Arne

5" was new for '72. Before that they were 4½" wide.

You could look at the write up I did years ago on a similar vintage auto-to-4-speed swap. Imagine doing the opposite. The article also outlines some of the differences between the auto and manual body shells. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/tech-pubs-howto/21274-240z-260z-280z-auto-4-5-speed-swap.html In the end, unless the car is a really nice time warp car that might benefit in value to being 100% original, I doubt that I'd go to the effort to swap back to the auto. The automatics don't totally ruin the car, the little six has enough torque to make it work. But the effort to go back might be considerable, and parts to do so could be hard to come by.

8/70 would have been a very early automatic. What changes do you see that make you think it was converted?

I'm with Rob on this one, much as I liked my round-top carbs. We are 40+ years down the road now. There are very few 240Zs left that retain this kind of originality. Like my previous car, I would not do anything to that car that was not 100% reversible, and even then I'd want those reversible mods to be hidden if possible. You can see modified Zs anytime. A stock '73? Not so much. I'd start hunting for a nice set of stock hubcaps if it were mine.

The 1973 model year actually started with production in August. I'll correct the thread title. Welcome! It's a great looking car.

Steve adds another thing that I didn't mention above - even 200 HP is great fun in a car as light as a 240Z. And given the difficulties in getting serious amounts of rubber under the Z fenders, going much beyond 200 can be a bit squirrelly to drive.

400 HP is a lot for stock 240Z suspension and brakes. I'd go about this the other way, start by getting the cheapest and easiest to install engine and transmission into it and make it a driver. That is going to be an L-series six along with a stock 4 or 5 speed. Once you have it moving under its own power, work over the brakes and suspension. Then pick the killer drivetrain of your choice. It's my feeling that many people pick the most difficult part first, and don't ever get a chance to enjoy the car first. Then when progress slows, it's hard to be motivated because you don't have anything to refer back to.

I agree, but with the additional thought that logic has not always been involved in my car decisions either.

Is just a guess. I fought a similar problem on my 240Z with electronic ignition, and finally determined that the original condenser on the coil on my car was either bad, or connected wrong. Once I eliminated the condenser all was good. Not certain this applies to your situation, but it sounds much the same.

Do you have any condensers on the ignition? Mounted to the coil, perhaps? If so, remove it and test.

Properly tightened and torqued, the stress from lifting the engine is not borne by the little stud—it is borne by the friction of the entire contact area of the lifting lug to the mounting surface. The stress on the stud would only be significant if the nut was not properly tightened.

My experience seemed to point to the manifold warping issue. One of my 240Zs had a '79 L28 in it, with the broken rear stud. When I removed the manifolds and replaced the stud, I found that the manifold was warped bad enough that I couldn't get it back on without enlarging the rear hole. I was personally convinced that the manifold put enough side pressure on the stud to eventually break it off. I've never seen any other theory that fit my situation as well.

Buying a Porsche doesn't have to be expensive. I bought mine with the proceeds of the sale of my 240Z, plus another grand or so. Totally affordable. Back then, anyway. A bit less so now.

Guy, so far the car hasn't required much work, and what work it has needed has been quite doable. There are quirks involved in working on a Porsche, but I don't mind. Nothing I haven't been able to handle myself, so far. The eggshell color (Porsche called it Chiffon White) is a bit uncommon, and—judging from the comments of others—widely admired. I'm not crazy about it myself, but as with buying a decent 240Z, you buy your Porsche based on condition, and accept whatever color that gets you.

True story, Jeff. I apparently hit the timing just right. In Oct. 2011 when I sold the 240Z to Terje, I had no trouble finding several decent 911's to look at for what I got from the Z plus a couple grand. Today, that same amount won't buy squat for a 911. I figure prices have gone up 25% at least in the past 30 months. Don't know if this is a bubble that will burst eventually, or the new normal. No matter, I have mine now. May be the only one I'll ever be willing to afford.

Hey Terje, how come my avatar looks more like your car than your avatar does?

Yes, I do. And that is a bit humbling, as I don't think of myself as being particularly special, just wordy.

Oy! Changing the plugs is bad enough, don't get me started on adjusting the valves!

You should know me well enough to know that for me, it's not about speed...

Thanks for all the good thoughts. It has always seemed wrong to me to think of posting on CZCC.com to regale you all with my Porsche tales. Pretty certain that's not why most of you come here. And for any who are really interested, there's a link to my Porsche blog in the signature of every one of my 8000+ posts here.

Parked next to a 240Z the other day, and got me to thinking that I ought to stop by the old place. Still no Z in the garage, and none in the foreseeable future either. Having fun with the Porsche.

Rather than let these threads go on forever as they do in some other forums, I thought I'd start new ones for separate generations for the New Year. Use these threads for short, Twitter-like posts, things that may not be worth their own thread. Since only the S30 threads got any use over the past couple of years, I've only created this one thread this year for all Zs. Enjoy, and let's keep each other involved!

Mike, having seen your car in person, I think the gunmetal one would look better on your car than the black, which I feel would be too stark on all that yellow. If you haven't already re-done the tail trim panels, you could do them in the same color as the Fairlady grill. I think that would be a good look on your car.

Roof skin can be replaced by a skilled bodyman. See this thread: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/body-paint-s30/30409-successful-skin-graft-roof-skin.html

I can help there, too.