Racer X

Frank Zappa for President.

So this harmony dude relists the car at nearly double what he had it listed for earlier. And I see Beverly Hills has another Midwestern rustbucket up. https://www.ebay.com/itm/1973-Datsun-240Z/224281422502?_trkparms=aid=111001&algo=REC.SEED&ao=1&asc=20160727114228&meid=022f1e61ba51438cb951e7149c339691&pid=100290&rk=2&rkt=4&sd=164649789199&itm=224281422502&pmt=0&noa=1&pg=2060778&_trksid=p2060778.c100290.m3507&redirect=mobile

I can see a thick cloud of Covid floating above the crowd.

Pictures?

the SU carb guys in Oregon should be able to hook you up with SU carb hardware. Like Zed pointed out, a bit of wood on the inside (hardwood, like oak, or even better, ironwood), and use a hard plastic mallet on the outside to tap down on either side of the downward deformation should straighten it up. You will likely need to sand and polish the stainless after, to clean up any marring or scratches. It won’t even be noticeable.

Go Packers, eh?

This listing was posted here a while back. It must not have sold. From the ad copy: Spare Parts: (Not Currently Installed on Vehicle) 1975 L25 Modified engine (complete long block with triple Weber setup and electronic ignition) Never heard of an L25. Also from the ad: Vehicle was repainted at least once (scuff-n-shoot). Why would anyone put a cheap Spray King paint job on such a rare and valuable car? It does nothing but ruin the value of it.

Datsuns and RX7s.

Exactly.

I believe they were a dealer installed option. My 72 has them, and the overrider bars. I don’t think they compliment the lines of a Z.

I dunno. That orange paint, with the black wheels, looks like a Halloween jelly bean.

Looks nice. Your Z will be one to be proud of, for sure.

Silicone grease mostly seals out moisture, and also makes it easier to push the boots on and take them off. It isn’t conductive, so it doesn’t aid in the electric connection, but in addition to sealing out moisture, it also keeps conductive dirt out of the connection, the plug wire terminals should be tight enough that there will still be good mechanical contact with the sockets. Also use it at the spark plug boots. Be tidy with it, wipe any excess off of the outside, as dust and dirt will collect on any squeeze out.

Um, no. It looks like the electric current is leaking from the coil wire where it inserts into the cap, and that is carving the plastic away (what you see that looks like burned plastic). It also looks like the exterior of the cap, and the wires are dirty. The dirt can be conductive, providing a path for the current from the coil. Sure, the car may run OK, but that leaking electric energy is causing damage, and it will eventually stop getting enough energy to the spark plugs. You said the inside of the cap looks fine. I would say that given the dirty condition of the outside, the inside is also dirty. Shine a bright light inside the cap, and look for arc tracking (it will look like irregular lines in the dust. Replace the cap, and at a minimum the coil wire (I would replace all the wires. Also, use some silicone grease on each wire end when inserting them before sliding the boots down. That will keep moisture out, and should help maintain dielectric integrity, reducing the likelihood of the spark energy leaking and damaging the cap and wires.

Where is the boot for the coil wire?

That's a snazzy looking hood. I own two (not the Optrel), the first I bought when they first came on the market, paid $100 for it. The second one was free. After leaving the electric utility after 30 years I hired on with the county road shops, working on their fleet. The first thing the manager did was tell me to pick up a welding hood the next time I went by the welding shop, and put it on the county account. That one is a bit nicer, if I recall correctly it cost about $250.

No gloves either. I've done spot welding in a similar fashion, doing the same thing this guy is. Set the wire where you wand to make the weld, close your eyes squeeze the trigger briefly, let go, open your eyes. You can move pretty quickly through the work, but it is not good for not only your eyes (your eyelids don't block enough of the light intensity) but the ultraviolet radiation from the arc is worse that too much sun exposure. I wear lightweight leather gloves (no synthetic materials when joining metals with electric fire), a long sleeve thin suede leather coat that goes on backwards, like that gown they give you at the doctor's office, only waist length), and an autodarkening full face hood with a suede leather flap attached to the chin to shield my neck from the arc light. With the autodarkening viewport there is less fipping up of the hood, which is why guys don't wear one. The leather prevents risk of skin cancer dramatically. Also a good idea to avoid the vapors, smoke and fumes, hey are full of toxic stuff, better yet, a respirator with organic cartridges, or one of those flexible hood things that suck the nasty stuff away.

Chianti.

I know a guy in southern Indiana who regularly hunts and eats squirrels. He fixes them like fried chicken.

Otis' minions. OTIS MAG 1 by James Williams, on Flickr

I wonder why they didn't come up with a better solution for the stabilizer bar? A straight tubular bar above the lower control arm pivots, splined ends with trailing arms connected to the control arm with heim joints would not have ground clearance issues like the one here, attaching under the suspension.

They are available. I plan on cleaning things up this spring when the weather gets better. Not sure what the condition is, the car has sat in that spot for 16 years, along with 7 S30 Zs. Is the rubber something that can be restored? I plan on posting a thread when I get them out, with pictures and details of them all. I am afraid the time spent outside hasn’t been kind to them, and at least one of the S30 cars got damaged some when I moved them there. It doesn’t have running gear or front suspension, and I picked it up with the back blade on my tractor, so the front got a little munched.

I have a 79 ZX, bought it for $200 about 20 years ago. It needed a heater control valve, and the guy who owned it asked me if I could fix it. He asked how much for the valve, and at the time they were running around $250. He asked what I would need for the labor. I looked up the book time, and then told him $200. He said, for $200 you can have the car. It just so happened that I had a brand new valve, bought to fix somebody else’s ZX, and they flaked out on me, so I gave the guy $200, took the car home, fixed it, and drove it for about ten years. Of course it isn’t as nice as this one, and will likely contribute running gear to one of my S30s, and I’ll part out the rest. This is how it looks today: