IdahoKidd

Hey Jan (Pomorza), I'd be interested in the headlights. I have a spare 4 speed (doesn't everyone) that someone can have (shipped at there expense) if it is at all practical. Also have a complete L28 block that sat (in the car) for too long and there is rust on the camshaft and the motor is seized. I didn't fool with it at all, took it out and putting in a turbo so someone can have it if they need it. I could part it out too I suppose. Leonard

This is a list from the skateboarders generation. Not much of a way to justify most of these on the list that 'left the biggest impact on the automotive world'. But, just like arguing with the spouse, it really doesn't matter anyway......... just an opinion

I am currently having my 72 orange Z painted here in town. There is no rust and very minimal body work required (in my eyes). He is painting under the hood (I have the engine out), door jambs, removing the glass, all of the interior plastic is being pulled, etc, for $3000 including the paint. He told me the brand/type of paint, but it eludes me now. Single phase(?) leaded paint, supposed to be as close to the original as one can get. He grimices at the word bondo but does use a plastic skim coat in places. Apparently he likes something that does the same thing but with a different name. This is a painter that takes a couple of years to get into his shop and he is beyond anal. We met at a bidding war over a 240 in a farmers barn and we both eventually got different Z's. His being a 75 with tripple webbers, and strangely enough, the same color as the stock 240 I picked up. He would never have taken on my car and certainly not for that price without having the Z's in common. It is all about who you know. It will be another 6-8 weeks before I get my car but I am looking forward to that spring drive.

UGH! That sucks. It will cost more than you'll ever get back to fight it too. Since following this I have changed my insurance and just got appraisals on two of my cars. I was surprised with one and disappointed by the other. My 72 240, according to the CPI black book, is worth $13,500, which is just short of what I will have in it. My 500SEC is only worth 10K I have the appraisals with the mileage and the date on them. I'll be able to show that on this date, those cars were worth this much. The local car dealer did the appraisal for free. Again, that sucks, but it is very close to what happened to me 7-8 years ago with my Subaru. You can choose to not settle and take them to small claims court. At least you get tell your story, show your pictures, etc. It would cost about 40 bucks or so. Save the lawyer money for a different car for you, not the lawyer. Leonard

Go to hybridz.org. They do tons of altered z applications. Most, not all, but most of the folks here lean toward the purist side of z's.

Keep in mind when establishing value, it will be what "your" car was worth before the accident, not some car on ebay. I don't want to hurt your feelings and I don't mean this as an insult in any way, but before the wreck, from the pictures, in my area that car would sell for around $500. Be prepared for them to offer something to that amount. To defend yourself, you need to have the best pictures of your car that you have. When they value your car, they will take into account the paint, the interior, the rust, the tires, the glass, all of it. I was offered $600 for a subaru wagon that was rearended. Even with receipts of over $2000 above purchase price,( I had bought the car for a grand and repaired it) and a host of pictures, we went to court. The judge told me my sweat equity was of no value, that the car could be replaced in the condition if was in prior to the accident for the thousand dollars I orignially paid for it and that it had a salvalge value of $400. All I ever got was a bent car and $600.00. I asked him to find me that replacement car he spoke of. Court adjourned. I know myself, and it sounds like others, are following this pretty close as it could happen to one of us. How do you put a value on hopes and dreams? I know in my heart that none of my cars, from my 500SEC down to my 57 Volvo would bring the money from a "total" that it would take to replace them, leaving sentimental value aside. It makes one stop and think about all the time and money one puts into his car only to have someone else just take it all away. Please let us know so we can add to our own learning curve when our turn comes. Good luck!

Bummer about the car. I am with Arne, it will be totaled. Take the money, buy it back (as salvage) and use the parts for a different car. I know you are east coast, but you can find a very solid Z here for a grand. Lots of 280's for less than that. Out of curiousity, and if you don't mind sharing, IF it does total, let us know what they give you. It sort of helps determine what some of us might consider under similar circumstances. Leonard

I was just complaining out loud myself and wondering how folks pull the motors in their Z's. I have 5 240/280's and three zx's, one a turbo, and all of them have a loop in the front of the motor and not a single one has one at the rear. I just pulled the turbo motor tonight and since I already had the tranny off, I put a bolt on the top drivers side of the block in a tranny mounting hole. I find it very difficult to believe that all of the rear loops were inadvertantly left off. Without the rear loop, where does everyone else attach to the engine? I also note that all of the motors with the exception of the 72 240 motor do not have the exhaust manifold stud/bolt in place on the rear of the engines (closest to the firewall). That seems odd as well.

I think it is more complicated than that. The 180 shafts "plug in", the 200 shafts have flanges and bolt on. Are you sure you are putting them onto a 200 and not the stock 180?

