Arne

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. This one is for the S30s. Enjoy, and let's keep each other involved!

No. A ZX should have a single key that fits all locks. Sounds like one or more of your locks has been replaced.

In October I sold my car to a buyer in Norway. He has a friend who is a member of a club centered around American cars. His friend is the club's import facilitator, who has arranged the import of over 40 cars so far. If you aren't comfortable with doing it yourself, there are people in various car clubs in Europe who can assist you.

I'd be a bit wary of most modified motors, especially strokers. But a Rebello is a different story. A documented Rebello motor will be both powerful and reliable. If you are after more performance over stock, it would be really hard to find a better motor than a Rebello. I've never seen Lance's car in person, but there are several here on CZCC that have, and with my personal Z experience looking at his pictures I'd say the car is probably about as nice a non-concours car will get.

Dime wagons aren't all that rare here on the West Coast, I see them on the road a couple times a week. Been a while since I've seen one that nice, though. Not since Canby last June.

press and hold 'alt', hit 0233 and then release alt.....Or on a Mac, hit the 'e' key while holding the 'option' key, release both and hit the 'e' key again. é É

These things happen, some people can stick with things like a car forever. And some of us need to move to new things after a while. If you still find that you aren't enjoying having the car after the holidays, make plans to sell it and move on. It's no big deal. As nice as they are (and yes, I still think they are great cars), Z cars are just things. And sometimes you might need a new thing to get excited about.

Blue, that looks like a normal Cibié H4. Probably an early version, pre-Z beam. Nice vintage light. I had the slightly later Z Beams in my Z. Here's the picture of the concave ones I was talking about.

I just saw a set of these for sale on one of the Porsche sites. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-used-parts-sale-wanted/642626-massive-inventory-electrical-parts-sale.html Pictures of the concave Cibié lights are way down at the bottom of the page.

No need for a group buy, they are available pretty much all the time at http://www.technoversions.com/DiffMountHome.html

My yellow car had the original lines re-bent carefully. Don't kink one.

Jerry, all things being equal, I prefer Toyos over the Hoosiers as well. But I'm with you on the appearance and fender fill. I don't think Toyo has a 14" size that's going to approach stock diameter, and on a car at stock ride height, that's going to look goofy, IMO. That's why I suggested the Hoosiers, as they are the only high-performance rubber I know of that's close to stock height. The next best size would be something in a 195/65-14 (probably in something like Kumho, Falken, etc.), but those are going to be street performance tires, most of them all-seasons, so not in the same class as the Toyos or Hoosiers.

Loren, I guy I knew put those on his X1/9 back in the late '70s. The originals were made by Vitaloni in Italy and were nice mirrors. I haven't seen these new ones in person yet.

First, may I suggest that you have the mounting face on the back of the wheels stripped, machined or sanded to bare metal? Having that mating surface painted or coated can lead to lug nuts not staying tight. Now - tires. We've got 14x5.5 wheels and stock ride height. That means you will need a tire close to stock diameter to not look stupid on the car (too much fender gap). Ideally, I'd say you want a 195/70-14 like I ran on my car. However, there isn't anything left in that size that has any performance capability by today's standards. They are pretty much all mini-van fodder. Then again, today's mini-van tires are probably much better than the typical 175HR14 of the early '70s. So if you are OK with just normal tires, pick your favorite brand that has something available in 195/70-14 and go with it. I was running Toyo Eclipse on mine, because the tread design was much more conservative looking. Not really vintage look, but not today's wild directional stuff either. But I've heard that Toyo does not distribute the Eclipse line in all parts of the country, so YMMV. If you are looking for something with some grip, but still tall enough to fill the fender gap as much as possible, there aren't many choices. If you aren't going to be driving the car much, you could try Hoosier Speedsters in 185/70-14 or 205/65-14. Either will fit the 5.5" rim. Hoosier recommends against street use, even though they are DOT marked. But if you look through the Sport Compact mags, lots of kids run DOT-R tires on the street all the time. So I doubt you'd have any serious issues with that. Just don't tell Hoosier...

Only if the dealer installed the SAP (Sport Appearance Package). I've seen BPs with the normal mirror and no louvers. And even then, the dual mirrors in the SAP were not the same as the normal left mirror. You'd have to replace them both.

In most cases, the differences between harness versions are in how they connect to the other harness sections. If the dash and body harnesses are in good shape and worth keeping, you will probably need to stay with the correct engine compartment harness for your car - part number 24012-E4601, used from 2/70 through 12/70. You can use a later engine harness, but to do so without too much fiddling it is best to replace all three sections (engine, dash and body) with a matching set, in your case from a '71 as that year is most similar to your '70. You could try to use a '71 engine harness only in your '70, but you may have to modify/change the connectors where it plugs into the dash and body harnesses, which probably defeats your purpose. I actually have a complete set of main harnesses from a 4/71 in the classifieds now. That may be overkill for your needs, however.

