Arne

I agree with the others - the shop should repair this if you didn't request it. And then if they chip the paint it's on them. As for drilling holes in sheet metal, I always use a step-bit. They drill a clean, round and chamfered hole in sheet metal. The only way to fly.

Oops! I posted this assuming your car was a 240Z. Sorry, my answer is not applicable.

The 280Z rear bar could be made to fit, but the 280ZX bar can not. Zs and ZXs are totally different.

No. The ZX rear suspension is a totally different design. Front is probably different as well.

Victor, does the static position of the mount change when you jack up the car? Say you adjust it to be slack, neither push or pull, then jack up the car. If the bar is now tight, figure out if it's pushing or puling, then set the car back down and adjust the bar the opposite direction. I don't know that this method is "correct" but it seems to me that is makes sense. FWIW.

Randy, The parts CD isn't clear on this. It simply lists three "kits" - the AM radio, as well as two different AM/FM radios - as fitting "up to 7/73". If the factory AM/FM choice was ever factory installed in any '71s, it must have been VERY late - my 7/71 has the normal signal-seeking AM radio. But the Hitachi AM/FM may well have been a dealer option in '71. The Bowmans were also dealer offered, but might have been a higher profit item. I recall that the '74 B210 my wife owned had a Bowman radio in it.

Yes, there is. And it sounds like yours is bad.

Best I could do. Took several shots at varying exposures to try to capture it. But note the reflection of the red firewall and hoses. Glossy enough for there to be a reflection, but not glossy enough for the reflection to be sharp.

For the most part, I'll say they should be driven. That's what they were made for, not for being trailered to shows and such. My red 240Z is a relatively exceptional car, but it's not perfect, it has flaws, and I don't think I'm going to go to any great extremes to make it perfect. Because I WILL be driving it -- to gatherings, to work, on weekends, etc. Which means that even if I were to make it perfect, it wouldn't stay that way. Eventually it will get a new rock chip, or something similar. But I will concede that other people won't share my viewpoint. That's OK too. They made enough of them that we can have both kinds.

Yup, that is correct.

I'll second that - the booster in my low-miles red 240Z is more of a semi-gloss or satin finish. It is very smooth, but not high-gloss. I've painted a few parts with some Satin Black from Griot's garage that is very close.

Hmm. I rarely visit any other Z-related forums, although I am a member of a couple others. But in general this is the one I frequent. I don't see a lot of bashing here, maybe because I'm selective about what threads I follow. If the others bash other sites, so be it. I don't see it, I guess they can do whatever they want.

I recall mine as being fairly glossy, maybe like the 85% gloss, I'd guess. I didn't drive the car to work today, I'll try to verify that later tonight.

Cost? - That can vary a lot. Many of the parts needed will be used. So it depends on how much you can find the parts for. In my case, the 4 speed came with the car. All of the various used parts cost me less than $200 total. New clutch pieces probably another $200. Call it less than $400 for the whole job.Worth it? - That also depends. If you want a Z with a manual transmission, there are only two options. Buy a manual car, or buy an automatic and convert. If you can find a manual car in equal condition for no more than $500 more than an equal automatic, it's a wash. But frequently, the automatics are considerably cheaper than an equal condition manual car. Also, many of the automatics are in much better condition than a manual car, as they seem to have had much easier lives. If you are looking for a restoration project, you should probably wait for a manual car. But if you want a Z for a fun daily or weekend driver, converting a nice automatic can be a viable option.

I own or owned three different '71s - 12746, 27602 & 37705. All three have the later pot metal handle, all three are East-West when latched.

I love my SUs, but I certainly agree with Stephen as well, there's nothing wrong with the factory injection for normal use, assuming it's in good repair. And that applies to the carbs as well. But the other part of this is that the original poster asked about carbs on a seriously modified motor. The stock injection might not be able to flow enough air to feed that. A pair of stock SUs might not be able to supply it either. I should think that a 3.0 stroker with a cam and more should really be running triples of some sort.

Been there, done that, wrote an article on it. A simple swap if you do your homework up front. Check this article for the basics: Fuel injection to SU carb swap

Yup, I want one. How much and how soon?

Enrique has hit on a real issue on this one. When I was buying parts for my old graymarket BMW 323i, most of the good buys I got on eBay were when sellers listed the chassis type as "E-21" rather than the more accepted "E21". There were always far fewer bidders on the "E-21" items. Typos and suchlike can have a huge difference in the number of people who find and bid on an auction.

Looks like Fiat to me. Possibly a late 600, but more likely a 500.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_500

I used to love these back in the late '70s and early '80s. Italian, made by a company called BWA. I've got old magazine ads that show them in 14x6 for Zs, anybody ever seen a set on one?

Well, it's a bit difficult to explain all the various issues that motivate me on this. Sure, I'd love to have some of the cash that I've put into this car back, lots of other places I could make use of it. But I don't really "NEED" the money right this minute. But I don't have any indoor storage for it now - the red 240Z got that. (In fact, the red car has pushed my wife's Jetta outdoors as well.) I don't consider storing the yellow car outdoors as being optimal, to say the least. And I have some things that need done on the red car, so I don't see myself finding time to work on the yellow car for quite a while. Of course, the bulk of what it needs would need to be done by someone else, and therefore indoors, I suppose. And I do have a nagging bad feeling about this in that I've never bailed on a project car before in all the 30+ years I've been doing this. Somehow it just doesn't seem right to me to not see it through. Dave, thanks for the offer. If you lived closer so that transportation wasn't such an issue, I'd have to consider it. But getting the car up to you and back later would be a bit of a pain. And I think for ease of selling it, and also to maximize the value, it should stay it's original pale yellow, not go to white. (Pale yellow might be almost as forgiving to paint?) If I could find someone local (or close) who'd do it for that price, I'd probably do it. Anyway, that's where I'm at now. I'm not in a monster hurry to sell it. It's certainly possible that I may end up taking care of the body first, but probably not overly likely. Thanks to all for your opinions and thoughts.

Pre-77 Z rear wheel cylinders tend to be pricey, as they are fairly unique.

I got my metal pop-in caps from Massey's too. I'd give them a call, they may well have the 4-ear screw-on caps as well.

I can't believe that after all this time no one has posted any slots!! So I will. Not pretty but they have to be here. In Order: 14" slots; the ever-popular 14" 280ZX six-spoke; 14" Appliance Fine Wires (true wire wheels); 14" Appliance Wire Mags; 14" steelies w/D hubcaps!