 o'clock one night and making a bit of noise while a close neighbor was trying to get to sleep. Maybe at one point you did have parts scattered and things looked a bit messy. My guess is that it's an immediate neighbor who then raised a stink and tried to turn it into some sort of code violation. While you can certainly go on the offensive and try to force them to play by the rules I think in the long run you'd be better off trying to get them on your side. It may be a simple misunderstanding. Maybe if you explain that it will only be a couple of weeks or that you'll keep the noise down or that you'll keep things orderly this problem will go away. Squabbles with neighbors can quickly escalate and become extremely frustrating.

Paint Over Rust http://www.por15.com/ A lot of us have used this and been happy with the results. There are other products out there as well that have similar applications. I've never seen an aftermarket or OEM replacement. The best option seems to be to find a good donor. We've even joked about swapping the good inner fenders with our colleagues in Australia as their battery acid is on the other side.

For those of us without Hagerty, well, "What's it worth?". My car is simply on my normal policy with an "agreed upon value" as determined by an appraisal. There are no limits like on some specialty policies. In fact, I drove the 240Z to work the last 8 days because my wife's car was in the shop and she needed my daily driver.

In addition to Ed's advice, make sure you get the later model plastic battery tray with the drain tube. I think that most battery tray area rust is from acid, not rain. Of course, a modern sealed battery will hopefully prevent the problem moving forward.

I can only hope that it was found in good condition and that the criminals were caught.