2ManyZs

I've seen numerous Z's that were raced and many of them never had any problems with the mounts or any structural problems due to using urethane bushings. I think a lot of it may have to do with the condition of the chassis in question as it sits before the modifications are done. FWIW, I raced a 75 280Z for 5 years with urethane bushings with no problems... and the car was a street car for many years after the first owner rolled it on its side and a friend of mine replaced the bent suspension pieces and straightened the roof. Nothing was ever done to the sway bar mounts, and it is now on the track again after sitting in my backyard unused and neglected for 8 years...

Well, hmm... I don't know the Solo rules.. but I do know a bit about how the SCCA thinks and it isn't always the way you want them to...... Best piece of advice, first and foremost is this, if the rules don't say you can't, that doesn't always mean you can. If a modification isn't specified in the rules, it doesn't mean it isn't covered in the "intent" of the class rules. Get my drift? No changing of suspension geometry could also mean that shortened springs, camber plates, adjustable bushings aren't legal either.... you'd have to scour the rules for the class and find out exactly what mods you are allowed before you try to figure out what you aren't allowed. Lightened engine parts would include flywheels... sorry... You would have to get the rule book to find out the exact update/backdate parameters.... for example, if each of the models of Z are on a seperate spec line, then you can't mix and match parts from say a 240 with a 260 and thence a 280.. you have to stay in the exact model.. ie, any year 240 parts in a 240, any year 280 in a 280... yadda,yadda,yadda... Frame rail stiffeners would also include plating of any of the stock rails for extra strenght... has to be strictly original OEM type repairs.... Cage passing through the firewall, that doesn't include bolts for mounting plates for bars that end inside the passengers compartment. Only full tubes that pass beyond the firewall would be included in this, such as tubes that pass through the firewall out to the strut towers... If the rules are similar to the Road Racing rules, you can have as many bars as you want in the cage as long as you only use "X" number of mounts to the body... ie, you can put a plate on the floor and mount as many tubes to the main tube that ties to the mounting plate. Main thing to do is get the rule book and put the car together to fit the rules instead of trying to modify what you have already done to fit the rules....SCCA has some odd reasons for doing what it does and there are a lot of "grey" areas that people do take advantage of... :devious:

Good one Enrique..... You forgot to mention the people who have absolutely no time or inclination to take care of a car becuase they only see it as a means of getting from Point A to B as many times as possible. Some people have the disposible income that they couldn't care less about what happens to their cars since they'll just trade it in and get another one and let the next poor shmuck try to fix everything that is wrong with a 2 year old car that shouldn't be wrong with it in the first place. :stupid: The only reason they bought said car in the first place is because that particular model made them "look good" or more successful than they really are. That is why leasing is such a big business here in the US, people who can't afford a certain car in an outright buy, just want to use one as a status symbol.

And if it is the heater hoses, the only place I know of that sells them in a "kit" form would be Andy Russell. He has all the inlet and outlet hoses for the heater along with the supply lines on the passenger side of the engine, the Y pipe, 8 clamps and a heater control valve for 92 dollars. You can reach him at z@datsundude.com

The part that is showing the rust through is the bottom of the part you describe in the fiche. The rocker panel replacements I've used don't go all the way under the dog leg but are butt welded on the outside of the bottom of the dog leg. It looks like you cut straight down along the seam where they overlap? Shouldn't be a big deal, as you ought to be able to butt weld them back in place, however, if originality is a concern, you will lose the body line where they overlap. As far as the rust goes, judging by the amount of rust along the bottom where the dog leg is welded to the bottom of the floor pan outer rail, perhaps a dog leg replacement might be in order:ermm: If you can get into the area with POR 15 and their matting to close up the hole and seal it to your satisfaction, I'd go with that as it will be a lot easier than cutting out and replacing the dog leg. If I were you, I'd poke around a little more, and if any more metal falls away, or is severely compromised strenght wise, I'd replace the dog leg and get in there and do a proper patch and seal in the are that has the hole in it.

You should be able to find plenty of choices on the Northern Tool site.. www.NorthernAutoSupply.com I always used the straight tie-downs with axle straps. Wrapping the axle straps around the front control arm near the chassis mount and the rear on the front side of the control arm closest to the mount. I never really trusted the ones that just wrap around the tire as they do nothing to control chassis movement, haviong the car bounce around on the suspension only causes more strain on the tie-downs if you ask me. I always used the 10,00lb rated straps for extra piece of mind, but 6k should do the trick if you watch them carefully. I was just looking in their catalog and the ones I am talking about are item number 150090-A659 and with the added axle strap (150093-A659 they come out to about 30 dollars each while the wrap around the tire models are 33 a piece (45575-A659), just to give you an idea of what type I'm referring to.

10mm Not certain but I think all the L series used the same size hex for the headbolts.

I like the 2 doors as well as I like the 2 door 510's. If you look closely at them, you can see a bit of 610-710 (Us model) in them as well as a little bit of the early 200SX (in the rear quarters and C pillar)... Only thing you have to do is spruce them up with a decent looking set of wheels and tires and they'd be a neat little ride.:devious:

The only thing you would need to do is to check the valve seats and/or replace them with hardened steel seats as the N42 had bronze seats that are too soft. Other than that, it is a good head for the combo you are planning if you use flat top pistons.

Sounds like you may have a vacuum problem with either the hoses from the manifold to the Master vac or the Master Vac itself may have gone bad. When you say you have to put a lot of pressure on the pedal it sounds like you may be losing or have lost all power assist to the brakes. If you take it to a shop, they should be able to do a vacuum test on the Master Vac. Before you do that, check or replace your lines from the manifold to the Master Vac, and check to see if the check valve is OK(it's the round plastic piece in the metal bracket on the firewall) and if all the hoses are OK then I'd say the Master Vac diaphram is blown or leaking off vacuum.

