Arne

Ditto for here in Oregon.

FYI - the vendor I was working with stopped replying to my e-mails a bit more than 2 weeks ago. The last communication from him was that he was waiting on info from his supplier on the possibility of binding the slits in the front carpets on a special order basis. No reply to my further inquiries since then. I'm still not ready to write this off, but it's not looking as promising as it was. Bryan, while I respect Les and have been happy with all the products I have bought from him, I must say that frankly, his attitude to my carpet questions was not at all encouraging. His response was, "if mine were good enough for the program cars, they must be good enough for everyone." Sorry, I can't buy that. Just because someone else thinks that's close enough, doesn't mean I will be -- or should be -- happy with it. Yes, that is true. My late '71 though, did in fact come from the factory with carpets. The fact that the first boat-load or two had rubber mats is irrelevant to my car. I'd call that statement partially correct. To be completely accurate it should read, "So it appears to me that there is no SINGLE STYLE of truly correct carpet." Obviously, we have examples in this thread of several variations, in cut, padding and pile type. But I KNOW what was original to my particular car, because I still have it. Why should I not try to source something as close as possible to what I KNOW that it came with originally? Why should I have to settle for "close enough for the majority of owners"?

I agree with Stephen, here on the West Coast you'll be hard pressed to get that much out of a car as you have pictured it. Assuming the floors, frame rails, battery area, etc aren't seriously rusty, maybe $4000. If the floor pan(s) is (are) rusty, maybe $2500-3000 at best.

Not good for a collector, the engine is an L26. But could be a good start for a nice weekend warrior.

Custom spring makers are few and far between. Most custom springs are for coil-overs, not the stock strut. You may be out of luck.

Best guess at this point is that the lower spring support was located farther down on the strut tube for the European cars.I have the Courtesy repro Stage 1 springs on my car. When I had them with non-gas struts (Mulhollands) I had to cut them down by 1.5 coils in front, and 1.25 coils in the rear to get close to stock ride height. Now with KYB GR-2 struts, I have them cut a total of 2 coils in front and 1.75 in back to get back to stock height. The extra 1/2 coil on each end was to compensate for the gas pressure.

OK, mea culpa. I knew about the handshake deal between VW and Porsche, but didn't express it correctly. My bad. And I'll also admit that I was guessing on the starting price of the 350Z, based on a glance or two at the cars in the local showroom as I head to the parts department. I should know better than that, too. Lastly, I guess I don't blame Nissan too much for not offering a lighter and more affordable sports/GT car. We American consumers have become jaded. When did things change so much that an average 4 door sedan with less than 200 HP became un-inspiring? If consumers here are expecting their sports cars to out perform their mid-size sedans, said sports car must be excessively over-engineered and over-powered. Granted, with today's safety regs, we're not going to see a mass produced sports/GT at 2400 pounds ever again. But a lighter, less frivolously equipped sports/GT with a small, tight-revving motor of 200 HP or so would sure be attractive to many of us. Or so it seems to me. Then again, I'm not the target market of today's automakers. I seldom buy new cars, and when I do I tend to keep them for 10 years or more...

But they have totally abandoned the idea of building a car great handling car that ordinary people can afford. And even the 914 wasn't their idea, the project was initiated by VW.Of course, with the starting price of new 350Zs over $30k, Nissan has left that niche behind as well. When the 240Z was introduced, it was as cheap or cheaper than Camaros and Mustangs. Not just than the Z-28s, SS's and Mach 1's, but even the normal small motored cars. If Nissan made something similar to the 350Z but priced like a V6 Mustang, they wouldn't be able to keep them on the lots.

I'm going to be at home doing final stripping of the yellow car's shell and prepping the red car to have the roof re-skinned over the next few weekends, Christian. If it'll make it the ~40 miles down to Springfield, I'd probably have time to help a bit. I don't have any 280Z wiring diagrams, though.

Welcome, Jake. I'll be waiting to see that turbo of yours cruising the roads of Lane County soon. Keep us posted.

