johnny haywire

Once again, thanks for all the excellent insight. I'd like to buy you all a beer! I'm not nearly as disappointed as I was a few days ago (Blue - that cam cleaned up beautifully!!). I'll probably crack the cover open again this weekend and see what I can clean up with out pulling the cam. Sadly, that pretty much means no abrasives, but I should be able to pull the rockers one by one without screwing up anything, right?

I was thinking to go with the standard MSA lowering spring kit (about $200 I think) and the KYB gas strut inserts (about $175 delivered from Summit Racing). I really don't want to lower the car much, but since I've swapped out the bumpers for '72 bumpers (it's a '78), the car went up another 1/4". Did you end up getting parts yet?

Ha-ha! Got it, thanks!

Good point. I'm thinking the rust came from condensation and time, sitting for 14 years. Oil pressure is very good, according to the gauge on the car. I'd be much happier not dealing with a cam swap right now...

Thanks to everyone for commenting. I'm thinking I'll just keep going with her as she is and plan for a cam swap over the winter, with periodic checks. If nothing changes, I may not be in such a rush. One point my father brought it up is the fact that since the rust hasn't been polished off after 3,000 miles, there is no metal-on-metal contact, a good thing. The lobes were definitely covered with fresh oil, which I noticed as I adjusted them. Have any of you ran the engine with the valve cover off? I'd like to do that to make sure none of the oil ports in the cam lobes are clogged, but I'm curious as to whether there will be oil spraying everywhere if I do that. And for what it's worth, the car has 92,000 miles on the clock. Or 192,000, but I'm inclined to go with the former based on how long the car sat and its condition.

From what I gather from her old records, she sat for about 14 years before the previous owner brought her back to life. Based on what he did before I got her, (bare minimum to get her running) not much was done. I feel like she's running despite his (and my) neglect. I have no problem pulling it apart and cleaning the rough bits up with scotch brite/steel wool, etc.), but my concern is that once it has worn through the outer-hardened shell of the cam/rockers, the inner materials are softer and will break down, leaving bits of metal to screw up the rest of things. I guess my question is...should I go with a new top end? I've never come across a valve train that looked like this. If it's fixable/deal-able for a while, I'll ride it out, but I'm concerned about having things break up and clog oil ports and sending tiny bits of metal into places where they aren't welcome. I know it's not the end of the world, but most of my budget for the car this year is dedicated to strut inserts/springs/wheels/tires, and this sort of changes everything. Thanks again for all your insight. Cheers, - Paul

There are oil holes. I definitely noticed them while I was doing the adjustment. You can see one in the 4th picture on the 1st lobe if you squint your eyes...

Well, what started out as the perfect Sunday of wrenching on the Z in 75 degree weather didn't end up so well. My plan was to adjust the valve clearances on my '78 280z today and here is what I found when I pulled the valve cover off: [ATTACH=CONFIG]53851[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]53852[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]53853[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]53854[/ATTACH] The photos are slightly out of order, but the worst is toward the rear of the engine, where there was funk built up along the sides of the lobe (where the rocker doesn't make contact) and some contact areas were also coarse to the touch. I went ahead and did the adjustment anyway and to add insult to injury, they still tick. About 9 of the 12 were out of spec. So, my diagnosis is that the cam is shot and the rockers probably are as well. I would really appreciate hearing some opinions from members who have come across this and dealt with swapping out cams/rockers in the past. It's not my daily driver (though I do drive it quite frequently and have put about 3,000 miles on it since I bought it...oops...), so it can sit until I figure out what to do. The eventual plan was to put a mild cam in there anyhow, so maybe this is the perfect excuse to just go ahead with that. Many thanks in advance.

Nice find! I'm about to redo the inserts/springs. Please post an update if you decide to go with them.

Amigos, I've got a line on some lightly used and inexpensive KYB Gr-2 inserts. The seller thinks they should work fine in my '78 280z, though he thinks I'll have to use my existing gland nuts due to the size difference (48mm vs 52mm?). So, to make a long question short: If I get these, will my gland nuts be compatible (if they are salvageable) and will the spacers be the correct ones? I'd hate to save a hundred bucks (or more, I don't have a price from him yet) just to go and spend it again in time and effort chasing down loose parts. Thanks in advance, - Paul

I'll take it you went with the 8" sleeve end? I'd love to see a picture of these belts installed. The belts in my '78 are pretty annoying, constantly cinching up and not very cooperative when putting them on. I'll assume this is corrected with these. Any increased safety aspect? And, Frank, does this mean you have a new 240? Cheers, - Paul

After filling the 4Runner with an obscene amount of tools, all I ended up using was some PB Blaster, a couple of sockets and one wrench. I was amazed at how easy the wheel came off (the puller was unnecessary, it just slid right off) and the bumpers didn't take long, either. The access panel was long gone on the donor car. Here are a couple of photos of the haul: The rear is missing the bumperettes and the rubbers are pretty much shot, but I think they'll clean up pretty well. The donor car didn't have much left on it, but the turning signal/headlamp controls were still there, as were the tach and speedo. All the glass looked pretty nice, as well, if anyone is on the hunt for those parts. I believe it was a 1972 240z. Thanks again for all the advice, guys.

Thanks for the clarification on that. I'll follow up on this post and let you know how it goes. I've got my tool bags ready to roll for tomorrow.

