w3wilkes

Here's 15x7 +4 offset with no rub. 205 60 R15's. Using this Discount tire calculator shows that the 205 60 R15's will have 2 more revolutions per mile from stock 195 70 R14. When the speedo shows 65MPH you would be going 64.8MPH or 99.6% of 65MPH. https://www.discounttire.com/learn/tire-size-calculator

Another thing to check is the rear wheel cylinders. Mine were rusted to the point that they no longer worked. They can be had cheap enough; http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/classic21a09/24-5104 I'm guessing that the 78 2+2 uses the same wheel cylinders as the 2 seater coupe. I would also replace the brake fluid in the clutch and brakes and give them a full bleeding.

I wouldn't think you'd want the overflow reservoir sealed. If it were sealed it could interfere with the radiators vacuum as it cooled making it harder to suck the coolant from the reservoir back to the radiator.

It's not pressure in the overflow bottle that sends coolant back to the radiator. It's vacuum in the main radiator as it cools that sucks the coolant back to the radiator.

We don't really have 2x4's in the US either. Once the lumber is dried and planed they are more like 3.5" (88.9mm) x 1.5" (38.1mm), much closer to the size Jeff is used to.

I'm partial to the urethane air dam. http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/classic02a01b/50-1411

Welcome, these folks should be able to help you with just about anything you need to know. My 240 sat for 14 years. Completely cleaned and flushed the whole fuel side of things including ZTherapy rebuilt SU's and it started right up. Now runs better than it used to. I've always thought these cars have a really stout mechanical drive line.

I did leather in my early 1971 and would do it again. The other thing I did was change to 1977 seat frames. Along with springs instead of straps on the seat bottoms this added the ability to tilt the seat forward for access to the tool covers that are behind the seat on the early cars.

Did you also get new foam?

A work of art! Ya think this one will keep up with your first one? ?

This will also keep the speedometer registering the same as it was. Here's a tire size equivalent calculator; https://www.discounttire.com/learn/tire-size-calculator

some 71 seat parts. two complete seat backs, drivers seat bottom. NO SEAT BOTTOM RAILS, used them for a seat swap of 77 seats into my 71. All side mounting hardware for both seats. Full disclosure... Red circle identifies electrical tape over tear in drivers (left) seatback Naugahyde. Yours for the shipping. I don't need or want them so they will go away one way or the other.

Finished and in the car. I think they turned out very nice. The spring bottoms in the '77 seat bottoms vs the old 47 year old straps in the '71 seat bottoms raises you about 1.5 in. which is noticeable. I can now comfortably put my elbow out the open window.

Here's the finished product. These go in tonight.

I'm running the Rota RB's 15x7 +4 offset with 205 60 R15's. This is about 2 revolutions per mile different than stock and no rub anywhere.

What does this mean? Out here in the western states we have hundreds of miles of interstate with 80 MPH speed limits.

Here's more pics and I did use new foam from MSA. The leather fit fine as shipped. MSA told me I'd have to trim the foam for a 77 seat back, but that wasn't the case it seemed to fit perfect. There was an issue with the seat bottom foam. The mold halves appeared to be offset front to back so that there was an overhang on the top front of the seat bottom foam. We cut the foam back with an electric knife so the contour of the top half of the cushion matched the bottom half. It looked like the mold top half of the shell had slipped about an inch or so forward on the top. Sorry, no picture of the foam issue. We just drilled out the track nuts in the seat frame so they were large enough to mount the 71 floor rails to the bottom or the seat, they dropped right in and lined up just fine with the floor mounts in the cabin. You can see that we haven't pulled down the seat back leather to hook on the spikes yet. A steamer helped with fitting the leather. No seat heaters, leather is much warmer than Naugahyde in the winter. For the last 2 weeks we've been between 95 and 102, need to get my A/C hooked back up!

Just finishing up my leather seats from Interior Innovations. I acquired some 1977 280Z seats so I could have the full forward tilt control, the springs in the 77 seat bottoms is also a nice upgrade from the straps in the 71 seat bottoms. I think it raises you in the car by an inch or so with the new foam and 77 seats. A comment on the seat cover bottoms. They come with a cotton cord as a draw string. I was concerned that the cotton would stretch and would probably break under the constant pulling over time. My friend helped me pull wire through the channel where the cord was. This is much more like the way Datsun did the seat covers and I believe will hold up better over time.

I had lost the part that prompted the smoke replacement kit was the initial "Treatise on the Importance of Smoke by Joseph Lucas" Positive ground depends on proper circuit functioning, which is the transmission of negative ions by retention of the visible spectral manifestation known as "smoke". Smoke is the thing that makes electrical circuits work. We know this to be true because every time one lets the smoke out of an electrical circuit, it stops working. This can be verified repeatedly through empirical testing. For example, if one places a copper bar across the terminals of a battery, prodigious quantities of smoke are liberated and the battery shortly ceases to function. In addition, if one observes smoke escaping from an electrical component such as a Lucas voltage regulator, it will also be observed that the component no longer functions. The logic is elementary and inescapable! The function of the wiring harness is to conduct the smoke from one device to another. When the wiring springs a leak and lets all the smoke out of the system, nothing works afterward. Starter motors were considered unsuitable for British motorcycles for some time largely because they consumed large quantities of smoke, requiring very unsightly wires. It has been reported that Lucas electrical components are possibly more prone to electrical leakage than their Bosch, Japanese or American counterparts. Experts point out that this is because Lucas is British, and all things British leak. British engines leak oil, British shock absorbers, hydraulic forks and disk brake systems leak fluid, British tires leak air and British Intelligence leaks national defense secrets. Therefore, it follows that British electrical systems must leak smoke. Once again, the logic is clear and inescapable. In conclusion, the basic concept of transmission of electrical energy in the form of smoke provides a logical explanation of the mysteries of electrical components - especially British units manufactured by Joseph Lucas, Ltd. "A gentleman does not motor about after dark." Joseph Lucas (1842 - 1903) Okay, sorry again, just couldn't help myself!

Not sure that this will work on Datsun wiring since this was developed for Lucas electrics... Sorry, couldn't help myself. http://www3.telus.net/bc_triumph_registry/smoke.htm

I've also gone LED on all my external lighting. I used 2 of these, 1 for emergency flashers and 1 for blinkers, works great. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XS8VX2W/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Jeff, I've really enjoyed watching your Datsun build. As you said there's some controversy around the mirrors. They do look COOL. I considered them way back when, but ended up just going with the stock mirror on the drivers door. A few reasons I ended up on the door... They will be in the way when working under the bonnet (hood) Adjusting the mirrors seems like a pain getting in and out of the car to make adjustments or else it will be a 2 person job. Hopefully you and Mrs Jeff use the same mirror position. (picture your complaint about the side of the car the bonnet kick stand is on) If the glass in the mirrors is flat it seems that with the mirrors that far away from the driver the field of view will make them not very effective. They do look cool, but I don't think you'll see the mirrors on the fenders (guards) on the race cars.

I just happen to be replacing the seats in my 71 with seats from a 77 and going leather from Interior Innovations. While taking the 77 seats apart I did notice that I could see through the center insert panels where the backing foam had disintegrated so I don't think it's just an embossed pattern on a solid surface.

Here's a short thread of mine that ends with the newer affordable style wheel cylinders installed replacing the older very spendy wheel cylinders.

Mark Maras posted this. It was printed by the factory http://xenonzcar.com/s30/files/1973 240z 1974 260z fuel system modifications.pdf Here's the thread