DeesZ

Mine is now occupying a corner in the garage on the floor. It was in the way when I went to do just about anything on the car, so I got it out of the way. None that I ever drove back in the day had ac, and I really didn't want it on the one I bought. As for the car now, I have yet to remove the hose connections through the firewall. I will attack that when the spirit moves me to get under and into that part of the passenger compartment. I simply capped off the hoses and secured them out of the way for the time being. Removing that stuff got a measurable amount of weight out of that car, and uncomplicated many simple little jobs. I do not suspect that it will ever go back in.

Welcome! You will find this site not only a treasure trove of information in the archives and active posts, but the "community" is a wonderful one as well.... very helpful and benevolent. I've been to many other sites, but am proud to call this one my neighborhood! I know what you mean that "it's been way to long....." I'll add that "it's never too late...." John

Looks nice, Rockr69. Please let us know the outcome. As a thought for safety, you may wish to consider getting the proper battery hold-down rig. The bungee cord won't help much in a rough situation, and if that positive post makes contact with your body you'll have a mess to contend with that a fusible link will not even begin to remedy. A mini China Syndrome is only a bad bump away.

Do a Google search on "zg flares", and the results will likely answer the question. I did , and there was more information than you can shake a stick at!

I didn't even realize that there had been a change.... Now that I know, I've updated. Bringing back the old would be best if possible.

Thanks for the information on the E88 heads, Arne. I had heard of there being different ones, and was aware of the larger-valve variety for 260's, but you have laid this out for us very well. I appreciate that, because I think I now at last understand! I cannot vouch for the E88 on my early '71 as being an original mate to the block..... the engine # is 030185, and I'm pretty sure it is the original block to the car. The engine compartment data plate is missing, but the number falls in line with the range of block numbers for that approximate date of manufacture (according to those of close mfg. date listed in the "registry" ). Have you heard of any way to determine which head is which among the E88's without pulling them off for inspection? Were there any subtle casting mark differences, for instance? Maybe the lettering? I'll include a picture of the one mated up to my '71 in case there is any value to seeing it. (pause) I went out to look at my '72 & '73 E88's ..... the lettering & numbers on the later two years seems larger than the one on the '71. Also, the 'earlier?' one has a sort of a 'flat' cast in it just between the "4 plugs right where it mates with the block. I'll post pix of what I am trying to describe. Maybe those differences mean something ? I have another E88 that I can check out too, but I have no idea of the origin of the head & therefore can't try to date it. It would be great to figure a way to discern among them without having to pull them.... I'm thinking about putting one of them on my driver to eliminate a persistent valve tap that can't be adjusted out (seems to be excessive wear on the lobe where the stethoscope tells me the tap is.) In light of the differences among E88's I'm not sure now that I want to swap the whole head.... maybe just the cam and mated lifters from another head. I'd prefer not to have to start using high octane fuel as a result of getting the valve tap resolved! I guess that's where this thread started, so we've come full circle. (I guess if we start really talking heads a new thread should be created?) Also, on the '71 block picture, what is the electrical (I guess) unit just to the right of the dipstick? My others don't have that thing. Any clue what it is? Thanks again for the valuable information, Arne. (Both of these pictures are of the same head on my '71.)

The book for my '72 (05/72) calls for a minimum octane rating of 87. It runs fine with the 87 we have today (I usually use Sunoco with an occasional tank of Texaco). The book for my '71 (02/71) calls for "a proper grade gasoline of above 95 octane... If knocking occurs with the gasoline you are using, and it cannot be cured by slightly retarding the spark timing or other engine adjustments, it might be caused by the use of lower grade gasoline, then switch to the next higher grade fuel that will eliminate the knocking." I have gotten the '71 running, but not on the road yet so I cannot comment on how different grades of gas will impact it. It revs up like a rocket ship under no load, but I am assuming that I will be filling up with premium when it gets on the road under load. Now, all that being said, both have E88 heads, but the '72 has a section in the book on the smog control devices that the '71 book does not address. So, I assume that the '72 was modified somehow to accept the lower octane gas as a pollution reduction effort. Can anyone elaborate?

I had the same problem and solution just about a month before I had to replace the slave cylinder due to leakage. (Did the master and hose at the same time as the master and slave often fail within a short time of each other - in my experience, anyway.)

"Exploded" bulbs? Sounds like a very nasty voltage surge. That happened to me a while back. Cause was a faulty voltage reg. It literally exploded every bulb that was on at the time of the incident. Prior to this problem what has your amp meter been doing.... any funny bouncing around?

Hopefully this will encourage others to attempt small repairs on plastic interior parts, and if anyone can add to the following suggestions, please do so. I was unable to find any of the plastic repair compounds that were suggested, so I moved ahead with JB Weld to repair the early ash tray (from a 2/71 240Z HLS30-23609). The results are very acceptable, to my eyes, anyway. I'll post before & after pictures and you can be the judge. Getting the old glue off from the previous repair was not as easy as I had imagined. I went at it with a set of x-acto knives. It is important to get the old stuff all off or the next repair will be no stronger than the first one was. If you do this, be sure to wear eye protection because the little flakes fly everywhere when they finally give up their grip. To add to the strength of the repair I also removed a small bit of plastic in several spots so that the JB would be just a tiny bit thicker in several places across the mating area. Also, I cut a small groove lengthwise in the center on both surfaces to be mated up. This provided additional space and surface area for the JB to adhere to (otherwise when the mating pieces are clamped together the vast majority of the epoxy be pushed out by the clamping pressure). I made sure that my clamping ideas were going to work well before mixing the JB, and when everything was in order I mixed the compounds and worked it in to the surfaces to be mated with a toothpick. Then I just clamped the pieces together with moderate to light pressure, and removed the excess JB with a damp rag. The stuff takes a good while to set, so there was lots of time to assure that the surfaces were mated up the way I wanted. Looking back on this I would have spent a bit more time on this step to assure a more perfect alignment of the two pieces. When the JB began to set, I replicated the 'texture' on the surface where plastic was missing with the point of a toothpick. All in all, I'm pleased with the results, and with the experience will likely be able to do a better job on the next piece that I do. I can tell where the break was, but I had my wife look at it and she couldn't see it until I pointed it out. Now, the real key is getting everything the same color and making it look "normal" so that it matches the other plastic pieces that it will be attached to. The JB left me with a gray line where the repair was, and that had to be remedied somehow. I found a great product for that... of all places, at Walmart. It's Krylon "Fusion" for plastic in "satin black" color. This stuff is advertised for use on plastic lawn furniture, etc., and claims to bond to plastic. It does bond very well, as I cannot scratch it off. (I also painted a very ratty plastic gas tank on a portable generator - it now looks like new!) It sticks better to plastic than it does to metal, and I highly recommend it for this application. Simply put, it looks great and matches the black plastic interior exceptionally well. I will likely put another coat on after the week drying time that they suggest between applications. Then again, maybe not, because for what I need it's good to go now. I will likely clean up my '71 console and give it a shot of this stuff too if I decide to put her back on the road. Bottom line: This experiment gave me a very strong repair that looks pretty good, and salvaged a part that would have cost me a small fortune to replace. Hopefully you will be able to get similar or better results yourself. p.s. Does anyone have a spare ash tray top that fits on to this unit? I haven't found that in my box of spare parts that came with the car.

15/40 diesel here also. Did this upon recommendation of an old friend who has run an independent oil change center for 35 years. I took my Z in for 10/40 Castrol and after discussion with him gave his favorite (Wolf brand, IIRC) a try. I've been very pleased with the results.

Wow! That ended at over $1,800.00! There may be some hope for the '71 that I can't get in the garage!

Very nice ....Very, very nice! This makes the decision "which one?" tough! I'd keep both keys on my ring and make the decision on a daily basis depending on my mood......... Don't make them jealous of each other..... Jealous ladies can get expensive.... they know what's up, and will repay you by sucking your wallet dry!

Very nice job! Looks brand new. Did you just mask off the labels with masking tape prior to sanding and painting?

I just changed out the oil on an older L24 (car mfg. 02/1971). The engine has been sitting for the last 20 years, it's not frozen, and I've been going thru the process of putting MMO / Seafoam / ATF in the cylinders to free things up... now time for a change out of the old stuff.... (Whew, it was just plain nasty!) Anyway, to the point.... It was a joy not having to crawl around on the ground; the drain plug is on the 'side' of the pan, just about immediately under the oil filter, but maybe a bit forward from that. I just put my catch pan under the filter as usual and dropped the filter drainage there, then pulled the plug and drained it into the pan where it was sitting - never had to take a step. Now this struck me when I was buttoning everything up.... I asked myself "Isn't the drain on the aft side of the sump?" I looked at my 05/72 and it was aft, as well as two NOS units that I have had sitting around for 25 years... all rear drains. I guess this prompts me to ask "Why did Nissan change the location of the drain?" I've searched the Forums for about two hours with no luck on this issue (found tons of other really good stuff!) There is likely some obvious reason that I am overlooking here, so please let me enlighten me about this. I just may want to find one of these pans for my 05/72.... anybody got one for sale? ..... Lord, here I go again, looking to spend even more money on my addiction. What is this power that this car has over me?

I know soooooo little about front air dams / spoilers, but wish to learn some more. I never developed a taste for them until the last week or so when I got another z (early '71) that has one mounted. And then this thread educated me about there being several different kinds and varieties (modern / retro). I am considering mounting the one I just got on my 1972. Please give me some opinions on the spoiler. I will attach several pictures. The car it's on hasn't been on the road since about 1986, and I assume it was on the car when it was parked. Is it any good, or a junker in your opinion? Is this what y'all would consider "old school"/ retro or modern? Any idea of the origin of this one? Does it look to have been modified? Is there any advantage or disadvantage to this type of an air dam in comparison to others that are available and described in this thread? Anything else that you may think to be relevant is welcome. Lots of questions, I know, but I don't want to mess with it if it is not worth the effort. (I wish to do no harm to my 1972 driver, and if anything, improve the air flow for cooling, not get in the way of it.) Thanks!

You took the words right out of my mouth, 280~Master! Ditto, ditto, ditto!!!

I'm looking for a radiator shroud for a 05/1972 240Z. I recall that the "later" ones are larger, as is the later radiator. (I'm running a "later" radiator right now until I swap back in the original unit which I have had re-cored.... It's to long, and hangs down several inches just begging a parking curb or rock to clobber it, and the bottom fitting exits without the upward bend.) The shrouds have not been popping up for sale as often as the did a year or two ago, but this one came up on eBay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=005&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=150115262715&rd=1,1 It looks odd to me - or am I dreaming?:knockedou Is this one too large for the (what I think is) an earlier radiator that it is pictured mounted on? It's been years since I did a hands-on with a shroud, but this one looks too big in my opinion.... maybe too much space at the top? Or is it that the fan guard missing just makes it 'look' too big? What's your thinking on this! Is this one a proper fit for a '1972? Thanks very much for your opinions!

Very entertaining, GreenZZZ.... The amazing part about that video is that I didn't see anyone 'bite the dust'! Some South American traffic is similar - at least 20 years ago in Brazil it was... I never understood why there wasn't a very high death toll. I was told by a 'local' that it took a very high skill level to be a metropolitan driver..... Very few people where I am from would make it more than 30 seconds. It was kinda like playing 'Frogger' with vehicles.

Enigma, I never thought of it that way. I think you may have explained it.... They want nothing to do with the Buick or the Explorer (other than to get muddy footprints on them.) ..... nor do I, either, I guess.

Welcome aboard, jpuga. Hold off for a good one, as the selection in yoyr area is very good - you can afford to be a bit picky. And take the advice of hls30.com by posting some pictures of the ones you look at. There is an education at your fingertips at this site. Check out the posts related to cars for sale on eBay, and you will quickly pick up on what site members focus in on. Use this knowledge base as a foundation for a purchase that you will be happy that you made!

Thanks, Gary! Exactly what I needed to know. John

Well, when it was down around $300.00, it wasn't such a bad deal. The defects are obvious, and now it's at $1K.... somewhat beyond what I'd pay now. And if that car is daily driver, his insurance company should be notified! Missing lug nuts worry me. I almost got killed one night by a flying wheel! The sucker flew right off an MGB and hit the bar I was going in to - missed my head by about a foot. Seems the guy rebuilt the front end a week before and reversed the hubs where the knock-offs secure the wheel. He threw on his brakes and there was an awful racket and spark show. I was looking at that when the tire & wheel went by! I had an extra drink or two that evening - probably should have turned around and gone to a church instead.

I searched the archive and turned up no results on this. Lots of other good reading that set me back about an hour and a half, but not this. for a 1972 240Z what size is the heater hose that attaches to the heater core - the one that branches off above the oil filter, just before the reducer hose. Thanks!!

This is a good old thread on plastic repairs... I'm glad that I used the "search" feature - It's simply incredible the amount of knowledge collected here! To the point - Are there any 'updates' here? I just acquired my second 240Z (mfg 2-71)with the intentions of parting it out to support my habit with #1 (5-72), but, and I say this without a thorough inspection, it may be too nice to do that to... I will get under it soon to draw a final conclusion. So, today I dug through a box of stuff that came with it, and found the ash tray assembly. Unfortunately broken, but only in two pieces, and it's all there. It has residue of a previous gluing attempt which can easily be removed to make a really tight fit for repair with just light clamping. The repair is a relatively easy one compared to many others that I've done, but my question is this: "What repair compound do y'all recommend?" I was going to simply J-B Weld & clamp it, but after reading these threads, I think that there are maybe some better options. What results have been obtained since this thread ended in late 2004? Has anyone ever used the Permatex dash repair kit? I have one out in the garage that I never used (comes with texture sheets, a little heater, dyes, some kinda compound, etc.). Is that a possibility, or is there something better such as the products mentioned earlier in the thread? I was thinking that whatever I end up using will likely get a patch piece on the bottom with J-B to reinforce it from future breakage. What are your thoughts & suggestions? I'll attach a couple pictures so that you can see what I am dealing with.