Carl Beck

For the life of me - I only remember the 81 280ZX Tubo being offered with and A/T. I'm pretty sure they didn't get the T-5 until 82...

Hi Jeremy: 134 RWH is very commendable... The car looks super too,... pays to keep looking until you find a good one and it looks like you did. A T-5 from an 81?... Carl B. Carl Beck Clearwater, FL USA http://ZHome.com

Just wanted to get to you before Alan did ! <img src=http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/images/smilies/c.gif> Just too funny.... by the way... is that 213 or 223? The image is a little fuzzy..

Good to know Mike ... you are right we seldom hear of failures of this type in the 240-Z's. They have a well earned reputation for rock solid reliability. Nonetheless, they are now 30+ years old... and it would most likely be a very good idea if we all started checking the bolts/nuts in our drive-lines, as well as everything under our cars. Anything less than proper torque - and those old nuts/bolts can get tore up pretty fast. Carl B.

Did that stamp say "S30-" or "HS30"? Is that 213 or 223? 213th (223rd) RHD DATSUN 240-Z maybe? It is an A/T...<img src=http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/images/smilies/adminfinger.gif> Carl B.

As I recall the OEM Brake M/C was TOKICO on the 240-Z's and NABCO was OEM on the 280ZX's. Checking the Parts Catalogs that seems to be the case as well. FWIW, Carl B.

Yes - 70/71 (Series I and II up to Aug. 71 Tokico) had the larger reservoir for the front brakes in front, while the 72/73's (Tokico - from Sept. 71 forward) have the larger reservoir in the rear. The 70/71's had the bleeder valves on the inside toward the engine, while the 72/73's had them on the outside under the fender. Huge difference in price between the two also (at least the last time I bought them). Hummmm.... the distance between the brake line fittings is closer on the 70/71... and they are wider apart on the 72/73.... If you tried to interchange them, I don't believe that the brake tubing would line up properly... so you'd know something was wrong.... as you tried to force them into a new location... ( as I recall, I made that mistake once...).... FWIW, Carl B.

Ok - sometimes, it's a matter of getting the brake line (the tubing) headed perfectly straight and even into the fitting.. so that the flair nut will also allow itself to be screwed in perfectly straight. A very slight misalignment of the tubing into the fitting... and the flair nut will seem to start - then when the bottom of the nut hits the tubing in the fitting - it stops... nothing will go in - nor come out right... at that point. Sometimes you just have to get the tubing oriented correctly and seated in the fitting .. and sometimes that takes several tries. The trick is to not get frustrated and not to force anything... If you have one fitting that screws in correctly and feels good while your doing it.... you have at least one example of how it should work.. Try working the tubing a little - as you screw in the flair nut.. it it doesn't go.. back out and try working the tubing a little more to improve it's alignment with the hole... etc etc. Sorry I can't think of a better way to describe the process.. nor the problems you run into.. Sometimes it's better to just stop - take a break... and come back fresh later.. FWIW, Carl B.

Yes - that is why I ask if it was an OEM Nissan Replacement Part Agreed - that is why I said "tapered fittings",... it was the only way to describe how the flair nut would feel as it was initially screwed into place. FWIW, Carl B.

Ok - so once you bled the MC.... did you then proceed to bleed the brakes again? To assure that you have now cleared any air from the lines... Carl B.

Hi Steve: The were originally smaller versions of the plastic rivets as used in the interior panels. I believe you can still order them from your Nissan Dealer's Parts Dept. FWIW, Carl B.

Hummm.... that's one of those questions that without being there to personally put your hands on it - and feel it.... it's really hard to say. The brake line fittings are tapered fittings - so they are going to screw in only a short distance easily by hand... but you should feel that they are screwing in straight and when you put a line wrench on the flair nuts, they should be very easy to turn with the wrench until the begin to tighten down... Is this a Nissan OEM Part?... and are you sure it's the right one? FWIW, Carl B.

Hi Arnie: Every original spare wheel I've seen in a 240-Z has been painted black on the outside face. FWIW Carl B.

They look very much like the original Racing Mirror Sets sold via the Datsun Dealers Parts Dept.... They came as either a set of Mirrors - or they were included in the Datsun Rear Window Shade Kits. They were metal, but they were actually pretty cheap as well. While they do look good on the first generation Z's... they really don't have enough angle adjustment to make them really useful, while at the same time being positioned for looks. See: <a href=http://zhome.com/History/240ZRacingMirrors.htm TARGET=NEW> Datsun Racing Mirror Set</a> You can find them on E-Bay every once in a while... FWIW Carl B.

Hi Datfreak: I like to think of the vacuum advance as a "load compensation advance" (as in the How To Modify book) - - that is employed at lower RPM's to advance the timing as more fuel is feed to the engine. when a demand or load is placed on it (you start to press on the gas pedal)... As the engine comes up to speed, the mechanical advance takes over to advance the timing as the vacuum advance backs off (it backs off because you aren't holding the throttle wide open once the desired speed is reached.) What you really have to be concerned with is not only "Advance" that can be dialed in by the distributor and Total Advance numbers (distributor plus initial advance at crank) but the "Timing Curve" - that determines at what RPM the advance is brought in. Swapping distributors from one model car to another, can result in a real performance loss - if the timing curve isn't the one needed by the car/engine receiving the distributor. (and in most cases the timing curves from the factory are intended to meet emissions standards, not to provide the best performance). So you need to put the replacement distributor in the hands of a capable automotive ignition shop - who will put it on a Distributor Machine - to measure/record the entire timing curve in the distributor... ie how much advance takes place at each incremental increase in engine RPM. Then make adjustments to it - to dial in the timing curve you need for your engine. While 36 to 38 degrees of total advance have been mentioned and the L series engines can stand them - every dyno tuned result I've seen so far would suggest that anything over 34/35 degrees of total advance results in a loss of power in the upper RPM range. Initial timing is set at the crank, by twisting the distributor. Most street L series engines do well at about 12 to 14 degrees initial or static advance (BTDC) at 650/750 RPM (no vacuum advance hooked up). In terms of total advance (initial plus mechanical advance in the distributor) then - you want to have the distributor mechanical advance start to come in around 1000/1200 RPM and advance 10 to 11 distributor degrees total by 2500/3000 RPM. (10 to 11 degrees in the distributor is equal to 20 to 22 degrees at the engine) So 14 degrees initial + 20 degrees from the distributor mechanical advance = 34 degrees of total advance. A good automotive ignition shop will have various spring strengths and weights to use to dial in the timing curve on your distributor. They will also have the equipment necessary to measure the changes they are making...until they find the right combination of springs and weights. Don't take any of the numbers used for discussion here - to be in any way absolute... just a starting point. You'll have to try them - and depending on the throttle response and ping/knock etc - you may have to adjust the timing curves for your engine accordingly. On top of all that - we get back to the vacuum advance. Because it too works against a spring tension - it is possible to adjust the amount of advance it adds at different vacuum levels - by adjusting the strength of the spring. But here again, work with a good automotive ignition shop... FWIW, Carl B.

It is also very helpful - if someone can stand up above and alternatively press down on the hood - and release - as you push the lever with the screwdriver blade - then they can grab the hood and pull up as it releases... Sometimes if you are by yourself - the hood still won't pop open like it should - even if you have moved the release lever far enough... glad the diagram was helpful... Carl B.

None that I have ever found - but I have thought several times about producing them... FWIW, Carl B.

Mr. K personally signed all 2300 prints... There was a lot of joking about him being held captive at Mad Mikes house, until he had signed all of them before coming to Denver for the Convention that year... Mad Mike worked for the Printing Company that printed them, as well as printing the "Mr. K" book that was translated into English, and had many additions added by Mike - from it's original Japanese printing. FWIW, Carl B.

