Walter Moore

these are questions, not a statements: Is it possible to repair the crack? Is it possible to remove the liners? Since steel expands and contracts much less than aluminum, and aluminum conducts heat much faster than steel, I can see how the head might crack as it cooled. Of course even if it could be repaired it might be cheaper today to find a good replacement. I am just wondering from the long term perspective if years from now when there are fewer sources for used parts for the S30, if a repair is possible. The #6 cylinder on my cylinder head was severely eroded, apparently by a leaking head gasket. The damage was so severe that the exhaust valve seat was partially unsupported. The shop that repaired it re-welded the chamber and re-machined it to where it works great. The guy who did the work claimed that any aluminum head can be repaired, but of course he didn't say that it would always be cost effective to do so...

On my 240Z the pressure plate only fits on the flywheel in one orientation. (As twsuitt mentioned.) If you removed the dowel pins for resurfacing that might not apply, but you really need those pins to get the pressure plate properly centered. Otherwise you will have a balance issue.

Same here. The Redline made the shifting dramatically smoother. You need a GL-4 oil, not a GL-5 oil. If you don't want to go synthetic, Pennzoil makes a non-synthetic oil that is supposed to be usable with "yellow metals" which should work. The synchronizers in the transmission are brass, and the sulfur that is in a GL-5 oil will make them brittle.

That depends on what you mean by zero offset. If you mean less than +20mm as opposed to most modern cars that use a +30mm to +50mm offset then you are correct. If you mean actually exactly 0mm you misunderstand the situation. The first and second generation Z cars can only accommodate about 5 inches (127mm) of backspacing on the tire/wheel assembly. For example: The four spoke 280ZX Turbo wheels (the so called swastika wheels) are 15x6 with a +10mm offset, and they will fit on any first or second generation car just fine, provided that you keep the tires in the 195 - 215 width range. Depending upon the overall width of the tire, as mounted on the wheel you might be able to live with up to +20 to even +25mm offset, or you might need a negative offset. If you do a web search on the terms "wheel offset" and "wheel backspacing" you will get a clearer picture.

You know that is the problem with the Internet, it is really hard to tell old news from recent news. If you had found a six year old paper copy of the WSJ, it would be yellow and crumbly. But an old web page looks just like a new web page. And this article has been covered here before: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?15341-Wall-Street-Journal-Says-240Z-is-a-good-investment!&highlight=Wall+street+journal

Yes, you have to cut the floor, unless you can make a shifter that is very offset. Years ago there was someone here looking into that, but I don't remember how it turned out. In either case the stock center console works, but it often ends up getting broken at the front edge. I repaired mine with some sheet metal plates that I then painted black. It doesn't look too bad, but it has to be bent to clear the shift lever in 3rd and 5th. The search feature of this site is great by the way. A singe search of 4 speed to 5 speed swap brought up 25 or 30 old threads. For example: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?40450-5-speed-convesion&highlight=5+speed+swap http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?6127-Tranny-swap.&highlight=5+speed+swap http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?2067-4-spd-vs-5-spd&highlight=5+speed+swap http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?1957-Transmission-ratios-and-suggested-rear-gears&s= http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?40450-5-speed-convesion&highlight=5+speed+swap http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?41021-4-speed-vs-5-speed-info&highlight=5+speed+swap http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?9667-Zx-5-speed-in-a-74-260x&highlight=5+speed+swap Good luck with your project!

Alan grows on you over time... Hey Alan, great to hear from you. How are things in Britain these days? You know the problem with bad information is that once it becomes "accepted wisdom" it just will not go away. Largely I fear that is because most people just don't care...

I am happy that my clock runs at all. It is the first "car clock" from that era that I personally ever saw run period. I have noticed that it keeps much better time when the car is running than when it sits unused for long periods of time. It also seems to keep better time in the summer... I still need to adjust it about once a day on days that I drive the car. It loses time, but the differential isn't consistent.

The carbs need to "match" in terms of how the pistons are timed. (At least that was what it said in the Z Therapy video.) But the 3 screw vs 4 screw just relates to the cover design I believe. When you say the choke doesn't pull down, do you mean the linkage is stuck or the jet will not move in the body. It sounds like the PO scrounged up whatever parts he could to keep it running. There is normally a banner add about Z Therapy on the site. You really should check with them. I love the rebuilt SUs that I bought from them.

You need a hoist to remove the engine. I don't think that trying to support it by the oil pan would be a good idea.

