BoldUlysses

Thanks! It wasn't too bad. No pow. Just a gradual but inevitable slide off. Honestly, I'd forgotten I owned the BFP, otherwise I'd have used it a lot sooner. Though probably without lubing up the interior of the drum quite as much, so there probably would have been a POW in that case. Or a cracked drum. In conclusion, it's good that it happened the way that it did.

+1 on this. You won't find many fans of the stanced/slammed look in here. As information, S30s under 2 grand are likely going to have a significant amount of rust as well, so they're probably not going to be the best candidates for modifications that put additional strain on the car's structure.

Success! Used a combination of these two ideas: Hosed the interior of the drum down with PB Blaster and turned it with a prybar until it was so lubed up I could almost spin it freely. The shoes wanted to twist and bind if I tried to pull it off, though, so I scared up my BFP (Big F***in' Puller) and got it off that way. Thanks for all the input, guys!

Looks great! Lucky you to have a '70! Looks like the Stealth Z at the moment, haha. What are your plans for the paint? Is the red in the engine bay the original color?

Seems like it would be better balanced, too. The passenger side of a LHD Z's engine bay is quite naked. Has anyone done corner weights for LHD vs. RHD Z-cars? /threadjack

Thanks guys. Will keep prying at the adjuster gear and/or tapping the perimeter of the drum while pulling.

That's almost...balletic. But the engine is inop at the moment, so that method is a no-go.

So...I need to get this thing unstuck if I'm going to be able to push the Z in and out of the garage (necessary for a whole host of reasons). It was fine a couple of week ago, but last weekend it seized up. Parking brake is off. Left rear drum rotates freely. It's not stuck to the hub. I PB'd that and it comes off. I can work the drum off about 1/4" and then it won't go any more, likely because that's how far the shoes will pull off the backing plate. Using a prybar between the wheel studs, I was able to rotate the drum so I have access to the adjuster gear; however, it won't budge with the screwdriver. I'm trying to rotate it down, right? Parking brake cable is disconnected. Any and all recommendations for my next step are appreciated.

Eh, depends on the carb. Properly set, SUs are very reliable and predictable. IMO, synching carbs is part of the tuning ritual associated with these old cars anyway. I mean, you have to set the valve clearances and check the timing anyway, why not pay the carbs a visit as well? Old Zs are heaven-sent for "tinkering."

What are you more comfortable with? Tuning carbs or tinkering with fuel injection? I'd go with SUs, but that's just my preference. Just don't care for L-Jet, especially Nissan's arrangement of it.

I think what you guys are asking is how much oil did I lose during my 3/4 mile ride? When I parked the car and walked the remaining 1/2 mile to the parts place to get the oil and filter, and returned, I remember putting 2, maybe 3 quarts in to return it to the correct level on the dipstick. I don't recall exactly, though. I was young and stupid and pretty frazzled at that point. I drove the car home after lunch and returned to work for the afternoon in another vehicle. That night after I got home, I drained all the oil out of the Z's engine; that's when I checked for metal. I know the odds aren't in my favor. But we'll see what happens.

All the spark plug wires and boots are intact. I haven't check the plugs themselves, though, for cracks or breaks. Will do that tonight. I think they're okay, though. Here's a question: Is there any chance I had at least some oil pressure during my 3/4 mile drive? The corner of the battery punched a pea-sized gash in the oil filter; at that point, does all the oil just come straight out the filter? Is the pressure totally gone? I'm not totally familiar with the oil's path through the engine after it gets picked up in the sump and goes the through the pump.

I don't remember. Chalk everything that happened that day up to the "young, stupid" me. Nowadays I would never do that in a million years. 'Course, neither would anyone, I suppose. Hindsight is 20-20, heh. Will do everything I can. Sending out the carbs today; gonna drop the fuel tank in the next week or so.

Thanks for the input! I will check the wiring harness. There isn't a whole lot on that side of the engine for the battery to hit before it got to the oil filter, so I doubt it pulled something loose, but I'll check just in case. I'm definitely going to try to start it! Pulled the SUs off last night to send to ZTherapy. All fuel and hydraulic rubber lines are going to be replaced, among many other things. Any suggestions as to how to clean out the fuel lines? I'll search too. Thanks again.

I know just the hill. What does a spun bearing sound like? High-pitched? Or does it manifest itself more as particles in the oil? Like I said, the engine did start to *chug chug chug* before I shut it off after running it w/o oil pressure for a minute or so. What else could have caused that change in behavior other than the engine eating itself? Thanks so much for your input. I really hope this engine is save-able without a rebuild.

That's a good point. I would have to do that stuff anyway. What else would you do re:trying to start it? Squirt a teaspoon of MMO into spark plug holes? I guess I gotta get a battery too. Is there any way to gauge the condition of the bearings without totally tearing down the engine? Say, dropping the oil pan and removing a main or rod bearing cap or two or three? Ill-advised?

