260Coupe

Stuart I too never got a response from you two years ago when I purchased a carpet kit from you ebay store (for a 77 two seater 260z) Firstly the rear deck carpet had a seam across the storage bin area and no split to access the bins...........secondly there was no transmission tunnel carpet included in the kit. Prior to purchase I was assured by you that the carpets were all as per the original, however the rear deck carpet is short by an inch, has no split and has been joined across the storage bin area.....and the transmission tunnel carpet was missing. I can live with the rear deck carpet however I would like to carpet the transmission tunnel.........can you supply this? Alan

Guys There is no "exclusivity" here , the MCC and ING property management clearly state that all attendees must be covered under their respective club's Public Liability ($10million), hence why the NDSOC was restricted to only inviting incorporated car clubs with financial members covered by the club's PLI............this is now the norm for all public space displays within the City of Melb. As such any financial members of NDSOC, NCCA, CSA or DSRCV are welcome to attend, if AusZcar was to incorporate and take up PLI then of course all would be invited. My hands are tied..............or you could become a financial member of any one of the invited clubs

Guys Unfortunately due to public liability constraints as stipulated by Melb City Council and ING (Docklands management) , the NDSOC is restricted to inviting only car clubs and its financial members covered by their respective club's PL Insurance. Alan

Try Needhams if you are serious (Old gearbox Co.) they custome build alsorts of race gear boxes for all vehicles. Ben offered to build me a close ratio box for around $2k

Thanks Dimitri..........you are around the same $$$ as I spent on my donk for some small performance mods (mad if you don't while you have it stripped down)......the easiest is a high comp engine.......install flat tops and up the comp to 10:1. Stewart Wilkins can source flat top 73 mm pistons BTW Yes correct "new crankshaft bearings" ..........I still do not think you can get a half decent rebuild for $2k.........but I must be wrong.

Sounds too cheap ?......ensure you clarify what constitutes a rebuild ? ie what are you getting for you hard earned $$$ Ensure you get the following at the minimum Block hot tanked and decked if necessary Check cylinder bores and hone or bore out to oversize if required New crank shaft and conrod bearings Linish crank shaft or machine if journals are scored, Balance crank, flywheel and clutch New pistons (these go oval after 250,000 km) get flat top 240z pistons to increase comp to 10:1 New rings All new timing gear, chain guides, tensioners etc Stainless valve seats (so you can run PULP without valve seat recession) New valves if required Head decked to match block Expect around $4-5k for a "decent" refresh

From my experience the standard Koni reds struggle to control the front end dive under brakes........I pulled out the Konis and refitted with KYB's and the car was transformed

KDRS 09 (low) and KDRS 05 (standard) go here http://www.kingsprings.com/catalogue/kings_master_catalogue.pdf

Yep all very good points for a race car and if you know the exact coil length you need and the ride height etc. order the springs straight from the supplier For a road car however , if done with some science and correctly there should be no issue with shortening a spring (with reason of course..IMHO and those of many a suspension "expert" anyways) However........I ensured that the springs were still captive at full suspension travel (ie when the car was jacked up) so no chance of becoming unseated. The springs were properly seated with the ends ground to suit the seats and the ends were steel "cable tied" to the seats to futher prevent unseating As far as safety is concerned I spoke with supplier and King springs themselves and whilst the said it was not ideal , they have not had any fail if the springs are seated correctly and it cannot become unseated during normal travel. The corner weight and setup of a Zed does not put huge loads on springs as the fulcrum points are close to the wheels ie the struts are outboard near the wheels.. The choice is yours and appropriate to your budget and application

Another option is to order the standard replacement King springs (same rate as the lowered springs ) and then cut them down by approx 2.5 coils (adjust to suit ride hide and strutt tops) .........This will uprate them by around 30+%.......I measured mine at 220lb front and 200lb rear , with the KYB gas the ride is very firm yet not harsh, body roll is well controlled and with 1/2 deg neg camber, the zed will turn in well with little body roll............perfect for road and the occasional track day. This is a very inexpensive suspension mod with springs and shocks available for around $700...... and you can fit yourself if you are handy on the spanners !

Jason this is my old Sc 240z now run by John Ingham, I bought it from Bruce Richardson in Sydney back in early '97 and ran in quite a few events in Sydney in the early 2000's and a couple of local historic Wintons. It was good for 2.02s around P.I and a 1.31 at Sandown before the engine/gearbox and brake refresh....so should be good for a sub 2.0 now I refreshed the tired engine, brakes and suspension in 2006 , squeezed 235 bhp out of the L24 on triple Mikuni's but had to revert to SU's for Hysterics which killed it so I then lost the plot and sold it (stupid I know) but the body was very tired and it needed lost of rust removed. Mechanically it was bullet proof when I sold to John Ingham, he got out of a Sb 911T (doing 2.08s at P.I) into my Zed and did a 2.01 in his first Hysteric event ...........he was stoked !!! We met in QLD at the Nationals over Easter, I was there in my road Zed, my Roadster stayed at home cheers Alan

