Bambikiller240

My 71 Z wasn't an Ausssie car, and it came OEM with an Elephant cap. I still have the engine out in the shed sitting on wood blocks, I'll have to go out there and see which of the two types of elephant cap pictured by sblake01 that I have. I think it is the one with japanese script around the edge but I'm not sure.

I agree, Good looking Picture and.......Nice photo for a Desktop background too. Thanks. Is this the car you are going to put a Wankel (Rotary) engine into?

Sorry about the bad result. The club sponsor mentioned is "Dashboard Restorations" located in Australia. Several of our US members just arranged a bulk shipment of their dash "skins" to them for service.

I don't know a lot about this cap, but a 1971 Z that I had came with a Oil cap that had an elephant on it. I went to use it on a valve cover from a later engine that came with the regular "OIL" cap and discovered that it will screw onto the valve cover, BUT there is a slight difference in the valve covers. The valve cover that is made to have the "OIL" cap uses an O-ring that is recessed into a groove on the valve cover to seal the cap to the cover. The "ELEPHANT" cap uses an O-ring that fits onto the cap itself and the valve cover that came with this cap has a flat surface where this O-ring will contact the cover instead of the groove. Not sure if this difference will cause any problems with sealing if you mix the covers and caps, but I ended up keeping the cap with the valve cover it was intended to be used with. Note: The two O-rings are not the same diameter. ...and I don't believe that they are too "rare" as I have seen them on eBay frequently for at least the past year, often selling for not very much $. Maybe mbrandy or 26thZ can tell us if the "ELEPHANT" oil cap came on their 1970 240Z's. I've had 72 and 73 Z"s that had the "OIL" style caps. (My poor grammer corrected by EDIT this AM)

Oh, My God! What a close call. There's nothing like an example like this to drive the point home. Glad that you're OK.

Thanks, I have to contact her later this week about some other stuff so, I'll ask. If she can't get one, I'll try to make something. I'm not noticing any leak (yet), but I figure that seal is in there for a reason.

Sorry to move the thread in a slightly different direction for a moment, but I'm wondering if anyone knows if the oil or grease seal at the transmission end of the speedo cable is available anywhere? While installing my rebuilt engine and new Centerforce clutch I discovered that the seal in my cable is badly torn up. Anyone?

About two years ago, some guy on eBay put up a few auctions claiming that he had found 30 sets of the AMCO floormats with the "Z" on them, and a bunch of the AMCO footrests as well. He actually only put about 5 sets of each on auction over a few months time (they sold for HUGE prices), then he disappeared.

Thanks Mark! Whew, I was hoping it was a typo. :cross-eye I've been looking for another AMCO accessory part. The nice thick Rubber floormats. I wonder if Chloe can get a set of those as well. I'll have to check with her later this week, I need to order something else anyway.

Is that a typo, or ?? Seven THOUSAND Dollars for Luggage Trim moulding?

Hi Craig: As shown in the picture, the handle on the left is the standard choke lever, and the one on the right side is the "Hand Throttle" which was a very early form of Cruise Control which was cable operated. Only the earliest Z's in the USA came with the provision for it, and most of them did not actually have it installed when sold to consumers. My understanding is that is was highly frowned upon by the Feds (NTSB?) and was removed from most cars imported to the US before sale.

Geez, Mark You must be living right! Congrats on the finds!!

MSA sells both the "normal"kit with carpet only for the area's that had carpet from the factory, AND a kit that has carpet covering the strut towers as well . Not sure if it covers the trans tunnel or not.

Hi: Answers from my experience (others may have different opinions): 1. Wire brush on drill, unless you have the equipment, and like the mess that sandblasting will leave. 2. POR-15 is IMO the best treatment to use in this area to ENSURE that no rust will come back. Do a search here, and on the web for more information on what it is, and how it works. 3. Personal preference here. I am installing sound deadner "Q-Pads", then OEM type padding and carpet.

