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PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2016 8:21 am 
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Joined: Wed Apr 09, 2008 5:53 pm
Posts: 14778
Location: CT
Justin Tang is our AutoCross champion. He fits his Z with the best rubber for the task at hand (which is usually beating all the other AutoX cars thru the cones). He knows his stuff from hands-on experience and drives one of those slippery ZX cars. He's also a terror on the GoKart track and loves to heap lateral G forces onto his body. He presently serves as the CTZCC AutoSports Director, a coveted post which I suspect he might resign only if anyone actually beats his time at any event.
Which is unlikely to happen soon. 8)
The Kid's quick!

Frank

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1970 240Z


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PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2016 10:57 am 
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Joined: Mon Apr 04, 2016 12:50 pm
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Justin,

Very cool on you and your ZX. You guys have been great helping me with my car based on real world experiences which is great. I'd love to hear more about your ZX. Thanks.

-Bob

P.S. Frank, I'd like to also hear about your Z.


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PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2016 1:19 pm 
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Posts: 29
Heh guys,

I just spoke with Vinny at Datsun Specialists about working on my 260 and asked about him trailering my car from Flushing, New York to Milford. Unfortunately he doesn't do that anymore. Can anyone recommend a good flat-bedding service. Thanks.

-Bob


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PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2016 2:54 pm 
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Joined: Wed Apr 09, 2008 5:53 pm
Posts: 14778
Location: CT
Thanks for asking. We're pretty sticky about wandering away from subject matter on this website; my Z info is contained in my New Member Intro here:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3203

You should write us a New Member Intro, too! :D

Frank

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1970 240Z


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PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2016 7:08 pm 
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Joined: Fri Dec 25, 2015 7:39 pm
Posts: 697
Location: Long Island, N.Y.
Notserp

Here's an idea I thought I'd run by you. Have you given thought to renting a car carrier from U-Haul? I towed one from Long Island up past Hartford, CT. I got onto the Clearview Exp. onto the Throgs Neck Bridge when I went to get my 300ZX and the trailer only cost me $68.00 for the day.
So..... if you know someone with a truck or SUV with a trailer hitch maybe you can run it up to Vinny. (Just saying).
Oh yeah... You might need a winch, a come-along, or some man power to get your car onto the trailer.
Where there's a will there's always a way.

Howard

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1985 300ZX- GLL Dark Pewter Metallic - Survivor


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PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2016 8:25 pm 
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Howard,

Interesting idea. Let me see if I can put the pieces together......truck/SUV with a trailer hitch and man power. Thanks for thinking outside of the box. I appreciate it.

-Bob


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PostPosted: Tue Apr 19, 2016 7:58 am 
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Joined: Fri Dec 25, 2015 7:39 pm
Posts: 697
Location: Long Island, N.Y.
Bob,
I read on one of the other threads that your tires won't hold air, which makes it a little difficult to get onto a trailer. Would you maybe consider buying ("old school") tire tubes and put them inside your existing tires so that you at least have a rolling vehicle? Would a can of "Puncture Seal" tire inflator help to keep some air in the tires or are they that far gone?
Good luck.

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1985 300ZX- GLL Dark Pewter Metallic - Survivor


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PostPosted: Tue Apr 19, 2016 11:19 am 
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Hi Howard,

I like the old school tube idea. Unfortunately they are too far gone for a can of any puncture repair product. Thanks for the ideas.

