beandip

This is a little different. Datsun 1200 drag car. My friend John Wayland here in Portland Oregon has built a drag car that is all electric. He has been building and racing this car for over 5 years. There has been a Ton of innovation involved , since most everything needed to be invented to make it work and do what it does. Since it is a Datsun I thought some here would be interested in new things on the track. How about 250 mile range. Last Friday he set the World Record for a Street legal electric car. 121.04 with a ET of 10.4 !! And they are still working out the bugs.

I forgot to mention that my oil pump is a turbo pump. The relief valve activates at 70 PSI on these engines and when the oil is cold it will go to that point and relieve. Another reason to warm you engine in the morning. So if you notice the needle on your gage stop between mid and the extreme right . That is the relief valve opening.

To eliminate the guess work , I just bought a inexpensive mechanical oil pressure gage . $15.00. Removed the sender and screwed in the supply line. My old sender told me that at Idle I had next to zero pressure , but in reality 25 lbs and at 2K RPM 50 lbs. So I replaced the old sender and now I can determine what my gage is really ''saying''. They are not known to be right on accurate , but just an indicator to what is going on. My 2cts Gary

I have a R-200 .390, I would trade if you were not so far away. Like you I thought this one was what I was looking for.

I put retractable lap belts in my '73 and it had pockets for them. The P O may have removed them before I bought the car, it was a parts car for him. It is true that the lap belt has a ratchet type retractor and you need to extend it all the way out then connect it to the buckle. Rarely do I have to let the belt rewind and pull it out again. But what I did though is add a shoulder belt retractor, I think it was from a '75 280. This is a big improvement because this retractor is a inertia type that locks up if you pull it fast. If you want to change station on the radio or open a vent or what ever you can. But if you stop quickly it locks up and holds you in place. The latch from the 280 is different from the 240 so I just removed the stitching and used the 240 part and took the belt to a Shoe repair shop. They sewed it right over the old marks left from the previous stitching and you cannot tell it is not original. The retractor bolts in place right were the original one did. This is good improvement.:bulb::bulb: Gary

What did you torque the Axel nut too? Book says 200 Lb+. If there is play and you did torque them correctly , was there a shim that may have been left out?? Either by you or the PO? Not all use shims but some were used at the factory. On the front end, check that the calipers are working properly. If not you may find that the pads are not wearing equally on both sides of the rotor . I had such a thing on my 240 and changed calipers and the slight shimmy while braking went away. One thing in checking for shimmy is to lift the front and loosen the lug nuts and re-tighten them with the tire off the ground. Set her back down and torque to spec. Some wheels need this to properly align them selves. Worth a try.

One of Our Club members was having problems with crud in the tank and Her husband cleaned and used POR-15. He told me that he had followed the instructions from POR and coated the tank. In abut 6 months the POR began flaking off and clogging the filter. He was able to find a newer 240 tank and how all is good. I had a conversation with Z Therapy owner. And the upshot is don't coat the tank! The stuff will come off and there is no way to completely clean the POR off once it is in there. Steve said that he has had to cut the tanks open and scrape them clean , weld the panel back on and he has them cad plated . for what its' worth this is the info I have. I have used POR on other stuff for years and am a true believer , but not inside a gas tank. I hope you have better luck. 240 tanks are becoming imposable to find.

I used the spray adhesive and didn't have any trouble , but you do need to be a little careful. I didn't use fat mat , but I did use B-Quiet ultimate through out the cabin . I even put in on the back side of the plastic panels in the hatch area as well as in the cavities where the evap tank use to be and behind the inner rear fenders as far as I could reach. These plastic trim pieces are so thin and with the little extra layer it help with the sound transfer. If you put your fat mat inside the doors on the door skin, it makes them sound solid . Stops the drum effect. I used 100 sq ft of the stuff. Gary

JP, Are you finding this problem at first start up on a cold engine or one that is at driving temp? If the latter is the case, try this. Remove the Dist cap, disconnect the vacuum hose that runs from the vacuum advance on the side of the Dist, and suck on the hose while looking into the top of the Dist. You should see the advance plate move. if no movement the vacuum advance is bad. If you do see it move put your tongue over the end of the hose to hold vacuum if it leaks down, again a bad vacuum advance. If the part is bad it is a simple repair. A bad vacuum advance pot will cause a stumble coming off idle and when you apply throttle. It's worth a look. Check the hose for cracks also. Gary

I used the kit from MSA , Precision, when I ''restored'' my '73 and am not having problems. I do need to close the doors firmly but not a big deal. If it were a Lexus I would not be satisfied. But on a old car it is expected. They seal well. I did have the doors off the car while doing the ''restoration'' and adjusted them with the new gaskets in place. Expect the need to adjust your doors with new rubber is applied. And for a while , until they crush some to proper shape, the closing will be somewhat of a issue. I haven't found it to be a big deal. Last I heard Nissan still had the gaskets. By the way, those that were having issues with the gaskets were driving '70,'71,and '72 240s. Not 280 Zs. Gary

Johnny, Last year I sent my rear Bumper , all three parts , to a shop in Denver and they did a vary good job for me. I couldn't find any one local here that still chromed bumpers. I guess the restrictions here in Oregon have forced them all out of the chroming business. The plating shops still operating are trucking the parts elsewhere to actually have them chrome plated. There prices were either way out of line or not really interested. There is one place in southern Or. but his turn around time was several months. The Denver people had my parts done and back to me in less than 10 days. I will look for the info. for you if you are interested. I did post the info. when I received my parts back . do a search and you should find the info. There is Z driver that lives in the area and he is the one that told me about these people. There name is something like Denver Bumper Works ... Gary

