Arne

The other thing to check on any used distributor is the condition of the shaft bushings or bearings. If the shaft moves side to side you won't get stable spark timing. Another piece is that you should definitely bypass the ballast resistor when you convert. It is a good idea to use a new coil designed for electronic ignition to provide a hotter spark. And once you get the hotter spark, increase the plug gap to .040-.045". I also agree with Gary's post - simply replacing the distributor is not going to cure the pining. Pinging is not caused by a "bad" distributor, nor will it be cured by a "good" distributor. Pinging is pre-ignition. Typical causes are timing too advanced, lean mixtures, carbon build-up in the chambers, wrong heat range plugs, etc. The only way replacing the distributor could help is if the cause is wrong timing and the replacement distributor is timed correctly after installation.

Yup, PCV valve. Big formed hose goes to the block breather under the distributor.

Which is exactly why I bought my red 240Z, as opposed to waiting to finish the yellow 240Z. It was far more affordable to buy a clean, very original car - rather than to try to restore my rusty, high mileage car to that level.

Many modern cars now recommend changing the brake fluid every couple of years or so. This is excellent advise as well for classic car owners whose cars don't get a lot of miles put on them. Changing the fluid removes the moisture and can help prevent corrosion. I change mine at least bi-annually on all my vehicles, even those that don't have a factory service interval for that.

Oh, the irony! This shows up, and I recognize the dealer's name - his place is about 4 miles from my house! The ironic part is that I'm out of town all week, and can't go scope it out right now! But I'll be home long before the auction closes, so if anyone is interested I'll try to make it over there and confirm the real condition. I suspect it'll be pretty good, as that dealer does normally have darn good stuff.

I too have BMWs. Currently one motorcycle (K75RT) and one sedan, a '96 328i with 5 speed, factory Sport package and 17" Schnitzer wheels. I have also owned an '81 323i in the past. As others have said, they are great all-around cars. Frankly, my 328i will spank my stock 240Z pretty much at will, do it in quiet comfort with music playing, A/C running and still get better fuel economy than the Z. But note that I have owned the BMW for almost 5 years now, but I started buying Zs less than 2 years ago. The BMW doesn't satisfy all my personal vehicular needs. The classic lines, character, personality and exclusivity of the Z are qualities you can't add to a BMW. If these things aren't important, buy the BMW. If they are, you're going to end up buying some sort of classic car at some point in the future. So you may as well keep the one you have.

They look like Sportmax 002 to me. http://classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23629&highlight=rims

How very exciting! Looking great! It's been quite a treat over these past few months watching some of these projects come together. This one, Mike's car returning to the road, Jim's (a7dz) orange Series 1, and others. (Please don't be offended if I missed one of you by name, my memory isn't all that great anymore.) Keep it up guys and gals...

No kidding, Will. I'm trying to figure out how the hell I missed that auction! Never saw it until it was posted here. I'm pretty certain I'd have been willing to bid more than that!

Gary, have you e-mailed Carl yet? He has a chart or list that should nail it down very close.

Well.... Not so much. I'm attending a 4-day class followed by a 4 hour exam for work. Good parts are that I got to drive the Z, and since the class is in Portland, I'm almost certain to hook up with Z friends up here. (Gary, I do have the puller in the car.)Stephen is correct, While I went out and looked he posted ahead of me. The top one goes to a small nipple in the back side of the air box, between the carbs and below the large fitting for the air pump hose. The lower one goes to a small nipple that tees off the big block breather.

To hook it up correctly, one hose goes to the back side of the air box, the other to the small nipple on the block breather tube (under the distributor). It does matter which goes where, but I'm out of town tonight and don't have my FSM with me. I do have the 240Z though (Road Trip!), and will try to verify which way tomorrow in the daylight.

Carbs first - these days I consider round-tops on a '73 as pretty standard, unless the car is a trailer queen. For a driver, I didn't figure it was worth a comment.I wouldn't worry about things like the color of the ground wire, or that kind of stuff. It doesn't matter. First time I took my yellow 240Z out in public, I attended a small show-n-shine of local Z enthusiasts (240-350 inclusive). When the owner of a beautiful show-quality V8 conversion asked which car was mine, I pointed it out and apologized for its shabby, rusty appearance. His comment was, "So what? It's a 240Z, and it runs, drives and is still on the road. That's more than can be said for most of them." I took that to heart. Yours is far better than that, so don't feel the need to apologize. Should be really easy to swap those bumper guards from side to side before the show. Have fun, and take pictures!

Yes, Mike was involved in the Nissan program. I know that he is really the sole source for air cleaner stickers, for example. You may see them offered by other vendors too, but he makes them all. Don't trust his website though - it may not be up to date, and may not show everything he has available. Send him an e-mail or call him instead. As for rubber, I recently bought the grommets and seals for the fuel vent hoses from him. Great parts, good price, fast shipping. And if he doesn't have everything you need, he'll tell you that, and advise you where to go to find them, too.

Looks great, Mark. I'm not familiar with the bumper guards on a '73 though, they look a bit odd to me. Are they on the correct sides? Maybe upside down and swapped sides? Or maybe it's just my eyes.

I actually have beandip's loaner spindle pin puller right now. It works great. As for the lock bolt, I'd actually call it more of a drift pin. It is tapered on one side to match a flat machined onto the spindle pin. I'd recommend having a spare or two on hand before you start driving it out, as chances are very good that you'll mess up the threads.

My car thanks you too, Jim. But I took the lazy man's way out - I bought mine in its present nice condition. I can be pleased with it, but all it took was money and a bit of luck (to stumble upon it). You on the other hand, will be able to take personal pride in yours. It's different, I know, because I've been in that place too. (More or less.)

Hmm. Re-read post #2 in this thread....

I was afraid of that. Oh well, they were cheap. I suspect they'll arrive today.

I've been following Jim's progress for almost a year now. Believe me when I say that in this case, "mostly yourself" is a serious understatement. I'm frankly in awe of what Jim has done almost entirely single-handedly. Totally amazing!

My pleasure, Bryan. Next time is on me.Back on topic - I'm actually quite interested in hearing whether the 240SX spare will clear the bigger calipers. Since it is narrow, it should clear the struts, and has the right bolt pattern. If it clears larger calipers as well it would be the ideal solution for those of you with big brakes who want/need to carry a spare. Should be affordable at the local pick-n-pull.

Well, if they are as old as the car, they almost have to be Appliance. Not many other choices in that style that long ago. As for the spinners, it's good to know they fit on the Rewinds, since the real Rewind caps don't. Although I've never cared for the looks of those things, personally.

Vague recollections of complaints that they were noisy, and perhaps hard on rotors. But no personal experience, no.

Driver obviously had more money than brains...

Probably Appliance then, although I've seen some that are virtually identical that were made in Japan. Perhaps made for and distributed by Appliance as well, since they had old, rusty Appliance caps also.