Victor Laury

I can recommend the MSA rear bar for the early car. It fit well on my 72. I did require the use of a lift to install it. I also changed the supplied hardware with beefier stuff. It's a bit of a hassle, but it's worth it. To install it you have to replicate the mounting points of the later cars. So, youv'e got to drill the floor. The bolts supplied were not long enough with out washers and I wanted BIG THICK washers to spread the load. I also bought "Nylock" nuts to get it all tight over the years. By the Way, as I recall, It looked very much like the one in your photo.

I trust MSA. Why? Their employee parking is Almost all Z cars! (there's a miata or 2) The guys at the counter are the same fellas running their Z at the AutoX's. They know "That part is NLA. But This later one works and looks almost the same". The aftermarket and accessories the sell actully fit. If they say "you'll get it in two days", I get it in 2 days. Theyv'e taken my returns, no hassles.

I don't know how numerous the boxes are overseas. Here in the states, they came only on the 2L roadster in two variants. They are visually Identified by their three piece design, a Flanged output shaft and the tubular shifter mount, where the shifter was retained bu rubber or aluminum bushes. From 1967.5 to 1969.5, are reffered to as Servo boxes. This is because they used Porshe style steel Servo syncros. the steel syncros are NLA from Nissan and no one made aftermarkets. From 1969.5 to 1970 they are called "Warner" boxes because they sported more conventional brass syncros. For both styles, gearsets, counters, mains and inputs are scarce to scant and $$$. Bearings can be found. (hopfully someone from overseas will chime in to say they have a source!) For the Euro, JDM and Aussie Markets, the box was used for the Z and, i believe the skylines to the 240K (correct me please). The Z was longer. Fitted with a longer main shaft and tail piece. They are very nice shifting boxes when in good condition and handle fast, power-on shifts well. The shift is a little ambiguos, somethimes earning them the nickname "Monkey-Motion" boxes. No matter, the fact remains that these were the preffered racing transmissions for Nissan cars untill Nissan came out with the Direct Drive boxes in the Late 70's. There worst habit is the dreaded "5th gear neutral". where the fith gear was interference fitted, breaks loose and just spins. A rarer form, the retainer holding the 5th gear assembly comes loose and the whole box comes apart! The 1969.5 "Warner" boxes used a Splined 5th gear carrier that eliminated the first problem, and, well the 2nd is just rare. Prices,,hum,,, I had my 70 roadster "Warner" box rebuilt (it had a bad counter bearing) for $350.00. It's a smooth M.F. now. I have an early Servo box downstairs with the 5th gear neutral and a SICK rough 1 to 2nd shift I've been meaning to have rebuilt. I'm estimating $600 to $800 to get that done, and that price is getting higher the longer I wait. I'd pay $250 any day of the week for an UNKNOWN roadster 5 speed, just for parts or core. Good, known condition ones are a rarer find. Of course, None of these work in a Z! You'd be buying them from overseas. The parts to convert a roadster to a Z are GONE from Nismo, never to return (bell housing, mainshaft, Tail peice and 2 peice driveshaft). SO If your Euro Z's box is BO, It would be Cheaper to drop in a ZX 5 speed and regular drive shaft. You'll loose bragging rights. You can send me the old stuff.

Jeff, It sounds good to me. The tranny is a bit of a problem, as parts for the long tailed "roadster" box are scarce and expensive.

I was researching this to answer a previous post. If your running the Nissan EI distributor, you have the opertunity to run a full 12 volt coil. Running the existing 6 volt unit with the balast resistor will not harm anything, but why bother? You no longer have points to protect from burning. Running the stock coil without the balast will burn it up quick. If you get the fat coil from the ZX, 210, 310, HL510, 200SX be sure to get the bracket as well. IT's too fat to fit the original. You can go to a speed shop and ask for a 12 coil, I bought a pretty Mallory one for my Roadster. Your old coil will ave a double tang connector on it. Take that off and use it to connect the wires that once hooked to the ballast resistor. The ZX dizzy could be setup with a better advance curve for the the carbed L-24 ~ L-28. The fella That set mine up for both my Z and Roadster has an info page. http://www.311s.org/tech/engine/eidizzy.html http://www.311s.org/tech/ignition/eidizzynew.html I endorse his work completely. Buy his package and you get it all, ready to install, with complete instructions and parts lists. Enjoy that big fat spark! you can even get away with opening your plug gap a little. Not only will you have better cold start but YOU WILL feel the difference throughout the power band.

You can't blame me.. I make Margaritas....GOOOOD! Bad day at work, good evening for a powerfull Tequila potable.

I had the same reaction as George, but I suspected it was the Margarita I've been sipping... "If it's such a stupid question, how come I don't get it?"

