2ManyZs

Might as well let people know who the "the mouth of the south" is. My name is Keith. I just hit the big 4-0, never been married, no kids (yes, I'm quite sure of that) and have one very spoiled Sussex Spaniel as my favorite companion. I bought my first Z-car about 1982 or 83 (a while ago), it was a 73 240 that I sold to a friend of mine who raced it in ITS will he totalled it. I bought his wife's old 1975 280 in 87 and started racing it in ITS in 89. I retired the car in 94 when my father was diagnosed with cancer and haven't raced since he passed away in 95. He always said I had too d--n many Z's around here so hence my username. Right now I have a 1971 series 1 that I am restoring, and I still have my old 280 sitting here. I also have a 72 240 ITS car (wrecked, but may be fixable) and a 72 240 parts car. I think I still have an old 76 280 out in the woods behind a friends house I bought for parts too. So I guess that means I have had 8 Z-cars total and still have 5, more or less. I drive tractor trailer for a US mail contractor, and have driven in 39 states and 2 provinces of Canada in the last 18 years. My daily driver is a 2001 Dodge Ram 2500. What else would a truck driver have but a diesel?

Sounds like it might be worth a second look. Unless it is difficult to register a car with a salvage title in Ca. I know in Va. sometimes the DMV can give you a run-around trying to re-register a car.

She would probably "cost" a lot more in the long run. But I think I'm on your side. Maybe if they hadn't put those triangular lights on it would look a lot better.

I've got a 72 that looks a lot worse than that. Wanna trade?? Just kidding, at least you have something to start with!

Me thinks the price has gone up too much. Guess I'll forget that idea, unless I can get that box from a scrapyard in the UK! I'd rather have used ones, than to pay that much for new ones.:tapemouth

Oops, forgot your mileage question. 20 mpg would be right around average, everything depends on your driving style, car mods if any and where you drive. I have had cars that got 24 with no problem, and one that could never get 20.

A 240 tank holds 16 gallons. The later 280 tanks hold 16.7 gallons, but they won't fit a 240. Of course you may be able to squeeze in a couple more tenths in the filler neck but figure 16 as your baseline.

Probably the best feedback you can get would be at www.hybridz.com These are guys that do nothing but V-8 conversions in Z-cars. Yes, MSA has a kit but it's not the only one out there. Jags That Run has a kit which seems to get all the accolades. Just thought you might want to check it out to get the best responses.

The series 1's have the vents on the hatch lid instead of on the C-pillar, that is the most easily identifying difference. There are quite a few others, the tool storage is behind the seats instead of in the rear floor, small differences in the center console to name a couple more. If you look for the thread What year do I have and what emblems do I need, you will find a full list of the differences. I'm partial to the early cars too, just want one "topless". This car might need more than a couple hundred to get going, if it was really donated to a charity it may need quite a bit of mechanical work before it is road ready. So be sure to check it over carefully before you make your final decision. I'm not trying to scare you away from the car, just be prepared for most anything. If your dad has had Z-cars make sure he looks it over good for any "hidden" surprises. There can be quite a few. Good luck.

I just went to ebay and saw the 280 convertible. If you want a nice car that doesn't need too much work you might want to look into that one. If I lived in So.Cal I know I'd love to have that one. I've been thinking about doing a convertible kit for years! The only problem is not having a top, but the people that make that kit have a removable fiberglass hardtop that isn't too expensive. Just something for you to think about. That convertible was on there back in December I think, it evidently didn't sell. If I had a way to get it here then it probably would be in my garage.

I saw the car you are talking about. If the price doesn't get too high it looks like a good deal. Main thing is check the floor pans, frame rails, inner fenders behind the front struts, under the battery tray on the fender and inside the hatch above the taillights for any evidence of serious rust or repairs. It looks like a car that might be worth saving since it is a series 1 car. They are getting quite scarce, since they only made them up to about December 71. The blue stripe on the hood is definately added on. The interior is also not stock. I think only black and tan were available on the series 1 cars. Perhaps someone has recovered the seats and door panels in blue. It might take a considerable investment in time and money to make this car right, but if the selling price stays within reason it could turn out to be a good investment. I don't think I would go much more than 2500 unless it turns out the car is in really in better shape than it looks in the pics. If you are on a limited budget this car may need more body work than your budget allows. There are some better looking cars for more money, but will require a lot less time and money. I guess you will have to decide how big a project you can take on.

Car looks good now, and you want to tear into it?? Man, I wish I hadn't torn mine down, cause now I can't drive it!! I say, drive that sweet car, and just "tinker" with it now and then!! Don't know how it would go but since the roof is only a sheet of steel a good welder should be able to put a patch panel in its place. Sorry, bpilati, Mike is keeping all the stars. He won't even pass out a real gold star to any of his gold star members!! Just kidding, Mike.

I had one of the twice pipes kits with a header on my first Z. Truthfully, I hated it. It was too loud with the glasspacks in the kit after they burned out. The only thing wrong with running two pipes is the lack of space for the pipes when clearing the rear suspension and the lack of room for two mufflers. It's your choice, but personally I think you would end up spending more money that was necessary to fit true duals. Does your header have the two into one collector that slips on to connect to the exhaust? If it does you might want to consider a 2 1/2 inch single pipe with a good quality muffler. It will probably end up being less restrictive in the long run, since if you run two pipes you will probably need to keep the size down to 1 3/4 or so to make it fit. You might even be able to fit a larger single under there such as 2 3/4 or 3 inch. I haven't tried one yet but it should fit unless you have your car lowered quite a bit. The only places you might run into trouble is where the pipe turns out of the tunnel under the diff. mount and around the suspension. Just my thoughts if you want to consider an alternative.

MSA doesn't sell it in a kit form, you have to order it piece by piece. Of course with the right salesperson you could probably tell them what you need and they could do it for you instead of rattling off about 40 part numbers.

Hey guys, I don't know how far you are from San Diego but there is a 71 series 1 on ebay that doesn't look too bad. Needs some work but the price might be low, it was given to a charity and the guy selling it got it from them. I just saw it yesterday, but didn't write down the item number.

Is the sealer/primer you have sandable? It should be, so just lay on a good coat of primer and let it dry thoroughly, then scuff it up with 220 or possibly a little finer. You don't want the bondo on bare metal, but you should sand the primer to give it a good "bite" to the primer. I wouldn't wet sand it though, you don't want any moisture at all under the bondo, or it will crack and all sorts of ugly stuff. I have seen metal with surface rust under the bondo because the bondo was put on bare metal. Make sure you use the metal prep and a tack cloth after you do anything. That is one thing you can't do enough of, clean, clean, clean. I don't know how I'll ever get my shop clean enough to spray the underside of mine. And it doesn't take much to make a good job look not so good. BTW, take your time, do it right! I always got in a hurry and it showed! You still have time between now and June, if you get in a bind bring it by here and I'll give you a hand. Sorry, just trying to brighten your day!

Well, as far as the 280 kit being better than the 240, I don't know. I can't think of too much that would be different except for the rear hatch seals. I think the early cars like ours had the "seals of many pieces" and then later in the 240 line they went to a one piece hatch surround. I had never heard of the 280 being used because it was better. But then again, I haven't gotten my car to that point yet so will cross that bridge when I get there. There are other kits out there for about 225. I think Z Therapy has them and so does strictly Z. However, they are not exact duplicates of the originals. Something about the welting is different. So yes you can save a pile of money but if you want the original look you are stuck. Like I told you in a PM, I've got a list made up for the weatherstripping and rubber pieces that are available for MSA. Let me know if you want the bottom line. :eek:

MSA has a carpet dash cover, ABS dash cover, lock sets, consoles possibly everything you need. Take a look at www.zcarparts.com and get their catalog.

Jennifer's looks fine, this one doesn't. No character!! Front is the same, no lines to break up the monotony of the un-ending curves. Side view looks better. Of course that's just my opinion.

Royce, I took the information out of an old copy of the Z-Car magazine (Winter 96 issue). It was written by Steve Christianson of SMC Prducts ( formerly with Nissan Motorsports). It was a discussion of the factory limited slip units. In his chart he gives the ratios and which rear came in which vehicles. Of course we already know no early z's came with LSD's but they are listed in the chart with all the rest. The SX cars all had R-200's but it doesn't say specifically if they are LSD's or not. It does give the ratio's as follows. R-200 3.90 280ZX Non-turbo 80-83 200sx Turbo 84, 200sx V6 R-200 4.11 200sx Turbo 85-86 The non turbo 200sx 84-88 had an R-180 4.11 as well as the 720 4x4 truck 6/83-12/85 (front diff) The 720 4x4 6/79-12/82 had an R-180 4.375 and the 720 4x4 Longbed 6/79-6/80 had the 4.625 ratio. I doubt all these came with LSD's from the factory, I believe what he was trying to do was give the rear-end ratios and which cars they came in. I screwed up by saying they came with LSD's. What I should have said was LSD's are available for them, since I re-read the whole article it does state that Nissan didn't put an LSD in a passenger car until 87. I apologize for my stupidity and lack of proof reading my post, at 3 am I probably am better off by keeping my big keyboard shut! However I will say this, if this helps. If you can find the rear with the right ratio that you want, the price for assembling a LSD (or Quaiffe) is cut almost in half, by not having to buy the ring and pinion. The ring and pinion sets are almost as expensive and are getting harder to find in ratio's lower than 4.11.

Darn, never thought of that 240z. Maybe I should order a great big box!!

There are far too many old car enthusiasts of all makes to let this ever happen. They have been trying for years, there is too much money being made in the old car market, parts sales, reproduction parts, restoration shops etc. The government would lose far more money in tax revenue than they could ever hope to save.The oil companies started this crap over pollution so they could keep on pumping out their sludge, by laying the blame on old cars. They can have my old cars when they pry my cold dead hands off the gun I'm protecting them with!

Just to give you an idea, when they had them, MSA priced them at $156 EACH. Front clear turn signal lenses are about 35 to 40 dollars each, plus the price of an amber bulb. Just wanted to let you know so you don't faint when you here the price.

MSA has them in most colors, old catalog says $6.50 bag of ten. Most Z parts suppliers have them, they are not hard to find(wish some other things weren't).

I believe the 200sx 83-88 had a 4:11 LSD R-180. If you want a 3.90 I think if you can find a 83(early) 4x4 pickup they had a LSD R-180 in the front. I believe the later 200sx all came with the R-200. I can't seem to find the lists I had except for the LSD rears. The 810 sedan had a 3.70 R-180 in it if you could ever find one.