Mark Maras

I remember how the front end and the wipers worked in unison. Everything raised at speed.

I'd rather repair iffy factory fenders than deal with "massaging" ill fitting ones.

Jim beat me to it. It may have the proper bumpers. late 73s and early 74s were the first bumpers to include shock absorbers. Does yours have shocks?

Nitrile gloves and a bucket to drain the tank and shorten the hose. Do it outside so you won't have a build-up of gas fumes inside a building.

Charles, we're working on two opposite ends of the car. Jalex, If you don't fix the fuel line in the rear now, you'll be doing it later and it will dictate when and where. Run the fuel level down as far as possible and drain the remaining gas via the drain plug on the tank.

Dump the ATF out of the dampeners and try some 20wt. Let us know of any noticeable changes.

What wt. oil are you using? I've heard about others using heavier weight oils than 20wt. Tales of 30wt. all the up to 80-90 gear oil. Not that I recommend 80-90wt. but it would be fun to try 30wt and 40wt. to see if there's a noticeable difference. If you do try it be sure to let us know your impressions.

The tail pipe extension must have been "the fix" to get rid of the exhaust fumes.

I removed the foam from the outside of the cracks (enough to expose the outer side of the cracks), epoxied the cracks and also filled the holes left from the removed foam and used a hose clamp to hold the plastic ring tight while the epoxy cured. Be sure to remove any epoxy squeeze out from the inside of the ring before the epoxy cures.

If your plugs look good and the only problem is a little stumble off the line, you may want to run heavier wt. oil in the dampeners. Nissan recommended 20 wt. I always used ATF with good results.

Yup, looks iffy to me. I'm not a big fan of rubber fuel lines in contact with the body. In the pic above it looks like the hose is too long. Cut it short enough to eliminate the body contact.

It may be a case of don't fix what ain't broke! How is it running these days? Still loading up the plugs in traffic and running crappy? Are the plugs relatively clean? If you're not having a specific problem it may be best to move on to another concern or sit back and enjoy a brew while admiring your Z. I had a thought about checking the mixture (not specifically the float level) while climbing a hill. If one is climbing a steep hill and the mixture is on the lean side, adding a bit of choke will richen the mixture and one can feel the increase of power. Similar to adding more choke to a cold engine.

I can't recall ever hearing about using a hill to determine float levels and can't imagine how it would work.

You might try adding a THIN film of anti seize compound to the axle flange and or the center of the drum to prevent future sticking.

Congratulations. What caused the drum to stick? Brake drum stuck to the axle or was it hung up on the shoes? Also, did the noise disappear after cleaning?

Start by determining if the problem is lack of fuel or spark. Pull a plug, reattach the wire, ground the plug and have a friend try to start it while you're watching the plug.There's several ways to check for fuel. I like to pull the dome and piston from the top of the carb. then pull the choke. The nozzles will drop and you should be able to see fuel above the nozzle. You could also pull a fuel line forward of the pump and crank the engine over or pull the float chamber lid.

My floats were never level after adjustment and they worked great.

The "strong noise" is likely worn shoes. Pull the drums.

@rossiz removed most (if not all) the extras on his balance tube and welded up the holes.

If you want to have a go at refreshing your SUs get Ztherapy's video "Just SUs" along with your rebuild kits. You'll be an SU expert.

I'm curious if the lug nuts are the right ones for the wheels. My old 5-slot US Wheels used a lug nut with a washer and a long straight shoulder that was a snug fit in the wheel.

@siteunseen Cliff is the expert on needle valves. The hoses from the float bowls to the nozzles were not braided as I recall. The hoses need to be SUPER FLEXIBLE (think al dente pasta) otherwise the hoses will bind the nozzles, usually preventing the nozzles from sliding up (returning) to the unchoked position. Ztherapy supplies very nice hoses that I believe are made of silicone.

The fire extinguishers were empty but their bladders were full.

No neutral safety switch on the early 71s nor a seat belt warning buzzer. Not much extraneous crap on the early ones.

You can weld Zedd Findings over the factory rails BUT that doesn't deal with the rust inside the factory rails. The rails are frequently rust pitted on the inside almost to the point of total penetration and the outsides will look pretty good. Off with them.