Pop's Z

On the battery itself, I found out that Costco sells their own brand of battery, but it is made by the same company and to the same specs as the Interstate, but at 2/3 the price. Good deal? Yes, I got one for my Subaru daily driver and have been pleased with the result and the savings. Next time the Zed needs a battery that's where I'm going. Currently on my Zed I use a "Battery Tender" on a NAPA brand lead-acid battery and have had no leakage or problems and it sits idle most of the winter. I do start it occasionally and let it warm up before shutting down. Never a problem, always full power. Cheers, Mike

FWIW, I would add that if you are coming to the US to look at Zeds you might want to come to Orange, California, in late April and go to the MSA Z Car Nationals show. You will see more Zeds in one place at one time than any where else. Some of them will be for sale and you will meet some of the most knowledgeable Zed guys around. I've been three times and had a great time every time. If you're lucky you might even meet Mike the Honcho of this excellent website as I did. Cheers, Mike

Just another quick thought...talk to a good machine shop about the helicoil in the crankshaft idea and see what they think about it, Cheers, Mike

I'm not sure if I would want to put helicoils in my crankshaft. It might be very difficult to install them, too. Perhaps one of the truly mechanically inclined would chime in...zcars, John Mortenson, Carl Beck? Admittedly, I am not a professional mechanic. It just gives me pause. Cheers, Mike

Very interesting post. FWIW you can buy pure mineral oil (no fragrances) at some kitchen supply or retail stores. It is used for maintaining wood cutting boards. I've been using RedLine for the diify. I think I will add a little mineral oil to the diffy and see what happens. It isn't too noisy, but there is some whine. Cheers, Mike

FWIW, I removed all the manifold coolant lines and the piping that goes around the back of the block due to some corrosion,and leaky hoses. The result has been that it takes about a minute longer to warm up even when I take the car out on winter days for a bit of exercise. I suppose if you lived in a really cold place and drove your car on a daily basis then it would not be advisable, but for me it's just less worry about leaky coolant lines. There has been no issue with overheating. Cheers, Mike

+1 on the ball/socket T/C rod thingums. I took mine out and replaced with new rubber bushings ( I found the plastic parts were cracked after about 10K miles FWIW). I got tired of the steering harshness over bumps etc. I actually replaced my Eibachs with my original stock springs as I thought the ride too harsh for my 69 year old butt. I also replaced the poly bushings with new rubber front and rear. Admittedly the car doesn't handle as crisply as before, but I also don't drive as aggressively as I used to, either. It's all a trade off. It still drives great and the ride is much improved. To each his own. Cheers, Mike

Nice to see you on here again, Daniel. I know you are a certified hybridz guy. Guys, Daniel has an amazing story to go with this post. Maybe he will tell the rest of you what I already know about the motor in his car which is incredibly fast by the way. Cheers, Mike

FWIW, Probably the reason it's so expensive is that you have to remove the dash and seats making it labor-intensive. It is not a simple plug-n-play. About $1500 for the Vintage Air kit. V.A. doesn't make a kit specifically for our cars. The shop will have to make a compressor mount as V.A. doesn't supply one. I think the price is pretty fair considering it took me a week of work to put mine in, and I'm a pretty fair mechanic. The V.A. units are much more efficient than the old style A/C. I'm happy with my Hot Rod Air system (very similar to the V.A. unit), but unfortunately they are no longer in business. Cheers, Mike

FWIW, I used a 4:11 rear from a 200sx to replace my stock 3:36 R180. The difference is amazing. For long highway trips the 3:36 was great, very "long-legged", but for canyon carving which is what I mostly use the car for the 4:11 is terrific. I have taken the car on long road trips to SW Colorado on the beautiful twisty roads we have here ( the north side of the Black Canyon comes to mind) and I feel the 4:11 was the way to go. I turn about 3200 rpms @ 70 mph. The front diffy on Nissan 4X4 trucks is an R180 3:90, and they are also great. I started with the stock diffy, but changed after I had to shift down to first in some of the tighter corners. Enjoy the ride...I really like your resto. Cheers, Mike

