Zed Head

It sounds like your battery is only connected to the starter and the EFI harness and the alternator is only connected to the fuse box and body harness. The battery starts the car and the alternator runs the body electrical when it starts charging. The alternator behavior is like a GM one-wire setup, which requires revving to get it to start charging. The charge light probably comes on because the L wire is not connected because someone has set up the "simple" (primitive) one wire alternator. The voltmeter's in the Z cars are not known for accuracy so the 16 volts is kind of meaningless, you need to use a real voltmeter. But before you do that, you should fix your wiring, it sounds messed up. It could be as simple as connecting the white charge wire from the alternator to the starter terminal,where it will be able to charge the battery like it's supposed to. Or it could be a nightmare wiring mess from a PO.

You didn't give any details about the clutch parts that are in the car. Are they the 240Z parts or did you install a 280Z clutch to match the 280Z transmission? Actually, extending the rod probably won't help. If the rod was too short, the slave cylinder piston would just pop put, unless the rubber boot is retracting it when you release pressure. I would loosen the rod adjustment nuts, push the rod back in to the slave cylinder, and re-tighten. The other possibility is your pressure plate and collar combination. Edited...

Do you have a good idea of how the clutch works? You haven't responded to Posts 2 and 4 and you're asking the same question over again.

Blue just gave a number in this thread - http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=47300&p=410213#post410213 The numbers on the bell housing won't tell you much, and won't have much to do with how your clutch works. It's the combination of pressure plate and throwout bearing collar that matters. Tell some details about what clutch package you started with and any changes you made when you put the new transmission in. The transmission looks like a 77-79 "early" "wide ratio" 5 speed, by the way. I see that you have the adjustable rod from the slave cylinder. Have you tried extending it yet?

I had a brand new slave cylinder that leaked in the middle of its travel. It moved correctly, when viewed by eye, and actuated the clutch but when it got warm it would leak more and I would get less travel. Grinding reverse, hard to get in to first, etc. The problem was sporadic like you're describing so it was hard to diagnose. I knew I had a leaking cylinder though, when I took the rubber boot off of the slave cylinder and it had fluid inside. Take yours off, it should be dry inside. If not, get a new slave cylinder and take it apart and clean the insides before installing. The quality control at the manufacturing plants is poor and some of them get shipped out with machining and honing grit inside which tears up the seal.

A leak down test would identify a leaking valve. At least do a cylinder pressure (compression) check. You're jumping way ahead to an expensive conclusion. You might just need a simple tuneup - plugs, rotor and cap.

Valve lash set too tight or eroded valve seats from unleaded gasoline could cause a burned valve. When the valve doesn't seal completely hot exhaust gases squeeze through and erode the valve and valve seat material or warp the valve from uneven heating. Then the valve doesn't seal well at all, you get compression loss and it's all down hill. If the valve is burned the valve seat is probably bad also. You would have to remove the head, replace the valve and install new valve seats. If you have one burned valve, unless you made a mistake setting valve lash on a single valve, it's probably time to rebuild the head.

Curious, did you compare the old strut mounts to the new? I picked up some new spacers also (from Courtesy Nissan, the rubber ones) and found that the old ones had taken a pretty serious set over time, along with the strut mounts. One side was higher than the other, so I ended up with the two sides in the back at different heights because they had got "mis-clocked' when I put them back in, in the past. Anyway, the new softer rubber strut mounts probably absorb shock and vibration better than the old 30-40 year old rubber of the old ones. Good idea if you have the cash. Mine still have a set to them but I matched high sides when I re-installed them so my back end is level now. Attached few pictures of what I found in my car. Really not bad but had an effect. Mounts are still rock hard. Interesting stuff, I didn't even know those spacers were there and didn't realize how much set the old mounts and spacers had taken.

Have you ever changed the fluid before or is it possible that it's the original fluid? If all of the pieces are fine, there's not a lot you can do or worry about. The bearings are all designed with a loose fit to flush debris through and the magnet will grab whatever passes by as the oil circulates. Flushing with gas won't do much but put more wear on the bearings and synchros, maybe even cause a failure that wouldn't have otherwise happened. A fine paste of metal shavings is normal for an old transmission. I would just put the new fluid in and drive it. If you're worried, drive it for a few hundred miles, drain the fluid in to a clean container, examine the magnet, then put the fluid back in. You'll probably find no new shavings.

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.