This is while the head is intalled at full torque, Install towers, don't tighten more than 1/4 the torque spec. install the cam with no followers and light oil. loosen the bolts on the last tower to "snug" strike the front of the cam with a plastic hammer. And tighten the bolts to 1/2 torque spec. Repeat on all the towers, striking the furthest end of the cam from the tower your setting. Then bring all the towers to full torque. Now here's the most important step. If the cam does not spin, Stop. There ar times when the head has been machined on the bottom side only. This results in a flat bottom but a curved top. A good machine shop will set it up right, and you won't bust a new cam (and bend valves and hole pistons and .. and ... ) If it does feel nice-nice, remove the cam and replace the light oil with the manufactures suggested build-lube.

Marty, This one sounds too nice to run into a wall as well... Guess you'll have to convice the war department that a 3rd Z car IS the smart way to go!

I was thinking that if I coated the labels with wax, i'd keep the Rit from dyeing them. Whatta Think?

Al, When I saw your first post about your troubles, I wanted to suggest . Gas Tank Renu service. But, when searching for a franchise in New York, I could only find 1 in Albany and 1 in Buffalo. Now, I don't know much about NY, but I know enough that those are a long haul from Long Island! Sorry

That's about par for the course. Nissan used Aluminum bores. Once pitted, scored or ridged, it tears up the rebuild kit pretty dam quick. A common complaint with our Roadster brothers as well. We have come to the conclusion that once all avenues for new cylinders have been exhausted, we'll fall back to sendinding them out to a re-sleaving service, such a White Post Restorations in Virginia. I'm saving a couple of cores to do just that in the near future. http://www.whitepost.com/ (site was down when I tried) White Post Restorations One Old Car Drive Post Office Drawer D White Post, VA 22663 (540) 837-1140 Fax 837-2368 Ask for Billy or "W.R."

I'd like to make my belts black again, instead of faded gray. Any suggestions? I stopped by a shoe repair place and the fella suggested I use laundry dye (RIT brand at all the grocery stores).

I don't want to come off as a Know-it-all, or "high and Mighty" But, adjusting the carbs is absolutely the very last step in tuning the engine. If your adjusting the carbs without performing an orderly tune up, your setting them to compensate for other items that are poorly adjusted. #1 Points condition and gap #2 rotor and cap condition #3 Timing #4 Spark plug cable condition #5 Spark plug condition and gap #6 Valve adjustment #7 fuel supply filters and pressure #8 carb float adjustment #9 carb idle mixture #10 Carb Balance This is the checklist I use with success.

Yet another photo we need to keep in our reference section. Good one Mark!

Non-adjustable is not to be confused with Low performance. The Tokico HP "Blues" are stiff. They are about the eqivalent to the mid setting on the Luminas. They are not a very comfortable ride in my opinion. They give me the performance I was looking for. But my harshness is amplified by the Urethane bushes, MSA springs and thick juicy sway bars!

Don't Apologize! I think your statment sized up the insurance industry Perfectly!

Beautiful cars! Did they take it easy, or did they really race? I hear a common complaint that in Vintage racing, no one wants to push, afraid to damage the rare coachwork.

The transmission fill plug is on the side of the tranny, a 17mm square on the left side (passenger side for Aussies). Remove the plug and stick your finger in. If it comes out oiled, the box is full. Umm, you've got a 74 Austrialian Market 260?.. I don't know if that has the "B" 5 speed or the "A". Hopefully It's the "B", as parts for the "A" are getting stupid rare. The 5 speed for $150 is a bargan, less than it's core value. Buy it, rebuild it. If your current tranny turns out to be allright, buy it anyway and rebuild it in your leisure.

Well, If you've run out of adjustments, You've narrowed it down to syncros. Look for another box, have it gone through (or go throught it youself) and swap it out.

It's even of more value than you might think. Engines, our engines in paricular, run better when the crankcase has a negitive pressure, the more the merrier. The PCV system gives us enough. Some may contend that the "Dirty air" from the PCV and the valve-cover vent spoils the burn. But, I beleive it would only affect performance on a tired engine with lots of ring blow-by. So hook it back up. The hose for this is very specific, as it has a larger diameter one end, where it connects to the engine vent tube (below the exhaust port of #1)

ten bucks is a bargan!

Is there anything not sexy about a sweet running Z car?

Keith is giving good advice again. Pedal adjust is even more critical than slave free-play. The geometery of the clutch system comes to a sharp point, right at the pedal/clevis/yoke connection. It was amazing to me how little of an adjustment made such a big difference. When I bought my 72, the clutch was dragging. not only was it hard to shift, but I could feel it, tring to move the car with the pedal depressed. I thought no problem! Jack up the car and reduce the free-play, right? Wrong. The free play was already perfect. I began thinking of replacing the clutch, as there must be something mechanically wrong with it... right? Wrong. The pedal was the problem. The clevis pin was worn and the holes in the yoke were ovaled, Both totaled about 1/16'' wear. that 1/16'' was the difference between a perfect clutch and a perfect headache.