Sean240Z

Last month, someone took a video of me departing Katie's Cars & Coffee in Great Falls, VA. <iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Dib1f0M-6Bo?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Found some more pics taken by one of the photographers who frequents Katie's C&C:

Bill - You're too kind. I'm fortunate that my car has never really been off the road and the paint I had done in 1996 has held up so well. I'm incredibly impressed with the extensive work you and Jason have already done on your Z's. Don't take other's criticism too seriously. They don't know how far you've come. You'll get there.

PM sent

And my two favorites (other than the Z's of course ).

Some of the other cars.

Pics of the Z's.

This morning, Jason, Bill and I drove out to Great Falls for Katie's Cars & Coffee. It was good morning and great to have three 240Z's there, along with an eclectic assortment of cars.

Another option is a seat swap. I'd considered redoing my seats, but as I'm not overly concerned about keeping my Z original, I settled on a Honda S2000 leather seat swap instead. I'm extremely happy with the results. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/interior-s30/48744-s2000-seat-swap-240z.html

Bill - Still kicking myself for not dragging my butt out of bed on Saturday morning. Great to hear your car is working so well. I have a Uni-Syn if you want to borrow it. I'm looking forward to going for a drive with you and Jason at some point.

I'll be there!

Robin, I had the same issue in my '73 240Z. Details can be reviewed at following link: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/help-me/12474-header-problem.html See posts #18 and #22. The shop I dealt with put two angles in the exhaust pipe immediately behind the header connection to move the exhaust down just enough to clear the engine mount. Pics can be seen in my gallery. The best pic may be below: Cheers, Sean

It was great to see your cars in the garage. Can't wait to see them in their natural environment, on the open road!

Recently, prior to installing Honda S2000 seats into my 240Z, I stripped out my interior to install B-Quiet sound deadening and new carpet under pad. When I pulled back the transmission tunnel vinyl I was surprised to find that the original factory sound deadening tar pad had actually blistered from the heat generated by my exhaust system (the specs on my of my exhaust system can be reviewed here, http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/help-me/12474-header-problem.html, post #18). I knew that on long trips, the transmission tunnel used to get very warm, but I had no idea the transmission tunnel got that hot! I believe the culprit was the Dynomax Bullet Race Muffler (WLK-24236) that is tucked up inside the transmission tunnel, ~1" from transmission tunnel at its closest point. I considered wrapping the bullet muffler and nearby 2.5" exhaust pipe with header wrap, but have previously had a bad experience wrapping a header (i.e. the header failed after only 4yrs with my car stored for the winters). I did some research and discovered the Thermo-Tec Heat Shields. I decided upon the Thermo-Tec 11634, as the bullet muffler is 4" in diameter (heat shield comes with 4" diameter clamps) and the 3' length would cover the exhaust and bullet muffler from just fwd of the transmission mount to the rear 90o bend in my exhaust. As my exhaust is 2.5" in diameter, I had to pick-up four smaller pipe clamps at the local auto parts store (i.e. the 3' length comes with seven, 4" diameter clamps). Though the Thermo-Tec heat shield is only 6" wide, I was able to install it so as to shield the driver's side and top of the exhaust system (the drive shaft shields the upper passenger side). Installation was quick and easy. I like the fact that the Thermo-Tec heat shield stands-off from the exhaust system, so that moisture is not held against the exhaust and air flowing between the exhaust and heat shield will provide cooling. I have not yet driven the car with the Thermo-Tec heat shield installed, however, I'm very optimistic that this install will greatly reduce transmission tunnel heating on long trips.

I did some research and found some pics of an S2000 seat install on HybridZ (Icehound). That 's where I got the idea of using a plate to install. As for rubbing the wing on entry / exit, I'm quite tall and have the seats quite far back and reclined so that is not a problem for me.

After driving for the first time with the new seats yesterday, I'd have to say that I sit fractionally higher. My driver's seat was fairly soft (foam needed replacing). With a helmet with my old seats in my normal driving position, the helmet would occasionally rub the headliner. I just tried the S2000 seats with my helmet, and by reclining my seat one more notch and sliding the seat fwd one notch, the helmet just grazes the roof, only slightly higher than with the old seats. Still a good driving position. My 240z has the stock headliner which feels fairly thick (I hadn't pushed on it before). Note that I've never driven my 240z with my helmet. I bought the helmet to do some auto crossing and got busy with life. Maybe I'll have a go this summer.

