jazzsax

I had mine painted exactly one year ago. Body work was mainly door dings with one exception, a watermelon size dent in RR panel. I REALLY got a bunch of bids. Maybe a dozen or more, but more important was getting a feeling for the shop I would be dealing with. Prices were from about $2500 to $5000. With me doing some of the chrome and trim removal. I was in no hurry and after getting bids for many months I selected a shop that had several nice looking paint jobs on the floor. They were also very hungry for business. End result was body work and 2 stage paint for $3000. I also was notified after each stage of the process and was able to see the work as it progressed. Here is the result.

Not much in San Jose what you might call "touristy". You might try Santana Row, which is made to look like a European street. Many locals go there on weekends, trendy, and many restaurants and a hotel. Maybe a little too commercial for a secluded dinner, but many outdoor places again like european bistros. Maybe San Jose's version of SF pier 39 or Monterey's cannery row. Nice secluded but expensive place in Almaden, La Foret restaurant. About 10 mi. so. of downtown. hope this helps. http://www.santanarow.com/concierge/tourists/

I am in San Jose but have never heard of any place that rents Z's. If you guys have any other information, I would check it out for you. Let me know.

One thing I forgot to mention is that most new 2 way speakers have the tweeter in the center which rises above the the perimeter. They are supposed to be top mounted so that the speaker grille sits on the outside of the interior panel of the car. I mounted my speakers in back of the panel and used washers to further space the speaker in back of the panel so the tweeter was closer to being flush with the interior panel. My installation did not use the speaker grilles but used the original holes that were in the panel to let the sound out. There is a slight bulge in the interior panel that really is not apparent unless you are really looking for it.

I just finished making my own speaker bracket. I posted for a used one here with no results. Finally I just traced the original one on a scrap of plastic from TAP Plastic ($1). After about 1/2 hr of sabre saw and drilling holes a match was made. By the way several comments were made here about the poor placement of the speakers, near the extreme rear of the car and facing each other, but I found that overall sound is not hampered at all. And besides the placement in back of the plastic panels is clean looking. The only problem is if you don't have an original bracket to get a pattern from. Installing the speaker on the RT rear was tight because of the gas vapor hoses located there, but it worked. Also seal the speaker and bracket with foam wherever they touch the bracket and panels. good luck.

I wouldn't be able to get in or out of the Z with those seats

at-jeff, It may have been a Prizm, not sure. I've been looking of pics of Metros on the net and can't see any trim that looks like mine. Prizm pics show trim but not close enough to compart to mine. Anyway the most difficult part to cover are the bolts in the rear bumper and bumper guards. Make sure you go to a pic & pull with a tape measure and just start your search. I must have pulled parts of trim off of 10 cars before I found the right one. I believe 1 1/4"-1 3/8" should do it. BUT you will find that there is quite a difference in their flexibility. The rear corners require quite a turn. While using 3M trim tape I also used masking tape vertically about every 2" to make sure the pieces held their position overnight. Good luck

I replaced the 4 rubber bumper pieces on my 240. They were so dry that clothing would get black from rubbing against them. I found the correct width on a Geo in a wrecking yard. I used the 4 pieces, one from each door to do the four bumper corners. Each of the pieces has a finished end for a nice look. 3M two sided tape does a great job. before installing I bent each piece to approximate the curve of the bumper and let them sit overnight in the curved form. Actually other rubber trim I also tried didn't bend and hold it's shape as the one I eventually used. Non Z owners wouldn't notice the change. Saved $200 compared to the cost of new rubber.

No. Calif.-San Jose

Hi, I have the same problem with a weatherstrip kit from Black Dragon. Window rubber OK but doors and hatch won't close. I found a decent 240 part out with good rubber and will be pulling new out and replacing with old. BD rubber does not even look close to orig. I'll try to post pics. of the two.

Call me cheap but, I was at Home Depot and spotted what I think is roofing paper that is used for the 1st layer of a roofing job. A few days before I was looking at Dyanmat type material and the Home Depot product looked very similar. The roofing stuff comes in a 6" wide roll I think 25' long for about $20. The audio mat stuff can be very expensive. Anyway since my car was torn apart I put some of the home depot stuff in the doors and on the inner rear quarter panels. (basically places where it won't be visable). The car seems quieter, but as yet I haven't got it put together and on the road. The one drawback to the HD stuff is that both sides are sticky so you should keep the plastic attached to it. The guy at Home Depot said they were selling a lot of this stuff to guys who are using it "in the wheel wells". I would assume that they are lining their fenders with it instead of Dynamat. Anyway so far so good.

