Arne

Speaking as the site admin here, and knowing how many people here are members of both sites, I'd have to say that this is one of the most worthless and bad-impression "first posts" I have ever seen. Definitely not one to make the poster many friends, or look like someone people will feel good about helping...

Also bear in mind that while these cars were considered quick and responsive compared to the other similar priced sports cars of that time, by today's standards even a healthy (but relatively stock) 240Z is pretty tame. So don't expect too much from a stock-motored Z. For example, test numbers from 1970 showed 0-60 in 8.7. These days, most any econobox can beat that. (My DD 2010 Golf diesel will do it in 8.6.)

That was my first thought as well, Mike. But since I have nothing Series 1 left around here to compare to, I didn't want to make that declaration as absolute fact.Merry Christmas, everyone!

Series 1 cars used different locks - indeed, even the key blanks are entirely different. Series 1's had a single-cut key for the ignition, and a totally different single-cut key for everything else. Post-Series 1 cars used a double-cut key for everything. That said, it may be possible to retro-fit later 240Z locks into a Series 1 car, but I can't say for certain, as I sold all my Series 1 locks years ago and have none to compare.

Not sure. I remember there being quite a bit left over when I did the original repair, and since it is a two-part epoxy however much you don't use is wasted. I don't know if one kit would do it, but I think two might.

Don't trust what you read on the web. What is the engine serial number as stamped on the block below the plugs for #5? It will either start with L24 or L26. Don't trust the casting number.

I have repaired gaps in my vertical grid, and find that the repaired spots are MUCH more effective at de-fogging than the un-repaired areas. So I suspect you are correct - whether from age or whatever, the original grid has lost effectiveness over the years. Bearing in mind the good results I have had with the Versa-chem epoxy repair product, I have considered using that to re-do the entire grid. If I do this, I will probably (shudder!) remove the original grid first, then apply the replacement. I haven't yet decided for certain that I want to do it, but I have picked up a couple spare packages of the epoxy product just in case. If I do it, I'll post the results here.

Certainly a possibility. I do try to take care of my cars properly. But my experiences with the BMWs have not been just a bit different, but almost polar opposite than what many people complain about. And other than the motorcycle, I've never bought a new BMW, so there have always been prior owners involved. Also true. I drove my MGB as my DD for over 4 years straight. No breakdowns, no failures. Never left me stranded. Of course, since I bought it as a basket case, I worked it over mechanically quite thoroughly before I started using it that way. How odd. I had only one CEL in 8 years, for a bad O2 sensor. Lost a water pump once, too. Bought a cooling system rebuild kit for it - new Behr radiator, new pump, new radiator hoses, both serpentine belts, thermostat and replacement metal t-stat housing. I paid - wait for it -- a total of $250 + shipping for the entire kit. All good, German OE brands. Sorry, try getting all that for your Datsun for $250. Put 17" wheels on your 280Z and see how much tires cost you. ??? I bought my filters for the 328i (same as all the 6 cylinder M3s here in the US) from the dealer - they were less than $10 each and came with new o-rings and crush washers. That and six quarts of synthetic and you're done. Don't buy this one either - and I've owned one or more VWs continuously since 1979. On my sixth one now. Do people expect to get parts for a modern car for pocket change? Not in my experience. Maybe about the same, but not cheaper.

Well, that certainly does not jive with my experiences. I just pulled up my spreadsheet on the 328i. Over the 8 years I owned it (about 85k miles), I spent just under $5000 on it, and that included a set of winter tires and wheels, 2 sets of 17" summer tires, and even one $700 bill when I paid to have the rear main seal replaced (didn't have time to do it myself). No failures, and if you shop around (don't use the dealer), the few parts it needed were quite affordable.Oh well, YMMV...

CA oxygenated fuel is/was not the same as Oregon's E10. Lot's more crap in in, less good stuff. I don't doubt your results, but I do have questions about how relevant they are to today's situation with mandated E10.

I've seen the 20% figure bandied about a lot, and not just here. But the reality is that I did not notice any significant difference in any of my cars - 240Z included - when E10 was mandated here in Oregon. Maybe a drop of 1 MPG or so, but that's hard to quantify. Even if so, a drop from ~30 MPG to ~29 MPG on the highway is much closer to the 3% than 20%. My mileage certainly did not drop from ~30 to ~24.

