Arne

Can't pull the driveshaft on a Z, either auto or manual. All the oil will run out.The only exception is for S30s with the early Type A 5 speed (FS5C71A) as those have a rear output flange that the driveshaft bolts to. All others use a sliding spline at the front of the driveshaft.

I seem to recall that one of the Canadian vendors (Zedd Findings or ZeddSavers) would stamp a new plate for you when you purchased one from them. There may have been some talk that proof of ownership might have been needed, like perhaps the old plate. Can't recall for certain which vendor it was.

Amazing how often this question re-surfaces. Oddly enough, the answer is always the same...

I'm onboard with both ideas – spacers to fill the flares, and taller sidewalls for the period look. But 205/55-15 isn't measurably taller than the 225/50-15, just narrower. Considering the stance of the car, I'd think about staying with 225/50 on the front, and 225/55 on the rear, except the 225/55-15 size is damn rare these days. That being the case, the only way you're going to get taller is to go narrower. Perhaps 205/55-15 front, and 215/60-15 rear.

Battery Accessory Start IGnition Radio (I think) Yes, there should be a single plug with five matching wires. Sorry, I don't have a picture.

For short term just go to your favorite local parts place and by a pair of the cheapest strut inserts they sell. Brand doesn't matter for a short term fix - Monroe, Gabriel, private label, what ever. Anything will be better than what you have now. You should be able to find a pair for say $80-100 or so.

Very true. But for half of that (say $15k or so) you can – with patience – find and buy very nice, mostly original cars with 50-100k miles or less, ready to drive, and that won't really depreciate.While I agree that the $30k asking price isn't out of line for a nice sport coupe these days, this car really ought to go to a collector who will continue to preserve it as is.

Which is exactly why it holds no interest for me. I'm an enthusiast, not a collector. I drive my cars. That car's value is in the fact that it hasn't been driven. It needs a different type of owner, someone who doesn't need to drive their cars, just wants to possess (and maybe show) the best or most special example they can find.My car isn't nearly as pristine, and has 11 times as many miles on it. But if I take mine on a 300 mile cruise, its value doesn't drop...

Later '73s had the mounts on the body, but the bar itself wasn't standard in the US until the '74 260Z. So I would not have expected to see a bar there on your car. I know that beandip added a 260Z rear bar to his '73, so that's easy, once you locate the bar itself. I don't think the 280Z rear bars are interchangeable.

If it were me, I'd try to un-bend the bracket. If you bent it back down until the grill mount was correct, at least you'd be pretty confident that the valance mount is in the correct spot. If you build a plate the valance mount location is only a guess. Those spot welds are stronger than you might think. On a related note, now that I've seen the original instructions and that Carl explained preloading the back edge to use the holes in the radiator support, I checked my spook to see if I could move it enough to use the radiator support holes. As I had feared, I originally mounted mine about 10mm (3/8") too far forward. But after pulling the spook off and checking, I was able to re-mount it farther back and use the proper mounting holes without much hassle. Slotted a few holes and all is well. Don't know that it looks any different, but I'm happier knowing that it is mounted correctly.

Just checked mine – it is as Mike describes. The grill mounts to the top hole, which has a welded captive nut. The bottom hole is empty.

I went out and measured from the inside surface of the valance to the center of the bolt, it's exactly one inch, as closely as I can measure.

I suspect you'll find the penny was brazed on, probably to plug a small leak. A cheap and easily available patch.

Nope, you're not a dope. I can't type.Mine measures exactly 39", not the 38" I posted earlier. Sorry about that.

Mine is exactly 38" across the leading edge.Mine appears to be exactly the same as the '72 part that Carl posted.

Looks like yours is pulled up too high in the center. Are you sure your center mount bracket is correct and correctly mounted?

Don't know how long mine is, but the curve of yours looks right to me, or maybe even a touch flatter than mine. Here's a picture from prior to paint of mine that shows the curve. Note the joint between the center and the corner piece. Edit: Oh, I see what you are saying now. I'll have to wait until I get home tonight to measure mine. Since yours has the holes in it, I figured it was a euro-valance, but I wouldn't have thought that it would be any wider than the US valance.

The actual ignition switch (the small white electrical part) is still available new, and is relatively affordable. Not worth the time and shipping costs both ways for Dave to tear into. Seems like you can get them brand new for $25-30 or so. Fit '70-83 all.

Same is true coming from the South. Go past the first Canby exit, get off at the first exit after the Northbound rest area and flip around to the Southbound rest area.Sure, other Datsuns are welcome, but they have to get at the end of the line!!

Here's the screen shot from the parts book. Doesn't say where the third line goes, but it IS factory, and correct for '74 260Zs.

I think the top line in geezer's pics was for something else. Note how the end near the fuel pump appears to go somewhere else, not to the pump. Some sort of vent tube, perhaps? Certainly appears to be factory built to me.

Looks like a Clifford. Search for Clifford headers and you'll find a few other pictures.

Same here. It fits fine.

5 weeks, guys. Four full weekends. Your cars need you...

Factory alloy wheels from an '82 200SX, part of the "Sport Group" option package (wheels and sunroof, some "Sport Group"!). May have been available on other models in other parts of the world. But it is unlikely that this style was in production early enough to be offered on 240Zs in France, as the caption of that one gallery picture notes the French owner claimed.