Gary in NJ

No, but you will get a better view of the linkage. If the carbs were "messy", there is a good chance that the carb throat has a coating of carbon. Raise the suction piston so you can look inside (through) the venturi to the butterfly (it's really called a throttle valve). You might see a black coating in that area. A good cleaning with carb cleaner and a rag will get you moving smooth again. If the area in the throttle valve is coated, chances are the piston and chamber cover are coated too.

There is no direct link between the throttle linkage and the needle or the bell housing. These are Constant Velocity carbs. Changing the oil will have no effect on the break-out force of the throttle. Something is binding. Work the problem.

Every junction of that linkage should be sprayed with white lithium grease annually; starting at the pivot point on the accelerator right on down (up?) the line. Also, the FSM provides the proper length for each section of the linkage. If its never been checked it's worth measuring and adjusting. One wrong section can make for sticky/abrupt throttle operation. I also agree with Mr. Horsemann that a good cleaning will go a long way to reduce the high break-out force required to get your butterfly valves open.

It could be: 1) A poor or corroded connection at the battery, or 2) A bad cell in the battery Number 1 requires a little maintenance. Number 2 requires a new battery.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of those that enjoy their S30 cars. I will be further thankful if the snow that is falling stops before the road department starts spreading salt; because that will end my driving of my 240Z until the spring.

I have to admit Sarah, that was new to me as well. To my ear, the sound is the uncontained exhaust partially bypassing the manifold. If you ever heard even a small engine like a 125cc dirtbike without a pipe you could understand how painfully loud the exhaust can be.

Doesn't sound logical to me The bad gasket doesn't get drawn into the combustion chamber. A bad exhaust gasket "sounds" like tapping. The backfiring is caused by air being drawn into the exhaust. To confirm a bad gasket look for "splooge" (dark oil) around the exhaust manifold. You can also see the effects of a bad gasket by putting the car in a dark garage; if it's real bad you'll actually see flames (very slight) coming from the head. While an exhaust gasket is a simple repair, the age of the car almost guarantees a frozen nut or stud.

It's hard to diagnose a noise from typed words, but that wont stop us from trying First off, I doubt the valves are hitting the piston. That usually only happens once, and then the engine stops working. An exhaust gasket would be my first guess, followed by a head gasket. It could be a bad/worn main bearing. That noise usually presents itself under light load at mid-rpms. If you have access to a stethoscope you can listen to the engine in various places through the valve cover and the head itself.

Sarah, I know exactly where you are going here. Without talking to the design team first hand we can never know the true influence(s) on the S30 design. However, with that said the S30 stands proud when compared to cars like the Ferrari 250GTO, Jaguar E-Type, Maserati Mistral, Lotus Elan, Lamborghini Islero, Chevy Corvette and yes - even the Toyota 2000GT. All of the aforementioned cars share a similar design style - even if not one of these cars influenced any other car on the planet. Cars of that era share the same design language, i.e. a proper (for a sports GT) "long snout" look. That in and of itself should not kick-up a hornets nest. I hope we could all agree on that.

Got in my 240 and drove 25 miles to the nearest Ethanol-Free gas station (they even had a big sign out front proclaiming the fact), rolled up to the pump, only to find that the station is closed on Sunday. Damnit!

Is that the Red Bank area? If so that's a good 70 miles from me so I can't commit. But I'll be driving my 240 at some point tomorrow, so you never know.

Nice burger, but they can't sell it with a 240Z toy in San Fransisco.

I sometimes have that same condition. In my case it's more of an intermittent issue then a loose connection.

Cotter pin and clevis. Remove the cotter and push the clevis out.

If it's the part depicted in the photo that Mike posted (which I believe it is), it's part of the throttle opener system (vacuum control valve & servo diaphragm) that is part of the emission control system. Many people have removed the equipment years ago along with the air pump. Some just disabled the air pump, closed-off the exhaust injector lines and left the equipment in place. There's really no reason to restore the system. I have the throttle opener still installed on my car, but it's not functioning. If I get bored one evening during the winter, I'll polish the balance tube and in the process remove the non-functioning equipment.

That's the fast idle circuit that is used when sync'ing the carbs. No spring is needed there, just make sure that the adjustment screw doesn't make contact with the tab.

Believe it or not, the FSM has pictures too.

What's your mechanical aptitude? Can you weld? Are you willing to invest several or more thousands in parts, 100's of hours of body work and then many thousands for paint? If any of these questions makes you pause, then $400 is too much. That car is a hand full.

Contrary to popular belief, higher octane fuels burn slower then lower octane fuels. Unless you have hi compression pistons or forced induction, the 110 wont net you any additional HP. It will have better throttle response.

A group of us went to the NJ Motorsports Park in Millville NJ this weekend to go karting. I've gone karting a few times in the past, so I was excited to go again. We went with a group of 14, mostly adults and some teenagers too. I brought my 16 year-old son Connor. Connor and I use to race motocross so I knew he would like karts. He has just started driving (has about 5 miles experience) this week so I thought it would be a good driving lesson for him as well. First race of the day I took first. Not much of a surprise since I had taken a two-day karting class 12 years ago. Connor took 8th. Lots of trash talk ensued amongst the group, which is the best part of racing. Second race out I took first, Connor took 3rd. The trash talk reached a new level as I show everyone the back of my helmet and told them to get use to seeing it. Third race I took first, Connor took 2nd. He was on my bumper the entire race watching every line I took. He was a good MX racer so he fully understands the importance of line selection and, more importantly when not to shadow the line in front of you. The final race I spun-out early dropping from 1st to midpack. I worked my way up to 3rd. As I was getting ready to pass second my buddy behind me slammed me from behind spinning me off the track. I laughed my butt off because they finally had a crack at me and after all of my trash talk I deserved to be taken out. I passed the flag in 4th and pulled into the pits, to see that Connor took 1st. He also had the the fastest lap time of the day beating my best by a full second. I was more proud of him winning then anything. If you haven't been karting you'd be surprised at how much fun it is. It's REAL racing. The rent-a-karts are governed to 60 mph, so the only way to find speed is through line selection and cornering. The NJ Motorsports Park is an outstanding facility. After karting we went and watched some sports car racing, formula-type cars and sport bikes. I felt like I had made it to heaven. I kind of have the kart bug and may look into somehow increasing my participation in this very cool activity.

NJ as well. The good news is that there is a station 25 miles West of me in PA. I think I'll get the tank low and go top-off with "good gas" for winter storage.

Outstanding. Enjoy every mile you drive it.

I'd darn-near (I'm sure they'd take $15,000) pay that much for a car in that condition...if it wasn't brown.

If you like your current rims, tirerack.com is showing 2 different BF Goodrich tires in that size, T/A (Performance All Season) & T/A Drag Radial (DOT Track). Regarding new rims, there are more tire choices for 16" rims then there are for 15". You'll pay more for 16" rims and tires.

In the 175SR14, the "S" is the speed rating (S=112mph, H=130mph). The 240's did come with 175SR14 (which has a 78 aspect ratio), however, the OP was asking about his 280Z, which came with the 195's. A 175/78-14 and 195/70-14 have the exact overall height (24-3/4") and as a result the same revolution's per mile (815.35).