raminduction

You may wish to do the follwing to get the car back down: loosen ALL of the suspension bushing bolts; move the car back and forth about 10' to 15' in each direction until the tires have moved to the "slack position". Then "jounce" the car two or three times, and then roll it back and forth twice more. WHY? Because with the bushing bolts loose, the car will now lower itself to the correct ride height. Once this has been achieved, tighten all the bushing bolts to spec torque. You probably tightened everything with the car jacked up, which is why the ride height is higher. M

I normally don't get too involved with forums, but the addition of a '75 Z to the stable required a more humble attitude (thanks, Arne), as the FI was shot (original setup, leaking injectors, bad thermo switch, unknown origin replacement air sensor, etc., etc., etc.), and after adding up the costs to repair the FI and then realizing that it probably wouldn't work with the new, tweaked engine without another huge infusion of funds, the decision was made to switch to carbs. Fortunately, I still have my complete, early '71 setup sitting in a plastic bag filled with Argon. So, a consultation with ZTherapy solved the anticipated fuel flow problem with the purchase of the proper needles to use. I'd prefer using a 390 Holley on my intake manifold, but it isn't ready for that just yet. Yeah, yeah, yeah, FI works great so long as it is the new, direct injection system and you want to spend drivin' time on a laptop. So, Iffin' y'all want to know how to do suspensions and brakes, build a stroker that works, and know how to make a 4-Bbl make serious HP on any of the L-series engines, you can ask. However, if you can't tell a spark plug from a drain plug, do your learnin' and homework first, please. M.

Hello Arne, Thanks for the info on the FI to SU convert. I wasn't too concerned about the carbs. It was the "brain" and the wiring that bothered me. I didn't want all this stuff "laying about" in the car and needed to know if the entire mess could be disconnected and put in a plastic bag with the worn out FI system. I'm converting a '75 to carbs and using my original early '71 carb setup on it. Tired of fighting FI, especially after realizing that fixing it up would cost more than the convert. Any other info? m

I had a similar problem on my '71. The thing ran FINE until I installed a oil cooler on the right side of the radiator. Amazing how much heat those bad boys give off! It took me a while to figure out what I had done, but once I got my head out of the "dark place", I realized that the heat coming off the oil cooler was causing the mechanical pump and the fuel filter to over heat and cause vapor lock. I solved the problem by adding some ducting to direct the oil cooler "exhaust" out the bottom of the car and away from the brakes too< and added another small duct to keep the mechanical pump and filter cold. Haven't had a problem since. Engine screams all the way to 7k with no fuel starvation problems. On the OTHER hand, for all you early FI people (280Zs) having fuel starvation problems, it isn't always the tank. While this is new to me (first time with a fuelie car), it probably isn't to those that have already been through the school of hard knocks: there is a NON-DOCUMENTED fuel screen in the suction of the electric fuel injection pump that's cone shaped, not on any parts lists, and NOT shown on ANY of the fuel pump cut-aways, even in the factory service manuals. Fortunately, this little troublemaker can be fairly easily removed with some needle nosed pliers, thoroughly cleaned, and replaced....... Hope this helps to solve some of the fuel "starvation" problems.