Arne

There is no easy way to do this on tubeless wheels, as they have a safety hump that holds the tire bead in place. It takes a lot of pressure to stretch the tire over that hump. I'm afraid you'll have to pay to have them removed. Sorry.

Not to totally disagree with Mr. Smith, but numerous years of doing brake and suspension work leads me to say that springs do sag when they get old. If they didn't, why would the manufacturer bother to give us the specs to compare against? Trust me, springs can get old. You don't mention what year Z you have, but something else to consider is that it is not at all unusual for a US-spec 240Z to sit a touch higher in front. This 'nose-high' attitude was corrected with the 260Z and later. 240Zs for other markets did not see this as much. I have read that the 'nose-high' attitude of the US 240's was one of the sources for the recurring complaints in the US about high speed stability. Most people addressed this with a front spoiler (like a spook), but a spring change to get the nose down a touch could also fix it.

My FSM for '71 says to just remove the lever. Should be plenty of room.

Can you weigh one for us?

Nice in theory, but the AutoZone wiring diagrams are pretty poor, and don't show everything. In particular, I don't see any wiring for automatics at all, and they don't show the reverse switch either. Someone with an FSM is going to have to help on this, I think.

Well... reverse light switch for the first two. As for the rest, I'm betting they are emissions-related. Some cars back then had switches that would change the ignition advance/retard behavior when they were in 4th or 5th gear. Just a guess...

Yeah, in the US only the Series I Zeds had different keys ignition and locks. All the later cars had all locks keyed alike. Not so in other markets, apparently.

Be aware that back in the '70s, if a tire was built that was not intended for the US market, the DOT number may not exist at all. I've seen a few tires on privately imported cars (many years ago) that way.

Here is what it would have been stock:

No. The date code will be the last three numbers of the DOT number. It will be on only one side of the tire and will be in the format "DOT XXX XXXX 123". The three number code is simple - first two digits are the week, the final one is the year. So my bogus number above would be built in the twelfth week of 19x3. (At the turn of the century they went a four digit code so that the year could be two digits.) So if one of these Bridgestones said '061' it would be the sixth week of 1971.

Ooh, good thought about the fuel filters. The fuel pump itself could be falling behind as well. That could definitely cause the higher RPM issue. And the rough idle could be worn throttle shafts, which can cause that no matter how well they are adjusted otherwise.

I worked in tires and wheels back in the '70s, and Z's typicically came with either Bridgestones or Toyos originally. Later on (280Zs) Yokohamas were another possibility.

No, I'm thinking it's a fuel issue. Rough idle makes me think of carb synchronization, worn throttle shafts, or (probably more likely) a combination of both. In fact, now that I think about it, I wonder if perhaps only one of the two carbs is really performing properly. If you are running mostly off the front carb for example, the rear cylinders will fire weak at idle, since they are only getting their mixture through the balance tube. Again at higher revs, the single carb doing the bulk of the work can't supply enough for all six cylinders, so it runs out of power up top. Something to consider?

Very hard to call. After 35 years of sitting, in my opinion that tire is good for nothing but original appearance. And looking at the tread, it is obvious that it has seen a few thousand miles on the road. For someone like myself refreshing a Z to use as a driver, it is almost valueless, other than as a curiousity. But I can certainly see the value for someone who wants to build a car as close to showroom original as possible. (Although if you are fussy enough to want a factory spare tire, you are probably going to be concerned that the date code on the tire is consistent with the build date of your car. Limits your market some.) But it is impossible to predict how much someone might be willing to pay for a single tire for the spare. Now if you had a full set of 4 or 5....

I frequently have that problem with FedEx here, also. And DHL in my area contracts with a local temp agency who pays the drivers miniumum wage. The poor people are pushed hard but paid squat. So you can guess how motivated they are.So around here, UPS is the best of a poor lot.

High beam flashers, I assume?

After looking at the pictures some more, I've decided that the car sited is not a real Disco Volante. Compare to the pictures here and you'll see some differences. The headlight trim, the shape of the door and opening, trim and detail of the taillights, ect. I suspect it's a fiberglass body on perhaps a right-hand drive MGA chassis. That would explain the English style wire wheels and knock-offs, as well.

I cheated. I can probably ID almost anything from the late '50s on, but for older cars like this, I consult my expert - my dad. Shoot him an e-mail with a couple pictures, wait 5 minutes, answer comes back. (And then verify via Google.) Piece of cake.Actually, I was pretty sure the grill looked like an Alfa to me before I asked him, but the knock-offs threw me because they look so English. The pictures I linked show the more typical Italian knock-off. Either way, I couldn't have pinned the model down without some searching. Quicker to ask the old man.

No, it's an Alfa Romeo Disco Volante. It's from the early 50's. Was supposed to be very wind cheating but it did not handle well so was not very successful in competition. Needed spoilers of some sort to hold it down to the road. More pictures, courtesy of Google

Yup, "Highway Star" was on Machine Head. Mine also only has one speaker, but it looks like I can mount a second in the same spot on the opposite side. Not cuttin' no holes in my door panels!

Ooh! I remember that one, it was a big underdash mount with FM and 8 track! Haven't seen one of those in decades!Boston's self-titled was the only good stuff they did. Had it on cassette, and my son now has it on CD. The stuff I remember as road music in the seventies were things like the Doobies What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits, Deep Purple Machine Head, Dark Side of the Moon, Hotel California, etc. Lots of B.T. O., early Elton John, CCR, Jethro Tull, Zeppelin, and Three Dog Night.

Personally, I should think that either one will give similar spark, as long as you are using a coil designed for electronic ignition. The biggest difference would probably be in the advance curve. The '71 dizzy *might* have a better curve than the later emissions-tuned dizzy. Or it might not, considering that the ZX's used catalysts to clean up the exhaust and might not have depended on tweaking the advance curve as much. If it were me? Why spend money on an E12-80 if what you already have is good? If the Pertronix dizzy is good, I'd probably stick with it. If the advance unit on the Pertronix is showing its age though, I'd probably swap.

Yup. Exactly why it was my first choice for my Z.

Sorry, no. My car came without radio of any kind. I thought about going back to original briefly, as it seems to be easier to find original radios than things like the one I now have. But the AM-only ones in good shape sell for decent money on eBay. And the dealer installed AM/FM units typically exceed $200. For my purposes, the vintage aftermarket radio is a much better choice. It was affordable, and will still look right in the dash, unlike a modern multi-color CD player. No! The Supertuner was my first choice as well. I got lucky and found one. But if I hadn't found the Pioneer, I'd have taken any '70s vintage unit - Kraco, Clarion, Craig, etc. Pioneer introduced the Supertuner line in the '70s to compete with the big names of that time, primarily Blaupunkt and Becker. The first two AM/FM/cassette models were the KP8000 and KP8005. The 8005 was sized and styled for American cars. More chrome, different knobs, etc.The 8000 (like I got) was designed for imports, and purposely styled to look like a Blau - plain black knobs, satin silver trim instead of chrome, and was built in the DIN size chassis. The 'MW' was a silly bit of mimickry. The AM band was sometimes called "Mid-Wave" in Europe, and some Blau's and Beckers used that on their presets, so Pioneer did also.