djwarner

Appears you lucked out as well. Note on your electricity, your electric service is 220v made from two 110 volt circuits setup back to back. In your distribution panel each circuits feeds different 110V circuit breakers. Your 220V service has two breakers tied together each fed by one of the two 110V circuits. If one 110V power feed is down, you should have several circuit breakers without power, not just the 220V service. If all your 110V circuits breakers have power, then you have 220V service to your house and one of the two circuit breakers in your AC circuit has tripped. Try resetting the breaker. If some of your 110V circuits are out of power, it may be wise to flip off all your 220V breakers until power is restored to prevent stress on those loads.

Our friends in Miami got it worse than we did in Central FL. I got less damage than Dave. Just lost a few plants.

Surprised to see this thread pop up again. After being unable to find a reasonable rolling chassis, I decided to transplant the LFX/6L50 into a 2011 hardtop convertible Miata. I chose this venue because the NC Miata could accept the engine and drivetrain with little to no body alterations. While others have mounted the LFX into Miatas with 6 speed manual trannys, This will be the first with an AT. Weight will be within 200 lbs of stock 240Z. Compared to the LS installations from Flying Miata that require serious tunnel modification, the bodywork for the NC model was a piece of cake. V8Roadsters sells mounts, half shafts, drive shafts etc for the swap. They also sell a shortened oil pan, though it is not required for this installation. So far I have the engine/tranny/diff installed. While the engine bay in the 240Z is enormous, the Miata was a tight fit. I had to slightly relieve (ball peen hammer) the firewall near gas pedal mount and trim some clearance on the passenger front frame rail. Also had to widen the tunnel to clear the shift linkage again ball peen hammer). Also had to remove a minor front cross brace ahead of the of the engine. Currently working on a new power steering pump bracket (version 2.0) and modifying the steering linkage to work around the exhaust downpipe. Because of the tight fit and the water pump being mounted on the rear of the engine, I had to substitute the heater lines and radiator feed tube from a Cadillac CTS. Seems this engine has been used in a number of GM apps in both transverse mount and longitudinal mounts so lots of accessory parts are available. Work is coming along.

If there has been a catastrophic failure, It was probably only one cylinder and should be pretty easy to isolate by examining the plugs without running engine. Obviously oil is getting into the cylinder(s) to be passed to the exhaust or a leak from a valve guide or cracked head. Clean plugs would point to the head. Inspection cameras are getting to be fairly cheap. You might consider picking one up at Harbor Freight and examining the pistons through the sparkplug holes.

My guess is a loose or cracked insulator.

aah, Google is a friend of mine. Here is the link to the FI conversion kits http://www.pattonmachine.com/index.htm

This is an interesting configuration. The first version of this configuration I ever saw was in the '64 Chevy Corvair. It even got a special write up in the Popular Science. The advantage of this configuration is the ability to use a standard carburetor with the float chamber vented to the air. Placing the turbo ahead of the carb requires the float chamber vented to the pressurized carb inlet. There is a guy selling a FI conversion system that bolts onto the SU carbs but Windows 10 wiped out my link to it in my favorites. Maybe another member has the link.

After 4 years, it has come time to move on to another project and so my Series I AT is up for sale. http://www.streetsideclassics.com/vehicles/0859-tpa/1970-datsun-240z The consignment shop hasn't put all the details of the car on their listing yet, so let me list some particulars here. Built in December 1970, it is a true Series I car but was titled in '71 and is a rust free matching numbers car with Vintage Air AC. I have reconditioned the drive train from stem to stern. Engine was overhauled about 5,000 miles ago including rings, bearings, seals, timing gear, oil pump, OEM cam shaft and starter. Engine uses no oil and pulls full compression and manifold vacuum. SU carbs were replaced with downdraft Webers by a previous owner. I have converted them from sequential 2 barrels to synchronous operation with a kit from Redline. I also re-jetted the carbs for proper operation with our modern fuels. Ignition is a solid state module from a '78 Z. I am including a set of 4 screw SU carbs with the car if someone wants to restore it to the original configuration. Transmission was replaced with one from a '78 Z (was told it had 82K miles on it). Differential was rebuilt. Struts were replaced KYB units. Brakes rebuilt all the way around. Wheel bearings were replaced all around. Universal joints and bushings were replaced as required. Headlamps are LEDs with relay wiring. Instruments have supplemental LED lighting added. Radio is a modern HD radio. Dash is solid with no cracks and is wrapped in Italian leather. Mags are 6 hole American Dragmaster. Spare is an OEM steel wheel and holds air. I have spent time to make this car ready to be driven and enjoyed daily and have put 30,000+ miles on it over the last 4 years.