Thanks a lot, guys. Definitely going to bring a wire brush along, and wrenches (how I left those off the list, i do not know). I did manage to grab a 3-arm puller kit from the local Advance Auto ($100 deposit, but full refund upon return). I'm guessing the rear passenger side interior panel on a 240 is as much of a PITA as removing the driver's side rear panel on a 280Z? Thanks also for the tip on the bolt sizes. Are either of you guys looking for any 240Z interior bits? I can try and grab them as well while I'm out there. His prices seem pretty reasonable, however, I haven't seen the car yet. He did say the exterior was getting rusty. Thanks again!

Amigos, I've got a line a set of front and rear bumpers from a '71 240Z (to retrofit on my '78 280Z) and the gent also offered to sell me the steering wheel. I'm very, very excited about this. I'm going to head out there on Sunday, but it is about an hour away from where I live, so I wanted to make sure I am bringing the right tools. The front bumper has been removed already, but I will need to pull the steering wheel (already did the research on that) and the rear bumper. Here's my planned tool kit for the bumper removal: Metric socket set up to about 20mm with a breaker bar Adjustable wrenches and channel locks PB Blaster Propane torch An assortment of hammers (which I hope I don't have to use) Hacksaw (in case I just end up cutting the brackets off, which will not be fun, but I'm not sure if I'll have electricity for sawzall) I'd ideally like to get the brackets as well, just in case I can tweak and reuse them, but since it's a Midwestern car and I haven't seen it, I'm going to assume rusty nuts and bolts, though the seller says that the bumpers are still quite nice. Are there any tools that I am leaving out here? Thanks in advance for any tips! - Paul

Thanks for the links, ZCurves! Definitely going to get that color wire diagram and thanks also for the FSM! Slammed with work here for the next few days and I have to change a rear window track on my '86 4Runner before I get to the tach issue, but I will definitely update this thread with my findings and what route I take if the tach needs replacement.

Thanks for the tips and info, guys. If it is an internal issue with the tach, I'll definitely go the route of Bob's Speedometer Shop. Pete, can you tell me what steps you took to determine that it was a problem inside the tach and not wiring-related? Did you have power going to the back of the tach?

Hey amigos, So, I've been trying to go through the car (a '78 280z Black Pearl) bit by bit to work out the electrical bugs (got the horn and the hi-beams working) and now I'm moving on to the tach. Since I acquired the car last September, it hasn't worked and has stayed frozen at 700 rpm. I've scoured the forum and found mostly things to do with 240z tachs, compatibility problems with aftermarket coils (mine is stock) and one thread that suggested a frozen tach was not wiring-related, but a failure in the tach itself instead. I've checked the connections at the back of the tach and they all seem clean and intact. I've also cleaned the contacts for the wires that connect to the coil. Here's my question (in 2 parts): Is the frozen needle a sign of a burned out board in the tach and thus the whole unit needs to be replaced/rebuilt, or could a wiring issue cause this? I'm hesitant to attempt to pull the tach if I don't need to because I have a dash cap and it's pretty tight up front. The second part of my question: can anyone tell me which wires to chase/test or where to start? I'm pretty new to Datsuns and haven't done much electrical work on cars. The mechanical stuff, plenty, but I'm kind of a rookie in the electrical department. I do have the FSM for the car, but the electrical section is pretty overwhelming. Many, many thanks in advance! - Paul

Thanks, Montezuma. Wish I would have had your number then, would have come in handy. Looking forward to bringing her back to tip-top. Had her out on the road today - 72 degrees in March, not bad for Chicago weather! Supposed to hit 80 tomorrow! Drop me a line next time you are in town, eh?

The travelogue has moved to its public location now (the old link above probably doesn't work now). You can see it here: http://paulgrens.com/280z/travelogue/

Will do, Grant! Here's one from New Year's day at Humboldt Park.

Thanks again for the warm welcome, everyone! @ Grantf - definitely going to go through every single vacuum hose on her. There more than likely is a vacuum problem here and there, I did replace a few before making the trip home, but by no means all of them. I also intend to pull the heater core and flush her out proper and replace the interior hoses while I'm at it. Despite the fact that I'm standing at the bottom of a mountain of work to be done, I'm still really excited.

Thanks, guys! It really was a trip to remember. I wish we would have taken more photos, but we did the best with what we had. It's true, I was really lucky to have a copilot, especially one who knows older cars. We grew up together and took every auto shop class our high school offered. At the start of the trip, we had considered doing something like this every year, but by the end, we had settled on something more like every three years! The catalytic converter issue and the radiator blow-out were a bit stressful, as you can imagine from experience. I hate to say it, but having an iPhone really helped us when we were in a jam. I definitely plan to join the Windy City Z club - looking forward to meeting you guys at the events! Thanks also to Black Gold Man for the tip on the mirrors. I had noticed that mine weren't black, but figured the paint had just come off. I'll drop that guy a line and see if he'd be willing to ship a few parts. On an unrelated note, I stopped to pick up some Thai carry-out yesterday and parked right in front. When I was leaving, I noticed a few of the cooks were checking out the car through the restaurant's front window. They all gave me the "thumbs-up" sign, so I had to leave a little rubber behind. It really made my day. All right, guys, see you in the trenches. I'm going to try and figure out what's wrong with the tach in the next week or two. Cheers, - Paul

Hey TomoHawk, No upgrades at all yet, but I was thinking to add a mild cam and a header/exhaust set-up down the road. Thanks for the tip, though. I'll take your advice and won't worry about the TB until later on down the road. (Sorry it took so long to reply, I didn't get a notification).