mperdue

I've believe a shifter from a 280Z will fit without cutting. I've got a 5-speed from a ZX and I believe the shifter is from a 280Z - there are no cuts and it fits and shifts through the gears without hitting.

And here's the chassis sitting on one 4-wheeled dolly. It just happened to be close enough to the center of gravity that it won't fall - and it's really easy to move.

Check out the oil on the transmission. Is this normal when there's a bad oil leak or could it be something else? The entire back end is oily on top and bottom.

Ok so this is probably no big deal for all of you seasoned mechanics out ther but it is for me! I finally pulled my engine this weekend - it was my first time to pull one and I didn't have any help from someone who knew how to do it (except for lots of advice from 240Z.org buddies). Since my car was totally stripped I had to roll it around on a set of dollies I'd built. When I finished I found that one dolly was enough for the car so the other now is a transmission cart. The engine is safely up on an engine stand so I can find that nasty leak I've got. I'm almost ready to send the rusted out chassis to a scrapper - after pulling a few more things. Here are a few pics!

That Dashrestorations company looks interesting. They'll do a complete recovering in the color of your choice and ship for about $500. If you're not worried about originality you could match the dash color to the rest of the interior.

A 240Z ashtray??? http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2128720309 Michael

If you just push out the center "pin" on the rivets they should come right out. Did you try that first? I didn't have any problem getting mine out. Now finding all of those little pins that fall back behind the panels is a different story... Michael

Thanks for the tip on the Euro springs but I've checked with nismo and courtesy nissan - looks like these have been out for a long time. I haven't checked with MSA but they're way to expensive (nismo had them listed for $60 ea vs. $90 from MSA). I think I don't have a choice but to go lower - or buy stock springs. I've heard lots of good things about the Eibach springs and I think I can handle $210 for a set. IT's good to hear that those are the progressives. Michael

I'm about to scrap a shell because of wasted floor pans and frame rails - because I found a nice clean body cheap. I've got a rust free hatch lid that I could cut out if anyone is interested. These can be hard to come by. I'm not sure how I would cut it out but if someone needs it let me know and maybe I can find a way. As for your question, I'm hoping none!!!! I didnt see any significant rust at all on the new body! Yea!! Michael

is there a difference between the Eibach Pro-kit and the Eibach Progressive rate kit sold by MSA? Are all Eibach springs progressive rate springs? The Eibach distributors I've found list the pro kit (for around $210-$230) but never mention Progressive rate springs. ????? Michael

I got my kit at Suspension.com for about $160. The kit is by Energy Suspension. It's the full kit including the steering coupler - same kit VB sells for $219. I haven't installed it yet so can't help you there MIchael

There was a place around here called Z-Teca. They make HUGE burritos - 1 makes a meal. Great stuff!!! I think they changed the name to Qdoba or something like that. Both names are pretty much retarded. Michael

zandzxparts.com sells R200's and R180's any gear for $200 (he'll throw in the speedo gear if you ask).

I also like style 1 too. But I don't like hearing how so many people hate the second one. The car I'm about to get has similar wheels that I'm planning to get rid of eventually: http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=964962&uid=614737 about half way down. I hope I can sell them! Michael

That's true but most of the noise you get is a product of the installation. Just be sure to run the amp power lines far from the signal lines. That'll kill most noise problems. Normally the power lines will run along one side of the car and the signal lines along the other side or down the middle. If they must get near each other don't run them parallel - make them cross at right angles if possible. If you have noise problems after that try a filter. Michael

many amplifiers have speaker level inputs (as opposed to the shielded low level inputs). You could easily install a small amp under the seat or behind a panel. You'd just have to wire the radio outputs to the amp, and run the amp outputs to the speaker(s). You adjust the amp gain to suit your needs and control the volume at the headunit. You'd also have to run a power line from the battery to the amp but that'd be easy to hide. That AM radio probably only puts out a few watts (10 at most I'd guess) so even a little 25 or 30 watt amp would give significant improvement. You'd need after market speakers but almost any would work for AM and would handle power from a small amp. By the way an amp for these purposes you could get for $30-$50 bucks on Ebay. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1371469005 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1371125629 These would work as well as many others. That alpine would be great and is tiny - I think would easily fit under the seat. THe only problem I can think of is most headunits made these days come with a power on signal used to turn on the amp when the radio comes on. You may have to find a way to do this so the amp doesn't stay on all the time (such as when the car is off!) This shouldn't be too hard. Good luck and have fun!! Michael

Ok I'm about ready to turn my Z around in my garage. I need to spin it around to remove the engine but almost all of my suspension is off. I bought some casters rated at 330lbs each. I was thinking of making a cart for the front using 4 of these and support the back with the other two. Any ideas if this is enough? THe car is almost completely stripped - all interior, body panels, suspension, rear diff, all glass, wheels etc. Only thing left is basically the engine, tranny and frame. Will a cart rated at ~1300lbs work for the front? What about 660 for the back? Thanks for the help. I can't wait to get this engine out !! MIchael

How can you tell if a radiatior is 2, 3 or 4 row? Mine is supposed to be an upgraded but I want to check to be sure. If not I will upgrade it (I'm in Texas ya know!)

Eastwood Co has some products for painting wheels. http://www.eastwoodco.com/cgi-bin/sgsh0101.exe?&UID=2002072512513771&SKW=TSC3&FNM=20 I don't really know how these differ from other paints. I'll be using epoxy paint for mine since I'll have some left over from my suspension.

I tried toasting the rubber too. I got rid of most of it but what was left was REALLY stuck to the metal. I ended up filing/sandblasting the rest off. Sandblasting didn't work very well though - I guess the sand sorta bounces off the rubber. But if you file it down close to the metal it works.

Well if you've been tracking my recent posts you'd see that I came up on some nasty rust problems with my '73 Z I bought a few months ago from Timberwolf. http://www.utdallas.edu/~perdue/rustpics/rust1.jpg http://www.utdallas.edu/~perdue/rustpics/rust2.jpg http://www.utdallas.edu/~perdue/rustpics/rust4.jpg It was quite unexpected but I was planning to try to repair this myself - bought a MIG welder and I was about to order my floorpans. BUT I was saved at the last minute by an email from kmack. He pointed me to a rust-FREE silver '72. It's just a body, but that's all I really need. So I checked it out Saturday and sure enough, it's solid as a rock! It's got some body damage but almost no rust at all -and absolutely no through rust (I know what to look for now). I can replace the fender and door panel that have damage with the ones I have now- just needs a little work on the rear end. The best part is it was only $200 and came with a wrecked '71 parts car!! Well I don't really need the parts car but the rust free body is worth it alone - the floor pan kit would have cost $250. So the plan is - pull my engine and everything else from the '73 and put them in storage. Do a full restoration (bare metal?) of the new '72 and nice repaint. Put everything back together with the upgrades I'd planned all along. Drive!!!!!!! Thanks again kmack!!! Michael

Also send a PM to kmack - he's got plans in AutoCAD format that may work for you.

http://www.gti-vr6.net/GTI_vs_Civic/ hehehe

Ouch. That's a lot lower than I want to go. maybe I should keep looking. I don't understand why all of the aftermarket springs lower the car so much. Is it too much to ask to keep the stock ride height??? I guess I could buy the stock springs but they cost too much. Michael