Patcon

Geezer, Thats a good idea. The drilling itself doesn't concern me too much. It is making sure the indexing of the hole is correct. I believe this pin controls the cam that operates the accelerator pump.

Edward Thanks for the input. A new set of carbs is out of the question. I've got 3 or 4 sets of SU's laying around, 2 2turbo motors, 1 280z motor a set of DGV downdrafts and these triples. If I were going to invest that kind of money I would get the SU's rebuilt or swap in one of the larger motors I have. If I mess up the shaft I am only out the costs of the shaft. Alan, I like your book. I will have to try to find one of those. That procedure sounds like a lot of fun. If I read it right you would normally drill it out while in the carb body. I had not planned on doing it that way. I thought I would make a jig and orient the new shaft the same as the original shaft then drill it out through the old pump cam (I have a new one). How critical do you think the orientation is? How noticeable will it be in driveability if the orientation is off a few degrees? The parts are so small it would be easy to be off several degrees. Thanks, Charles

I am getting my 40DCOE's rebuilt. I could have done it myself if I had more time,but I got tired of looking at them all spread out on the work bench for years. One of the carbs needs a new throttle shaft. The new shaft from Pierce Manifolds is not drilled for the pump cam. What is the best way to index and drill the throttle shaft correctly? I do have a drill press, but set up and technique is my real question. Thanks, Charles

If I didn'thave 3 240's as projects already I would consider a low number car. I considered buying the car, but calmer heads prevailed (my wifes) It is also probably the lowest number car i will ever see for sale that I would consider. Most of the very early z's have already been saved and would cost way more than I would be willing to invest. I figured the car would go for an easy 6-7k but I was surprised the reserve was not met at 10k. I already have two series 1 cars so I would only consider it because of the very low number. I also agree there should have been 20 pictures if you are serious about selling the car. All the usual rust concern areas. Interior under the hood etc. I figured 10k was kind of high, but wanted some feedback for what others that had a good idea what these cars are worh thought. I know what a nice z should bring. I just didn't know how much the very early vin brought the price up Charles

Bid closed at $10,000 but reserve not met. What would you give for the car? It is only worth what someone will pay for it... All finished and super clean what is it worth. I figure you would have close to $20k in it to make it pristine if you gave $10k for it. That's kind of a WAG, but I figure: paint, metal work, rust repair, new interior pieces, seat covers, carpet, electrical upgrades, rebuild engine, tranny, new or refurbished lens, badges, bumpers. Thats doing all but the paint yourself. Some of that is fairly cheap but a serious restoration can nickel and dime you to death. Thoughts? Charles

I really have too many projects and I am always looking for good project cars. It is sort of a sickness;) I don't know if I will live long enough to finish all of my projects. At least my kids will have something to work on. I have a 70z on the rotisserie, a 73 mach1 totally disassembled, another 70z that needs the rear axles put back in it, a 73z that needs an exhaust and alot of tuning, a 66 thunderbird that is very rusty, a 66 thunderbird coupe that doesn'trun, a 95 suburban that needs engine work and the addition on my house needs to be finished. Oh I almost forgot 56 VW bug one owner bought by my dad new in 56 in Germany (needs full resto). I totally understand how quickly life can change. I buried both of my parents in the last 3 years or so, both of whom were very healthy until we found cancer. After being the person that is left behind and trying to find the will, the deads , the life insurance policies, etc. I can't stress enough to my friends how big a difference it makes if those you leave behind know where the important stuff is. I hope you blood clot dissolves ok. I'll say a little prayer for you. As for my unfinished projects. The real problem is not if they don't get finished by me. In the big picture of things that doesn't matter as much as taking care of my family and making the most out of every day. The other problem is no one will every be able to figure out which parts go to which cars and which parts ar spares. In the last couple of years I have tried to be more diligent able labeling the parts as they come out of each car, and keeping them grouped together in my shop. I still don't know if someone would be able to sort out the mess. Just think a big ball of string and trying to untangle it. Charles PS: Deep south... snowed in today:)

Thanks for the replies on how to posts pictures. I lurk on a number of forums and some host pictures directly and some require hosting elsewhere. It is nice to see some other members close by. I wish there was a way to search the membership by location, but I couldn't find a way to do that. Going thru manually was too slow to try. I want to post some pictures soon, before the body goes to the paintshop.

Andrew, If you need parts, headlight buckets, etc, let me know I have most of what you need if you get to repair your car (mutiple cars parted out). Let me know if you need something. If I have it, I will work something out for you for the cost of the freight only. I also have the heavier pieces (engines and trannies laying) around if you need something. As for insurance companies, I have dealt with my fair share. They like to pay as little as possible. That helps with their profits. It might be all spelled out in the fine print of your contract, but it takes a legal degree to decipher it. I took two semesters of business law in college, and a contract is only good if both sides play by the rules. I have threatened legal action aginst insurance companies before. The other option is going up the food chain. One time my wife got all the way to a VP at Allstate before we got an acceptable settlement for a totaled vehicle. Kee us in the loop. Charles

Found this today, just surfing. It sounds like they are discontinuing some parts http://richmond.craigslist.org/pts/2132954792.html No personal connection

OK lets start with some clarrification. Are these the stock SU carbs? I will assume they are, the damper rods that screw down in to the domes on the top of the carbs need oil in them. They only need so much and the right viscosity. The oil makes the piston rise and fail a little less dramatically. Makes the throttle easier to control and prevents stalling when the throttle is dropped closed. The wrong oil changes all of those things. If the tubes your are talking about come off the top of the float bowls and attach to the back of the air cleanner housing if I remember correctly they are overflow lines / vent lines. If fuel is coming out of them I would think the needle valve above the floats are stuck open and the float bowls are flooding ( one other possibility would be too much fuel pressure; electric fuel pump with no regulator). If they are flooding clamping them is not going to help because the fuel has to go somewhere. Find the problem. 3 yrs is a long time for carbs to sit. Did they have old gas in them? Is there old gas in the tank/lines? Get it all out. The newer fuels have oxidizers in them that promotes cleaner combustion. It also means is goes bad quicker. Think rust for gasoline. The fuel turns to varnish, gets gummy, more orange and has a distinct bad gas smell. You may need to clean your carbs, but if you disassemble them, you need to prepare first. You need a service manual. Read the carb section a couple of times . Only disassemble one carb at a time. Be carefull and don't use abrasives on the surfaces, and DON'T BEND THE NEEDLES Did that answer your question? Charles

Play with this link a little for sizing carbs by CFM http://www.gtsparkplugs.com/CarbCFMCalc.html I plugged in 2800 CC 7000 rpm and .80 VE which is fairly reasonable that chugged out 277 CFM required even at .90 VE which is pretty high you only need 311 cfm... 390 is the closest choice you have and should be plenty of carb. I have a friend with a straight six Ford running a 390 cfm carb on his straight six. It's plenty of carb and too rich sometimes. The 500 cfm is stupid large. Sometimes more is not better. Overly carbed with run very poorly. Too rich, slow to rev, lack torque, kill plugs, etc, etc. The 390 may also do some of that but less so. That is one of the beauties of the SU carbs. They change their flow based on manifold vacuum. Just change the needles and adjust the mixture for modded engines. The biggest problem with SU's is they have 40 yrs worth of use on them with little to no maintenance. Rebuilt (ie: Z therapy) I understand they can be quite enjoyable. Charles PS Merry Christmas, Santas almost here...

For posting pictures, do I need to host them somewhere else and link thru. Is there a tutorial somewhere that I can read on how to attach pics. It would be nice to meet some local Z people too

I joined up today. There is a lot of good restoration info here. I have Wick Humbles book but there are lots of details that I still need to find. The first car I ever bought was a 71' black 240z in high school. That's been about 25 yrs. I wrecked it and decided while replacing the hood and grill I would restore it. I stripped it all the way down with aircraft stripper and took it all apart to suspension and body. The body was terrible; the floors were rusty and the car had apparently been rolled. It became my bondo baby. I used several large cans of body filler. At that time I figued put it back togethor and paint it and drive it. It was better than no car at all. I still have parts from that car. A large pine tree across the roof finally did that one in. I have 3 240z's currently, one on the rotisserie (A series one); one in the yard 73' with some decent rust and a series one under a shed that is a mess. Rear ended, rusted etc. That one was a daily driver at one time. I have turbo engines laying around, extra dashes, complete diesel engine, 280z engine, t5, 4spds, etc. I think these cars have some of the best lines for an affordable classic car. I have looked at Porsches and Ferraris. The parts for a Porsche are outrageous (price a clutch for a 911). I have a good friend that has a Ferrari (328 GTS); he very rarely drives it. Where do you park it where it will be safe. I want a car I can drive, hustle through the corners and is fun, but doesn't break the bank the Datsun is just that. These cars can also been made really fast. If that is your goal. I've gotten older so fast is not so important, but Quick is another story 0-100-0. any way that is my background and my love affair with the 240z. Its good my wife is understanding; I don't pick up stray animals but sometimes cars just show up in my yard (even if they have some rust) Like I always say everything can be fixed with time and money. I'm a contractor