Walter Moore

"Rust never sleeps..." Neil Young. Never really liked his music, but a truly great observation. It certainly applies to the ruined remains in the photograph.

Actually I believe that Lake and Porter counties do have mandatory emissions testing. I don't recall the details, but think it was every 5 years. There was a member of this forum at one time from Northern Indiana.

Question, does it have a catalytic converter? I have been "advised" on this site that the 49 state models did not come with one. (I personally never saw any post 76 car that didn't have a converter, but that is beside the point.) That may alter the strategy regarding making it comply.

GnoseZ, If your luck is contagious you should tell them to "break a leg"....

You can get the factory service manuals as a PDF here: http://www.xenons30.com/ http://www.xenons130.com/ And I bet that there is a lot of information on this subject over at HybridZ: http://www.hybridz.org/

My car, 4/71, also has the mystery threaded hole. But then it is an "early series 2" by the North American reckoning, (Vents on the side, not on the rear hatch) so I suppose it should resemble your 72 more than the 70(69).

Doesn't look too bad. Another few thousand $ and you will have something there... Good luck.

The carburetor equipped cars didn't come with a pressure regulator from the factory. The return port on the fuel rail has a very small orifice to restrict the flow back to the tank and keep the pressure where it belongs. This isn't to say that a pressure regulator is never required, just not with the factory pump(s).

I have seen the aluminum drums split when they were removed too forcefully. Just thought I would mention that.

I just got back from my 4th "solo" event. You have to love the part where people walk up and start talking to each other with the inevitable question: "What's that?" (Even funner now that it has "240Z" written across the top of the windshield.)

There is a cable coming through the firewall in the throttle linkage location that is clearly attached to the heat shield. It appears to run to the front carburetor, but I don't see any other linkage. I do not know enough about that style of carb to know where to look for a throttle shaft.

I also had done a lot of amateur brake work by the time I first started trying to get my car drivable. I fought with the brakes for over a year until I finally gave up and replaced EVERYTHING with OEM parts. Now the brakes work fine. But I have a constant nagging fear that eventually I will have to replace something, and the whole process will start over again.

You could I suppose, but without the pump it would just make the engine compartment messy. I just plugged the hole (use the search function to find out how...) I don't know where you could get a new pump, but someone else here might.

I at least never had any illusions that my car was "rust free". But some of that rust frightens me. How do you get the ROOF to rust like that? The fender lip rust looks very typical, but the roof rust... that is scary.

If you still have the original fuse box, check the tightness of your fuse clips. Mine were so loose that I started having things (like the radio) shut off and turn back on at random intervals because the clips were rattling. I used really small tie-wraps to squeeze the clips together, but MSA and others sell replacement fuse boxes as well.

A larger brake pad of any given material will produce more friction at any given pressure (PSI), however you are correct that the coefficient of friction depends upon the pad. The biggest benefit of larger rotors is more surface area to dissipate the heat generated when braking. With almost any brake pad material if it gets hot enough it generates less friction. But back to the original question, BTF/PTM did you understand the answer? The volume of fluid required to move larger, or multiple pistons is greater than the stock system required, and the "hydraulic pump" in a traditional automotive braking system is the master cylinder. If you increase the volume of fluid demanded you have to increase the capacity of the pump. (That or you have to pump the pedal multiple times at every stop.)

I used the MSA kit, but only to replace the bulbs that were burned out, so perhaps I didn't hit the ones that don't fit. My biggest problem was getting the original bulbs out of the socket. They are "push and turn" style bulbs, and once they were pushed down, there was nothing above the housing to turn.

Better late than never!

You will have to change your speedometer gear in the transmission with 275/40/17 tires. The OD is bigger than the original was by 43mm. And you will need a negative offset. Does a 275/40 require a 10" wide wheel, or is it more like an 11" wheel?

Sounds like ignition, but I would have to see it to be sure. Check for spark (carefully) and go from there. Could your distributor have shifted? (i.e. is it loose?)

If it has a converter, then I vote for that being the source of the smell. I remember that the rotten egg smell was actually very common on the 75 - 79 models of American Cars when they were new, because they all ran carbs and tended to run rich. (Also, the EPA allowed a lot more sulfur in gasoline back then then the do today.)

Yes, you have to drain the cooling system. Well, actually the choice is to drain the system INTENTIONALLY, or to pull the hoses off first and take a bath in antifreeze. Personally I prefer the former.

Interesting shift lever you have there. The car is really taking shape I see. Great work.

The dual point distributor was used in the automatics for emissions reasons, at least the STOCK dual point dizzy. Check this thread for more information: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1747&highlight=dual+point+dist

For what it is worth I recommend the ZX upgrade. It worked out well for me. The only caution I would mention is to use the ZX belt, because the original belt can't take the power. I went electric because my 71 does not have a fan shroud and the stock fan showed clear indications of having been hitting the radiator, which was missing. Actually I have 2 fans, one 12" and one 10". (two 12" fans will not quite fit behind the radiator. I tried using a GM style alternator, but could not get the mounting bracket right, and keep losing belts. The ZX alternator is bolt-on mechanically. The electrical part only requires a kit that is easily available from sources here and MSA, or a carefully placed diode. I actually told Advance Auto that I needed one for a ZX turbo because that car came with a 70 amp unit. The "test" report showed 70 amp max output. Since I installed it I have had no serious electrical issues. (The max current output at idle is still not optimal, but by 1K rpm all is OK.