Arne

You mean like ones that Norm in BC (zeddsaver.com) sells?http://www.zeddsaver.com/decals.html

My car has all 8 as described. Here's a picture:

Those are aftermarket, not factory parts. The stuff was available in big spools back in the day, cut to fit and stuck on where ever a car owner liked it. Wheel openings and door edges were the most common. Don't think it could be easily restored, if at all. Also not sure if it is still available these days. You might check with local auto-trim places.

My thoughts exactly, Carl. It made so much sense when he explained it to me, compared to what other people were talking about. I plan to call to discuss his schedule tomorrow.

Jerry, I got your e-mail about one of the items I have on the classifieds, but all attempts to reply to you bounce. You ISP doesn't seem to recognize you. Please send me different contact info. All I know is your first name, don't have a good e-mail address or a CZCC username. Thanks!

Latest update - I've been in touch with a bodyman in Salem, OR who has re-skinned several S30 roofs. He knows what to do, where to cut, and how to get it all right at the end. His plan is to cut at the top of the windshield opening, the top of the rear hatch opening, and just inboard of the drip rails. The attached picture shows pretty much what he does. Related question -- Assuming I carefully remove it before hand, any tips on re-gluing the original headliner back into the car after this is done? The headliner now in the yellow car is original, and perfect. I'd love to save it rather than go with a replacement, if possible.

What color are the wires in the connector? I don't know a lot about 280s, but I suspect that the connector could be for the original power antenna, which may have been removed from your car. Just a WAG, though...

Have checked the compression yet? That would be my next move.

If the combustion chamber of the UK P90a is the same shape as the US P90/90a, it is a superior head than the E88. Bigger valves, much better combustion chamber shape, supposed to have better flowing ports, too. The compression with a P90a and flat-top pistons will still be less than you'd get with the E88 (probably around 8.5:1, I should think), but on the whole I'd think that the rest of the improvements of the P90a would still make it the preferable choice.

You mean the stainless drip moldings? Probably a dealer item, assuming they're still available at all. I've got a couple spare sets, but shipping them without damaging them could be a problem.

I can confirm this. My car still has the factory battery cables on it, and the negative cable will not reach if you use a battery that places the positive out from under the fender. No idea what the reasoning behind doing it this way was.

Selling Roadsters or Zs, Phil?

Actually, roundtops will fit just fine on the '73-74 manifolds, so if all you got was the carbs and the center linkage you're good. Changing the manifolds can lead to a cleaner looking installation, but is not required. One thing to watch though if you don't use the matching roundtop manifolds -- the water passages in your '73 manifolds will need to be plugged or blocked off if you are using four-screw ('70-71) roundtops. I believe the water passages on the '72 (three-screw) roundtops will match fine with the '73 manifolds.

Could be either way. Many of the older installations will have rivets, while the newer jobs may use tape.

The turbo engine has a rather low compression ratio for use w/o the turbo. Doesn't matter what carbs you use, you'd need to change the pistons to get the compression ratio up to normal.

I think Ron is right. Since the modern spooks don't have the ducts completely finished, they don't aim the airflow directly at the brakes, but under the car instead. I have driven my car in the rain with my spook and did not notice any problems.

Welcome, Jason. What is it you are needing?

The '73 is the car we helped build the eBay auction for a short while ago. And the reason the '72 has been bid up so high so fast is that the starting bid was $10,595. It has one bid.But I agree, I'd rather have the '73 myself.

Darb, what makes you think that she won't pass? What symptoms are you having?

I normally use true gasket sealant instead of silicone. Same reason.

Not Datsun specific, but since water pumps aren't all that expensive, on my cars I typically replace them any time I'm doing any kind of cooling system repair. Not during coolant change, but if I do a thermostat, or radiator work and everything is already drained, the effort and cost to change it then is minimal.

I do get small club discounts from MSA on some items. But not on items which are already listed as "Sale" items. Which is frequently the case with their spook-copies.

Thanks, Michael. After looking about a bit, I think they stopped putting the engine number on the engine compartment plate in '77. I could still be wrong though, so owners of '77 and '78 280Zs should correct me if necessary.

Sounds like a bad ignition switch to me. Not the part the key goes in, but the electrical part that attaches to the back of the ignition lock assembly. Either that, or you have no power going up to the switch, but the clicking sound makes me think that there is power to the switch.

Seems to me that I recall that the later 280Zs did not list the engine number on a data plate anywhere. If so, you may not be able to determine if the engine is original for certain.