Does anyone have a speaker bracket for sale? Mine was located at the right rear of my 240, near the antenna.

OK here's what I am trying to do-I have removed orig. seat belts from my '71 240z. I have found retractors from I think a 260/280 and they are mounted above the rear 1/4 windows (where the originals were removed from). They have no belt material in them. I want to get rid of the old style belts that have the lap belt attached near the door sill and then are attached to the shoulder belt at the latch. I have obtained all the parts and nylon belt material to convert the seat belts into 2 anchor system like on newer cars. This is where the belt is anchored in 2 places and the piece that latches into the latch slides along the belt material and then clicked into the latch. The question if anyone has this kind of system, how long should the belt be when fully pulled out of the retractor to the anchor point at the door sill? I want it long enough to reach around to be latched but not too long that it flops around when not in use. I hope I've explained it clear enough. thanks

Thanks, they are correct now;)

Well I am putting my 240 back together after paint. I can't remember the correct positioning of the FRONT side marker lenses. Looking down from the top of the front fender, does the thicker part of the lens face front or rear? The rear lenses look correct with wide part facing rear, but the fronts to me look ok both ways. thanks

"Really, the best way to protect your dash would be with a dash mat" I'm not sure I would do that. I had one on another car and while displaying it at a show I slipped my hand under the mat. It was extremely hot. So I uncovered half of the dash and checked it after about 1/2 hr. THE UNCOVRED PART OF THE DASH WAS MUCH COOLER !! Again, beware.

My son called me from Best Buy about 9:00 PM and they still had GPS systems for $79. I checked the net while he was still on the phone and the best sale price was $179. We now own 2. The store was empty Black Fri. evening.

It all depends on the cashier. I have a Studebaker that I was looking for parts for and ran across a fairly complete car. I got the entire dash instrument cluster with all gauges, radio, door and window handles (inside and out) door latches all for $35. As for 240 '60,'80 Z's, four or five years the local pic&pull would always have 3 or four to pull from. Now none.

Did you get the seats? How easy to install? How is the fit? Pictures Thanks

I have a chance to buy a pair of 300zx leather seats. The problem is that the car is in the shop and I won't have a chance to see if they fit when I take a look at them. I have searched but have not found a definate answer. Do they fit? have pictures? I don't mind fabricating the supports or rails, I just want to know, or see if they fit. Edit-the seats I will be looking at are power seats. I don't intend to use power, but are they too large? thanks

Cold air problem could be that the cable from the lever to the regulator, has broken. I think its called a regulator, anyway it is located under the dash on the inside of the firewall near the blower motor. I have had 3 of the regulators go out and at least 2 cables. If it is just the cable you can check it out by moving the lever (near the radio) back and forth. If there is little or no restance it could be the cabls. Mine has been that way for about a year. If so, and you need heat, you can manually reach under the dash to move the lever on the regulator to allow heat in the passenge area.

I am about to do carpet on my 240. What type of padding did you use to go under the new carpet? My padding is a bit tattered and worn after 35 yrs.

I have antique or classic type insurance in a Studebaker that is also fairly inexpensive, BUT driving is limited to 2,000 a year AND only to shows and car events (pleasure?). Read the fine print. If yours is 6-7,000 mi. per year that's great. If so, post the insurance company, I would be interested as my '71 is in the restoration process now. Thanks

The left rear panel is removed and early next week I will gas up and try to find the leak. Another symptom that I failed to mention is that if I drive after refueling the furms greatly decrease after about 20 miles. I hope that means the leak is higher up in the system. Also when overfilling there is raw fuel dripping on the ground below the filler but from in the fender area. All ideas still appreciated.

Holy C**p I took the right rear plastic panel off to access the overflow tank. What a maze of tubes! That being said, all of the hoses look to be OK with the exception of the grommets that seal the hoses that go from the rear deck to under the deck. Could these grommets allow gas vapor into the interior? thanks