oldhemi

I sure would have inquired 'bout your ugly, terrible condition butterscotch seat covers if they were in the 260/280 vertical pleat pattern!

Sandblast with a real fine grit? Mild acid wash? Doesn't POR have a "Marine Wash" that you apply 1st? Good question that will be interesting to see what other folks have done!

Rzkas, I appreciate the feedback. Here is a link to the post with a picture that Dave put out here for reference. Also, search on drum or drum removal etc. There are more threads out here. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36332&highlight=drum+brakes I had to enlarge the hole in the drum to get 2 small tools in one side. The other side was a piece of cake because I had removed the adjuster 27 years ago as a "temporary fix" to get me home when it locked my rear drum up. Taking the rear drum off after you have loosened the linings can be a real "heart breaking" affair. Check out the pic in this thread: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38086&highlight=drum+brakes

Maybe you have some throttle bushings binding. When you do it by hand, you are putting different pressure at different points. Also, do you have "choke" cables hooked up? If so, are they hitting the hood when closed? Are you starving for fuel? Clogged filters/lines. My 40dcoe's required a fuel pressure regulator set at 3 lbs to avoid over-pressuring the floats - it would leak out of the chokes. If you have a FPR, it could be set too low. Do you have a rusty/dirty gas tank or worse a perforated pick up tube? This will cause problems at higher RPM's and possibly at idle if you are running on less than a full tank. Speaking here from experience. Do the 45's have any screens on the inlets to check? 40's dont.

Hmmm, I had to think about an opinion for you. You have 2 options: 1. I would replace all three components at once. Bench bleed the M/C. 2. I might just do the the slave cylinder along with the hose for reasons that BP points out and see how it goes. Bleeding a clutch M/C can be a pita sometimes. Having a M/C bled already will allow you to get fluid easier down to your slave and fill the new hose. This will allow you to adjust your slave at this time. You have the potential problem of brake fluid dripping on your paint at some point . So, do you get geared up and protect EVERY conceivable area that you can get this stuff on once or do you do the prep possibly 2 times? Why Courtesy? I would like to know what brand of parts you end up getting, maybe pics so that I can compare your factory parts to Beck Arnley and others. I HAVE to be a cheap SOB now and sometimes depending on the kindness of others. Not to hijack the thread, but is DOT 5 a bad thing for clutch hydraulic systems? BTW, you did the right thing with your car by flat bedding. Too nice a car to take a chance. That area is rife with stop lights and idiot drivers, you are TOO damn old to act like a no-big-deal, broke kid(with apologies to JeffG, I been there).

Zluke, you can add cost and availablity of GOOD E12-80 modules to your list of concerns. I have done the same searches and have the same concerns as you do. However, my points dizzy in my 260Z has maybe 30,000 miles on it and was in good shape. Yeah, I converted to points way back after suffering problems with the Z's 1st "transistor" ignition system.

Your back drum has its linings too tight against the drum. The emergency brake lever is the factory method for adjusting the linings via a small shaft attached to the brake cylinder. Search here, zsondabrain posted a picture of the innards which was very helpful for me to free up my drums. The front caliper is stuck. You can weasel out the pads and that will free that wheel up. It a appears that your car has been sitting for awhile for the brake fluid to be that thick in the M/C. Your e-brakes cables *could* be frozen by rust also. I feel your pain because I just went through EXACTLY what you are experiencing recently. I freed up the car so that I could roll it around. I am going to do a near complete replacement/rebuild on ALL of the brake components. Rear cylinders, front calipers, master cylinder, rubber hoses, shoes and pads. I will probably replace the hard lines from the master cylinder to the prop. block due to the thick brake fluid possibly gunking up those lines at the least. (I have had this experience on several cars in the past including a daily driver minivan!) As far as I know based on my research, your 280Z has the same exact brake components as my early 260Z. 77-78's have some different parts as do some of the early 240Z's. There is a wealth of info on THIS board on fixing your problems. Other boards are good, but the guys on this board have the stock components covered better, IMHO. Get on Rockauto.com and do a shopping basket for the parts. This will give you a list of parts AND different manufacturers/distributors to choose from, some parts that you would not even think of and an idea of whats available and prices. I aint saying that you should buy all of the parts from them. I have had great luck with prices and speedy deliver on my other car parts from them. I have found that some manufacturers have wrong year parts listed in their catalogs and parts places just forward those erroneous parts onto you. Rockauto is no different. I am going with Beck Arnley on some parts because I feel - maybe wrong on this - that their stuff is more correct as far as fitment and performance. They tend to be a little higher and I only consider them when I see postings from members about other brands being wrong. Of course if their prices are close enough, I consider them also. You might want to think about a local parts house for the convenience factor. Good luck.

If I did the conversion correctly, thats about $7500!!! I know Z cars are somewhat hard to find in Europe, but that is a LOT of money for that car! I usually don't advise but rather off an opinion. But in this case, I strongly advise against buying this car at that price!

This car has some serious rust issues waiting to erupt like the Iceland volcano! The bubbling on the door, the bad bondo work on the front fender and rocker panel, the rear hatch, the rust popping through the frame rails in the engine compartment and the lower rear valance are all potential tips of the iceberg. The sunroof is a rust collecting area also. Real cheap, it could be a driver for awhile as the bondo falls off and the bubbles pop around you. Take a look at the inner fenders for repair work to the sheet metal. Better yet, clink on the link on my signature to get an idea of where to look for rust.

Mmmmm, 50 year old retro babe. That would be a sweet young thing in my book.

I don't ever consider replacing caliper mounting bolts. They are pretty stout units and should be in good shape. Some parts dont need to replaced for "just because" reasons. But, if you must, make sure that you get the quality of the original bolts - prolly from Nissan. I dont know the original hardness quality number. Just my 2 centavos.

That has to be one of the ugliest re-paints that I have ever seen - woof. But, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. What you are buying is another person's version of "cool" paint. The seat covers are also not very attractive. But this is all cosmetic and not your greatest concerns. Does it have a sunroof? That's not a great thing to have - can cause leaks and rust. Re-paint and undercoat can hide some really dodgey rust "repairs". Take a magnet with you, a small jack and something to lay down on while you probe the underside or better yet bring the car to a local garage and put it on a lift. Make sure that you lift the carpets to see the floors. Look for wiring hacking. I cant tell, but is one door panel black and one brown? Click on the link in my signature to get an idea on where to look for rust on a Connecticut car. I aint saying that this car is a shitbox, but look hard at this one or any other. And, these are 30+ year old cars. A daily driver for a college student might be asking too much. Do your homework and research here and the other 2 Z car sites. Get in contact with local Z clubs for more guidance and possibly a better looking car. Or, this could very well be a great car that is - IMHO - cosmetically challenged!

Thanks Frank, I hadn't thought of that. I just got off the phone with a guy that had this problem with a Maxima. Was a stuck M/C. Ztrain, I am assuming that you are talking about a rod adjustment? I have yet to research M/C adjustments and replacements. But, I will absolutely guarantee that whatever it is, I will break it on this car. Nearly every nut and bolt has been a breaking experience. The car laughs at Kroil, PB Blaster, Liquid wrench, propane heat and patience. Come to think of it, it did when it was new! I think that it is time to pay this car back a little. I think that I will start on floor pan replacement. I'll see if the she-devil that lives within this car screams while I cut out the rot with various tools of destruction.

So, I start fooling with the brakes on The Turd today. Still banging away on the rear drums. Thanks to Anthonyg, I have backups for when I give up being gentle but firm and take the sawzall to those bastards. While taking a break from the brakes, I sit inside the car and push on the pedal. Hard as a rock. Not what I expected. I thought that the pedal would go to the floor from the M/C being nearly empty on both reservoirs. The car has been siting for 18-19 years and there was a hydraulic leak in the brake system when i parked it. Anyone with this experience think that I have a bad booster or is the M/C rod stuck? A new M/C was in the plan. A booster was not.

Looks like I got an answer - Mangoletsi.

Sorry to see what you discovered! The 260Z bumpers (and maybe rubber coverings) look pretty good and are 1 year only - and not a whole year at that. The small diamond pattern vinyl on the tranny tunnel is 260Z only. The seats vinyl patterns are 240Z. The engine compartment has the ballast resister mounted like a 260Z, along with the infamous seat belt interlock relay on the back firewall next to the fusible links. The front bumper shocks are their also. I go along with the consensus that the whole car is 2 260's! You can confirm the VIN number that is engraved on the firewall right above the brake master cylinder. Please save that stuff for a 260Z guy. We 260Z'ers are in the minority and our stuff is not in great demand nor worth much. Hence, it gets thrown out or cut up when one is doing a modded car. But, good Karma is always a good thing!

I have snatched some very good pictures of the intake manifold that I have had on my car since '76-'77. I bought it new from Bap Geon and my receipt does not have the name on it! I have no intention of replacing it or my DCOE40's. Please post if you have any history or knowledge on this intake manifold! I have also created a thread over on hybridz. I have a link to the thread which includes the pictures here: http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php?/topic/90299-please-id-this-weber-intake-manifold/

Yup - its a good car except for the bottom 2 inches:mad: Here is Zeddfindings for floors: http://www.datsunzparts.com/ Here is Baddog: http://www.baddogparts.com/index.htm Here is a good bit of info on the both of them: http://www.zcar.com/forums/read/1/1998011

Hmmm, that looks vaguely familiar. Yes its a stiffener that is spotwelded over the inner fender sheet metal. I would hazard a guess that is 16-18 gauge. Maybe 20! The TC "bracket" could be scabbed to - like what the factory did with that stiffener in your picture. BTW, Baddog floor rails weld right over the bottoms of the TC brackets. Here is a link to one our members method of repair (has pics also): http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28644 Take a look at the pictures in my signature link for some oogly rust on a straight car. You might want to check out the rest of your rails.

The 74 260Z has the "'73 fix for vapor lock" also. The electric fuel pump does NOT run under 400 rpm - in other words by just turning the key on. It was Nissan's method of keeping the pump off in case of accident when the motor is no longer running. I dont know for sure what method was used in the '73's.

Steve, you might want to check out the thread from Beandip concerning getting rid of the evaporator tank and the associated gas lines that run through your car. I plan on doing this mod. (I only had gasoline fumes in the interior once when the line hiding behind the rear panel under the hatch split.) http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19034&highlight=fuel+vent There was another thread somewhere where the poster used a smoke machine inside the car to find air and water leaks. He had some interesting pictures and some interesting areas that needed fixin'. Surprisingly - to me - were that body seams needed caulking!

RUN, dont walk, away from that car! Check the pics in my signature. I think that they are mostly pics of the rust that you describe. Not cheap to fix correctly if you cant do it yourself!

It really sucks (like in my case) when then there is NO PO. I pity you guys that have to deal with one or more PO's that think they are mechanics.:stupid: OTH, you do have someone else to cuss out!

Sounds like a plan. If you want to go cheap and fast, you could use a cheapy from a local parts store. However, it would be cool to have one with a pressure gauge provision. But, I see a lot of posts where guys are not happy with the gauge. Mine looks like very much like this one: http://www.amazon.com/Spectre-2517-Chrome-Pressure-Regulator/dp/B000CQ46H0 You mentioned gaskets earlier. You could easily remove the 5 screws on the top of your carbs and very gingerly remove the top taking care that the gasket does not tear to take a look at the floats. There is a large gasket that covers the whole carb body between the cover and the body. To replace this gasket, you must remove the floats. To remove the floats, you have to remove the pin. This pin removal is a bitch. I broke one of the "towers" cast in the top cover. Turns out that this problem is not uncommon. I have not replaced the top yet because the other tower grips the pin very tightly and I can get by for now. I would suggest that if your carbs are not leaking around the tops, to reconsider replacing gaskets. This gasket not only seals to the outside of the carb, but also seals some innard chambers. If your carbs are leaking around this gasket, then you might have a float adjustment issue or a leaking float problem.

WM beat me to my post! One Caveat from me and YMMV, I put that new-to-the-market, hyped Mobile 1 in my 260Z back in late 1976 - the car had maybe 25K on it. That stuff disappeared in my car! I always went with 10-40 dinosaur goo after that! My oil gauge sender broke at the same time - coincidence? Never had a problem with burning or disappearing oil or pressure after I switched back. A lot of guys that run the old SOHC4 750 Honda's run Rotella for the very reasons that Escalon posted. And they also have the yearly oil wars. Interesting tidbit: that motorcycle came out at nearly the same time as the original 240Z! Since we bought our Dodge trucks new in 1996, I have been running a blend in my V10 and a full synthetic in my wife's 360. When changing oil, mine comes out a little dirtier than hers. A couple of times I ran pure dinosaur goo and my oil was black and thin. I have nearly double the mileage. I hear that the synthetic stuff is not as sensitive to AGE, which seems to be true. Some years, my wife's truck does not even do 2k miles. So, it might be 2 years before I change her truck's oil! It still comes out pretty clean. But I could be dumb on this truck deal. :stupid: