Arne

Me too. The area Datsun and Z clubs here in Oregon had a big presence in the big Portland hot rod show last year, and the 510s, roadsters and Zs (including Mike's yellow beast) were VERY well received by the hot-rod/muscle crowd.In fact, my conversations with other car people is exactly backwards from your claim, Tomo. Most car people I know have plenty of respect for the innovative, fun and value-laden Japanese cars from the late '60s and early '70s (Zs, 510s, Celicas, etc.). They also acknowledge the value and competence of the more modern Japanese offerings. But with a few exceptions the Japanese cars from the '80s are generally considered to be unimaginative and nothing special.

In my experience, 'surface rust' = serious cancer on these cars. There's no such thing as 'ONLY surface rust' on an early 240Z....

1.) Yes, to replace the gasket (whenever either manifold is removed), both intake and exhaust needs to come off. 2.) If the header you have is already coated, why replace it? Any competent exhaust shop will be able to neck down to a smaller diameter pipe. No need to replace the header for that.

Yeah, although since I don't have a hoist the pictures aren't as helpful as they might be. They are in this thread: http://classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31644

I have the Classic Datsun version, it is very nicely made, and is hand-laid cloth (not chopped fibers sprayed in the mold) that is heavier-duty than any other spook replica that I have looked at in person. But I will admit that I have not yet seen MSA's current product in person, so I don't know for certain.

I spent $5000 just to PAINT my '71, with NO rust repair, and nothing but minor door dings to remove. The car you are looking at reminds me of my first 240Z, which was also yellow. Mine was perhaps a bit rustier than this one, but unless you can do the body and paint-work yourself, you can expect to spend at LEAST $7500 on the body and paint.It's my opinion these days that some of the worst buys in 240Zs are the $1500 cars. They are better cars than the $500 cars, just enough better to make you believe that they won't break the bank to fix them up. But that's not truly the case, they still cost a pile of cash to bring them back. As a project, I'd try to save up to buy a much nicer $4000-6000 car at least. Done carefully, that extra money up front will be saved at least twice during the project.

Bear in mind that the 240Z is a 30+ year old sports car with a short wheelbase. It's not going to ride like a modern sport sedan, no matter what springs and struts you put in it. In general, you can expect the stock springs to ride the best. If you can find a set, the Nissan Euro Stage 1 springs ride nicely as well. Either of these spring sets work very nicely with KYBs. I had KYBs in with the stock springs for a while, and now have them with the Euro springs. Either of these spring choices will need to be cut down to maintain stock ride height when using any gas-charged strut inserts, regardless of brand. And the only non-gas inserts that I am aware of these days are Koni, which are more expensive and will probably ride firmer than the KYBs even on their softest setting. I have cut my euro springs down by 2 coils in back, and 1 3/4 coils in front to maintain a close-to-stock ride height. Stock springs would probably need one coil per spring removed for use with gas struts.

Since the stock Z springs are linear rate (not progressive), if they haven't sagged significantly, they are fine. Excessive movement while driving is the struts, not the springs. In other words, if the spring rate has diminished enough to effect it while driving, the ride height will have dropped measurably.

I'm not so sure. Very hard to tell from the small pictures. But all the tires that we can see sure appear to be original Bridgestones. Worn, yes, but still original. And note the lack of carbon and blow-by on the airbox base plate. The smog pump is intact, and still has a nice blue pulley. Maybe 2000 miles was a typo. Maybe 20,000 miles and then stored outdoors for years?

I agree on the poly bump stops, you want 'em. I'd only replace the springs if they are measurably sagged, or aren't what you want. Coil springs are very slow to wear out.

You'll need a spring compressor if you have stock springs (or aftermarket springs that are pre-loaded), and either a big pipe wrench or very large channel-lock pliers to do it. If you've got those tools and you are capable of R&R-ing a motor, you should be able to do this job. FWIW, I've done this many times over the years, both professionally and personally. Today, I can change all four struts on my Z in a half day at most, no air tools or hoist. It's not that difficult.

