Zed Head

Here's something different. Only $7,700! https://www.ebay.com/itm/325776092449

Seems like he might have paid for the looks and now he's finding out what's underneath as he tries to move it on. Funny that he says he spent years trying to buy it but knows so little about it. Wonder where it will end up next.

That's a first. Should be an interesting project. The cam towers have a lot of mystery attached. Nissan says that if they're bad the whole head needs replacing. You probably have read that. Then, of course, there's the "tap the towers while spinning the cam" adjustment method if they're removed. Haven't seen towers from a different head tried. Seems like it should be possible, if the cam spins freely what could go wrong. Too bad they don't have "tower saver" journal inserts. Maybe you could make some.

The comments continue on that red G Nose 72 even though the auction ended yesterday. Apparently it's meant to be a show car, as The Guild guy inferred earlier. I copied the image before it gets removed as "non-constructive". Kind of feel bad for picking on the guy's car but he doesn't want to let things fade. He's asking over $40,000 for it, so he can't expect no questions asked. What does $40,000 get you? What he should do at this point is put that paper trail together, documentation of it's provenance to remove the mystery, and put it back on the market in the right way. $40,000 is a risk unless you have money to burn. Drama!

You might turn the head upside down and fill the passage with oil to see if it's leaking from the cam journals like you mentioned earlier. Or some lighter fluid like kerosene/diesel/heating oil. That was a thought that seems on target. You could also just blow compressed air in and see what happens.

If you click Images here a bunch comes up. It's a hot topic! https://www.google.com/search?q=coolant+temperature+sensors+curves

Is a plain old 1972 240Z with a G Nose (of questionable origin), a nice paint job, and an odd "sun roof" worth $40,000? I thought the guy did really well. The 72 alone was probably worth $25,000. That's a $15,000 premium for the three additions. Hard to figure where the additional value comes from beyond that. It's a nice-looking shell on an old 72 with a 5 speed, right? I wonder what his reserve was. The Z collector world is a strange place. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1972-datsun-240z-287/

Might as well fill in some of the blanks on the saga of the 240Z"G" on BaT. Here's a Google that has a bunch of links about The240ZGuild and one interesting story that I pulled out. People on BaT are getting upset that the history of the car is being discussed. But they're not going to buy the car. https://www.google.com/search?q=the240zguild https://zclub.net/community/index.php?threads/franklin-mint-1970-datsun-240z.25773/page-5 The BaT link again. It's an interesting discussion. Reminds me of California Datsun. There's money to be made on those old Z cars! https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1972-datsun-240z-287/#comments-anchor

The oil jets (restrictors) are designed to maintain pressure to the lower end. It's a balance between top and bottom. If everything is to spec. it might be that the bottom end clearances are too loose and bleeding off the pressure. Maybe you're looking at the wrong parts. Maybe the low flow at the top is a sign of too much at the bottom. Could also be that you have a restriction from the jet to the spray bar. Through the head, in to the towers, and then to the bar. A new spray bar wouldn't fix that.

The Irwin extractor's I showed are completely external. But, to my point about finding a friend who knows cars - there are some methodical steps that should be taken to maximize the odds of getting it out. For example, you can file flats on the sides of the nub that the flats on the Vise-Grips can grab. It's more effective that relying on the teeth of the grips, which destroy as they bite. And there are ways to get a better view of the working area, like working through the tire well instead of from above. The right person with a welder could have it out in a few minutes probably Unfortunately most people learn those lessons the hard way after they've already destroyed the remnants of the stud/bolt/whatever. Seems like you're at a point where you can avoid major problems if you get the right plan in place. You left out the part about sawing off the sending unit and the fact that the nub turned a little bit. That's actually a good sign.

Did you mean timing chain? Nissan removed the description of the front oiler in the 1976 FSM. They mention chain lubrication but not the specific oil jet. Here's 72 - Here's 76 -

I got the impression from somewhere that the front one is not really necessary. It might even be discontinued in the later engines. Might have read it in the Rebuild book. You could pull them out, do some work on them, and replace them without introducing swarf in to the engine. Looks like they're still available. Could probably make your own also. 12 and 13 https://www.carpartsmanual.com/datsun/Z-1969-1978/engine-280z/cylinder-block https://www.nissanpartsdeal.com/parts/nissan-jet-oil-cyl~11047-e3000.html

One possibility that I haven't seen discussed is to find a coolant temperature sensor that has a shifted curve, shifted to the lean side compared to the Nissan curve. If you could start lean, you could use the 3 bar FPR, then you could use the "sensor tweak" to bring the curve up. I'd guess that a common thermistor material was used by many manufacturers. Who knows, maybe somebody started in a different spot on the resistance scale but the shape is the same. The Nissan curve has been derived on the forum by CO, from the FSM numbers and I think he did some tests. @Captain Obvious Maybe GM or Volvo or BMW has one with possibilities. Probably hard to find their curves on the internet but it might be fun to test a few.

Here is the inverse option to what SteveJ suggested. Goes over the part. Sometimes they work. https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/VG_394002

What kind are you using?

If you have a friend that's handy around cars you might ask them to take a look. It's a tapered thread, so, really, a pair of pliers or Vise-Grips should work. You might stick a mirror or a camera down there and see how big the hole is. Some might not need drilling.

One of these. Find one that barely fits inside so it's outside the block, tap it in, turn it counterclockwise. If should unscrew easily.

1978 uses the oil pressure switch or the alternator current to power the fuel pump relay. Or Start.

There is a ton, across many different web sites and on this forum about adjusting the AFM spring. Good luck with that.

Well, this is odd. The picture that I pasted looks like 604 to me. But now I see another picture of the firewall that looks like a 402. Picture 150 versus picture 163. Must have got their pictures mixed up. There's a 604 and a 402 https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1972-datsun-240z-287

Sorry Carl, I'm going to bump my own post up to the new page. Hate the way the last page disappears entirely when a new page comes up... How about some feedback? What do you see?

I got curious after reading about The 240Z Guild, and the police car thing, and other stuff on the internet, so started looking at the pictures. Could somebody else describe what they see in the three screen grabs below? I'd like to verify. BaT should know, if I am correct. Picture #150 is the firewall stamping. Reminds of when I was a kid in the sketchy wrecking yard looking at a 10 bolt chevy rear end. The yard guy said "yep there is is, a 12 bolt rear end". I didn't even count the bolts until I had it home. Used it anyway but felt like a dummy. That story only makes sense if you're an old GM muscle car person.

That's a good point. I had a similar problem when the front calipers were on the wrong sides. The pedal went halfway down before any brake action. My problem was air in the system though, that could not get out. Easy mistake to make. Bleed valve on top.

What does the brake pedal do? The play in all of the mechanical parts gets taken up when you press the pedal. There's a tool for adjusting the master vac. But getting it properly adjusted probably won't make the brakes work differently with no vacuum. https://www.google.com/search?q=vacuum+booster+adjustment+tool If it's the rear wheels that won't lock up it might just be poor quality shoes. I found when I replaced mine that the shoes seemed to be designed for oversize drums. They only contacted on the ends. I couldn't lock up my rear wheels at all and the parking brake was definitely not an emergency brake.

This has to be noisy inside at speed, right? And why the wipers? Looks like it has potential though. Seems more "rag top" than a convertible. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1972-datsun-240z-287/