MikeW

As a temporary fix until I get the real thing I simply went to the local auto parts place and purchased the smallest diameter fuel hose they had. $1.25 for about 2 feet. MSA was going to charge $40 plus another $30 or so for FedEx Saturday delivery. The inside diameter is perfect but the outside is too big for the existing hose clamps. It survived a 10 mile test drive without any clamps. After all, there's no pressure in this hose. In fact, it's actually under vacuum as the low pressure through the venturi sucks the fuel from the bowl. The biggest problem with the temporary fix is that it's probably not flexible enough for when the choke is used. Until it gets cold again I'm probably safe. I can always carry the extra foot and a half in the car. Also, I just realized what happened. About 8 years ago I made an attempt at getting the car running after sitting for many years. With the SU video in hand I completely disassembled, cleaned and rebuilt the carbs. I used the cheap rebuild kit, probably purchased from the local auto parts place. Since the kit included the fuel hoses I went ahead and replaced them. I got the car running but it vibrated so much on the road that I gave up on it for several more years. When I got the urge again several years ago the cheap rebuild kit hoses were already cracked so I put the original hoses back on. At that point I got the car running enough to drive, vibrations and all, to my mechanic where I left the car for about 6 months for a complete mechanical/suspension overhaul. Fast forward to the present: I hadn't cranked it for a couple of months when I decided to go for a drive yesterday. Sitting for so long obviously caused them to dry out and crack. Lesson learned: drive the car often; sitting still is bad.

I just got my 3 day super ticket in the mail. I'll see you there.

It looks like I can no longer edit my post but I meant to add that NissanParts says "usually ships in 4-10 business days" and I really need this for driving to the Mitty next week. I'd therefore want someone to FedEx them to me.

I'm suddenly in need of the fuel pipes that go from the float bowls to the carbs on my round-top 72 240Z. I believe what I have on there is from a cheap rebuild kit from about 10 years ago. The line to the front carb has cracked and is leaking. I'm sure the rear carb line won't last either so I need a pair of them. The parts CD lists this as 16356-25610 and NissanParts.cc lists them for $14.63 each. That seems like a lot for a 3 inch piece of rubber hose but as I found out the cheap stuff is no good. I couldn't find this specific part on ZTherapy's master price list but perhaps I don't know the proper terminology. MSA lists the fuel line at $19.20 and I don't even know if that's a genuine part. Black Dragon shows a whole rebuild kit for $19.95 so obviously I don't want that. Any ideas?

http://www.nissanparts.cc/cart/?pn=25230N4300

Welcome to the club. I hate to break it to you but the flares and wing are most certainly not "stock". A previous owner added them.

The brake light also comes on when there's an imbalance detected in the braking system between the front and rear brakes. This could be from low fluid. I suppose you could verify that this is the problem by temporarily unplugging the lead from the sensor and see if the light only comes on when the handle is up.

The 1973 combination switch can be identified by the extra position on the wipers for the intermittent mode. In other words there are three white dots instead of the previous two for low and high speed. Because of the extra setting the connector has nine pins (3x3) instead of the previous 8 (2x4). I know this because I have a very nice 1973 switch that I bought for my '72 not knowing that there was a difference. It's a shame because it looks like it's brand new. I one point I thought about adapting it.

It seems to me like your decision might be tainted by the perception of getting the BMW at a really good price. Perhaps you think it's too good to pass up. I'd have to ask why it's being sold at that price? Unless the seller is a friend or family member I'd proceed with caution. I'd hate for you to lose your 280Z only to end up with a car with problems.

Sorry, I was going to provide information about how you could get yours repaired but since you need a new switch I'm afraid I don't know where you can get one. They are increasing difficult to find.

Is yours missing or just not working?

Are you referring to the Rain-X anti-fog product? I certainly didn't mean to imply that regular Rain-X could or should be used on the inside. Like I said I've never used one of the anti-fog products.

On modern cars running the defroster - even in the winter time with the heat on full - actually turns on the air conditioning compressor. This has the effect of dehumidifying the air before it comes out the vents. This drier air is much more effective at removing fog from the inside of the windshield. Warmer air should work better than cooler air because when the air expands it can absorb more moisture. This is how a hair dryer works. Unfortunately for those of us in warm humid environments there's not a whole lot you can do. With it raining hard there's 100% humidity and you've got your windows rolled up to keep the rain out so just breathing in the car tends to fog things up even more. If you don't have A/C there's not much more you can do. There are commercial products (like Rain-X but for the inside) that supposedly help with fogging. I've never tried one of those so I can't comment on how well they work or if your glass gets addicted. When Rain-X starts to wear off things are actually worse than not having any at all so once you start using it you have to keep using it.

Apparently the driver is in critical condition with head injuries while the passenger, his girlfriend, walked away: http://www.click2houston.com/news/11693999/detail.html

How appropriate that there's a 30MPH speed limit sign in the first picture. Based on the fact that the car broke in two I wonder what multiple of 30 they were actually traveling?

Here are a couple of pictures of Scott from ZDaysZ where he won best of show. http://www.zdayz.com/Images/2006/awards/DSC_6742%20copy.jpg http://www.zdayz.com/Images/2006/awards/DSC_6414%20copy.jpg This is how he should be remembered; he clearly had a passion for his cars.

I polished mine several years ago and they still look fairly good. I don't think they've degraded all that much. Perhaps it's because the car is always garaged and not driven very much. One thing I considered but never followed through on is the POR clear coat product: http://www.por15.com/s.nl/it.A/id.1435/.f Has anyone here actually tried this?

My 1972 cover is just the board: no plastic clips or velcro or anything else. There are no holes or marks indicating that I'm missing anything. My measurements are slightly different than those above. Start with a 1/4" board and make a 27.5" circle. Give it an 11" flat spot. Make 3 hand holds 120 degrees apart that are 7" from the center. Each hand hold is a rectangle 1 1/8" x 2 1/8" with a half circle cut out at each end. Hopefully the attached picture will make this description make sense ...

I know I mentioned this before but when I POR'd my floorpans and had to use a garden hose with the marine clean step I found that a good wet/dry vacuum will remove the water in a hurry. As E said if I ever decide to cross a river I'd pull up the carpets and use a vacuum instead of hoping everything would drain out of the holes.

There are lots of pictures of floorboards in the gallery here. Just doing a search for "floor" provides the following: http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/showgallery.php?si=floor&x=20&y=9&limit= Most holes in floor pans are rust. The only holes that are supposed to be there are perfectly round drain holes about an inch in diameter that came with rubber plugs in them.

According to the factory service manual: "No cylinder should be less than 80% of the highest cylinder" 150/170 = 88% You can always add some oil to each cylinder and run the compression test again. This will help determine if it is rings or valves that is causing the difference.

I hate to break it to you but generally you put money into cars and get enjoyment in return. If you're treating the car as an investment to somehow earn money when you sell it I'd suggest a savings account or CD instead. Many people spends lots of money restoring cars and then selling them for a fraction of the restoration cost. A $10000 paint job won't add that much to the sales price. Unless your crystal ball indicates that there's going to be a huge increase in value for a 280Z I'd be cautious.

Did you glue the weatherstrip on? If not just pull it back off - that's what I did when I needed to verify that the door was actually adjusted properly.

Are you saying that the door won't close all the way? Usually new weatherstrip makes the door harder to close. Some people have suggested spraying silicone lubricant on the weatherstrip to help make the doors close easier.

Even my rusted original is straighter than yours. It sure looks to me like someone fabricated those by hand, possibly by bending the aluminum using the original as a form.