doradox

What makes the story special to me is that it was "lost" for so long. That's not really about the actual car so much I guess. Other than that I agree with you. Steve

I'm an engineer, so sue me if I can't spell. Now about those "3" engines. More like one and a special mention. You got anything better than a hole in the radiator core support? Minute details. What significance are they? Nissan wanted to race and added a feature to a sheetmetal panel so they could build a handful of cars to satisfy a race sanctioning board. Calling that "designing the chassis for three engines" is a stretch. Steve

Why was it hardly used on any domestic models? Obviously not intended for true production other than to satisfy some racing requirement. It must have been tough, you know all that design work to make sure 3 small displacement overhead cam straight 6 engines would all fit in the S30 chassis. Especially when two, actual production models not racing engines, were virtual twins. Imagine the heartburn Chevy engineers must have had making sure the 283, 302, 327, and 350 would all fit in the Camero chassis. This "designed" for 3 engine stuff is disingenuous at best and holding it up as proof that the Z wasn't designed specifically for American consumption isn't helping you argument.

Sometimes even if the valves are at the top they still aren't right. The bleeder passage has to enter the piston chamber at the highest point. In the attached file the two "calipers" (sorry for the very crude artwork) on the left will bleed but the one on the right will not even though the bleeder is facing up.

Could be that one, or more, of your calipers may not be oriented correctly with respect to the disc. You are using up all your pedal travel taking up the "slack" so to speak. Caliper piston face MUST be parallel to the rotor face. Steve

I think maybe the definition of "lesser part" is in the eye of the beholder with respect to performance "upgrades". I'm pretty sure I would have been much less likely to have ever owned a Z if they had instead been exported to NA with the 2.0 liter 6 (L20A?)though. The PS-30 was certainly an exceptional example of the Z but not really produced in substantial numbers, was it? Just enough to go racing? Virtually no one could get one of those. I am not trying to argue any point, just wanted to know what "stripped down" really meant and what version Z was being held up as the "standard" from which all others were judged. Steve

Could you elaborate on the stripped down part? Steve

I went to Thoroughbred Nissan in Tucson one day to look at the new ZX and the sales guy tried to tell me that the plastic fan that blows air on the injectors was a turbocharger. Steve

When I say 240Z I mean all S30 variants '70-'73. I use 240Z to exclude the 260Z and 280Z which would be included if I said S30. Is there a better shorthand way to say it? I have no interest in the designed for the World vs. US debate as it doesn't change how I feel about the cars I own. They could be designed for Martians for all I care. I understand that you do and that's fine. We all enjoy the sport in our own way. Steve

Dwell (or point gap) then timing, valve adjust (could swap order with dwell/timing), carbs last. Steve

Take a minute to look up historical population numbers and 240Z production for the years I was referring to (70-73) and you'll see there's no "probably". Not even close. It's just some perspective. No claim was made by me that the 240Z was wholly designed for the US market. It would be logical to assume Nissan were aware of the huge market potential of the US when designing the 240Z though. Steve

While I procrastinate on building a web guide to properly position my shoulder belt I use a web clip from a child car seat. It's used to position the vehicle seatbelt properly when not using LATCH to secure the child seat. I use it to block the web from retracting while I use the belt so it adds a little slack to the belt for comfort. Not ideal but it works. I don't know where they came from, they were just in a bunch of leftover parts at work. Steve

7/16-20 UNF-2A grade 8 is the word you were looking for. In a hex bolt the head would be a 5/8" hex. Current FMVSS 209 ... (f) Attachment hardware. A seat belt assembly shall include all hardware necessary for installation in a motor vehicle in accordance with Society of Automotive Engineers Recommended Practice J800c, ‘‘Motor Vehicle Seat Belt Installation,’’ November 1973. However, seat belt assemblies designed for installation in motor vehicles equipped with seat belt assembly anchorages that do not require anchorage nuts, plates, or washers, need not have such hardware, but shall have 7⁄16–20 UNF–2A or 1⁄2–13UNC–2A attachment bolts or equivalent metric hardware. We've become a little more progressive and actually allow metric hardware these days. I'm going to see if I can dig up an old copy of the standards. Steve

U-joints serve as a kind of driveline "fuse", so stronger isn't always better. But more than likely the Nissan U-joints are Goldilocks strong. Just right. Steve

