qwik240z

Very sweet. Not a bad price on the cover either. That red bar looks so nice. Glad you will be able to use it afterall.

Since you are new here, you really need to read the stickys at the top of each forum. Everyone here will tell you to search first. Rear diff info has been covered over and over. Tons of good info available in the driveline forum. The search feature is your friend.

The 240Z never had Factory A/C. They did have dealer installed A/C made by ARA and others. They worked with the stock Datsun heater assembly and had a control switch like you mention. It was not a bad system for the time but the newer VA stuff is much better if you want to have good, cold A/C in your 240Z. I have the ARA unit but I am about to replace it with a VA unit soon. There is a thread about how to do the swap going on now. Do a search. Good Luck.

You can check out my album too. Should be some pics there. If not, PM me and I will email you some.

Looks great Bartman. I can't tell from the pics but do you think there is still room for a stereo to be mounted in the stock location? Will the heater and A/C hoses has to take sharp turns to get to their hookups? Keep the updates coming. I plan to start my A/C install in about a month.

Bartman, Thanks for the pics. They help alot. Now that I see the pics you took, I think I am going to try to mount the evaporator much closer to the passenger side (behind the glove box). If I do this, I may only have to cut one of the metal support rods you mention or maybe not at all. 1tuffz adapted a 280Z plastic glovebox into his 240Z to replace the carboard one. I think I will do the same thing. I picked up a 280Z glove box on eBay. I plan to cut the back off of it, shorten the depth and epoxy the back on again to gain some clearance. Looking at your picture, there seems to be much more room for the evaporator on that side. The 2 problems I see with this are, The metal arm that stops the glove box from flopping all the way open and the evaporator being too far away from the drivers side footwell to provide heat for the driver. I believe that V.A. has a vent hose that will hook up to the bottom heater outlet so I can direct heat towards the drivers side footwell. I am sure I can come up with something for the glovebox stop too. All this is from pictures and looking under my crowded dash. What do you think? Also, you may find it easier to re-install the dash if you pull the steering wheel. Thanks for all of your help.

I ordered my V.A. evaporator and control panel today. The guys at V.A. are really helpful. I bought it directly from them. After Mike Kelly took lots of measurements for me, (thanks Mike) I decided to go with the GenII Mini unit with heat/cool/defrost. The guys at VA say it should cool the 240Z just fine. V.A. has a new control panel that looks really cool. I think it will fit nicely into the the stock heater control area of my 240Z. I am going to make a plate to cover the existing opening and then mount this one to the plate. I am going to try to document the install but I won't be starting on it for a while. Thanks to everyone for their help and input.

I was wondering if this will fit with the 3/4" moustache bar that LS1240Z was selling? It looks like it should fit ok as it will sit behind the bar. I know that Arizona Z sells a similar 1/2" bar but I have the other one. Looks to be one hell of a nice setup. It replaces this: Any prices on it yet?

I have MSA coilovers on mine with Eibach springs and Tokico 5 ways. I noticed the same harsh ride quality over anything but smooth road surfaces. I set the fronts to 2 and the rear to 1 and it was a little better. I repaced the half worn out Falken Azenis 195-60-14 tires with new 225-50-16 Pirelli P6000 tires and the difference is night and day. It is amazing how much smoother the ride is. The new tires are not as sticky as the Falkens but they are great for the street. I plan on getting another set of wheels and tires for track/autocross days.

I saw this link posted in another thread. http://www.arizonazcar.com/newparts.html I was wondering if this will fit with the 3/4" moustache bar that LS1240Z was selling? I know that Arizona Z sells a similar 1/2" bar but I have the other one. Looks to be one hell of a nice setup. It replaces this:

If anyone has a set of stock 280z companion flanges that bolt between the half shafts and the stub alxes, please PM me. Thanks.

Now why didn't I think of that. I forgot your dash was out. I may just have to come down for a visit soon. I will give you a call. Thanks.

I am trying to see if there is enough room to install the Vintage Air Gen II Compac unit and VA suggests that I see if a same size cardboard box will fit in the space. I have found a box that is almost the exact size and I am hoping to find someone that has the dash and heater unit out of their car that I can send the box to so they can fit it in place and send me some pics. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?? Bueller?? Thanks!

Marcus, Just to give you some info, the rear you have is from a 1982 280zx. I am sure I have some extra 240Z halfshafts around here somewhere. If not, I am about to do the Q45 R200 swap so the halfshafts in my 240Z will be available soon. Call me when you get back in town.

My wife drives an 05 Honda Odessey touring edition. It is a sweet ride. When we go on trip, I usually drive. I never thought I would like driving a minivan but I love driving the Honda. It is like driving a luxury car but with more room and a better view. Nice powerful, smooth motor, great 300 watt stereo system, heated seats, moonroof, dvd and navigation, leather seats and lots of room to haul Datsun parts.

I read the entire thread before I asked this but I figured that since no one had responded about the Compac unit, maybe they had missed the thread. It was worth a shot. If anyone has their dash out a a 240Z and would be willing to take some measurements for me, please PM me. I need to know if a box that measures 20.5" wide by 9" high by 7.75" deep will fit in place of the stock heating box. Thanks.

I spoke to the guys at Vintage Air about the different evaporators. I have narrowed it down to 2 units. Both are GEN II units. The Compac and the Mini. They say the Compac will move more air then the Mini and will provide more heat and cooling. The dimensions for both units are close in size. The Compac measures 20.5" wide by 9" high by 7.75" deep The mini measures 19" wide by 9" high by 7.3" deep. Des anyone know if the Compac will fit ok.? I think there is enough room for the extra 1.5" of width and the height on both is the same so it comes down to the depth. Is there enough room for the extra 1/2"? Anyone running the GEN II Compac? Thanks.

I have coilovers on my 240Z and I am running 16" Panasports with 225-50-16 Pirelli tires. My car has been lowered about 2" and I am not having any rubbing issues at all. I think it will depend on the wheel you choose and the offset and backspacing.

I have looked at the info on the V.A. website and this is the system I want to go with. For those of you that have this system, does the evaporator unit have built in air ducts on the bottom to provide heat to the floor board area? I don't see it in the pics on the site but I would hope that the heat wasn't only available through the dash and defrost vents. Also, Where is the best place to buy the system? Anyone find better prices from a particular vendor? Thanks.

I used a pair of very small side angle needle nose pliers. I only put them under the needle, paying close attention not to touch the shaft. Light upward pressure and it pops off.

With all of the confusion on this, maybe someone that has successfully done this swap can do a write up with instructions, part numbers, dimensions, etc. And Pictures too. Any volunteers?