skip260z

trim - that fits in the channels molded into the rubber of the windshield and hatch - is needed to add strength to the molding to hold the glass in place. Not a great idea to remove it, paint it instead.

It was used on MANY jap imports in the 70s and into the 80s. As for a shifter, it looks easy enough so it's a possibility that something else would fit, but you would lose the original look. I'm sure your console is similar to other year Z's, except for the missing choke.

You will have to remove the glovebox, heater/vent faceplate (just the faceplates - not the cables/levers, and center ducts; and behind all that is the main "air duct". It will be a filthy, dirty rectangular box. Ports off of the left and right (maybe others) will branch off to defrost and outboard vents. It's up to you what ducts you want to pull out, clean, re-install from there. Just be advised, that most of these ducts were light-weight, interlocking molded plastic that were molded in such a way as to snake thru/behind the IP, behind the glovebox, etc. You need to make sure you re-install it exactly right, else you could dislodge it by re-installing the glovebox - or having it disconnect on it's own after you fire up the fan. Or be so pinched off that no air flows thru it. Not a tough job, just time consuming. And it would help if you have long bony arms with multiple joints.

that you are dealing with a 3-legged stool. When one goes, everything topples. Word is that if the ALT goes, replace it and the Volt Reg - together. With those 2 back up to speed, the battery part of the test can be done inside, on the bench, where it will be a whole lot more accurate. If it checks out inside, then combined with your new ALT and VReg, the curbside checks should be very accurate. After all that, I still ended up w/ a bad (re-man) ALT that was new out-of-the-box from Advance; replaced it and all has been well ever since. BTW, the Advance Auto re-man'd Z alternators have a warranty and, they (at least mine) are re-man'd Hitachi's. The $16.00 VoltReg will be a solid-state model, nothing to adjust, a sealed box. IMHO, better that way. And remember that while your are at it, may as well get a new fan belt.

When I went thru all the guages and installed new Nissan bulbs (only ones who had the correct PHYSICAL SIZE to fit in the holes), there were clearish plastic caps over the bulb holes - and they were tinted with green paint. Some of the green was flaking off, so now I have greenish-white IP lighting. Chances are, you can scrape off the greenish tint (just a thin paint coating) and replace with translucent blue paint. See a hobby shop, IIRC Tamiya makes translucent acrylic enamel paints for their range of model cars and such. Testors likely offers some too. I would not trust painting the bulbs themselves, and, I seriously doubt that you can find such tiny, round "pearl bulbs" in anything but clear, and, from anyone but Nissan. Note that even w/ discount, they were about $2USD each bulb. But ought to last 20 years! HTH

http://www.heatshieldproducts.com/products.htm

"the question i have is about the needle and seat for the float bowl. the carbs had two different types. one was kind of short with a needle and a spring loaded insert. the other was longer but the needle had a solid pin which the float pushed up on. " The pen/ink notes I wrote to self at the time when I tore into my carbs; "the rear carb had the longer needle/seat, the front carb had the shorter one". Also, the front carb float bowl cover had longer pivot-pin stand-off legs. "the carb kits i got from checker have two different part numbers but exactly the same parts in them(?). " My NAPA/Echlin kits had the same parts inside, but one was the front carb, P/N 2-1276 and the rear was P/N 2-1277. Again, my kits had the 2 different-lentgh needle/seats. But I did not use them, installed Grose Jets. Here's why... "one was kind of short with a needle and a spring loaded insert. the other was longer but the needle had a solid pin which the float pushed up on." That solid pin is likely the needle in a stuck position. The genuine Hitachi needles/seats I removed looked a tad different than the new ones in the NAPA kits, and even these Hitachis seemed "sticky". That's the benny of Grose-Jets - no needles that can stick or gum up, just a roller ball. AFAIK, gum or debris even as fine as hair can muck up a conventional needle, G-Jets less susceptible to this. "can i use the same needle and seat in both float bowls? why is one different from the other? is this a factory deal or sign these carbs have been screwed with before?" You can, but you have to stack washers (usually included) to increase the length differance so that one needle/seat is made long/tall enough. But then, some kits - as I have from NAPA - had the correct, different-length needle/seats. Note that I have heard that G-Jets are now sold that way, 2 of the exact same length and a bunch of washers to stack the one of them to the right length/height. (Were not talking inches here, just a what, 1/8" or less. A tiny differance.) "any other pointers for a first-timer working on these things?" Whatever you do, do NOT mix parts between front and rear carbs. Even off the assbly line, they soon "take a set" and you can not interchange worn parts between them. That is, pistons and choke jets. Just keep them seperate and rebuild them one at a time. For generic SU tuning, see: http://www.jetlink.net/~okayfine/sutech.html http://home.istar.ca/~datsun/att06.htm#DESC http://www.ztherapy.com/ http://www.vtr.org/maintain/carbs.html Grose-Jets - D&G Valve Mfg Co, Inc. P/N HI-602. Package marked Rear Long, Front Short. BUT... Warning - I have since heard that the early G-Jets packages were marked bass ackwards. And frankly I can't trust my own pen/ink notes anymore - it's been too long. I can almost believe this warning, as the old Hitachi-made/marked needle/seats have an F stamped in the longer one, and an R stamped in the shorter one. Opposite of my notes and the G-Jet package. Twilight Zone... HTH

