jhaag

Here is an incomplete list of places that have Z and ZX parts. The words in quotes are from their web sites. Several of the owners of these places have been very generous with their advice but I haven't dealt with all of them. Z Car Parts Sources – mention IZCC, Hybrid Z or ZCCC for possible discount Kim Blough Idaho Z Car 2913 Garrity Blvd. Nampa, Idaho 83687-2629 1-208-466-0004 Smokyyaro@velocitus.net Courtesy Nissan – may give a 20%-25% discount to IZCC members or to members of Z clubs 1.800.527.1909 or 1.972.644.3942 http://www.courtesyparts.com/nms/s30/index.html Clark Z Cars Arizona - Greg Clark Prescott, AZ Classic Datsun Motorsports - focused just on Zs not ZXs Vista, CA 760-940-6365 http://www.classicdatsun.com/ les@classicdatsun.com Danny’s Datsuns “has over 70 dismantled Zs and ZXs and has done several V8 conversions†Roseburg, OR (541) 430-1180 http://www.webspawner.com/users/dannysdatsuns/ dannye@mcsi.net All Z Auto Wrecking 793 B & C Energy Way Chula Vista, Ca 91911 619) 421-5881 Motorsport Auto (MSA) Orange, CA (800) 633-6331 http://www.zcarparts.com/ motorsport@sbcglobal.net Strictly Z San Jose, CA 408-286-4685 http://www.strictlyz.com Too Intense Restoration - probably very little for a ZX Tustin, CA 714-293-5552 http://www.datsunrestore.com/ Z Barn “has the largest number of salvaged Zs†Maryville, TN 1-800-247-2793 (9:00 am to 5:00 pm M-F Eastern Time) http://www.zbarn.com/ sales@zbarn.com Worldwide Z Parts “specialize in 240-280ZXs both naturally aspirated and turbo charged models†St. Paul, MN 651-592-9195 http://www.z-parts.com/ parts@z-parts.com Z Parts Eric Neyerlin Richmond, CA http://www.zparts.com/home.html eric@zparts.com Z and ZX Parts Gary Kazandjian PO BOX 250564 Glendale CA 91225 http://www.zandzxparts.com/ garykaz@pacbell.net John

Danno: I've saved several posts from you over the years (I save a lot of posts from Hybrid for future reference) so it was interesting for me to hear of your career change. Way back in the early '80s I graduated from Colorado Aero Tech (I think the name has changed) with my A&P license. The industry was going through major upheaval then and after a year working at the Piper dealer at Jeffco airport, I decided to move on to something else (it took several years to pay off the student loan from getting my A&P--live and learn). I still love planes but ended up going into higher ed as a career counselor at the University of Denver. (I know, there is some humor in all of this. ) I continue to love my job as a career counselor but I always feel a little twinge when I see an airplane. With all the jobs moving offshore, career changing seems to be an ever-increasing phenomenon. I try to get the 18-22 year old students to understand that life will likely involve several career changes or shifts. Anyway, I'm glad to hear you are enjoying your new career direction. John

Davy: Yes, that's exactly what I thought happened as well. The mention in Sport Z captured my interest but it may have been an error. Thanks. John

I was recently talking very briefly to Kim Blough at Idaho Z Car about the history of the Scarab. He mentioned to me that there was an interesting tidbit in the Winter 2002 Sport Z magazine (p. 34) that stated, "Scarab also worked its magic on the early 280 ZXs." I am unaware of Scarab ever modifying a ZX (just Zs) and would love to know more. Anyone know anything about this? Thanks. John[/b]

I found my copy of the Overboost article at home (I was a member for just three months, several years ago) and decided to do a search on "ABR Original Body Kit" which was the maker of the body kit mentioned in the article. After jumping around to several links, I found the entire article and photos had been posted to the Web (scroll down the page) at http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=80954&page=2&pp=15 . I found the car owner's name in an old issue of Sport Z magazine: Toshiaki Iwaya. Perhaps someone will be able to find the ABR web site and post more information. John

Terry: In one of the photos at your site (THE best site I've ever seen for Z mods!), you state the curvature of the flare on the rear fender " was designed as a constant radius curve on the front, centered on the axle sweeping up and then back." (http://www.fototime.com/ftweb/bin/ft.dll/detailfs?userid={7DC317B0-8EDB-4B2E-A837-F708D07C9769}&ndx=5&slideshow=0&AlbumId={FB2CE89A-35F4-49B6-A639-66CB748F5594}&GroupId={7D05C450-0A20-4BFA-A1F1-410D8FDF3845}&screenheight=600) I love what you did but I don't understood exactly how you did it. Is the laser pointer method you describe here the same method you used to mark the edges of the flare on the original body? Or is the photo caption descibing the curvature of the flare as it sticks away from the original bodywork? Thanks John

When you say 'gill-like slits' on the sides, are you referring to something ala Cobra (http://www.clubcobra.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=10225&papass=&sort=1&thecat=4 - on the front fender next to the car's number) or ala Ferrari GTO (http://www.web-cars.com/gto/131-15.html) on both the front and rear fenders or ala Corvette (http://www.toxicrabbit.com/corvettes/imagepages/image5.htm)? As to the side turn signals, I can't picture what you are describing. Could you describe it a little more or post a photo? John

In my '79 ZX, I used the Mad Enterprises' http://www.madelectrical.com/catalog/tm-1.shtml trunk mounted battery kit to run 1/0 cable to an Optima battery and starter solenoid located behind the passenger seat where the storage compartment was located. I cut away a small amount of the sheet metal forming the storage compartment and made a mount so the battery sits flat. I then fashioned a metal hold down strap that is bolted through the body. Lastly, I used a cardboard box as a plug to make a fiberglass box for the battery with a lid that sits down over the box. It is not airtight and it is not vented. I didn't want to buy a commercially made battery box since all the ones I saw were much bigger than necessary. It turned out fairly nicely although, like most projects, I'd make a few changes if I had to do it over again. I ran the 1/0 cable through the firewall using a substantial grommet. I used the kit from Mad because I had seen a lot of articles by Mark Hamilton (owner) in car magazines. I just got my mig welder set up this weekend and I'd still like to add a little sheet metal to the box area to really finish it off. However, I need to develop a little more skill with the welder before I do so. I will remove my computer and the battery from the car before doing any welding on it. I'm sorry I don't have a camera, scanner or web site yet since I know a few photos would help explain what I did. The engine compartment looks much less crowded with the battery removed although with power steering, power brakes and air conditioning, it's still pretty full. John

Burns Stainless sells oval tubing. http://www.burnsstainless.com/OvalTubing/ovaltubing.html John

Has anyone heard anything of late from Larry Johnson (aka Tomahawk Z)? I recently had a package of car magazines I sent to him returned to me as "REFUSED." There was a stamped notation on the package but it was smeared and unreadable. Did he get out? He's always responded to previous packages. John

I've been gone for a week so if this has already been posted, my apologies. This drifting video is interesting and drifting, in general, is THE hot topic in the sports/performance magazines of late. I'm glad the people in the video aren't doing these maneuvers on public roads. While drifting isn't the fast way around a track, I'm impressed by the car control. I recently attended my first autocross as a spectator and was fortunate enough to get a ride in a vehicle with slicks. As a newbie, I felt varying amounts of off-the-scale excitement combined with some pure terror. Yikes! I want to do this again! Here is the link to the video. I had to copy and paste the address into my browser in order to view it. http://www.prospectsolutions.com/~alltrac/imports_drift.wmv John

I kind of thought it might be for hood clearance but I'm always curious about the shapes/dimensions of things. Thanks for the feedback. John

I just finished putting CVs out of an 81 turbo into my 79 ZX. Using a Dremel and a small cut off wheel, I VERY carefully cut the top of the nut away. I went very slowly and started cutting on the nut at about a 45 degree angle on the sides with the flat areas. I was very careful to try to avoid damaging the threaded area even though I was going to use the 81 stub axles instead. I bought the stub axles/companion flanges from Kim Blough at Idaho Z cars (great service, great advice) to go with the CVs I got from Z and ZX Parts (Gary Kazandjian in Glendale, CA). My 79 (GL model with an auto trans from the factory) had an R180 and I bought an R200 from a place in Tennessee. Some advice I would offer to people who aren't real experienced in doing this type of thing is to buy the whole suspension/differential out of one car. Doing it piecemeal added a lot of questions to the equation for a first timer like me. It also ended up taking me a lot longer with parts from several cars. Just getting them all shipped to me was an adventure - the guy I bought the R200 (NOT Kim or Gary) ended up shipping the wrong ratio R200 (he admitted he screwed up) to California to get my Quaife installed (purchased through Ross at Modern Motorsport). That screw up added amost a month to the project. I also suffered a very bad case of "while I'm at it..." (cleaned, sanded, painted all of the parts with POR-15, aluminum driveshaft, stainless steel brake lines). I took it for my first, very short test drive over the weekend and, knock loudly on wood, didn't hear any disturbing noises. Not having ever done this before, I had a fair amount of doubts about my ability to pull it off. And since I haven't driven the car hard yet, I still have lots of doubts. But I also feel a nice sense of accomplishment. John

Does anyone know why some air intakes (Granatelli calls it an 'air bridge' (http://www.granatellimotorsports.com/images/artlr/350220small.jpg) have this shape? It seems like the wide section would have more volume and slow the air before it accelerates into the engine (Bernoulli's law?). If so, what would be the advantage? Wouldn't it be better to have an intake go from large to small size in order to increase the speed of the air? Is the center part (wider) 'squashed' flatter for hood clearance and thus the overall size of the intake remains the same? I've never seen one in person. Thanks. John

The December issue of Sport Compact Car,which arrived in the mail yesterday, has an article titled "Seat Guide: 74 of the latest seats for street, race and show" on page 95. There is a photo for each seat along with the weight, price, whether it is homologated, colors, mount type and retail price. Five people of different waist sizes (28, 30, 32, 34, and 36 inches) sat in each seat and rated it according to 'Fit' and 'Support.' Prices ranged from $163 to $2399 (!) each. Very interesting! John

