Arne

Not to add insult to injury here, but '74 and newer Mustang II and later Fox body Mustangs have a different bolt pattern than your Z. The Z is 4-4.5", the '74-up 4 lug Mustangs are 4-4.25". The very early 6 cylinder Mustangs ('64-68 or so) used the 4-4.5" like the Z, but not the later ones.

I'll probably have time to hook up the dwell meter after work on Wednesday.

If you don't care to save the current rims, weld a normal lug nut on the end of the lock nut. Arc welding is better for this than gas. You can also try to select an appropriate sized (but expendable) 12 point socket and drive it over the lock nut with a hammer. Try to get it driven on quite snug, but beware that you will quite likely break the socket.

Nice seats, and easy to adapt to other cars. But they are a bit hard to find in good shape, as only a few of the E21s here in the states came with them. When I retrofitted a pair into my E21 323i, I ended up paying over $800 for them buy the time I found a pair, had them shipped and then had them re-upholstered. Not cheap...

All of this "yellow" talk is bringing me down, guys. Knock it off!

Yes, the black vinyl is hot in the summer. (And cold in the winter, although I doubt that's much of an issue for you.) But my daily driver has black leather and I can't see that there is any significant difference. If the sun has been baking the seats, either black material is like sitting on a teflon-coated griddle. If I wanted to reduce this problem, I'd move to cloth, not leather. But that doesn't maintain the stock look.I actually have less problem with sun-baked seats in the Z than I do in the BMW. Since the dash in my Z is uncracked, I never park the car in the sun without a sunshade in the windshield. That helps keep the direct sun off the dash (my primary concern), but also helps with the burning thighs problem as well.

I ran nothing but synthetics in my old E21 323i, which had over 330,000 km on it when I sold it. No issues with oil over the 5 years I had it. If your car's gasket or seals are marginal, you could see increased leakage. But on a well-maintained engine you should minimal issues, if any.

The 15" Rewinds are 15x7 and 0 offset. Walter, your ZXT wheels have the outer lip tucked inside the fender over 3/4" more (22-23 mm). That would make them much less likely to rub than 15" Rewinds.

Another concern is that—lifetime warranty not withstanding—I've seen far too many E12-80 failures to be totally comfortable with their reliability. I am not aware of any method to "remanufacture" the module, so I suspect that the Duralast module is either a third party repro or a used module that has been cleaned and tested. When I had the E12-80 on my car, I always carried a spare module in the car with me just in case. I never had to use the spare personally, but it was used in a friend's 240Z after a sudden module failure without warning at a Datsun show. I wasn't happy with the advance curve and total advance when used on a stock L24, either.

To use my blue plate (which is not original to the car), I had to register it as either a "Special Interest" plate (~$80 one time cost, but 1500 mile per year limit), or as a vanity plate and pay the vanity fee every renewal. I drive my car too much for the SI option. The Monza has a good sound when coupled with the 24" glasspack mounted up in the transmission tunnel. A bit quieter than I'd probably prefer, but still nice.

So here's a question - if you are after the "original look", why switch to leather? I can see no advantages to leather over original or well-made vinyl replacements.

This is a huge part of the issue. There's lots of clearance for wide tires if your 240Z has an air dam on it. The rubbing problems when turning are most common on cars with stock valances.

You talkin' about the Monza dual tips in the bottom picture? I found that unit covered with decades of dust on a shelf in a local muffler shop. They haven't been made in years, true NOS stuff. No group buys available on that unit, for sure.Someday I'll get around to replacing my exhaust system. When I do, I'll sell that Monza, the rest of the system is only suitable for scrap metal.

Jonathan, I'm not 100% certain I know what the exhaust opening is like on a 260Z, either early or late. The 240Z opening is very pronounced, and only a bit more than 3" wide. If you are willing to enlarge the opening on your car, I think the twin tips of this system could look quite nice. First pic below is as mine was when I bought it. Second is same exhaust, but after the re-paint. The third pic is after my change to the Monza dual tip rear exhaust.