The one thing I found that helps to make the cables run smoother is to use the 70-72 position for the cable through the firewall. In 73 they had a much longer cable and ran it through the firewall on the passenger side. Earlier cars had the through the firewall on the driver's side with much shorter cables. If you look real close under the throttle linkage on the firewall in the engine compartment you will find a small dimple in the firewall. This is where the old series choke cables ran. You will find an unused cut-out in the interior firewall insulation, too. I used a hole saw to open it up, moved the grommet the cables run through (got a new one from MSA because the old one was old and torn), moved the cables and shortened the outer casing, ran the cables through the choke assemblies on the carbs and shortened them. Lubed the cables and they are effortless and place almost zero stress on the lever. You could cover the old hole with a rubber plug, but I used it for one of the lines on my A/C install. Cheers, Mike

When I went looking for my car the best advice I got (and followed) was from Carl Beck. Buy the best car you can afford. You'll be way ahead in the long run. He was right. I spent more than I wanted, but when I read about all the problems here I realize that I don't have any of those issues. Thanks, Carl. Also I would add don't be in a hurry, you WILL find the right car. It just may take some time. Cheers, Mike

An easy way to get the pins out from their dark recesses is to put a handkerchief over the nozzle of your shop vac. Leave some room and secure with a wire tie. Turn on vac, collect said pins, turn off when you can drop the pins into your hand. Been there, done that, works every time. Cheers, Mike

Me too.

240 Zeds do not have cv joints. They have u-joints. You can get them from MSA or Black Dragon...maybe even the Nissan dealer. Good luck and be sure to use the search feature here to change them out. Cheers, Mike

You can get a free pickle fork at any Auto zone. They lend all sorts of tools. Cheers, Mike

Spied a Colorado historic car plate on one of those. Where was this show? Cheers, Mike

If you are slipping in 1st you might as well bite the bullet and replace the pressure plate, clutch disc, pilot bearing, and the throw-out bearing. As long as you're at it replace the front seal on the tranny, too. I've done the trans both ways and IMHO it's a bit easier to take the engine/trans out as a unit especially when lining up the trans shaft with the flywheel. Oh and have the face of the flywheel machined smooth. Do it all at once and don't worry about it again. Just my 2 cents as I've been there, done that...no t-shirt, though. Cheers, Mike

The renowned Mr. Brown likes his twin brother very much. What a beautiful example. Cheers, Mike

My very first Datsun was a '68 2000. They were so much better than the British cars of the era it wasn't even close...reliable, started every time, no oil leaks, roll-up windows, no weird electrical system, 5 spd tranny, easy to work on, etc. I had a blast with it. To drive it fast all you had to do was point it at the corner and punch it...whoooeee. Yours is beautiful. Enjoy the ride. Cheers, Mike

FWIW, I have an F54 block with an N42 head in my '73 Zed. As you stated there is no place for the old manual fuel pump. I used a Carter electric pump instead. It works fine. It is a bit noisy, but I can't hear it after idle. Beware that sometimes the old relays located on the passenger side could cause problems in the electrical circuitry. I had a shorting problem which burned up the fuel pump wires behind the dash. I repaired it, but it happened again so I ran a wire directly to the fuel pump bypassing the factory relay which I believe had failed. So far there have been no more problems, but to be on the safe side I am planning a new relay for this circuit. I also utilized a switch "t-ed" off the oil pressure sender that will shut off the pump if the engine is not running. Cheers, Mike

FWIW, I installed a KYB/Eibach combo. Hasn't killed the strut inserts yet. That being said I am seriously considering going back to the original springs. The combination of the springs, the use of poly bushings, and a T/C rod kit with the nylon/steel setup has made for a harsh ride and unwanted steering feedback. My old butt longs for a softer ride. The car handles well, but I am going back to rubber bushings, a normal rubber T/C rod setup. Also I have to admit that while the lowered look is cool, the reduced ride height means scraped exhaust pipe/ frame rails on anything taller than a small dip. So, bottom line, I am willing to give up some handling performance for a softer ride...personal preference. Cheers, Mike

Kerrigan, why don't you send Dave a PM? He might see your question sooner. Just a suggestion. Cheers, Mike

I hope the heater hose splice will not deteriorate when exposed to gas fumes. That hose is a PITA to fix. Cheers, Mike

Darrell, did you rebuild the rear cylinders or buy new ones. The reason I ask is I am going to re-do mine and the new ones are mucho dollars. The rebuild kits are cheap. I'm going to do a complete re-do of the f&r brakes. Cheers, Mike you can email me if you don't want to clutter up this thread.