skip260z

That's how I'd go. From everything I have EVER heard about POR-15, it is harder to remove than a bad politician. So it's probably better than any known asphalt-based undercoat you could add.

On my (3-previous owners) 260, there was nothing under the majority of the carpet padding, just the painted steel. I think the carpet padding was/is supposed to be the major sound-deadener. But I did notice that here and there along the tranny tunnel and hatch floor area, there appears to be strategically placed "layers" of body-painted asphalt. I guess for added sound deadening. The undercoating on mine was asphalt/tar-based. A steady stream of carb spray soon had it melting away.

The net/net is don't get the Z wet. The Japanese auto companies did not give much thought to longterm preservation of their products until probably the late 80's. Their mfg/marketing model was of a 5-yr life, then recycle. That's why they had to offer up such aggresive rust warranties, after many of us NorthEasterner's watched our Jap cars disintegrate after a winter and became furious over it. Nissan, Honda, Subaru, 'Yota - all the same at the time. A mid-70's - 80's Celica GT liftback is every bit as scarce in Pittsburgh as is a 1st gen Z is. Or a 79 Accord. Or an 82 Supra.

You have to, else the road debris will sandblast the thin paint that Datsun used. Especially at the footwell areas were your feet would be. If I were to go to the extreme of removing any more undercoat than I had to already, then I'd POR-15 it. That stuff is supposedly tougher than powder coating once cured. Beats the tar/asphalt stuff for protection. That's what I'd do.

If you swap in an exhaust manifold from a 280, you'll get freer exhaust flow from the manifold itself - and the not-quite 2" collector (the Y-shaped short twin pipes that go into one single 2" pipe) - or down pipe. Or, any good exhaust shop ought to be able to cut/weld the stock flange from the exhaust and build you a 2" downpipe.

I'm not sure of what you refer to as jets... the choke-nozzles that come up thru the bottom of the carb bowls - or the needle/seat assemblies? The GroseJets replace the needle/seats with a spring-loaded ball-berring - no clogging as possible with needles. No real perf gains. Can't argue the Holley sentiment, but then Holley carbs have a monster aftermarket. Not quite the same for SUs. Also, stock rebuild kits (from Datsun/Nissan) are NLA from everything I have read. The rebuild kits today range from the "refresh" kits (gaskets, needle/seat and dangerous fuel line) to the more complete parts kits put together by vendors - like ZT, MSA, VB. No, there is no more aftermarket for 30-yr old rustbuckets. These are Z's, not Z28s. We're SOL.

I used the cheap 97-cent cans of carb cleaner spray from WalMart, couple of shots and the stuff was running right off. But makes a huge mess.

Don't get here very often.. Here are some links I accumulated re the ColorTune. I was thinking of buying one once for the SUs... http://www.gerull.demon.nl/mg/technics/carb/colortune.html http://www.vtr.org/maintain/carbs.html http://www.morrowmarsh.ca/concours/techpages/colortune.htm http://www.aep.bigstep.com/Dyno.htm http://www.mgcars.org.uk/cgi-bin/gen5?runprog=mgoc&p=emg/basic4.html They're mostly Brit-car related, which stands to reason due to SUs. I plan on taking mine to McB in Bridgeville (old Brit-car shop), vs. that halfassed puttz in Finleyville I used to go to. HTH

After I picked up my early 74 260Z several years ago, I soon discovered that one of the POs had - among his/their many other hacks - removed the neo-HEI that was introduced with the 74 model year. He replaced the stock mag-p/up dizzy with an obscure single-pt dizzy. My car is an A/T, when Datsun used pt-dizzies on A/Ts, they used dual-pt dizzies, so he even used the wrong type of dizzy in his swap! Anyway, I have been plagued ever since with an awful lopey-idle. Repeated tunings, carb cleanings/refreshes, points, condensers, rotors, caps, new/different plugs, wires, valve adjusts, etc., - the work being done by a "good" Z mechanic - still could not smooth out the lopey idle. The cam appears to be stock (its an A/T, why would the PO swap the cam???) so my only conclusion is that the dizzy is long gone. I asked the mechanic to swap in a ZX dizzy, but he basically refused!! So, after much research, I added the MSD6 myself, which is reputed to be tremendous based on the boards and readings. Well, it wasn't. The idle is still crap no matter what you do with the carbs and the timing, etc. (And, I had to pick up the reasonably priced MSD Tach Adapter to restore the use of the tach. Either that or do another hack to the tach.) I have since just picked up a 74 260Z mag-p/up dizzy in good shape at a GREAT price, and will try that next - with the MSD. We'll see if I still need the tach adapter after that. Anyway, all that said, since buying my MSD and discovering that it wasn't the great cure-all that I was expecting, I have been reading a ton where a good 280ZX dizzy with the orig brain-box or the GM "brain box" would have been the better way to go. Or at least would have delivered the desired results. I realize that this doesn't answer your question exactly, but maybe if you know another Z person nearby who has an MSD, ask if you can swap it into your system - they are a piece of cake to install - and connect to your dizzy for an hour or two. Try before you buy if at all possible, as they aren't exactly cheap and they may not deliver what you expect to get for the money. Just my anecdote!

since I had to work on the window mechanism, so I'm straining to recall the spring you mention. I do know this for certain; I found the Wick Humble "How to Restore your Z" book an excellent resource for the window repairs I made. I don't have it handy to look right now, and not to stray from the subject, but that book is a godsend to supplement the somewhat poor FSM, and not-much-better Haynes, Chilton, or Clymer books.

JC Whitney also has selected Z body panels, at least they did a catalog or two ago! In addition to the other sources mentioned by the other poster, I have heard the urban legend that "your local bodyshop" also has some professional parts sources that probably supply them. As for installing them; I wish I knew how so I could tell ya! When I spend to get mine fixed, I'll ask the bodyshop for 2 estimates, one if I supply the panels, the other if they supply the panels!

It does sound like you got a lot done for the $1250.! I'm still debating whether to press on with my Z and get this work done, or just throw in the shop rag and dump it at for a push/pull/tow trade-in. I can't say my Z has consumed a ton of cash, but I have spent some bucks on it, plus the considerable lost time in my garage. If I keep it - will have to spend more cash and even more time. And I just don't see it being worth it anymore. I try to explain that I'm trading my time for lack of repair-shop money, but that doesn't go very far. It's my "disheartened attitude" that revealed your bodyshop's reaction; "I found most places wouldn't even touch this kind of work." Have heard that one before from others. The logic is that when the bodyshops get done and present the bill, the owners freak over what "their old car" now costs them, and decide it's not worth paying for it. Have even heard that bodyshops jack up the estimate on purpose, to weed out the hobbyists from the serious restoration customers. Plus there is much more business from collision repairs than doing little tasks for anal, nitpicking owners. Like me. Anyway... I got my old 260 in the pre-Internet days, found it by chance in Overbrook and bought it without thinking (and without knowing squat about Zs) from the 3rd owner, who bought it from a North Carolina transplant. It's pretty solid thanks to it's NC heritage, and is the main reason I have hung on to it as long as I have. Like the rest of you, I'm getting ready to tuck mine away for winter hibernation, so maybe we can all get together next summer. It'd be neat to see reactions from the public when they see several 1st gens together!

A West PA Z-event would be kinda neat... I'm glad to know that there are a few more 1st gens than I thought existed around these parts. I know one person for sure; they have (or had, as I rarely get over to there side of town) a one owner 72, white. I just happened to be driving by one day and noticed it parked outside of their garage. Stopped and BS'd with him a bit, it was his wifes. I've never seen it "on the road" though. And another 1st gen; someone on the IZCC digest is from around these parts; he told me that he used to work at Bill Gray Nissan a few years back. They were the only Nissan dealer in the area that still had a mechanic that "knew" 1st gens. He told me that the old guy retired. Did any of you ever work at Thrift Drug out in RIDC, Ohara Twp? reason I ask is that years ago I used to see a decent 280Z parked there.. was tempted to leave him a note on his windsheild to see if he'd sell his car. Years later, I found my own. Which leads me to - where did you all get your Z's? Original owners? Travel somewhere to bring it back? Older Z's are so few and far between around here... Take care all!

$1200? I would have thought it would have been more - did you also have them do the frame rails? I could imagine that would be a much larger job.. What did the repair look like, just the footwells and floorpans, or did they "overlap" the rails? Reason I ask is that the one rail on mine has a "bubble", which I'm sure is going to mean a rail replacement in the future. The floors are "OK", in that they have been patched here and there, but no rust holes remain.

Anyone - (m240? - you in Pittsburgh?) - know of a bodyshop in Pittsburgh that can weld frame rails and floor pans in? Detected a bit of rust on the one rail, so I know there's more... TIA! Skip in Pittsburgh