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For anyone who hasn't seen a 69 crankshaft here it is next to a standard 240 crank

Some pics of the engine going together

Put the rear suspension in this evening. Borrowed a couple tires for the rear. Two more Bridgestones will be here on Saturday, so this is temporary. Lighting is funny as always. The undercoat looks gray. It is actually flat black.

My testimonial-----I still stand by it. "Had a notchiness in 1 to 2 shifts on my low mileage trans. Decided to try Royal Purple as that was all I could find as "upgrade" locally. No change. Changed to Redline after ordering it from online as it was the one that was supposedly much better. No change. Enter A/C Delco Friction Modified-----kaaaazzing-----we have a winner!! ~$32.00 for three quarts----some of the best "bang for the buck" money I've spent on the Z. Notchiness is gone --all shifts are much smoother. Spend the money on it and be done with it for years to come-----enjoy the benefit with every shift!!! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED AAAA++++"

Don't ever say to your wife or significant other - "If you looked this good after 40 years".... Never ends good. Don't ask how I have acquired this knowledge...

I am one of the many Z owners, with SUs, that has battled a lean condition on hard acceleration, or WOT. My idle and cruise AFR readings (have AFM attached to header) are great at 14.5 or so, so have adjusted it as best as i could. Along with SM needles, I adjusted fuel levels and tried to do anything I could think of to resolve this issue, to no avail. I even switched to triple Webers, which allowed me to see how my car could really perform with appropriate AFR! I decided to switch back to SUs, as I had some linkage sticking and fuel dripping that bugged me. So, I started looking into the different available SU needles to see if I could find something richer. I looked at various charts and saw that the SB needle had the same configuration at the top two levels (so idle is the same), and was slightly richer heading down the needle. I thought, let's give it a shot! I could not find anyone locally that provides SB needles, so I went down under to Australia and ordered a set of SB needles from Competition Products for about $40 delivered (less than 2 weeks for delivery). I was stunned at the improvement! My idle and cruise AFR remained around 14.5, but my lean (16 to 17+ AFR) condition at WOT was gone, now hitting around 13.5 AFR!! That is ideal! I cannot believe the difference. My L28 was rebuilt with flat top pistons years ago, but outside of that, there is nothing else outside of the norm. I would strongly recommend this solution to those with similar issues! I strongly urge you to make sure your fuel level (and flow) is appropriate before you go this route, as that can resolve many of the lean issues.

New old stock Nissan tools with tool roll bag. New, vintage, still in original plastic bags---- not a reproduction. Not specific to the Z car alone, but available with many Datsun and early Nissan models as a Dealer available accessory item. Even includes a points file for you purists!

Those are actually not optional at all. The steering rack clamps (upper and lower) attach there from above. (The upper clamps are back ordered and I have to wait a couple of weeks to get those but I'll temporarily use my stock clamps on the top and the new ones on the bottom). Here's a pic, Mark.

Actually I believe there are two references being thrown around above... The original pic that Mike posted is from an animated TV series - "Avatar: The Last Airbender". But I'm not sure that Zup knew that and quickly turned to a Dune reference. I'm thinking that it was because of the glowing eyes (which featured prominently in the Dune movie). So Mike's original ref was from Avatar, but Zup's was from Dune. And then I tried my best to tie the two together as I'm a big fan of both.

Thanks for the mention Duffman. The tool I created sold out quickly about a year ago and I had not planned to produce anymore but recently decided to produce additional units due to the demand and emails I have been getting. I'm still a month away from having quantities for sale but here are a few pictures.

Nice. I should maybe change that to be my avatar. Or would that be bending the rules? Ooops... Gotta go. It's Melange time!

Update: I decided to upgrade to a tubular crossmember beautifully designed by Apex Engineered. I also purchased new tie rods and steering knuckles from them but will not receive those for another 2 to 3 weeks. I changed my banged up OE oil pan for a cast aluminum one from Arizona Z Car. With the crossmember and oil pan in hand we put the car up on a 2 post lift and held up the engine from the bottom with 3 heavy duty adjustable stands. I did let a pro like Erick Pons at "Z Pons Auto Service" here in Miami do the job since the risk of screwing up would prove way too costly. Once the engine was propped up, the crossmember swap went quite easily and took about 2 hours. Changing the oil pan was totally straight forward. I rushed the steering rack to another shop for rebuild and the strut housings, stock lower control arms, new SS splash pan and brake dust covers for media blast and powder coating. Should have all the parts back for assembly by next week but here are some progress pics.

When setting doors, I do it the other way. I get the door on the car, then I set the fenders and get the door aligned well with the fender and "A" pillar. Then I check the rear alignment. The door can be twisted to make the rear edge correct. There are not many options to adjust the door fender alignment. Shim the hinges or shim the fender, but the curvature and the detail line are set. So the door needs to line up with those. The only rear adjustments for the rear of the doors are some minor fore/aft adjustment, some up/down adjustment and depth of closure based on the strike location. My passenger side door is on the car and adjusted currently and you can tell there is no gasket in it. It clunks around with lots of free movement. If you don't have that, then the gasket will never work.

Blew the dust off both cars! 75 degrees out today and sunny. WhupWhup Whuuuuuu! Back on my Z fix. Relapsed damn it.

None of the S30's came with headlight relays. I don't think they planned on the car lasting as long as they have, honestly.

