Arne

In that case, go back to post #2.

No reason a well-maintained 240Z can't be used regularly, except you should be aware that they aren't particularly good winter cars. And if they use salt on the roads in your area, driving it in the winter is condemning it to a rusty grave.

Excellent points, Jim. Your answer was better than mine.

No thanks! While those tires were considered rather radical back in the late '70s, they're pretty lame now. Those wheels are Superiors, IIRC. I think they were the only aftermarket company that made those 390mm wheels.

There is a threaded rod adjuster on the linkage inside the tunnel. You have to get under the car to adjust it. Make sure the car is securely supported on ramps or jackstands before attempting this.

OMG! It has Michelin TRX metric tires and wheels on it!! If I'm reading it right, they are 220/55R390 as used on some old Ford products. Better put new wheels and tires on your wish list. Those wheels are special and won't accept anything other than those old Michelins. (390mm is about 15.3" diameter.) Michelin is the only company making those sizes, and they are expensive, and not even close to state of the art. But overall the car looks like a great starting point. Have fun!

I figured you didn't have a hand brake on your car, Craig. I certainly wouldn't have one on a track car either.

David, I think you may have mis-understood the question. I think Mike was asking whether he should try to fight to get the other guy's insurance to pay for replacement parts rather than just paying for repair of the damaged parts. If so, my answer is that I'd leave it up to the body shop that YOU select. You are NOT required to use a 'recommended' body shop, but can pick any repair shop you wish. Get estimates from shops with good recommendations, or one that you trust. Talk to them about your concerns. If the shop you select says that they can repair the parts, then don't worry about it. If they say that replacement parts are necessary, they will work with the other guy's insurance to get the authorization. In short, select your own shop, and take their advise.

That may be true for the later Z's, but definitely not for the early 240Zs. For the '70 and '71 240Z, here is the direct quote from the FSM:"When the hand brake is operated, the wheel cylinder lever turns the adjust wheel, and thus, clearance between the brake shoe and the brake drum is adjusted automatically." In fact, in my experience the cars that adjust by braking in reverse are few, especially these days. Mostly big old American iron. Most imports that had self-adjusting drum brakes require regular use of the parking brake to keep the rear brakes adjusted. I suspect the later Zs use this design also.

Actually, none of the 8 colors used on 240Zs for '70 are listed in '70. They are all listed for '71 though, and are all the same.

If he hasn't backed off the adjustment after installing new shoes, the drum won't fit. He should back the adjusters all the way, fit the drum on and then adjust the rear brakes. Might need to back off the parking brake adjustment as well.

John, I've never used one on a Z, but I have used (and sold and installed) racks rebuilt and sold by TRW in the past. I had one in a '67 MGB (non-power rack very similar to a 240Z rack) that was fine until the car was in an accident, which bent it. I replaced it with another TRW rebuilt which was also fine. The TRW racks did not come with outer tie rod ends, but did have new inners and boots. But my experiences with these racks was over 10 years ago, and I'm not certain that TRW still does reman racks anymore. Have you seen the tech article about rack rebuilding on ZHome.com? http://zhome.com/ZCMnL/tech/StrRack.htm

Probably worth more back East than it would be here out West, as it's easier to find un-rusted 240Zs out here. I bought a 60,000 mile '71 here in Oregon just a few months ago. Good, original rust-free cars out here are typically going for $8000-10,000 about now. For the East coast, I agree that if the engine compartment were cleaned up and the rust you mentioned is repaired (and assuming that's all the rust there is) that it should sell in the higher end of the price range. And my tip - cleaning the engine compartment is not only for value, but also for sales appeal. The engine compartment of mine is what convinced me to buy my car. http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=22842&cat=500&ppuser=8596

Make certain that your pictures are well within the size restrictions for the site. No larger than 1024x768 pixels, and (in my experience) less than 512 kb.

I only have experience with the original L24 points dizzy and the ZX dizzy, so I can't advise specifically on the later 280Z unit. But if it were me, I'd try to use whatever support that the dizzy you are using came with. If you are going to use a dizzy from a 280Z, use the 280Z support. Same with the ZX. Keeping the dizzy and its support matched is the best way to ensure that you avoid future timing problems. As far as the oil pump shaft goes, it's not that hard to drop the pump and correct that. I had to do that on one of my cars to make it all work properly. The gasket you need is cheap, so correcting that now would be very worthwhile.

Nick, you'll find that there aren't many V8 swappers on this board, you'll get much more info from the guys at HybridZ.org.

Moog shows part number EV164 as fitting both sides. My car appears to have the same threads on both sides now, and my inners are factory original. The lock nuts turn in opposite directions to loosen, one side with the rotation and the other side against it. This is actually very common in my experience (several years of doing wheel alignments professionally), since the tie rods don't turn with the wheels, it doesn't matter whether they loosen in the same direction as the wheel rotation or not.

First question - if the engine was running good before, what was the reason for changing it? In my experience, attempting to "tune" an engine that doesn't need it right now is a great recipe for messing up a car. Thank goodness you had the foresight to note the 'before' settings so that you could restore them.But now for thoughts on what happened. Due to your description of the symptoms, especially the running hotter part, I'm wondering if your timing marks are correct. Has the timing cover ever been off to your knowledge? Are the timing cover and front pulley both either original, or from the same engine? I think my first recommendation would be to manually set the engine at TDC (looking at the piston through the spark plug hole, or the cam lobes, not the timing mark) and compare that to the timing marks to verify they are correct.

Riken wheels are no longer available new, so finding a used set is your best bet. Craigslist and eBay are probably your best bet.

I understand your feelings, Brendan, as I did the same thing here when I was new. But the reality is that you'll get more and better info on many of these often-discussed topics from a search than you will from a new thread.You see, unlike for many more modern cars, the reality is that there really isn't anything new on many of these topics to discuss. For example, no new suppliers have appeared on the market for L-series headers, all the current choices have been around for quite some time. So there isn't anything new to be gained by a new thread. In fact, by doing a new thread and depending solely upon the answers of the current members, you are missing out on a pile of data from prior members, members who don't post often, members who have sold their Zs, or even members who have died. A couple of searches will give you more info from a wider cross-section of people in a much shorter time. Other topics that are best served by searches include exhaust selection, SU carb adjustment, 5 speed transmission conversions and putting 240Z bumpers on a 280Z. In all cases, there are no new ideas to discuss, and far more info available by searching that you will get with a new thread.

Were they originally off a petrol TR-6? Or something similar?

Yeah, the auction makes it sound like he's a private party, and that the car is located in Virginia. The other ads (as well as the pictures) have the same car on a dealer lot in California. That is exactly why I posted the question here, in hopes that someone might have seen the car advertised somewhere else.

I reported it to eBay.

Lots of header threads here. You need to do a search for this info, rather than try to ask it all over again.

Anyone recognize the car in this auction? It has all the classic signs of a scam - new user, no VIN, pre-approved bidders only, yada yada yada. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Datsun-Z-Series-1971-DATSUN-240Z-COUPE_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ6187QQihZ014QQitemZ330066398225QQrdZ1