Well, I'm going to get pissed if I get a door ding in any of my cars, whether Datsun, Porsche, VW, BMW, etc. I don't understand that comment at all. Porsche or Datsun, I will treat them the same. They are cars, after all, and they were designed to be driven.

Yes, you can use the later master cylinder, but you need to swap the outlet lines front to rear.

I only considered coupes. Targas and cabs do nothing for me. If I feel the need for open air motoring, well, that's what my motorcycle is for. Randy, a preference for the long-hoods (pre-impact bumpers) is not sick, it's totally understandable. I just didn't feel I wanted to spend that much right now. Power and speed had nothing to do with why I ended up with a 3.2 Carrera. If I was that concerned with going fast, my 240Z would not have been bone-stock. No, in the end, the difference between the 240Z and 912/911 is the same as it was when they were new. Both are nice cars, and while different, they are both fun to drive. But then as now, the Datsuns are far more affordable to buy and maintain.

I'm curious, Randy. Why? What about it did you not like?

Once I gave it to MSA, they kept my number on file, and the discount was always automatic. I never had to ask for it.

It's shown in the URL in the address bar when you view your profile. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/member.php?23509-Willoughby-Z So in your case, the number is 23509.

I can definitely see preferring a Z to an early 912, or even an early (small displacement) 911. The small engine Porsches (even an MFI 'E' or 'S') would be a fussier drive than the Z. No low end torque, you have to keep them wound pretty tight. And the 912's don't even have the advantage of the better tires, suspension tuning and other equipment of the 911's, for the most part. Nice gentle picnic cars, but not really a Z replacement. I haven't driven a 930 in many years. Almost scary (but in a good way), as I recall.The G50 cars are very nice, but there's a pretty good premium over the '84-86 cars with the 915 transmission, and I haven't found the 915 to be a problem to drive at all. Randy, she's going to be awfully pretty in blue. Can you elaborate on your preferences ?Is there big differences between the two cars ? Just for interesting reading , not to flame the 911's . Hmm, maybe start this in a new thread . Thanks for any replies ! As I noted above, I don't think a 912 is a direct competitor for a nice 240Z. Different character of car. An early 911 - especially a 911E or 911S - is a better match, but the personality of the car is still different. I don't think a nice 240Z suffers much in comparison to an early 911, and the early 911 will cost a LOT more than a 240Z in equal condition. For $10k you can get a pretty nice 240Z, or a well worn and rusted early 911 that needs an expensive full restoration. You tell me which is the better buy.Comparing the later 911's (like my '84 3.2 Liter) to an early Z isn't really fair. Way too much development and refinement over the years of production for the 911. I will admit that if I had the choice between my 240Z and my new-to-me Porsche - both cars gassed up and waiting in the garage - I'd take the Porsche. I just prefer driving it over the Z. Which is not to say a 240Z is without good points. Even when compared to my 13-years newer 911, the Z wins some rounds. The shift linkage on the Z is more precise, even the dreaded monkey-motion shifter of my Type A tranny. And the heater controls make sense and are easy to understand in the Z. Not so in the Porsche - there are controls in three separate locations, the vent layout is odd, and the car has something like 5 or 6 blower fans for different HVAC functions. It takes careful reading of the manual while sitting in the car to learn how to make it all work. In short, there is a place for both. The Z is a more exclusive car in most parts of the country, and (due to the historically low values compared to other "collectible" cars) far more affordable to a wider number of people. Is is attractive, fun to drive, and easy to maintain. Some of the Porsches are relatively affordable ('74-86 mostly), but more expensive to keep up. They are also nice driving cars, but different. More solid structurally, and great handling while still riding a bit better than a Z. In short, I like them both. I only have room for one fun car at a time, and I prefer driving the Porsche. But if the 240Z hadn't sold, I wouldn't be suffering much.

Arne's been slacking. No decent pictures yet, as it's always dirty from being driven frequently in the crappy wet weather we've been having. I can live with the Porsche parts surcharge. They have never been a high-volume car, so parts are bound to be more expensive. And while I would have preferred to get a '73 or older (pre-impact bumper, aka long-hoods), those have taken on a quasi-collectible status. Decent cars are getting quite expensive, so much so that I would not want to use one as a fairly regular driver. The best buys in 911's right now are the '74-86 cars. The later ones are fully galvanized, a big plus for ex-Z owners always paranoid about rust. The Porsches in particular have a very similar appeal to the early Zs. Here's an excerpt from my 240Z website (written in 2005) about how I selected a Z as a fun car - notice that the same reasons apply to the Porsches.

I'm with you, for a street car, the contrasting color is a bit much. I've always preferred either silver paint or chrome. Which depends on the car's paint color. On my Old English White MGB, I went with silver paint as white can be a bit boring and I didn't want the wheels to out shine the car. But if my car had been BRG, I'd have sprung for chrome.