hd240z

Here are a pair of 72 240Z's on CL in Lincoln, NE. I have no connections to them. Here's the link to the slightly better one. http://lincoln.craigslist.org/ctd/2723881129.html I stopped and looked at them and they are quite complete, but apparently have not run since being taken out of storage. The white one has lots of rust showing. Interiors are trashed. Probably parts cars in my estimation. Same dealer and phone number for both cars.

Ran across this article on the value of 240z's. Hope my 71 is one of these http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2011/autos/1102/gallery.affordable_collectables/index.html

If you are getting 160 degree water to the radiator with a 190 thermostat, then I would suspect the thermostat is stuck full open. That would explain the slow warm up at least. Try a new one and see how it works. Good Luck

Welcome, good to see a new Z-car owner here in the heartland.

I added an electric pump to my 71 and it primes the carbs faster after storage. I run both pumps during normal driving without any problems. I did add an inertia switch to cut off the electric pump in case of a crash.

I used a similar generic headlite harness on my Jeep and discovered it is important to mount the relays upright and in a reasonably dry location so water does not get inside. These relays are not weather tight and if water gets inside they will not last long. On my 71 I used some GM weather tight relays and 240Z connectors from a parts car to make my own plug and play harness.

Frankie, your trip through Colorado brings back great memories! I took my 71 through there 30 years ago and the mountain roads were so much fun I had to turn arround and do some of the sections a second time Never had any mechanical problems, but the Z was only 8 years old then. Keep the trip updates coming.

My Z has a lace on leather cover from Black Dragon (I think). Its been on for a long time and still looks good. My 2000 Accord has a Wheelskins leather cover that you lace on, but is different from the Black Dragon one which uses a fairly heavy cord. Its been on for 5 years and is finally starting to show some wear (character?). The Wheelskins come in lots of colors and take an hour or two to lace on if you want it to look nice. I believe their website is wheelskins.com.

If you have the name of the person you sold it to, you might be able to contact them and find out what they know about the car's history. Otherwise you might try to run a carfax on the VIN to see if it shows up as being sold sometime recently. Carfax wont tell you who owns it, but it might be a lead on its existance.

Actually one plug wire position would be 120 degrees of crankshaft rotation. The crankshaft makes two rotations for 1 distributor rotation. I havnt messed with my oil pump so I cant help you get that sorted out, but I'm sure some else here on the forum has.

Hagerty here for the last 2 years on my two old cars (Z and 69 Nova) both mostly stock. No claims. If you carry an umbrella policy in addition to your other insurance, you will need to up the limits on the car coverage. Hagerty had no problem with that but it did add about $20 a year which is still way less than regular car insurance.

Check your differential mounts. If the front one is bad, the differential will jump up under load and hit the floor. The rear mounting bolts can also cause noises if they are loose. Good Luck

My 240Z shop manual shows the body harness connecting to the instrument panel harness somewhere behind the glove box and running back to the tail lights and other things. Besides the tail lights the body harness has wires for the fuel gage, dome light, rear window defroster, radio speaker and side marker lights. I've not seen an aftermarket wiring harness for the 240Z, so hopefully you can find a used one in decent shape. If the tail lights still have the original 4 pin wire connectors attached it will make the harness replacement simpler. Good Luck

My winter beater is a 97 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Never been stuck in a mid-west snow storm yet. Buying gas for it is painful though. Front wheel drive cars do well in winter snow as long as the tires are skinny and have good aggressive tread. My son drives a 98 Accord to school in Illinois. It does good on gas and handles the bad weather pretty well.

FWIW from the pictures, it appears to have a later transmission (5 speed?)based on the shift lever shape and the carbs appear to be something other than original SUs. It would be nice to know a little more history, the VIN and engine numbers. Edit, Thanks for the VIN update Mike B

I agree that's rather high for a used 5 speed which may need to be rebuilt. I recently paid less than $75 for an 83 5 speed at a local Upullit yard. Hybridz has one listed in their for sale section for $100. http://classifieds.hybridz.org/showcat.php/cat/20

I dont know of a source for new ones, maybe someone with a junk 5 speed would be your best bet. Removing them from the plate without destroying them is a challange though (dont ask how I know). They look like they are made from flat stock and bent to the necessary shape. Maybe you can make one from a beer can

Does anyone make the two tone butterscotch seat covers like the originals darker center sections with lighter side panels?

I have stored my 71 for 6-8 months every year for the last 20+ years and I do most of the storage things previously mentioned. I have also built 4 wood blocks that go under the suspension right next to each of the wheels. The height of the blocks is about a 1/4" less than the suspension so they will easily slide in place once the car is parked. The purpose of the blocks it to support the suspension if a tire should go flat during storage. This keeps the suspension level and prevents the tire bead from breaking loose which makes reinflation easier.

I don't think thats a factory arrangement. My 71 has those wires routed on the other side of the distributor and no wire tie is required.

When it tried to start with carb cleaner being sprayed into the intake, that would suggest a lack of fuel to the engine. I am not real familiar with the "new" FI Zcars, but there should be a fitting somewhere near the injectors to measure the fuel pressure. That will tell you if the pump is working properly. I would expect you should have about 40 psi. If you do have good pressure then the injectors may not be firing due to some other problem. A noid light can be used to verify the injectors are getting the signal to open from the ECM. As was suggested earlier take a look at the plugs to see if they are wet with gas. If there is any doubt, throw in a new set of NGKs. Good Luck

Only if you have full coverage, less the deductable.

My sons Honda was stolen 2 years ago in Phoenix. It was found a week later and towed to the impound lot. Allstate insurance paid for all fees, cleanup (detailing) and damage which was minimal. Best part was the car had more gas in the tank when it was found than when it was stolen (it was empty).

If the engine rebuild idea doesn't work out you could pull the front differential and sell it to a Zcar performance nut. The diff should be a R180 with a 4.375 ratio.

I installed one on my 71 240Z some 25 years ago and it is still working today. It was made by Dana and I probably got it from JC Whitney IIRC. It is similar to the one Mdbrandy described. It has just the basic functions, no resume or accel. I mounted the ON-OFF-SET rocker switch in the console next to the rear window defrost switch. The control unit is mounted out of sight under the dash and a magnet on the driveshaft. It has a brake pedal switch to cancel it when needed. The vacuum operated throttle actuator is connected the the linkage between the carbs. It has always worked reliably and holds the speed to within 1 or 2 mph.