Sent you a PM-I have one

Could easily be a dry u-joint on the drive shaft or in the axles. Could also be a bad bearing. Any way of safely putting the car in the air (jack stands, etc) and then listen or have someone listen for location? No issues with the brake or park brake? (hung up shoe or metal contact can make noise, especially forward and not backwards). Even with a diff full of oil, a bad pinion bearing can roar as well. Let us know. I am curious. Leonard

Nah Sarah, I wasn't pointing at you. In way, I think it is cool to experiment and come up with solutions outside the box. But, I read posts here and on other sites where the guys are so hung up on what they are going to gain with all this complex mix and match ignition stuff and then post questions here as to why it doesn't work. ( I have a 77 dizzy with an 81 pickup coil and a turbo this or that and no spark, etc) Some of these guys have hundreds of dollars into guessing what is going to work. Maybe I am just a little jealous I don't have those kind of bucks to throw out. I just had a kid, probably 20ish, tell me that he just bolted on at least 50 hp by changing to an MSD ignition. (I wish it were that easy) I think Arne is pretty much dead on when he says if you have enough other complimentary parts it might make a difference, but most of us don't have that type of motor, and not meaning to offend anyone, if we did, we probably wouldn't be asking here about how to get spark. Sorry if I rubbed anyone the wrong way, it just seems there have been a bunch of redundant and ultimately meaningless questions about ignitions.

I have been reading tons of posts on here about all the ignition "improvements" one can do to the 240 and 280's. ( I am working on both at the same time-ugh!). In real world application, it seems much of the effort and expense on the 240's is over kill. Is there really a significant gain in going beyond a pertronix and good coil? It is hard for me to believe that one will ever recover the benefits of spending more money on it than that. I could be wrong, have been before, but when I used to fool with SBC's, the only time it might be worth the money is when we were running 9 seconds or less and there was money involved at the finish line, and never on the street. No one ever beat me between street lights because they were running an MSD or Supercoil, or ??? It just seems that most of the people on this board have cars that are drivers and the money would be better spent on other mods. I am still working on the learning curve on the 280's and the whole fuel injection issues with spark, but by and large the same thought applies. KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) works the best, has the least hassle and the most bang for the buck. I am looking for a compelling argument otherwise. "Cool" factor doesn't count Convince me I am wrong. Thanks, Leonard

My 77 often blows cold air. Oddly, after a second start up, it will blow warm. (ie, drive to store, air is cold. Drive back home with warm air). When it doesn't blow warm, engine temp shows warm. I am curious what you come up with for a solution. I simply haven't taken the time to track it down. I too will have a look at the vacuum lines.

Hate this one too. I can't, but I suppose most of you will. http://jalopnik.com/5112714/datsun-260z-with-the-face-of-a-snake-and-the-tail-of-a-stallion This one is finished and more "polished", but clearly a dream. There are things I don't like about it, but I still like "it".

What amazes me through all of this, besides the overwhelming number of hypocrits, is that most of you think there are only 8 or 9 Z's left on the planet. There are literally thousands upon thousands of them still out there. Someone personalizes theirs and it is different than yours and he is a bastard. It is absolutely no different than putting 17 inch tires on yours and lowering it. None. Maybe one should appreciate the time and effort to get as far as he did. I feel in a bit of a hole here as I pointed the car out and it is in my home town. I do not know the owner nor have ever seen the car. And I do know that is not a trailerhouse in the back ground. As far as 'throwing up a little in my mouth", it is almost the same feeling I had when I saw the paint job on said posters car(s). But it is HIS and he can do what he wants. I am disapointed in most of you. Not that any of you really care, but people that live in glass houses (and drive non 100% bone stock original Z's) shouldn't throw stones.

First, I have no affiliation with this car at all. Found it on ebay and it turns out it is in my home town. I'll have to go check it out. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Datsun-Z-Series_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem1c0d97e28eQQitemZ120487142030QQptZUSQ5fCarsQ5fTrucks Not sure how to turn it blue to make it a link. Worth taking a look though. Leonard

I am doing that very thing at this moment, but taking the turbo motor as well. If you swap the rear discs (you'll need mounting brackets), you'll need the master cylinder from the zx. The n54 block in the zx is often considered "better" as it is slightly stronger (webbing in the block) and I believe they have flat top pistons (NA motors) and can mix and match for some better power. How much, depends on who you argue with. The 5 speed is a direct swap (non turbo zx) and in reasonably high demand. Lots of arguments about it really being better in the Z's. I am putting one in all three of my drivers anyway. Oh, and under hood light will swap : )

Hey RB, I missed in your post about the spring and went on about how to trouble shoot something you already fixed. Apparently I really do need glasses. Too much fuel (pumping the throttle too much for example) can cause a backfire too. The aftermarket cam, without having the details, can throw off diagnosing the timing. Does the motor want to kick back on the starter in the crank cycle or try to diesel when it does fire. (I am trying to determine if it is too far advanced). With a hand held remote start button or an assistant, I'd start with rotating the distributor by hand as it is being cranked and see what I get for results. If it starts to crank hard, rotate it back a bit until you get it to at least run and maintain itself. Then get a timing light on it and see what your working with. If it ran before, it will run again. It may indeed need some ignition stuff done. Pull the cap off the dizzy and spay the inside of it and the top of the open dizzy with WD 40. Even though the WD is wet, it will clean up and dry out the components. Check to be sure there are good connections to wires at the cap and then at the plugs. I personally still think it is carb issues. I hate holleys. Just a personal thing. I never saw one out of the box that worked as well as a quadra jet out of a junk yard. Depending on the holley, one of things to check is the power valve. A backfire wipes them out as I recall. Leonard

