Carl Beck

Depends if you are retaining the R-12 or if you have switched to R-134a. Condensers for R-134a have more and smaller diameter tubing - and are usually refered to as "uni-flow" units. If you have, or are converting to R-134a I'd get a condenser designed for that. FWIW, Carl B.

Hi Rick: Your problem is finding a 240 Z anywhere near you - in good enough shape to start as a project car - that isn't at least $5K to $6K. Seems to still be lots of them in the Western States - but then you have a couple grand in shipping. At any rate - good luck in your search. FWIW, Carl B.

If you are replacing the dash - yes - go ahead and move the VIN Tag - and keep the correct VIN on the car. That is what is on your Title!! IMHO - The half dash Caps never look very good - but the full dash covers properly installed look great - actually hard to spot if your not looking for one. Keep at it ... Carl B.

Call me slow... but that is "36mm" - and what do you have to do to use them? thanks, Carl B.

Easy enough to tell - look behind the Right Side Kickpanel and see if you have the relays show in the image I posted. If you do - a failed relay "could" have caused your initial problem. FWIW, Carl B.

All the US Spec. Datsun 240Z's 70-73 had wires in the harness for an electric pump. They were wrapped in the harness, and not used until later production 73's. Yes, you have to put a jumper in the harness under the dash to supply power to the rear. When the 73's first arrived they did not have an electric fuel pump installed. It was only after the 73's were found to have significant problems with vapor lock and percolation that the cars were retrofitted with electric pumps - and after a certain date they started coming from the factory with electric pumps as standard equipment. When they were retrofitted with the kits supplied by Nissan - the Dealer's installed a relay. See attached image. Before the kits were available - most people just put a jumper in the harness under the dash - and installed the electric pumps in the rear. {no relays or safety shut-off's}. If you have 12volts at the HOT wire in the rear - and a good body ground - the pump should work fine. If a shop installed a relay - and installed a new wire - that should work just fine - as long as you have 12Volts on the hot wire - and a GOOD BODY GROUND. As I recall - there is a body ground on that rear harness - on the right side, inside the car {not certain of that - it might be outside the cabin?} ... but it sounds like you have a floating ground ...I'd make sure that you have a clean body ground from the pump - and clean grounds in the engine compartment {from the battery to the body}.

I can't find your Z there - at this point. Am I looking in the wrong place?

Looks like a real gem.

Interesting to compare this review - with the Personality of your 240Z. I don't believe I've ever heard anyone say that they were bored with their 240Z. In effect I think the owner of this BRZ is really just talking about the "fun" of Driving. Something we all feel that the 240Z offers just as much today as it did when it was new. FWIW, Carl B.

Hi Alan: Oh.. I thought you were just being pissy about the use of pronouns like Factory and/or Dealer. Serously though - It was not a situation like one would have with Bilstein for example. Where the shocks would have to be removed and physically returned to Bilstein for rebuild. Leaving the car with no shocks in the meantime. Since the original shocks used the strut tube as their outer shell - only the internal moving parts had to be replaced. Nissan supplied "Rebuild Kits" for them - so it was a simple matter of removing the defective parts from the strut tubes at the Dealership - and replacing them with the new parts supplied in the rebuild kits. That took about 30 minutes per wheel - so the car wasn't tied up for more than a couple hours each time. When I wrote that the factory rebuilt them under warranty, and even after the original warranty had been exceeded - I intended to indicate that Nissan supplied the parts and authorized payment to have the work done each time - rather than me or the Dealership having to pay for it. FWIW, Carl B.

Either I'm not reading the above correctly - missing a period or comma somewhere - or something is wrong. "up to HLS30-4600(L24)" - - that would be 70/71 Model Year 240Z's "and from HLS30-46001 (L26)" - - NO - HLS30-46001 would be the start of the 72 Model Year and would have the L24 Yes - from 8/73 forward it would be an L26, but then that would be an RLS30 Also - I'm not sure what picture your looking at when you say "above right" or "above left"... the pictues in the original Post all show up one on top of the other. Are you looking at the last picture - that shows the two mounts together? FWIW, Carl

Hi Will: I'm surprised that you actually found a Z that still had its original re-buildable shocks in place! I haven't seen any in years. The shock valving on the 70 Z seemed to be fine for a stock Z - the problem was with the seals on the shock rods and at the Gland Nut. For some reason they were just not holding a seal. At first they thought it might have been some contamination, dust/dirt that got on the shock rods or past the seals there. By the second or third time they were beginning to believe that the rubber seals were simply compounded incorrectly. Auto-crossing on the weekends shouldn't have been a problem for them - at least not that soon. If you don't plan to drive the car much - say a couple thousand miles per year or less - you might get away with using the now 40 year old rebuild kits. Personally I'd keep the rebuild kits as "Collectibles" for display only.Maybe pull the original guts and disply them as well. At least get pictures to share - The Koni's were quite a bit firmer. Helped on the auto-cross course, but too harsh for Daily transportation or GT use. I made several trips from Spokane, WA to Columbus, OH, then on to Clearwater, FL, then back up to Denver, CO and on back to Spokane. Mostly freeway driving, but the expansion joints on the freeways "thump'ed" when you hit them using the Koni's.. you didn't feel them nearly as harshly with the factory shocks. The new KYB's are a great shock for stock / street use today. The best compromise between handling and ride that I found were the Gas Pressure Bilsteins - which are sadly no longer available. FWIW, Carl B.

When I bought my first 240Z in March of 1970 - the only problem I had with it was the shocks. The factory rebuilt them once under warranty, at around 6K or 8K miles. Then again at no charge at around 13K miles. Then again at no charge at 20K miles. At around 28K miles the Datsun Dealer installed Koni's as we gave up on rebuilding the original shocks. At that point the Datsun Dealer installed the clamp with the rubber bumper as well. I was auto-crossing the Z on weekends - and we had previously added a 2" long section, of stick-on wheel weights to the top of the rack bushings, to lock the rack down. So I really don't know if the clamp with the bumper did all that much good or not. The rubber bumper was just glued to the clamp, and over time they usually just fall off. FWIW, Carl B.

There is a Bump Stop in the Strut Mounts in the 240Z's - I'd guess that the 260Z's were the same. The Bump Stops decay/dissolve over the decades - I always replace them, but the Strut Mounts very rarely need replacing. I doubt that replacing the Strut Mounts will get rid of the vibration you feel. When new - the cars were smooth - but measured by todays standards for new cars - the Z's weren't nearly as quite. In addition to wind noise - the body design - ie. the hatch back coupe - becomes an megiphone for road noise as the struts are bolted directly to the body on relatively hard rubber/steel mounts. I'd say that tire selection in terms of size, tread patterns etc play the largest roll in providing as smooth and quite a ride as you can get. FWIW, Carl B.

I just grab them with a good long handled Pipe Wrench, the more force you put on the piple wrench the more it grips the fill plug. FWIW, Carl B.

That clamp is supposed to have a rubber bumper on one side. It was put there to limit the movement of the steering rack inside the steering rack mount bushings. FWIW, Carl B.

I don't think that the magazine and Jay are talking about the same car at all... just say'en...

The results look pretty impressive. I'll have to give it a try on something... Always good to find new ways of doing jobs like these. FWIW, Carl B.

HI Bob: THAT IS REALLY GREAT - as we've talked about in another Thread - getting our Z's into Premier Concours and Historic Racing Events that generate a lot of Media Coverage - helps increase the visibility and market values for all Classic, Collectible and Special Interest Z Cars. Can't tell you how happy I am that you found "THE GIANT KILLER" - but on the other hand I'm kind of sad that now I can stop look for it - FWIW, Carl B.

Hi E. Humm... that's interesting. I have an NOS set - and the gasket comes from the factory attached to the "body side" of the plexiglass cover - then the trim ring goes on top of the plexiglass. The rubbber seal on mine would never come in contact with the stainless/chrome trim ring. Mine are 63900 & 63901-4621 If the rubber seal were in place, you would not see the lip of the trim ring though the plexiglass cover. I suppose that if the rubber seal were peeled off the plexiglass cover - that could account for the discoloration I'm seeing. But why would anyone remove the seal from the cover on a NEW set of headlight covers? There is no film protecting the adhesive - the rubber seal is already attached to the plexiglass from the factory, and side that meets the body is smooth rubber. I don't believe that we are seeing the rubber seals. The rubber seals on my set at least - come from the factory with the hole pre-punched, the hole in the plexiglass pre-drilled - you can't see the hole in the plexiglass with the rubber seal in place. I sent him the Question - 8/28 - no reply yet nor has the Question been Posted to his listing. I also believe that if he had the mounting hardware - he would know it takes more than 4 screws to mount them. Yes - I could have been reading that into it. Reviewing his reply about the condition it states. "They don't appear to have ever been installed." Just my opinon - but I think they have been installed, and they should be sold as "USED". The seller may be unaware of what is missing - unaware that the seals have been removed.. etc. All of that is the difference between a USED set for $800.00 and a NOS set for $1400.00. FWIW, Carl B.

Jay mentions his recent visit to Nissan Japan to view the new 240Z? http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/collections/pebble-beach/pebble-beach-2012-concept-lawn/index.shtml

Corrosion on the underside of the Stainless Trim Rings Lack of having the original rubber seals with them Lack of having the original mounting hardware The Sellers comments - that they "look new", and the fact that he doesn't have the original box etc. If you get a set of Headlight covers out of the box, without the mounting hardware - and you bought them second hand from another person - none of that adds up to stating that they are "NEW". IF he wanted to discribe them as being in "like new" condition - I could see that. I just think that listing them as "NEW" then adding "see details" is misleading at best. FWIW, Carl B.

GREAT PICTURE - - Who was driving #47? Carl B.

One thing that can be said is - - you wind up with a spare bedroom full of parts!! The second thing that can be said is - your wife tells you its time to clean that "stuff" out!! The third thing that can be said is - it takes a long time to inventory everything, find the Part Numbers, Descriptions and Prices.. FWIW, Carl B

They are USED... I don't see how he can list them as "NEW - see details" I've seen them sell for anywhere between $400.00 used to $1400.00 New. You don't have to be wealthy to buy one thing you really want - that cost less than a couple grand. You just have to REALLY WANT it.