Just an update. Ran wire for the electric pump into the cockpit and dived into the area behind the radio to repair the defroster circuitry. After figuring our where to tap the power, I located the switch on the bottom of the steering column plastic finisher. Plugged the battery back in and the pump ran as expected, but when I went to start the engine, the starter circuit was dead. Finally traced the problem back to the neutral/park switch wiring (AT). While running the wire for the pump, I must have loosened a bullet joint. With the old style soft plastic tubing over the joint, nothing was apparent until I tugged on it. So back to testing the pump. Earlier in the day I ran the pump until I heard the change in pitch as the fuel manifold pressurized and then another 5-10 seconds. So several hours later when I got the engine to turn over, it started in the first second of cranking with no choke applied! Looks like I got a winner. Thinking back to how long it takes to pressurize the manifold, I wonder if the check valves in the engine driven pump may be allowing fuel to slowly drain back into the tank leaving air/vapor in the fuel manifold. An empty manifold could be a partial cause in the delay to re-fill the float bowls after sitting for several days. In any case, the electric pump seems to be doing the trick.

Very interesting reading Mark. The major difference with the later 240's and 260's from the earlier models was pollution control requirements. The fact that Nissan was able to meet new regulations and improve performance over the '70s is a testament to their efforts. So there was a competition hood with side vents.

In five years in Florida I've yet to experience vapor lock in my Weber down draft equipped 240Z. So my question maybe more academic curiosity raised while I was working on a different problem. My problem has to do with hard starting after my car sits for several days. I can't say I ever experienced starting problems when it served as my daily driver. Now that I've moved on to others projects, the Z often sits for 3-5 days without starting and hard starting has raised its head. At first I thought I caused it when I converted the sequential 2 barrels into synchronous operation with a kit from Redline. Also I re-jetted the carbs to better handle the ethanol laced gas we all suffer with today. I suspected the conversion kit because it lacked the device that cracked the carbs open when the choke is applied. It got to the point that a shot of ether was required to start after 3 days of sitting. Cold starting the next day required no choke, second day required half choke, and third day ether. I believe I have finally traced it down to evaporation through the float bowl vent. This causes lean mixture until the bowl finally refills. This requires enough pumping from the mechanical pump to raise the fuel manifold pressure and fuel to pass through to the float valve. Getting volume through the mechanical pump is not a problem with a slowly cranking engine, but achieving pressure is another matter. The first owner had been talked into replacing a defective mechanical fuel pump with an electric pump mounted back near the fuel tank. The second owner decided he didn't like the clicking noise and went back to an engine driven pump. He didn't bother removing the electric pump, just plumbed around it and sealed the electrical pump by connecting tubing from the inlet to outlet. He also disconnected the power lead. I subsequently removed it during other maintenance. It occurred to me that it might be useful as an on demand booster pump to refill the float bowls. After cleaning and replacing its fuel filter, it checked out, so I installed it yesterday. Verifying it would work inline with the engine driven pump, I removed the rubber return line at the metal line on the fuel manifold. Holding a glass to the metal line, I turned on the pump. At first I got the familiar clickety-clack as the air was purged from the line. Then the pump quieted down as the pressure began to build. Success. It was then that I realized why the Z never required a fuel pressure regulator. The fuel passing out of the return line was a much thinner stream than the diameter of the rubber line that connected to it. Aha! a closer examination showed there was a restrictor on the end of the metal line with a small hole, perhaps 1mm in diameter. This small hole established a pressure drop and this pressure was presented throughout the fuel manifold and up to the float valves. So when the engine is cranking before start, the pulse rate of fuel from the pump is much slower that an idling engine and the pressure is never generated. So any stickiness at the float bowl valve - or in my case - restriction caused by adjustment of the float height means that the ability to re-fill the bowl is greatly diminished. Since the electric pump has the ability to supply pressure and flow rates for max HP without regard to engine rpm, this should be an acceptable solution and I will install a momentary switch near the console. (REDLINE changed the recommended float height to accommodate modern fuels with ethanol. I did this when I re-jetted the carbs.) This has got me thinking about vapor lock. If the return line is always open through this orifice, how does vapor prevent flow of gas to the carbs? The only way vapors can disrupt fuel flow is for vapor to get into the check valves in the engine driven pump. If the check valves don't seal vapor well, no net flow of fuel occurs. I have heard it said that is pressure builds in the fuel rails, it can pass to the float bowl causing rich running. But my carbs have float bowls vented to atmosphere and any pressure in the fuel manifold will simply vent through the return line. If I am right, there would appear to be little to no advantage in wrapping insulation on the fuel manifold metal lines as is often done. While shielding to prevent heat from reaching the float bowls and vaporizing the fuel there would appear worthwhile. So what have I got wrong?