with that 280ZX engine you are getting. Some sort of "non-Intel" engine mgmt system to run the EFI. Wish I had the time/resources to attempt the EFI swap, end the days of the easy-but-tweaky SU issues. An EFI swap into a pre-75 is certainly do-able, but not a piece of cake. That is why many folks who get a 280 engine for their early pre-75 Z take the easy way out, and ditch the EFI for dual-SUs. Suggest you try www.hybridz.org for post. Good stuff on V8 swaps, L6 performance, etc. If it can be done, they know. So, hold off on your buy decisions until you search that site and post your questions. Good luck!

with that 280ZX engine you are getting. Some sort of "non-Intel" engine mgmt system to run the EFI. Wish I had the time/resources to attempt the EFI swap, end the days of the easy-but-tweaky SU issues. An EFI swap into a pre-75 is certainly do-able, but not a piece of cake. That is why many folks who get a 280 engine for their early pre-75 Z take the easy way out, and ditch the EFI for dual-SUs. Suggest you try www.hybridz.org for post. Good stuff on V8 swaps, L6 performance, etc. If it can be done, they know. So, hold off on your buy decisions until you search that site and post your questions. Good luck!

before the electric pump kicks in - I think. My early 260Z has the electric pump disconnected, runs on the mech pump only, always has for the past 5 years of ownership. IIRC, the elec pumps were added to reduce fuel vapor maint issues with hot cars, and so only kicked in at a certain load, else the car was on the mech pump only. That may be why you can't see any ready evidence that it is even working. but again, have only had flawless experience with the mech pump only.

needle/seat than the other. Can't recall if it were the front or rear carb, but that is why 2 different part numbers - one for the front carb, one for the rear. Aside from needle/seats diferances - the rest is same/same. The floats you buy seperately. Get the ZTherapy SU carb video, shows a ton about these carbs.

are more correctly - refresh kits. Just some new gaskets and a Viton needle/seat. Oh, and a useless and dangerous piece of tempting-ly flexible fuel line for between the float bowl and choke jet. Don't ever use this hose!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. These gaskets are useful in a rebuild, but the Z-T rebuild kits include more critical parts and pieces. If you are sure that you are going to an EFI setup, forget the carbs and manifold and stick with EFI. No carb is as efficient as a tuned EFI - that's the general concensus.

The 280ZX struts are diff than the 260/280 struts, and the 240 struts are further different, PLUS - IIRC - all 240's were 1-strut cars. I don't understand the bit about buy one regular, get a free heavy duty. Left and right struts should be the same unless maybe there was a 280ZX offered with a rear wiper, and so that side of the hatch with the wiper has a heavy duty strut. Just a guess on that reason, I'm not a ZX person.

I ask because even if you could buy a new can of 110 Red off the shelf, your's would surely have suffered a tad of fade and weathering over the years... Anyway, a better way may be to find one of those auto-paint suppliers that custom-mix a color to the exact color of YOUR car. This allows for the variations in color over time. Here in the western burbs of Pittsburgh we have Loyds Auto Paint Supply that can do that. (This is a reason why when I get my car re-painted, I will have them use one of the "off the shelf" shades of red - so that I know touch ups will be readily available.)

Seen that this topic was empty after 5 days, so here is a friendly reminder: RE: Those $15.00USD carb rebuild kits (actually, refresh kits as you don't get much!!!) that you get at PepBoys, NAPA, Advance; wherever; they always include some temptingly flexible fuel hose... DON'T USE IT. I was always tempted, as it is sooo soft and flexible, no chance of contributing to sticking chokes. But word was, don't use it as it melts from fuel over time. So I didn't. Well, turns out the local "Z guru" DID use one of them on one of my carbs when he replaced my floats and adusted for richness last summer. I just discovered it when I wondered why my fingers were getting black and gooey while doing generic carb cleaning. It was melting, but I caught it in time. Yoy! Glad I just received a pair of Z-Therapy fuel lines, how timely!

Not to be a downer, just realistic... to support my argument, go to a Barnes & Noble or Borders (if you don't already own a copy!) and read the 1st couple chapters of Wick Humble's "How to Restore your Datsun Z Car". Wick lays it all out for you, and then some. Of course, he then proceeds into a full-on resto, thus the title of the book... But as StStephen posted - if it is made of metal on a Z it can/will/did corrode. You have to understand that back then (and likely into the late 80's !!!) the Japanese kept their auto industry alive and healthy by frequent turn-over of cars. They literally built their cars for a 5-year lifespan. After 5 years, the Kyoto konsumer would go trade in his 5-yr old Fairlady in for a new one. Gov't taxation on older cars even supported this. Just look around - how many 70's Celica's, 810's, B210's, Corona's, Honda's do you see these days? Not that any were bad cars, they were just designed to be gone; recycled. Thus, the cars were never built for longevity. No decent rustproofing or exotic metals, just clever engineering and quality - built to last 5 years. You are tempting fate by throwing time and lotsa money into restoring a car that was designed to rot away beyond it's 5th year. (That's why the best Z's are the ones exposed to the least amount of rain and snow - water in general.) So unless you are planning a complete dip and strip followed by a dip again in a vat of Corroless or POR-15, then expect to see the rot come back. Good luck!

