blue 72

Lots of good info here. I'm just waiting for the Permatex kit myself before the glass goes back in my Z.

Thank you for all the pictures and fitment info. Really helping me make a decision for my Z.

Did you swap in the later model distributor base too? If not then the timing will be WAY off if you're trying to ballpark it with the adjusting bolt. The arms for the bolt on each one are at completely different angles.

So, uh, how much does it cost to stay a night in the boarded out engine?

L24 Z engine = rear sump L24E 810/910 engine = front sump With no oil pan it'd be easy to check which it is. There are two bosses and only one will be drilled and tapped for bolts. Early L24E will have the good rods with 9mm bolts. That's about the only 'good' salvagable item.

This might give you an idea of what repairing a truly rusted out Z entails: http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php/topic/41372-1971-datsun-240z-restoproject-vidspics/

Yeah, what they said. Unless you're looking to spend thousands of dollars and years of work to repair all of that rust as well as the stuff that's surely hidden, my vote is get another car.

Sometimes you'll see Corvair rims on 510s.

I've got one on my '78 5-speed transmission. It took a little modifying with a rotary tool, but it fits well now. It was a very, very significant improvement over the original shifter with nearly non existent bushings. I've driven some cars with very short throw shifters and this kit doesn't offer extremely short throws but it is a good improvement nonetheless. I like the shift knob too.

Unless you're one of the countless teams who have tried unsuccessfully to be competitive by driving a Z car in the 24 Hours of LeMons. They never seem to place well and are always having mechanical failures despite their indisputable racing pedigree.

That video (the one with the multi-generation Z race) isn't Top Gear. It's a separate video from 2004 called Hot Metal hosted solely by Jeremy Clarkson. He's made a number of DVDs of his own over the years. One of the hosts of current History Channel iteration of Top Gear America actually owns and works on a 240Z. His name is Rutledge Wood, the NASCAR commentator. British Top Gear had a program where they invited a Z club from England into the studio with a couple of different Z cars and proceeded to make fun of their beardiness. It's Top Gear (current format) Season 2 Episode 8. It's at the very beginning of the episode when they reviewed the 350Z for the first time. Did you e-mail Andy Wilman, the producer for Top Gear UK?

You're right, all of the Z's I've seen have a plastic cover for the fusible link box and the box pictured looks to have a crimped shut metal cover. My mistake. Plus, the fusible link box only has four wires attached to it. It just looked so close to what's in the FSM (I'll provide a side by side pic from the '74 FSM to show how I got confused). The last '77 I disassembled had the fusible links mounted on a bracket near the p-side strut tower. Heating and A/C controls? Nah, they're inside the cabin. Wiper relay? unlikely, it's on the other side of the engine bay and has too many connections. Horn relay? nah, only 3 wires. A/T kickdown solenoid? only two wires apparently. Ignition interlock? maybe, but it's not shown as being mounted there in the FSM's, in fact, nothing is shown mounted in that spot. I hate to throw out guesses, but my next best idea is fuel pump relay. I'm just not sure where those are mounted on an early 280Z or late 260Z.

BE-5, or Nissan Service Manual for 1974 260Z, Body Electrical section, Page 5. Fusible Link Box. There are two fusible links under that metal cover.

What Steve said. It came around the back of the engine, through the intake manifolds and then was piped back in at the thermostat housing on my 240Z. I'm not exactly sure why there is a Tee with two outlets though.

That's cool and all, but if it's in SLC then that's still 4 hours from my corner of Utah. Don't meet very many Z owners down here.

Well.... at least he was consistent with his paint and interior scheme. I'd love to see this stock 240Z capable of 150 MPH on 5 cylinders too.

The FSM has a few good diagrams with a number of chassis and body dimensions, but it doesn't cover everything. The only other dimensions I've ever seen have been general measurements like road clearance, height to top of roof, wheelbase, overall length, etc...

I only use Kroil on frozen bolts. It's the best thing I've tried so far. The only thing I use WD40 for is as a mild rust barrier on bare steel parts and as a lubricant when drilling holes through metal.

Yes, but depending on the intake/exhaust manifold you use, it may have to be modified so you can use the carb mounting holes.

Because I knew that it couldn't hurt. I didn't want to open up the airflow potential of the cylinder head, have a higher lift and duration cam installed, port match the intake manifolds, run an electronic dizzy, etc... and have an area of the total combination that could potentially be improved but had been left alone (I didn't go crazy on my build, but I wanted a fun car though). I weighed the option of going with triple Webers/Mikunis/Canons vs. overbored SU's and liked the idea of stock appearance and a slightly lesser financial outlay. I researched many similar setups, pored over much of the Z masters' leavings on the interwebs, and asked my head builder for recommendations. It was the conclusion that I came to for my particular combination of components. Right now it is a street car with future potential. I haven't had it to a track yet (suspension is next), so in no scenario have I run out of carbs per say. It is still going to take some fine tuning and fiddling before I find the next area that can reasonably be improved upon. I like the car the way it is now though. 7k+ rpm sounds great. I know ZTherapy has many years of experience building, customizing and generally fiddling with Skinners Union carburetors. I think I've read your opinions on the subject before and I don't want to sidetrack the thread too much, but what have been your observations of airflow potential through SU's with larger engine displacement requirements? Just out of curiosity.

When I bought my Z underbody impacts were the body's only major detractor. I brought it home, stripped the interior, and went to town with a ball peen hammer for a few hours. The alignment was always straight and true, so I'm not concerned that the floors aren't perfectly straight (they are a lot nicer than when I began through).

Does your engine have any other modifications, or is it basically a stock L28? I'm running modified original SU carbs on my car and don't have any complaints. Mine is a F54 on the bottom with a ported and polished P79 on top. I opted to get some more flow through the 'ole SU's. I sent them to Rebello and had the carbs overbored with custom tapered needles made for my application. After I got them back it was a simple bolt on affair. The only adjustments I had to perform were airflow syncing and hooking up my wideband O2 sensor to dial in the A/F mixture to optimal. They have worked great ever since.

E31, E88, N47, P90 = Square port N47, P79 = Round port Those are just the most common heads from the U.S.

Note that if you put the P90 or P79 head on your dished piston motor the compression ratio will only be around 7.2:1

Won't work without custom pistons. The L24 rods are almost 3mm longer than the L28 ones. Attaching L24 rods to L28 pistons and crank would cause them to smash into the cylinder head. Hypothetical installed piston height = 210.6mm Deck height = 207.85mm Scenario = not gonna work