Arne

Nope. Yellow at 6500 and red at 7000 is normal for 240Z.

When I swapped the engine from my parts car into my yellow 240Z last Fall, I attempted to use a normal manifold gasket with the headers. Not too surprisingly, I had exhaust leaks at the head. I knew I should use a header gasket, but was too lazy to order one ahead of time. Before I got around to ordering one of the paper gaskets from MSA, I remembered that the the gasket on the parts car was rather odd. After a bit of research, I found that what it had on it was a Hooker Header Gasket set. (Which makes sense, the header itself is a Hooker Super-comp.) Hooker no longer makes Datsun/Nissan headers, but they do still make the gasket set. Yes, I said set. The Hooker solution is a three piece gasket set, rather than one long gasket. The price was about the same as MSA, and the Hooker set was available locally (no shipping), so I ordered it. I installed the set today, and am pleased with the results. The Hooker gaskets seal nicely. They may look odd, but they work well. Here's hoping that Hooker continues to keep these in production, it gives one more option for header gaskets.

I've no experience with this on a Z, but on other cars I have dealt with in the past, polyurethane bushings are famous for squeaking.

That's the one. I'm attaching the picture here, so we don't lose it again. And if I'm reading the caption correctly, it looks like he's the former owner now.

Thanks, Mike! Much better this way! Back on topic, It looks to me as though the grommet in question might not have been offered separately. At least, there's no sign of it on the parts CD either with the outer boot, nor with the shift lever. So I'm assuming it either came with the outer boot, or the parts list was changed after the early outer boot was superseded. I can't be the only one with a car who still has this grommet, anyone else have one, maybe one that's not in the car right now?

Well, I still have the grommet for mine. I will take pictures and measurements of it when I next have the console apart.

The original no-lace boot was apparently part #75150-E4101, which was superceded by 75150-E8700 at some long ago point. The parts CD does not give a production date range for the early boot. So my guess is that as soon as the change was made, all replacements were the later lace-up boot.The original boot was made of pretty thin (read - cheap) vinyl, and actually could be reproduced fairly easily, I suppose, since I do have an intact one for a pattern. I may look into that. Here are some (rather grainy) scanned images from the first two Road & Track articles on the 240Z, which also show the early boot. We should perhaps move this discussion into Will's "240Z variations" thread...

I'd say not. Doesn't look quite right to me. Looks more like an aftermarket boot. If I had to guess I'd say that one looks like a WheelSkins brand boot.The attached picture doesn't show it as well as it could, but gives the idea.

My late '71 (7/71) still has its original shift boot without laces, so I know exactly what you are talking about. My boot is pretty deteriorated, so I'd love to hear of a source for this early style boot.

I found the thread, but no pictures since it was linked to the auction. Sorry... http://classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22586

First - in the US there are at least three different versions of the "E88" head, which I have heard referred to as "small chamber" (very late '71 and ''72), "large chamber" ('73 240Z) and 'big valve" ('74 260Z with larger exhaust valves). I don't know which you have, nor do I know whether the L28 you will be using has dished or flat top pistons. If you have dished pistons, you'll be OK with around 8-8.5:1 compression. But with flat top pistons you'll be pushing close to 10.5:1 which is fairly risky on pump gas.

I got a full 30 MPG a few months ago, on a 200 mile trip on the back roads. Average speed was about 60 mph. This was in my red 240Z, bone stock '71 with 4 speed. I was pleased, this was my first trip in a Z, I expected worse. You know, I'm not normally one to support high speeds on the public roads, and I don't know the road between LA and Reno, but if it's anything like some of the highways we have here running through the Eastern Oregon desert, 90 mph cruising speed might not be totally out of line. Assuming - of course - that the car and driver are both in top shape. Up here, we're talking good roads, straight and flat for as far as the eye can see and sparse traffic. And boring terrain, too.

It would cost so much to get it changed back that he'd have to GIVE it away. And considering how many times it's been on eBay, he's clearly not willing to do that yet.This car is a sterling example of how you can ruin a car's marketability by doing serious over-the-top mods. The more seriously it is modified, the fewer people are willing to buy it, because the mods are different than what they would do. Someone obviously thought the body and paint treatment were cool, or they wouldn't have done it. The problem is now trying to find someone else who shares that opinion of this work. Apparently finding those people (few as they may be) is proving to be fairly difficult.

Fourth time, I think. Someone needs to put it out of its misery...

Several members of this site make and sell a special tool for removing the spindle pin. With the tool it is a simple and painless job. Don't waste time with torches and such, find and buy the tool instead. You'll be way better off. Here's an eBay link to one of the member's auctions: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/240Z-280Z-Datsun-Rear-Spindle-Pin-Strut-Pin-Puller_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ42609QQihZ002QQitemZ120071161881QQrdZ1

Here in the USA, the carbs used on the '73 240Z and '74 260Z were very poor performers as delivered from the factory, giving 14% less power and very poor drivability. While I believe that with proper knowledge and a some custom work they could be re-tuned, it is far easier to get good performance from the earlier '70-72 carbs instead. Which is what many '73 and '74 owners do on their cars, so for a 280Z conversion I'd recommend the same. Average price for a used set of these earlier carbs w/manifolds and linkage is around $150. Also figure it likely that most any set you get for that amount will probably need the throttle shafts re-done. Check with ZTherapy or possibly Zedd Saver for this service. As far as converting from injection to carbs, my first question would be, "Why?" For street driving on a stock or mildly modified engine there's nothing wrong with the factory injection. Converting will be a fair amount of work for little (if any) gain. But if you do decide that converting to carbs is what you want to do, here is a link to a tech article I wrote on that subject a while back: Fuel injection to SU carb swap

It may fit into a 240Z, but it's not the same. Switch locations and such are different.

It is my understanding that some of the later '73 240Zs do not require a diode. Sounds like your car is one of them. In that case, the diode will do no harm, it is redundant. But you do need the rest of the functions that the jumper wires provide to complete the charging circuit. So plug it in.

It is 65 liters, which is about 17.2 gallons. This is assuming - of course - that the underside of your tank has never been dented. Dents will reduce the capacity.

In my experience, the premium glass will be better. Less distortion, better finish. Typically, the premium will be a 'name' brand, while the standard grade may be some company that no one has ever heard of.

On my yellow '71 which has no smog pump, here's what I did. I still have the PCV (#2 on your balance tube picture) connected to the crankcase vent tube on the block.The port to the anti-backfire valve (#1 on your balance tube picture) is capped with a threaded pipe plug.The port on the end of the balance tube (#3) was already capped off when I got the manifold, and is also capped off from the factory on my other '71 which still has all its smog gear. Both use the same type of pipe plug as I used for the A/B valve port.The port on the airbox that goes to the smog pump (#1 in your second picture) is capped off. (A 3/4" rubber foot for a crutch or walking stick works well. That hole could also we welded up and the airbox painted for a clean look.)I am using the other port (#2) as intended, it is connected to the valve cover breather. This all seems to work fine for my car. Hope it helps you.

I've got PPG glass in my red car, seems to be fine. Talk with a local auto glass shop and see what they recommend. Many times they will have a normal grade and a premium grade. Should be no shipping charge from a local shop.

Aftermarket windshields are easily available from numerous suppliers, so I am assuming you are looking for actual Nissan glass?

I went through this when I restored an MGB a few years ago. MG used at least three different shades of "BRG" on different years of the MGB alone (from '63-80).

As projects go, I really like the look of the third one, the missing wiring would be my biggest concern. Then again, I have a spare complete harness from a '71...