That-hurt

Glad you like it over here.. I would much prefer to be in the warm and dry.. so I can get my Z out and have a blast.. We do have to be a bit picky about the roads over here as a lot are in really bad condition and have average speed cameras and other speed traps along their route ostensibly to make the roads safer.. but we know the real reason is to collect more indirect taxation..:sick: any ways back to driving on the UK roads.. If you can find one that still has some tarmac left on it and does not have huge potholes every three feet then you can have some fun. If you look on google earth and search for snake road in the uk.. this road runs from my home town Sheffield right across the high Peak into Manchester.. its awsome.. Lots of bends and straights all the time you are climbing up to the top of the peaks the views are stunning and some of the drops at the side of the road are very deep to say the least get it wrong and you can kiss your @55 BYe Bye... The best time to do the road is on a summers morning around 6am there is little or no traffic.. You can really let the car and you have fun. Many roads around my area are proper dirvers roads the the A621 from Owler Bar to bakewell is another road to test you and the car out.. I supose I am lucky really these roads are in pretty good condition and offer a lot in terms of driving challenge and satisfaction. Over the years I have run many classics along these roads and they always bring a big grin to my face. I cannot wait to get the Z on them.. after a 3 year rebuild we are both ready for a good drive.... Thanks for asking..

Hi all Its all back together again. I have made my own little gas set up to check for leaks, to check it i held the nozzle by the inlet for the carbs and sure enough there was an increase in revs. I then moved the nozzle around each and every bit of hardware on the induction side and no increases in rpm. I am quite satisfied that I do not have any more vacuum leaks. After he had warmed up enough I reset the timing to 17 degrees BTDC and attacked the carbs balancing them so i had an idle of 700rpm or as near as I can tell as I am using the cars tachometer I have a fairly good ear and it seems about right. I then set the mixture... It still ran lean at 2.5 turns down and the best fastest smooth idle was found at 3.25 turns down more or less equal on both front and back carbs. That is a vast improvement on the original settings.. To double check this I used colortune to look at the actual burn.. at idle it's a little orange but lift the revs a fraction and it immediately burns a bunsen blue on both front and rear. I took her for a small run and she drove very well. I mean just a few hundred yards, over here if you get pulled over they can seize your car if it does not have a current MOT !! So I was quick.. Now she has to be booked in for her MOT annual inspection to get the road worthiness certificate. I do not foresee any problems as in essence it's a new car! Tell you what.. she gots some looks I can tell you.. I will report back after the MOT.. By the way it's actually stopped raining.. for the first time in a month!

thanks guys. I have had the lot off today. checked everything for flatness etc. Put it all back together with new gaskets and so far so good. Used carb cleaner on the manifold. just one sucking a little air. On my car its the front closest to the dizzy. it has one manifold stud that is really tight against the manifold so no socket made by mad will fit over it. I have to be a contortionist in order the get the spanner on it and then try to get enough torque on the nut. I managed to get it nipped up a little tighter and it appears to have done the trick... I will report back once I gwt to re tune the carbs.. thanks for your help.. Andrew

Hi guys. Still raining here in the uk.. It's been weeks oh for some dry weather! I thought I would report back and ask for some advice . I think well I know I have traced some air leaks . I used a can of carb cleaner and squirted it I have found when I squirt some on the intake manifold where it bolts to the head there is a definite sucking in of the fluid . All gaskets are new. I have nipped up the bolts to the head but it has failed to cure it. I am going to remove the carbs and take off the inlet manifold. Have you guys a solution to the problem? I shall order a new gasket and depending on your advice go from there..

Hi. I have one installed on the 240Z with a new 3ohm flamethrower coil. works a treat. There are plenty of threads on the subject. As a tip I made sure I keep all the bits from the contact breaker set up in the car as a back up just in case. As a rule I have fitted these to many cars over the years. Mg midgets, Tr6, Austin healeys, landrovers and never had a problem with any of them.

