cgsheen1

Ding ding ding. I've driven a 300WHP 240Z without chassis modification. (RB swap) It was stoooopid fast - scary fast. Not that you can't drive it that way BUT it twisted the hell out of the chassis. Popped a bunch of the spot welds in the rear - creaked like a Spanish Galleon. The owner had to find another frame to put the drivetrain in. On the other hand, my sons '76 280Z (L28ET) makes 230WHP and 280 ft/lbs of torque, runs nice, is FAST, and doesn't tear the hell out of the frame... If you're going to put HP in a 240Z, LOOK TO THE FRAME.

Yup, that's it. Now you just need a small duct to run to the vent outlet under the steering wheel!

Ever drive to Phoenix? I have a roof skin down here. (and rturbo is exactly correct - you need to de-skin the sunroof. The pillars are multiple pieces of folded metal. The skin has lots of spot welds but not nearly as bad a job as I first imagined. Plus,` body lead at the four corners - melt it out and wipe it off. We've done a couple here at the shop.)

The early Z's did not have a low pressure switch - those didn't come until the ZX. The Pressure Switch on the '74-'78 is for high pressure. You should be able to substitute a generic (universal) High Pressure Switch and the thread on those is pretty standard. Just a little rewiring of the connection. That's too bad about the little filter - you need the brass part to make the flare work.

I used to use thin stuff like that. Until I tried 1/4" cotton cord - wet. I've done 3 or 4 that way now and it works so much better, pulls so much faster, no torn rubber, faster around the top corners, it amazes me. Ya, this stuff - wet - it's unbelievable.

Picture of your receiver/dryer? They sell a cleaning fluid for A/C systems at the auto parts store - read the usage instructions and see if that's something you're interested in doing. I've run 134a in my stock A/C system since I put this car back on the road 9 years ago. To convert, get as much of the mineral oil out of the system as you can. Replace it with ESTER OIL not PAG (unless you can completely remove the mineral oil from the entire system). I use Ester Oil in mine and it works well. If you have a stock blower, replace it with the KIA Sportage blower - search, you'll find a KIA blower upgrade thread. Many people don't do flare fittings correctly. Make sure that all the mating surfaces are clean. Don't over tighten. Use a little refrigerant oil on the mating surfaces and on the back side of the tube flare (where the nut will cinch up). Snug the fitting - don't over-tighten. (When you over-tighten a copper flare, the heat causes micro-fractures = leak. Better to under-tighten, test joint with soapy solution after you pressurize, tighten more if necessary.) (last time I replaced my receiver/dryer I could get a stock one. I bought a universal and a ZX - either will work with some manipulation (of the bracket and/or the tubing). The nice thing about copper refrigeration tubing is that it bends (and flares). You can bend the tubing to fit if necessary - you can even make a completely new tube - it's standard 3/8" refrigeration tubing on the liquid (high pressure) side. The receiver/dryer I got has standard ports for the high pressure switch to be screwed in.)

Exactly what mine does. But then it's 45 years old and rarely if ever gets used. I would imagine there's a brass contact in there that could use a bit of cleaning (de-oxidation)... I've never been motivated enough to see if that cracks open.

The compressor pulley should spin freely as it sits with no belt and while the compressor clutch is not engaged. You could turn the compressor clockwise using a wrench on the nut on the face of the pulley assembly (it holds the clutch plate onto the compressor shaft).

That's your A/C compressor mounted on the left side of the engine. No belt could mean someone was having problems with it and just removed the belt rather than fix the problem... Also, no need for a "3rd pulley" in that system. You only need two belts - one for the A/C, one for the water pump and alternator. Edit: Finally saw the smog pump and that you have all the pulleys you need. Nice looking aftermarket A/C install.

Did you get the rest of it out? Or waiting... I'm with Patcon - see if you can find another hinge.

Seriously? It was totally obvious (Captain) that the back half of the cam wasn't turning! Three seconds in I was shouting "WHAT??" I have never seen that...

5th gear in the early 5-speeds is definitely an overdrive gear - for lowering RPM and getting better fuel economy at cruise. Spirited driving (and probably top speed) will be done in the lower 4 gears. Sounds like your differential will be stock which would be a 3.36 R180. My 260Z came equipped with the same differential and I used it for years behind my L28ET and ZX close ratio 5-speed before swapping to a 3.54 R200. The L-series engines used in the 240Z, 260Z, 280Z, and 280ZX (1970-1983) had a similar block config and any transmission mounted to one can be mounted to any other.