Here's the deal. On March 11, 2004, my 240Z caught on fire. On the way to lunch, the undersized CarQuest replacement battery, which I had stupidly tethered to the battery tray with a bungee cord, slipped forward off the tray and impacted the oil filter, puncturing it. I saw the ammeter go crazy and smelled burning, so I immediately turned in to a side road and shut the car off. I popped the hood and discovered a spark from the battery had caught some of the oil mist on fire. I found a rag and quickly beat it out. I should have just had the car towed. However, like an idiot, I tried to at least nurse it to the parts place. I coasted it down the hill and came to a stop at the light at the bottom of the hill. When the left turn arrow went green, I started the car and gingerly drove it about half a mile before it started going *chug chug chug* I immediately turned into a parking lot and stopped the car. I then walked the remaining half mile to the parts place, bought oil and a filter, walked back to the car, put them on and drove the car home, where I took an alternate car to work. I drained the oil from the Z that evening. Weirdly, I don't remember seeing any filings or metal. But after an oil change I tried to start it, and it would start, but the engine would cycle between racing and bogging, racing and bogging. I chalked that up to what had happened, but...I decided to replace the points at the same time I drained the oil, and I had had some issues tuning the SUs. And I never warmed the engine up all the way. The car hasn't been run since. Here's my question: Should I just go ahead and rebuild it, or try to start it? I'd obviously drain and replace the gas as well as the rubber fuel lines, fresh oil, new plugs, adjust the valves, etc etc. And probably send the carbs back to ZTherapy to have them replace the seals on the sides of the bearings—I had been getting a vacuum leak through there. What would you do?

Thanks for the reply. Part of my motivation concerns my goal for the car. It needs a down-to-the-metal restoration, and the engine needs a rebuild (was run w/o oil pressure for several minutes years ago and hasn't been started since). If the engine is original, then I want to rebuild it for sentimental reasons. If it's not, then I can just replace it with a compression-tested L28 or some such. So a big part of my goals for the project are riding on whether or not the engine is original. Next step: Locating the shop that did the rebuild in the '90s and seeing if they have any records. Cool about yours! I hope you're able to piece together its history. Correct me if I wrong, but weren't the earlier carbs the 4-screws (~'70/'71)? My '72 has 3-screws.

Hi guys. Need a second opinion on this. Here's the story: When my '72 was repainted in the late '70s, the engine bay was (sadly) blacked out. In the process, the ID plate that lives on the pass. strut tower just above the voltage regulator was painted over (which explains why I hadn't noticed it before now). Sunday night I removed it and scraped as much paint off it as I was willing to (will do the whole thing eventually). The block number stamped into it reads 110555: The number on the block itself, however, is 118555: I'd originally thought it was some kind of typo. My dad is the car's original owner, it's always been in the family, and he swears up and down the engine was never, ever replaced. The engine was rebuilt in the mid-'90s, but (according to my dad) not replaced. A gentleman on another Z forum conjectured: Based on that, I have a couple theories as to what happened: 1. I wonder if the block was replaced when the engine was rebuilt in the mid-'90s, unbeknownst to my dad. The engine bay had long been blacked out by that point, so maybe the rebuilder had trouble reading the plate # and made an error applying the numbers to the block? Of course, all that would assume L24 "service blocks" were still available from Nissan in the mid-'90s and that the rebuilder had access to them. 2. My dad bought the car new, but what if the engine had been replaced before he drove it off the lot? Would that be a possibility? The dealership is long gone, so I can't exactly investigate that theory. The "numbers matching" thing doesn't matter to me with respect to the car's value, but I would like to be aware of its history. What do you guys think?

Point taken, guys. I'll move on.

Hi guys. I know I've not been active 'round here as of late, but I've been biding my time, preparing my garage for the eventual 240Z arrival and resto project. Lord know, I gotta be organized before it moves in. Anyway, wanted to let you guys know about a new car blog I've recently started: http://www.spannerhead.com/ When the 240Z moves and goes under the knife, it will be the very first Spannerhead Project Carâ„¢. As they say, watch this space.

Are the hood louvers factory? The slotted mags look really good. Get a pair of SUs on there, stat! -Matt

Stunning car! I'm sure the wait will be hard. Is that a factory color? I would nix the rear window louvers, but that's about it. Love the wheels, too. -Matt

http://ztherapy.com/products/videos/video.htm Highly recommend these videos. They'll teach you just about everything you need to know about tuning up the car. At the moment it seems like you're guessing a lot. As was mentioned above, you fried something in the wiring harness when you hooked up the battery wrong. Do you have a multimeter? -Matt

"Airglide suspension" What in the world? Is the "boom boom" an actual boom or more of a clunk? If it's more of a clunk, the u-joints on your driveshaft and/or axles might be shot. The carb problems likely have little to do with the engine overheating. That could be a bad water pump, clogged radiator or hoses, or bad thermostat. At worst, you could have a blown head gasket. Are you losing any coolant? As far as the carb tuning, have you looked over the technical articles related to how they work and tuning procedures? http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?140-SU-Carb-Technical-Articles Good luck, Matt