Hi: Sounds like the Switch could be shot. Might want to also check the continuity from end to end of the ballast resistor before you go ordering parts (it's in the engine bay, below the coil), as it can cause this too. Easy to check with an ohm-meter. The Ign. switch can be attacked easier if you remove the whole Ignition Lock/Switch assembly from the car. I drilled small holes in the heads of the funky screws that hold it in. (they don't have a slot or phillips cross) Used an EZ Out to remove them, then I used different "normal" screws to re-install. This doesn't save any time the first time you do it, but at least you're working upright and not upside down. Next time you need to remove the assembly, it's a breeze to pull. Just a thought Good Luck

I see what you are saying about the outer surface of the bushings being "locked" to the body by the locating brackets. I have a new pair OEM inner bushings in my hand (P/N 55555-E4100) and I see that the inner metal sleeve has "teeth" at each end which would work in conjuction with the large washer and cap bolts to lock them down as you describe, since the sleeve and the rubber of the bushing are built as one unit. But, with PU bushings, I'm not so sure about the large cap bolts "locking" the inner metal surface, thus limiting movement to any great degree. I don't recall the metal sleeves (which come in the kit as separate pieces *loose* from the bushings per se) having these "teeth" (they had smooth ends AIR). So, with the inner metal sleeve not being solidly attached to the actual PU bushing material, I don't *believe* that the PU bushings are in shear. I usually don't work on my Rear Suspension this way, but there was an occasion when I needed to change strut cartridges quickly, and I was able to simply undo the 3 bolts at the top of the strut assembly and pull the whole strut assembly down and out of the wheel well, so it didn't seem to me that movement at the inner bushing was limited "very much". (of course, I disconnected the half shaft, the brake line and E-brake cable as well ) The suspension didn't just "fall" down, but I was able to pull it down, and out without too much effort as I recall. Interesting discussion though. I hope someone else will jump in here who can shed more light, confirm or not, what is actually going on there. If the PU are in shear, I understand your concern and acknowledge it's validity, as PU will certainly have less capacity to deform. It's that lesser capacity to deform that makes the handling feel more positive than as delivered from Nissan.

I would say that this blue wire cannot be the cause of the problem on your car unless there is another loose wire somewhere nearby that is not shown in your picture. It "could" have been a "repair" to route power around a damaged section of the OEM (stock) wiring loom, but if so, you should be able to see another "loose wire" within the reach of that wire. Lay on your back in the footwell and look up in there with a flashlight and see if there is another wire hanging loose. If there is, it "should" be fairly obvious, since whoever installed this one didn't bother to try to hide it. That blue wire is NOT part of the "stock" wiring that came in the car as manufactured by Nissan. Someone (previous owner?) spliced it in for "some" reason. Is there 12v at that wire under any circumstances? Ignition switch in "OFF", or "ACC" or "ON"? It "could" have been used to bring to bring power to some "added-on" device like a CB radio, or aftermarket fog or driving lights, or something else that has since been removed. That would be my guess. In any event, I would either remove it or cover that "bare wire" end of that blue wire to insulate it so there is no possibility of it shorting out and causing more problems for you. It's not doing anything any good just hanging there. I would expect that your car's problem lies in some device (component) in the ignition system. The switch on the back of the ignition lock, the ballast resistor, or wiring to the alternator would be places that I'd be looking at for possible cause of the problem that your car is exhibiting. 1. Use an Ohm meter to check for continuity from one end of the ballast resistor to the other end. 2. Carefully examine the wiring and connectors at the back of the alternator and at the voltage regulator to see if it looks like someone as been altering the "stock" wiring. If you cannot tell on your own, post more pictures of those areas and folks here who know what it should look like can tell you. It is possible that someone modified the car to use a later style alternator and did not do so properly. (left out a necessary diode) 3. Borrow an "ignition switch" (on back of the Ignition lock assy) if you can, or bite the bullet and buy one and swap it in. Last time I checked they weren't too expensive ($20 or so) Check it out and get back to us.

I'll add my best wishes for success in your new career path. Nice to see a man doing something to improve himself. All the Best! Carl

They may have the spring tester (dealers usually don't, but ya never know), but it's gonna cost some significant bucks to have the springs removed from the car just for the test.

Can anyone tell us where poly or aluminum spacers for this application can be obtained? (I have a 240Z)

Hi Richard: Please tell me about the OEM bushings being in shear. My understanding (which COULD be wrong, as I'm not perfect) is that they are not in shear. Can you educate me? Does anyone else have input here?

Naw, you got me confused with someone else. I'm VERY 240Z/early 260Z oriented. Never worked on a fuel injected Z or ZX, and have only driven one, once. If I were hazard a guess, I'd say he MIGHT have to match the AFM to the computer controlling the system (probably model year specific in the US) but that's just a Wild arse Guess.

You might try PM'ing ZmeFly as he currently owns a ZX and may be able to guide you on this. Sorry to be of so little help, but I've never owned or worked on a ZX, or any fuel injected Z car.