ta240

I knew I should have held out for a '72 when I bought my current one. But it was just so nice I had to forgive it for being a '73. The '72 smog equipment was so minimal compared to the '73. Guess I could always look into what it takes to get the okay to run a '78 setup in it (should have kept my old 280, it always passed smog) or another newer engine.... Seeing the checkpoint was just another kick in the shins after the day before finding the Highway patrol sitting along my favorite winding levy road that was the fun 3rd gear separation between the phases of my day. Fortunately I was also in the pickup then and going slower but it was still was a fun uncrowded road prior to that.

aside from the fears of getting nabbed in the Z there's the hassle of being detained with no regard for my time, where I need to be and what not being there is going to cost me. Our city, county, state, and country are hemorrhaging financially but they have the money to pay for the elaborate setup shown and several people including a CHP baby sitter.

about 15 years ago I drove my old Z past an unmanned trailer smog sniffer that took my picture. It was on an uphill freeway on ramp with nowhere else to go. Fortunately I had TN plates on the car at that time so I never heard from them. I'm guessing the manned setups would love to flag over an older car like the Z. Aside from the hassle of dealing with all the smog junk I really want to spend my lunch break sitting along side the road watching them waste time and money and explain to my boss why I took an extra half hour for lunch. I wonder if I hit the kill switch right when I pulled over and pretended like it just died and wouldn't restart if they'd let me just have it towed or if they'd do a visual still. I can think of a few better ways they could be spending our tax dollars (the best thing would be not to take them from us in the first place). While the CHP driver sat at that roadblock I had a car shift over into my lane on the freeway with no warning about 2 feet in front of my bumper and while I was going 70 and they were going 50 they thought it would be good to move over a lane to the left. Nothing like hearing my trucks tires screech (thank you porterfield brake pads) at that speed to keep me on my toes for the rest of the drive.

bummer, bummer, bummer. I have a 55 mile one way commute and on sunny days the Z makes it actually fun.

wow, that really stinks. Driving the Z is fun, I guess it should be illegal. It really takes the enjoyment out of driving it if I have to keep worrying about running into one of these while doing it. Aside from that, when I drove by the one in my pictures I was on a short half hour break from work. Won't that be fun explaining to the boss why I'm so late getting back, even if I'm in my truck when they flag me over. And even more fun, I can legally sell the Z the way it is now with no problem, but I guess if they nab it at one of those I wouldn't be able to sell it without 'fixing' it first.

at lunch today I drove by an area where they were blocking off the right hand lane of a 4 lane road and had 2 cars pulled over. In front of the cars was a fold up ramp setup and they had the hood open on the first car. When I went back by the other direction 20 minutes later they had the car up on the ramps with its front wheels spinning and a cooling fan setup in front of the car like at the smog tests. Anyone heard anything about this? I wasn't driving my Z but my take is that being exempt from the bi-annual smog test in California doesn't mean they couldn't test it like that.

left out Toyota from the search and found it: they are SB1010 for the front disk brakes and SB7100 for the rear drums. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showpost.php?p=287260&postcount=5

Anybody know the correct speed bleeder size for the Toyota calipers? http://www.speedbleeder.com/size.htm

anyone have one of these: http://cache01.voyageurweb.com/otctools.com/newcatalog/products/09-120.pdf I currently have an aluminum Sears one ( http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00950239000P?keyword=50239) but it is leaking and the reviews online (didn't have all those when I got it) say that most leaked a lot faster than mine. I've had it about 6 years. I'm tempted to get a new power unit for it since it is half the price of a new one but figured it was worth shopping around first. 6 years isn't bad but it didn't get used that much. I liked the Sears one because it is fairly light, goes up very fast, usually only 1 pump to hit the bottom of the car (or 2 with the truck) and the 2 piece handle lets me fit into some tighter areas in the garage when I have to and still be able to use it. the OTC one says it has a 'lifetime warranty' but that just means that as long as it is within the normal lifespan of the items and not normal wear and tear so it is up to them to decide if it is normal or not when it breaks. The other thing I like with the current one is it is big enough that it doesn't wobble as the car goes up. I had a cheap small floor jack for years that was scary to use. As the car went up things would wobble back and forth.

