Zed Head

It's the same type of connector as used on the injectors, so if you can find a write-up or post on that, it will be the same. I know that Fric Frac has written a tutorial and posted a video over on Hybridz, for installing the upgraded connectors he was selling. I think that you have to slip a small screwdriver or pick down behind the wire to hold a metal clip back, while pushing the pin in, then pull the pin out when the clip is clear

Jarvo, did you try ZSpecialties, the first link I posted? Or is $62.95 too much? http://www.datsunstore.com/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=advance&x=0&y=0

Better check the length first though before you buy, since they list one drive shaft for all 240Zs. The discussion here seems to be about the very early ones, that were shorter.

The early 4 speed, the later 4 speed and early 5 speed, and the later 5 speed all have different 1st gear ratios. This will affect the quickness from a stop. Something to consider. You can see how the 240Z got away with a 3.36 final ratio. 3.592 240Z 4 speed 3.321 280Z 4 speed to 79 5 speed 3.062 80-83 5 speed Looks like the factory tried to stick around 12:1 for first gear overall ratio, in general. The 260Z and 79 ZX are oddballs. 240Z - 3.36 x 3.592 = 12.06 (if this is what they had, the FSM says 3.9, still confused on that. Looking at the numbers it looks like they just got 3.36 and 3.9 swapped in the FSM since the 5 speed has a 2.906 1 st gear) 280Z - 3.54 x 3.321 = 11.76 80-83 ZX - 3.9 x 3.062 = 11.94

The advance curves, vacuum and mechanical, are different among the numerous distributors that you could run on your engine. The advance specs are in the FSM if you want to compare, and somewhere on this forum there is a thread with a spreadsheet linked compiling most of the options out there. You started out looking for a 1972 vacuum advance canister, why don't you just swap that instead if the advance curve is the same, instead of a whole distributor? Is there more to the story?

I have an RT style mount on my 76 280Z and it fixed the thumpy part of the clunk. Now all I hear is the lash in the diff and axle parts. It's also very convenient if you work on your suspension or plan to, since you can remove the cross member that clamps the transverse link and leave the diff hanging, if you use the GM mount instead of the snubber. On the other hand, most old diff mounts are loose even if you can't see any damage. A new stock mount would probably fix clunking also.

Here's one - http://www.datsunstore.com/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=advance&x=0&y=0 Type "advance" in the search window if it doesn't come up. Spendy! And, weirdly enough, Courtesy Nissan shows the part as available, for a lower price - http://www.courtesyparts.com/advance-va-p-277665.html Parts number from here - http://www.carpartsmanual.com/datsunS30/DatsunZIndex/Electrical/Distributor/240Z/ForManual/FromSep71/tabid/1633/Default.aspx

I was going to comment about just threading NPT in to the BSPT hole, since that's what the PO did on my current engine. Your method works, but you went the other way than Texas is going, threading BSPT in to an NPT hole, he's threading NPT in to a BSPT hole. The problem is that the typical NPT fitting is larger diameter at the tip than the typical BSPT fitting. From what I've seen, even if you get a small NPT part (minus manufacturing tolerance) you'll only get one or two threads in the BSPT hole, if you're lucky.

Pretty sure it's BSPT. I bought the pipe nipples below from McMaster Carr a while ago. I think I tested them out but so far they've been sitting on the shelf until I need them. 5832T121 BSPT-to-NPT Threaded Brass Pipe Nipple, 1/8" Pipe Size, 1-1/2" L, Threaded Both Ends, Schedule 40

I don't claim to be non-ignorant. Feel free to pick out the specific points if I'm one of the purveyors of bad information, on the welding, the acid bath, or the need to re-coat the body. Or the difficulty in getting things clean enough. I'm seeing two messages (or one big one) in your post. Basically, that it's only worth doing for a race car, a waste of time for a street car. Shed some more light please. Thanks. p.s. The OP is just trying to make the car feel firmer and less noisy. Any thoughts on the first things you would do to stiffen the chassis? My car creaks in the headliner area, in the back, if I get diagonal wheels unloaded, like when coming off a ramped, humped, driveway at an angle. I assume it's the body torquing a little but I don't know what to do to stiffen it up diagonally.

That's not a factory blend of parts. You have an L24/240Z head on an L28/280Z block. You'll have to pop the valve cover off and look for identifying marks on the cam. If I had to guess, I would say that it's the cam that came with the E31 head, which would have an A stamped on the back, according the link I posted. The simplest option, just a different block with the old head and carbs (although I'm no expert on what head or carbs came on a 71 240Z so could be way off).

