Pop's Z

See hazmat thread.

Try a Magnaflow round muffler. I have that and is a nice somewhat loud-when you get on it-tone. Summit # MPE-14415. Tucks up nicely, too. Cheers, Mikke

FWIW, I have an L-28(F-54)/N42 head combo. I do have a stage II Delta cam and some mild cleaning up of the ports. I run Z Therapy SUs and an MSA 6-1 header and 2.5" exhaust and burn 91 premium gas (or what passes for premium these days). My timing is set to normal specs. I live at 5000 ft. I have never experienced detonation and the motor pulls really well from about 2500-6000 rpm with no hesitation. I also get 25 mpg on long trips. So as you can tell I recommend the L-28/N-42 combo. Cheers, Mike

Haz, That looks like hose you get at Home Depot. It is made for water. Oil blow-by will deteriorate it in short order. It looks good now, but won't once you get up and running. You will need to get an oil rated hose. Not as nice to look at, but will last longer. Also heat will make it get all saggy. Tried it on a boat once when I lived aboard...didn't work. Had to buy the more expensive petroleum rated hose. Love the project. Want to see it in person. Send me a pm. Cheers, Mike

Sitting for that long, especially in Florida, undoubtedly you have moisture and possibly salt from the coastal air in the system. That leads to rust and crapola in the brake actuator cylinders, calipers, brake lines and bleed screws. If it were my car I would take the brake system apart and make sure that no rust or craploa remains. After 6 years I would replace the master cylinder, the rear cylinders(or at least a rebuild), and flush the lines thoroughly with acetone. I would also consider replacing the front calipers as they are probably deteriorated also. Unfortunately there is no easy, cheap or safe way to tackle the braking system. No brakes is a very dangerous, scary, and conceivably really expensive life-threatening proposition. There are no shortcuts when dealing with braking systems. Good luck. Cheers, Mike

Totally off topic I know, but where my ashtray used to live has become my travel cup/ water bottle holder. Cheers, Mike

Reducer not really necessary and adds 2 more hose clamps. If you warm up the 1/4" line (use new fuel hose, not fuel injection hose) with really hot water or a hair dryer or heat gun on low it should slip right over the 5/16" fitting. Try real hard not to move the fitting on the tank as they are notorious for breaking loose and then leaking. Try holding the fitting with careful use of a small vice-grip. Of course be really careful when using heat sources around fuel tanks. I am assuming that the tank is empty. Good luck. This is much easier with the tank out of the car, but not impossible with it in place. Cheers, Mike

+1 on Bart. ZTherapy is the BEST! Cheers, Mike

There is speculation on "Jalopnik.com." and MotorTrend about it having a turbo 4 for Europe, V-6 for U.S. and being called just Nissan Z. There are supposedly many similarities with BRZ/FR-S. Cheers, Mike

This retired firefighter says, "Get a good fire extinguisher!" Gas leaking from the carbs falls directly onto the exhaust manifold. Be very careful about this issue. Good luck. Cheers, Mike

FWIW, Z cars are not the best winter drivers. They are light in the rear, and don't have any sort of traction control. You can do 360's with out hardly thinking about it...ask me how I know. Cheers, Mike

Hi Matt, Better check Colorado emission laws. I'm not sure if your car is exempt. I know the guys with 77-78 cars are not. They have to pass emissions. If you are anywhere along the front range you may be required to get annual emission checks so beware. Do you qualify for "Collector Vehicle" plates? You can check DMV website to find out. Just trying to save you some grief. There is a way around this if you can register your Z on the west side of the mountains. Can't wait to see the finished product. Cheers, Mike

Brian may or may not answer as he has been very ill. I hope he does, though...great guy, he and his wife Sheryl met us at the airport in Auckland when we arrived, and plied us with travel magazines and set us up with other Zedders in Wellington, too. Then set up the luncheon prior to our departure. Like I said before, Kiwis are great folks. Cheers, Mike

