Victor Laury

I got one, or let's say, I got one "in process". My original was taken from a Junk Yard 73 for $2.00. No need to say, I'm paying quite a bit more this time around! And, I'm in no way complaining. Un-obtainium is expensive and Junk-Yard-Luck is few and far between. With all the money I spend on Z, Roadster, and other Datsun parts, I could be healthy thin and handsome. Plastic Surgury and personal trainers come costly, but think, I could be the California Ideal..... NAH! what I really need is triple 44 Mikunis and a new chrome rear bumper, oh yea and a set of 16'' panasports, no wait, Wats! yea! A little more costly N.O.S. dodads is where my happiness lies.

Excellent!! You have a PM

I'm looking for un-obtainium, and willing to pay the market rate. Wanted the milky-white plastic cover that fitted over the voltage regulator. I had one, and it was my pride and joy, as I had only seen 2 or 3 cars with one. I brought my car to an Auto Electric shop for a diagnosis, and I guess the technition thought it would just pop off. I watched in horror as he grabbed my rare cover and tore it off. You can see one in this photo

Sir Jack, Your car is alright, but your web page is outstanding! Did you develop it yourself?

Who are you people?!?! I thought I knew you folks, but now.... I'm not so sure. I'd buy a new Maxima over ANY sedan on the market. BMW?! BMW!!!!?? can anyone say ....... G35 coupe? SUV? have you stood next to a FX45 yet. WOW Hello? inexpensive sports car would still go to mazda. If I wanted the modern day 510.. would that be the WRX or the Mazda 6? If only we got a 2 door Lancer.... If I wanted I medium high end Sports car I'd be hard pressed between the Z or the ZO6.

You want Zzzap photos? I got you your Zzzap photos. Zzzap 1 Zzzap 2 Zzap 3 Zzzap 4 Zzzap 5 Ok, so it the same car. I'm embarrased to admit I don't know the owners name. I speak to him at every show and had the honer of chasing him up Palomar Mt. Rd. And, as a true Datsun enthusiast should, he drives this perfect show car hard like the sports car it was built to be. He is a member of the San Diego Z Club.

How about email@REMOVETHISwhereever.com? Does that work or are the bots too smart to fall for that. BTW I'd love a copy of the *.DWG. I use ACAD2000, and dream of being able to 3D model, but I'm still just a hack struggling in a 2D world. But imagine, a virtual Z car....

I had this trouble before with my 4 speed. My answer? I removed the reverse light switch and filled it from there.

This last Saturday, I replaced my clutch and I installed a 5 speed. I'll share with you all the problems I encountered for your future avoidance. A couple of months ago, I began to suspect that my clutch was slipping. I could not spin the tires. I tried adjusting the clutch a couple of times, with no improvement. Since I had no knowledge of what quality of clutch was installed by the previous owner, I assumed the PO would select the cheapest thing available. I began to prepare for my clutch job by gathering the parts. I took a spare flywheel to Top End Performance in the San Fernando Valley and they machined away several pounds off the stock unit. I ended up purchasing a "Street Performance" clutch set from them as well. Going through the online classifieds, I found, "1980 ZX 5 Speed Transmission - Rebuilt - $200". Since I was going to pull the tranny to replace the clutch, I thought "Why the hell not?". I'm fortunate in having a neighbor who owns an auto shop. He agreed to let me use his lift for this job, whenever his customer traffic was down. He called me Saturday morning to tell me "Today is the Day" Cool! I load up my parts and tools and get to his shop in record time. While I'm waiting for the lift, I remove the console, upper and lower shift boot. Roll up on the lift and pull the shifter. Raise the car and get ready to remove the driveshaft. I could not even see the drive shaft bolts. The 2-1/2'' exhaust and the rear sway bar I installed has covered the area completely. To get to them, I remove the front diff-mount cross member. BUT, I couldn't get the member out until I loosened the exhaust pipe and muffler to pull it out of the way. Observation - Good time to replace a faulty diff mount - Mine was ok. Wow! My driveshaft bolts were WAY loose! I think I found my "Mystery Noise". I pull the drive shaft and am reminded that it's good practice to drain the tranny before doing this! Ok Tranny drained, I start loosening the tranny. Disconnect the battery before starting this job. Stupid me takes off the starter and I'm rewarded with a shower of sparks. Using a lift jack stand, I support the back of the engine and remove the tranny cross member. The tranny can off without too much trouble. It looked like the header would be in the way, but there was enough room to pull the tranny back and then move it over to clear. I removed the old clutch and flywheel, it didn't look all that bad but it did look like generic pepboys garbage. Install my new stuff and oops - forgot the clutch alignment tool. Believe it or not, a broom handle came to the rescue. The end that screws into the broom is just the size of the pilot bush and the handle diameter is close enough to the clutch disk splines to work. And it did! The 5 speed did not have a place for the "In gear" switch that the seat belt warning used. I kinda liked that warning, It got me to use my seat belt more than I have in years. The 5 speed mounted right up - no problem. I hooked everything back up, crossmembers and drive shaft. I fill the tranny with Redline MTL and then go to install the clutch slave cylinder. "What the FU*K?!" the clutch release fork is completely different! I never noticed this before! It doesn't have a hole for the adjustment rod to pass through. I make an "Emergency Consultation" call to Les at CDM and hell calmly tells me to switch the fork with the one out of my 4 speed. Well I'm wearing out my welcome at the shop, I just poured $28.00 of synthetic gear oil in there and have buttoned it all up - There's no way I going to pull it off again today! Les tells me that maybe I could drill a hole through fork. Easier said than done. There's no drill bit in the shop healthy enough the make a dent in that hardened steel. So I come up with one of my "Quick Fixes" that I have no doubt I'll have to REALLY fix in the future. I cut the adjustment rod. Well it works for now, I don't know how much adjustment I'll have in the future. Well, So far I like the 5 speed, first gear is a little steep, but the shifts from 1~2, 2~3 and 3~4 are closer, quick and smooth. Overdrive 5 gear is only usable to cruise at freeway speed. I forgot to swap the speedo gears. Since I'm running 195\60 tires the 240 gear read high. The 1980 ZX had a 3.7 rear gear so now it reads low. But close enough for a good approximation. Hope I didn't bore you all with this. Hopefully it will help the next guy or gal getting ready to do this job.

