Air Cleaner Won’t Clear Brake Bleeder Valve

[HappyZ]

My air cleaner won’t clear the brake bleeder valve.  I must remove the air cleaner cover along with the back plate that is supposed be attached to the carbs.  I can never actually attach the back plate and can only secure the entire air cleaner by the two wing nuts.  Can someone tell me how far their bleed valves protrude from the master cylinder and also the gap between the tip of the bleeder valve and the air cleaner cover?  My bleeder protrudes 3/4 inch from master cylinder.  I have 1 inch gap between tip of bleeder and the filter cover.  In essence I have one inch of clearance to remove cover.

any help is appreciated.

[siteunseen]

They're tough to get off the first time or two.  I have to leave the wing nut bolts in and remove the cover with the filter still inside the cover.

Have you ever had it off?

[HappyZ]

Yes, It’ll come off and on with only the wing nuts holding the entire unit together.  If I mount the back plate to carbs then I can’t squeeze the cover on.  I can see it’ll be tight, but I tried every which way to fit the cover when the back plate is secure.

it always hits the front bleeder valve.

Edited July 7, 2019 by wadelester

[jfa.series1]

It  looks like the  root of the problem is with the master cylinder - bleeders usually point outboard.

[siteunseen]

[SteveJ]

Just keep in mind that the picture @siteunseen posted is for a later car where the front brake circuit is closer to the booster. Otherwise, the bleed screws are shown correctly.

What a bargain! https://whiteheadperformance.com/product/brake-master-cylinder-oem-46010-e4602-datsun-240z-260z-280z-1970-1971/

Edited July 7, 2019 by SteveJ

[Patcon]

3 hours ago, SteveJ said:

 

What a bargain! https://whiteheadperformance.com/product/brake-master-cylinder-oem-46010-e4602-datsun-240z-260z-280z-1970-1971/

Ouch!!!

[SteveJ]

3 hours ago, Patcon said:

Ouch!!!

That's supply & demand for you. 

[Patcon]

1 minute ago, SteveJ said:

That's supply & demand for you. 

That starts to make restoring and sleeving the old units I have laying around make sense

[Namerow]

I had my 70 Z's brake m/c sleeved and rebuilt a couple of years ago at a cost of Cdn $275.  A problem I encountered at the time was finding a rebuild kit (the design of the pistons, etc for the early-model m/c is quite different from that used for the later cars).  The brake rebuilder that I used operates a big business and has been around for many years, so they had the parts in stock.  That was in 2016.  Maybe a new stash of rebuild kits has surfaced since then with one of the Z aftermarket suppliers. If not, be sure that you're happy with the condition of your seals and pistons before you invest any time in sleeving the casting.

[HappyZ]

Thanks everyone.  Your thoughts gave me the motivation to give it one more try.  I was able to find one solution to the brain teaser that allowed me to mount the back plate and then then install/remove the air cleaner cover.  I guess sometimes you need to let problems sit for awhile before trying again.

thanks again.