Marty Rogan

I am SOOOOO jealous!! There is an LS1 powered 260Z at the tracks around here. He intimidates the hell out of the Z06's. If you are tracking the car, I hope it has a really good roll cage and 5 point harnesses. Nice! Marty

I was also enjoying a re-read of this thread. But you never answered the question on where the builds stands today. Did you finish the car? I would be interested in seeing updated pictures. Marty

Does anyone sell the transverse link supports with the ears separately? Without having to buy the whole sway bar kit? TIA, Marty

First make sure that your calipers are on the correct side, with the bleeder pointing up as Zed Head said. Bleed the Master cylinder first. Then make sure the rear drums are adjusted to get all the slack out. You can then use the hand brake a couple of times to get any remaining slack out. On new calipers it can be really difficult to get air out of them. Try this old racer trick that I learned from someone here: Make sure you thoroughly bleed the master cylinder first. Then move to the right rear, left rear, right front, and then left front. I also had to crank up the rear drums a bit more. Once the brakes are bled all around, go to the right front, remove the outer brake pad, open the bleeder screw, then take a pair of lock jaw pliers (Put tape on them so you don't chew up the pitstons) and force the pistons in. Be careful not to push them past the seals. Carefully step on the brake to push the piston back out, but not past the seals. Repeat until all the air is out. Put the pad back in and do this to the inner brake pistons. Then repeat on the left front. I was amazed at how much extra air I forced out of the calipers. I also recommend SpeedBleeders. With a 25' clear hose I could sit in the driver's seat and bleed the brakes myself. Hope this helps, good luck!! Marty

I agree with Chuck. I used drum brakes with the Toyota vented 4X4 upgrade in the front on my track car and they performed great. Just get some decent pads and make sure you adjust the rears properly. Rear disks are mostly for cheaper maintenance in my opinion. Marty

It looks very similar to the Bob Sharp racing wheel that came on my track car when I bought it. That was made by Racemark. I really liked the feel of that wheel on the track. Marty

How does $25 +shipping sound?

One small clarification: You can use the early version clutch fork and slave cylinder with a 225mm 280Z clutch. Functionally they do the same job. You just have to adjust it once in a while. If that does not bother you, then use it. For as many times as you have adjusted your SU's, I can't imagine a slave cylinder adjustment would be a big deal, !!! Marty

As an alternative, I have a decent pair of rust-free inspection lids, from AZ, that I could sell you. send me a PM if you are interested. Marty

Zedy, The critical thing to keep straight is, to match the clutch to the throw out bearing collar, and to match the fork to the slave cylinder. If you use the stock 240Z Clutch and pressure plate, use the L24 throw out bearing collar. You say you have an A-Type 4 spd. now, so you probably have a fork with the hole in it for an adjustable slave cylinder. That will work, but you will have to periodically adjust it. Some people like the adjustment. To others, it is a pain in the neck. My personal preference, especially for a street car, would be to switch to the later fork, without the hole, and to switch to the self adjusting slave. As Dieaszd stated, and I concur based upon talking with a couple of Z Racers, the stock Nissan L-24 clutch is plenty strong for use with an L-28. The other thing to consider is, what diff are you going to use? The stock 3.36 R180 will work. However, you will not get the most out of the new L-28. You would get much more satisfying performance with a 3.9 or 4.11 diff. Diffs can be had in R180 or R200. An R180 will bolt right up. To go to an R200, you will need to switch to a 280Z moustashe bar and drive shaft. Again, this assumes that you have an early '71. For what it is worth, I put the following into my early '71: F54 block, L-28, bored .40 over '83 5 spd. 240 mm stock flywheel and Nissan clutch from a 280Z 2+2 Switched to self adjustable slave R180 (open diff) with 4.11 gears. Picked it for the gearing, lower weight, and not having to deal with the R200 changes. This was my track car. It had as you say very "peppy" performance. The stock clutch withstood plenty of abuse and was never a problem. Another consideration, with that new found horse power, is to upgrade the brakes!! Hope this helps, Marty

Congrats! It is a VERY nice looking car. I especially like the blue interior. Love that color combo. Marty

How did you get the center caps to stay on the front of those Rewinds? Marty

Very nice! What brand strut bar is that and where did you get it?? Thanks, Marty

Congrats Rich, that is outstanding!!! Beautiful car. It is also a great thing that you could get your wife to go along and actually enjoy it too! That is an unbelieveable score to get 2 mint series I hubcaps for $160. You must be living right, there in Southern CA. Marty

About 1 month to go for a great event. Anyone nearby should come out to play. Nearby is a relative term though. We once had a guy drive out from Colorado for this event, !!! Seriously, this is a great group to run with at a premier track. Marty

Congrats Frank. That didn't take long at all. I love the white with blue interior combo. Definitely post up some pictures. Marty

Well, I hope that actually was your problem. I took an alternator to Autozone once. I watched the guy put it on the test jig, with the belt obviously loose. Of course it read weak and he wanted to sell me a new alternator. I said no thanks. Took it to a reputable shop that does nothing but rebuild alternators and starters. He tested it and said it was perfect. I don't trust those chain store guys anymore. If that does not fix your problem, at least the alternator was cheap with a good warranty.

So, is the radiator a 280Z model with shroud? If it doesn't leak and is in good condition, I would be interested in that. I'll send you a PM with my address. Thanks! Marty

Unless you are putting new bushings in, there is no reason to pull the spindle pin. Leave it alone. You are going to need spring compressors to get the spring back on. The pent up forces in the spring are dangerous. Definitely a job where the beers should wait till you are finished working. Marty

Welcome Paul, I read about your journey. Nice write-up! Those are some memories that you will always treasure! I had a similar journey about 8-9 years ago when I picked up my yellow '71 in South Carolina and drove it home to Chicago. I did not have a co-pilot with me, but I still have fond memories of driving through the winding mountains of West Virginia with the Best of ZZ Top blairing from the cassette deck (remember those?). I wrote up my journey and posted it here at the time. There is nothing like driving a classic Z Car across country. You should join the Windy City Z Club. It is a good group of people and they host several Z related events a year. Good luck with the car. Marty

No, he had some funky sounding name that I can't remember, sorry. Last time I talked to him, he was planning on putting an LS1 engine in it. He had pulled out a Rebello engine with 275HP, because it just wasn't enough for him.

From the description you gave, I believe his name is Dan. I bought a 240Z race car from him 2 years ago. I saw that car in his garage and it was nicely done. He does a lot of track days with it. I believe he mostly hangs out at HybridZ.

I had that problem a long time ago. It turned out that the prongs holding the fuse in lossened up over the years. I pinched them together, re-inserted the fuse ... problem solved!! If that doesn't do it, then it's probably a ground like everybody said.

Get some TSP. Should be able to find it at a hardware store. TSP stands for Tri-Sodium Phosphate. That was the active ingredient that used to be used in laundry detergent, until the government banned it for polution reasons. I have used it for years on the white seats in my convertible. Works great. Just be sure to rinse it well after you clean with it.

The swap is much easier on a '72 than an "70 or early '71. It is basically a direct bolt in swap. Which year 5 spd are you looking at? I would recommend that you get the matching diff for the 5 spd though to get the maximum benefit out of it. Your '72 came with a 3.36 R180 (unless it is an automatic, then probabaly a 3.54). The 5 spds were usually mated to a 3.90 R200 diff. If you go with the R200, you will need a 280Z moustashe bar. It is a little more effort, but worth it. Do a search on 5sd swaps, as it has been written up a lot. While you have the diff out, put in a R/T mount. Do a search for info on that. Like the guys said above, your risk is buying an unknown condition used tranny. In the end it's a great swap. Marty