-Bob


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PostPosted: Sun Jul 10, 2016 8:56 pm 
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Joined: Mon Apr 04, 2016 12:50 pm
Posts: 29
I'm glad to be back on the message board......way too busy working and travelling......but I'm very glad to have made some significant progress on my 260Z since my last post. First off a shout out to Frank T, Surfer D, Porkbun, J Tang and Howard J (plus Filipe for hooking me up on the message board) on their thoughts on what tires to get + Howard J's creative idea. I wound up going with Porkbun's recommendation of Falken 195/60 14" tires. I purchased them from Discount Tire Direct for $81 each. Terrific price! It gets better....no sales tax and free shipping. With tires in hand the next step was to get them on the car. I found a no hassle answer with C&C Mobile Tire Shop. They showed up at the garage in Flushing, where my Z was hibernating with 4 flat tires, with a extended van with a tire mounting machine and an off car spin balancer inside the van. They removed the wheels and tires from my Z, mounted and balanced the new Falken's and put them back on my Z. Oh yeah they also took away the old tires. All this for $20 a corner. Unbelievable deal. If you have a need in the 5 boroughs or Long Island I strongly recommend them! The next challenge was getting the car to Vinny's. Vinny wasn't keen on coming down to Flushing and trailering my car back....I don't blame him. Traffic in Flushing is a nightmare. I asked Vinny for a recommendation on a flatbed service and one of the options was R&F Auto & Truck Repair & Towing out of New Milford. Frank, one of the founders of the company, came down to Flushing to pull my car back into the sunlight.....not a pretty sight with 30 years of dust on it. After it was all set to be wenched up on the truck the next surprise...none of the wheels would roll. Interestingly after about 6"'s of dragging the front wheels rolled but not the backs so it needed to be dragged for a couple of feet to get it on the truck. Off to Vinny's with me in the passenger seat of the truck. When we arrived at Vinny's and Frank started to unload my Z another surprise. The rear wheels rolled! Hooray. I guess bouncing through the bombed out NY streets loosened them up. While Frank unloaded my car I chatted with Vinny a bit plus he showed me around. Good recommendation guys. Vinny is a great guy. Like Frank's initial thought for in putting roundtops on my car Vinny was leaning in that direction also. BTW Vinny gave my car the once over and was glad to see the frame rails were in great shape and in checking the rear fenders there was no rust. As of now Vinny had several other cars in his work queue but he will get to my car after that so I can find out if the engine is seized or not as well as an assessment on everything else. Anyone who took the time to read this I hope I didn't bore you too much. In any case thanks to everyone for their excellent advice and I'm looking forward to Chapter 2.


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PostPosted: Tue Jul 12, 2016 8:21 pm 
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Joined: Wed Apr 09, 2008 5:53 pm
Posts: 14778
Location: CT
Nearly any Z which sits for awhile will lock the brakes to the wheels. I've known a single exception; The ZMan [Mike Tubiak] bought a 280Z ("Dangerous Z") which had sat neglected outdoors in a field since the last dinosaur died and asked for help trailering it back to his cave so he could work on it. I got a trailer and a ton of tools to pull the wheels off and break the brakes free. But when we hooked a tow rope to the car, it rolled away from us so fast we had to sort of run to catch up to it. :lol: That's the ONLY car I ever encountered which actually WANTED to get up onto the trailer for us. Every other one has fought us tooth and nail.
And if it has leading shoe rear drum brakes, a froZen Z will always break free quicker by pulling it backwards than forwards. If the brakes ever lock up again, try pulling the car backwards to break them free, first.

Frank

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1970 240Z


Last edited by Frank T on Wed Jul 13, 2016 8:11 am, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Tue Jul 12, 2016 8:43 pm 
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Joined: Mon Apr 04, 2016 12:50 pm
Posts: 29
Frank,

I'll keep that in mind should I ever be so dumb as to park a car for 30 years without using it.....grin. In any case I'm really glad it is at Vinnie's now and am anxious to see what his assessment of the car is and his recommended course of action. Getting it roadworthy and then using it again just sounds soooo good.

-Notserp


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PostPosted: Thu Oct 06, 2016 4:30 pm 
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Joined: Wed Apr 09, 2008 5:53 pm
Posts: 14778
Location: CT
Hey Preston, run on over to the New Member Intros and say hello to Andy, our latest 260 owner. He just bought it and it's his first Z.

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=9074&p=60677#p60677

Frank

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1970 240Z


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PostPosted: Fri Oct 07, 2016 9:30 pm 
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Joined: Mon Apr 04, 2016 12:50 pm
Posts: 29
Heh Andy,

Welcome on-board to the Z world. Congratulations on the purchase of your 260Z!

Frank, thanks for the intro.

I'm on my way over the New Member intros section.....

-Preston


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PostPosted: Fri Nov 25, 2016 6:08 pm 
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Joined: Mon Apr 04, 2016 12:50 pm
Posts: 29
Progress is being made! Vinny has started to dig into my car and I finally have an answer as to the base line of its engine after sitting hibernating since 1987. The good news is the engine hasn't seized. The bad news is that it turns with minimal resistance. Apparently the compression is low in a couple of cylinders. Given all that we have decided a rebuild is in order.

Having said that I'd appreciate some advice.....as a reference point I plan to use the car as a "driver" on nice days and it won't be used as a track car. From a value viewpoint 1972 carbs still seem to be the way to go if everything in the rebuild adheres to the original factory specs. However Vinny and I have discussed a higher compression and perhaps a hotter cam but still with 1972 carbs. If we do that will the performance increase be noticeably better or should I keep the compression and cam stock? If the answer is yes would adding Webers, instead of the 1972 carbs, improve the performance another noticeable step or would it only be a marginal improvement?