Hi Guys.. you may all be asleep when I post this reply so I bet there are plenty of snoozing zzzzzz's bouncing off the walls sorry could not resist the pun..:laugh: Many thanks for your replies thus far. I will certainly look at the timing issue, my haynes book says 10 degrees however i have seen reference to 17 degrees on other sites so i will give that a whirl. I have almost convinced myself that i do not have any air leaks as everything is buttoned up pretty tight.. I stand to be corrected :stupid: and I will get stuck into every nook and cranny to see if there are any leaks. An old mechanic told me to use a blow torch!.. turn the gas on low, feed it through a small hose with a metal probe on the end and waggle this around in front of things in the engine bay. If you have a leak then the engine will pick up on the revs a little.. Sounds a bit dangerous but it may work.... Could the valve for the brake servo cause a leak.. sorry just thinking aloud... What if the inlet manifold is a bit wonky and is letting air in.. food for thought. I am glad its warm and sunny over there.. over here we have just had flood alerts.. no really flood alerts. Its rained that much that we are developing webbed feet .. awful country the UK, lord only knows why we live here at all. I have to waterproof my Z in every conceivable way if I did not then it would just dissolve.. Pictures taken on a rare sunny day, don't ask me when the last time I saw the Sun was weeks ago... Here is a little picture of the UK Z.. hope you like it.. its a rare beast over here just 200 or so left on the road..

Hello all. I stretch my hand out across the pond to shake the hand of my fellow 240Z owners on distant shores. I seek advice. Car: 240Z 1973 Standard engine. Rebuilt from the bottom up and no issues with compression etc. 6 branch header and using a 2 inch exhaust with no centre box just a rear box. State of tune. New Pertronix ignitor using a 3 ohm flamethrower coil and no balast resistor : New plugs, rotor arm, leads and dizzy cap. timing set at 10 degrees BFTDC. done using strobe light. Carbs: a brand spanking new set of Z therapy 3 screw hitatchi carbs these ae running SM needles. i have watched the Z Therapy video several time and done all the adjustments etc. This what I have encountered. you can tell me if I am right or wrong.. shout at me whatever.. but I do need to see if it is me making stupid mistakes or another issue I have not or cannot see. I have been at this for about 20 hours on and off and its time to ask the audience.. I checked the float levels when the carbs arrived just in case they had been thrown around on the plane over to the UK. I cut a piece of card 9/16ths or 14mm slid this under the float to make sure the arm was just contacting the valve. both were fine. I cranked over the engine and marked 23mm down on the side of the float bowl {not 23mm from the lid} and checked the levels with a piece of clear tube. both read 23mm or as near as dam in. I then checked the pistons both dropped with a nice clunk. I topped up the dash pots with ATF as per Z therapy video. both had the same resistance. I set the jets down 2.5 turns. mine have the flat plates on the bottom and not the knurled nut. I made sure all linkages were free and not binding. Its cold here just 6 degree C so I had to use the chokes to start the car. The car fired up and ran at fast idle I let it warm up and gradually decreased the choke. once warm I pushed the choke in.. the car faltered spat back through the front carb {lean} and back fired with popping from the exhaust from the rear carb {rich}. I turned both idle screws up so I could get it to idle, the idle was rough and un even. I evened it up as best I could with the uni-syn. This where it gets a little funny. In order to get the fastest smoothest idle I have had to screw the jets down 4.25 turns front and 4.5 turns rear. I have done this several times and as I screw the front carb up the car starts to hunt and stumble. So its was leaning out on the mixture. I now have it running and set at the 4.25 and 4.5 turns. Its balanced precisly with the uni-syn and revs easily from idle up with not stumble off idle . There is no smoke from the exhaust although it does smell slightly rich. There is no spitting back but when revving it there is a slight popping from the exhaust as I close the throttle. My gut feeling tells me that its the fuel levels in the bowls.. but they are correct. Am I missing something? I pulled the plugs.. but to be honest it needs a good run to really check this out, they look a little sooty.. I have ordinary unleaded in the tank at the moment. All help and advice welcome.. I read somewhere that altitude comes in to the equation with Su type carbs. we are at 1600 feet above sea level its raining damp amd misarable..been like this for two weeks. I wish I lived where it warm and dry. :disappoin sorry for the long post.. thanks in advance.. I think Bruce Palmer frequents the site so he may be able to shed some light on this. I am also thinking its the SM needles? Andrew for an cold wet April in Sheffield England.

