beandip

The air dam on the blue Z looks like the one I was trying to track down a year back. The one I found was made in Australia, and the company is no more. Where did your picture originate ? I was going to buy several air dams and have them shipped over to cut down on shipping costs. Please keep me informed if you come up with the one on the blue Z. The Ozy dam was fiberglass. I have been looking for a long time for just the right one and when I found it is NLA. Gary

well after all that work, the stock air box provides the best performance . What you have built looks great , though. Gary

You can fine 5/8'' fuel hose at Napa , this is what I used. Do not use coolant rated hose for gas ever. Gary

Hi neighbor. Welcome to the group. There are a few of us z drivers in the area. A couple in your back yard. NorthWest Z car club meets the first Wednesday of the month at the Golden Touch Restaurant 8124 SW Barber Blvd. just off I-5 you are welcome to come by and meet our members any time. We are getting close to 70 members now. So someone I am sure could answer any question you might have. Gary

You said the engine is getting spark. When you couldn't start the engine . tell us in order what you did to find the problem. Since you have done a bunch of things we need to eliminate some stuff. Is this a stock dist of after market? What year Z is this. Was the engine ok before you started working on it ?

or it could have been a backfire through the intake. That could do it.

My 240 has a auto. I was going to change it out for a 5 speed when I bought the car. Overall the body was rough , lots of dents and dings and it was all in primer. ugly. I only paid $500.00 for the Z and was able to barely drive it home. About 40 miles. Found next to a barn. I first made it safe by going over the brakes and related hoses and a set of tires. A good tune up and the old dog ran smooth. So I drove it for a couple of years and actually liked the auto , because I use the car for pleasure driving . I live where access to mountain roads are near. I am with a Z club and we have cruises each month. Any way on mountain roads now that the car has all been redone and runs strong with a ZX engine. On mountain twisty I keep up with the 300ZXs , as long as there are few long straightaways. My point being don't discount a good 240 with a automatic. The trannys are bullet proof. And are much nicer to drive in traffic if this is in the picture. I will not go back to a 5 speed . I have had one . But I am old!

I don't have a problem with GM. I have a big problem not letting them file chapter 11 and giving them BILLIONS OF DOLLARS. The same with Chrysler. Just let them file and reorginize . Now neither will have a product I would touch. Ford did it right.

I am going to look at a '78 with one of my Z friends tomorrow. Supposed to be in decent shape and runs. Neither of us are looking to buy, just curious. Maybe one of our members may be interested. Good deals come along occasionally and you need to be ready. You never know. One of our members just picked up a cherry '91 twin turbo the other day needing a head gasket only. Paint and body and leather interior almost perfect , $600.00 not a typo that was the selling price. The PO just needed it gone. He drove it on our trailer. It's a big job pulling the heads on one of these but , the near new exhaust system alone cost 2K . Even came with a car cover.

Granada Hills ! That was my old stomping ground. I was assigned to the Fire Station at Devonshire and Balboa for years. For the amount of money you cannot expect to find a cherry Z. If he were asking 5K or so then the magnet thing would be something I would do. But not for a $1500.00 car unless you are trying to impress the owner. Besides looking under the floor mats and battery for rust , pull the dipstick and look at the oil. It should not be black if the engine has been taken care of. Check the coolant in the radiator also, if it looks oily pass on the car! Rust is the biggest enemy with these cars. Surface rust can be expected , but holes rusted through can lead to the bottomless pit in your wallet. Good luck , Gary

escanlon and I shot my Z in my garage at home. I have sprayed for years and know how to handle a gun. However not painting a car. I shot primer and prepped for paint ,but when it came to color and clear, this is where experience in the ''dance'' comes in to the mix big time. As Will stated, you need to know where to start and at what time to switch to the other side of the car to prevent a dry line. Vary important. Hose control is also vary important as well as the control of the viscosity of the paint. For the first time out I hope you haven't decided on metallic , but if so practice practice then practice again and don't paint parts off the car. Non metallic not so important with loose parts. Go to your automotive paint supplier and look for the stuff that they have for masking. Also for any bare metal shoot epoxy primer/sealer then fill primer. Sand then fill primer and when you are satisfied that all the blemishes are gone and you are done sanding, shoot another coat of epoxy primer/ sealer. I used white because my color is yellow a light color. This last coat of primer seals off everything and makes the car all one color and ready for the color. Good preparation is the key . I used two gallons of wax/grease remover in prepping my Z, wiping it down before each and every time I shot primer. You cannot make it too clean. Also you need a compressor that you won't run away from. Having to stop and let one catch up is not a good thing! Good luck, Gary

I have been running a gasket from MSA that they sell for use with headers. It was recommended to me by phred, an engine builder and member on this site. That was 7 or 8 years ago . No leaks so far, and I am running headers also. During this time span I have had to pull the intake once but I didn't need to change the gasket. Seems phred was correct. Gary:beer:

eireZ, good to have you as a member. I imagine that there are few early Z on the emerald Isl. any more with the weather as it is there. We get plenty of rain here in the Pacific North West and like your country if the cars are not kept dry the rust gremlins get them. send pictures when you are able. Gary

Allen , I may be wrong ,but I seem to remember some postings from Australia about this. It was several years ago, but I seem to recall it was common down under to have the blue air boxes. Gary

