bobc

Sorry, just shipped them off today.

Hey guys, I hope this isn't out of line, but I'm in the process of cleaning out the garage, which includes some Z parts I have. Didn't want you to miss out on these wheels if you want them. Vintage Alloy Wheel Set 4 x 4 5 14 inch 240Z Triumph Others | eBay I put a ridiculously low reserve on them that has already been met, so they will sell. I've also got a pair of door panels (1970-1973 240Z) that I never unwrapped. They were purchased from Motorsports. Retail price on them is about $660, so if you make me an offer I can't resist, I'd like to get these out too. Some other nic/nacks 1. Clutch Master and Slave cylinders 2. OEM Voltage Regular cover (faded/yellowed, but otherwise in good condition). Noticed you can buy a replacement from Motorsports now. 3. Flannel (indoor) cover. Hardly used. High Quality 4. Lower radiator hose 5. oil pan gasket 6. valve cover gasket 7. Quarter window gaskets (left and right side) 8. One floor mat (who knows where the other one is!) 9. Steering Wheel Horn Hub (slightly cracked on the inside, but I believe it still snaps on ok) 10. Water pump pulley (it's been replated) Anyway, if your interested in some or all or it, I'm anxious to find it a new home, cheap! Either PM me or email me bccal@msn.com

It sounds like your throw out bearing or pressure plate may be bad. I'd guess the throw out bearing. Or, it could be that the pressure plate is not fully disengaging and the sound you hear is the pressure plate grinding against the clutch plate. Obviously not moving enough to allow you to shift easily. You may can adjust the slave cylinder to allow the transmission to drop into reverse easier, but I'm not sure it will make the sound go away. It's also strange that it gets louder when you shift it into gear. I'm not sure what's going on there. Search the board for slave cylinder adjustments. It's been documented many times. It's a really simple adjustment and will take about 5-10 minutes to do. You'll know if the sound goes away or not for no cost. If the adjustment doesn't help, then I think you're looking at a clutch, throw out bearing, and pressure plate replacement. Not that hard either if you can get the car high enough.

Some random thoughts: 1. If the valve was bent because you set the clearance in error, it would still make the noise whether the spark plug was connected or not. Just disconnecting the wire would not straighten the valve or stop if from hitting the top of the piston. 2. Based on your pressure readings, this shouldn't be it, but I was thinking that perhaps one of the rocker arms is off or the spring came free/isn't seated well. Suggest starting over with your valve setting and give it another try. Make sure all the rockers are seated properly and the springs are seated properly.

Carl, if you need a heater core, let me know. I think I may have one. Bob

I've had five. One (911) is in the garage currently. Next??? Do I hear six?

Rich Great seeing you at the show and the other ZCCIV members! Felt like a reunion, since I haven't been out to Temecula since Fred's service. Boy, reading this thread just made me breath a sigh of relief. I enjoyed the shows, especially meeting and chatting with Z people, but the show part just lost it's luster after a while. As you know, I didn't miss it. I'm not sure if the "peer judging" didn't make it even worse this year. At least when it was people's choice, as long as the giving out of ballots was controlled (which they didn't) at least there was some dilution of voting blocks, but with peer voting, it just seems that the club with the most attendees could heavily concentrate the votes. Well anyway, I'm glad I don't have to worry about that now. If I was going to show a car again, it would only be at judged events and even then I think it would only be in shows within the brand or model, i.e., Mustang, Corvette, etc, so the judges knew the cars and what they were looking at. I've lost to Bob H as well at the Huntington Beach concours. Didn't mind it a bit. He and his wife are good people. Well, great seeing everyone again. Rich, please let me know if ZCCIV is having a show this year and when it is. thanks

Congrats Rich! Well deserved. May have to get another one someday. Always looking!

I've got a set of 4 of the non-deep dish style if you decide to give up finding the deep dish. Good luck with your search.

Here's the bottom line...the mechanics, engine, drive-line, suspension, are bullet proof. The electrics are great and superior to British or German sports cars of the same era. The weakness is rust in the body and chassis. If the frame is rotted out, then the mechanics don't really matter. Get the car with the least amount of rust and anything else is an easy and reasonably priced fix for the most part.

Hey Rich, I'm sorry if you took what I said as discouragement. Didn't mean it that way. I was just sharing my prior experiences. I was at the Muck one year and one of the judges walked up and said she grew up in Detroit and remembered how much she hated Japanese cars when she was young. That was her greeting to me! Along with my 1970, I had a Vintage Z at the time that came in third!!! They judged on the amount of work the owner did on his car versus the car's originality or finish. I believe it's very important to get these cars out to shows if they are ever going to be accepted and increase in value. Fred Jordan worked long and hard to get Japanese cars into shows like the Huntington Beach Concours and displayed at the San Diego Auto Museum. It's also important to restore them to original condition. Z's are great because they are easy to personalize, but as they get fewer and fewer, these customizations hurt the overall value. Ok, that's just my opinion. BTW, Zulaytr is being humble. Zulaytr is Bob Speights and he has one of the nicest Z's in the country. It's not over restored (like another car I know in the area) and it is very straight and original. I used to lose to him at shows and it was an honor to do so. It just made me want to make my car better. BTW, I have to share the story that the Z in his avatar was used in several ads including Sports Illustrated. It's his car, but the hubcaps were photoshopped on in the ad. Still have the magazine you gave me Bob, much appreciated! When the Interstate driver picked up my Z today, he was pretty surprised. He said he hadn't hauled one before and doesn't see them at the auctions. That means we're either keeping them or there are not that many left that are bringing in the dollars for the new owners to pay for premium shipping. Not sure where the values are going to go, but keeping the cars at the shows, particularly at the vintage concours shows couldn't be a bad thing.

Bittersweet day here. I helped pack my Z up to go to its new home in New York. I feel like I've lost an old friend. She served me so well. 7 first places, 2 seconds, never left us stranded and if something needed to be fixed, it was just a new part or a wrench or two and it was as good as new. To all the many friends I've made on this board and at shows, clubs, etc. thank you for the friendship and the great memories. I'll continue to drop into the board and go to shows as I still love the cars. And, if you see the perfect 1972 lemon-lime Z out there, drop me a line because I'd probably have to buy it! I know Fred Jordan is looking down on me shaking his head right now, but hopefully he won't curse my Porsche! I'm not planning on being a stranger, so hopefully you won't either. Best, Bob

Sorry Big Sugar, I wish I had made a copy of mine, but it went with all the materials I had with the car when I sold it. As I recall, it wasn't that detailed in many areas. Hope someone can help you. You might try Jim Frederick in Lutz, Florida, if you can reach him. He probably owns more of the Vintage Program cars than anyone else.

gaZdoc, I think I know that car and the owner, Lance, well. I almost purchased it before he did in San Diego. He kept it original for a while and then dropped in the rebello motor. The paint was all original when he bought it except the drivers door that had a repaint, but didn't look bad at all. I think it has a dash cap now, but when Lance bought it, the dash had no cracks. Within a couple of months of his purchase he was going over some railroad tracks and "Crack!" Anyway, you got a good one from a great owner that did the right things to his cars and kept them up nicely. Enjoy the Ride!

want one already finished? Randy can tell you about mine!

Mike, same to you my friend. Thanks for keeping this site going all these years and hopefully into the future. Best wishes to you and yours.

Ok, here's a few shots of the new toy. Have to admit that after looking at the shot in my garage, it's pretty insane. I have the best wife in the world! Z may be gone to a new home on Friday. :disappoin As far as a comparison, I'm really early to the 930 experience, but I would have to say there is none at this point. Two way different cars. I really hope I'm doing the right thing. I keep having second and third thoughts about parting with my Z. I really love it and it's been a great car, but just felt I had done all I was going to do with it and someone else could enjoy it more and continue to improve it. Mike, sold the red Viper GTS to buy the 997. Selling the Z to buy the 930. The 997 is just as different from the 930 as the 930 is from the Z. Best, Bob

From your description it's hard to say. Getting a broken stud out isn't that easy. You may have to take the head off and take it to a machine shop to get it out. As far as taking out the distributor, that's really simple. Just make a mark on the rotor and line that up with a mark on the case. Take out the nuts and lift out the distributor. Don't move the engine (crank) or turn the crankshaft by hand and you'll be just fine. It'll go back in the same way you took it out. Just make sure the two marks you made line up. Good luck!

Sounds like you've got a blown headgasket to me. Just starting, but it is unusual that it would occur in all the cylinders at once.

Rich, I remember that! I'll actually keep that shot if you don't mind. I have always really liked your car. I'm sure your dad was extremely proud to have you own it and the quality and tastefulness you put into the refresh.

