Ricklandia

Many thanks, I just uploaded some new photos into my Gallery after I gave her a bath from the long trip. The PO kept everything, original owners manual, even the dealer sales broghure. Even has a maintanence logbook. Weston is as far west Ft. Lauderdale as you can get before you are in the Everglades. It sits right at the corner of where I-75 turns west to head towards Naples, and where I-595 begins. It's about 4 hours from Tampa. It's nice to meet fellow Floridians, it is a rare site to see a 240 on this side of the state. Dunno why.

Thx Alex. I was out this morning looking some more. I think that might be what it is, although I doesn't seem to work. Oh the fun of exploring a "new" car!

I thought that too, at first, but it only goes bidirectionally (left/right or up/down depending on how you physically orient the switch). You can see what I mean by looking at the two arrows on the bevel - I dont know the correct orientation. The mirrors on the car, although not original, are definitely not electric.

Started to examine the car this morning when I ran across this "mystery" switch. It's located on the center console, it's a momentary toggle (left/right or up/down depending on how it's oriented). At first I figured it must be some kindo of add on switch as it does nothing that I can tell, however when I looked at the bezel/faceplate of the switch, it looks strickingly like something from the factory. Any idea what this might be? I havent had a chance to start tracing it's wiring, probably wont for a while but I thought if it's factor someone might know. My old 260 never had anything like that, no have I seen anyone else have one. One note: THe PO put a stereo EQ in the car years ago, tucked under the original radio position, but in front of the Choke/rear defroster panel. Could it have been there originially? And if so, what is it?

Bean, if you don't mind my asking, what did the welder charge you for this? ($)

After nearly 2 weeks in transit, my new "baby" finally arrived to much fanfare! Okay, not alot of fanfare, but we're all excited!

Excellent point. For those unfamiliar with IRC, think of it as a LIVE GROUP CHAT and nothing more (not entirely true as you can use it to exchange files, but basically it is for live chat)

Gentlemen, thank you very much! I'm sure others will appreciate the list as well. I'm actually still waiting for my car to arrive, it's yet again delayed in transit (from the previous owner). It's been a full 10 days now and I feel like a kid before XMas, only XMas keeps getting delayed! AGH!

Has there been an interest in setting up a "Classic Z Car" IRC room? I've used IRC for years, mostly for computer sim racing leagues (anyone else out there into this?) and find it very useful. I'm not so sure that it would be that used in this group too often though, but if a room is setup, I'll add it to my list.

Hmmm... I'll have to take you word on it. I've tried VB (none), Too Intense (none), MSA (none online - gotta order a catalog). Been watching EBay and haven't seen one (~month), checkin out the classified but havent seen one thier either. Maybe just bad timing. It's not critical as the lens I have will do for now, but I would like to get it replaced eventually. I'll keep lookin - thx

Yes, the '73. The "Euro" lights are easy enough to find, but I would really prefer the US lenses. My '73 is red and the all red lenses look much "cleaner" IMHO. I haven't been boneyard shopping for one yet, but old Zed's are rare enough around here, I dont think I'll have much locally.

I'll accept that. Personally, I feel much the same way - I'm definitely what you'd call an "old school" kinda guy. That being said, I do like the look of driving lights (if done properly) as well as thier added functionality. Think '71 thru '73 Datsun Rally efforts!

Okay, gotta break down and ask... Can't seem to find a source for a rear tailight lenses (240Z) anywhere. I've seen the "euro" versions (steep price IMHO) but I would actually prefer the US spec lenses (all red). It's becoming clear to me that no one has them new, but I cant seem to find a source for used or remanufactured either. Been keeping my eyes peeled on EBay with no luck. Any suggestions?

hehe - 240zis4me Easy there mate, we're all just having a little fun. Working on automobiles can be both the greatest joy and your worst nightmare, we've ALL been there before. If I remember right, your original question was whether or not to pull the trim off the windows before painting. The answer to this is, it depends. If you want to do it the "correct way", then I would say definitely yes. "Correct" meaning if you want to do a total body color change, or a thorough restoration, then you should definitely pull it before spraying the car. Unfortunately I cant give any pointers on that as I am not inclined to do body work (ie I suck at it). However, if you're not changing the color of the car, or you're doing just spot painting I see no reason to pull the trim. I'm sure to get flamed for that, but not everyone (myself included) has unlimited funds to work on our cars/toys. Give it a day, let all the comedians have thier fun and then I'm sure some of the guys with bodywork/paint experience will step in and give some advice. One of the very reasons I don't attempt tackling bodywork is for that very reason. I have virtually zero professional training/experience at it, and as old as these cars are it is very frustrating to bend/warp/mutilate a piece or part that is hard to find. I am guessing that pulling off the trim is not that difficult (no special tools) but if one of the bodywork guys has a tip (how to get it off without ruining it) I'm sure they'll chime in.

HEHEHE I agree, don't feel bad. I put a single plane intake manifold on my (old) GTO years ago and got the timing 180 degrees off. Wouldn't start, wouldn't start... so I'm sniffin around the carb thinkin it was a fuel problem when I had my bro turn the motor over. A two foot flame backfired out the carb and damn near fried my hair off (it was just a bit longer then!). Well, after the smoke (my hair) cleared, I realized what I'd done. Oh, the fun of shadetree mechanics!

Just a thought along this thread.... I am surprised at the near complete absence of "auxillary" lighting on Z cars (fog,driving,etc). Personally, I like the look of a nice set of Hella's, it gives any car a taste of "rally". I've thought about adding some to the new drive when it arrives, but I have seen so very few I am beginning to wonder why? I know the original alt. doesn't exactly pump out the juice at a prodigious rate, but surely it should be enough for a decent set of driving lights. No?

http://datsunprojects.org/zpaintcodes/pc/638Black2l.jpg Here's an example

<----My old 260Z (black one over here) had gold pinstriping (vinyl) on it when I bought it. Of course, that was 20 years ago, not TOO far out of the 70's when pinstriping was... cool? I hated it. First week I had the car, I got out a hairdryer to warm up the stuff and off it came. If you heat it up enough, it will peel off without ruining the paint. Believe it or not, I took the ENTIRE faux-woodpanel vinyl material off my old Jeep Grand Wagoneer using the same method. It took me a few weekends to do as the vinyl was REALLY in bad shape, but in the end, it looked great!. The only problem I had was that the paint underneath all of that vinyl was in better condition than the rest of the Wagon!

Just to chime in here - I may be in need of some new balljoints on a '73 240Z if anyone knows a source to find them? I haven't started looking hard yet, but I remember seeing a thread somewhere that they are no longer available at dealerships/parts stores.

Understood. Would I assume correctly that the "Tuna-can" units were developed to comply with new(er) US emmision standards? I guess the logic of all this is that were I to have a need to work on these carbs, I would in fact be looking at Hitachi carbs and not true (British) SU carbs.

Early 240's are said to have the "SU" carbs, and the '73-74's (early) had the "flat-top or square" Hitachi's, correct? So... were the '70-'72 carb true SU's or were they in reality Hitachi '"clones" of the original SU design?