jmorrison146

Steel 14 x 5s have been sold, and the Bridgestone RD-15 is too. 14 x 6 Indy mags are being cleaned/refinished/polished in Charlotte and will be available in a week or two.

Some of you will want the gory details, so here goes: Replaced the seat belts with new, retractable belts. Wanted perido-correct Minilite 15 x 7s, but the wait is too long. 16 x 7" Panasports on the way, going with 205/55VR16 Yokohama YK580s. Engine is OK at 128K, original 4-speed is OK, clutch is fresh. Wanting better cold starting, the OO put replaced the SUs with a 4-barrel Holly carb and I have to say it works well. Car has had glass-out resprays twice, the latest in a Honda silver that is a bit more metallic that the original color. Wasn't a big fan of the burgundy interior, but it's beginning to grow on me. Vinyl on the shock towers is faded, but the seats are in very good shape. Going to leave the original seat covers, but I'll rebuild the driver's seat with new foam. Will also stip out the interior, lay in B-Quiet sound deadener stem to stern, install new carpet, and a Retrosoud stereo. All in all, a very sweet Z. Wen the time comes, I'll most likely ask Pierre Z in Gardena to do a conservative rebuild (.20 over?) with a mild cam, the orignal SUs, and stock exhaust. Might even keep the 4-speed.

Not exactly "free to a good home", but close. I have some vintage parts from a 1972 240Z that I am replacing with upgrades. Recently bought a very solid Z (HLS30-53473) from the original owner who took very good care of the car. I would prefer that these parts go to somone doing a restoration or wanting a vintage look. I have: Five original 14 x 5" steel wheels that were on the car about an hour before the original owner replaced them with slotted disc mags. Excellent condition, as new. Wheel from the spare doesn't even have hubcap marks. No hubcaps, unfortunately. Five vintage 14 x 6" US Indy slotted disc alloy wheels purchased 12/30/71 for $211.54 (I have the receipt). Monted on the car upon delivery 12/31/71. They could use a bit of polish, but are in very good condition. One original Bridgestone 175HR14 with the folowing markings: Bridgestone RD-150, Made in Japan, EJJ3 CCA411, and K7113. The tire has obviously been rotated into servicd and has 4/32 to 5/32 tread remaining. The tire has been serving as the spare and is mounted on one of the 14 x 6" alloy wheels. Original seat and shoulder belts (black). Not vintage, but available -- two nice sheepskin seat covers that kept the orginal seats in excellent condition. Not looking to retire on the proceeds, just not looking forward to storing this stuff. Let me know if you can use any of this and we'll work something out.

As birthday present to myself, I had the MSA Alternator upgrade ($120) installed a NissTech in Charlotte. While I was at it, I had them do the headlight relay ($148), parking light relay ($120) and marker light conversion ($57) upgrades as well. I had the parts laying around and I could have done all this myself, but I don't have much time off lately. I highly recommend the alternator upgrade if nothing else. All the lights are brighter and the wipers have been raised from the dead. The ignition has to be getting more spark, which is a very good thing. The guys at NissTech are good to go - both partners are experienced Datsun techs and their shop is the regional resource for southern North Carolina. Very Z, 510, and Nissan savvy and honest to a fault.

Removal of one coil from the front springs and new KYB shock absorber inserts seems to have done the trick. Thanks for all the good advice.

The car is box stock and very original with 128K miles, purchased from the original owner who had full documentation of meticulous maintenance. Stock springs, no additional inserts, and Mulholland shock inserts installed August 1981 at 86K. Wheels are original 1972 14x6 slotted mags with 195/70x14 tires. A don't have a full-on profile photo but the photo attached will give you an idea of the situation. Top of rear tire is about the same height as the lip of the rear fender. Top of front tire is 3" or more above the lip of the front fender. New KYB shock inserts are going in, due to the age of the present shocks. New 15x7 Minilites and 195/70x15 Yokohamas are in the works as well due to the age of the current tires. They have 7K miles on them but they were installed in 1999. New shock inserts will go in first and F/R height will be checked, but I'm sure we're going to have to lower the front in order for the car to look right. I'd rather lower the front than raise the back, although if there's a way to raise the back just a bit I would consider it. Thanks again for all the experience and advice.

The front of my 1972 240Z rides noticeably higher (3" or so) than the rear. New KYB struts are going on but shouldn't affect the ride height. Does anyone have experience with cutting a coil off the front springs to level things out?

Minilites are an old design, but I've got a new set of 15 x 7s coming.

V e r y n i c e !!

Casey -- Thanks for the info! I may consider larger sizes.

Nice looking wheels and the red does look good with silver. Back to the wheels: What wheel width and offset do you have? I have a set of 15x7" with zero offset coming and was planning on a 195/60HR15 Bridgestone Potenza all-season tires. Might consider a 205 or 225 width if you don't have any issue with rubbing.

And a lovely aftermarket sunroof! No, thanks.

Thanks for your service and enjoy the ride!

You might check out Pierre Z in Gardena as well. Pierre Perrot was involved in the factory sponsored restorations and is very knowledgeable. Last time I was by there, he was rebuilding the engine for Pete Brock's wife's 240Z. Restoration in the US of the Datsun 240 Z Car by Pierre Perrot!

Very nice! Thanks for sharing!

