Mikez73

I'll see about getting a Holley FPR later. I was thinking about this one but it doesn't have a gauge port. My pump is supposed to be recommended for Weber carbs. How hard is it to install a gasket kit on the Webers?

I bet there's nothing there now. That is one clean car you have there. On the cowl subject... I haven't buttoned anything down yet but it seems like the front edge is noticeably lower. I don't recall any spacers. I guess I'll figure it out tomorrow. Also I'm wondering if there is any restoration that can be done with the windshield wiper motor. The wipers are really sloooow.

Over at z31p.com we have a thread called "What did you do to your Nissan/Datsun today?" or something like that. Just for little miscellaneous trivial stuff like this. I couldn't find any better place for this post so I put it here. I don't mind if it gets moved or deleted. I didn't put it in paint & body because...well t's not exactly paint & body the way it should be done... /shrug Typical Datsun stuff...rust patrol: Cowls aren't waterproof??? Oh well it's just minor rust right? By Datsun standards... No place for big fingers I do better prep work than this and I suck at paint and body Getting started Looking much better Missed the wiper thingy... No place for small fingers! Enough for today...

I can add one. "Datsun"...Japanese word for "thin cheap metal that rusts really easily."

Good thread. I'm dying to hear what a "dog leg" is

Still getting no spark. I installed a new pickup in the distributor and wired the e1280 module back in. The ballast resistor had been removed by a previous owner. I found three wires cut & taped off in the harness. A green wire I'm guessing was the noise suppression capacitor. A green/white wire I'm guessing was for the ballast resistor. A black/yellow wire w/ 12v I'm guessing was also for the ballast resistor. There is also a black/white wire w/ female spade connector that has no voltage. From what I've read the green/white and black/yellow wires should be jumped at the ballast resistor or should be connected if the ballast resistor is removed... for the car to run. On my car they aren't connected. And FWIW the tach hasn't worked since I got the car. The pickup is good. Both modules are good. I've got more than 1000 ohms at the pickup. 12 volts between coil positive and ground. 12 volts between coil negative and ground. No spark. What am I doing wrong? In the original diagram John Hull writes to remove the black wire to the distributor and attach it to terminal C on the e1280. It was connected to the condenser on my old distributor but maybe I'll try that.

Hope you're still watching this thread Frank. When your carbs leak, does the gas come out through the air horns and leak through the filter? I was working on the ignition tonight so the key was on and the fuel pump was running. I noticed a strong gas smell so I checked under the carbs and the bottoms of the filters were soaked with gas. I need to find the fuel pump fuse so I can pull it while I'm trying to get the ignition sorted out but I was thinking that in the future maybe the carbs need a return line. What do you think? There is a capped off smaller hard line running along side the larger fuel supply hard line. I'm guessing that was the original return line before the Webers were installed.

Yeah it is very dark isn't it. The PO didn't drive it much. I just bought the car in November and I haven't driven it much either. The car is probably wasted on me. It's a great little car but it should be with an owner that could give it more attention. Some new gaskets might be in order but the carbs work great once the engine is warm.

If we're lucky those sub 50 degree days are over for awhile. My car is a PITA to start. I know about the starter circuits on the Webers now but I need to find a way to connect them. I've read that they don't do much though.Seems to be a lot of Z cars running around out there in the Woodlands area. That would be great. I didn't know there were o-rings in there. I understand why the o-rings are used instead of gaskets after reading Nigel1943's response. That wouldn't surprise me at all. They do have some staining and residue on top. I probably need to look for a gasket kit. Right now I'm focused on that ignition problem and rust hunting There isn't much rust on the car but it's like finding out there are spiders in the car...I won't be comfortable until I find every spot of rust and kill it. A 240z might have been a bad choice for me... I had to google Thackery washers and what they do after reading your post. Thanks for the tip. They probably are overtightened because I tightened the nuts a little thinking I might stop the leak. Hope I didn't damage them.

Looks like it. Looks like more than a simple gasket is required.

Ok now I need help. I tried to start it up today but it wouldn't start. There is ~11 volts to the + side of the coil. Maybe I should try a ground wire on the C terminal of the module?

I like the rubber antenna idea. I'm not a big fan of chrome. Black goes with anything

It is. I'm not crazy about the stuff. It has it's uses but this wasn't a good one. I was told all the bodykit parts were glassed in. Thanks. I'm not the kind of person to strip the car down and dip it in zinc but I'll get whatever rust I see. I kept at it with a wirebrush on a drill going around the perimeter until I found where the rust stops. The rust only extended about an inch beyond the area you see in the pic. I guess water got in through those cracks and wreaked havoc. I can get rid of the rust. I don't know if I can mount the spoiler extension and make it look good. The extension is fine. Apparently it's made of fiberglass. Not a big deal all in all but it puts a damper on selling the car anytime soon. I'm not that enthusiastic about selling it anyway

I don't think most people here have seen my car. I didn't think it had any serious rust. I looked in all the usual places and everything looked pretty good. But I was thinking about selling my car so I was taking some more detailed pics of the dings. Like these cracks where the spoiler wing was molded to the quarter panel: When I saw the second pic I figured I better check that out. That whole molded in piece ended up coming off and I found this: Bummer... http://67.18.219.83/image_hosting/web_pages/Mike88se/images/240/240Z.htm

I've always thought that an owner should make a car their own. I'm coming from a z31 perspective and the usual goal there is to make the car as fast as money allows with attention to handing and braking too. I'm not much of a purist. My car suits me pretty well. I'm not crazy about the wood steering wheel or the square head lights but they don't bother me enough to change them. I'd rather have the L28et and a five speed than what's in the car now but it isn't a high priority.

Anybody have any input on that? Do I just leave the wire that is currently on the coil + terminal and add a wire from the Ignition module B terminal to the coil + terminal? I've got everything installed and wired except for that. I hit another snag though...I bought a 280zx mount for the 280zx distributor but I didn't buy the plate that attaches to the distributor to set timing. The 240 plate is too small.

A 260z daily driver for $250 sounds like you got a deal. Congrats. For a dd I'd just get some Eibach springs and KYB or Tokico blue dampers. I'd check the bushings for wear also.

Is that just for the block? I looked into the cost of building a stroker. At least 3000. If the body just has minor rust and everything else is good then it sounds like a good deal. I'm not sure why anyone would go to the trouble and expense of a good paint job w/o making damned sure any rust problems were taken care of first. But maybe the paint was done a while back and with these cars you can't sneeze w/o causing rust so maybe he thought it was well prepped for paint. Looks nice enough in the pics but a close up look may be different. Bottom line opinion is if you go look at it and the rust looks minor and everything is good mechanically then it sounds like a good deal. That would be a very good price in Texas....in California it might not be so good.

All the more reason to hurry up and install that 280zx dizzy. This just makes the job easier right? Or wrong? Without the ballast resistor there it makes installing the HEI module more confusing. I modified a diagram by JohnH240 using info from his 240 to 280zx conversion and a writeup on converting a 280zx to GM HEI module. If you or any electrically inclined people want to check it out and point out any mistakes I'd appreciate it.

A 36 year old girl is too old? I almost had the best time of my life with an older woman. When I was 15 there was a 30 something year old woman I was giving guitar lessons to one afternoon when my mom walked in but that's another story. Alright guys I got it...the wires are correct but my diagram is wrong. I have a pic of a dizzy with the firing order printed right on it and when I copied it to my notebook I guess I got dyslexic. I need to get a printer :stupid: Thanks. Anybody got any ideas on that ballast? It is supposed to be where it's at in that pic I borrowed isn't it? On my car there is nothing below the coil. I followed the wire from coil + all the way around the front of the car and through the firewall. No ballast anywhere. I'm confused.

Pics I uploaded to my host... Pic I stole: And sorry, I know it's not really an emergency if an admin wants to move it to a better category.

This seems stupid but I have to ask to make sure I'm not tripping. First off, I went out to swap the 280zx dizzy for the the 240 dizzy. I'm looking at everything to get my bearings and I can't find the ballast resistor. I know what it looks like and where it's supposed to be but it ain't there. It's supposed to be on the drivers side just down from the coil right? Second thing...I'm checking the plug wires and something doesn't look right but I'm still new to the L24 so I thought I better ask about it. My wires are run like the pic below which looks like #3 and #6 are crossed. Am I right?

Haha...not what I meant. Trade down to a 280z that isn't in quite as good a shape as the 240z. In other words trade the 240z for a "project" 280z plus cash. That would help my cash flow situation and leave me with an s30 to play with.

Can't fault that logic. I wouldn't want to chance a used dizzy either unless it was a gift. I was in the middle of weighing the options myself when I got an email from Rockauto.com that they had a 280zx dizzy on closeout at a price too low to pass up. I completely missed the fact that it was coming with an integrated module. So if I use the HEI I'll have to fab a blockoff plate and the job will be just a little more complicated. But I'm happy with the deal. My only regret was not being able to find a good deal on Magnecor wires. I tried a set of Accel 8.8's leftover from my z31 but obviously they weren't long enough. You can tell I'm a big fan of overkill I'm sure my $20 NGK wires will be fine. Anyway great post and I'm sure it's going to help some people.

Thanks. No, I've never been to a Z club meeting. I had a friend named Spot who was a member. Haven't seen her in a long time though. Hey oldhemi. I haven't really gotten attached to it yet but I kind of hope I can keep it too. As far as I know the car was never on ebay but it was on CL in Washington. The previous owner lives in Seattle. He didn't even want to sell it to me. He had a little list of the type of people he would and wouldn't sell it to and he wanted a local buyer. I had already written it off and moved on to other cars when a a friend in that area interceded and convinced him I'd be a good owner I have it on CL right now but I haven't let anyone come over to look at it. I'm sure that's annoying the hell out of people that are interested but I'm stalling as long as I can. I definitely need to find a way to set up a cable for the starter circuits. I'll have a look at that link. I appreciate the invitation and I might take you up on it sometime.