SteveInOakland

I'd go with Enrique's recommendation found in some older threads -- Strip Caulk by 3M. This stuff behaves pretty much in the way Gary describes. I just got done using a bunch of it. Comes in a box, many many 1' long strips, about 1/4" wide and malleable. Costs about $10 at a car paint/body-shop supplies house. Steve.

I forget the ins and outs of it, but I found it was fairly easy to attach 240 sliders to a 280 seat. I think there may have been studs that had to be pounded out of the 240 sliders. Steve.

Gregg, your site was fun to look at. I like your idea of a hidden antenna -- which one did you use, where'd you find? Anybody else doing this? Thx, Steve

I had a little trouble finding the ideal materials to do Enrique's exact design -- and again, many thanks for that. This alternative, once you've located the materials, is quite easy to do. The hose simply goes inside the Z's cowl drain -- fits like a dream. Also to the good: it is incredibly lightweight so no trouble with it just hanging down off the clamp. First photo shows what the hose is. On top of the bag is a male piece that comes with that kit. You will need to stick this (cut down) -- or something similar -- into the hose before inserting into the cowl drain. You need something rigid enough to resist the hose clamp you'll put over the whole thing. In the second photo you'll see me holding an alternative piece to insert into the hose -- very good, tight fit. (You only get one of the other thing in the kit.) You'll also have to cut this one down. I ground out the inside of this fitting to bring the inner diameter up close to 1.25". A piece of thin copper or PVC from an under-the-sink p-trap might work too. Steve.

I'd look into these: Mitsubishi Eclipse as described elsewhere in thread (however, lots of different upholstery styles, many of them rather cheap-looking; ditto with the Eagle, Plymouth, Chrysler versions of this car) Honda del Sol, very desirable seats probably small enough to fit Honda CRX 1988-91 or so, ditto; Recaro-like Toyota MR2 (kind of a small-person's seat, not much depth to the bottom; lots of different styles over the years; might or might not be your taste) BMW 3-series late '80s, early '90s (fake leather, and believe it or not, a set that I measured look like they'd be a good fit; much narrower seat than expected) The thing about the Miata seats is they are perfect in many respects; they are even closer to the floor than the original Z seats. However, like 99% of seats you try to put into a Z, their back extends far enough out behind the track-mounts that they eat into your legroom once installed. This was a problem for me (6'2") and I sold the set of Miata seats that I bought. (In case legroom not a problem, I'm attaching a photo.) Be sure to look at Carl Beck's ZHome writeup of the seats he put in his car. One last thing: if you're looking at Z seats in junkyards etc., since invariably the passenger seat is in better shape than the driver's, it's worth knowing that with some swapping around of hardware and tracks, including the hinges from your own driver's seat, you can install a passenger seat on the driver's side. Steve.

Agree with Mike. To me the lights don't even look different. See attachments. Possibly the area under the bumper differs, but the rubber on your larger 280 bumper will cover up any minor alteration (drilling) that might possibly be needed.

Gary, you put this inside the hatch itself, or...? Thx, Steve

If you go with your approach and the car is still too loud, there are variety of fairly sophisticated sound-deadening products designed to go inside the car, which you can add. All thin enough to be unobtrusive. Good selection viewable at partsexpress.com -- search for "sound proofing," then select "Automotive Dampening Sheets." Good luck. Steve.

Hey Arne -- So I think you're saying: Rear, leave the assembly on the car, attached at bottom. Front, remove the assembly altogether. In the '70s I worked at a place that had a Bilstein franchise, and we used the "leave on car and pivot" method a lot -- the one you describe for the rear. In many cars this could be done with the front as well. Often leaving the brake line attached. I have no memory of how I did the job with my old Z. But I currently have the front fenders off my '73, so the whole clearance picture changes in regard to potential use of the "leave on car and pivot" approach. What do you think, would it work at this point? Thx, Steve

Also Too Intense Restoration -- datsunrestore.com Among other things, he offers replacement skins to stretch over your existing door panels. Steve.

Thanks, man. I will put mine back in -- as soon as I can find the loose one. Speaking of loose, that's what makes the thing sort of baffling; it's both looser and deeper than your typical hole plug. And thanks a heap for dealing with the photo. Something is whacko about uploading, for sure. The file was not all that big -- 316K, which is well below the limit and smaller than other things I've uploaded. I resized, used a different browser, tried to start a new thread with it -- the site kept going thru the motions of uploading, then showing no attachments. --Steve

I appreciate your interest, fellas. If anybody feels like downloading the photo, that can now be done here -- http://www.yousendit.com/download/bLIOjNFE4oB5TA%3D%3D (Geezer, better not do it while your wife is around :-) ) Someone else might have better luck than I in uploading the shot into this thread. Thx, Steve

KTM, what do you mean by "tram" here? I've got a set of those same wheels, not mounted on the car yet and no tires on them. Thx, Steve

Thanks, and to you also Geezer. Yeah, I'm using Por on the funkier parts of the fender's inside. Once the Por sets up, I may scuff it up in that corner and mash a small hunk of Bondo in there. Another question arises. There's a rubber nipple-like piece that sits in a hole in the fender sheet-metal, near the area where the headlight-holder bolts on from behind. I uploaded a photo of this to my gallery because for some reason it doesn't want to attach to this post. You'll see the piece marked here-- http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=23714&cat=503 Do you figure this is just to seal the hole that happens to be there? When you check out how the fender and the headlight scoop line up, there doesn't seem to be any other purpose for it? TIA, Steve.