Diesel oil is formulated to deal with different combustion by products. However most modern diesel oil meet some gas engine standards too so that's a moot point. Steve

I'm with Jon on this one. A little whine doesn't mean much. Change the fluid, fix the leaks, look for loose mounts, bushings, u-joints, and stub axle nuts for your clunk. Steve

Stub axle nut not tight enough is often the cause. You can check by raising the rear, put on the parking brake, and use a long bar stuck into the rear u-joint of the driveshaft to apply torque. If a stub axle nut is not tight enough one of the half shaft flanges will "slip" just a little when you enough apply torque. Reverse the torque on the drive shaft and it will pop back. Steve

EGR reduces combustion temps by recirculating inert exhaust gasses back into the intake stream. The EGR does not function during idle or full throttle operation so has no effect on WOT power. With lower combustion temps the rest of the time the timing curve can be more aggressive which helps fuel economy. Many driveability problems have been blamed on the EGR but many of those were really related to other systems which weren't operating at 100%. EGR merely exaggerated those deficiencies. So the EGR was blamed often because the function and purpose of EGR was not well understood. Steve

The part about the plug wires makes me wonder if the coil/cap/rotor are still OK. With a wire loose the high resistance will cause the coil output to increase dramatically. This can burn a coil, cap, or rotor. At low load and low voltage required to light the mixture the problem might not rear it's head. Add some load and the coil may no longer be able to supply the voltage needed or that voltage is finding it's way to ground via a crack or burnt spot in the cap and rotor. Steve

It should be fused, so the fuse needs to be between the thermostat switch and power. It sounds like after the fuse is what you want. Steve

The fan relay shouldn't draw more than a few milliamps so you should be OK to use the circuit you made for the oil pressure/fuel pump. You could also use the + side of the ballast resistor or coil depending on your setup. BTW I like the finish on your valve cover. Steve

I'm going to watch this video so I can at least get a good laugh out of the whole deal. http://www.reason.com/blog/show/135321.html Clunk it!

It is an interesting document. Who was the intended audience? I don't mean where was it released. Would North Americans care whether it was a purely Japanese design? Or would the JDM be more interested in these statements from US educated designers working for Datsun. They are a proud people and might the home market suffer if there were the taint of too much, or any at all, North American influence in the design? Or any other country besides the USA. Thinking they are being sold a car designed for the USA might be offensive. I'm not saying that it was designed for the US. I see those that put forth the world car view hold this up as proof. Could it just as easily be evidence of the opposite? A press release can be intended to produce results which can't necessarily be gleaned by taking the document at face value. Just some questions. Steve

My point has everything to do with the relative size of the US market. I never claimed that it tells the whole story. YOU are the one making that claim. Logically, that's why I am not addressing most of your "points". My point is backed up with hard facts. (let's not dwell on minor inaccuracies and if you would like to correct them feel free). You hit back with, and I will paraphrase, "that number isn't accurate" , "that's the wrong name" and "you forgot about Japan" (which if you read and did the math you saw I didn't), what version s30? blah blah blah. I merely made a well backed claim regarding your request for "prespective", and other comments about why the US seems to ignore the rest of the world. I think that provides others with perspective, but to be honest I can't "know" that to be true. YMMV. The 13 car ( do you need the full VIN to understand which car I am speaking of?) was found in the US and the US consumed the vast majority of Nissan's production of the 240Z and variants. On a per capita basis the US embraced the Z like no other market. Even the home market. Fact. No conjecture or hours long debate dwelling on minute historical details required. One might say the per capita number is a measure of the importance of the car to a particular market. My name is not "One" by the way. Steve

Well if 3/4 of your expected market were to cease to exist one would have to rethink your market plan. You'd possibly have a hard time convincing management to continue. We'll never know what might have been. A model Like it? I'm sorry, I thought we were talking 240Z, isn't that what was found? Certainly Nissan would still have made cars for their home market. What has that to do with this? So what was it 1930-1931? Come on, the order of magnitude is right and the nit picking details don't change the fact that Great Britain was barely worth their while. Import duties, whatever, that has nothing to do with the US. On a per capita basis the US still leads any other market. Japan included Datsun - Nissan, just semantics and has no bearing on the argument. Do you actually have something substantial to say? Steve