Yeah, the search results are transitory, and generally can't be linked.But just entering 'rota' in the search field also gives me 24 threads.

If your purchase budget is $1500 or so, this seems to be a decent starting point, especially if you are particularly interested in an early car. If your goal is to have a fairly original example, this one has a lot to recommend it.On the other hand, if your goal is to modify and customize a Z, you might look for a later car that might be in better shape for similar cash. You will be paying a bit of a premium on this one to buy a early car. So my vote would be a solid Maybe. I still love the early pale yellow 240Zs! Probably my favorite color for them.

Yeah, the 'flat tappets' thing seems pretty consistent in the reading I've done on this topic. My problem is that I don't see much difference between how a lifter on a pushrod engine running on the cam lobe is different than the end of an L-series rocker pad running on a cam lobe. So I figure I'll err on the side of caution and use oil with ZDDP as long as I can find it easily. I will admit that I run Mobil 1 in all my other vehicles with great results. If it wasn't for the ZDDP issue, it'd be in the Datsun as well.

I've been mixing mine - 3 quarts of 10W-30 Valvoline VR-1 (what they used to call 'Racing' oil) for the ZDDP content, and a couple of quarts of 10W-30 high mileage oil for the gasket and seal additives. Works well to keep the 36 year old gaskets sealed up. Some day I'll pull the motor to paint and re-seal it, when I do I'll go to all VR-1.

Yeah, right here on this site. Go to the thread linked below and scroll down about halfway for all the pictures.http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20530&highlight=original+keys&page=3

I'm pretty certain he's a troll, but don't want to ban him as I'm tracking him by IP addresses. He may be the alter ego of a different member here...

If the BP station sells real gas and the Walmart sells E10, there could easily be a noticeable difference, although maybe not as much as you have noticed. E10 is now mandated here in Oregon, and my 240Z's mileage has dropped a good 5% over the last 5-6 tanks since the change. Some cars seem to be more able to use E10 without the loss. The Datsun doesn't like it, and my son's '91 16v Jetta also dropped a similar amount. But I've noticed no measurable difference in either my motorcycle (BMW K75) or our '96 328i.

I don't want to think about what it would cost to replace the AC Schnitzers on my old 328i. $2-3k at least. You've got to be kidding! Any restored or very nice true vintage wheel for these cars is easily worth more than $400 a set. Rare and unusual are obviously worth far more, even if you (or I, for that matter) personally don't care for them.

Mine is the ducted version, from Classic Datsun as Mike mentioned. Very nice piece.It's worth noting that (at least for now), the only spooks available from Classic Datsun are ducted like mine. At this time, to get a non-ducted one you have to get a replica from MSA or other vendors. The MSA replicas are cheaper, but might not be quite as nice or as heavy-duty. Mine is very thick, with beautiful glass-work. But then again, last time I talked to Les at CDM he hinted that things might be changing soon with regards to the BRE parts.

I believe that an L24 block needs to have clearance notches in the bores for larger intake valves, unless it has been bored at least 1 mm (0.040"). No personal experience though, so I can't swear to any of this.

Well, if you are talking about the '71 240Z that's listed in your profile, the center muffler is exactly that - a center muffler. Nissan used two small mufflers to quiet the exhaust from the factory. This approach was quite common among import cars back then.

Hi, all. I have cleaned up this thread, it is now (as it should be) pretty much all related to the original poster's hot rod 240Z. Unfortunately, Bob hasn't re-visited this site since early yesterday, and who can blame him? I have sent him an e-mail letting him know that we are (hopefully) back on topic, and have personally invited him to return to tell us more about his creation. I sincerely hope he isn't too browned off on the site to come back.

Done.

To me, the most important feature at a car show is to meet and visit with friends. Much more important even than looking at the cars, even for an old car-guy like me. Sure I'll look at the cars, but only the ones that interest me at the time, and not all that intently even so. Couldn't care less about classes and prizes, for me or others. But then again, I'm not all that into car shows. I don't keep my cars nice for others to look at (although I'm pleased when they do), I keep them up to please me. And I'm most pleased with them when I'm driving them.