See if there is a letter stamped on to the back of the cam - http://atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/cam/index.htm Find the letter/numbers stamped/engraved on the cylinder head, above the 1 and 2 spark plugs (E88, P79, P90, N42, N47...). See if you can find the letter/numbers molded in to the bottom of the block, almost behind the driver's side motor mount, right above the oil pan lip (N42 or F54). Post all of this information and people will tell you what you're working with.

I think that the acid bath will make the whole car a spot for rust to start. You would have to do the acid bath, do the welding, do another acid batch to re-clean everything, then do a dip in E-coat or rust-proof coating of some kind. Could get very expensive. I've seen a thread or two on another site about stitch-welding the seams after extensive media blasting and even then there is lots of smoke and contaminated welds. Sounded like a real pain. Might be more effective to add some of the typical body/frame bracing first and maybe some selective welding. Hybridz has a lot more to look at, since they have a racing tilt over there.

Weird, I never realized that those were in there, I guess they're kind of buried. They're shown in the RA section of the FSM as a spacer. Might explain the quarter inch mismatch on the rear of my car. Edit - Found a diagram and part number. http://www.carpartsmanual.com/datsunS30/DatsunZIndex/Axle/RearSuspension/tabid/1731/Default.aspx

I think that the comments about the bump stops were made because you asked specifically about the strut mounts. You're right, you won't know that they're there unless you hit a large bump. When you said that you had the drive shaft aligned, what did you mean and how did you do it? The SBC swap usually leads to having the nose of the differential too high. Many people use an "RT mount" (design by Ron Tyler), a redesigned differential nose mount for higher strength and less nose movement, which also lowers the nose to get proper alignment. If the front and rear u-joints aren't on parallel planes, you'll get a buzz.

I've stopped by there and they do seem like good guys. What kind of work did you have done? And what kind of work did you ask the other shops to do? Without details, it's just aimless venting. Better to be nice, no one is going to volunteer their services if they think you're hard to please.

Headlights do get old and die. If you have power at the fuse (measure voltage from the fuse to ground), there's probably power to the headlight. I bought a bunch of new fuses and just replaced all of mine. Cheap insurance. I found one that looked original, probably been in use since 1976. Maybe 35 years old. Most of the others looked pretty crusty on the inside. Your ammeter won't bounce between high and low until the headlights work again. No current (amps) is flowing. The connector probably had a poor connection causing resistance that caused heat. When you opened it up and put it back together you created a better connection so the heat went away. When cars sit without moving, the heating and cooling cycles are enough to open up the connections and allow light corrosion to fill in. Use 'em or lose 'em.

A couple of classics for sale in the area, at least one looks pretty nice - http://portland.craigslist.org/clk/cto/3245214464.html http://portland.craigslist.org/clk/cto/3245040229.html

Volt/ohm meter. And don't forget that red is not always the positive cable.

Funny, I have one good one that I bought from someone local when I thought I would need it soon, and figured that I would never find one in the wrecking yards, and another that I found in a wrecking yard about two weeks later. But it has a groove in the splined input piece, from a worn seal, that may or may not be in a critical spot for my use, which would be a 300Zx transmission with a swapped bell housing in a 76 280Z. But the groove would definitely be in a bad spot for an early 240Z. In short, I have a good one and a bad one but want to keep the good one. What do you need it for?

You say that you have the pump powered through a toggle switch. Where does the power to the toggle switch come from? What "connector under the dash" are you testing for voltage? If it worked before, the most likely problem is a loose connection or blown fuse.

I measured the old one from my 1976 Z, off the car, and the rod measures 3 3/4" to the end of the rod from the firewall mounting surface. Fully extended out of the bore by the internal spring. 2 5/8" fully compressed. Stroke length of 1 1/8". The auto store cross-reference shows that they should be the same cylinder. Hope that helps. If you disconnect the rod from the pedal at the clevis the rod should extend out to its maximum, from the internal spring, which would be the desired starting point to get maximum travel, and slave cylinder movement. Might give you a clue on how far off the pedal is from what the master cylinder needs.

You mean the short ones, used with the diffs that were mounted forward. I have a couple of those. I got 21 1/8" from the center of each yoke.

What year car?

To confirm, either the 72 FSM is wrong or the zhome numbers are wrong for 1972. The FSM says the 4 speed is 3.9, zhome says the 4 speed is 3.36. I've always heard that 3.36 is the stock 240Z R180 ratio, but the FSM says otherwise.