Hardway

When I installed mine on my '72 I have a R200 diff and only shaved off the bottom 3/4 inch layer. It fits really snug but everything went back together fine. Is there a chance it is too tight of a fit?

Way to go Bruce and that was very cool they thought of you. Do you do business with them on a regular basis or send customers there way for other classic Z car needs?

It has been said many times about our hobby, “the best part is not the cars, it’s the people you meet along the way.” This quote bears truth in spades in my life and I know it has been the same for many of you as well. This past weekend it came true once again for me. A little background, the weekend before last I attended a Datsun/Nissan get together that Mike W organized with Town North Nissan here in Austin. The turn out was really good and it was great to connect with Mike and other owners, talk shop, etc. As a bonus Mike informed that Philip (Blue here on the boards) was at the event as he had been in Houston for business. For those that may not know, Blue is located in Canada and has provided tons of reference material for us, I included. I introduced myself and we walked the event. I mentioned some carb issues I knew that needed addressing but just not having the energy to do it. That is when Blue asked how far away I lived and offered to come help me. Honestly, I was little shocked as I figured there were much more fun things to do than spend a hot Texas day wrenching on my car but he was persistent. I took him up on his offer and we worked out the logistics during the week. Sunday morning he pulled in to my driveway just a little after 8am. Keep in mind he drove from Houston which is around 3 hours away to come to my house! Now that is a Z enthusiast and a great guy to boot. We dove in to the carbs and Blue took lots of time to explain the different areas to pay attention to that are often overlooked. Everything from ensuring the throttle blade linkage moved freely, making sure the fuel nozzle fit and moved smoothly in its bore, and getting the domes centered on top of the pistons. Once everything was clean and reassembled he helped get everything balanced and tuned, again taking time to explain the adjustments and their impact on different parts of the carb’s performance. Mike W dropped by in his Z car and hung out with us for several hours soaking up Blue’s carb building and tuning education as well. We did several test runs around my neighborhood and pretty much got the carbs where we wanted them. We took a break, got some food, and chatted about our jobs, current projects, etc. When we got back we did a compression test and everything looked good. We knew we had a little valve train noise so Blue offered to help adjust my valves. At this point it is almost 5pm and Blue has been at my house helping me for over 8 hours. Knowing he has a 3 hour drive ahead of him I asked if he could show me how to do one and I could do the rest so he could start heading back. Again he insisted it was no problem and said it’s an easier job with 2 people anyway. Sure enough he was spot on and we had everything adjusted perfectly in under 30 minutes. We did another compression test and the numbers came up a little bit as we expected since the valves were a bit tight. With that task knocked out we cleaned up, chatted a little more, and Blue headed back to Houston. I said it several times when Blue was here but I wanted everyone to know just how great of a guy he is for all he did and say thank you one more time. Thank you Blue! I truly appreciate all your help and expertise. Also, thank you Mike for organizing the event at Town North Nissan and coming out and hanging out with us. It was a great day for sure. We will have to do it again. Blue and I Mike W and Blue Driveway shot!

That is SICK!!! Looks beautiful F&D! A big dose of KUDOS for a job well done. I love it!

Here is a R180 in League City near Houston. Would be a drive to get it but would probably be cheaper than having it shipped. Plus you would get to inspect it in person as it does look pretty dirty in the picture. Datsun 240z r180 rear end

That is a bummer Koalia! I would email them and let them know and explain the costs of shipping. They should make it right and send you the correct part.

Like others have said, double check everything before you hit the Confirm Order button. I ordered some outer tie rods as well and it had the wrong jam nut with it. A few emails back and forth and another was sent to me free of charge with very quick turn around. Rock Auto is great for things that your local parts store can't get or costs 2x+ the price. However, do your due diligence and shop around. I got some very good quality reman front calipers from Advance Auto Parts for $25 each. Combine that with the specials they run if you buy online and they come out to like $20 each. When I can I always buy online, get my discount, and pick up at the store on my way home from work.

Great looking car Moelk. I love the deep dish appliance wheels! Looks to have some lowering springs on it and CA tags. Was this car on Craigslist or Ebay? Seems like I remember a car just like this or similar to it for sale not too long ago. Would love to hear the back story on it.

That engine looks like it is sitting in an operating room with all the white paint around it. Super clean!!! I love it. Keep up the great work!

I remember when I put the anchor bolts in they had to go in exactly straight so there was no play in them. When you say your strut towers measure 905mm, are you talking about 905mm across the engine bay or somewhere else? My car has never been hit so I don't think I have any issues with my strut towers.

I am not sure what kind LED's they are and have never heard anything about them being plasma but I could be just misinformed. It is my personal experience that the dashes themselves are fine, its the power supplies that have issues. Several years ago I had a '88 2+2 with a digital dash that had a bad connector in power supply but it wasn't anything a small soldering iron and about 30 minutes of work could not fix. Others do go dark permanently for various reasons. After all, all of them are approaching 30 years old or have surpassed it since they were debuted in the 280zx so its a miracle that any of them still work properly. Me, I am just a fan of analog gauges and always have been. Most turbo cars were fully loaded and automatic so its hard to find one that is a base car with the turbo package, 5spd, and t-tops being the only option.