The S2000 Seat swap is detailed here. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/interior-s30/48744-s2000-seat-swa Love the new seats! Yeah, it's been six years since I did any serious work on my car. Amazing how much more free time I have when I don't have home renos to do! I definitely don't miss the Canadian winters!

This morning was my first drive in my 240Z, in about eight weeks. It was very nice! Since I last drove it: new clutch and slave cylinder, trans fluid change (synthetic), new shifter bushings, brake fluid change, new Honda S2000 seats, new sound deadening and carpet underpad throughout interior, new fuel vent lines and fuel filler hose, new driver's side window and replaced broken rivets in previously rattling louvers. Very happy!

Koalia - If the pressure plate you received in your clutch kit is truly a 240Z pressure plate (i.e. the thicker / taller one on the left in the image above), you would use the shorter / smaller collar. Wrt slave cylinders, mine is the non-adjustable slave cylinder and fork from a later 280ZX. I understand the the 240Z slave cylinder was adjustable and had a slightly different fork. Can someone confirm?

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A few years ago I replaced the window roller on the driver's side. Motorsport! Window Roller, Left, 70-78 240Z-260Z-280Z - The Z Store! Nissan-Datsun 240Z-260Z-280Z-280ZX-300ZX(Z31/Z32)-350Z-370Z Parts Not long afterwards the new window roller broke. I'm wondering if the root cause of this failure is door skin vibration due to what appears to be a broken weld on the top front corner of the door skin. Can someone confirm that the door skin is supposed to be welded together at this location? My 240Z has aftermarket metal (aluminum?) door mirrors, I'm wondering if the weight of these mirrors has caused the weld to fail due to fatigue. Anyone else experience a similar failure? Any suggestions on how I should repair? Note my body and paint is good and I don't have a welder. Do you think JB Weld could be used for this repair? Other ideas? I've ordered two new rollers from MSA (going to install two rollers on the door, instead of just one). But I want to address the root cause before I install the new rollers. Thank you,

Thanks. I searched the forum for suggestions before I started the work and the headless bolts idea, was one I found. Cheers,

I just completed a solo clutch change for the first time and thought I'd document some of my lessons learned / tricks I picked up from my experience and various threads on this site: Transmission Jack - 450 Lb. Capacity - transmission jack really made the job easier - I had to bend the strap mounting plates on the left side (far side in above pic) to clear my headers - in my case, dropping the exhaust was a necessity to give me the required clearance to remove the transmission - I pulled the fuel filter from its mount so that the fuel rubber fuel hose was not under stress - I disconnected the upper radiator hose and removed the fan to allow the engine to rotate backwards - disconnected the throttle rods also - once I titled the engine and transmission down to remove the transmission, I put a small section of 2x4 between the head/valve cover and the firewall to limit the rotation - I'm glad I did as I did the clutch change over a week or so, as I had to wait for the new clutch collar - a few days later I went back to the garage and my floor jack that was supporting the engine had lowered and the engine was now resting on the 2x4 - my 240Z has five-speed from 280ZX installed - when I removed clutch, I realized the pressure plate installed was a 240Z (240Z pressure plate on left, new 280ZX pressure plate on the right) - new clutch pressure plate was much thinner, therefore required taller clutch collar - ordered taller clutch collar from MSA Motorsport! Clutch Collar, 75-83 Z/ZX Coupe Non Turbo, 84-86 ZX Turbo - The Z Store! Nissan-Datsun 240Z-260Z-280Z-280ZX-300ZX(Z31/Z32)-350Z-370Z Parts - after reinstalling the transmission, I had trouble installing the clutch slave cylinder - as I had changed the clutch collar with a taller unit, the clutch fork end now appeared to be slightly closer to the clutch slave cylinder - what I should have done was to open the clutch slave cylinder bleed valve, to relieve some fluid/pressure to allow the clutch slave shaft to push further into the slave cylinder to allow for easier install - what I did was force/lever the clutch slave cylinder into place - after a number of simulated shifts in my garage (I wasn't making vroom vroom sounds, honest ), the clutch slave cylinder failed internally (i.e. metallic pop, clang, spring noise) and the clutch pedal went soft - the clutch slave cylinder was probably ten years old but the timing of the failure leads me to believe that forcing the clutch slave cylinder into place wasn't a good idea - I ordered a new Beck-Arnley clutch slave cylinder and installed - I swapped out the Shift Lever End Bushing and the Shifter Pin Bushing - wow, what an improvement in shifter feel (a lot of "slop" removed) Motorsport! Shift Lever End Bushing, 82-83 280ZX Non Turbo - The Z Store! Nissan-Datsun 240Z-260Z-280Z-280ZX-300ZX(Z31/Z32)-350Z-370Z Parts Motorsport! Shifter Pin Bushing, 82-83 280ZX Non Turbo - The Z Store! Nissan-Datsun 240Z-260Z-280Z-280ZX-300ZX(Z31/Z32)-350Z-370Z Parts - I used long bolts with bolt head removed and slot cut into shaft - screwed them finger tight into the top bolt holes in the head to line up transmission for install - I first tried to install transmission with it in gear and it wouldn't go - once I put transmission into neutral, install was easy and it slid right in Anyway, I hope the above info helps. Cheers,

