Pop's Z

FWIW, I installed an hvac system from Hot Rod Air: www.hotrodair.com. into my '73. I found them to be great to deal with and they were able to help me over a couple of rough spots. The kit came with a bracket that mounted the compressor on the driver's side of the engine. It was not a job for the mechanically inexperienced, but if you work on your own car it was fairly straight forward. The system works well here in Colorado. (This is where Darrel will chime in with "when are you going to finish the how-to write-up"). The old-style systems will NOT keep up with Georgia heat and humidity, so if you want to be cool you will have to go with either Vintage Air or Hot Rod Air. The install took me about a month of off-and-on work. It could be knocked out faster if you were to work on it full time. You will have to remove the seats, the console, the dash and the original heater assembly. The evaporator is approximately the same size as the original heater unit. Good luck. Cheers, Mike

FWIW, I just used the 4-spd mount on the 5-spd. No spacer. Works just fine. Cheers, Mike

Hey Ben, You are the only person on this site who has not been OK with Hagerty. I have used them since 2005 and have been very satisfied. They do not want you driving to work, and your description sounds a lot like work. They don't want you parking at Home Depot on the weekends. They are NOT Nazis. I put about 1,000 miles a year on my car and they have no problems with that. I called them to see if driving from Colorado to California for the MSA show would be a problem and they said no, have a great time. It is not insurance for a daily driver. I think you are being totally unfair in your scathing description of Hagerty. I'm not sure if you are going to be satisfied with any insurance company, and you sure won't get any good coverage with your attitude. Lighten up, man. Just sayin'. Cheers, Mike

Harry, That looks a lot like the old '73 linkage and balance tube. The conversion works better with the intake manifolds, balance tube, and linkage from an earlier car. You are welcome to come check out my '73 w/ Z Therapy carbs to see what it looks like. I'm in Fort Collins. Send me a pm w/ email. Cheers, Mike

You can contact Oliver at www.zspecialties.com. +1 on dealing with him. I also have one of the speaker boxes. I have taken the fabric covering off and the sound insulation and the materials and construction are first rate Cheers, Mike

Try "Q-Pads". I used them on my '73. They seem to be of a similar material. I got them at a place that specializes in auto body materials, but they weren't cheap. Cheers, Mike

Oh, and one more thing. You may have to adjust the pins that activate the turn signal return. I did. Had to make them stick out more to activate the turn signal return. Mike

About 10 minutes. You just need to wiggle your steering wheel back and forth and pull. +1 on having the nut on to catch the wheel before it imprints on your face. You will need to bend the "wiper" (that copper thingum that connects the wheel to the steering column and activates the horn) fairly substantially. Unplug your horns so you won't get the neighbors all upset. Cheers, Mike

Blue??? Is that really you? Refugee from zcar.com? Author or collector of the best Z car tips? If so WELCOME to the best zcar site. Your knowledge is very welcome here. Cheers, Mike

FWIW I have an N42 on an F54 flat top piston block. The head was milled to a 10.5-1 compresson ratio. It has a stage 2 Delta cam and a header. I run 91 octane gas and have NO detonation issues, and most of my driving (spirited) is done at 5,000' or more. Cheers, Mike

Hi Yoshi, On my '73 2 core radiator the side mounts were coming undone so I thought that instead of having them re-soldered I would get a 3 core radiator from MSA. (The old radiator was 34 years old at the time and somewhat funky-looking on the inside.) It works just fine with plenty of airflow. I have an L28 with an N42 10.5-1 compression head, a stage 2 cam, and a header and the operating temps are normal usually in the center of the guage. I have had no overheating issues (I also have A/C with a condensor mounted in front of the radiator). I live at 5,000' and typically drive at altitudes much higher also with no overheating problems. I even paricipated in the First Annual Iron Butt Challenge drive in late July last year. We drove over 11 mountain passes here in Colorado including several at 10,000' or more 550 miles all told. I had the A/C on the whole time and had no overheating problems at all. I pondered aluminum, but was put off by the price, mounting issues (they have to be isolated from the car), and fragility. I don't think you can go wrong with a three-core radiator fo a 240Z. Just my 2 cents. Cheers, Mike

Erkki, In Colorado that temporary cashier's reciept is for a temporary license sticker that goes in the window until you get new license plates. The one you are showing looks just like the Colorado one. Hope this clears up your confusion. Cheers, Mike