Guys, if any of you can give me any advice on these decisions, ideally based on first hand experience, it would be genuinely appreciated. Thanks in advance.

-Notserp

P.S. Frank T. I'd love hearing your thoughts.


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PostPosted: Fri Nov 25, 2016 10:18 pm 
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Joined: Wed Apr 09, 2008 5:53 pm
Posts: 14778
Location: CT
Haha! I have many thoughts you certainly would NOT like hearing! :lol:

But concerning your car and Vinny, I have nothing but good things to discuss.

1) there was nothing "wrong" with the performance of your original Z straight out of the factory, and that's exactly what Vinny can do; he can erase all your engine miles and give you a ZERO-MILE new engine;

2) in my humble opinion, there is no better-qualified Datsun mechanic to rebuild your L-series engine than Vinny. He has built race engines which set class records which STILL stand, over a decade later. He can rebuild stock engines in his sleep;

3) this is the ultimate time of year to have your engine rebuilt; you aren't going to drive the car during the winter anyway, and Vinny needs work projects to do over the winter. Win-win;

4) Having said all that, if you did decide to increase the performance of your car, installing a hotter cam, increasing the compression ratio, and improving the carburation will certainly do the trick. The only other way would be to supercharge the car. Adding Webers TRIPLES your air intake (6 throats instead of just 2) and is almost a bolt-on project if you have the manifold and linkage to go with the carbs. Adding carbs, stepping up the cam and increasing the compression ratio can easily add 35-50 bhp to your engine. And they should be done together, not separately. Only adding Webers and leaving the rest of the engine stock can actually give you worse performance than the stock SUs. Webs require a deeper-breathing cam and the compression increase only makes sense as long as you have the whole engine pulled down already.

5) the main question is whether or not you were happy with your Zs performance when it was new and you were young. If the answer is yes, you could save yrslf a thousand dollars by rebuilding it stock. If you like having your fillings ripped from your molars each time you mash the throttle, Vinny could easily give you another 50bhp to play with.

6) bear in mind that the more *GO* you create, the more *STOP* you will need. There was nothing wrong with the Z brakes ~ they did well for the stock power and speed of the Z cars back in the day and some people actually raced with them. But during the past 40yrs improvements have been made available which will rein in your Z much more quickly and much more safely than it ever did when you were a kid. Consider that your brakes have been used for almost every mile on your odometer and like any mechanical system, they deteriorate. Brake upgrades are not horribly expensive and are probably THE VERY BEST single investment, dollar-for-dollar, that you can spend on your car. It's your life, after all.

7) probably the nicest improvement after-market companies have created for our cars have been neoprene or polyprolene suspension bushings to replace the old rubber units. Even if you parked and didn't drive the car for 40yrs, those rubber bushings are spongy soft by now and they will let your car float and sway like an old Caddy on a washboard road. You will instantly feel the difference after replacing the rubber bushings with new polys.

So if I was spending your money, I could name a whole list of improvements Vinny could do to your car over the winter which would make it an absolute joy to drive next spring. You have to sleep on it for a few nights and consider what your budget allows you to do right now, what it would allow you to do a little at a time, and what kind of performance you want from your Z. Then you have to keep your eye on the market and make sure you don't spend more to restore or refresh your car than it's worth.

These are very popular cars (the MOST popular sportscar in automotive history, in fact) and this Club is so large BECAUSE these cars are "cheap" (not in a bad way) in comparison to other classic sportscars.

So altho you could go wild and spend $25,000-$40,000 rebuilding your classic Z, you could pour far more into it than it will be worth during your lifetime.

So moderation and reservation are your friends in that regard. Vinny rebuilt my 240 a few steps at a time, from the ground-up, and he wouldn't let it out of his shop until he was completely confident every basic system was safe. Then when I could afford it, he built me a 2.8L performance engine and installed it later on. I could probably find ways to spend another $5000 on my car, but I'm already at the level of the car's worth now. These cars only increase in value (unless you let them rust away) so eventually I will invest a little more in my Z to make it 'more gooder'. But for now it's about as good as I have any right to ask of it and it already exceeds my driving skill; I drove fast much better as a kid than I do today.

You must be comfortable with how much you spend, compared to how much fun you get.
Whatever you decide to do with your car, Vinny is the man to make it happen. Listen to him; he knows whereof he speaks.

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1970 240Z


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