OK, this information is VERY interesting to me. I fought with the 4000 RPM rev limit after installing my Pertronix for several weeks of testing. I actually emailed back and forth with Pertronix about this, they were trying to pin it on the 3.0Ω Pertronix coil. I finally worked my way around the issue by re-installing the original 1.5Ω factory coil and resistor, and making certain that the Ignitor was receiving line voltage (pre-ballast) on the red wire. Doing this allows my engine to rev out properly. I have not been able to get there using the 3.0Ω coil in any config.I don't recall that I ever checked the dwell angle after installing the Ignitor though. That could explain a lot. If mine is also too low, I may try slotting the lower hole to adjust it myself. I'd really prefer to be able use a new coil instead of the 39 year-old original.

I don't care for the look of that system on a 240Z since the dual horizontal tips don't fit the exhaust opening in the valance. But on a late 260Z or 280Z that is not an issue. There have been numerous reports on this system over the years on this forum. Search for "twice pipes" to see some of them. Most owners seem to like the sound, although they are frequently described as being "loud". There have also been fit issues reported. But MSA may have corrected some of that by now, don't know for sure. Only two official reviews so far in our reviews section. http://www.classiczcars.com/reviews/showproduct.php?product=18&cat=21

205/60-15 may be OK, depending on your suspension, and the particular tire brand you choose. (Different brands and models will be different width even if the official size is the same.) Other sizes to consider are 195/60-15 and 205/55-15. But without seeing your car, I can't promise for certain that these smaller sizes won't rub. Much better chances, but still not 100%.

I talked to Mike the other day, and the donation will probably be used to pay for a forum software upgrade. So sounds like it will be a benefit to all.

Cleaning up that crappy paint job will be hella expensive if you want it done decently. The heater core is bypassed, which means the heater core and/or the control valve in the car probably leaks. If the seller didn't tell you about that, price needs to come down. It does appear to be relatively solid, though. Price is hard for me to judge. Here on the West coast that's probably at most a $3000 car, and there's generally a couple like that for sale within driving distance of most any where within California, Oregon and Washington. But back East? In NJ? I understand they're much harder to find back there, so the price is probably not too far out of line. In sum, if you are looking to have a clean 240z to drive, it will take some work and money, but looks like it may be a solid start. If you are looking for a car to restore towards original condition, I'd keep looking.

I bought mine in Nov. '06 from Nissan. Part number 46010-E4602, about $175. May have been one of the last few left.

Judging from the pictures, I believe you may have those Bridgestones on the wrong side of the car...

A couple of thoughts. 1.) Bear in mind that it is not at all uncommon for these cars to have fuel odors and vapors inside the car even with the factory fuel tank, due to the way the venting system and filler hose runs through the interior of the car. So fuel vapors in the car may not be a good reason for deciding not to do the fuel cell. 2.) Have you considered any of the rear bumper replacement options to add more detail to the rear? I don't normally care for the rear skirt look, but it may work well with the front air dam. Or another option might be a fiberglass rear 240Z-style bumper that could be painted to match the car. Since these wrap around the sides like the stock bumpers did, they cover the indent in the rear quarter panel nicely as well.

And... These thoughts are probably the best answer you will get. I don't car how much money and modern technology you inject, the basics are still those of a 30+ year old car. You can make it fast, you can make it handle, you can make it stop, but you can't make the entire driving experience similar to a modern car. If that's going to bother you, it may not be the proper project for you.

Dave, this scenario is exactly why Deanna cringes every time she sees me looking at craigslist. One of these days I'm going to see something I can't resist, and I'll be in the dog house too. We're all pulling for your continued survival...

I'm betting you'll find that the one is way too high. Once you determine that, you'll need to adjust it at the float pivot and needle valve inside the float bowl.