My old 15 x 7 Super "heavies" had a 12P offset (12mm positive) and whilst weighing 19.5 kg per corner they did fit well. The new GTR Superlite wheels save around 4 kg per corner

Simon have you dyno'd the car to check the ignition timing and max advance etc ?? My stock 280zx ignition spins my L26 to 7500 with no probs (with the 72 cam)..........maybe get the car dyno'd to see what the ignition is doing under load. Alan

Brighton Nissan (in Moorabbin) 9563 9903 Dashboard Doctor in Coburg can reskin your dash........price was around $550 a few years back http://www.dashboarddoctor.com.au/

I have used a set of their transparent parking lenses, they are missing the metal divider between the indicator and the park light and they are slightly out of shape making fitment to the main housing a little tricky.............you may have to scue the screws a little..........once on they seem fine. Try and find original if you can...........they are crazy money of knock offs

call Moorabbin Nissan, they have new stock for around $750.............ask for Trevor.

From memory the lift is around 110 thou on the inlet and exhaust........and yes I can post at additional cost. Alan

Guys I have a Wades 72 deg "487" grind for sale.........ground from very hard to find billet (not a regrind from an old cam)....internal oiler so no spray bar required. This cam had very little use (one week and two dyno runs) and is as new .......is a bit too hot for my engine specs so I have had a 70/30 ground. Ideal for a road/track L28..........It has a 30.5 mm base circle dia so larger lash pads will be required Cost around $380........asking $220 PM me or call 0410 511 320 if you are interested cheers Alan

Paul at Rankins resto's was adamant that the seems be refilled with lead as it does flex more than bog and is more crack resistant, as Dimitri has said the Zed shell is not very torsionally rigid (drive up a steep driveway on an agnle and hear the sheel groan or jack up a Zed and drop the front end on some axle stands and see how much the front sags ) . The only way to stiffen up the shell is to weld in a cage or seem weld the entire body shell.........or both . 240s or more prone to cracks in the A and C pillars as the chassis rails are smaller and shorter than on a 260, the 260 shells were beefed up for this reason

Check for coupling sleeve wear on both the ID (where it mates with the synchro ring) and the ouside ring groove where it mates with the selector fork, new rings are not much good if the ID is too worn to properly mate with the friction rings and worn OD can create noise. Also check for worn selector forks at the selector end (where the three forks join and meet with the striker rod), wear here will cause slop in the shift and a mushy feel.

If you have no experience with gearboxes then I would strongly recommend that you go to a gearbox reco business . Replacement of syncros and bearings is straight forward however there are many tolerances that need to be measured and a trained eye to check what other components are worn (the ID of the coupling sleeves, shift fork wear , end play on the main cluster etc) A Zed box is great when rebuilt properly but can be a dog if it is botched up. Expect to pay around $1000 for a decent rebuild. I have a brilliant gearbox builder her in Melbourne who rebuilds Z and Roadster boxes sent from all over Aust....PM me if you need his details

Add the cost of retro fitting an L24 with original 240 carbs (and standard brakes -discs and calipers etc if these have been changed) to ensure it complies with Sc regs, also 14 x 6 wheels interior trim etc.

Lynton, I was offered a rediculous trade in figure on my MX as well, the reality is that if the dealers drop their pants on the on road price for a new new Z then they try and recoup as much in the trade in deal. I was offered $20k for my MX when they had an identical model in the lot with a sticker price of $39990..with more km's on the clock...go figure After a rush of blood I have now decided to wait and look again in a years time, hopefully pick up a low km 370z and let someone else loose $$ on the first years depreciation

If any of you have driven a sports car with stability and traction control on a wet and winding road you would be absolutely sold on it..........I punted my MX5 at 9/10s on a very wet twisty section of the Great Ocean road and was amazed with the response and the handling with the DSC working seamlessly........they just got where ever you point them ........so having it on a 370 with 245 giggawatts under the right foot is a good thing......and for those who are brave enough......there is a button to turn it off as there is the throttle blip function I found an ex demo for $67.5k............but it's Silver........boring color

Having driven the 370 I can confirm that the new Z is a major improvement over the 350 in all respects, the ride is infinitely better, much more refined and you don't get kidney damage like the previous model and the car feels much lighter and more nimble (much more "MX5 like" but with twice the grunt) . The overall performance, interior and the styling package is certainly brilliant value for money in the $70 - $80k price bracket. The only issues I found (as did the Top gear beardy dude) was rear view vision was limited making parking a pain. I am seriously considering upgrading my 2006 MX5 for the 370...........I just need to get this past the "War office" .......she found the driving position too low and like "sitting in a bucket" ........I will buy her a cushion or two to sit on As for price.........I have had quotes from $67k for an ex demo with 1000k's to as high as $78500 for a fresh 0 km car. The compatible Z4 will set you back mid $90's with the 3.0lt