Now I just add about a pint of Marvel Mystery Oil a day or two before the oil change. I use synth - whatever is on sale - and the best Purolater filter they make every 3 mos/3K miles. I figure with that frequency an d quality of filter, I can run with store-brand synth.

but I plan on putting a thin film of the copper antisieze paste on the gasket, both sides. Will use it on the studs and nuts too. I use VersaChem Type 13, good for 2000 degF. Use it on all my cars for plugs, SU carb screws; any place where I want to prevent 2 parts heat welding together or from dissimilar corrosion.

Unless you have some extreme capabilities to get at that broken exhaust flange-downpipe stud! You said: "I found the leak between the exhaust manifold outlet and the exhaust pipes . the problem is that when I tightened it I broke the bolt is it possible to use a tap and die set or will I need more extensive work done such as a new manifold?" That tells me that you broke a stud at the flange where the exh manifold joins the downpipe - correct? No biggie, happens all the time. But you can see from the extreme angles and limited space you have, that there is no forseeable way for an on-car fix. Least not in my view. So.. suggest that you carefully remove the remaining 2 exh flange-downpipe bolts - both assuredly just as rust-welded as the first - be careful, use lots of Liquid Wrench or equivalent. And then remove the bolts/studs holding the entire exhaust manifold to the head. Again, lotsa Liquid Wrench. Take the manifold to a competent garage and have them remove/install fresh studs in the "downpipe flange" of the exh manifold. And get matching nuts while you are at it. Not a difficult job, just very time-consuming as you wait on the Liquid Wrench to do it's job. Take your time as you don't want to risk breaking a manifold stud in the cylinder head itself. You will likely find that the nuts are rustwelded to these manifold studs too, so you may as well refresh these with new. IMHO, it is false economy to re-use old bolts that are subjected to such an extreme environment as the ex manifold area. Unless you also really want to remove the intake manifolds above the exh manifold, then I would not replace the entire intake/exh manifold gagsket. I would just wipe off the exposed exh manifold area of the gasket surface with some turpentine on a lint-free rag, and slather it with a film of antiseize paste. Although some may suggest a thin film of hi-temp silicon paste. Ask the exhaust guy at the garage that is fixing your flange studs, for a suggestion. You ABSOLUTELY want to use a new exh flange-downpipe gasket, again slathered in antiseize. Don't take a chance here. Good luck.

you probably won't need to replace the ex. manifold. But to fix it right, you will have to remove the ex manifold and take it to an exhaust shop or machine shop or decent service station and have them remove, replace the stud. Have them do all 3, may as well start out with fresh, non-rusty studs. And use new nuts and a gasket. Hopefully you can re-use your ex manifold gasket, else you will have to pull the intake sides off to replace this "double gasket". But, that could be a false economy, so maybe you will want to re-new the whole gasket. Good luck with those manifold studs into the head!

aircleaners are for fuel lines from the float-bowl covers, so that any overflow of raw gas and/or gas odors get into the carbs via the aircleaners - and not on to the exhaust manifolds. The hose off the top of the valve cover is your breather hose, it is supposed to dump into the stock aircleaner on the filtered side, so that the oily air gets sucked into the rear carb and re-burns. Also helps to reduce in-car stench and air pollution. The PCV valve on your vac balance tube should have a hose going down to the "nipple" or outlet coming out of the side of the block down below/right of the dizzy. Same bennies as with using your valve breather- stench and pollution reduction. (I have issues with the notion of dumping oily gasses into the vac balance tube... supposedly it should get sucked into the manifold, but I garuntee you it leaves a baked-on black film inside your balance tube. I just cleaned mine, and the carbon was flaking out by the ton. It pays to keep that PCV valve clean!) Another bennie with using both as intended is less oily air gets trapped under your hood - eventually crudding everything up.

Aside from a few in the cottage industry, not much of "new" for our 30 year old cars. Understandable; when kids have cash to spend on Neon or Honda dress-ups, why bother making/marketing something for a few hundred customers? I can still remember the car mags of the 70's and 80's... everyone had stuff for the Z.

And.. while you have the dash out, take the opp to replace all those tiny bulbs in your instruments. Real PITA to do one guage at a time with the dash IN. my 2cents!

Faulty oil senders are commen problem.

I would also agree that this wasn't that bad looking a shell, but: these pix aren't the greatest to use to determine that. And not to be contentious, but I'd be able to pay for my bodywork right now if I had a dollar for everytime I heard: "Just strip your car and then get yerself a nice shell, don't bother trying to fix it" . These guys were just following this often-repeated homily of conventional Z wisdom. The same wisdom that - ahem - contends that the 260 is the lowliest of 1stgen Zs to own. JM2Cents