Eric Nyerlin's web site has some great photos of wheels. Some are still for sale but it can be an easy way to compare some styles next to each other. http://www.zparts.com/ads/wheels/wheels_fs.html

If you are interested in building a Lotus 7 look-alike from scratch, get Ron Champion's book titled Build Your Own Sports Car for as Little as 250 Pounds & Race It! '7' cars aren't very practical for every day use but since they are nearly all engine, the fun factor is very high. Some Lotus 7 look-alike sites include: - http://www.locost-racing.com/ - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/locost/ - http://www.locost-racing.co.uk/ These type of cars are extremely popular in Britain. The other end of the kit car field often involves building Cobra look-alikes such as Factory Five Racing. The Cobra market is gigantic and you can build any level of car, from scratch up to $50,000 and beyond ‘turn key’ cars. ( http://www.factoryfive.com/index.html ). Just for grins, check out their new car (still in development) at http://www.factoryfive.com/table/ffrkits/GTM/GTMkit.html That should get you started. John

While this has nothing directly to do with our cars, I found the photos and story of the restoration very interesting and thought some other people might enjoy it. http://www.grandsportcorvette.com/gs/gs002.htm

Has anyone posted photos from the convention or seen photos posted on another site? Thanks. John

The Russell Performance catalog should provide some ideas on cost and possibilities. http://www.russellperformance.com/automotive/index.html John

I wanted to report the VERY positive experience I recently had in dealing with Kim Blough who owns Idaho Z Cars. I believe he said (don't quote me on this, though) that he has the second largest stock of used/junked Z cars in the nation. I had seen numerous comments he'd made to people who posted questions on the IZCC site and found his comments to be quite in-depth yet understandable. I ordered stub axles/companion flanges for my CV conversion project on my ZX. Not only did he walk me through the process, but he included several extra parts (nuts, bolts) in my order, free of charge because he thought I might need them. He even sent a follow-up email to check how the project was coming (slow but well). I think he has posted here on occasion. I'm writing this with a very confusing and screwed experience fresh in my memory with another used parts supplier I found on ZCAR.com. What a positive contrast it was to deal with Kim! I have no vested interest in recommending Kim other than his great customer service. His contact information is: Kim Blough Idaho Z Car 2913 Garrity Blvd. Nampa, Idaho 83687-2629 1-208-466-0004 and Smokyyaro@velocitus.net John

I'm in the process of switching to CVs in my '79 ZX and am ready to put the bearings in. I noticed the following in the service manual (pp. RA-8 and 9) on the assembly and installation of the rear axle. "Fill recommended multi-purpose grease to the portions indicated by the asterisk in Fig. RA-18" The diagram in the book is of the companion flange/bearings/housing/axle shaft but the diagram is very small and hard to see. I'm guessing the quote is referring to lubing all of the metal surfaces with axle grease prior to pressing in the bearings but I'd your take on it. From the quote, it almost sounds like they are recommending putting a lot more grease in it than just a light coating. I was under the impression that a light coating was all that was needed. Thanks. John

Well, I don't know if a southern suburb (Englewood) of Denver is considered northern Colorado, but..... My car is a '79 ZX w/ a 350 and 700R4 auto trans. I'm in the middle of installing a Quaife R200 (done) and CVs (in process). It looks like I have half of the car sitting on my workbench. Just bought some used 14x7 Panasports for it. Welcome to this neck of the woods! Laramie is accessible to some incredible scenery (the Snowy Mountain Range) and a fair amount of cultural activities. Hwy 287 from Laramie to Fort Collins, CO is a beautiful drive--I always see antelope. It's also a deadly section of road when encountering drunk drivers. If you enjoy outdoor recreation, you'll be in heaven. Wyoming truly has a lot of wide open space--seeing the state from I-80 doesn't do it justice IMHO. John

Does anyone have experience with the Motorsport rear camber kit for the '79-'83 ZX? The MSA ad says a 'hole saw kit' ($39.95) is required. I'm unclear how it works or how it is installed. The description of the front kit mentions a wrench but no wrench is mentioned for the rear kit. I thought I'd ask my questions here before calling them. Does anyone know if there is a better kit available? Here are the details from the MSA online catalog--there is a photo in the printed catalog but not online. I'm got my rear suspension arms off at the moment. Thanks! Rear Camber Adjustment Kit #23-4178 $39.95 Hole Saw Kit (required) #60-9931 $39.95 Front Camber Adjustment Kit #23-4172 $69.95 Camber Kit Wrench (front) #23-4174 $ 6.95

I got a letter from him last week and he sounded as good as could be expected. He sent a photo of himself with his wife on visiting day. He philosophizes about his incarceration and sounds like he is keeping his head above water. Last I heard, he will get in '04. He really appreciates anything you want to send him. I've made a habit of sending my old issues of car magazines and he really liked the last Sport Z magazine. I can send 5 or 6 magazines for about $2.50 so it seems like a small investment in the mental health of one of our members. John[/u]