bobc

One more thing to check...tinting and color. When I was briefly looking at aftermarket glass, most came fully tinted (blue) versus having the tinting only at the top of the windshield. Don't know if this matters, but something you might want to ask about. Bob

You might check with Mike (administrator of this web site). He posted that he bought the last windshield available for his restoration. I looked a year or so ago and couldn't find one in the US. I could get one from Japan (6-8 week delivery) and it was pretty expensive. You might try a used one, but you'll have to accept some compromises on the quality. http://www.zcarsource.com/ As far as a new one, courtesy nissan can tell you if it's a possibility. http://www.courtesynissan.com/ Good luck! Bob

Gary, Nice work! I've got a set I need to restore too. I've got to have them re-chromed first. Would you mind telling me how you painted the wheel covers? Did you tape around the outside or use something circular to maintain the line between the paint and the chrome on the outside of the wheel? Thanks Bob

Well, today was another day. I decided to give it one more go, before driving the car into the ocean and lo and behold, it's running well at 5 degrees BTDC and dwell at 37 degrees! I don't know what I did differently, but it seems to be running well. One thing I did notice, it that it doesn't like to idle for any length of time with the hood up. The temp climbs about 3/4's of the way up, but this seems to be only happening when I'm working on it with the hood up. Sitting at lights or just sitting with the hood closed, it's only a bit past the middle. So, looking a gift horse in the mouth, I've got one more question. I'm out of advance adjustment on the distributor. It's moved as far as it's going to go and all I'm getting is 5 degrees out of it. Any ideas? Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. I'll do the valves someday soon or take it to Pierre. Bob

Ok, I checked the harmonic balancer (crankshaft pulley) against the position of the number one piston and they are dead on. When the pointer lines up with the first notch on the balancer (far left when facing the car), the number one piston is at the top of it's stroke. I haven't checked the valves, but I'm just thinking about taking it to Pierre Z and saying "go for it!" Sure, never had this problem with my 70! Bob

Thanks, I was thinking the same thing about checking tdc against the timing mark. Just ran out of patience yesterday!

Ok, I've just spent the last 4 hours trying to tune my 1971 240Z. I thought I would be through in 30-45 minutes at the most. This is the first time I've tried to tune it since I bought it. Anyway, before I set the dwell and timing I checked them both. The dwell was at 28 degrees and the timing was actually running slightly before the first mark on the pulley so it was running after TDC (right?). So, I set the dwell at 38 degrees and the timing at 5 degrees BTDC (the second mark). The engine actually ran worse. No pickup and back-fired through the first carb. So, I took the domes off the carbs, cleaned the dampers, put new oil in them, etc and kept trying. Still, ran poorly. By the black junk on the carb pistons, I figured it was running rich, so I cranked down on the mixture nuts. I must have gotten at least 4 turns out of each one. So, I bottomed them out (carefully) and backed out 1 1/2 turns. Still ran like crud. Oh, and the engine began to run much hotter. I must have set and reset 20 times. All I know is that if I set everything to the factory settings, it ran worse than before and got hotter, so I finally set the timing back to before the first mark, the dwell at 28 degrees and the mixture nuts 3 turns out. Guess what, it runs fine. My wife says I should just furgetaboutit and be happy its runnning well, but I'm worried that these settings will cause engine damage. Your thoughts on what's going on and whether I should leave well enough alone are most welcome. One last thing, while changing the antifreeze, dumb me, only put a gallon back in the radiator (it was full). Well, it must not have gone into the engine (cold engine) because the themostat was shut. So, I cranked it up and kept waiting for the temp gauge to go up. Finally, steam started coming out of the radiator and the gauge went up really quickly. I shut her down and let it cool for awhile and then filled it up the rest of the way. I've pressure checked the system hot and cold now and it holds 13 lbs of pressure for two minutes with no loss. Anything else I need to think about here? Water pump? I thought this was supposed to be fun!!!! BTW, I already know I win the stupid award for the radiator thing, so extra comments on my stupidity won't help!!! I'm also now sure I like my 1970 much more than my 71. It read the maintenance book and runs great using the factory settings. Sorry for the long post, it's been a long day.... Bob

Hey Mike, Recently went through kind of the same process getting some touch up paint for my red car. I took one of the inspection lids off and took it over to the paint shop. They put some type of device (spectrometer?) on the lid and took three shots in different places. They used whatever this device told them to mix the paint. It was dead on. Wouldn't suggest the blending thing. It will just mess up what you've already got on the car. I'd just get the parts repainted.