thanks chaps. just re torqued all the head bolts down. put it all back together and its exactly the same as before. i have just sent the engineer a text asking for his opinion.. I did a few more checks. no oil in water, no water in oil. plugs are black with what looks like oil and water they are all quite wet. no overheating. no bubbles in the water. really annoyed now as I have spent years restoring this car. I have used this guy before and I have had no problems with him in the past. But this time something has been missed. I put a piece of white paper over the tailpipe and revved the car. no water, no sign of oil. its has to be a problem with the head I cannot see any other reason. I am going to ask around to see if anyone has a spare known good head and see if this sorts it. If anyone has any other gems of wisdom I am all ears. Cheers.

The car is not ready for a run yet as I have to get the interior finished over here we need an MOT before we can get near a road. so as an alternative I have sat with the car and ran it up until its hot. I did this a simulation of a drive eg high and low revs for intermittent periods as if driving on a road. The smoke you speak of does evaporate so I am of the mind that it is a head gasket problem. I can see seepage along the joint of the head and the block. under number 1 cylinder when i taste it it is sweet. I took the plugs out and they look wet with a mixture of oil and water looking into the bores I can see the crowns of the pistons look wet. I checked all the compressions and they are all between 160 and 172 psi the lowest being 160 on number 4. it has used a little water by the looks of things. I have set the carbs as best as I can to try and eliminate any rich mixture. Is it possible that these guys that re built the engine did not torque the head down properly. I was told they did do some work on the head and I am presuming they then pressure tested it. I am as you can imagine a little angry after spending a small fortune on the engine rebuild. If it is a head issue I am a bit stuck as there are not many 240Z in the Uk to start with. I will have a look at the head bolts and check their torque settings first. if this is not the problem then I will be an angry call to the engineering company that did the work. let me know what you think as you are all helping. Thanks for now.

Many thanks. I am going to let the engine run for a an hour or so to get really hot. See if it is engine lube burning off. I hope it is. The smell of the white smoke is not sweet as such but I will check it again later. I will get it hot and check the oil and water levels r to confirm that it is using / not using water. lets hope the smoke goes away and its not the glycol / steam burning off. I hope its not. thanks for help...

Hi. The day eventually came when I could start the 240Z 74 { basic tune running SU type Carbs} I have had the engine re built with new pistons / rings/ valves the head pressure tested etc and it was all put back together by a professional engine builder. So I know { hope} there is not an issue with the actual motor. I set the static timing. Put in a millers 20-50. Filled up the cooling system. Pulled all the plugs and spun it over to get some oil round. Put a bit of fuel in the tank. Set the SU carbs as best I could. I replaced the plugs and cranked it over. It fired and ran. The engine was rebuilt back in may 2011 and has sat since then. The engine ran. a little lumpy but it was running. I then noticed white smoke coming from the exhaust. Quite a lot of white smoke. on revving it was puffing out the back. I checked the timing. all good. I let it warm up but still it smoked. I adjusted the carbs a little to lean the mixture as I thought it may be that, but it still smokes. It has not been run for more that 20 minutes in total. i am wondering if it is still burning off any stuff they may have used in the engine re build. Maybe its some crud in the fuel.. I am hoping to heck that it's not a head issue! The car sounds great it revs well it idles smoothly feels right if you know what I mean. I let it run up to normal operating temp and then switched off. Seems fine... Any suggestions? thanks:disappoin

