gnosez

Try spraying the seals with silicone, shut the door and leave out in the sun for several hours if possible. Repeat. The silicone shrinks the rubber but don't so this if you have any plans on taking your Z to an autobody shop real soon (silicone will contaminate the shop).

I'm game, a wet test it will be. And I too want to say your imagination and then being able to turn ideas into reality is fun to watch. I love those side grills....

I should have harness bars like those mentioned above, in the next 60 days, for those people who don't have rollbars or cages installed in their Zs yet. During the restoration of my 240 I had to have a series of parts made (and ended up with a bunch of new and used parts too) so I've started up a small business called "Bad Dog Parts". A dog helped me wreck my other 240, hence the name. We're finishing up on replacement seat brackets (needed when you do your floor pans), g-nose hinges, frame rail plates, single point jacking plates, etc. Next week the site will go official with pics, etc. A harness bar is in the works and will fit 70-78 Zs. Later model bars will come out in July/August. We'll be at MSA and the ZCCA convention at Orange County.

thanks...once it stops raining later this week, I'll do a series of tests, both on a flat road and on a downhill section.

I installed a vacumn can in-line with my triple intake manifold and it has given me back the pedal feel I wanted. I was also able to lock up (and smoke) the brakes just like old times. I have Ross's rear disk set-up and the usual toyota's in front with Porterfields all around. I've got the bias to the point where front and rear lock at the same time. That's what I want, no? Or is a little rear brake bias better? Your thoughts...and thanks

Why I haven't asked this question could be related to the fact I worked 70 hours last week in 6 days and two of those were 8 hrs each. Do you have coil-overs in your car? If not both your springs and shocks are most likely gone and the car sits as low as it does as a result of these spent parts. When I changed out my old suspension parts with Eibach progressives and tokicos, I was expecting a lowered Z. Instead the ride height went up nearly 2 inches. Sorry I didn't ask sooner...my bad. Get poly and all the other goodies done at the same time. Do it once...not like me.

I think you should try from the fenders as the floor pan and rails can and will sag whereas the fender/rockers should be at a constant position. If you're as low as you say at the frame rail, then both your exhaust (the original problem) and your oil pan come into play. At 5.5 inches at the rocker, my comp pan sits a mere 3.75 inches off the road. I run with 2.25 degrees neg camber in front and 2 degrees in the rear on 245x45x16s. The rear has a very small flare allowing upward wheel travel to just clear. The car has been corner balanced to within 5 lbs side to side and 40 lbs front to rear with me in the car and 1/2 tank of gas. Low is great on the track and makes for a great look but limits you to the roads that will allow you to drive safely on them and transmits road vibrations right into my hands.

So, if I go into a speed shop I just ask for a vacumn can and pay the man? Sounds too good to be true as I dislike the idea of taking off the intake. I must have put in and taken out the intake and exhaust more than a dozen times trying to get them to fit together (it was the MSA header that was the cause of the problem)...thanks. BTW John, will you be at either the MSA show in April or the ZCCA convention in June? I don't get to the West Coast much, but will be at both this year and would like to thank you in person for all the advice and help I've gotten from you over the past few years.

Try Sergio's Autobody in Rosendale or Clark's in Pepperrel. Suggest you think about joining the Z Car Club of New England (http://www.zccne.org) good support group for all age Zs.

seems my mikunis and a single point for the vacumn booster isn't the best way to get my brakes to work to their max. I was thinking of taking off the TWM intake and tapping out 2-4 more holes amd fitting a manifold to the taps to get vacumn from more than one cylinder at a time. Any alternative suggestions before the snow slowly melts and I take my Z out of hiberation?

The measuring point should be: front - back of tire at the bottom of the fender and rear- front of the wheel at the rocker. I think you will know get numbers in the 5-6 inch range, which is typical of a lowered Z.

Just for yukes go out and look at the rubber that the pulley is pressed over. My guess is if the dampener is over 4-5 yrs old it will be brittle. Why be cheap when you can be safe....

Got the single groove too and had one go while on the dyno (7000+ rpm and 154 mph in 4th) the clutch strap made what my father calls an "inspection port" in the tranny. No other serious engine damage however. And remember the recommendation is to use a special nut and lock ring when you use the "euro" dampener. Never, ever use a used dampener....

Ditto on Charlie's servive and the quality of his replacement parts. I put a set in during the restoration of my 240Z G-nose. The one thing missing were seat brackets. I had them made (they are identical to the original ones) and am now selling them both thru Charlie and on my website (to be launched in February and yes I'll finally be selling the gnose hinges too). Email me for now (see my profile) if you need a set of seat brackets before then.

