bobc

Joey, I'm not sure what the tape says about a screwdriver, but I did this years ago. When I did it, I used a piece of wood that I fashioned into a wedge. This held the chain against the side of the block and the sprocket on the crankshaft. I drilled a hole in the top of the wedge and put thick thread/rope through it so I could pull it out when I put the head back on. You might also look around on the internet for a mfg. plastic piece that does the exact same thing as the homemade wedge I used. Hope this helps. It's really not as bad as it sounds to do this, go for it! Bob

Can the plastic vapor tank from an early z be replaced by one of the later metal tanks? If so, how hard is to make the swap? Thanks, Bob

Does anybody have any knowledge of this armrest? I can't say for sure it came with my car (#1321) or was something the previous owner added. It's actually kind of nice, but if it isn't original, I'll start looking for a replacement. Thanks, Bob P.S. My first time trying to attach a picture, so if it doesn't work, my apologies! armrest.bmp

Bart, Thanks!!! The DVR is set to go! Bob

Rats, I missed it!!! The times listed for the 10th show a program about the NSX not the Z. I've looked as far forward as possible in the online site and Direct TV schedule for a repeat, but can't find one right now. I'll keep an eye open for it. In the meantime, if you have to see this show, a DVD of it can be purchased from The History Channel webiste. Search for Nissan and you should be able to find it. It is $24.95. Bob

duffman, I live about 10 minutes away from MSA and was in recently (like every Saturday!). They have one of the repo consoles on the wall, so I took a look. I think you'll like it. From the outside it looks great. Only when you look inside do you see small differences. These won't show unless you have the ashtray out and are looking very closely. Bob

Dan, My series one #1321 doesn't have the seat cushion guards or screws in the panels. I've seen screws in the door panels before, but never thought they were factory. After reading this, guess they could have been. My back panel does have the 4 phillips heads as well. Good luck with the restoration! Bob

Mark, I'm in So Cal, so shipping to San Carlos is no problem (yes, even Australia!). How long did the platter take to do the job?

Here's a link to the listing in the site: http://www.barrett-jackson.com/events/florida/vehicles/cardetail_list.asp?id=184707 They say the color is orange, but it looks more red. Bob

Lucas, I agree with Kelly; it depends on what you want and a lot of that is determined by what prep you do versus have the shop do. Painting the car is usually the least amount of work. The prep is the most labor expensive part. I just had my Z done for a little more than $4K and I thought I got a great deal. The shop took everything off the car and even took the glass out so I would have no paint build up around the gaskets. If you want a low cost job, Maaco, Earl Schieb and others can certainly paint it and you might be surprised how well they will do it. However, they won't spend a lot of time on prep, so expect overspray, some paint build up against gaskets, etc. You can make these low cost paint jobs look a lot better by doing most of the prep yourself. Either way, my best advice is to make sure you and the shop you chose have a clear understanding of what you want and your agreement is in writing! Good luck. Bob

Does anyone know a good plate shop. I'm looking to have hood latches, gas line, etc replated. I think the original was zinc cadmium, but may not be. Trying to duplicate the gold/red/blue plating on the original items. Thanks

Ok, got my Z back from the shop today:classic:It looks great! Anyway, here's the width of the stripes. Both top and bottom are 1/4 in and the center stripe is 2 inches. The overall stripe is just a shade over 3 inches, maybe 3 1/8. The motorsport stripe is the same overall width but the the top bottom and middle are different widths than the original design. Sorry about the mix up in names. It is Graphic Express. Hope this helps Bob

Sorry, I didn't post the widths because my Z is in the shop for the week. Can't find the original piece either. I'll measure and post when I get it back. Graphic Design is: http://www.graphic-express.com/import_datsun.htm

Just thought I'd let you know that the ones from Graphic Design are an exact copy of the factory stripes. They look great and the service from GD was excellent. I had a small sample of an original stripe and matched it up against the GD product. It's perfect. The ones from Motorsports aren't factory matches. The width of the lines is not correct.