Hi Mike: If you can get to the bolts - why not just put a screwdriver into the bottom of the latch - and push the lever to open/release? I've never had to remove bolts - to open a hood with a broken hood release cable. Is something else jammed? FWIW, Carl B.

Hi Will / everyone: I have A/P #3 of 300 - These are the "Artists Proof's" I have #2 of 2000 - as well as several others...(#260 my IZCC Membership Number, #42 for HLS30 00042,.. etc). While these were made via an Offset Printing Process... they were cleverly marketed like they were lithographs (or serigraphs). When a lithograph is made from an original piece of Art... the Artists actually redraws the artwork by hand on one or more silk screens.... this may involve three or more silk screens before all the colors are put down. Because the silk screens do wear out - the first prints made are always the best quality... Artists Proof's are usually limited to 10 or 15 at most... With high quality offset printing - they could have ran 10,000 of them and the actual quality would have been the same for all of them.. The images are simply pictures of the original artwork. Yea Gad... I'd love to see these selling at $400.00 - I've given a few away to friends over the years. As I recall - they sold them at the 1996 Convention for around $50.00 for the Prints and $75.00 for the more limited A/P's. It was a way of raising money for the Convention expenses. Might be worth $150.00 by now... FWIW, Carl B. Carl Beck Clearwater, FL USA http://ZHome.com

Hi Enrique: Yes, the Series I, Series II and very early Series III cars had the rubberized fabric bands for support of the thick foam rubber seat cushion...Sometime in Jan. of 72 the cars started coming with the spring supports in the seat bottoms. That was necessary, so that the deflection of the seat bottom could be sensed - for the Seat Belt warning system to work. You can tell the early Series III cars from the later one's simply by looking at the center console (if it's original)... the early cars didn't have Red Seat Belt Warning Lights on the cover over the fuse box. "71" - - "72"? I thought we were talking about Series I and II differences... Series I 10/69 into 01/71 Series II 01/71 into 09/71 Series III 09/71 into 08/72 Series IV 08/72 into 08/73 Other than the seats... if you really did mean Series I - with the round seat angle adjusting knob..It sounds like #43274 had the items that a Series II car should have. The Series I and II dash and center console were the same. The indent for the hazard switch label started with the Series III cars..and the center console was redesigned at that point partly because of the new Type "B" transmission. Carl B.

Little question that during the few weeks that Series were changing, there are some overlap of parts or body configurations. But that is about the only time we see that happening. 01/71 and 09/71 Could that be because they are both Series I examples? The Series I 240-Z's were sold and titled as both "70" and "71" Model Years here in the States. Quite possible if it was built in 01/71...Several 01/71 Series II cars did show up with the Series I steering wheels. The headlight bucket - NO - they didn't start production until the Series IV 1973 Model Year... when they had to meet the 2.5mph bumper impact standards. FWIW, Carl B.

So someone swaped the seats out..? What differences do you see in the Series I and Series II dash and center console? Carl B.

Hi Nate: According to Nissan - the Series III, 1972 Model Year Datsun 240-Z's in Left Hand Drive started at HLS30-46000, with build dates of 09/71. However HLS30-43496 is the lowest VIN we have found that has most of the changes for 72, and which was sold as a 72 Model. We have no cars with VIN's in the 44000 nor 45000 ranges recorded at present... and lowest VIN after 46000 we have found is 46354. FWIW, Carl B. Carl Beck Clearwater, FL USA http://ZHome.com

Hi Nigel: Try Courtesy Nissan. They are in Richardson, Texas and have supported the Z Car Community on the Internet here in the US for many years. Some of the guys in their Parts Department actually own 240-Zs. I believe that they will ship to known buyers in the UK. You can check their Web Site at: <a href=http://www.courtesyparts.com TARGET=NEW> Courtesy Nissan Parts</a> And/Or e-mail David House - david AT courtesyparts dot com David is a 240-Z guy and handles most of my orders... good luck, Carl B Carl Beck Clearwater, FL USA http://ZHome.com