Carl Beck

Brake fluid is not very expensive {its not cheap either} - I would change the Master first, as you don't want junk from the old master pumped though the hard lines. Secondly you want a Master that can put the proper pressure on the lines to properly bleed them. Then I flush clean brake fluid through the system until all four corners are flowing clean fluid. I catch it in a clean clear plastic cup for inspection. After that - I'd inspect and/or rebuild the rear wheel cylinders {unless they have been replaced within the last couple years}. Replace the rear rubber brake lines - Then do the front brakes. I use this bleed order - Drivers Rear, Passenger Rear, Passenger Front, Drivers Front. FWIW, Carl B.

The fact that the seller didn't jump on them - leads me to beileve that they were Shill Bids from associates, and they knew they would be rejected. E-Bay is loaded with SCAM artists now... FWIW, Carl B.

The problem with that car is - it wasn't or hasn't actually been "Restored" ie... put back to it original "as new" condition. No pictures of the full undercarriage that show exactly what was done there either - and that hurts it. At this point it is really a very nice "Street Mod." - but not a Collector Quality Classic Car. A Collector would still have to spend many thousands of dollars to finish a restoration. The trouble is most Collectors won't buy a project. Buyers of this car are Enthusiasts... but that group won't pay anywhere near to asking price... maybe 1/2 that. FWIW, Carl B.

... I should have looked. My body work estimate is based on the lastest 240Z resored. I took the body shop a bare shell. That one took new floorboards, an NOS Right Rear Quarter, replacement innerfender wells on both rears, replacement dog leg on the left. The car was on a rotisserie and the undercarrage was striped to bare metal and completely refinished, sealed etc. All paint/supplies were PPG. At first I thought the estimate was a bit high on that last project .. but after all the metal work was done - I felt it was a very fair price. About 1700.00 of that $14K was for the body parts replaced. About $6K was labor for the metal work and the other $6K was for a very high quality paint job. When the metal work was done - you could not tell the car was ever touched.. Of course prices vary depending on the overhead of the location in which the shop operates. I tried to keep a very accurate track of the actual time spent on the last car - I don't work too fast but I'm fairly efficient at most tasks.. so I feel that the 650 hour figure is pretty close. FWIW, Carl B.

That will be a much better arrangement - with the sensor ahead of the thermostate - you would read water temp in the block/head... So you would get a warning if/when the thermostate sticks shut and block temps' start to go too high. With the sensor past the thermostate - you would get a false reading, or at best a very delayed reading on block / cylinder head temps. The one thing you don't want to do is overheat the L series engines. FWIW, Carl B.

I'd estimate - around $14K for metal work, replacement parts, body work and Paint & Supplies. Then perhaps another $15K redoing everything else. On top of that about 650 hours of your weekend labor. When finished, you would have a high quality restoration - ready for the next 50 years. As long as you get inside all body panels and stop all rust.. $30K isn't too much to have a finished car - especially one that has been in the family since new. Looks like it was originally White with Red interior.. Can you do it for less ? Yes - but no sense doing it if you don't go 100%.. HOWEVER - the only real reason to do it - is because you enjoy the process. You enjoy the time spent in the garage, you enjoy the personal satisfaction of getting each part, component, assembly finished and looking like new again. Getting done can not be the goal - enjoying the process is the objective. Otherwise don't start... FWIW, Carl B.

Hummmm Sounds like you may have lost more than your Bolts... 22nd wedding anniversaries are great - I've had two of them... FWIW, Carl B.

Call your local Nissan Dealer Parts Dept. and ask them to do a Dealer Search for 11060-U2001 Water Outlet. Get this one on E-Bay Item number: 370612906203 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Datsun-240z-260z-Water-Outlet-Thermostat-Housing-NOS-/370612906203?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item564a4028db&vxp=mtr Put the one you have on E-Bay like this joker Item number: 360432206257 http://www.ebay.com/itm/69-70-71-72-73-74-DATSUN-240Z-WATER-OUTLET-NEW-MADE-IN-USA-/360432206257?pt=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item53eb6f01b1&vxp=mtr Or - just go buy a plug and plug the hole you don't need. IF YOU HAVE A TEMP SENSOR in the bottom half of that assembly - below the thermostate. FWIW, Carl B.

Hi Jonu: That is interesting. I just checked all my 240Z's.. and none of them have a temp. sensor in the Gooseneck {or top of the thermostat housing}. I checked the Parts Catalog - and it says that the L24 & L26 use the same part - ie a Gooseneck with no sensor in it. In both cases the temp. sensor is located below the thermostat in the bottom half of that housing/assembly. Looking at the L28E's in my 78 280Z factory service manual - it also shows the temp. sensor in the bottom of the housing... Looking at my 83 280ZX service manual - that does show a "water outlet" in the gooseneck.. If you have a temp. sensor in the bottom half of that housing - under the thermostat - then to use that gooseneck you'll just have to plug that extra hole. If you don't have a temp. sensor in the bottom half of that housing/assembly - then I'd try to get the right parts to put back on the engine. What part number did you use when you ordered that new gooseneck? FWIW, Carl B.

Can you post a Picture of the "new" and "old" outlet housings?

nissanparts.cc lists them as "available - usually ships in two to four weeks" Courtesy says NLA from Nissan -but they may be in a Dealer Inventory somewhere. I've found a lot of parts by having the Dealer Inventory searched.. Might Give Courtesy Parts a call.. and ask them to search Dealer Inventory 11345-N3000 FWIW, Carl B.

