Ricklandia

K, It's nice to know that your family is willing to stand with you, I think you'll all be glad you did when this little "bump" is over. I gotta admit, I was seriously contemplating giving you a call. I've been casually looking for a car for my son and when I saw your asking price I was very tempted. It would have really been stretching it to get the cash, but the price I felt was a true steal. If the day ever does come that you want to sell your machine, I seriously think you ought to ask around a bit (here) for some local prices to see what you could get. Judging by the rarity and prices asked for here in S. Florida, I'll bet you could have gotten considerably more than what you were asking with no problem.

Yes, you can from inside the car. No need to drop the tranny. The swap is pretty straightforward. Mine were totally missing, new installed bushings took a total of ~30 minutes to perform.

Problem solved.

I guess you're right, I see plenty of people out there tattooing all sorts of ugly cr*p on themselves for no more than the fact that they think it looks good. Go figure.

True. Saw it our local paper too with photo. I read also about a young (VERY attractive) girl getting a tattoo on her bikini-clad belly as an advertisement while she walked around the beache of Cancun. Sold the "space" on Ebay. In both of these cases they were "temporary" hemp tattoos, which only last a few weeks, not permanent. Gee... I wonder what I can get tattoo'ed on me in exchange for some Z body work???

Many humble thanks.

ShnikeJSB, If you're looking for a nice lookin ride for Dad to bring back some memories, maybe you should take a look at this thread: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?p=135516#post135516

http://datsunprojects.org/zpaintcodes/

They can also be gotten from MSA, if you have no dealer close by

JMHO, but I think it's a bit steep. The interior looks average at best, and not original (seats). Some might see that as a plus, I wouldn't. Next would be the condition of the paint; it almost looks like it's in primer? You can possibly see the lime-yellow original color under the poor paint job. Another item is the tailights; not original. The rest of the car looks to be a 240Z (70-72) but the tailights are definitely 260-280 units. Again, not a big deal if you aren't concerned about originality but for $6500 I think you could do better. The only reason I would be interested at that price would be if it were totally (and I mean TOTALLY) rust free. From what I see, I would tend to doubt that. Again, this is just my un-professional opinion.

Sorry to dig this thread up guys but I'm at my wits end and wiling to embarrass myself in order to solve it. I'm basically still stuck at the same point surfsnake was... I can't get the damn tie rod end lock nut loose. I've been soaking the nut(s) for a couple of weeks now with PB Blaster Penetrating oil while waiting for parts to arrive and time off of work to finish this everlasting project. I've now looked and looked, grunted and groaned, but I cant get the damned thing loose. Here's the embarrassing part: I've read all of the messages advising that it's a left hand thread, and I've looked at the threads countless times but I still can't get my brain to wrap around the simple idea of which way I should be turning the damned thing! At this point, it's not breaking loose either way I turn it so I'm forced to either extend my wrench for more torque or break out the propane torch to heat it up, neither which I'm crazy about until I'm sure I'm turning it in the right direction! Okay, I realize I'm slow, I'll admit it. So if someone wants to be kind to a moron today, let me phrase it so I'm perfectly clear: If I'm sitting on the drivers side, facing the rotor, facing INTO the wheel well, with the tie rod (ball joint end) closest to me, with the wrench on the tie rod end lock nut, to LOOSEN the nut should I be turning it CLOCKWISE or COUNTERCLOCKWISE?

Craig, Not long after I saw your post, I ran into Dave on IRC and told him I saw his movie posted on our Z site. I asked him how this were going and he told me he's been bowled over with orders worldwide (latest order from Abu Dhabi). He's a really down to earth guy and it's great to see that his hard work is finally paying off. FWIW, list price is 28K without PC, 30.8K with. Dunno bout you, but I got my lotto ticket for tonight.

I know the guy who is developing that. I met him through an online sim racing league I was in. It's a pretty amazing piece of equipment, his developing stories have been very interesting. If your interested, here is his website URL: http://www.force-dynamics.com/ Am I the only online sim-racing geek in the group? I cut my teeth with GPL leagues many years ago for those in the know, latest sim on my machine is GTR. Any other league racers out there? or if anyone might be interested, I have a pile of URL's to get you started.

Jared, I was worried about my ball joints as well, after the pounding it took to break the tie rod ends free. But I took Carls advice: Drop the steering knuckle off with ball joint attached, remove the pin and castle nut, bolt everything back up and go at it with the pickle fork. It took a little pounding but not nearly as much as the tie rod ends. By the looks of it, mine were OEM ball joints so I was worried they were gonna be a monster to break free, but it wasn't too bad.

I still don't understand how anyone can blame Tony George or IMS for any of this? Believe you me, I an NOT a big supporter of TG although I do give him credit for bringing back F1 to the USA after a long and embarrassing abscence here. In fact, looking back on it, even when it WAS here, some of those races were pretty pathetic...Las Vegas parking lot??? Anyway, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this the EXACT track layout as last year? And aren't these the same teams that were here last year? Face it, Michelin blew it. I don't blame the teams for not fielding thier cars if they thought it was unsafe, but don't blame the FIA for not bending the rules just to fix your own errors. If the teams that refused to race have any beef, it's with Michelin, not the FIA or IMS. I merely suggest that the "Michelin" teams grow some nads, and take responsibility for thier error, stop crying and DEAL WITH IT. This crybaby approach is what makes F1 so unappealing to so many. The unfortunate participants in all of this are the fans, and unfortunately nothing will likely be done to compensate them for this debacle. If the FIA is truely intent on making Michelin and/or "the 7" pay for thier bellyaching, they should levy fines and send the collection to the ticketholders at IMS.

Not to toot my own horn here, but I've been suggesting the one tire rule for years (and gotten plenty of flames for it), and I'm glad it was adopted. I think it's exactly what F1 needed. Here's my logic: 1. We know that although F1 is considered by many to be the "pinnacle" of motor racing, a contest of the heavyweights where no-holds-barred is the norm, that's actually not true at all. If that were the case, F1 manufacturers would long ago have gotten rid of drivers completely and simply replaced them with computers, servos and the like. Think back to the early 90's and take the technology to it's logical end. 2. If you want to keep manufacturers interested in the sport (ie more makers, more teams) then you need to tailor the rules in such a way that they can actually benefit from them in the long run. In the days of old, it wasn't so hard for car makers to justify racing because things they learned on the track could and often did make thier way onto the production line. That includes the tire manufacturers. Now if you are asking the tire manufactuters to invest MILLIONS upon millions of dollars to develop the ultimate racing tire that only needs to last 20 laps, and is of virtually no practical value other than PR, it won't be long before they'll lose interest too. Now, ask them to compete in developing a tire that is not only fast but must LAST... see my point? THAT has real-world application. 3. In these days of super high downforce, super-goopy tires that are so tuned and specialized that they either work perfectly of not at all, what you end up with are 10-20 laps of racing followed by 50 laps of follow the leader because no one can risk racing "off-line". At some of these tracks, roadside marbles are so bad that even 1/2 carwidth offline and your spinning. What's the challenge in all that? IMHO, the "One Tire" rule brings back the skill and strategy of racing that F1 has lacked for a long time. I'll give you a case in point: Kimi Raikkonen's finish (or lack thereof) at the EuropeanGP just a few weeks ago. Raikkonen's last lap tire failure and subsequent loss was a direct result of flatspotting (badly) his tire mid-race. Driver error = Driver loss. Simple. I think it would have been a true treat to see the likes of Ayrton Senna four wheel drifting a F1 car around. Or Schumaker for that matter. These drivers have skills most people can't comprehend, why not let us SEE them, instead of burying them inside of tens or even thousands of seconds on a laptime sheet. If it were me (cough, cough) I'd give 'em just one set of tires, rain OR shine, every three races. Since when do YOU change your tires every time it rains? Hmmm? One mans (humble) opinion, that's all. :tapemouth

HOLY....!!!! I missed yesterday's race as our company had it's yearly Golf tournament (won it, BTW ). I am a long time F1 fan, having seen my first race some 30 years ago as a kid up in Watkins Glen, and look forward to watching them live no matter the time of day. I was hoping to avoid any press coverage (not hard to do here in the States) so that I could watch it's rebroadcast on Friday with the same enthusiasm I always do. When I saw this thread, I couldn't resist taking a look. To be honest, I couldn't figure out WTF was going on, so I hit up F1's official website. I still can't believe what I read. I can appreciate Michelins position and concern for safety, but MAN did they screw up! And for the Michelin teams to even suggest adding a chicane is not only ridiculous, but also pretty selfish. None of them were shedding tears for Bridgestone/Ferrari earlier this year when they were struggling. As for the fans blaming Ferrari, shut up and go back to watching NASCAR... please! Some of the press were suggesting that this incident might kill F1 in the United States, and I honestly don't know why? The USGP has had some pretty good attendance since it's reinception at Indy. I'll admit it's not as good as some other countries/tracks, but OTOH, the IMS is collosal in size and has done a very good job filling seats. Dead? I don't think so. It's just sad that F1 in the US can't visit some of this country's truley great road circuits, but it's easy to understand why.

Too much IMHO. My local shop (good but pricey) only charges $9.99 for a leak check. If it's got some R-134a in the system, ask em how much for a leak test before you agree to anything.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6187&item=4555693015&rd=1 I want a custom paint job like this one! And just think, it's only $6000! :sick:

The day prior to my taking mine off the road for repairs, I was stopped at an intersection to head home when the owner of a 350 spotted me. Not only did I get a wave, but a honking to get my attention, a huge smile and thumbs up. It could have just been a figment of my imagination, but I could swear I heard the faint yell of "Old School, Baby!" as I drove away. :knockedou

SWEET!

Love the attitude, dude! Welcome!

I'll preface this by saying it wasn't on a Z, but I had a very similar problem on a Jeep I owned a few years back. Drove me nuts. I thought it was ignition (points, cap, etc) so they were replaced. Still happened. Fuel pump, and carb were next (they were old anyway) but it still kept happening. Finally I replace the entire distributor, problem solved. To this day I haven't figured out why replacing the distributor housing solved the problem, but it did. When cold, she started up fine but after driving any more than 10 miles it would sputter and die. If I let it cool down completely, it would start back up like nothing was wrong.

Kenny, that was exactly the issue I had with mine. They have no manufacturer stampings on them so I have no idea who made them, no tag or ID on the plastic packaging either. Someone gave me a card of a Japanese-only parts place down in Miami. I'm gonna give them a call as the other more local parts people can never tell me what brand the parts are before they arrive.