Cutlass372

PM sent Patcon

http://www.betamotorsports.com/services/images/projectcarimages/73240ZRB/FrontStruts-1.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v288/stony7/z%20front%20suspension/DSC01980.jpg Not my car, but those are the pieces I'm talking about. The piece directly behind the strut assembly where the front crossmember bolts through the frame. It has a 90 degree bend and then sinks in for the bolts. It's about 9" long, 3 1/4" plus the bend tall and approx 1 1/8" deep in the center. Could you provide me with a link to the how-to?

Hey everyone, I am looking to replace the trapezoid shaped panel that is located behind the front strut assembly. This is on a 72' 240z. This piece seems to be fairly important and holes have been slowly growing in both the passenger and driver's side. I was wondering if anyone had any pictures of the panel that they made to replace this piece. I have been trying for a few days to design the panel out of one piece of metal, but I cant seem to get it just right. I have also tried making a few angled cuts but im not sure if they will be strong enough. Does this panel need to be one piece (It would be easier if it was)? I have some proper thickness 5X10" rectangles cut out to make this, so any help would be greatly appreciated. Elliot

I will check that when I get home. I checked it when I first installed the pertronix unit, but perhaps something has happened since then. I will check the wires on the pertronix unit and make sure nothing is shorting out or has broken wires. I checked and re-taped a few the other day, but perhaps I missed something.

Its possible I suppose, I will go take a look. I have a newish header and twice pipes that are fairly new. I feel like it is more of an ignition problem. Fuel is in the cup and I put on a new fuel pump/filter. Could be possible blockage in the tank. Does the stock 240z tank have a sock on the fuel pickup? Maybe this is clogged? Would anyone be willing to take a look at the problem to see more of what is going on? Maybe it is something simple that I am missing. It sounds to me more like a miss personally, but I am just not sure. Thanks, Elliot

Anyone else have any suggestions? I need to get my turbo motor finished so I don't have to worry about this anymore. But, until then I need this car to get me around. Is anyone local that could help me out? Please let me know. Thanks, Elliot

I actually just replaced the fuel filter with a different style. The one that I had only filled up a 1/4" of the bottle and I think the filter was in the bottom/middle. The one that I have now fills up the cup 3/4 the way full and the filter is at the top. This had no change in how the car ran, But possibly the valve you speak of is stuck? How did you end up fixing the problem? Do the videos help? I think they show the symptoms pretty well. Thanks, Elliot

I took a couple of videos of whats going on. I just replaced the fuel pump and the problem is still there. I also blew out the fuel lines and that didn't help either. I will add captions to the videos so it's easier to tell whats going on. In video 27 I was in 2nd gear I think and around 5k you can hear the limiter type situation. It does it in second gear now too and I am limited to about 55-60mph now, which is really becoming a problem for driving on the highway. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/user/Cutlass372 Clogged fuel tank or electical problem? Float bowls to low? The strange thing is that it came out of the blue. Does it seem like its missing or running out of gas. Let me know what you think. Thanks, Elliot

Anyone have anymore suggestions? I still haven't figured this out.

I changed the plugs and tightened a few screws on the dizzy and the problem went away for maybe 30 minutes of driving and then it came back. The timing is staying consistent and not jumping around when revved. I am starting to think the fuel pump maybe the culprit. The fuel filter only fills up maybe 1/2" at most while the car is running. I blew air in the lines and it didn't clear much up. Also, when I pulled the plugs they were sort of dusty white/tan/redish in color. The car even sputters a little now in the lower RPMs. What are your thoughts? Thanks, Elliot

What locking screws are you talking about? And yes its a 3 ohm coil with no resistor. I'll try the washer thing and see if that helps any. Keep the suggestions coming guys.

Hey everyone, over the past few weeks my car has been running progressively worse. I just replaced the spark plugs with new NGK BP6ES plugs and it took away the problems I was having in 1st and 2nd gear (at 5k rpms it would hit almost like a rev limiter, but keep revving sporadically). It was doing this before, but it seems like in 3rd gear or higher it get this violent loss of power and the tach jumps all around. It kind of surges, as if you let off the gas and stomped on it again over and over until you shift or slow down. I think the timing is set around 15 degrees and I am running the pertronix unit and their coil. This isn't something that has been happening for a long time and I don't recall changing anything or making any adjustments prior to this happening. What are your suggestions, Where should I look. Thanks in advance for any help. Any information you can provide would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Elliot

I think it maybe a combination of the two, wheel bearings and the ball joint. I was able to watch the wheel today as someone else wiggled it and it seems as though the ball joint wants to move slightly as well ( it moves slightly in and out as I wiggle). I looked at the bearings today and they seem to be in good shape and the spindle doesn't look like its damaged. The thing I don't get is how could the ball joints be bad after such a short time..? I don't think I over or under-tightened them when I installed them, so this just doesn't make sense. I guess I will try to get a new ball joint and see if it changes anything.