I've always seen it spelled 'banzai' myself. With a 'Z'... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banzai

Glad to hear it. I will admit that I do now drive my 240Z regularly, although not every day. But several times per week, at least. But that might not be for everyone. Understood. I've been back to your part of the country on work once, and I'm aware that to get most anywhere you do have to hit the highway or freeway. Much more like us out West, not so much like the NE, for example. That being the case, you'll definitely want a Z with a 5 speed. Because the 4 speeds (and automatics) are buzzy by modern standards. I don't find this too bad if I keep to the back roads around here (generally around 60 MPH), but if I was on the freeways much I'd be looking for a 5 speed for mine. (I did have an overdrive in my B, you're right, it was much more relaxed on the highway.) Early Z cars don't have much of a reputation as a winter car, either. And Zs aren't all that much larger than the MG, either. It doesn't snow much where I live, but when it does, the Z stays in the garage. Remember that the last of the early Zs ('78 280Z) are now 30 years old. Even a low mileage 280Z will likely have experienced some deterioration over the years.Don't get me wrong, I think that a clean, well maintained 280Z might work well for you. But make certain you've found a good one, as it doesn't sound like you are looking for a rolling restoration project.

Yeah, HybridZ is pretty fussy that way. You'll see that kind of response here occasionally too, especially if someone asks one of the "Classic" newb questions, like "what offset wheels do I need" or "can I put 240Z bumpers on a 280Z?" But for the most part, yes this forum has a more helpful atmosphere. HybridZ is for a special type of Z enthusiast.

Hmm.I'll agree that a well maintained 280Z (or 240Z) can work fine as a daily driver. But your comment above makes me wonder if that will be true for you, your driving conditions and habits. I don't mean any of this as any kind of criticism, no offense is intended. But you see, old Brit cars can be plenty reliable as well. I drove a '67 MGB as my daily driver for over four years after I refurbished it mechanically. In those four years, I had not one single failure that compromised its use. Not one. It never left me stranded, and always started and got me to where I needed to go. And I'm in Western Oregon, where it does rain now and then. So when I compare your MGB experiences to mine, it makes me question whether a Z will be the kind of reliable car you need, under your conditions.

The service manuals don't list that because it's in the owner's manual, which they wrongfully assume that everyone has. The differentials (both R180 and R200) call for 80, 90 or 140 weight GL-5 gear oil. 90 weight is typically good for most areas of the country, especially if you put the car away for the winter. The transmission calls for either 80 or 90 weight GL-4 gear oil. Normal GL-4 seems to be tough to find these days. I've heard that you can still get it at NAPA. I typically use Redline MT-90, which is GL-4 75W-90. Don't use GL-5 in the transmission, it can corrode the brass synchro rings.

Round-tops are probably the best choice for your engine. As for ZT vs. what you have now, chances are that the carbs you bought have worn throttle shafts and/or bushings that leak unmetered air into the intake tract. While you may -- with a lot of fiddling -- get them to run semi-acceptably, ZT carbs will work like new. Which was really quite good.

I'm not aware of any sources, Dan. My car still had its originals when I bought it, otherwise I'd be looking for alternatives too.

Miata seats came in some tan colors too.

Not quite correct for a 240Z, but closer than bright blue! (My stock wires have black or dark gray boots, can't remember which.)

Yup, mine are blue, as pictured earlier in this thread. Don't know if gray ones are still available, I've not seen any.For shows, I've been known to re-install my black 1971-date-coded wires....

NGK wires are blue, too.

These days with the environmental concerns about working with solder that contains lead, it is often cheaper to buy a new aftermarket 3 row core radiator than it is to re-core your existing unit.

Yup, I've done it. Look in the Tech Articles for the write-up I did on this a while back.

There's another possibility, considering that this is a rebuilt unit. I've seen a few rebuilts where the rebuilder forgot to re-install the cone-shaped flare seats in the ports. If that's the case, it doesn't matter how tight you get the fittings, it won't seal. As for cross-threading, you are (unfortunately) much more likely to damage the threads on the line nuts, not the threads in the cylinder.

Kyle, I think you still have my contact info for the Eugene area, but if not send me an e-mail. Feel free to stop by my place and show off your new addition on the way through as well...