I agree. Here is one - fly to Gainesville, Florida and drive it home. Makes a nice weekend trip. 1975 280Z five speed. Don Ahrens writes: " the mechanical things done on the 75 280z . 42k . original threw out. perfect floors, no rust, orignal paint, perfect bumpers including rubber. I just replace fuel pump with a nissan pump, no longer avalible, upper and lower rad., heater, bypass hoses and clamps all nissan. asking 5500. as is. We have pictures posted to Ahrens Auto Face page" Don tells me that the paint is bad.. http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10151015878922774&id=665002773#!/AhrensAutoService Drive it the way it is - get it repainted later. 42K miles and unmolested.. FWIW, Carl B.

Oops.. never mind.. Carl B.

I think it is more likely that the Staff member helping at the Ault Park Concours simply made a mistake printing up the sign. Or the owner simply put 2400cc on the entry app. by mistake. Wonder if Bob got any pictures of the engine from the other side.. FWIW, Carl B.

40 years old... Think about that... If you bought a new Pontiac GTO in 1965... driving a 40 year old car would put you in a 1925 Ford. If you have a 1970 240Z.... 42 years earlier you might have been driving a 1928 Ford... or perhaps a 1928 M/B SSK... Today driving a 40 year old Z - you are still driving a relatively modern car.. If you have never seen one before, and it came out new today - you'd be down at the Dealership trying to buy one for $18,500.00 adjusted for inflation dollars.

I've pulled them both ways; together and separately. If you intend putting the engine on an engine stand for teardown - I'd pull the engine by itself. Much easier to deal with if your by yourself as well. With the engine out of the way it is easier to drop the tranny as well. If you are just going to set the engine and tranny aside as a unit - for body work on the car - then pull them together. If you are going to buy an Engine Leveler - spend a little extra money and get a fairly good one. This one from Jags or O'Reilly for example are a better design than the less expensive ones. The cheap one's can be a complete PIA as they jam or slip in jerks and starts. JEGS Performance Products #555-80048 http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS-Performance-Products/555/80048/10002/-1?parentProductId= and http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/ACD9/34134/N0767.oap?ck=Search_N0767_-1_-1&pt=N0767&ppt=C1944 Picture Below: Cheap one on the Left {Yellow} has a Pivot Point higher above the slide bar, so finer adjustments are harder to make. The cheap one on the left uses a round bolt to support the slide bar and above the bar so there is too much play and they do not operate smoothly..you crank the handle and nothing happens so you crank some more - and then the slide bar finally jumps to the next position... Hard to describe but anyone that has used one knows what I'm talking about. The more expensive one on the Right {Red} has pivot point closer to the slide bar and more stable slide bar support. It also has a finer thread on the rod which give you much smoother action. Snap On uses a roller bearing for the lower support of the bar...{expensive!}. But note the design of the Snap On and the red one from Jags.. The one from Jags is $60.00 vs $25.00 for one from Home Depot.. The extra $35.00 is worth every penny. FWIW, Carl B.

Looks like there is only one connection on the drivers side... but you would have to disconnect that if you want to pull the entire harness out. The main connections seem to be on the passenger side - as you note. Can you get a picture of the connectors in the Junction Block?? Maybe that would help...

Looking at the Parts Manual - it seems that only one bolt holds that Junction Block {the big plastice piece} up - have you removed that bolt and dropped the Junction Block down to see if you can get a better look at the connectors? I don't have a 280Z - so I'm not sure how the connectors are locked in place... Just don't force anything... I don't think you want to try to pull the engine harness into the passenger cabin - just too many big connectors in the engine compartment. FWIW, Carl B.

Ops... reading the manual... seeing if I can find a picture... Carl B.

The picture of the pistons in the block - look like flat tops to me.

Can anyone recommend a good mechanic in Las Vagas, that could be trusted to know what he's doing with a 350Z? Contact info needed thanks, Carl B.

If anyone wants to see what the rear tail light finisher looked like when new - those pictures at Post #35 are a great example. Great pictures... Carl B.

Wow.. a 38 year old Z that looks brand new! I don't recall seeing wheels like that on a Z before..they look great on that car. If I can accross that Z close to me - I'd most likely have bought it. Great cars for Grand Touring.. Take it on one lap of America.. FWIW, Carl B.

Dan: I would highly recommend that you include a set of Dust Covers - that cover the stock shock piston rod inside the springs. This is very important if you want them to last very long. In 1970 - Nissan replaced my shocks three times! As I recall the first set started pumping the shock oil out past the seals in less than 5K miles. The replacements didn't last much longer. The third set Nissan installed when I had about 16K miles on the car. Even though it was technically out of warranty at 16K miles - the car was less than 6 months old. The fourth and last time - the Dealer actually replaced the OEM set up - with a set of Koni's - I paid just a few dollars for the difference in the cost of the shocks and the Dealer ate the cost of labor. There was a real good reason that Nissan switch to using cartridge inserts.. That give them a primary seal on the Gland Nuts that helped wipe the road dirt off the shock pistons - and then a good seal on the cartridges to keep the oil in. That is also one reason that the shock manufacturers usually send new Gland Nuts with their cartridges. FWIW, Carl B.

Hi Dan: Yes - I'm here. That all lines up fairly well with what we found as well. Calculated tire size is one thing - the actual size mounted on a specific rim width, inflation pressure and load or no load can vary .25 to .5 inch in diameter. So all these measurements have some tolerance 175 x 80 = 144.0 mm / 5.67 inch ...5.67+5.67+14= 25.34 inch 175 x 78 = 136.5 mm / 5.37 inch....5.37+5.37+14= 24.74 inch 185 x 70 = 129.5 mm / 5.08 inch............................24.16 inch 195 x 70 = 136.5 mm / 5.37 inch............................24.74 inch 205 x 60 = 123.0 mm / 4.84 inch............................23.68 inch I do still have a spare set of the Repro Stock Springs if anyone needs a set - just PM me. I also have a set of NOS Euro Spec. Stage I's... FWIW, Carl B.