Luke, Would love to have you drop by if you have time. I'm in Orange, California about 80 miles North of the San Diego area. I'm about 10 minutes away from MSA, so if you're looking for parts, they've got a wide selection. Of course, Les has a lot of nice stuff too. Give me a call at 714-685-0786 (home) or PM me if you want to stop by. Bob

How about the seat belts? I'm particularly looking for the passenger side shoulder strap, but would buy the whole set if available. Thanks. Bob

Hey Zedman, didn't mean to offend you. I was certainly in your shoes many times. The cool part is finding a car that you can drive, but increases in value while you're doing so. I drove a Vette for 10 years as my daily transportation and sold it for $1000 more than I paid for it. I think you may be able to do the same with a Z if you keep it up. To some, Z'z are toys, to some daily transportation, and to some investments. If they go up in value, there will be more incentive to restore them and keep the ones out there in good shape. If they decrease in value, there will be no incentive for companies to keep making replacement parts and owner's to maintain them by pouring money into them, so you'll have a harder time finding a nice one when you get the money for it. Again, sorry if I offended you. Didn't mean to. Bob

Ron, Used to be in Temecula. I don't know if she sold it to the shop in San Diego or not, but she's definately not the owner anymore. I spoke to her once and she said it had been sold. Next time I saw it was on the Hemmings website. I don't think the place has done anything to it except detail it. I couldn't believe they were asking $25K with those flames! http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/carsforsale/datsun/240z/177999.html

This car is presently for sale through a listing in Hemmings. It was advertised by its previous owner on several sites. I think they were asking $8,000 for it (originally asking $12K). The place that has it now is down towards San Diego. I called on it a month or so ago and they are asking $25K!!! While I don't think it's anywhere near worth that, I sure hope they get it, so all our cars will rise with the tide!

Hey ZIII, Couldn't have said it better myself. Mark, enjoy what you have, when you have it. BTW, you're Z was really nice! ZIII, I've got a 66 Mustang and a Viper as well as my Z. Nothing compares to the Z and the Mustang. Maybe it's an age thing, but the grin on my face when I get out after a drive in either is priceless. They are just plain fun to drive. Frankly, the Viper just makes my blood pressure go up. Someone is always trying to race me, people ride in the blind spot looking at it, and the ride is bumpy as heck and I'm on edge the whole time trying to handle the beast. And you're right about the comments. I rarely get comments on the Viper, but the Z and Mustang draw attention wherever they go. In fact, it's sometimes hard not to be impolite when people come up to look at them when I'm in a hurry. So, enjoy what you have when you have it. When you're tired of it, get something else. Enjoy the ride!!! Bob

If you see a bubble from the outside, remember that Z's typically rust from the inside out. The small bubble on the outside has a large rust spot forming on the inside. There are listings all the time on ebay that say only small amounts of surface rust. By the times the bubbles appear, it's not just a sand down and paint over, it's a cut out and re-weld in a new panel. You can't just sand off the surface rust, put on some bondo and paint over it. The rust will continue to eat through the new paint and ruin the work. Check out zhome.com for more info on purchasing your Z.

When I broke the extractor, I was working on a cold engine. Anybody think it would be easier if I did this after bringing the engine up to temperature? I'm thinking about just leaving it alone. I don't hear any exhaust leaking, so until it starts, I don't see any harm in just leaving it alone. On the other hand, if I screw this up, I've damaged an e-31 head. Thoughts?

The other day I noticed that the nut on the last stud on my exhaust manifold looked loose. Actually, it turned out that the stud had cracked in two. I drilled a hole in the stud and tried to pull it out with a screw extractor. Well, the screw extractor broke off in the stud flush with the broken piece. I can't get a drill to start into the screw extractor (probably because it is hardened steel). Any ideas on where to go from here? Will I have to pull the head and take it to a machine shop? Thanks for the advice. $#%#@!$%$- Those where my thoughts after the extractor broke!