What you want to end up with is the shoulder belts going over your shoulder and staying as close to horizontal as possible to the rear mounting point. You could also use a bar to hold the belt up at the proper shoulder level and then down to a mounting point on the floor, that should be good enough for most auto-X or track days but would not meet SCCA road racing regulations. Just sit in the seat and put a mark at the top of you shoulder and shoot a level line back to see if you can mount the belt at the right height. If you use a racing seat with slots that the shoulde belts run through, all this is moot unless you plan on SCCA sanctioned road races, as they would OK it for aut0-X if you just mounted the belt to the floor, and then ran it through the slots in the seat back to put it at the proper level for your shoulders. The first year or two I road raced I used a stock seat that I cut slots in the backrest to put the shoulder harness at the right height. It was still legal back then to run a stock seat, but the rules have changed considerably since then....:cross-eye

If you had gotten it for less than 5K I would have said you got a "steal".....:devious: You still got a good deal, I would have expected the asking price to be a couple grand more... especially considering shape it's in.

Looks good to me... if you got it for less than 5K I'd say you got one hell of a deal. Other than having the automatic, I can't see much wrong with it in the pics.

Well, I'm 6"1" with a 34 inch inseam and don't need to put the seat all the way back. My father was 6"4" with 36 inseam and he didn't put the seat in the last notch either... Unless you are all legs...you'll fit no trouble.... You can always move the slider or take the spacers out from under the seat tracks if you need more headroom....

Uh, well.... depends on which model of Porsche they are talking about.... 944 and a 240 are fairly equal as far as handling and power to weight. I raced against a few and it was a matter of driving that usually won out. 944 Turbo.. forget it... 911? Forget it.. 240 doesn't stand much of a chance against their power and brakes(unless you go back to an early 70's 911) and if the driver is good, they will outhandle a 240.. but it takes a perfect driver to outhandle a 240 in a 911. 924, no contest... Z wins, unless it's a 924 Turbo... then the Z has some competition, that one might come down to driver skill..... 914/6... about the same as the 944 non turbo... 914/4.. Z wins... 911 Turbo? What Z?

Accoding to my 71 FSM the total oil volume is 3cc or .18 cu in. Or just fill it to the upper line.....

Hmm, if you are sure there are no other burned out fuses.... There is a 6 wire connector behind the radio, that is part of the dash light circuit, did you check to see if that is connected? Perhaps when you put the radio in you might have hit it and it is not making a good connection? I'd say it's quite possible you just unhooked something while putting the radio into the dash and you aren't seeing it...... The only other thing I can think of would be to check your dash light dimmer switch. Perhaps when you shorted out the circuit, before the fuse blew it might have burned out the dimmer switch or maybe even burned up the hot wire so that enough that it is causing an open in the circuit. There should be only two leads to it with bullet connectors if I remember right. Try unplugging them both and wire across them and see what happens.

Pics of your car Daniel are in my gallery. I downloaded them and then asked Mike if there was a way to move them over into your gallery but he couldn't find a way to do it.... So, they are there in my gallery...:lick: :bandit: http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=3562&password=&sort=7&thecat=500 http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=3563&password=&sort=7&thecat=500

Andy Russell also has new front bumpers for just under 300 bucks, of course the rub strips will be extra... not sure if he can get the complete rear ones or not..... e-mail him at z@datsundude.com for more info.

We were referring to the overlapped floor pans, the rails can only be welded 2 ways, either spot welded on like they were originally, or seam welded as his are. The floor pans can be spot welded as well, by you will still have two seams, that would be free. The only way to get away from this would be to cut the old pans out to fit the new pans in exactly the same hole and butt weld the two back together, which is a lot more work, but would end up being the strongest way. You could then alternate your weld sections, one short section inside, then a gap then an another. Then after you have it spot welded in place with short sections, you could go to the underside and weld the short sections that are not welded on the opposite side of the pan. That way you would end up having one continous bead of weld all the way around the perimeter.

Finished.. I'd rate it a B+ for a first attempt. I learned a lot of little tricks that should make the second time go faster with better results....

And after about 4 hours or more of work. Had to keep re-sanding sections that didn't meet my approval, the left side has just been sanded with 220 and the right side is after a quick buffing to check the finish. You have to be very careful not to sand the curves wrong and end up with flat spots... Takes some patience on these sections... BTW, for those of you who want to try it, Eastwoods has a pretty good video that explains the steps as well as all the tools to do the job the easy way....

Victor has it right.. you have so sand it smooth or you'll never get that reflective finish that looks so good. You'll end up with shiny matte surface if you don't sand. I just did one of my valve covers and it is a lot of work. I used a buffing set that I bought from Eastwoods with the stand, motor, wheels and compounds. Plus it took a lot of sanding with the air sander, Dremel tool and by hand as well. It isn't as nice as I'd like, but it looks better than it did when I started. Here's the before pic.

The repairs don't look too bad, however, the only thing I can see that might be a little "iffy" is the fact they overlapped the new section and only welded it from the inside on a lot of it. I'd have someone weld up the bottom, and then seal the it with seam sealer. They wouldn't have to run a continous bead, just have them close up the gap and weld it in sections for a little more strength and piece of mind that you won't have to do it again in a few years.

Well, his are more than likely reproductions. These are described as Genuine Nissan and are a bit cheaper.... http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2418765998&category=33640 One thing, these were not installed on US models in 73. The 73's had a one piece filler behind the bumpers front and rear as they were mounted further away from the body the same as the early 74 260's.