OK, attaching two shots. The second one has now fallen out as well, so you'll see me holding it. I think it was a hunk of putty the factory put in to stabilize that corner, which otherwise is pretty wobbly, at least when off the car. Thx, Steve

Thanks, Enrique. No, I hadn't found those photos in your gallery. --Also, it hadn't occurred to me to put the new drain tubing *inside* the elbow. So are you talking about the new drain tubing extending down below the bottom of the fender? One more question -- there's a kind of 3/4" wad of, maybe foam, or something harder, at one upper inside, front corner of the fender. In other words right up above the headlight, but over at the corner. Does that ring a bell? One of mine fell out, the other is still in there. I'm not sure quite what it's meant to do. Thx, Steve.

Thanks to you both! Great, thorough answers. Ought to be helpful for a lot of other people too. An interesting thing is that my outlet tubing, for the cowl-area drain, has an OD of about 1.5”, which is bigger than what you guys are talking about. Finding tubing/hose to accommodate is slightly more difficult. I’m going to try to do this without the elbow piece, due to space considerations at that size. If I end up with anything presentable, will post photo. --Steve.

Please see 3 attached photos. Getting ready to put one of my fenders back on, after cleaning and removing some minor surface rust. Enrique offers the following advice: You'll note that the drain tube for the cowling is right behind the fender support bracket, and the hose ends just a couple inches into the cavity. This is the source of the majority of sand and gunk behind the fender. The "drain" hole is actually the space between the fender and the inner brace on the fender. NOT a good idea and a prime rust spot for the 240 /260 / 280 series vehicles. I'm doing that mod right now, and although NOT concours it is something that will eliminate that problem. I'm running a small section of hose from the drain to the space between the inner support and the body. In this manner the water that seeps into the cowling area will in turn drain directly to ground rather than into the space behind the fender. As far as the inner fender support, make sure that the inner edge has the non hardening caulking still in good shape and that the outer edge also has the closed cell foam rubber also in good shape. The back of the fender (closest to the door) also takes closed cell foam rubber. You might have a hard time finding this as a loose item, but Pickup Truck Camper Tape is the same thing. You might have to double tape it to achieve the same thickness. The top seam should also get a strip of caulking to keep it sealed. --As far as the drain goes -- I'm not quite clear on where a newly installed hose would end up. Maybe somebody could mark on my tight photo of the drain area or further describe? Otherwise, having trouble knowing where to put caulk and where to put foam. I've got the StripCaulk stuff and for foam, Ace "Wide Gap Foam Tape, Closed Cell, PVC." The old stuff is so crudded up and brittle, who knows what it used to be. Inner fender -- in Enrique's instructions I can't distinguish between the outer edge and inner edge of the "inner fender support." For the fender itself, looking at my photo it seems clear there are two long runs that should get -- foam? The four spots on the inside top of the fender will be addressed by putting foam onto various steel supports on the body, seen above the strut in photo. The "top seam" Enrique mentions -- what is that? Finally, there's a place in top right of my fender photo that needs something, caulk it looks like? This stuff would probably be applied onto the body, not the fender. TIA for any help! Steve.

Good; those are the ones I mentioned above (post #4) 35-40 watts low beam; 60-65 high. Amps: divide by, what, 12.8? Steve.

Here.

Ah yes, the 20-amp fuse. This is great, thanks Arne. Watts = amps x volts, no? My car has about 135K miles, not too bad. I think I will try the 40/60 watt bulbs, avoid the high beams, and simply check for warmth in the wiring... These bulbs are also pretty cheap. A curious thing is that the Sylvania H6024 is spec'd 40/60 watts, where the GE H6024 claims 35/65. --Steve.

It doesn't seem to be too easy to find an old-fashioned sealed-beam headlight these days. Halogen prevails. I don't expect to do a lot of nighttime driving, and I'd prefer not to get into harness and/or alternator upgrading (I've got a '73). So my question -- how much current or wattage do you figure the original sealed beams took? There's an Osram/Sylvania bulb (halogen), H60242, that is pretty modest in its spec -- 40/60 watts low/high. Can I get away with this? TIA, Steve

With a little creativity I believe you could even use the 260 rails if necessary. Steve.

Get in touch with Jose, who has a shop down there. Jose is a former long-time Datsun dealership mechanic who knows a lot and has a gigantic parts inventory, from a dealership no longer in business. Last time I saw him, Jose had a Z V8 conversion that he had done himself. (408) 903-8057 Otherwise, you may want to look in over at hybridz.org where the V8 people mostly are. Steve.

Randy -- You might check out a current ad over at zcar.com for slot mags, which will give you one of the original looks. 14x7 and very reasonably priced, no photo. Wheel type can be seen here -- http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=17345