MarkDixon

I have white face plates installed on my 71' 240. Here are some tips: You will probably want to change your bulbs while you are at it. I replaced my bulbs with RED color bulbs (found on the internet somewhere) You must remove the green plastic bulb covers from the gauge housings so the colored light will shine through While you have the housing apart and the face plate removed, paint the inside of the housing bright white. (rattle can is ok) This will help reflect the light and you will get better illumination You wil also want to paint the needles on the guages. I used RED, most people use flouresent orange Remember to sand inside the mounting hole of the clock needles before trying to put them back on. My clock worked like a champ before I started. I didn't realize the paint build up was hendering my putting them back on the clock. I forced them on, and now the clock doesn't work. make sure you keep your hands clean and wait till all paint is dry before touching your white face plates. I have a small red smudge on one face plate that no one else will notice, but it drives me nuts because I know if I had been a little more patient, it wouldn't be there at all. By the way, I love the way my white gauges look. I'm sure you will like them as well Mark

NissanMaster, I saw your car @ the Walter Mitty this weekend.

ah.. i see... I think i have seen people with 245/45/17 maybe that would rub. As i said, I am still doing research. I thought maybe 16 size tire so i would have more rubber, but i am not opposed to 17" rims

With 8" & 9" wheels & stock fenders, how are you not rubbing when going over bumps. It seems that the height clearance would not be good. Do you tires not stick out beyond the fenders? Of course with fender flares, the hole point for me is to have my wheels stick out to match the width of the flares. Maybe that is done via the "offset" or "spacers" I am not that familiar with how the whole wheel set up works. I am in my research phase at the moment. When I get the flares bonded on and paint my car, I will be in serious need thanks mark

It doesn't look like anyone has answered you, but I too am considering these wheels. I have a 71' 240z w/ stock suspension. I too have molded flares. About 3.5" wider in front & 4" wider in back. all fenders have been cut for higher clearence. Back outer fenders re-welded to the inner fender. I would like to run 16X8 wheels on front & 16X9 in rear. Any advice on which wheel / tire combo is best would be appreciated. Mark Dixon

TOXIC, My advise to you.... Sell your car for whatevery you can get for it. Save your money and buy a Z that has already been fixed up/restored/refreshed You will spend much more money if you try to fix up yourself. especially if you are not planning on doing most of the work yourself. I as well as most of the people on this forum has spent much more money on restoring their Z than they will ever be able to get out of it if we sell it. However, when I take my car to the Historic races at Road Atlanta and people come up to me and tell me what a nice Z I have; the proud feeling I get by telling them I have restored the car myself is priceless. I don't think you will get that same feeling if you spend twice as much money to have someone else restore it. The only advantage of restoring a Z yourself is: you can do a little at a time. Meaning - you can spend a couple hundred dollars here and there. A couple thousand dollars here and there, and in a few to several years later you will have yourself a nice restored Z. However, in the long run, you will have spent much more money than if you save up and buy a z-car that someone else has restored and needs to sell.

I have a set of those JDM covers too. Mine came with the car. The original owner bought the car in Japan where he was a seargent in the Army. He got the covers in Japan when he bought the car. I have been thinking about making a mold and making fiberglass copies. They mount on the top of the headlight bucket, so you could actually mount the standard plexy headlight covers and mount the fiberglass rings on top. I want to paint mine black, and don't have the heart to paint the original rings. Especially since they are in souch good shape. Mark

Thanks Bartman. I guess I should have spent the extra money. I didn't see that they would be that much better at the time. I guess I was wrong. Mark

Bartman, excuse me if I am wrong, but those are not the Kaminari side skirts shown in your photos. That is the same skirt that I have. These are the classic style side skirts. Are you telling me you have no glue attaching the skirts to your body? Just screws on the ends at the wheel wells and at the door jam???? Thanks, Mark

I do plan to mount them peranently with E6000 adhesive. That is why I wanted to know if it would be best to just suff the primer on the rocker, shoot rattle can auto paint and mount the skirts before I take it to the paint shop. I will be sure to sand down any "rattle can" paint that is over-sprayed beyond where the skirts will be covering. I am sanding they whole care with 360 grit just before it goes to paint. thanks for your advise. mark

