Arne

Is Nissan making some parts more generic these days in an effort to cover all S30s with fewer part numbers and inventory? Yes, count on it. Are those parts going to be exactly correct for those of us who want to keep our cars as original as possible? Nope, they won't. This is a problem that most of us have already had to deal with at some point or another. Take original shift knobs as an example. I have a brand new one from Nissan for my car, but it is noticeably different than my original. So much so that I have the replacement in a drawer in the house and still have the slightly flawed original on the car. In this case, I suspect that the original supplier to Nissan is no longer in business, and Nissan had to find a substitute manufacturer for these, who saw some pictures and specs, but never saw an original in person. In sum, I feel your pain, really. But complaining and grumbling to us here won't help, as we are all in the same boat. You could complain to Nissan, but catering to a few people buying low volume and low profit parts isn't going to mesh well with their goal of making profits and staying in business.

Richard, I did read all of your post. Most of what you ask seems somewhat rhetorical to me. You are surprised that there may have been further supersessions after your copy of the parts list was printed 35 years ago. This surprises you -- how? The attached screenshot shows that the part number you are working with now WAS superseded by the time my copy was published in December 1979.

You meant not impossible, didn't you, Will?

Some of the later Monroes were made in Venezuela. Can't say for certain, though...

Undoubtedly made by Gabriel, probably as a private label for some large re-marketer like NAPA, Sears or the like. Gabriel and Monroe were about the only US shock makers for this period, but most Monroe strut inserts were actually made by Sachs/Boge in Europe (frequently Belgium).

Remove the outer hardware, then remove the wing nut that holds the bottom bracket to a stud down inside the rear quarter panel. Then carefully maneuver the antenna unit off the lower stud, down and then out. You may also have to loosen the bolt that holds said bottom bracket to the bottom of the antenna assembly.

I ran my spook black for the first year. Looked fine. But I prefer color-matched, especially for the ducted version. The non-ducted works well visually in black, maybe better than color. IMO, of course. YMMV.

I guess it's a personal preference thing. I really prefer the ducted version, by quite a bit. For me it has nothing to do with the brake cooling, but just looks. The non-ducted just looks so plain, to me. And the curves and shapes around the ducts (especially when color-matched) are just fun to look at.

With all this help, looks like you are on the right track. Now for my "help". If it were me, I'd add a nipple on the back of one of them (probably the one you haven't built yet!) to connect the breather hose from the valve cover. That is a much cleaner solution than one of those silly looking K&N breather filters, and cuts down on fumes and mess under the hood.

I've never seen a reference on this, although I can't believe that no one has done this before. Best way to go about this would be to have someone whose emblems are off the car now measure the locations of the mounting holes. That would seem to be the most accurate way to locate the proper location to me, more accurate than trying to measure the emblems themselves. Anyone got emblems off right now?

Have you looked for signs of the sealed-up holes from the underside of the hatch? That's how I found the proper locations on a previous 240Z.

If you connect the battery but don't turn on the key or start the car, does the radio, blower and other electrical stuff work? (Key off, or ignition switch disconnected.)

Either the new ignition switch is bad (not likely), or the wiring has been modified or otherwise shorted. Next test -- start the car as normal, then reach up behind the ignition and unplug the connector from the ignition switch. If the car continues to run with the switch completely disconnected, we have serious issues in the wiring. If it shuts off (and the blower and radio go off as well), we are making progress. Try this and report back, the test results will determine what the next step will be.

On a 240Z, the factory diode is in the external regulator, but it's somewhere else in the later cars, like the 280Z that is the subject of this thread. That's why a 240Z needs an add-on diode when converting to a ZX alternator, but a 280Z needs only plain jumper wires. Doesn't tell us if the diode is the problem here, though. Back to the beginning. So you start the car, it runs fine. Turn off the key, it continues to run, and you must pull the power to stop it. Here are some questions to help pin this down: 1.) When you turn off the key, is there any change in how the car runs? Stutters, misses, etc.? Or does it run the same as with the key on? 2.) With the key off and the engine still running, do all the gauges still work as normal? Or do they go off? 3.) You mentioned you replaced the ignition switch. Did you replace the small electrical part on the very back (the actual switch), or just the key lock (tumblers)? Or both? 4.) If you leave the battery connected overnight or over the weekend, does the car drain it dead with nothing turned on?

I'm of the opinion that we should cut the owner who modified it some slack. Let's imagine that it's shortly after the end of the Vintage Z Program. And here's a guy who has come into some money, and has dreamed of owning a hot, modified 240Z since he was young. Now he can afford to build it (or rather, to have it built). Now if you want to build a fast 240Z, you want to start with the best, most solid car you can find. What better car to start with than a well-documented Vintage Program car? Logically, it was the obvious starting point. Don't know if he was the original purchaser from the Program, or bought it at some later point. But either way, I can't think of a better platform for a car like this. Did he "ruin" the collector value of the car? Maybe. And if he did, should we care? I don't think so. At least he had the good taste to do it right, using the right stuff. Rebello, Panasport, Willwood, OE-style light covers, etc. I think we can agree that if it does sell one of these days, someone will get a really nice driving 240Z....

The ones I got from Nissan in '07 were cloth braid-covered, all four of them. Don't know if the current hoses are still covered.

I'd be willing to bet that the Summer/Winter lever was present on any US 240Z that had the 1971 emissions sticker under the hood. So probably 8/70-9/70 or so. That jives with everything we've seen so far.

Depends on build dates. Here is what I learned when I went through this. It's a long thread, but it has a lot of answers. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19793

Found it in my owner's manual. (Issued date on the back cover, "1st June 1971".) Page 16, "Operating the car". Middle column, last paragraph reads:

Carl, My very late '71 (#37705, 7/71) has the Summer/Winter switch, and associated ducting from the manifold. Still has all its original emissions gear, so I have no reason to doubt that it came that way from the factory.The 4/71 car I parted a while back also had the Summer/Winter switch, but I can't say as firmly that it was original. I believe so, though.

They are actually 46mm, but 1 3/4" is really close.

There IS a Classifieds section. Always has been. A special section for those of you down under, even. http://www.classiczcars.com/classifieds/index.php

Not just the commission shops. The brake pad/shoe manufacturers recommend that all drums and rotors have at least a skim cut done prior to new friction material to ensure a good, clean surface. Promotes better break-in and less noise complaints.

Uhhh.......it's your car, so if you like it, go for it. But on a silver car? Personally (as someone who sold gold Enkeis to owners of cars of nearly every imaginable color back in the '80s), I'd say no. I can't picture how the gold wheels would complement your silver car in any way. I could picture gunmetal on it though....

Brake cleaner is good. You want to remove any oils or rust preventatives used prior to shipping.