I have no further info to add. I haven't repainted my headers and it has been 7+ years and still look the same as when I last posted. If you want an opinion ..... The header wrap looks like crap in my estimation. It has been used on Motor Cycles for years also and they looked bad too. Why detail a engine and engine bay and then wrap ''rags'' all over the headers? Gary

Just in case you don't know , and for others that may read this thread. When you reassemble the control arms and spindle pins. Put all together but do not tighten the bushings with the car up off the ground. Lower the car onto the tires and add a couple of hundred pounds into the back of the Z. Then torque everything down. I roll the Z back a few feet then roll it forward and up on 2X6s so I can reach under and use my toque wrench. If you don't do this and torque everything down with the suspension hanging down you will be adding a bunch of twist to the bushings and they will fail prematurely. Gary

You didn't mention the obvious , did you check the fuel filters to see if it is full or not? Are you running a mechanical and electric pump. Electrical only or What. Have you checked for gas flow?

I had a R-200 with 3.90s and in forth I was tacking 3K+ on the Freeway. The car performed super with all kinds of low end. I changed back to 3.54s and now the gearing is right on . At least for me. I am right at 2100 at indicated 60 mph. I now dropped in a 5 speed and it is even much better. Driveabilithy is much better and I am getting 30 MPG to boot. And this is with a moderate cam and a 280 engine .

If you can hear a vacuum leak it is a major leak. Like Bruce said buy some carb cleaner and with the engine running and warmed up, spray the cleaner on the throttle shafts and on the insulators and the gaskets . If you see a change in RPM when you shoot the cleaner then you have found the leak. These carbs are vary much Dependant on vacuum , so what you said about the piston not lifting could be correct, causing the richness on the back carb. At least this is a possibility. Gary

Mike, I am running almost the same engine as you in my '73 . I have kept my hoses intact but only running coolent through the intake . Not into the SUs. What I found last year at my Clubs Show-N-Shine . We have it at Forged Performance and they offer a super deal on the use of the Dino , several of the 240 driver took advantage . I had no problem at all but several of the other cars had detonation problems after the first pull. The ones that had the problem had disconnected the coolant hoses from the intake manifold. So this is just from my own experience. I realize that running on a Dino is not the same as on the road as far as air flow through the engine compartment. But just the same in warm weather ..... Gary

I dealt with Troy when I was redoing my '73 and had no problem. Always was up front and prompt with my orders. I always make it a point to allow lead time when doing a project so if shipping is slower than it should be I am not held up. But this was never the case with Troy. I must say that this was like 6+ years ago. Gary

jwc, to me it sound like you are running lean. Now this could be from throttle shafts being worn. A leaking vacuum hose or just mixture set too lean. If when idling you step on the brake peddle , does the engine speed increase or decrease? If there is any change check the hose for leaks. Is this Z a automatic. If so there is a vacuum line going to the tranny. Check them especially where it connects to the module on the trans. Also check for any ATF in the hose, this would be from a leaking module. If you buy some Carburetor cleaner, with the engine at idle and warmed up. spray some of the cleaner around the throttle shafts and around the carb insulators and intake manifold . Any change in RPM indicates a leak. DO NOT USE STARTER FLUID OR ANY OTHER FLAMMABLE , FOR THIS . Carb cleaner is nonflammable. Gary

Welcome to the group. Great looking Z , I bet it runs like a scalded dog. I think that is a super up grade. Gary:classic:

epsark, take a close look at the end of the fuel rail where it goes from metal to the rubber then back to the tank. The end of the metal rail is closed , but for a small metered hole. I this is plugged you may have found the problem. I am running a RX-7 electric pump only and it puts out between 4&5 psi . Steve , the owner of ZTherapy told be that this is ok but at the upper limit of pressure. I have been using this setup for 9 years or so and no problems. In any event it sounds like the pressure is overwhelming the needle and seat of the floats. Gary

First off, when you turned the mixture adjustment all the way to close, counter clockwise. Then you back them out two turns. This is ONLY a starting point in the adjustment process. This setting is so the engine will run. Secondly I don't think you understand what the function of the choke really is. The purpose of the choke is to RICHEN the fuel mixture. This is necessary when the engine is below normal driving temp. especially when first starting in the morning. Now to properly adjust the Carburetor , SU , the engine must be up to driving temp. Not just by the gage but actually completely warmed up. The whole procedures has been outlined in detail a number of times on threads in the past. Do a search and you will find all the information. It is NOT difficult to do. It is extremely important to have the float levels set at the correct levels also. You didn't mention that you did anything in this area so I didn't address this . Once the levels have been set properly the level adjustment is rarely ever needed to reset. unless there is a failure of the fuel valve or the float it's self has a leak and fills. Gary

Lisa, welcome to the group. This is a great place for information on these fine cars. I think you will enjoy your Z. There is likely a Z club in your area and you might check on this. Here in Portland/Vancouver have about 60 members in North West Z and we have things going on all the time , weather permitting. These are great fun cars to drive ,especially in the mountains. Enjoy the Ride. Gary

I would think that Z drivers that live in the North East would be knocking on your door. With the shrinking amount of 240s out there , you have value there. Your not going to make a ton of money , and it IS a pain to pull and photograph and ship but , if you have the space and time it can be well worth the effort. I hate to see a Z go to the crusher that has usable parts. Gary

zcline, Yes we are meeting at Exit 57 I believe. It is the Glenco/North Planes Exit. We are gathering at the Mac Donald's that is right there. A couple of gas stations there as well. The weather forecast is sunny and 74* See you in the morning. Gary