I have the MSA G-Nose attached to my 72 with hinges I had fabricated from an original Nissan hinge provided by Mike Kelly. The good news is that they work just like they need too (ie., the hood doesn't move forward and hit the nose). The not so good news is that the tension rods won't hold the hood up by itself and the hood support rod will need to be reconfigured. That said, I will post on prices for the hinges as soon as we make some small cosmetic changes. As to the MSA g-nose itself, it took a very good bodyshop over 10 hours to get it to fit right. The cost of the nose itself!! It seems the section in front of the hood is nearly 2 inches too short and they cut the inverted portion (mirrors the hood) out and added a section behind it to bring it up to the right location. The headlight buckets had no provisions for attachment to the car as well.

I'm that guy who had to pay a shop 10 hrs to fit the so-called bolt-on g-nose to his car. It wasn't just grinding, they had to cut and add a section in the front to make it fit right. Plus there were no bolts to connect it to the fenders, they had to be epoxied in. Does look great however. Now, if I can only get the hinges completed. Hinges are NLA as are the chrome trim and headlight covers. I was told if I was to find them that I could expect to pay upwards of $1,000. for a set.

G-nose is on and the 240 is painted (Nissan medium gray w/10% more metallics). I'm waiting on the fabrication shop to complete the first set of hinges but it gives me room to work in the engine bay. I have the entire interior to put back in (found uncracked dash, oh, boy) and the car to clean up after the bodyshop had their way with it. Engine/drivetrain are in and I hope to start it up next week. Still waiting on the ITG air filter and base plate so I can punch the holes in the plate and the custom heat shield at the same time. Put in Ross's rear disk brake set-up and a Quaife unit in the 3:90 diff. Engine is Rebello's 3.2L w/triple Mukunis on a TWM intake manifold. Haven't even heard it run yet...Been working either on the car or to pay for the car so haven't been on-line for months. Will post pics of restoration and completed car in the next few weeks.

Yes, the stock hinge set swing the hood forward, which in the case of a g-nose or other type of front nose option, would not only rub but most likely crack the fiberglass or bend the metal. The original g-nose was a 5-piece kit but the newer kits are either 1 or 2 pieces. The hinges for some reason are no longer made (not even in japan).

I will look into the Pay Pal route tomorrow and post the account info as soon as I have completed it.

With the help of fellow HybridZ members I am in the process of having several sets of g-nose hinges made from a Nissan original. They will not be identical in appearance but will function in the same manner. I don't have final costs yet but am estimating a set (w/o tension rods) to be in the $185-225. range. I haven't looked into payments methods yet but MOs or bank checks would be the simplest way for me unless I set up a Pay Pal account. If you're interested email me at: jjeffery@trcsolutions.com For those who are concerned about dealing with someone you don't know (yet), I'm the event coordinator for the Z Car Club of New England and the car show manager for the 2003 ZCCA annual convention. I post under the name 3L240 and JJs72 (zcar.com).

The car in the pic has the "real" g-nose (ie., 5-piece metal vs 1 or 2 piece fiberglass). These were made in the early 70s and as such the fit and finsih is equal to the times. You can tell it's a Japanese car by the spring loaded front license plate. They're into photgraphic speed traps big-time, so your plate swings up to avoid being spotted.

Yeah, that's about it with the stroker crank and triple Mikunis. Looking at the TWM fiberglass coolbox and a remote air filter. It's about $100 more than a ITG single unit set-up. Won't get my car on the road until May. Club Race car should be running by late April. Keep us all informed...

Dan - I always thought you were a $1,000. away from a blown engine or spun set of bearings, running like you do without the benefit of a baffled oil pan or an Accusump set-up. An oil cooler for those fast laps you and your car are capable of would be the final touch to a great protection system. Sorry to hear about all this. Let me know if I can do anything to help... . 3L240 soon to be 3.2L240

I'm a week or two away from having my 240 painted (engine bay, interior, undercarriage) and body work on the shell (will be primed). The question is do I go all one color or do the bay black? I will be installing the engine later with all the accessories. I'm sure I'll be tweaking something in the bay before long and of course will need to touch it up. Which would be easier..black (either satin or semi-gloss) or the silverstone I plan on using?

I'll be selling the triple webbers that are complete with Cannon intake, linkage and K&N individual filters...the T5 will be rebuild and used in my new 240 (new 240?? maybe next is the right term)