I have a 1973 240Z and the foam in my driver's seat was sagging and the fabric was worn and torn. I considered new foam and leather seat covers from Motorsports Auto; however, when I compared the cost, I decided to look for a seat swap. I found these S2000 seats locally on Craigslist. Previous owner had them installed in an Integra. After negotiations, I purchased the seats for $460 with a signed declaration from owner that the seats were not stolen (including his driver's license number). Seat Comparison: - S2000 seat mounting holes are further apart than 240Z seats - on this pic I have not yet bent back up the front part of the seat rails to straighten them - outside seat rail on S2000 seat is longer - I aligned the rear mounting holes for installation, so the outboard front mount hole is further fwd than the inboard (this reduces seat forward seat adjustment by seven notches, but not a concern for me) - no modifications required to the S2000 seat or rails - removed 240Z seats - I used a Dremmel to cut the rear vehicle seat mount cross piece on both sides 0.5" inboard and outboard of the "notch" and then beat down with a mallet, to allow the adapter plate to sit flat - used stiff cardboard silhouette of the S2000 seat base and adapter plates to determine mounting position - I lined up both seat rails at the rear (the outboard seat rail is longer) - used stiff cardboard cutouts of adapter plate (5"x21") to determine location of vehicle seat mounting holes - trial fit seats multiple times to finalize mounting location - designed four adapter plates from 5"x21", 11 gauge steel (~1/8" thick) plates, I had them cut and vehicle seat mount holes drilled by local shop (~$80), I used both rear vehicle seat mount holes (three holes in total to attach the adapter plate to the vehicle seat mounts) - I bolted the adapter plates into the car, then test fit the seats to determine the seat's final position, marked the four seat mount holes on the adapter plate, unbolted seat adapter pate and drilled holes Notes: - I had to cut the carpet and underlay behind the seats to make room for the adapter plates and allow access to underside to bolt in place - I bent the mount plate for the aftermarket seat belt retractor rear words and angled it slightly to allow more seat back clearance - front inside seat mount requires hole to be drilled through the front vehicle seat mount and adapter plate (see above pic) - to drill holes in 11 gauge steel, marked centers with a punch, predrilled with smaller bit, then drilled the holes with the larger bit, I oiled the bit and repeatedly bumped the drill trigger with lots of pressure (low speed=low heat), drilled fairly easily - I used a jig saw to cut notches at the rear of the plates and the front of the outboard plates to allow easier access to mount the adapter plates, I used a bi-metal blade and oiled the blade (slow but effective) - I cleaned up all cuts with my Dremmel - outside adapter plate is 5"x21" with notches - inside adapter plate is approx 5"x19" with notches - I installed the adapter plate and seats with new hardware Notes: - though the S2000 seats have a seat belt mount on the inboard sides of the seats, I decided to use the original vehicle seat belt mount location as I know the vehicle structure is designed to withstand the seat belt crash loads and I wasn't comfortable that the vehicle seat mounts would withstand crash loads if they also had to withstand seat belt loads. - rear seat travel is more limited by the seat back hitting the wheel arch (i.e. Seat could slide back further if less recline on seat back) - I'm 6'1" tall with a long torso, my seated height is ~38" (i.e. measurement from butt to top of head when seated) and I have two finger's clearance between top of my head and headliner, when I'm in a comfortable driving position I am very happy with the results.

I just installed S2000 seats in my 73 240Z. Seats are awesome and sit only fractionally higher than stock seats. I will post "how to" later.