Tim, I'm sorry, but there's no way for me to draw a picture and transfer it to this forum. My wiring is the same as your picture. I ran a wire from the C just like it appears. I ran another to the starter solenoid from N just like it appears. I ran the wire from NO just like it appears. I did utilize the existing pump wiring in the car so I basically interrupted the NO line (b/w wire to green wire) which meant the original wiring allowed the pump to run all the time when the ignition sw. was on even with the motor not running...very dangerous. The green pump wire was then run from the C terminal. I know this sounds complicated, but your problem is due to the fact that in the "run position" you got no juice. Are you running the N wire to the solenoid and not the starter? If you are running to the starter it won't work. Unfortunately I'm up here and your down there. Hands on would help. My dash is out and I'll try to figure this out vis the b/w-gr wire thing and let you know. Check out this subject in the forums by "beandip". He had a fairly lucid explanation of the wiring. Cheers, Mike

Actually, Tim, I wired it into the original electric fuel pump wiring which comes from the b/w wire. I went from the ign. sw. wire where it connects with the green fuel pump wire to the Holley oil pressure sw. and back to the original green fuel pump wire right at the inline fuseholder in that circuit. Works good, but for some inexplicable reason when I had my short this fall the fuse didn't blow??? Still trying to figure that one out. The green wire melted completely in half by the connector filling the car with smoke. Exciting to say the least seeing as I was driving, shall we say, aggresively. If I hadn't been with Darrel the car would probably still be up on the Devil's Gulch road (thanks again, Darrel). Cheers, Mike

Hi all, I have been in email communication with James Cairns (240znz) in Christchurch and the devastation is mind numbing. The Cantaburians need our help. If you are able please donate to the New Zealand Red Cross (http://www.redcross.org.nz/donate). Every little bit helps. I visited James in2006 and was treated to a very good time. New Zealand is a wonderful country and the Kiwis are a wonderful people. Please help if you can. Remember that a $50 donation is really around $37 US. Thanks for your time and trouble. Cheers, Mike

Hey Tim, I got a Holley switch from Summit...works perfectly. Cheers, Mike

I know, Darrel, but fire was not close behind..."where there's smoke...etc". Plus it makes a more colorful story. Cheers, Mike

Tim, Be sure when you pull the dash to mark every single wire and connector...makes it much easier when you put everything back. Also, be sure to make sure you have no wires chafing on sharp metal bits like the stereo when you put the dash back in (ask me how I know this...can you say FIRE!!!) Cheers, Mike

Keep an eye on ebay for your parts to show up. Mike

Tim, It appears as if you have the oil press. switch wired bassackwards. It's doing the opposite of what you want it to do. Those little marks on the switch are very hard to see, and it's easy to get them wrong. The pump shuts off when you get oil pressure, and it should be the other way around. Good luck. Cheers, Mike

Manny, good luck getting a white speedo cog from Courtesy. Try Zmanofwashington: www.zspecialties.com. 1-800-518-5480. He is a great guy to deal with and usually has these in stock. I got a red cog from him a while back for my 4:11 w/ late model 5 spd. I had to do as Darrel said and rotate the cog holder 180 degrees and cut a new slot in it with my Dremel because it came out of my 4 spd. Piece of cake. Works great...speedo is accurate. If you are going to use your 4 spd you won't have to do anything except swap out the cogs. Be advised, however that you will be turning some high rpms on the highway with a 4 spd and a 3:90. Cheers, Mike

Not to be snarky, but why don't you give them a call. 1-800-633-6331. I have found them fairly easy to deal with. Sometimes their suppliers are not that reliable, but they should have the info you seek. Cheers, Mike

FWIW, I just used a "Sharpie" permanent marker pen. Still looks good after 5 years, and if it fades just retouch with the "Sharpie". Cheers, Mike

So Greg, It's another one day event? And it's at the shop not in the park? As much as I would like to come it's just not worth a 2 day drive to get there from Colorado. I was hoping for a return to the three day event culminating in the Sunday show in the park. If I lived in SoCal I would be there, but...I hope it turns out well for all. Cheers, Mike

Ground chuck 85% lean, pattie up loosely not tightly compressed about 1 1/2" thick, put a depression in the middle of the patty with your thumbs about 1/2 the size of the patty, do not use salt until it's done, cook over high heat so you get a nice crust (do not press down with the spatula that leads to dry and tough), flip, if you want cheese put it on now. Place in a good (not a "Wonderbread-type"...more like a Kaiser roll) toasted bun. Enjoy. Have a nice microbrew like a FatTire with it...heaven. Cheers, Mike