If its clean, original, reasonable miles, and does not have the digital dash its worth that all day long. The problem is, there are not many people shopping for one of these cars. I originally wanted a Shiro edition but too many people get caught up with how "rare" they are and price their cars too high, all of which still have them for sale.

Good idea John. I guess it is possible the suspension maybe binding up a bit. I will pick up a set of drive up ramps so I can get under there and do as you suggested.

I just sent you an email Chuck. Below is how it looked before I got started. It is sitting on the yellow lowering springs and all the wheels looked correctly aligned. Unfortunately I did not take a head on shot before I got started. I look forward to hearing back from you on the bushings.

A few weeks ago I picked a 1988 300zx Turbo 5spd. Its not only in the garage but is also getting a fair amount of attention. The most recent being a full timing belt service with new WP, t-stat, seals, etc. Hoping to wrap it up soon as it is nice to drive and has cold AC.

I did not have the camber issue prior to doing all the suspension work. The yellow springs that were one it made it sit very low and everything looked good but the springs and low stance gave me an inch or less of suspension travel. I would like to think I am back around what stock ride height would be but I am not 100% sure.

You were spot on John. I got the passenger side spring cut down and everything reinstalled and the car did level out. Now I have a problem with too much positive camber. I posted pics of it all on my resto thread -> http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/open-zcar-discussion/47863-lime-green-machine-restoration-thread-1972-240z-5.html#post432836 I am not sure what I need to do to go about correcting it.

So I got back on the 240Z this past week after being side tracked by my ‘88 300ZX Turbo. I cut the front springs down one more coil in an effort to the bring nose down a bit. Now the new Chevette spring has a free height of 10.25” and after reinstalling everything it did help the car level out. Despite my best efforts I still have not resolved the issue of having too much positive camber. It is easy to see when looking at the car straight on. The passenger side it worse than the driver side. Seeing that there is no camber adjustment I am running out of ideas other than trying to lower the car some more. The problem is now the springs are short enough where they do not require any type of compression to put the strut back together so I am very reluctant to cut them anymore. Am I missing something here? I double checked and the lower control arm bushing has the thick side at the rear which I believe is correct. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

How did your diff swap project go? Some mentioned the difficult task of getting the half shaft nuts in place. If you are just swapping the diff and leaving the half shafts in place then yes its a bit of a pain but not impossible. One thing to check is to make sure you have nuts that are designed to be used with the half shafts as they are shorter in height than what you can find at the parts store and I believe are 14mm instead of 17mm so they are easier to get a wrench on too. MSA sells them for $1.07/ea. Highway robbery I know but if yours are incorrect or mix matched break down and buy a set. Nothing better than working with new hardware. If your half shafts need any attention now is obviously the time to do it. Below is what my R200 diff and rebuilt half shafts looked like before they went back in the car. It was a lot easier to bolt them up to the diff first then having to deal with getting them bolted up once under the car.

I thought I would post an update on this topic. I cut 1.5 coils off of all 4 springs and installed them thus resulting in the picture below. I like where the rear is at but as you can see it is sitting nose high. So earlier this week I took the front driver side spring off and cut off another coil giving the spring an uninstalled height of 10.25" I was hoping to see a .5 - .75 inch drop once it was installed but only saw about .25 inch drop. It still looks a little nose high so I am going to do the other side this evening or tomorrow and see if that helps. If not I may pull them off again and cut off half a coil and see where that gets me.

Absolutely beautiful! Great work Julio! Are the seats covered in leather? They look buttery smooth and comfy.

Welcome Phillip! Anytime the words rust free and 240z are in the same sentence you are already miles ahead of most. We look forward to seeing pics of your project and helping you out along the way.

The shiny part of the strut is the strut piston. If 3 struts have failed the 4th won't be too far behind. More than likely they have been replaced at some point with after market strut cartridges so swapping them should be straight forward. Getting them apart can be the hardest part of the swap. You will need a large wrench or pipe wrench to get the gland nut off and another wrench to hold the tube. The reddish liquid is probably ATF as most people put some in the tubes to keep the strut cool if they are using them in high performance applications. Normal behavior should be what you are seeing with the 4th strut. Keep us posted and let us know if you have anymore questions.

That is a very common rust area and if you have access to a welder and are willing to hone some welding skills you can do it on your own as I did. This was the first real patch panel work I have ever done and the final product I believe was more than satisfactory. Check it out on my thread starting with post Post #22. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/open-zcar-discussion/47863-lime-green-machine-restoration-thread-1972-240z.html

Taking AZ's suggestion one step further. Go to your local hardware store and buy a squeeze bottle with a syringe on the end. That is what I put my 50/50 Acetone ATF mix in so I can pinpoint exactly where I need it. It has been a life saver and I find myself using it more than I ever thought I would. Just have to shake it a little before using it as the mix does separate over time.