conedodger

Announcing The ClassicZcars.com Triple-Trouble Carb Clinic! Sponsored by Original Customs Restoration and Repair. October 14th, 2012 10am till we get it right... The Guru in Attendance will be Keith Franck who some of you may know as an expert on our triple Weber carbs. Maker of some of the tastiest innovations available to get the most out of your triples! Keith retired after 32 years at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories and his application of scientific principles to our carbs has resulted in improvements that no one dreamed of when we bolted these on! Also, this is hosted and sponsored by Original Customs Restoration and Repair - Meet Mark DeBernardi the owner and proprietor. His shop does amazing rust repair work and fabrication. He can build you an engine or a cage, his vision is legendary in the sports car world! Original Customs http://www.originalcustoms.com/ 19660 Eighth Street East - Suite C Sonoma, CA About a mile Northeast of Sonoma Square...

Announcing The ClassicZcars.com Triple-Trouble Carb Clinic! Sponsored by Original Customs Restoration and Repair. October 14th, 2012 10am till we get it right... The Guru in Attendance will be Keith Franck who some of you may know as an expert on our triple Weber carbs. Maker of some of the tastiest innovations available to get the most out of your triples! Keith retired after 32 years at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories and his application of scientific principles to our carbs has resulted in improvements that no one dreamed of when we bolted these on! Also, this is hosted and sponsored by Original Customs Restoration and Repair - Meet Mark DeBernardi the owner and proprietor. His shop does amazing rust repair work and fabrication. He can build you an engine or a cage, his vision is legendary in the sports car world! Original Customs http://www.originalcustoms.com/ 19660 Eighth Street East - Suite C Sonoma, CA About a mile Northeast of Sonoma Square...

I agree with Carl... Besides, we need to put the myth that 'cash' means anything to a dealership. The guy who 'sets up your financing' makes a very good living by finding out what interest rate you 'could' get and then giving you something higher. They get you to go for that by 'throwing in' the extended warranty or in the old days mudflaps, undercoating, rustproofing. I went to a dealership to buy a Boxster and found the one I wanted. My bank told me to 'write a check' and we will sort it out in the morning. The dealership guy who 'sets up your financing' tried desperately to get me to take their financing. Later that month I was at the Home and Garden show and there was a builder there with sample drawings of custom homes he had done. Sure enough, there was a blueprint there for the guy who 'sets up your financing'. It was a 7 figure home...

So Blue, that would mean you are Blue280ZBlue on the Franck forum... I have followed your travails.

You Mikuni guys, Keith when asked if he could speak to tuning these and other types of carbs said that the 'physics' are the same... That said, we now have 4 guys who are for sure showing up... Conedodger Silverstreak LeonV Spitz17 I will update this list as we go along... We need 10-12. Don't make me invite my Porsche friends with their downdrafts!

Ok, turns out the electric fan and the fuel pump are both wired to the top left circuit on the fuse box. The fan did not have a relay. My fuse box is now slightly melted but usable. As a temporary solution, the fuel pump now has a 30amp fuse inline as well as the relay. The fan has a relay and a 30amp fuse inline. I intend to wire the fuel pump in the same way as Carl's archived data from 1973 in the near future as well as replace the fuse box with one of the bladed fuse circuit board units sold by MSA. Any thoughts?

How about October 14th? Who's in?

Electromotive racing like its *** is on fire!

Carl, Thanks for the archived data. I have always had an electric pump installed since the 1980's when I bought the car. But, it was always wired to the front with a long power wire and a short ground. Owner mod I am sure. I will check for the relays. I doubt that a failed relay could have caused the problem as it has never been hooked up that way for me...

I think that is enough interest. I will talk to Keith Franck and see if I can make this happen soon. The shop it will take place at is called Original Customs in Sonoma CA. It is a restoration shop that does a lot of Porsche work but has done some Datsun work. In fact, there is a 280Z in the shop right now. He is a master welder and fabricator and builds cages as well. Mark, the owner would prefer a Sunday as his shop week starts on Sunday and is closed on Saturday. We can have a BBQ, but we will have to organize that ourselves. For those of you who are not aware, Keith makes the fuel level tool and hypojets. If he can't help you tune your carbs, your carbs are probably not the problem... Here is a link to Keith's webstore with a few of his innovations - http://www.webstore.com/82598,owner_id,other_items

Apparently, I would only have the electric pump and associated harness if my car had been brought in for some recall?

Kurbycar32, I am not sure Keith is an expert on DGV's but you're welcome to show up...