The 240Z has a fuel return line. Make sure that it isn't plugged. With an electric fan, and an electric fuel pump I haven't had any problem with vapor lock, even at ZCON last July (When the temp was around 100). But my Z doesn't have air conditioning, so I don't drive it much when the temperature gets above 90F.

How did they squeeze a 100 liter fuel tank into a first generation Z? Did they remove the spare tire storage well? Oh and yes, 100 liters of gasoline (petrol) is expensive. Right now the price locally has fallen to about $1 per liter. (I know, that is cheap by some standards...) The junky old Cadillac that my daughter drives has a tank that is at least that big. When she fills the gas tank the value of the car doubles.

Very nice color. If you like the green, why not? If you want you car original, that is a different story.

Great nostalgia. Nice car. Sad to hear about your father's passing.

Does the engine red-line change on the 2.7 stroker from the 7K of the L24? That may play into the choice a little. For reference, I have a 5 speed from an 83 with the 3.364 differential behind an L24. It is slow off the line, but will actually pull strong to about 45+ mph in first gear and will keep up with interstate traffic, 70+ mph in second without hitting the red-line in either case. Third and forth are identical to the stock 4 speed. Fifth, as I mentioned earlier is nearly useless below 60mph, so I rarely use it except on the interstate.

I am nearly certain that the seat belt buzzer requirement in the U.S. didn't start until the 1972 model year. My '71 doesn't have any wiring for that "accessory".

If by high volume you mean the "turbo" pump, then yes the gauge reads nearly all the way up, around 80 PSI at highway speeds. I get that reading with 0W-40 by the way, so the viscosity apparently doesn't seem to affect the pressure that much. (at normal operating temperature, when the engine is dead cold I am sure it has a major effect.)

It looks interesting. Very contemporary actually, which can be good or bad I guess. I kind of like it. Let us all know how it holds up over time.

My suggestion is to get out your Ohm meter and start checking continuity to see where the wires go. If you think it goes to the coil, check that first. (There are a lot of red wires in the wiring harness...)

The auto transmission cars came with a 3.54 differential. The 3.36 was in the early 240 4-speed cars. If you change your tire size or rear differential, remember that your speedometer will be wrong unless you change the speedometer drive gear.

Well I get about 25 mpg on the highway at the speeds that I normally drive As for the fuel mileage at 60mpg... I will have to get back to you on that... With the L24 60 mph is about as slow as I can go in 5th. It seems like 80 mph is around 3K RPM, but I don't recall if I have ever gone that fast.

More likely the owners deal with the winter. There are people who really WANT to drive a Diesel. For them, little things like plugging the car every time you park it, and constantly checking the weather report so you can make sure you added the right amount of fuel stabilizer is just part of the "fun". I knew a lot of people like that when I owned a Diesel, but in the end I just can't put up with the hassle. I don't have time to arrange my life around the needs of a finicky car. If it doesn't start the first time, every time that I need to go somewhere, what good is it? Sorry about the attitude, I guess even after nearly 20 years I still have a raw nerve on the subject. I will slink quietly away now...:paranoid:

Yes I did. You will never get most Diesels to start in cold weather without either keeping the engine running all the time, or keeping the block heater plugged in whenever and wherever you park the car. The really disheartening problem is that Diesel fuel "gels" in cold weather, and when it does you are just flat stuck. There are always trucks from southern states that freeze up while they are moving when it gets really cold. As the ambient temperature goes down, the fuel that you use has to be progressively lighter. Local truck stops deal with this by cutting the Diesel with ever larger percentages of kerosene, but as the fuel gets lighter, the fuel mileage gets lower. Most of the increased MPG of Diesels is because the fuel is denser, providing more energy per gallon. By the time that you get to really cold temperatures, like -20F or so, most of the fuel economy advantage of the Diesel engine is gone. You are stuck with a car that is incredibly difficult to start, runs poorly, and isn't really any cheaper to operate.

Yep, the close ratio (81-83) is great! With my 3.36 differential, first and second are ludicrously tall, but with a 3.54 I bet it would be cool. Oh, and 3.9 Differentials are generally difficult to fined in the U.S. except in an R200.

One or two long, cold, (-20F or lower) winters with a diesel as your daily driver is usually sufficient to disabuse intelligent people of the concept. Been there, done that, have the t-shirt, not interested in going back. Just my $0.02...