Pop's Z

I have used a Carter electric pump for years with no issues other than it is noisy. You only really hear it at idle. Once you go, the noise gets lost in the background. Be sure to add an oil pressure off switch so if you crash and the engine dies so does the fuel pump, FYI I live at 5,000 ft and drive up to 10,000 ft. and no issues. Cheers, Mike

Try using electrical heat-shrink tubing, I did. Works fine. Cheers, Mike

Took the renowned Mr. Brown out of winter storage. Started right up. Took it for a short drive to un-flatten the tires. Nice to have him back. Now I can practice safe social distancing in style. Cheers, Mike

My '73 had keys cut on both sides and one key opens all the locks and the ignition, too. Less complicated. Cheers, Mike

I did this a while back and the only way I could do it (as my hands are too big and not triple jointed) was to disconnect the speedo cable at the tranny and pull some slack, then pull the dash part way out, attach the cable from above, replace the dash, pull the slack out and re-attach the cable to the tranny. I must have tried this every other way for too long as I didn't want to partially remove the dash again. Unfortunately it was the only way. Good luck. Cheers, Mike

Mark, Re: Flaws...When Navajo women weave their beautiful blankets they purposely put in a "flaw" to let any evil spirits out. Now you know that there will be NO evil spirits in your amazing build. Can't wait to see and hear this incredible project get "completed". Cheers, Mike

Are you sure this is an R 200? I got a 4:11 diffy out of a 200SX and it was a R 180. Just wondering. Picture? Cheers, Mike

Mark, As a Vietnam veteran Marine I thought you hit this one out of the park. "Ours is not to question why. Ours is but to do or die." Once the s*** starts to fly it comes down to you and your buddies. Politics are a long way away. If you survive then you can take the time to think about it. Cheers, Mike

Bill, There's actually a lot of us along the Front Range who work on our own Zeds. There's a guy in Denver named Darrel Hoffman who was a zccc member. My friend Ken Peralez lives in Longmont and has built at least 3 cars that I know of including a V-8 car. See if you can find a Google Groups site called Zroad as most of the guys are on there. There's another guy on here Lonetreesteve who is in Denver and has restored a couple of cars, too. Send me a pm and I can give you their email addresses. Cheers, Mike

Try loosening the hinges, push the hood down, and re-tighten. It worked for me. Good luck. Cheers, Mike

Perhaps you could just not do the seats until after the car is drive-able, then drive to the states to put some break-in miles on, and get the seats done. Put them in as is, throw a piece of foam down and cover with a beach towel. Drive it down here to Colorado and I'll introduce you to my guy...just sayin'. Cheers, Mike

WOW!!! That's highway robbery. My shop did both my 300ZX seats in vinyl and cloth for "$850. Is he the only game for hundreds of miles around? Mike

Re: vinyl sources. Try the local upholstery shop. My local shop was very helpful and could get anything. Of course it helped that I farmed out the seats to them... Love this thread, Mark Cheers, Mike

Something I learned was to take two old head bolts and cut off the heads. They screw right into the block using the the two upper bolt holes. Makes putting the tranny back in much easier than trying to horse the whole thing while trying to line up the input shaft. You just slide the tranny over the old head bolts (sans heads) and ease it on in while turning the driveshaft yoke that you just happened to have laying around. We also used the driveshaft yoke to keep the fluid from running out while doing this job. Worked perfectly. Of course you have to have the head bolts and the yoke from other projects just laying around. Cheers, Mike

To answer the original question...yes that combo will work w/o rubbing. That's what I had with Rota Rbs and a 205 60-15 tire. Then I decided to go with a 215 60-15 and guess what? It rubs when backing up and turning. When these wear out I will go back to 205 60-15s. Cheers, Mike

Just a reminder to fill the radiator with just distilled water for the first little bit. Why? Because if you do have a leak water is easier to clean up and deal with than anti-freeze Ask me how I know...blown out brand new freeze plug. What a mess!. After you determine no leaks you can fill with whatever solution is right for your car/area. Cheers, Mike

I got them off both 4 cyl. and 6 cyl cars. The are identical. Same E12 80 #s. Note these are the "matchbox" thingums that attach to the distributor not the distributor itself. Cheers, Mike

Also FWIW, any Datsun of that era has the E12 80 matchbox. I was able to get several off various cars at the jy. Cheers, Mike

Furry help is always welcomed. Cheers, Mike

Plus one.

Well Granny, this is subjective, but my 46 year old front calipers and discs were grabby and really squeally even after a a rebuild and turning of the rotors (also the rotors had reached the end of their useful life). The new "big brake kit" from Silvermine using Toyota calipers and non-vented rotors was not grabby or squeally. My pedal depressed about a half inch further to the floor, but was firm. The brakes themselves seemed to work better. I pushed them a bit on some twistys and there was no fade or big heat buildup. I could come into the corners at a greater speed and they would haul the car down quickly with no fuss unlike the original system which could get quite exciting grabbing. I think they were an improvement, but that was butt-dyno stuff, so like I said it's subjective. When comparing prices the "big brake kit" was not that much more than stock and came as a complete package. I am very happy with it. Cheers, Mike

Nice wheels Mr. Mike. They do look a lot like my Rota Rbs. Cheers, Mike

My "big brake" kit from Silvermine Motors came with longer braided, DOT approved brake lines. I replaced the "s-curve" hard lines and the rubber lines which were 46 years old. The new lines work perfectly and don't bind, or rub on anything. The brake kit also works perfectly and I did not replace the stock M/C with a larger one. Hope this answers your question. Cheers, Mike

Yes. Cheers, Mike

I removed the speedo cable housing carefully using vice grips padded with a shop towel. Wiggled it back and forth and it finally came out. Good luck. Easier when in the car as it took a bit of muscle to get the thing to turn. Cheers, Mike