If you follow the wiring path from the circuit diagram: 20amp fuse -> GY hazard (6) -> hazard (7) GY -> brake light switch -> GY turn signal switch -> WR AND WB -> (harness that runs under dash & connects to body harness near glove box, runs down right side of car to rear -> GB AND GR at taillights. If you disconnect both GY from brake switch, ONE them should have constant battery voltage. The other should not. IF neither have battery voltage, problem is in the flasher switch. IF voltage is present on one, connect them together and check for voltage on GY at turn signal switch. IF voltage, check for voltage on both WB and WR on turn signal switch. IF no voltage, turn signal switch is bad. IF voltage, check the connectors between the dash harness and the body harness near the glove box then go to rear of car and check harness and connectors to tail lights.

Yup, worst place to have damage on a hood. I've banged a few of them out from behind but never in that location or that bad of a crease...

By far.

Oh my, I thought everyone already knew of this upgrade! One of the best things I ever did to my Z (Especially here in AZ when you need the A/C!!!) - how many years ago was that... edit: Wow... 2011... https://forums.hybridz.org/topic/49583-rebuilding-the-heater-and-vent-mechanicals/page/2/?tab=comments#comment-938998 I'm glad people keep bringing this back, the Kia blower really does move a lot of air. The ducting design is so poor in the S30 that the blower really has to use brute force to overcome the design problems. You also need to make sure all of your seals are tight on the boxes and ductwork or you'll lose most of the increase behind the dash.

Me too. Arizona car - no rust.

Here in Arizona too... Wet winter. My allergies are killing me ATM.

Jeff, The rear wheel studs are longer than the fronts. Replace the fronts with the longer rears (order a new set of rears to use in the front). Here, people also use the wheel studs from the Nissan Quest - they are longer and have a knurl that fits. I'm sure there are also any number of threads with info on how people have gotten their wheels to fit here, and on HybridZ...

You've got the proper block color! Way to go...

'74-'76 are all the same.

The '75-'76 have a steel ring inside that's covered with - well, what you saw in the picture above. They don't last here in Arizona. They start crumbling and de-laminate from the core so the covering then twists on the steel ring below.

It's a LHD Z... At 3:32 there's a good shot of the rear - clean rear pan but the piston holes are still showing. Might be an early US 260Z converted to JDM or Euro bumpers - the front end is 240/early 260 style but that could have been changed. The rear pan looks like mine though (empty piston holes and all...).

Wow... I'm really outnumbered here. The L28ET is an incredibly stout and reliable engine. At $400 it's an absolute steal! (at $500 it's an absolute steal...) I wish I were in a location that I could pick it up! You don't actually need to do anything to it to get cheap reliable power. If the cam looks good and the engine is relatively clean you're set. The turbocharger is NOT scary - run stock, they last nearly forever. From the factory they run about 7 pounds of boost and at that setting they'll run forever. (most people forget that turbochargers were originally built for aircraft - an avocation where they have to be as simple as possible and extremely reliable...) Run stock, you can drop the engine in with little fuss and you'll have a strong dependable power plant. The stock ECCS engine management system works very well - as long as you keep the engine stock. If you modify, you'll probably have to look at a tunable engine management system. It'll take a bunch of $$$ to craft an N/A engine to come close. The L28ET is cheap power... Also remember that 80% of the L28ET's were mated to an automatic transmission The weak spot: You'll need to focus on the engine (ECCS) harness. BUT, you'd have to do the same with ANY early EFI engine harness! They just weren't built to last this long. Most of the problems are due to oxidized wire and connectors that will skew the information the ECU needs to run the engine properly. A new harness makes a world of difference - that's what NewZed has seen me comment (complain / warn) about. Now... The problem with a turbo engine is it turns many people into boost junkies. That's where the charge pipe, intercooler, blow off valve, bigger injectors, fuel rail, adjustable FPR, bigger fuel pump, new fully tunable engine management system, coil-on-plug, wideband, blah, blah, blah comes from. That's also where you see guys blowing turbos, melting pistons - because they don't know what they're doing. I daily drive mine. Have for the last 9 years.

My son chides me for not using a sanding block at times (uneven pressure when you're using your hand - it's not flat...). I like to start by hand - I can feel debris that will scratch more than the 1500 or 2000 grit under the paper that way. When I feel debris I immediately wash it away from the paint and paper. Once I've gone over by hand I start using a block for flatness (then I usually give it another quick once over by hand... OCD). I cringe a little when I see machine cutting. Every time I've tried that I end up with deeper scratches than I want and I believe it's because debris gets caught in the grit - but you'll have no way of knowing it until you're buffing.