Zedyone_kenobi

UPDATE: Due to the amazing great weather we had yesterday I spent the morning removing my intake to prepare for the installation. Everything went very straight forward for the most part. I spilled more coolant that I would have liked, but that was only a 10 minute diversion. THe hardest part of this by far was removal of the studs. Two gave me grief, the others came out rather nicely with using the old two nut method. I also soaked most of them with liquid wrench the day before, which may or may not have helped. I think having a header instead of a stock exhaust manifold gave me more clearance to work as well. ON to the pics... First pic is my box that I used to keep track of my studs and where they came from. I usually use a piece of cardboard as it is nice to make notes on as you go. THe next pic recalls something that was said earlier on this post. Gasket differences. The lower gasket is the one off the car. Obviously not a stock one. Notice the metal contact surfaces for the header to rest against. This is like the ultra high quality gaskets I use to use when I rebuild V8's. Above is the meager-by-comparison MSA gasket. I think I want to find another gasket like the one below. Here is the engine so far. All the studs removed, no casualties yet. I have been using scotch bright to clean up the surface of the header and head. It feels very smooth, and I think will seal quite well. Here is the old intake and carbs. You can also see the new intake/exhaust stud kit ready to go back in... THats all for now. ONe question though. I have read some posts on other car forums that its horrible to use antisieze on studs/bolts/spark plugs for aluminum heads. This goes against everything I have ever done. Does anybody have any more insight to this. MY dad is a retired A&P mechanic, and says they use antisieze on aluminum heads all the time. MOre updates to follow. I have to start sanding my heat shield for refinishing.

My header was Jet Hot coated, not sure how long ago, and I run the factory heat shield. I am going to send the heat shield off to be powercoated with a high temp coating. I was even thinking of doing a reflective barrier on the back of the heat shield, Think McLaren F1 supercar. Of course I would not use 24 karat gold, but I could find something that has good insulating properties.

Sure, I will snap some off tonight! Thanks very much! Got your PM by the way, I am going to check with the calender! and by calender I mean boss. And by boss I mean wife.

The beauty of the ZX is that they were factory installed. The 71 240 was a hodgepodge of dealer add ons. Mine appears to be a hand made mount that is pretty crude! Frank, how much would one of those compressors run by any chance.

THat is a very nice DIY. Good on ya!

Good Luck on it! I was fortunate as somebody has already beaten me to removing the smog pump. I already have a header, so it sounds like they saved me a ton of work! I think what I may do is try do a photo documentary on this. It will give step by step directions to future Z a holics. Plus as a bonus, it will allow me to track my progress so I can get back to where I was if I forget where something went.

UPDATE: Today I got a baseline reading on my currently installed factory carbs. There is no telling how many times these have been messed with, but I slapped my new edlebrock sync tool I got from Bruce on there at idle with the engine warm and the carbs are FAR from balanced. ONe shot the red cup up to almost the 4th line. The back carb only managed to barely move it to the first. Since I am going to take these off, and they do run what I thought was well. I am looking forward VERY much to seeing how well she will run with a balanced set of carbs on there. PS. I adjusted the fast idle screw up to 3000 rpm per the SU video and the readings were far more even. But the front carb was still reading higher. I think I may have a vacuum leak in the back carb somewhere. Still all bolts are currently sitting in penetrating fluid, so the removal will start soon. My new intake/exhaust studs have arrived, as have my new air cleaner decals, filter, and my orange paint is on order. I have my new MSA intake/exhaust gasket waiting installation. Fun times ahead. Just if your curious. I adjusted the mixture nut on the bottom of the carb on the rear carb to see if I could get it to come in to match the front, and it had no effect. I think I recall that is how you adjust them at idle. I will have to watch the SU video again. Its wonderful by the way!

Okay I was starting to warm up the engine today to get a baseline readings on my original set of SU' before I remove the intake and install my new Ztherapy carbs. However, their was a prolonged screaming that was audible above the engine. I got out my 3 foot screwdriver and listened to every thing that rotates. Sure enough it was the tensioner for the AC right in front of the valve cover (you can see it in between the front of the valve cover and fan, sorry for the old picture). I removed the belt and the noise stopped. When I spin it, its very rough sounding as I think its bearing has given up the ghost so to speak. Now as we all know the AC units on our cars were installed in various manner by the dealer. In 1971, they were probably all not the same units and I think trying to find a replacement is going to be tough. Having said that, I have not tried to take it off yet, and maybe there would be a bearing place that can match one up and press it in. Any thoughts.

I agree, as I felt what your talking about. The narrow tires allow you to feel more. Hope they give you years of fun. Let me know more of how you like/dislike them. I am about to pull my manifold and carbs off, as I just started my Ztherapy carb switch over. Looking forward to the difference they will make.

I am sort of with Arne on this. I do not want to do any drastic mods to my Z. When I bought it the suspension was already done and it had a header. But I think that those are things that were done in the 70's and not drastically out of character for the car. I do not want new seats, or a fancy radio. I just want to make it stock or better than stock with things like Z's wiring harness, and new bushings some poly some not. I really do not find the car has any real bad habits when I drive it. It is a fairly balanced car. I never feel is underpowered or slow, and engine is always eager. It is really astonishing how good these things were from the factory.

