Need help with my 73 carbs . . Orange,CA

[Mat M]

Don't use motor oil. Use the white lube.

If you have a basting syringe, or a baby snot sucker, that will get your oil out of the dampers, just don't reuse those in the house again!!!

[New-to-240z]

HAHAHAHA, will do. And I'll be repalcing with 20W or 3-in-1. Which i can find quicker.

[sblake01]

Use the 20W, 3-in-1 is too thin.

[Exdamyankee]

It's not the damper oil causing your problems, it certainly sounds linkage related. Now I'm not sure I'd go as far as the Z-Therapy guys did about insulting the flat-tops, but I gotta tell you, ditching those things was the single most important factor in making a reliable daily driver out of my 1974.

Those carbs were not optimized for street performance, they were a stopgap measure on Nissan's part to meet federally mandated emissions regs until the 280Z fuel injection was green-lighted. I have not personally met a Z-wrench that would touch them with the proverbial ten-foot driveshaft (race folks excepted, but that is a totally different story).

You'll pay $100-$200 for a decent pair of serviceable SU round-tops, and spend a couple hours getting them on the car and set up. You will NOT regret it. Buy them now, and eBay them when you put your new engine in, you'll get your money back, I'll wager.

Fred

'74 260Z 2+2

[e_racer1999]

^ya, i doubt the SUs will depreciate

[New-to-240z]

Well, how much does it cost to get the SU's for this baby, and what year should i go with? I have a guy that can sell me a set of 72 SU's in ok condition. i met him at the MSA shop. But, what is the rebuild kit cost and how much work does it take? Do I need any special tools to do the rebuild? I am totally ok with spending time rebuilding the SU's but i njeed to know the cost factor. And if its even worth the money. U guys honestly help out soo much, you should get a medal!!!

[e_racer1999]

any SUs will do. rebuilding is not expensive, but i would expect to pay ~50 for a decent one. go thru Ztherapy. you won't regret it.

if you wanna get serious, buy some from ZT. SWOOT..

[New-to-240z]

well, i have someone that is looking to sell me his 72 Su's for like 150, and then you're saying it will cost me around 50 per SU to rebuild them? Just wondering, cause I'm thinking about how long i'll have the engine for and if it will be worth it to switch over.

[e_racer1999]

i don't recall what the SU rebuild kits cost; been a while. if you're worried about shelling out dough for the SUs that you aren't going to keep, realize that you will probably get back what you paid for the SUs and the rebuild kits if you turn around and sell a set of rebuilt, tuned SUs.

what i'm saying is DO IT. it's worth it.

but you are going to need more than JUST the SUs. i don't know all of the parts needed for a swap since my car came withe round tops, but if you search on this site you're sure to find something.

[Exdamyankee]

You'll need the balance tube from the earlier SUs, and while you're at it you'll want to pull most of the the emissions crap that is defiling the engine. Not sure what emissions issues you'll face in California, but I'd clean up the air pump (easy) and the EGR (and then plug up the bung in the exhaust manifold-pretty simple too) for sure.

Mind too, that you may not NEED to rebuild the SUs you pick up if they came off a running car. I didn't re-do mine, but they probably would benefit from it. I am saving up for a set of newly-rebuilt, shiny, roller-bearing shaft Z-Therapy carbs, but for now my car is very driveable, which it was not with the flatties.

Check eBay, not much there today, but you want something like this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Datsun-72-240Z-SU-Carbs-intake-air-filter-fuel-line_W0QQitemZ250109705498QQihZ015QQcategoryZ6763QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Fred

Tampa

'74 260Z 2+2

[bobc]

Hey Matt,

Just saw your post. I'm in Orange, Ca. If you want me to take a look at it just let me know. I'll check out the linkage, try to set up the carbs, check and adjust dwell and timing for free, and I promise the work will be worth what you paid for it! :laugh: I do 99% of the work on my 70 and 71.

Seriously, I haven't touched flat top carbs in a long, long time, but I'm willing to give it a go if you are. I still have the manuals. Just remember, you get what you pay for and I'm not making any guarantees!

Send me a phone number by PM if interested and I'll give you a call.

Bob

[bobc]

Matt,

I just looked at some of your previous posts and realized that I know your car. I live in the same neighborhood where you bought the car. I was driving out of the neighborhood about six months or so ago and saw it parked in the driveway and the owner was outside, so I dropped by to talk and take a look.

He said it was his wife's dad's car and he had passed away, so they were going to sell it. I think the guy wanted to keep and restore it, but his wife was hearing none of that. It dissappeared for quite some time after that and showed up about a month ago. I went by again when they were outside and she said they had put it in storage, but now were going to sell it, which is where I guess you came in.

Rust wise, I remember the car to be in really good shape. The passenger fender was bent upwards, but I thought it could be pulled down without any body work. The only negative I recall was it was apparent that someone had played around with some of the wiring under the dash and console. It had a non-Nissan electric fuel pump and a few other wires that were a bit out of place. The only problem with working on something like that, is only the guy who did the wiring knows what he did and no schematic is going to help. You'll just have to trace wires to figure out what they do. PITA (if you know what I mean). This could be part of your fan problem.

Sorry, I didn't mean this to be so long. I'll still be glad to help, but the electrical stuff won't be fun...If you can make it back to the same neighborhood, you're good to go.

Bob,

P.S. When you're ready to have it painted, I've got a really good connection.