=Enigma=

I'm betting that the rear tail work was done not ony to mimick the DAytona, but probably to cover up some serious body damage that they didn't want to or couldn't afford to fix. Take your time and find a better startingpoint. There are plenty of choices out there and this one looks like nothing more than a parts car to me.

I've got to deal with this soon as well. After replacing the springs and shocks with Tokico reds and HP blues I can't get my Sears jack under the front crossmember. I have to lift the car up a 1/2 in. to get it under. Time to buy some more tools like a low profile jack and some ramps.

Will, I'm still up for a set as well and hopefull that this will eventually come together. Betty Brown's peepers feel naked and vulnerable without her goggles on.

Spoken like a true Z-holic. But seriously, as much as I'd like to have a Ferrari, albeit a 550 Maranello, I have to agree with you. The Z is one sweet ride.

Holy crap Carl. Was this verbal hemorage targeted at my post? If so you took my comments WAY TOO SERIOUSLY. The comments about "tubbing the car and dropping in a hemi" was written in jest. Hence the smiley. Perhaps that sentiment didn't come across effectively given the medium.

Congrats on the purchase and welcome to the forum. I chose not to vote because I feel you should do whatever you makes you happy. I bought a 73 so I could go whatever direction wanted and leave the series 1 & 2 cars for those looking to do original restos. In the end I chose the resto-mod including upgraded suspension, wheels & tires, and various performance mods. That said, if you want to tub you car, put in a solid rear axle and drop a hemi in it, that's your business.

Wow that's a big boy! Conrats on your new family member.

Yeah I got that, often the simplest solution is the best.

Hey Joseph, I hope you and the rest of the guys out there take steps to secure any soft or hard copies of sensitive info like account numbers and credentials. While this is probably not a big deal for forum credentials and the like, keeping hard copies around would be a bad idea for financial sites and other sensitive info unless the hard copies could be secured in lockable storage, preferably a safe. I've been in IT and network security for some time and I'm constantly amazed at the level of both logical and physical security (or lack thereof) that even the most IT saavy people allow to exist both at work and at home. To keep this sort of info handy and secure on your computer, I strongly recommend use of a password manager which uses encryption to secure your data. I use a program called SplashID which uses strong encryption (256 bit Blowfish) to prevent unwanted access. There are lots of debates on which encryption is better or best but any encryption is better than none. I use both local backups and offsite backups to ensure that no data is ever lost and so far this has served me well. Also important is a non-guessable, reasonably complex password that you can remember. And no, the name of one of your relatives, pets, or known nicknames are not good choices. Neither is your street name, your license plate, phone number, or any words that can be seen from where you sit at your desk. There's a lot of choices out there when it comes to electronic password managers, but SplashID was the best choice for me because I can syncronize the desktop client with the PDA client and always have the most up to date info with me when working in the field. I'm not sure but the sync feature may only be available with the SpalshID for Windows Desktop client. Check it out at http://www.splashdata.com.

I'm gonna try to make it this year, although I'm not sure the Z will be ready for the trip. Either way, I'm looking forward to it and hope to meet up with some of you guys.

Thanks for the info. I think I'll go ahead and replace the foam before I get her on the road later later this month. The foam on the drivers side is pretty sad.

Graham, Did you buy these from Classic Datsun Motorsports? They appears to be a few shades lighter then the originals. Is this an illusion or reality? Also, has anyone purchase the leather version of these seat covers from Classic Datsun Motorsports, and if so, what did yo uthink about them? My covers are in good condition and I prefer the look of the originals, but the cushions are shot. I'm concerned that if I try to replace the cushions that he original covers won't make it through the process in tact. What has your experience been on this, anyone?

Serious bummer man. I feel your pain. May the perpetrator be arse raped by a 400lb gorilla with a bad case of penile warts.

You guys are way too funny. I have nobody to "curb my enthusiasm" but a lack of free time and a California coastal region sized mortgage does the job. If I had the time, and the $$$$$ I would probably dump it all into the Z. I guess I should be happy that I can afford to have one at all. That said, it is one of 3 vehicles. Why does a single guy need 3 cars you ask.... because he can...

I plated many of the fasteners I planed on re-using with the Caswell kit. One thing I learnred was not to skimp on the rectifier. After many failed attempts and calculations, I finally figured out a process to get a fairly reliable and consistent finish. The process was definitely a learning experience, challenging, but lots of fun. That said, if I had to do a large number of pieces again, I would just take them all to a plater. In the end, I think it is the cheaper and certainly a faster route, probably with a better and more consistent plate job. To clean the fasteners and remove rust prior to plating, I used a heavy degreaser, followed by a 5% hydrochloric acid dip and a good rinse. Just before plating, I used the Caswell degreaser as a final step, and then on to the plating solution. Last step was the yellow chromate finish which is a simple matter of timing the dip for the depth of color you're after. I think I actually posted some pics of my results a year or more ago.

I haven't logged in for some time myself and thought I was suffering from the same issue this evening, however it was just fat finger syndrome. I managed to mistype my password repeatedly and got locked out for a while. Anyway, I'm back and look forward to catching up on things around here.

I know almost nothing about differentials, but I have an R200 w/3.90 gears out of a 1980 2+2 that I'm looking to put into the Z. The ring gear looks great but the spider gears show some galling. I talked with the local diff expert and he says he can't get the spider gears. I searched the web and can't find a source either. Courtesy says they are NLA. Does anyone know where to get replacement spider gears or the whole shabang including a rebuild kit?

An therein lies the controversy.....I'll trust a perfect fit over a lousy picture anyday.

That sucks Beandip. That puller worked like a charm for me, but I still had good threads on one side of the pin after my initial attempts to hammer it out. Zmefeelme, if you still have some clean threads, there's someone on here who sells these pullers. Just search for "spindle pin" and you'll find lots of threads on this. If not, it's time to go to the machine shop like Beandip said. It'll be well worth the $$ to have them do this for you.

Hey guys, sorry to revive and old thread and controversy like this, but I just re-assembled my suspension using what I believe to be the original TC rod bushings which were still in good shape, and it appears that the flat sides originally faced the body. I'm confident in this because I could see 3 convex impressions in the rubber that matched 3 dimples in the cup on the body side. In addition to that, the larger rounded side was slightly worn as the result of being exposed to sand and dirt which got in between the bushing and the large washers then rubbed around as the suspension flexed. Note that my car is an un-molested, 1 owner, 58,000mi car that was always garaged. I see no reason why the bushings would have ever been replaced/removed by the PO or anyone else. Based on the condition of the rest of the suspension parts, as well as the original condition of the remainder of the car, I believe these to be the original bushings installed from the factory, but this is pure speculation on my part.

I get my bolts from the following two sources. Note that these are not OEM replacements, just a good source for metric replacements. Finding JIS spec fasteners proved nearly impossible here in the states and I don't speak or read Japanses so I finally gave up on finding exact replacements. JIS fasteners tend to have a smaller head/shaft diameter then SAE and DIN spec fasteners. Go buy a metric bolt based on these specs and compare it to an original JIS spec fastener with the same shaft diameter and you'll see what I mean. www.boltdepot.com www.hillcofasteners.com

The car looks great. Nice color and I love the stripes as well!

Looks great Jim. Congrats on the new look and for having supportive significant other.

Look here for custom speaker brackets, however note that this location is not ideal as far as sound quality. http://www.classicdatsun.com/ There are some brackets listed under 240 Parts > Misc Read this thread for opinions on this mounting location. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23083

!! Whoops sorry. My bad. I was just going by memory. I'll be re-assembling the car this week so I be sure to make note of the proper installation.