240X 1973 UK model. Hi. I have at last got down to putting my 240z back together, not that it was together when I got it. Just boxes of bits and lots of rust. I have a question regarding the indicator switch. The combination switch on the steering column looks to be the right one. The switch that controls the light / wipers etc has the same colour wires in the multi plugs that match up exactly to the connections coming from the dash loom. no problem there. The issue I have is with the indicator switch. This has a passing button at the top by the way. The wires colours {colors} on the plugs do not correspond to wire colours coming from the dash loom. I do not want to power up anything until I ask.. so here is what I have: From the dip / indicator switch: Large plug looking straight down at the connections top horizontal colour is red and white. right hand one is Red and yellow and the left one is red and black. On the loom from the dash its red and white top, right hand one is green and black and the left hand one is red and black.... no match there except the white and red at the top and the red and black on the left. so it appears that the red and yellow does no match up to the green and black.. Small multiplug looking down at it from the front with the recess at the top. from the switch top Black, middle red & white, bottom White and black. from the dash loom top red and white, middle green and black, bottom green and red. Then a single lead on it's own from the switch is white from the loom it's green these have a male and female spade connection. Question is if you followed that confusing babble is.. do I have the right switch.. should the colours match up to the dash loom plugs.. if not then I need some help as I dont have the right switch.. is there a work round to make it work? :disappoin Gawd... all help appreciated from our Z brothers in the US.. thanks.

Sorry about this chaps. I am in the UK with a UK 73 240Z. I have a pertronix that i need to fit to the car. I have 3 wires coming through to the original coil. Black and white, green and white, and a white with a thin black stripe. All the wiring diagrams I have seen show that I should have. 2 x black and white and one green and white. I have traced the white and black back to the ignition switch the green and white appears to go there as well. the other is yet to be traced. I am a bit of a novice with the electrical stuff, my forte lays in mechanical things. if you can help me I would appreciate it. sorry about the repeat question.. Thanks in advance.. I have another question which I will post as well..

Many thanks. I am getting somewhere now. My loom appers to be a mixage of a 72 / 73. It has things in common with the the early 260z 2 seater and the 72/73 240Z. I am tracing each connector back to its source and going from there. I wil now more when I power it up. So far there are no shorts and each wire tested so far looks sound.

Morning all. I have a 240Z which I have been restoring over the past 2 years. The car came to me in various boxes. Its a late 73 240z. I have now got to the point of getting the electric back in. Engine bay loom is back in. I have the loom through the firewall and sitting on the floor with a various collection of multi plugs.. blue,black, white etc which I know connect to the dash loom and the rear loom. What is confusing me somewhat is is the relay panel. nothing was connected and nothing labeled. Has anyone a picture of the actual relays that should be on there and which wires connect to what. One or two are obvious as the wire match up. others not so. The last thing I want to do is connect up something and fry the wires. Many thanks.. the pictures from the manual are all but usless as they do not show the actual relays and what they do. thanks..

That will be one of the floor support rails. You will need to cut it off and re place. a fabricators will be able to make them for you for a few quid. I am in the midst of restoring 2 240s so if you need any help just PM me I am in Sheffield UK;)

Hello All. Just thought I would introduce myself. I live in the UK {yorkshire} I am the owner of 2 x 240Z both under going restoration {all of which I do myself} The cars are 1973 and 1972. The spares scene over here is sad to say the least. I am rather hoping that if I see any spares I need that you would be good enough to consider shipping them to the UK for me. I can arrange payment by PAYPAL or bank transfer. I would like to add that if you need an emergency {hand brake} cable then I am having some made for the early Z's these should fit the 70 to 74 240 / 260Z. The cables are made as close to original spec as can be. They will use the original fixing clips which will be supplied with the cables. I hope for them to be 1/2 the price than an original.. IF you can find one.. {there is one on ebay for $250.00 US} If they are of interest please PM me they should be available in a few weeks. I can ship anywhere.