Very F'n cool!

I made some modifications to my signature line. I just want to see if it all works. Disregard, and sorry for the wasted bandwidth.

Jeff, #1 get the car. That task includes, all the shopping for the best deal for the best condition car you can find. Resources - this web site, Any local Z club or other enthusiast in your area, Web and paper based car classifieds and word of mouth. #2 The sexy, great-running, fine handling car will follow depending on your enthuiasm, dedication, hard work and dollar bills. We'll help you there by sharing the road to your goal, Urging you on, taunting you with photos of perfect Z's and descriptions of perfect runs on perfect roads. Enjoy the ride.

I susspect the sender does not match the gauge. I took a sender from a 280 and installed it on my 240 and it read over 90 psi while revving and about half way during idle. I bought a new sender from MSA. They sell the early R-1600 (roadster) sender for the 240. It's more accurate and lasts longer. But you've got to replace the "bullet" style connector with an "eyelet" style.

NAPA AUTO PARTS South Sound Parts Corp (360) 754-8079 1025 Black Lake Blvd @1a Olympia WA, 98502 Or NAPA AUTO PARTS South Sound Parts (360) 456-8700 6700 Martin Way E Olympia WA, 98516 Any of these close to you?

Your car once had the recovery tank. Look at your first photo. You'll see two mouting bosses that have been bent back, and two hose straps between them. those mounting holes were for the tank. Are those vent hoses the original Nissan with cloth woven covers? If not, a good indication that the area has been reworked.

"Bumps" under a vinyl top are a no-question indication of full blown exfoliation rust. No confusing this with any "surface rust" condition. The cancer owns the metal of that roof. It's inside the structure of the steel and opening it up like a ripe, puss-filled boil. (Hows that for imagery?)

Victor, I know all about "the budget". BUT, nothing and I mean no-thing sets off a new paint job like new emblems. And, conversly, nothing drags down new paint like old emblems. Your'e spending the money for a paint job on your "pride and joy". In my camp, Money spent on the Z is money well spent. If you break an emblem while prepping the car, Replace it! If on of the emblems doesn't come up to snuff, replace it. Your reward? A gleaming Z car! How's your door handles look? It's damm good practice to take those off for a paint job too and a complete waste of time putting pitted ones back on. Got silly side moulding? Great time to get rid of the #1 Previous Owner mistake.

When I bought my car, I found the the stupid PO fastened the nasty old emblems on the new paint with super strong 2-way tape. ARRUUGG! I tore the paint getting one of them off. P.O.'s - Can't stand them - Can't kill them.

BP6ES for 240's and Roadsters B6ES for 280's There's no beating the designed plug. I think Nissan started with the plug and built the engine around it. If you buy them from Nissan, You get the added bonus of NGK-Nissan joint packaging (oh the little things that amuse my little mind). They come in boxes of 10. 22401-W8916 BP6ES 22401-E6810 B6ES The old boxes are great. The NGK sunburst, with a big plug, on a background of Red, White and Blue Nissan Motors logos. Having several Datsuns, I keep them in stock. I think they're less than $2.00 a piece.

Enrique is one of the top resources to this site. I think he types better than I do, as it pains me to exceed one paragraph! It's not that hard, and you can improve it in preparation for the next time. Buy some 4mm hex head bolts and replace the cable attahment phillips head screws with them. They are a heck of a lot easier to tighten and release in the cramped footwell area. As proof of the do-ablity of this chore, I submitt myself. I've done it 6 times and I'm 6'2'', 300 lbs with hammy hands and a short temper. If I can do it with out smashing anything, It can't be that hard.

I go to shows to support the effort, meet Datsun folks (the best kind), oogle cars, sunshine on shining chrome and string bikinis (hopefully). That's what's important to me. If I win anything, well that's extra gravy.

Here's a photo. My Seats

Heck yea, It's worth it just to play around and see if I can get it right. BTW, I have a Master Vac booster sticker on my Fotki site (see my signature) It's close to "right"