it is far too easy online for some reason (and maybe in some peoples regular lives) to state opinion as undeniable fact. I see it in just about every spot that anyone can comment online the "No one will ever buy that! It is ugly" or some variation on that. Almost a dare to anyone who reads the thread to reply with another opinion. basically "Here's my opinion, I'm right and you are an idiot if you think otherwise" Rarely does it read "I wouldn't buy that, it isn't for me". I've known a couple people in real life like that but I'd say most are far more brazen online than they'd ever be in person. Or when someone asks about an item and gets the broad based "those are junk, only an idiot would buy those" with no reason to backup the statement. Form a complete, coherent thought and then hit the submit reply button. (Yes, I do realize that often what I think is complete and coherant in my posts might not come across that way) Posting misinformation as fact. <- If they know it is misinformation, otherwise someone can politely point out that it is wrong and everyone learns. Posting USA based 240Z info without labeling it as such. < - but we all know that is the only information that really matters! (just kidding) It all depends on the tenor or tone of the message board. < - well said, it doesn't take much on a board like this that is generally so mellow to upset the cart.

? I don't think that applies in this situation. Otherwise you could ticket both sides of every wreck. I understand the principle but it is physically impossible to have enough control over your car to stop it in an instant if a car jumps right out in front of you. We'd all have to be inching around at 2 mph otherwise.

the Z Therapy carbs were probably the best money I ever spent on my car

we should have an "add a soundtrack" contest for it

nice! The lighting gives it a Top Gear show sort of feel. You can almost hear the other driver cursing every time you close in on him in the corners

I wasn't planning on it, what parts are you looking for? I'd rather see some of it go to use than recycled. I'm mostly looking to free up a spot in the garage so I can park my truck inside. The doors have rusted through near the bottom in a couple areas and have a crack growing at the top front on both. Most of the panels would only be good for someone that currently has some in really bad shape on their car

how much are parts cars going for now? I've got a 73 that has been somewhat stripped and has the passenger floor missing, bad engine, no transmission, no bumpers, no brakes, no door windows, no seats... well basically just what is shown in the pictures with rust at the bottom of the doors and elsewhere. Not a project car, just some body parts and a few interior panels. Is it worth anything to try to sell?

looks good. Funny, I'm chomping at the bit to get my Z out and drive it, waiting for the weather to cool off enough for it.

Having had a car with a front spoiler and one without it doesn't make That much of a difference. Not saying it doesn't make any difference but just not that much. My current Z was plenty stable at 105 with well balanced wheels this morning. With the old wheels on it it would get squiggly at 75. And I still should get it aligned sometime as I haven't done that since replacing the steering rack (which it wasn't any more stable at speed with the new one) The spoiler did seem to add stability in windy conditions but again it wasn't a fix for other suspension problems.

for future generations (after the ad has expired) It's a 1973 Datsun 240z sitting on a 280z chassis. The motor has a crank, a cam, the head is ported, it's got turbo injectors, lifters, valves, rally headers, with a full straight three-inch exhaust. The motor is pulling over 400 horsepower. No interior in the car except for a drivers side bucket seat with a four-point harness. Full body kit. Rare aluminum z rims. 260z tail lights and non-seal beam head lights. Full drag suspension. I have a multitude of extra parts for the car including a brand new dash with all new gauges and numerous interior parts.

well, he did have 221 other listings on imdb so it wasn't for lack of work.

I think (and I'm no expert by any means) the OE ones had a drain hose since if it just had openings in the bottom it wouldn't be solving much of the problem of acid leaking down there.

I know this subject goes round and round in circles most the time it is brought up but if the car is running hotter than normal (normal being the temp rating of the current thermostat) then isn't the thermostat staying in the open position pretty much all the time once it has heated up anyways? And the rest of the system just can't cool the water down enough to where the thermostat would close again. In that situation I wouldn't think the thermostat opening up earlier would seem to help much. In a perfect cooling setup changing the t-stat would move the needle on the guage to wherever the temp setting for the t-stat was but since the system can't keep up with things enough to stay at say 180 degrees then how could it keep things at 170?

Did I read that right? "Bring the temp up with the cap on. shut it off take the cap off" Isn't it a bad idea to take the cap off once the temp is up? Images of a trip to yellowstone come to mind:

looks like he dropped the price on it: http://sacramento.craigslist.org/cto/1192126390.html someone hurry up and buy this thing. I can't keep myself talked out of it forever.

Given the part of California you are in, $100 an hour is a reasonable rate. Where I am it runs right around $110 at dealers, private shops are a bit less, and I'm not even in that expensive of an area. So I'm guessing in the Hollywood area it is even higher. Charging an hour to change the plugs on the Z is crazy but their hourly rate is on par. I think it was just a case of they thought they could charge it so they tried.