I have the service manual so I suppose I should just go research this myself... Ok, I have a very stock 'looking' 73 240Z with triple Webers and some other very tasty modifications. But mostly, I have stayed with the stock wiring and so forth so that I don't become talked about as one of those 'Dumb-arse previous owners' you hear about one day. So here is my dilemma; I had a problem with my fuel pump and I was away from home, I had it towed into a shop and the guy said the fuel pump wire was disconnected. He 'rewired' it. So there goes a $100 but it works. Next, I am having a buddy of mine balance the carbs and he calls and says the fuel pump is toast. I buy another from Summit and send it to him. I'm out $150 but it works again... Now, I have it back home and the thing keeps stalling out and leaving me stranded. I check each time and sure enough, fuses are blown. Top left and the second to the top occasionally (probably unrelated). I take it to a shop here in Reno and they install a relay... Things are fine for a couple months but truthfully only about 50 miles since I tow it to events so it has had one track day and one autocross since this relay was installed. So, this weekend, I take it to Reno-Fernley Raceway for a track weekend and after the first session, it blows a the top left fuse and I am towed off the track. I took it back to the shop that installed the relay and they just called to say that they think it should be wired to a different source of switched power. If you read my intro, you know that I would like to have it wired they way Mother Datsun intended. Isn't there a harness hook-up back by the tank for the fuel pump? Why do they have wire running from the new fuel pump to the front of the car? What fuse should it be on? In my mind, there should be just a short length of two wires running to the harness for the new fuel pump...

And Mitchell, you are one of the people I would love to see there. I am thinking we could film it and make it a Youtube Video?

I have made the acquaintance of a guy who has been mentioned here more than a few times. Keith Franck knows an amazing amount of information about the Weber side-draft DCOE carbs, and has invented and manufactured a number of innovations. Just last weekend, he had a 'tuning day' for Lotus owners who's cars use Weber side-draft carbs. He offered to include us Datsun peeps but it was really too late to set this up. I am wondering if we have enough people who would attend a Tuning Day for us Datsun guys with Webers? I have a friend with a restoration shop who would be willing to host in Sonoma CA... (Keith lives in the Martinez area). We could have a BBQ and maybe even a drive, the roads through Napa and Sonoma are amazing! Sound off if you're interested...

Steve, Did you live in Palmdale at one time? Work at The Skunk Works?

I have been using mine for about 5 years now. No discernible wear. A friend of mine also makes a product for the 914 that uses roller bearings. He sells them in small quantities so I doubt he would be interested in getting into doing roller bearings for Z cars unless we put together a group buy with 20 people or more...

This might make a difference if we could get someone to make them for the Z. I have a set of these on my Porsche 914. They come from a company called Elephant Bushings in the San Jose area... There is absolutely no stiction in my suspension. With the shock detached, you can literally lift the control arms with two fingers through their full travel. Pair this with some externally valved shocks and you would have a very 'live' suspension. In the 914, I have 200# rear coilovers paired with the stock front torsion bars. I use a very big adjustable swaybar in the front and a stock bar in the rear. Many don't use any bar at all in the rear of the 914. My car, driving on city streets feels as nimble as a stock suspended 914. The bushings allow the shocks to do their job well... The inner bushing replaces the rough surface that the stock rubber bushing 'grabs' onto. The inner poly bushing rotates very smoothly and doesn't deflect and change the suspension geometry. As you can see, the assembly can be lubed. The guy who designed them is Chuck Moreland. He is obviously a Porsche guy but he might design them for the Z if there were enough interest.

The newly restored Frizelle car... Some old, some new. Canepa did a good job!

I thought I'd update everyone on my progress. I contacted Pete Robinson on HybridZ and ordered a set of his reproduction fiberglass panels. They come as a blank panel without any holes in them and you have to disassemble your existing panels so you can rivet the door top to the panel. Today, I finished making the necessary holes and test fit the panels... Next week, off to the upholsterer to apply the reproduction Classic Datsun Motorsports vinyl. I think they turned out very well.

I followed a link posted here and ended up on Sidedraft.org or some such site. I joined and posted and Keith Franck himself has offered to meet me at Thunderhill and tune my carbs! He says if the tune is right, density altitude will not make much difference...

Ya Baby!

Another BSR shop shot...

I ordered the CD of the pics but I will post these for now until it comes! Great day!

I just ordered the Franck fuel level tool. I will set my fuel level with that first. I believe he says 25mm is ideal? I can't wait to see how this thing works.