Back in my salad days I fell into ownership of a '68 Datsun 2000 roadster. I wanted an Austin-Healy, but financial circumstances made that impossible. I loved that Datsun, and when the Z came out I wanted one really bad. Finally in 1975, I was able to get a used '73 blue/off-white interior with EMPI 2 pc. aluminum wheels. I really loved that car and put a lot of miles on it. Then I moved to the mountains requiring a 4wd pickup and my beloved zed went bye-bye. Fast forward to 2004. I wanted something to do in retirement and my son said, "Pops, why don't you get another Z and fix it up?" I decided to get on line and found this site along with a few others and went to the MSA show. Returned with a fire to get one, and found a 1 owner '73 with 70,000 REAL miles on it in Denver...NO RUST which was amazing for Colorado. The owner said he only drove it once when it was slick out and said never again. He bought a 4wd and only drove the Z occasionally in the summer. It had a white vinyl top and a disco velour interior...the whole interior, and a not so great paint job (all of which I have remedied). I followed Carl Beck's advice and bought the best one I could afford. That advice has really paid off as I have had virtually none of the problems that pop up here...Thanks, Carl. I've put waaay more $$ into it than I'll ever get back, but that's not really important to me...it's not considered an "investment". It is easy and fun to work on, and it is really fun to drive. I call it my time machine...jump in crank the Airplane, Led Zep, etc. and I'm back in the 70s. So that's my story. This is a great thread...anybody else? Cheers, Mike

FWIW, when I went to NZed a few years back I contacted a few Kiwi members on this site before I left, and they showed me a great time even had my wife and me for a luncheon at a winery in Auckland. The Z club of New Zealand are great folks anxious to meet and blab about Zeds (don't call them "Zs"). You can try Brian Schou "olzed" on this site schoubs@hotmail.com. Good luck. We truly enjoyed New Zealand. The Kiwis are some of the best people on earth. Good food, good wine, and now good beer, great scenery, what more could one ask for? Cheers, Mike

So Sarah, what about a 280ZX Turbo Coupe? Almost a Zed and T-tops, 5-spd, etc. I also have a book that shows a T-top conversion on our cars, but it was a long time ago. Cheers, Mike

All of us former Marines know about "NevrDull"..."shine that brass, Marine, I want to see my face in it." It will wear off in time as it's petroleum based, and I'm not too sure how it will do with the occasional gasoline spill. Cheers, Mike

Fred, I'm aghast that your beloved Z-L is outside! In the winter! Argh! I think we need a quickstarter doo-wah for a garage for Fred. Cheers, Mike (whose beloved Zed is in the garage instead of the Subaru daily driver...I clean the snow off of it)

See my signature. Rota Rbs, Bridgestone Potenzas 205-60/15 no rub. Cheers, Mike

I get Classic Motorsports Magazine and with a few exceptions all the talk about are British cars and Ferraris. Oh, and all the expensivo auctions and Concourse d'elegances. I don't think I would be able to drive a million dollar car on the street, and I certainly wouldn't fit in at a Concourse. But when you drive your Zed on the street it gets a lot of looks, comments, and "my *fill in the blank* had one of those" and the stories just keep coming. I guess I really don't care what Hagerty thinks about my Zed as long as they keep insuring it for what I think it's worth. We have the pleasure of owning the worlds best "sleeper" classic car and still affordable to own, run, and work on. Just my 2 cents. Cheers, Mike

I'm glad to see you used the foam to good advantage. The leather looks fantastic. Cheers, Mike

Had two of them a '68 and a '69...like Mike I miss mine, too. Cheers, Mike

Not to put too fine a point on it, but why don't you give Bruce a call and see what he says. I have Z Therapy carbs with no issues like you describe. Maybe they got a bad batch of hoses. I've found that they totally stand behind their products...just sayin'. Cheers, Mike

Welcome to the BEST Z car site ever. Lots of Z folks in and around Colorado. Check out zroad@googlegroups.com. Cheers, Mike

An old friend says, "Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted"................ Cheers, Mike