I disagree. I owned a euro-E21 323i with over 200,000 miles on it for five years, and an E36 328i for 8 years. I found both of those cars to be very low maintenance, and not at all expensive to keep up.

After re-reading this thread, I too dug out my copies of R&T. The comparison to the 911T (and MGB GT) was in the Tech Analysis in the Jan. '70 issue, not the original Road Test in the April issue.

Pics approved...

You don't trust Firestone, but you have Bridgestones on your car? You may not be aware of the fact the Firestone has been a wholely owned subsidiary of Bridgestone for quite some time - since 1988, in fact. This is not unusual - all of the tire companies are heavily interlocked at best. The US brands are almost all owned by other tire companies. Tires are a VERY globalized commodity. For more examples: General is a subsidiary of Continental; both Uniroyal and BF Goodrich are owned by Michelin, as is Kleber; rights to the Dunlop brand used to belong all to Sumitomo, but now vary depending on where in the world you are located, here in the US they are controlled by Goodyear, who also owns Fulda; Cooper owns Avon; etc.

I've cleaned out the shill posts, banned the shills, and cleaned up the rest of the thread. Will lock it as soon as I finish this. One shill was actually two different people in California (two different IPs and ISPs), and the other (the one who claimed he lived in LA and would go check them out for us "in person") was actually located in Israel. Side note - I'm pretty much the only moderator left these days, since Mike is on the road a lot, and Will doesn't really drop by much these days. And my time to pay attention to the site is pretty limited. I saw this thread when it was fresh and new, didn't look like anything to be concerned with, and so I never checked back. To add to the problem, the little "Report Post" buttons don't seem to be sending reports to me right now. If they work at all the reports must be going to Mike, who doesn't see them in a timely fashion. First I knew about this issue was from a short voicemail from Escanlon that just mentioned a problem, but didn't point out which thread. I figured it out after seeing the Shout box on the front page. Sorry for all the explanations, but I guess the short version is that - at least until some of the processes and procedures with moderation and notifications can be debugged, if you see something that needs my attention, send me a PM. (For those of you who know my personal email address, that works too.) That will get my attention faster than any other method, even phone, as I'm tied up in meetings and webinars so much these days that all phone calls pretty much have to go to voicemail - I don't deal with much of anything in real time anymore.

Similar in overal concept to a Chevy swap, but different in most details. I've never heard of this one being done in the past, but this isn't the Z-swap place. You might search on hybridz.org - someone there may have done it at some point. But considering the ease and well-known process of the SBC swap, plus the easy access to the SBC engines themselves compared to the Buick, don't to too surprised if you end up blazing your own trail on this one.

If they are the "no-drill" style, I might be interested. PM me.

Lane ESD parking lot, just North of Gilbert Center. If I drive it, it'll be parked out in the far reaches of the lot all by itself.

Jay, I work in Eugene on Hwy 99 N, a mile or so closer to town than Beltline. I drive my 240Z to work (yes, even in the rain) once or twice per week. I'd be happy to meet for lunch some time.

Jay, where in Western Oregon are you? There are lots of local Z people in these parts who can give you personal advice. All 280Zs in the US were injected from the factory, although it's not uncommon to find carb'd ones these days after people who did not know how to maintain the injection have converted them. The carbs used on the '70-72 240Zs are highly regarded, and the injection on the 280Zs works well also, if it's kept up and maintained. The carbs that came on the '73 240Z and all US 260Zs are generally considered to be Bad Things®.

A '69 should be a 520 1300. My father-in-law had one. The truck changed to 521 (w/L16) for 1970. Same truck, different engine/transmission.

1300 is not an L, but the 1600 is/was. Is it a 520, or 521? 521 should be a 1600 OHC, 520 was a 1300 pushrod.

No, the bellhousing is an integral cast part of the transmission case on all the '72 and later transmissions. It can not be removed separately from the rest of the transmission.

Yup. The Type A transmissions used in the '70-71 240Z had a separate bellhousing. Possibly some of the early 510s and 521s too.