Your compliments are very appreciated... but my garage is filthy now. Lots of dust and dirt from the construction going on in my neighborhood. It needs to be swept and mopped soon. That lower left thing is an extension cord to my shopvac. I want a wall mount so I can tuck it away. I used UCoatIt on the floor, and would recommend it to anybody. If you need extra pics let me know. In your decision for pole positions vs Grips, what is your priority? If you lean toward performance, get the pole positions.. no questions. If you lean toward comfort more, get the Grips. That is my best advice.

I am going to rewire all the electrical connections from my ignition, resistor, coil, etc. I can go to Pepboys, Oriely's etc and get some wire, but I was wondering if anybody has a good source of bulk high quality wiring, with good insulation. Zs-ondabrain, I am looking at you.. haha;)

here are some pics of my tires.. sorry for the really bad pics.. but I did not have time to pull the car out last night, I was making my wife a surprise dinner. I know you would rather see side shots. I can work on that this weekend.

good luck with your decision Arne, I look forward to what you end up with. I know it will be classy. I am currently loving my ANSA tip, so I will throw that back into your head. The sound is intoxicating especially through tunnels and under overpasses.

NO problem. I will snap some for you this evening. To be perfectly honest, I cannot tell the difference in size at all. It is so close to the naked eye, it looks identical. Let me snap some pics for you. 215's would have rubbed really bad for me as well. I like the looks of the 195's. I am loving the refinement of the Grips I bought, but I do wish they had a stiffer sidewall. I am still a corner carver at heart, and the Z is so much fun to drive into and out of the corners. If I had my choice again... I would definitely go with a 195/60/15 again, but I would probably go with a summer tire vs an all season. What I gained in ride quality, I lost in all out steering feel.

wow, what an amazing event! I wish I could have seen all those great cars. Love how well the Datsuns were represented.

Agreed, and most of all, check your emotions when you go look at a car. I know they are becoming more rare, but good cars are out there. When you go look, go as a buyer, not an owner. If anything makes you feel funny walk away. Keep telling yourself, there will be other cars. Patience is your best friend when you are shopping for a car. Keep that in mind!

oil and fuel vapors are in that hose. If its not fuel and oil related it can break down the rubber and end up in your engine since I think the air cleaner attachment is inside the filter element. Keep in mind whatever is in the air above the valvetrain is what is going through this house. Oil vapor, any vapor that come in through the valve seals.. etc.

First I want to say thanks to Arne for posting this picture. Second, I am about to install my new ZTherapy carbs and I am currently refurbishing my air box to put back on. I need the hose that goes from the valve cover to air box. Mine is not in great shape. I am currently running one of those little K&N breathers, but would rather run the proper hose. Anybody know where to get one.

I sort of do the same with this certain parking lot. It leaves slight dust on the tread from the lose dirt on the pavement. When I park, I can see how much tread is touching the ground... but chalk sounds more precise!

nope, I have been busy tracking down a rubbing brake drum and a getting a new set of tires. Now on to the carbs!

I like the headlight covers.

UPDATE: I took my car in to the local shop after hearing they had a special on all Bridgestone tires. I have always liked Bridgestone as i used them exclusively on my STI and they were amazing. What I ended up with is a great tire, but I think I gave up some ultimate performance from the old 509's because I bought an all season tire. I bought Bridgestone G019 Grip's in 195/60/15. I LOVE the look of this size tire. The 205's always looked a bit big on this old car to me. I know it sounds weird saying a wider tire did not look right, but I always thought it was a bit much for a small car with only 150 HP. What can I say about the G019. The ride is alarmingly smooth compared to my 509's, but that may be partially due to the low 32 psi air pressure. I usually run around 38 psi in my cars to give the steering a tad more feel. I will play with the pressures. But going over bumps and up my driveway, the car is jarred less and feels very much more refined. The steering is a tad lighter, probably due to the lighter tire and smaller contact patch. The 195's are 10mm shorter in width, but the tire is a bit more rounded than the 509's. The car feels like it has all seasons on there. I have not bought all seasons for any car I have ever owned in 9 years. But for this old Z, I think I like the softer sidewalls and improved ride. The car seems to like it as well, as the amount of jarring is gone and the occasional squeak I had here and there was reduced. The 509's were a better performance tire even as old as they were, but the refinement my Z picked up due to the newer Bridgestones is a surprising and welcome change. Oh and most importantly, no rubbing!

UPDATE: Well guys, pulled the drums off and to my surprise there was nothing. Zippo. Every looked good, shoes still looked serviceable with decent life in them. Took it for a drive and nothing. Quiet as a mouse. Well a mouse with an ANSA on it. The car braked as straight as it always did. I think I just may have had a slight stiction or build up from letting the car sit too long. THE problem is gone.

Kirk, you are a harsh man! hahaha