Harry Walker

One way to form hose is to fill it with fine sand, make a form (I used nails on a board) put the hose filled with sand in the form and then use a heat gun to warm the hose. Do this a few times being careful not to burn (melt) the hose. Let it all cool, clean out the sand, and the hose will have a bend.

Thanks, Thats kind of what I thought. Curious though that Datsun would fill the hole with a lead plug.

This is just a curiority question since I don't think it is a mechanical issue. Does anyone know why or what the purpose is for the lead "rivit" that is in the hole opposite the inspection hole on the Z car brake drums? Mine is a '72 and I just had the drums turned and one of the lead fittings broke. I plan on just putting a rubber filler plug in there (same as the inspection hole) but what is the purpose of the lead fitting? Harry

I have been in the process of refreashing my 72 z. I bought it new and now it's time to redo to make it run again. I have tried to rebuild the master cylinder and think I have made some error. The real error I guess is trying to rebuild vs buying a new Master Cylinder but I have faith that a rebuild should work. Anyway I replaced the rubber parts on the shafts and reinstalled everything but now I cannot get anything to come out of the F port. (port to the rear of the cylinder) Also I may have put the springs on incorrectly. Does anyone know which spring goes in the front (in first) - the two are of different strenths (the black one is stronger). Also do I have the rubber washers on the right way? I suspect at least one of them is on backwards. Thanks for any help

Well all is well now. I removed the oil pump and shaft and turned it to the right place on the gear. The distributor is now correct and the engine runs well. Thanks for your help. Harry

Thanks for the info. I will remove and inspect this week. Harry

Hello All, I am trying to refreash my 1972 240Z. I had the engine rebuilt by a machine shop and finally got it back home and in the car. After putting everything else back on I tried to start it. It took me about 3 weeks to figure out that the distributer was on backwards. Now I know that you cannot put the Z car Dist on backwards because the shaft has an offset key. But when all else was correct the only thing left was that the rotor was pointing aft when the No 1 piston was at TDC. I moved all the spark plug wires to opposite points and the engine fired up. Now the problem is that I have a distributor that is "backwards" but the real problem is that I ran the engine for about 1 minute and had a loud high pitched noise coming from the front of the engine. It may be the oil pump or the shaft that connects the pump and the dist. I shut the engine down and haven't started it again since I am afraid the shaft may be the issue and it may be causing internal problems. Does anyone have experience with this issue? Can that shaft be installed upside down and cause this problem? The shop where I had the work done is 65 miles away (I had to move since the work was done) and I haven't tried to work with them again yet. This is my baby - I bought it new in 1972 and it was my daily driver until about 10 years ago when I put it away. Two years ago I started to refreash it and the body work is done but this issue with the engine is keeping the project at a standstill. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Harry

I am refurbishing my '72 240Z and have been trying to find a brake booster. Mine was working when I took the car apart a year ago but the repair manual says to rebuild this thing every three years. I am the original owner and know that the booster has never been rebuilt. It worked for 38 years and as far as I know it still works. BUT, I cannot find a rebuild kit. Every place I look is out of stock (Black Dragon, Z Car source, Z car of arizona). I'm not sure they make the kits anymore. Anybody know where to get a rebuild kit?

After looking at all the posts and thinking I will stay with the Webers for now it looks like I will go with the bracket mod. Attached is the instruct sheet from Weber that I used to install these back on '91. I think the transmission mounting bushing is bigger than it was before and is the cause of the problem. Thanks to everyone for the help. I hope to have my Z running by the end of the summer. You never know with all the other stuff life makes you do but that is the goal.

Thanks for all the help. I modified the linkage back in '91 to get the Webers to work. As I remember all I did was run the shaft straight back to the mounting bushing on the firewall and then I used the arms that were on the SU shaft to hook up to the Weber throttle linkage. Maybe there was enough play when things were old and the transmittion mount was worn out. Now with the new tranny bushing there isn't. I thought about the engine mounts. The rt and lt brackets that bolt on the engine then bolt to the rubberized mounts are different on each sode. If I were to switch them they would put the engine in a tilt to the left instead of the slight tilt to the right. Also the brackets arre the same as the pictures in my 1972 repair manual. The old mounts and the new mounts are exacltly the same. The intake manifold is the original '72 part that came with the car. Looks like I need to explore a new throttle shaft setup. Thanks for the help so far. More to come when I do some more tinkering. OR I could go back to the original SUs - just a thought. (The webers gave me more power however)

I have the original carbs as well as a set of Webers. Both fit on the manifold and use the same throttle shaft. I have the Webers cleaned and ready to go back on. The SUs are still in a box ready for someone with a more classic mentality to put them back on. Before the engine was rebuilt I had the webers on there and the shaft fit just fine.

Hello all, I am the original owner of a 1972 240Z. I am trying to refurbish my baby and have run into a problem I can't figure out. I had extensive body work done and the engine rebuilt. When I put the engine back in, the throttle shaft from the intake manifold to the firewall bracket does not line up. I used both new engine mounts and the old mounts and the shaft has the same displacement. I put a new transmission bushing in. I thought the tranny might be the problem but in order to lower the back of the engine enough to get the throttle shaft to line up the transmission lays down on the crossmember with no room for any bushing. I have rebuilt the intake manifold and thought I got it together correctly. Any thoughts? What did I do wrong here?

Hello again. You guys will know the best way to do this I'm sure:). I have removed the kick plates (aluminum with Datsun stamped on them) from the rocker panels. I have washed them with soap and fine steel wool. They are coming clean but still need help. Also I have not been able to get the little grooves cleaned. I have tried a buffing wheel on my dremel and that just left a black streak. What is the best way to refurbish this part?? Harry Original owner 72 240z

Thanks guys. I am looking into all these options. This is why this is the best site ever. Harry original owner 72/240Z

I am restoring my 72 240 and can't find a rear hatch shock/lifter. The old one has no gas left in it. I just don't want to keep using a stick of wood to hold up the hatch!! I have looked at JC Whitney, Black Dragon, Z Store and, Z Car Source of AZ. The Z store lists a deck lid support for $251.53. That sounds really high for a small gas shock to me. Does anyone know just what this part is called and where a good one can be found? Thanks Harry