Arne

I spent some time this afternoon cleaning them up and thoroughly inspecting them. (Nothing better to do - damn rain!) The hubcaps aren't perfect, but they're damn close. The chrome is a bit so-so on a couple, but it appears to me as though the base metal wasn't properly polished prior to chroming, not that the chrome itself is bad. There are a few scrapes in the gray paint, too. But my memory of old Datsun hubcaps (based on what I recall from the '74 B210 my wife owned through 1978) makes me think that much of what I see as flaws are probably just the way they were when they were new. Some of the scrapes are from storage, but I'm betting the gray paint may not have been perfect even back in 1971. Anyway, they look great as is, and if the gray paint were to be stripped and repainted they'd be as close to perfect as you could hope to find. Does any one make that gray paint in spray cans? Les at CDM, perhaps?

Hard to say for certain. There are plenty of people here and elsewhere who have had, or know someone who has had a bad experience with Fel-pro. But ask around a bit and you can find plenty of people who have NOT had any problems with Fel-pro and continue to use them all the time.So I don't know. I can't imagine that I will need a steel head gasket for the stock L24 I'm starting to rebuild, so no way I'll pay for an HKS. Will I use Fel-pro? Maybe. Depends on what I can find affordably. I strongly suspect that most any normal gasket will work for my uses, if given proper preparation and installation.

OK, based on these real world experiences, I'll probably go with the GR2s as well. Still not crazy about using gas inserts, they tend to increase the ride height if the spring rates weren't designed to take that into account. I know that Carl and Co. are looking into reports of increased ride height on the repro Euro Stage 1 springs when used with modern gas shocks. I won't be installing mine for another year or so, hopefully we'll have an answer to that by then.

Well, they certainly aren't going on the car until it's done - if then. I've got plenty of time to decide what to do with them, and plenty of PMs in my inbox wanting to know if I'll sell them. But for now, at least, they're mine, and perhaps the most valuable parts I have for my car. (Pretty sad, in a way.) I think it's likely that I will sell off the original 4.5" wheels though. Anyone need a matched set of 4-71 dated rims?

I vote for the painted lip. Wats don't look right to me if they have polished lips. I love the wheels on v12horse's car, for example. See: http://classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20106

Hubcap pictures. Various shots, with and without flash. There are a few flaws in the gray paint which don't show in the photos. Again, note the cleanliness and lack of tarnish on the back sides. One shot shows the rust spot on the back of one cap. Seems to me that these were removed when the car was new, and really don't have many miles on them at all.

Pictures. Wheels first. Note the cleanliness, presence of the OE Japanese wheel weights, etc. Date stamp is 4-71 on all 4. Two of them are in the condition pictured, one looks like that on the front, with a little rust on the rear. The fourth is rusty on the face as well.

Ahh, didn't know that. There are several places that still have Koni stock for 240Z: 86-1811 and 86-1812. They are just normal hydraulic cartridges, that have to be removed from the car to be adjusted. But I was thinking they might be a nice choice since I'm not big on gas charged units on cars (and spring rates) that never came with gas.

While there are a few V8 swaps on this board, you'll get a lot more info on this from HybridZ.org.

The Z shouldn't be as sensitive to resistance values as a modern car is. So the NAPA wires might be OK. But generally, you'll find that most experienced Z people will recommend NGK or Magnacore. A few will recommend Taylor. I've also seen a set of Bosch wires that looked good, with proper length and differing ends for different cylinders. No idea how they compare in other ways, though.

I used to sell and install both Tokico and KYB for a living. The KYB GR2 will definitely be closer to stock ride. When I get to that point in my project, I will probably use the KYBs with my Euro Stage 1 springs. The other thing I have considered is a set of Koni hydraulics, which can still be found for the 240Z. Don't know if there are any left for t he 280Z though.

That's definitely a possibility. But I'm also mulling over using them more than that. Since they are the later ones with more retaining clips, I'm not too concerned about them falling off, and if there's anything less common than seeing a nice 240Z on the road, it's seeing a nice 240Z with hubcaps. So it would really be a bit more unique.If I do use them daily, I'll probably run a set of 5.5" steel ZX wheels instead, so that I can run 195/70s. Don't know - lots of options here. And I've got time, the car isn't even close to ready yet...

Yeah, I suspect that is true. I almost feel guilty about it, although I gave him his asking price without haggling. I got them today. And I did get a great deal. They are way better than I expected. The wheels and hubcaps came off the same car, apparently when it was basically brand new. There is a touch of brake dust on the back sides of a couple of the rims, but none on the backs of the hubcaps - the backs are pretty much pristine! The whole lot came of a mid year '71, the wheels are date stamped 4-71, and the hubcaps are the later style 'D' type with continuous small rim clips. The wheels all still have original Japanese metric wheel weights clipped on.The bad news? Something corrosive was spilled on some of the parts at some time in the past. The face of one rim has a bunch of rust, as well as the rear bead area of another. (The other two are near mint.) Luckily, the corrosive stuff only barely got on any of the hubcaps. One has a quarter-sized spot on the back side of some of the rim clips, that just barely wraps to the outer edge of the cap. Another has a smaller spot on the rim clip area too. There are a few small chips in the gray paint on the faces, and the 'D' on one or two isn't as pristine as the others. But all in all, they're way better than I expected - maybe too good to use on a daily driver. I've got to decide what my end goal is here. Pictures soon, if anyone wants to see 'em...

Net ratings are not at the rear wheels, they are also at the flywheel. The difference is that gross HP (the higher ratings) are for a bare engine - no accessories of any kind. No alternator, no air cleaner, water pump, air pump, and a straight pipe exhaust. The net HP is with the engine configured as it was installed in the car - stock exhaust, airbox,, all accessories installed and working.

Yes to the first, and probably to the second. You'll need to replace the speedo gear in the transmission to correct the speedo reading. Your highway mileage will go down, how much I can't say because I don't know how you drive. But the gearing difference is over 10%, so use that as a guide. Also remember that your revs per mile will also go up - by the same more-than-10% factor.

No, they are the same as the parking lights. They do not flash with the turn signals. (At least, not as wired by the factory.)

Ahhh! OK, I understand now. Did all years come with these? Or only certain years? Shouldn't be too hard to make one, if I should decide I wanted one. How long are the legs?

I agree. It doesn't appear to be a factory Datsun/Nissan part. Perhaps a lower mount support for an A/C compressor?

So where did the other ends attach? I can't quite envision how they worked?

There are two four speeds, the early Type 1 was only used in '70 and some '71 cars. All later four speeds were the same. There are very few pros to staying with a four speed, especially for a non-Series 1 car. I swapped my automatic for a four speed, but I'm definitely a bit eccentric.

If the goal is to sell it afterwards, why go to the bother? As a repaired pan it's not going to have much value, probably not worth the effort. There are plenty of non-rusted pans available for not a lot of cash if you look around some.

I'm 5'11" so I can get by - barely. It's just a stopgap until I get the seats rebuilt. Eventually they'll go back to their proper place.

My car had silicone all over the seam between pan and block when I bought it. Didn't stop the oil a bit. Silicone won't seal if you can't get all the oil cleaned off first. I dropped the pan on mine and fixed it properly.

And when the distributor is installed correctly, number 1 should be pointing pretty much to the front of the car, perhaps just a touch towards the center. Call it about 9:00 to 9:30 when looking at the engine over the left fender.