I didn't pull the bearings out at all to inspect them. I just tried to tighten them up a little bit to see if that would help at all. I may try to take them out tomorrow and see it the spindle has been damaged at all. I took care of the steering coupler when I did the poly bushings. That part of the steering has tightened up a lot, but the steering wheel shakes and there is this play issue.

I haven't checked the spindle, but it could be possible I guess. Maybe the bearings just aren't seated correctly? Keep the suggestions coming. I want to tighten this up. Thanks

Hey everyone, I went for a ride today in my 72 240z and after a few minutes I heard some grinding coming from the front brakes. I drive home and jack the front end up and see that my pads are toast. Anyway.. While doing this I figured I would take a look at a few other things because at highway speeds my steering wheel shakes real bad. I snugged up both of the wheel bearings a little bit and the passenger side feels nice and tight(I didn't over tighten, but there is no play on this side). I go back to the driver side and if i grab the wheel at 10-4 or even 3-9 there is play somewhere that I just can't find. I even went to the extent to tighten the ball joints a little more, but still no luck. The car has all new ball joints, tie rods ends (not inners), and poly bushings all around. It seems like this play doesn't even move the tie rods, so I am thinking the inners are ok (they feel fairly solid anyway). Could the inner wheel bearing just be so crushed that its not sitting right anymore? What/where should I check now to fix this headache? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Let me know if you need anymore information. Thanks, Elliot

The car is done for... They want to total it and give me like $600 and then 60% of that... because they are saying I am 40% at fault... What do I do?

I forgot to mention one very important detail.. I am dealing with his insurance company because he admitted to hitting me. So I guess they can't total the car, but just have to pay me out if they don't want to fix it. The estimate is being done through progressive and not a body shop (probably not as good for me).. Thanks for all the replys so far, maybe there is hope for her yet.. but we will see.

Here are the pics: http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2706209730063370706pYwjLL The front rad support is bent (not THAT bad, but it made the fan get stuck till I discovered it). Other then that.. Pass. headlight is cracked, headlight buckets, fenders, hood, grille, bumper, turn signal lense and housing, front valance, and the front wings for the hood and bumper.. I took care of the insurance stuff and they are working out an estimate and if they will total it or not. Look at some of the pics on the beginning pages to see the rust areas and let me know what you think. At this point I am some what considering flying to california and driving one home.. Just looking for some opinions, let me know what you would do. Thanks, Elliot

Thanks for the fast response. Good to know that its completely useless on my car . Anyway.. Are the R180 and R200 front mount the same ( other then the exhaust cutout)? Elliot

I can't seem to find out what that thing is.. It doesn't look like the front mounts I have seen. I am trying to swap a R200 3.9 into my 72 240z and I was told this is what I would need, however, where does this piece go? Thanks a lot, Elliot

I installed the pertronix ignitor and 3 ohm coil in my car and it has been working great, but not at first. It was basically not letting me rev over 4500-5k RPMS. I advanced the timing, but nothing seemed to work. I picked up a new distributor from a friend, set it to 15 degrees and it has been good to go ever since (I have been running 93 octane as well). So like everyone else has been saying, it is important that your distributor is not worn out. Elliot

K, thanks a lot. Saving money is always a good thing . Now I just need to start collecting my parts.

Hey everyone, I was doing some searching and didn't come up with to many definitive answers. From what I remember when I replaced my ball joints, the seats and the mounts look ok. The only thing that seemed to be messed up was the bump stop (very dry rotted and gritty). Can I reuse these and just use the bump stops I get with my new bushings? I am trying to save as much money as possible and these things aren't cheap. What do you guys think? Thanks, Elliot

Well what does the detonation sound like? The noise that I am hearing doesn't sound like anything I have read. It has more of a spitting type of sound then a pinging sound. I am looking to see if anyone has an extra dizzy to try, or I might just get a reman one.