71ZZZZZ

Yup, the first cut is the deepest...congratulations on getting this far...and you did it mostly yourself...drive it with pride! :beard:

+1 on the Unilite...rock solid performance and steady dwell for a fully saturated coil. I think the problems with the stock contact points are after several firings the flat surfaces start getting pitted and probably don't conduct as well as when new. Then the gap changes affecting the ignition process. I hated the point float but it went away with the Unilite. If you haven't done so yet, get yourself a spare LED module or two. When that goes, you're DITW...

Ah OK..some sites have a feature to do this for posters...good luck with your restos...

I don't know that those are available any more, you might try Nismo Parts, talk directly to someone there. It might be available from Japan but will be very $$$ http://www.nismoparts.com/catalog/?section=181 BTW, how do you put pics inline with your posts? Nice work man!

Thanks for the effort man, I'll take you up on the screw set, as I recall some of the heads were mashed in the removal and would have to replace them anyway.

That would be excellent. Pics always help... Thanks everyone as always for the timely on point posts. I didn't have any problems removing the small screws that held in the frame but talk about a weak design point. Why did they use such small screws, anyone know the spec on those? That whole area is held together in a funky way, I try not to think about how "strong" it is. So the frame will come apart? I have new rubber inserts I'd like to get in there and well as the seals for the body... :beard:

Like the one on the late 80s/early 90s version of the Toyota Supra? I thought MSA had that at one point but I don't see that now on their site.

Well gang, it's being over a year since the first part of my tale was told...maybe you can see why it's taken so d### long to get it to this point. Let's just say life takes unexpected turns so enjoy EVERY moment (and always buckle up for safety...) I'm in the reassembly stage, saw my ride for the first time in several months...happy and shocked by the amount of work needed to get it back in drivable form. I'm hoping it all goes back together, found a strip of mystery chrome can't for the life of me figure out where it came from, thought I got every piece off before I took it in. I'll post a pic to see if you can help me figure it out. Like some amazing jigsaw puzzle, and it's not nearly as deep as some of you have been or are dealing with: rusted out floor pans etc. The body work came out very well even the rusted out portions of the rear hatch, can't tell there was ever a problem there. My man Tony perservered... Now I have to get some parts for the interior lined up, with tax season just around the bend, budget fatigue is creeping in and I haven't even ramped up yet. Oh well, I really can't quit now. Talked with a really cool local upholstery guy today so that helped cool my frenzy...I wanted to do some of the interior work myself but time is just not on my side so I have to bite the bullet to get 'er done. I won't make the prom again this year at West Coast Nationals, my engine bay and dash would be my shame :classic: , but you do what you can do. Little by little, step by step... Good to see the site going strong and that there's still plenty of love happening for the early Zs....stay tuned more details and pics to follow.

Wazzup Z Heads...! I'm back into my resto, more details to follow (let's just say life happens)...paint's almost done now starting to get parts together for the reassembly. I need to take out the quarter windows from the frames for tinting and can't get a start on it. There's only 1 screw I see that holds the frame together but it's not budging for me. I have the hatch window out and figured with the windows out it might be easier to tint. OR is it better/easier to tint the windows inplace? I don't want to ruin the tint film during reassembly...

Ha the Z-festation has begun ... You must try it in the twisties...there's something about the body's center of gravity being right in the pocket of the rear wheel and differential that's very seductive... Just buy one, park in the garage and see if she notices...j/k...welcome...to Z-mania...you'll be done in after you visit with the Suncoast group... :beard:

Well...it's been tagged by the city...it'll be towed in 72 hours... :bandit:

Of course...that's why I put the word out here...if it's one of our Z-bro's, I'd like to get them back together...I wouldn't cannibalize a perfectly good Z...yet... :beard:

I call it "spousal management"... a toast to all club members in good standing...

A black 280Z has been parked in front of my house since last weekend. The steering wheel column cover is off and the radio is missing. The car looks otherwise unmolested...doesn't look broken into...license plate starts with "2XUX"...I'm starting to look at it as a parts car... :pirate:

or Mill Supply: http://www.rustrepair.com/repair_panels/onlinecat.htm?r=ru&p=sm-datsun

talk to yourself??? as long as you don't have sex with yourself. It IS a manual transmission...

Hey Stretch... You might be surprised that you could actually fit in the Z because of the semi reclined posture...it's a little freaky to know your bottom is only a few inches off the ground...I'm on the other end of the scale at 5'6" and I have plenty room....granted it is old school sports car aesthetic...I'm sure some of our taller Z-bros can testify that they can fit...have you tried one on for size yet? (BTW...welcome to the site, you DO realize this is a forum for Z ownership co-dependency? For your budget you could buy 2 in good shape with plenty of $$$ left to do one mild and one wild, but the alimony would offset that...)

double posted...deleted

"Trust you feelings young Skywalker"...even if you have to pay a little bit more, it's worth it, I just about paid 1 and 1/2 for my exhaust upgrade...it's ultimately not as pretty as some of you guys have but it sounds/works really well: stock headers into 2.5" pipe, resonator, into a DynoMax Super Turbo muffler...nice and rumbly at low RPMs, I can trigger car alarms in parking garages but smooths out nicely so I can have a conversation with myself at freeway normal speeds... :beard:

One thing to watch for when upgrading your pipes is the clearance with the tranny tunnel...."Mongo" (not his real name) who did the first job on my exhaust routed the pipe too close...major heat buildup on the sheet metal on the trans-tunnel and in the cab....it's really important to watch what's being done..if the shop won't let you in on the fabrication, not necessarily under the lift, move on..."Mongo" was a d**k in retrospect, started getting antsy when I started asking him questions...charged me for new pipe hangers and ultimately used either what was already there or scrap off the floor...(Celebrity Mufflers in Silverlake ), I ultimately had to pay for someone else to rework the pipe routing in front/under the bell housing..