First off you need to use a air flow meter to balance the air flow of the carbs so that they are the same. Without doing this you are just chasing your tail. I have a couple of the things . Then screw in the mixture adjustment conter clock wise to the stop, and then back it our 2 1/2 turns , clockwise. Do the same on both SUs. The engine should run reasonably well at this point if the carbs are balanced first. At this point stick your finger in the throat of the front carb and lift the piston. This will take the front carb out of use, the engine will be running on the rear one. If the engine dies when you do this , the REAR carb is too LEAN. If the engine stumbles but keeps running , then leave it alone at this point. Now go to the rear SU and repeat what you just did on the front one. Again if the engine dies , too lean if stumbles leave it alone . Now to richen the mixture you turn the adjustment CLOCKWISE , to lean the mixture COUNTERCLOCKWISE. I repeat the air flow of the individual carbs must be balanced first. Gary

I am running a '82 ZX motor with slightly higher compression. 9.5 to one , I run the mid grade gas and have tried regular with no perceived ill effects. As to the different brands I can see no difference in performance or mileage. I haven't done a comparative testing on a dyno or anything. Just seat of the pants observation. Gary

If you spray the carb cleaner with the small red tube it comes with , you can direct the stream exactly where you want. No point in shooting it on the manifold. As for your question about the year of the SU, for all practical purposes all the '70 through 72 are the '72 is a 3 screw but performance and use and adjustment is the same. If you had to turn the adjustment out more than 3 turns , you have either a major vacuum leak or are grossly out of balance. You are using the bake-o-lite insulators correct and with gaskets? Gary

You are saying not a flicker of a light in the gages ? How about the horn or headlights ? I am not that up on a '78 , but does it have a fusible link at the positive post at the starter? Dave I. Jump in here. Gary

design, you say a dual point dist. Is this a automatic 240 or is this a after market dist.? Do as Mike said and clean off the pulley and rub some chalk or white paint in the notches. If this is the old original Dist from a automatic Z and the points look OK not burned or pitted, set the gap at 18 to 20* and the timing at 10 btdc. and see how she runs. Also check the inside of the dist cap and scrape off any deposits found on the contacts while you are there. Gary:bulb:

Zed, I don't know of one. I like you dealt with the inadequate headlights for a long time. When I redid the entire Z and bit the bullet and installed the H-4 . this was about the same time Dave started building the wiring harness, and I installed one as well. If you add any higher wattage draw to the stock system , you well shorten the life of the Combo switch, spendy to replace, and melt the fuse box. My H-4s are 90/100 watt and the fuses don't even get warm. I tried the new headlights before installing the new harness and within 30 seconds the fuses were so hot I burned my fingers touching them. I have been running this system going on about 7 years now with zero problems. I did need to up grade the Alternator to handle the extra load I used a '83 Maxima Alt. Gary:classic:

If you are just removing the cam sprocket be SURE AND WEDGE the chain so that it doesn't fall down and come away from the tensioner or the lower sprocket. If it does then you must pull the front cover. You should be able to find a area on the cam where there is raised area on one side of the cam, allowing you to apply a adjustable wrench to hold the cam and loosen the nut. I strongly suggest that you refer to a Nissan Shop manual before addressing this project.

the hoses that have been mentioned are certainly suspect. I replaced all the vent hoses that I didn't do away with. But this is another thread. Before you dive into the hoses. Take a dollar bill and close half of it in the rear hatch and see if it is tight to the dollar. Do this all across the bottom and up each side of the hatch, at least more than half way up. If the hatch is not sealing on the gasket you WILL have fumes entering the cabin . Especially with a window open and when you lift off the gas. gasoline fumes are likely from the filler hose or a vent hose. You must remove the trim panel that runs accross the bottom of the hatch and the one that covers the area rear of the passenger side rear wheel. You will find a tank there with hoses coming and going from the gas tank. If any one of these are seeping fumes you will have it in the cabin. My '73 does not smell, either from gas fumes or exhaust fumes. Gary

Congratulations ! Do you think your Wife knew it was there and for sale all along, and this is why she was so insistent on taking a walk? I hope so. Do post some pictures, and continue to enjoy the ride. You must be infected with the Z Virus by now, and be aware there is no cure. Good to have you among us and one day maybe we will meet at a show or something in Washington, or even here in Oregon at Canby or something. Gary

From your first post it sounds like it is too rich and unburned fuel is causing the backfire. Of source the advance/retard situation can cause it also. Ruining retarded will cause the engine to heat. Changing the advance plate is not a big deal. there easy. Before you do one though disconnect the rubber hose that attaches to the ''dash pot'' on the dist. with the dist cap off look down inside the dist and suck on the tube and see if the advance plate moves. At the same time if it does move seal the end of the tube with your tongue and see if it holds a vacuum. If there is a vacuum leak the dash pot is faulty. If it holds a vacuum but the plate doesn't move , then the advance plate is toast. Gary

If all you see is 3'' of clearance, It has been lowered a bunch. Setting that low it must be vary close to riding on the bump stops. Do the wheels look like they are leaning in at the top when viewed from the front or back? Because if they just cut the springs to lower the car this much the alignment will be way off. So it depends on how it was done. With only 3'' you will drag on every speed bump and driveway. They do look cool slammed down like this though. The ride will be vary rough. Gary