You're a nut Phillip! My belly laugh for the day, thanks.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Choro-Q-TAKARA-TOMY-NISSAN-FAIRLADY-Z-Limited-15-Set-HS130-HLS30-240Z-F-S/303036340889?epid=1977125165&hash=item468e5f9a99:g:nNUAAOSwqoxcFwfH:rk:1:pf:0

Good morning! So a little updatet this morning.. 1978 280z driving better for the first time in the morning... Things I did last night 2/26 1. Replaced vac hose from Fuel Pressure Regulator 2. Cleaned all fusible links prongs , all of the relay in engine bay by passenger side and connectors. 3. Installed a inline spark tester Maybe the fusible links was my problem the whole time.. crowsing my finger and hoping that this solves my issue.. will continue cleaning more connectors.. also ECU ground etc.. Heres a video from this morning..

Head still available . Offering 44mm valves for the intakes plus a clean set of rockers . 400$ for all items . Also offering help or assembly of head with your additional valve train parts( cam and springs ) at additional costs for labor . This would be an excellent high performance head with the right components ! sfinnerty1018@gmail.com

Old hoover bag never fails.

The good thing about forums like ours -- We have the research, historical data, and the experience to help! I saw this photo and thought I would share.

So I've been busy okay? But yesterday I finally got the eastwood tool out and have to report I like it more than the FedHill tool. Makes the same high quality flares, but it has features which makes it easier to use too. The clamp release is faster and easier to use, and the unique feature that helps you "zero" the tube position at the beginning of the operation is so slick. There is a flat face on the turret that you use to push the tubing flush with the die block, rather than the Fedhill tool that makes you either visually line it up, or use some other flat 'thing' to manually set the start position. It even breaks down for storage more easily. Pretty slick system. All this said, my Fedhill tool is pretty slick compared to most of the other tools out there. It's still available. While I'm here, I have to mention the tool I use when I have to make on-the-car flares. The picture of it below gives you the idea. It's well made, makes good flares. Eastwood has one, I bought mine from Ebay. Now if someone would come up with a system that reminds me to put the nut on the tubing, THEN make the flare...

Thanks, Phil, was trying to source the measurements to do a side by side comparison, very helpful!

Just a meow next to kats' ROAR. If anyone out there has an interest in owning one for their Z---let me know.

STOP!!! That long straight pipe will DRONE like hell. You will need a glass pack in the middle to break up the resonance. Reference: http://atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/exhaust/index.html

In my case (being a plastic surgeon) I'd rather sit on broken glass than say that! ??

Its been awhile, however the refreshtoration continues! The PO had jammed a lot of bondo in the back end of the dog legs, so new panels were in order on both sides. Also new spindles, bushings, paint and seals for the glass. More pics coming shortly. :)

No, CO, I did not create a thread about this in the past. I read other threads about fuel levels, fuel pressure, etc. I even learned how to rebuild SUs and bought old sets, rebuilt them and sold about 15 sets on eBay! I learned a lot about how they worked, but I could never get my SUs to attain desired performance on my Z. I guess after a while I just decided to live with it! My triple Weber adventure taught me that I can get more from my Z than what I was able to get with SUs. There had to be something I was missing, that other people were able to attain great results with SUs and there was no reason I could not either. So, pursued a variable I thought would make a difference and solve my problem; needles that allow more fuel on acceleration or WOT!

Thanks, Phil, I should have included the link! Sent from my iPhone using Classic Zcar Club mobile

So far, so good, got everything in, took it for a joy ride and it lives. Need to get the fuel pump back to the relays from the switch, and put the skid plate back on, but first, the timing. I'm reading 10 degrees BTDC in the manual under tune up but, I can't tell what the numbers are on the piece mounted on the engine. Worn down. Now i'll have to jack the car up to get to the crank to turn it and line it up. This car is turning out to be fun. Thanks everyone, We are going to be driving it around tonight and tomorrow and see if we can flush out any problems, i'll report back. In summary it seems it was a combination of the fusible links, the fuel relay, the alternator, and the battery. All the joys of classic cars.

That's pretty funny Wayne! I keep sneeking in to take a look every now and then myself. My wife thinks I'm obsessed. Imagine that!

@dmorales-bello Dave - You SERIOUSLY need to warn people of upcoming Z porn with those pictures you posted.. Those are some really SWEET parts. Nice... Drool... I'll be over in the corner looking at those pictures a little bit more... Wayne

It's the spice

Happy birthday to both of you! bartsscooterservice, You should send me one of those valve compressor tools for your birthday!

After contemplating the various options for replacement engines, I decided very early on I wanted to maintain the "look" of the stock engine and mod it in ways to get a little better performance and sound. In the end, I found a used stroker motor for the car that saved me thousands in a build, along with giving me the look I was seeking in the engine bay. RB's are great to drive and they have a big "wow" factor too. But they are also a lot more work to install, support, upgrade... and engine management becomes an issue as well. $$$$$ Swapping in a V8 gives you awesome torque and straightline performance, but steals the spirit of the car... and $$$$ again, mostly for the supporting mods. If a stroker is not available for a decent price, the next best thing is a clean L28 with your choice of FI or carbs. Lots of fun, great to look at and smiles for miles!

Mine is today. I went golfing, because I'm a glutton for punishment!

So it has been a while. I hope the video posts correctly. 20190224_161240.mp4

Just finished the transmission here's a few photos.

One would think that it wouldn't be too difficult to employ a phone's motion sensor and a NFC chip in the steering wheel to block phone use in the driver's seat while the car was moving. But, that would probably add 75¢ to the cost of every new car so it probably won't happen. Dennis