This is an "aha" moment. All conventional Z information concerning the carbs is off. With the aircleaner off, look down the throats and rotate the linkage to open the butterflies. Be sure when you let off, they close completely. Do so with the help of someone actually using the gas pedal in the car as it is possible to have a bind of sorts on the linkage. Be sure the carb is securely fastened to the air cleaner. A vacuum leak at the base can cause wide open throttle symptoms even though the trottle isn't actually moved. Again, looking down the throats, rotate the linkage and you should see squirts of fuel from the accelerator pump. This will confirm fuel delivery to the carb, it still may have junk in the jetting. If the plugs were black and smelled of fuel when you pulled them, they are getting fuel. An almost start accompanied by a wide open throttle run is, in my experience, a substantial vacuum leak. IF and only IF you are comfortable, after checking the mounting flanges and the manifold to the head bolts to see if they are loose, and checking to see if it starts, and if not, spray (or pour) a small amount of fuel into the carb with the butterfly open. Close the butteryfly, (no foot on the accelerator) start the engine. If it starts and runs wide open, shut it down. Vacuum leak. If it starts and runs, then dies, fuel delivery. If it doesn't start at all and you didn't put in so much that it flooded it, (if no start, open throttle and start) then there are other issues. The fact that it will run wide open throttle tells me that the timing is adequate to run, it is getting fuel, it has spark, and there is enough compression. While none of these may be perfect, the combination says it will indeed run. BE VERY CAUTIOUS when putting fuel into the carb. Incorrect timing (to advanced) can cause a backfire and a brief ball of fire. Don't look into the carbs to see what is going on when cranking. Also, not a bad idea to have a fire extinguisher near by. You didn't say, but does this have an electric or a manual fuel pump? Let us know Leonard

It sounds less like iginition and more like fuel delivery to me. Ignition isn't going to make the motor rev when you step on the clutch. A stuck slide in the carb will though. The load against the engine will keep the rpms down but when allowed to rotate freely will take off. I don't trust your readings on the compression test at all-no offense, but carefully take them again. I don't think that is the problem. It may be A problem, but it isn't THE problem here. You mentioned 'carburetor' and not 'carburetors' (plural). Does it have the dual carbs or is it a single carb? If dual, are they SU's? (opposed to webers', etc) If they are SU's, check the oil in the carbs (little black knobs on top of the carbs that unscrew). If the factory air cleaner is in place, remove the cover and stick your finger in each carb and see if the slides move up and down-push them up, they should return on their own. Check to see if the linkage moves freely and equally on each carb. What is the history of the car? ie, setting a long time, modified, etc. How old is the fuel? There are a lot of folks here that can help and have way more knowledge than I do but it is my experience from when I started asking questions, the more exact information I could provided yeilded more exact answers and less "guessing". Many of the 'old heads' won't even answer questions that are too general. From the description in the first post, the engine racing and the battery drain are two completely different problems. As for the battery drain, charge the battery and remove a single fuse over night until your battery stays charged. The removed fuse will then point to the circuit in need and you can isolate the exact cause from there. Start with a known good battery (manditory) Good luck, it can be over the top frustrating. As cumbersome as the 'search' is here, you can find a lot information on getting the carbs adjusted, oil level correct, linkage adjustments, spark plug color, etc. Leonard

Personally, I'm more concerned about the looks of the front. The front spoiler with the headlight looks like a shark about to bite into a surfboard. The lines are too awkward from the dam over the hood. And I definately would stay away from the cell phone tower inspired spoilers in the last two pics. So, #5 or none at all. Also bear in mind, I occasionally drive a Volvo too.........

Are you looking for the 3rd one that bolts onto the front of the two grove one, or just the two groove one? I bought a non runing 280z that the PO put a zx motor into. He didn't take the third pulley off and the fan caught it when I did get it running and promptly destroyed the radiator. I did have that pulley laying in the shop. I also have at least 4 engines laying around. It seems unlikely to me that having a turbo would affect the pulley situation and I will have one off a turbo motor that I am putting in the 77. As I recall, it spins the power steering pump.

I had what sounds like the very same thing happen to my glass in my RX7 years ago. Simply shattered in place. It didn't even fall in until I touched it. Never did figure out why. The equivalent of spontaneous human combustion I guess....................

It turns out that by the number on the ecu, it is an 83 ecu afterall, not an 84 as marked. My gut instinct was right. However, it is for an automatic. Still, someone steals your ecu? Could have been worse though I guess.