The relay suggestion is a really good one. I used the factory wiring many years ago to connect up some Lucas fog lights and the wiring always got hot. I also used similiar switch to the rear window defroster, so I think that contributed to the problem as well. After you wire it, be sure to check the wiring to make sure it doesn't heat up. Bob

Mark, Just thought I'd weigh in with an opinion (you know what that's worth!). You've got an awful lot of money in a very fine car. Unless you've absolutely got to have the $15K to buy your "go fast", I'd find a way to keep the Z. You may find you lose interest in the "go fast" real quick. My Z sits next to a Viper GTS and if one had to go it would be the GTS. Why? 1. The Z is just plain more fun to drive. 2. Not everybodys wants to race you. 3. I get a lot more thumbs up and smiles from other drivers when I'm in the Z. Really, I'm not kidding. 4. I'm very lucky and can have both, so it's nice to be able to go fast sometimes, but overall I reach for the Z keys a lot more often. 5. If it breaks, it's a cheap and easy fix. A new motor for the GTS if I could still get one is around $20K. As to the Ferrai, I've had the same dream for a long time too. But unless you've just got too much money, I'd rethink that one. I've had lots of freinds that have gone through the same mid life crisis and they say it's kind of like a boat. The happiest day is the day you buy it and sell it. Ferraiis break all the time and it's going to cost you the price of a z to repair it. I love the look, but just don't have the time in my life for the hassle of trying to keep one running. So, there is my totally unsolicited advice. BTW, I'm over 50, so don't let the turning 40 thing get to you. The only difference between 40 and 50 is the number of toys you have!!! Best of luck, Bob

Try using brass plugs. The brass is softer than the steel, so this may help with the thread problems. I use to use brass plugs when I removed air galleries many years ago and used brass plugs that I purchased at the hardware store. Never had a problem with one coming out or leaking exhaust. The guy that taught me this trick said the brass expanded faster than the steel, so it made a very tight seal. Hope this helps, Bob

I was looking over a Z this weekend for a possible purchase (It's currently on ebay) and noticed something I thought was a little different. The front of the differential was not resting on a pad. Instead there was a metal (probably aluminum) bracket bolted in its place. It was like a goal post with two uprights that bolted into the differential on each side on onto the cross bracket. The differential and cross member are bolted together through this bracket as one unit with no cushion between. The owner said he thought the previous owner may have raced the car. Was this a racing trick? What would it do? The current owner said he got a lot of road noise through the car and I would imagine, metal to metal contact between the cross member and the differential would contribute to that. Anybody heard of this before? Bob

Want to see if any of you have changed the clutch in a Series I 240Z? If so, is this something you think the average person with pretty good mechanical knowledge can do at home? How high does the car have to be to be able to drop the transmission? Anything secrets to do this properly? Thanks for the help. Bob

Hey Mike, You still selling it for $6,000? Not!!! Bob

Forgot one thing...COVER PAINTED AREAS AROUND YOUR WORK AREA!!! It's really hard not to throw the paste all over the place. You learn how not to do it, but even after you learn, you will occassionally get the wrong angle or too much paste on the felt pad and it can goe everywhere quick. Just tape around windshield gasket and put either newspaper or towels around the work area (hood, roof, fenders, etc). After you're done, washing the car to make sure you got all the paste/powder off is a really good idea too.

Bart, 30 years ago (whoops, there's that age thing!) when I had my first Z, I used rubbing compound to buff my back glass and it did exactly what you're talking about. At night, under a streetlight the whole back glass looked terrible. I only tell you this story, to say I was a bit hesitant to use anything on my current cars, but since this appears to be the same thing the pros use and I had scratches (in a Miata) at the time, I figured what the heck, I'd try it and if it didn't work, I'd just get a new windshield. It worked great and since then I've used it on several other cars with absolutely no star bursts or swirl marks. Just really clear glass. As stated, I followed the directions carefully and didn't get the results I was looking for, so I gradually added more and more paste until the mixture looked more like toothpaste than runny and it worked much better. Just saw Mike's post. He's right, go with the light scratch kit and use an angle grinder or buffer if you can. I've done it with a drill and it's hard to hold. Good luck Bob