Rich, I thought I would sell it to Jay, so he could win 1st and 2nd! Just kidding. When I went to buy the Turbo today, we parked right out in front of the dealership and I dutifully put the quarters in the meter. Snow and I went for an hour walk on the Huntington Beach pier to think about it and then went back and put another 20 minutes on the meter. When we came out, the time had just expired and we had a ticket. Kind of killed the buying experience, but after thinking about it we both started to laugh, because we realized that this was just Fred's way of getting back at us! I'm sure he'd be really mad at me. I thought if I waited to do this, I'd be safe!

Arne, What's your website address? Thanks for the suggestions. I just posted the car on ebay, but I probably won't have additional pics up until Tuesday. I just put in back in storage last week, to get my Mustang out, so I'll have to swap it out and bring it home to take the pics. In my ebay listing I did say I would sell it worldwide. I know that a lot of cars are going overseas these days. I just barely beat the Germans on my Turbo. The Porsche factory guys are buying them and bringing them back to Germany. Did you get a lot of inquiries that offered to send you $100K and you could deduct the cost of the car and keep another $10K for your trouble, just send them the change!!! I got several of those when I sold the Vintage Car a couple of year back. Geez, I'll be Z-less. It's starting to sink in. Ouch!!!

I'm going to get ahead of this one and let club members know that I will be posting my 1970 240Z on ebay in the very near future. After shipping it down from Alaska, I've had it for almost 7 years now (a long time for me!) and have just recently decided that it's time for a new toy. I read Arne's posts when he decided to sell his and my feelings are very much the same, although I know I'll really miss it when it's gone. I showed it for several years (7 firsts and 2 seconds, including 3 1st places in the West Coast Nationals) and then decided I was tired of the show thing. Haven't been driving it much lately and while it looks great in the garage, it needs a new home with someone that will continue to improve it and have fun with it. I've debated selling the car and the spare parts separately. I'm leaning towards including everything in the auction and see how it turns out. Off hand that will include three sets of wheels (two with tires), door panels, D-hubcaps, original radio, louvers and a drawer full of parts. What do think? Sell the parts separately or all with the car? Anyway, just wanted to let everyone know, so you wouldn't wonder what was going on when it's posted. Not going to be cheap. Hopefully, I can raise the bar for other club members if they make the same decision! Oddly enough, I have a ton of pictures of the car in shows and during restoration, but not that many that show the details and how it looks now, so I'll have to take some current shots for the ebay posting. As to what is going to be replacing it. Just put a down payment on a 1987 Porsche 930 Turbo today! I'm excited to have a new toy to play with for Christmas. Again, I'm blaming Arne for the Porsche too! So, don't faint when you see it online and tell you can help by telling your friends!!! Best to all, Bob

If the two cars were equal, I'd have to agree that the 240Z is a better choice for ease to work on, resale value, etc. but from the descriptions provided, they are not equal. Beside minor things like the interior needs replacing in the 240Z, the 280Z is currently running and the 240Z hasn't in 23 years and doesn't appear that it was put up properly. So with that in mind, I made the recommendation for the 280Z. Motorsports in Orange is a great source for parts. Black Dragon and Z Car Source (see banner ad on the home page) are others. You can always go to ebaymotors and find buys as well. Watch the price and shipping. Sometimes good bargains and sometimes not. BTW, please pardon my rudeness, welcome to the site!!! It's a great place with great people and advice (well, except mine!) Bob

No arguments, just thoughtful discussion! I'd rather buy a 35 year old car with 50K miles that has been driven 15 minutes once a month or so for its life than a 10K car that's been sitting for 35 years. My experience has shown that the 50K will have a lot less problems. The difference is I drive my cars. If I wanted one to look at, hardly ever drive, and be an investment, I might consider the 10K car. However, investment wise, neither the 72 or 280 are going to be big appreciators. Notice that 5 MPH bumper on the 280Z. Just one example of slightly safer! Still wouldn't have my 18 year old drive either, but that's just me. My neighbor bought a 66 Mustang for his son when he was around that age. Lasted about 6 months before they sold it. Here's an example http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Datsun-Z-Series-240Z-1972-DATSUN-240Z-SURVIVOR-CALIFORNIA-BLUE-PLATES-67-698-ORIGINAL-MILES-/180755458331?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item2a15dd691b#ht_837wt_1167. This car has only 67,698 original miles, but it hasn't run since 1995. It's going to take a lot of time and money to put this one back on the road. Looks like the 280Z used to be Silver. You asked about the A/C. I don't think either is terribly complicated. Adding A/C to a 240Z is no big deal at all. Can do it in less than a day. As to the great father/son experience. Probably so, until the son calls dad and says I wrecked the car we've spent countless hours restoring!!! :classic: