Weasel73240Z

I don't know about everybody else in New England, but my rule is, the Z goes into the garage until after the last snowstorm, and at least 2 or 3 days of rain, to wash away the road salt. By my calculation, we are getting the rain we need this weekend! Finished my R/T mount upgrade last night, changed the oil/filter, rotated the tires. As long as there's no more snow (fingers crossed) the Z returns to the road next week! :laugh:

White smoke, along with the other symptoms, makes me think you're getting coolant into the combustion chambers. Maybe a leak in the carb warming lines, if you use them? I had that in my '73 when I bought it. And if you think SU's are tough to tune, good luck with the triples!:classic:

Welcome to the club, and if you love it now, wait til you drive it. Unfortunately, I went into my partial restoration thinking I'd spend around $3,000, on top of the $3,800 I paid for my Z. About $6,000 later, I'm just about done, and it sounds like mine was in much better shape than yours is now. And I did everything except rebuilding the cylinder head myself. I guess I'm just saying, $1,500 is gonna go quickly based on your description of the car. Not looking to burst your bubble, just being realistic so you can plan accordingly. Good luck!

Usually, the fix is rebuilding the tranny, unless you have a clutch adjustment issue. But if it was clutch, you'd probably have issues in all of the gears. I had the same problem with the 5-speed I installed, then removed, last year. Gonna have it rebuilt this coming Winter.

I know it's been covered, ad nauseum. Call my post an advertisement for you guys who fabricate them. Excellent upgrade!

I finally got around to installing my RT differential mount this weekend. I got it from Brad (roostmonkey) over at hybridZ. Brad fabricated a bunch in his shop in MA out of heavy plate (+/- 3/16"), and it uses an Energy Suspension GM tranny mount. Very good quality. Unfortunately, I think I got one of the last few that he had. I just gotta say, I am very impressed with this upgrade. I can't wait to feel how much crisper the car accelerates and shifts with all of the slop taken out of the driveshaft. Even with a brand new Nissan differential mount and a good arrestor strap, I couldn't believe how much the nose of the differential could move (just by hand) with the original design. It must have been jumping all over when I launched, and shifted hard. That movement of the differential had to steal a lot of torque that should've been getting to the rear wheels. I'll post a few pics of the conversion when I get home. It went pretty smoothly, and took about 2 - 3 hours (I took my time). If anyone can talk Brad into fabricating another run of these things, they are well worth the money.

The motor is tight as a drum, only 28,000 original miles, and it runs great. I guess it just sounds to me like I'm pushing it really hard at 4,000+ on the highway. Probably because I've always owned torquey, American V8's before the Z. Gas mileage is no concern. I drive the car pretty hard, and usually have my right foot jammed pretty hard into the accelerator. I only drive the car in nice weather, once or twice a week, and nice weather in MA lasts about 4 months at best. I think last year I put 1,050 miles on it. That's for the input guys. I'm gonna swap in my RT diff. mount and keep the 4-speed for 1 more season.

Get the ZTherapy video. It'll be the best $20 you spend if you're gonna own a carb'd Z. If you have a stuck choke nozzle, it'll never run right.

I have a 5-speed to go into my 73, but I don't have the free cash right now to have it rebuilt. I actually enjoy driving the car around the city with the 4-speed/4.11 combo, but it revs awfully high on the highway. I'm going to have the 5-speed rebuilt next Winter, but it's just not in the budget for this season, after a whole bunch of non-car expenses cropped up this year. My question is, should I be concerned with driving the car at 3,500 - 4,000 RPMs for an hour or so on the highway? Of course, that's only 1/2 way to the redline, but I just feel like I'm pushing the car too hard when I drive it at 65 or 70 mph for long periods of time. Am I being overly protective of my beloved Z? Any input would be appreciated.

First thing to check is the timing. If you were off by 1 notch when you installed the new chain, it won't run right. Have you double (and triple) checked to make sure your initial ignition timing is right? Turning over and popping sound like timing to me.

Theres a 280ZX at Helping Hands, on Route 1 in Foxboro, MA (just off of rt. 495 heading towards Gilette Stadium) if anyone is interested. Its rusted to hell (probably too badly to save) but the writing on the windshield says it runs good. Its an automatic, non-turbo. Looks like either 113,000 or 213,000 miles on the clock. Probably some good parts. Looks like they're asking $750.

I'm with Stevef on this one. Based on the visible bondo at the doglegs, etc., I'm guessing what's underneath is probably pretty bad. My Z looked much better when I bought it, but once I started digging into the "minor surface rust", I found quite a bit of actual, structural rust. Like Stevef, I did all the work myself so the cost wasn't too high, but it took around 100 hours for me to do all of the metal fabrication and rust repair.

Good to see another Southeastern MA Z owner. Not too many of us New Englanders on here. I'd love to check out the car in person when we get them back on the road in a few months.

Although I "found" my 73 on Craigslist, it was in the ladies barn/garage when I picked it up. It had been there for about 7 - 8 years. She was the original owner (with all paperwork), the car is all original, bought at Fireside Datsun in Attleboro, Mass., matching numbers, very clean interior, and only had 26,000 miles on the clock. Pretty good find here in Massachusetts, where only a few of these cars survived.

That sucks. You can probably just remove the fuel bowl and send that back to ZT rather than taking the carb off.

I paid $250 for my 79 ZX 5-speed, and I'm getting quotes of around $600 (to as high as $1,100) for a complete rebuild here in MA.

Here's mine, if this helps. I got a reducer at AutoZone (3/4" to 5/8", I think) for connecting the two different diameter hoses.

I use Hagerty also, and I think my premium this year was $130. But my stated value is only $12,000. Maybe I should bump that up? I definitely drive less than 3K a year.

I don't have kids, but I can tell you that the hundreds (maybe thousands) of hours I spent in the garage with my Dad restoring Mustangs and Vettes when I was growing up, are probably my best memories with him.

You aren't getting 250 or 300 hp out of an L6 without some serious cash, probably 5K to start, at least. If the rest of the car is in great condition, and worth that kind of investment, go for it. If you can get the turbo L6 going, that would get you in the 200's and pretty fast. If you want 300 hp and mid-12's, I think the V8 swap is the easiest and cheapest way to get it.

Since you're in Houston, I wouldn't bother with re-attaching the coolant lines. The lines are really to improve warm-up, not cooling, and I assume warming up in Houston is no problem. It just looks so much cleaner without them. My 2....

Bolted my new ZTherapy's up, and it started right up (once I got a timing issue straightened out). One quick adjustment with the Uni-sys for high rpm balance, and they've been set ever since.

Here's a pic of Jeff's 72 VZ car. I saw it at a New England Z Car event this Summer. Stunning!

The L-series motor runs great with SU's. Get a set from ZTherapy for $700 or so, tune em once, and enjoy. With the right cam/exhaust/head work, SU's are plenty of carb for street power. Triples are sweet, but big loot. Just my 2....