I just received my Motorsports Side Skits. Which by the way aren't even close to fiting my 240Z. I plan to cut, re-fiberglass and fix them. My question is: My car is done with prep and primer and ready to go to the painter. Do I fix and fit the side skirts for my car, and have the car and the side skirts painted seperatly? Or should I attach the skirts and have them painted on the car? It would make more sense to have them painted on the car, but the car is currently only painted with primer. I don't want to have un-protected (primer only) areas underneath the skirts. So do I spray rattle can auto paint on the area where the skirts will go, mount the skirts, and sand and primer any "rattle can" paint that gets on the car above where the skirts mount? Thanks, Mark

you can get that rear hatch piece from several parts suppliers for $110.00 you should be able to get it welded on for less than $400 I bought the rear end from a 280z and had a body shop cut out the lower hatch piece you are talking about. Cut out the rusted hatch of my 240 and weld in the new piece for $400. The 280z rear end cost me $100

you are talking about the original OEM light covers. They are smooth curve. No cut line edge. These came with chrome rings to surround the cover. These style do not mount inside the light bucket like the newer ones. they actually sit on top of the headlight bucket. I have some on my Z. My 240Z was purchased in Japan in 1971 by an Army Srgt. You can probably find them used for about $600 or There is a company in Japan that sells them NEW for about $1200 billcapp has some pictures of this style in his gallery. I could not figure out how to upload them.

I replied to your email. I will try to box and weigh the part tonight so you will have a weight to judge shipping costs. As I said in the email, I will give you the part for free as long as you pay the shipping charges. My address is in the email so you can figure what the best way of shipping will be for you. Cheers mate.....

I have an extra one. PM me or send me an email to thedixons@alltel.net and provide your address. I'm not sure what procedure it will take to send it to New Zealand, but we can do a little research. I can probably just send it UPS.

you only found one stray wire??? Your Z must be in great condition. Look under your dash. I bet you find many stray wires.

fixed it. I took the valve cover off and manually pumped the fuel pump lever until gas flowed through the pump. It cranked 1st try. I guess Racebird was the winner. If I wasn't afraid of using up my battery trying to start the engine, it would have eventually paumped gas into the carbs. Now I know if I let it sit for a month it will take a while for the pump to prime. Thanks guys.

Thanks for all the advise. I don't think there is an air leak, as I can suck on the end of the hose and pull gas into the filter. Although I can probably suck harder than the fuel pump does. Wow that didn't sound right at all. Anyway, I did take the valve cover off and it looks like the fuel pump lobe is on and tight. I will have to promise my wife a few things to get her into the garage to turn the egnition for me. I'll keep you posted.

That is correct Arne. What gets me is it was working fine before I parked it. I took the pump off and pushed on the spring lever and the pump seems to work fine. As I said, I bought a NEW pump and installed it. It doesn't work either. Some how the lever which makes the pump possible is not moving up and down inside the engine. I could maybe understand on installation the lever could be inserted incorrectly, but it was working fine when I parked it and all of the sudden it doesn't work. This doesn't make much sense.

I have a 71 240z. My car was running like a champ. I parked it for about a month, and now I have no fuel going through the Pump. I know the problem is isolated to the pump area, because: I can detatch the hoes going to the pump and suck gas through the hose. I can detatch the hose going to the carbs and turn the engine over and no gas gets pumped through the pump. I even bought a new fuel pump and fuel filter and still the same problem. I detached the hose on both sides of the fuel pump, turned the engine over, and I feel no suction or output on either side of the pump. What could this be???

WOW!! Great job. I am a big fan of SEM products. You did an amazing job. I would have never thought to use Great Stuff to fix a Dash. I guess my Dad was wrong. He always told me there are only two things you need in your tool box. 1.) Duct Tape - If it moves and it's not supposed to... Apply Duct Tape 2.) WD40 - If it doesnt move and it is supposed to... Spray WD40 I guess now you can add: 3.) Great Stuff - If it cracks fill it with Great Stuff

Looks to me like you have a bit of rust on that frame rail anyway. This is not a fun fix and not cheap but, it can be fixed and you will need to get it fixed. I had the same problem. I bought a new frame rail and had the old cut out and the new welded in by a pro. By the way, I put mine on a flat bed to get it to the shop. That looks very dangerous to be driving any further.

Ahh yeah I understand. That is the picture I used. And I did use photoshop along with another program to make the effect. I think it's a cool idea. I will probably spent more time on it. Thanks for your inputs.

I think pirosan meant he would like to see me work some photoshop magic with merging a 240z photograph with a DB9 photograph. I can do this and make it look like the car is one. It will take a little more time.

I'm gonna work on that. This was an easy way to get a rough look at it. Took me about 3 minutes.