Arne

His threads are already gone.

I would have bought an orange one in a heartbeat, if I could have found a good candidate in my price range when I was shopping. But yellow is good, too.

Sand through some of the orange you can see to check for other colors under it? I strongly suggest that what you have already seen is pretty conclusive. It was most probably 918 Orange originally.

I can't say for certain without seeing the rear of the alternator either, but from the side it does NOT look like the ZX alternator in my car. Typically, the ZX alternators seem to have a rounded edge, as seen in the linked gallery picture (not mine). They also have an extra plug that is not used when installed on an early car, in the linked picture you can see it barely at the left edge. http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=6900&si=alternator&what=allfields

As an additional bit, I've seen several places and people who say that 10W-30 is fine for most climates in an L series engine. 20W-50 might be part of your problem. While I haven't got any experience with the Z yet (not ready for the road), I did have a similar issue with my family car, a '96 328i. Shortly after I bought it, I changed the oil and used 15W-50 Mobil 1. Lost 3 MPG on the highway. Changed to Mobil 1 0W-40 and the mileage returned to the former numbers. FWIW...

L24 = 2.4 liter, used in Z cars through 1973. L26 = 2.6 liter, used in 260Z (1974 in US, 1974 through 1978? in the rest of the world). L28 = 2.8 liter, used in 280Z and ZX through 1983. L26 has the same bore as an L24, but the stroke of the L28.

For me personally, I don't care for the ZXT wheels at all. Not on a 240Z. The Panasports are quite nice. But I actually like the slot mags you have now, I wish the ones on my car now were a matching set. But it's your car, go with whatever YOU like.

Here's another one, in Salem, OR. Not as butchered, still has the 1300. http://portland.craigslist.org/car/127377021.html

Why not just yank the original 2.4 and store it? Drop in what ever 2.8 looks good to you, and you can still go back to matching numbers any time?

I need one for my car, but there's a whole pile of stuff I need worse, so I wouldn't buy it now. But decent bumpers always sell on eBay.

Be aware that the Euro springs aren't supposed to lower your car much, if any at all. I've seen references to 10 mm lower in front. For my purposes, that's fine. But other people may want it lower than that.

I've seen several places list the Koni inserts for 240Z (not 280Z) as being "discontinued by the manufacturer." Looks like there are still some NOS floating around though, if you search a bit.

Are the Koni adjustables available for the 240Z any more? I had thought they were NLA.

Edit: Oops! I meant PL411, just can't make my fingers do what I want. I saw this and thought someone might be interested. No connection with the car or seller, just thought it needs a good new home. http://www.craigslist.org/car/128556898.html

So are the bolts for an automatic different than those for a four speed? Will I need to buy new bolts when I swap my transmission out?

If it's worn bad enough to require a rebuild, it probably NEEDS to be bored anyway. If you're not going to be stuck on numbers matching, find a decent 2.8 from a 280ZX and use it as your starting point. You should be able to get an '82 or '83 with flat-top pistons for a few hundred bucks. Then put your IT head on that instead. While the following site may not have perfect info, it can be used as a good starting point. http://www.geocities.com/zgarage2001/engine.html

A guy I worked with about 10 years back restored a Top Flight award winning Corvette. He took great pains not to over-restore the car. I can recall even now the yellow weatherstrip adhesive slopped all over the door jams. On purpose, of course, because that's the way they did it in the early '70s in Bowling Green.

As long as you live somewhere that they aren't required to pass inspections, sure.Here in Oregon, I could get by without them, but I'll most likely keep them as original. Not that my car is planned to be a total stock restoration, but those marker lights here in the US simply scream "70's" and that's the look I'm going for. Stock chrome, factory color, and 14 or 15 inch vintage look mags. Yeah, baby!

Are you going to run of the mill exhaust shops? Because for what you want, you need to go to the shop that all the local hot rodders use. Those type of shops don't mind if you watch, and they depend on word of mouth for their business. They are generally very easy to deal with.

Using a tow dolly should be fine on a manual transmission Z. For an automatic you'd need a full trailer or pull the driveshaft. Since there were no automatics that early, a dolly should be fine.

When used to sell custom wheels for a living, we went by the rule that a 12 mm stud must have 12 mm of engagement. So on a 12x1.25 that would be almost 10 full turns. FWIW...

A pushrod Chevy six would be right in character. At 250 cubic inches it comes to 4.1 liters. Cheap parts, too.

I have seen various uncracked dashes going for less when offered in non-auction situations, but even then, $600 or more is common. On eBay (where bidders go nuts), they frequently touch this kind of level, especially for the early cars like mine. (I'll live with the single small crack in mine.) Sad, but true.

Man! That's the cleanest Patrol I've seen in decades! There's one rotting in a field about 20 miles from here, but my wife won't let me stop and talk to them about it.

Positive definitely goes to the solenoid. Negative to one of the starter bolts, wouldn't have to be the bottom, but that'll work.