I bought the second 240z to hit Las Cruces, NM and was able to buy it for $3,600 without any dealer add-ons. 903 blue with black interior. The dealer added A/C for me a few months later at a cost of $800. About 18 months later, you could see 240Zs on the street and all the advertising had hit BUT there was a dock strike on the west coast. High demand, low supply. I was offered $5,000 for the car and, like an idiot, I took it. I've since owned a silver 280Z and a red Series One 240. The red Series One was being prepped as a track car--280 motor, mild cam, well-tuned triple Dellorto carbs, header, 5-speed, lowered, Motegi alloy wheels, but only a racing seat in the interior. I put B-Quiet, sound deadener throughout and installed new carpet and stock seats. Loved everything about it except for the ride harshness and fuel mileage. Paid $5000 for it, put maybe $2,000 into it and, like an idiot, sold it for $10,000. I will soon pay top dollar for a nice, one-owner, bone stock, silver 1972 in excellent condition. I'm older and wiser now -- I'll make a few tasteful, period-correct mods and hang on to it.

As for the vibration, take a look at how many wheel weights are on your wheels. If there appears to be an excessive amount of weight required to balance a wheel/tire, you might have problem with a tire being a bit out of balance. If the wheel is out of balance a bit and the tire is out a bit and the heavy spots line up, it's noticeable. I had this problem with a Michelin tire on an Audi -- they broke down the tire, rotated it 180 degrees on the wheel, reseated the tire, and rebalanced. Took fewer weights and the vibration was gone.

No Z content, but 16 minutes of pure automotive porn . . . no narration, just great photography and some of the finest automobiles on the planet. Born of a Blue Sky on Vimeo Jim

Welcome aboard! If you need some work done or technical advice, Soren Loree in Albuquerque is a good resource. He runs Miata Specialists (810 Arno St NE, 505/344-9560) and has done historic racing with Z cars.

Thanks to all for the excellent input. No offense Montezuma and Rich, but I thought Carl was the UberElder. I was hoping Julio would chime in -- I think he has gone the Rebello 2.7 route. Zedyone – Thanks for the sage advice. I really like the "twice pipes" on your silver Z! Are they MSA or did you have them fabricated? I've been making the rounds of LA (El A, not Louisiana) Z shops over the last few days trying to get smarter. Today, I had the pleasure of meeting Pierre Perrot at Pierre's Zs in Gardena. He offered up a stock 0.20 over rebuild with, ARP rod bolts, a mild street "BRE 311" cam and full SU rebuild. Pierre is a great guy with wealth of information and Datsun lore. His shop is nothing fancy, but he knows his stuff. Pierre was rebuilding an L24 for Pete Brock that will go into Pete’s wife’s 1971 Z. He was nice enough to let me take a couple of photos. Pete specified the same stock build except for a stock cam, an upgraded A/C compressor, and an electric blue paint job.

Very nice, thanks!

Yep, she'll time out when you wax poetic. Put your thoughts into a Word document then copy/paste it over.

Very nice read, thanks!

The car is a solid, one owner, silver 1972 240Z, stock and unmolested except for undercoating and 14” slotted mags (both upon original purchase) and an aftermarket stereo head. 128K meticulously maintained miles with full documentation and all maintenance records since day one. Solid bodywork—when rust reared its ugly head, the owner replaced the panels and, concerned about color match, painted the entire car. Records are a study in Z car durability. Never mothballed or neglected, oil changes, tune ups, valve adjustments, radiator flushes, etc were all done like clockwork. Interior is stock, intact, and in very good condition. Because the car is so nice and original, I’m thinking of diverging from the 2.8, headers, 5-speed, lowered route. My question is this: What is the value, if any, in keeping this car as original as possible? An A/C upgrade, new stock bushings, new seat covers, and new carpets are certainly not out of bounds, but would a few subtle, functional upgrades (Panasports, stabilizer bars, electronic ignition, RetroSound stereo, BRE spoilers) detract from the value of the car? Compression and leak down are acceptable, but indicate a rebuild should be in the planning stages. Would a stealthy Robello 2.7 rebuild using the stock block and head, some porting/polishing, and mild cam hurt the originality of the car? Should the rebuild just be to stock specs? Z-Therapy SU magic can be part of the rebuild either way. Even though about 160,000 were produced there are fewer and fewer unmolested 240Zs around. I’ve owned two Series 1 cars in the past--–the second one in town in 1970 and one rescued from ITS in 2004. The new car with the 4-speed was no slug and I remember two youthful 100+ mph citations. The wanna-be track car was a 2.8 with an aggressive cam, sweet triple Dellortos, 5-speed, urethane bushings, and lowered. Both the ride and fuel mileage of the modified Z were challenging. The car silver will be driven a few miles to “work” 2-3 times a week, zoom up the occasional mountain road with the Z club, take the occasional 800-mile freeway trip, and maybe make the occasional “cars and coffee” meet. No stoplight grand prix, no autocross, no track days. Am I nuts to want keep the molestation to a functional minimum? What say ye, Z aficionados?

You always hear that the Jaguar XKE was the primary design influence for the 240Z but I just don't see it. The headlight buckets are similar, but to me the Jag's proportions are off -- the hood is too long and the greenhouse too tall. I think that the Ferrari 275GTB/4 and Maserati Ghibli of the late 1960s had more to do with it. Their proportions, along with the early 1970s 365GTB/4 are just right.