Arne

When I had my car painted a couple months back, the painter did get paint that was 'theoretically' a match for Nissan 905 red. He still ended up tinting it to match the un-faded interior areas - including and especially the underside of the tool compartment lids. The results were great, and the car's color now looks correct. 280Z's don't have tool compartments in the rear deck? I didn't realize that.

All Zs in the US came with three point belts, even the first 240Zs. (They weren't retractable until '73, though.) Three point belts were required by the DOT starting in 1968 or thereabouts.

Nothing at all. Drove it to dinner this evening. Installed the headliner a few weeks ago. Haven't seen any signs at all of a potential problem. Don't expect any at this point, either. Looked at now from a distance of several months, having the roof skinned just prior to the re-paint was probably the best thing I could have done to this car. Money well spent.

They come out of the harness bundle on the steering column, and both wires are typically green with a white trace. At least, that is true on a '71. A '72 might be different.

I will admit that if I were to attend, no trailers would be involved. My 240Z would easily handle a 5000 mile road trip. Me? Not so much...

One other thing that will affect whether they rub or not is whether you have a stock valance or an air dam. Air dams typically have more clearance.

Yeah, I was. For over 20 years. But that ended just over 10 years ago, so my knowledge of any brands that I haven't personally used lately is rather dated.That said, 10 years ago Cooper was a very conservative company, no true performance offerings at all. Most of their tires were quite durable, but they also tended to be heavy, and not overly grippy. Not sure that my observations mean much today,, as much has changed in the past 10 years. FWIW.

I actually tried that, but found that the satin clear did a rather poor job of dulling the finish. Still looked glossy when it was done.I ended up using the expensive paint from Classic Datsun as I noted earlier. Even with that, I had to apply the final coats very dry to keep the gloss down and retain some texture.

I for one find it somewhat refreshing to see this 'hot' topic with lots of back and forth barking, and not once has anyone mentioned not liking Alan's attitude! Seriously folks, we all need to lighten up some. Mike is right about being respectful to the few ladies who visit, but that should really be extended to all users.

For a wider selection of performance rubber, you might want to consider 205/55-15 as well. Yes, it's a bit shorter than stock, but not too much. Still no clearance problems. If you do go 205/55, I'm partial to Toyos, either Proxes 4 or Proxes T1-R.

The front grill was the same color as the rear panels. All of these parts were originally a medium-dark, matte finish gray. You can a pre-mixed spray can from Classic Datsun Motorsports that is designed to be a very close custom match to the original color, but it runs $28 per can + shipping. If strict originality is not required, there are plenty of commercially available graphite colors that would look acceptable, although finding one that isn't a gloss finish can be tougher. (Gloss just doesn't look right to me, personally.)

Location. Too far away.

I didn't ask for the "Super Moderator" title, I prefer "Moderator-at-Large". But apparently we moderators can't edit our own titles, not even Super Moderators! Probably, yes. Don't ask me to do stand up....

Actually, I'd have to say that's the correct attitude. :laugh: Don't take any of this too seriously. Wick's car's VIN is well known, #3547. Where the car is now is a different story.

I bought a set at a local parts house from the Dorman hardware bins. I remember that they were 6mm, but can't recall the thread pitch. It was pretty standard, though.

I'm with Jon on this one. The ride height can't be affected by whether the springs are upside down or not. I say this not only from theory, but also from several years of experience selling and installing Eibach springs. I've done them both ways - no difference.

That's hard to say, without knowing more about the internal condition. I spent over $300 on parts alone when I rebuilt my Type A four speed. I bought the bearings from a generic bearing supplier who was significantly cheaper than Nissan, but I did buy Nissan synchro rings, even though aftermarket would have been a lot less. A five speed needs one more synchro ring than mine, otherwise the parts list should be similar. So call it $350-400 in parts. If you are just dropping off the 'box itself, a good rebuilder could probably do the job in a day if he had all the necessary shims and different thickness snap rings on the shelf. Maybe a day and a half at most. Let's say 8-12 hours. What's his rate? Probably $50 per at least. so a minimum of $400 in labor, maybe $600. So if you are going to pay someone to do it for you, figure $800-1000 at least. More if there are any worn or bad parts beyond the bearings and synchros. Gears and shafts will add a lot to the price.

I can't decide how to vote. In the case of my own car, I'm pleased just the way it is - mostly stock with period rims and a spook. I don't think it needs anything else. But I do like some of the other mods too. There's not too many listed there that I can rule out completely. Air dams, for example. I think 240Zs look best with something smaller like my spook. But a bigger air dam or modern body kit can look great on an S30 as well. Same with headlight covers. I don't want them on my red car, but I still like them. In short, to each their own. Our Zs are cars that lend themselves well to personalization. Do to it whatever turns your nut.

My thoughts exactly, Carl. It's only a matter of time...

The over-riders and rub strips were optional in Japan. The standard bumpers were plain chrome.

No fair, Steve. That's not enough choices. How about a choice that says, "It depends on many other inter-related factors."

Because as attachments, they are hosted on the CZCC server, and are not dependent on any outside server to see. If Photobucket gets sold or goes out of business, all the threads with pictures hosted there will be worthless. But pictures loaded as attachments will still be here.You could do what I do - login and click the "Remember me" box. Never login again after that.

I'd like to do this one of these years, but unfortunately 2008 isn't the one.

Been there, dude. My advice? Don't trust your ears. These cars' body structure (IMO) make most noises sound like they are coming from the rear. I spent months chasing a 'clunk in the rear', only to finally determine that it was in the transmission instead. So stop now, and take some detailed notes. When does it clunk? Only on torque application? Or will it clunk back when you back off? Is it temperature related? (i.e. only when the car is warm, or only cold)? What gears will it clunk in? Can you get it to clunk in reverse? Any more or less likely to clunk while turning? These are the types of things that will help us help you track it down.

Welcome, Mike. Lime was only offered in '72 and '73. While there were plenty of that color sold during those two years, the color fell out of favor during the '80s and early '90s, and many formerly Lime cars have been repainted by now in non-original colors. So while I can't call it rare, finding a nice Lime 240Z is a bit hard. Similar story with the A/C. Over the years, many owners removed broken A/C systems rather than pay to have them repaired. So functioning A/C is again not common. This one is easier to fix, however. Complete A/C kits are available brand new from several sources. These new kits are available for either R12 or R134A and use modern rotary compressors. So don't let lack of A/C stop you from buying an otherwise nice Z.