I ran into a local gauge manufacturer who actually sells a 10 Bar oil pressure sender. I asked if his sender would work with our Series I 0-140 psig gauges and he replied that he know without more information about our gauges. ( 1 bar is 14.7 psig) What is unique about his sender is that it is not a dual purpose sender like almost all of the other senders available for our cars. Dual purpose senders are intended for use with idiot lights and go open when oil pressure goes below approximately 10 psig. This is what causes our gauges to go to zero while idling after pulling off the interstate. His sender does not have this feature. For those who do not know, Series I cars came with a 0-140 psig gauge that was changed to 0-90 psig after the first year of production. Datsun discontinued supplying 10 Bar senders but continued selling them until existing stocks were exhausted. Later they came out with a service bulletin instructing to replace the gauge with a 0-90 psig unit to match the later sender. Many Series I cars never had the gauges replaced and are a mismatch for the available senders. The 0-140 psig are sought after by restorers seeking originality for Series I cars. The 6 Bar senders commonly available will work with our 0-140 psig gauges, but with unknown calibration. And of course they all have the idiot light function. After my engine overhaul, I began to suspect that the two gauges (0-90 and 0-140) might have the identical movements and the only difference is the marking on the dial face. But I have no way of verifying this. I have been looking for specs for our gauges to no avail. Basically, I need to know what resistance at the sender corresponds to 0, middle marker (70 psig), and 140 psig our gauges. Any information on the two gauges would be helpful.

I can't help with your primary problem, but a heads up on the magnet. Rust is not magnetic. Can we assume now that you have focused on heat in the engine compartment that you have solved your fuel pressure problems and it still reads 3 psig during the heat soaks.

These guys have had a youtube channel for some time and will be starting a new show on the Velocity Channel soon. A pleasant surprize to see them review a 240Z. Enjoy.

Another alternative is made by Parallax called a Basic Stamp. The difference is, as you might expect, that their products have a tiny basic interpreter included. Makes programming a lot easier. I used one to construct an automated product tester integrating solenoid valves, a digital scale, etc. https://www.parallax.com/catalog/microcontrollers/basic-stamp

Another episode of the same show featured a restored 510.

Lot S6 (formerly L150) sold this morning with no reserve for $23K. This is a grand more than the first time it went up for sale.

lot 268.1 Series I was bid up to $30K but didn't meet the reserve.

Ok Mecum no longer shows any lot L150, so lot S6 must be a resisting as the last sale didn't go through.

The different timing holes do not affect the tension, it only adjusts the relative timing between the crank and cam to account for chain stretch. The chain tensioner takes up any difference in the overall length of the chain. If the chain you used was new, there is no advantage in not using position 1. Mounting the cam sprocket with a new chain can be difficult both because angular misalignment of the stiff chain before the sprocket mounts. Also, the chain tensioner does not make thing any easier. You can try to ease things a bit by using a thin tie wrap to get the maximum squeeze on the tensioner before mounting

Interesting new development..... Another green 72 Z has been added without photos. Description is identical as the prior lot less "factory air". Is this the same car relisted? FYI there are now 2 240Z's scheduled: Lot S6 green '72 4 speed scheduled early Saturday Jan 14 Lot F268.1 orange '70 5 speed scheduled later Friday Jan 13

Sometimes prices are negotiated/adjusted down if the car turns out to be less than represented. Also, the auctioneer repeats the next step in the bidding rather than the last bid made. Then when the car sells, they announce the winning bid - but not always. I believe the $25k number was the next expected bid.

FYI Lot L150 coming up today at Mecum's auction. No pictures shown on preview. A non-original Series I coming up for sale later this week.

Hi hatepotholez, I'm jumping in here at your request. Forgive me if I'm covering old ground, just read the last page of the thread to get a feeling of your problems. Your timing shaft sounds like it is correctly oriented. To verify, rotate the crank to TDC of #1. Pull the distributor cap and verify the rotor is pointing at the number 1 wire. I am assuming that the offset of the distributor timing shaft is on the correct side (not 180 degrees out of phase). At this point verify you have disconnected the vacuum advance line and plugged it with a golf tee. Now what I suspect your real problem is. Your car originally came with points ignition. It is common practice to swap out a distributor from a later Z to upgrade to an electronic ignition. Mine came with a '79 280ZX Automatic distributor. Unfortunately, the timing lockdown plate was changed sometime in the intervening years. Using a later distributor with an original lockdown plate will cause the problem you speak of. Also, it is possible to install the plate upside down. You may have either or both conditions. I have the old lockdown plate and spent too much time trying configure things with the timing in the middle of the adjustment range. It ended up near an extreme end of the adjustment range when an inner, wiser voice told me to accept what works and to get on with my life. Hope this helps and you can get back to solving your forward carb float problem. If you are still using the mechanical fuel pump, you can manually exercise the pump with the valve cover is removed. Verify you have generous flow with the banjo bolt removed. Then verify the holes in the banjo bolt itself flow freely and are not clogged. BTW, manually exercising the mechanical fuel pump is a great way to prime the carbs after a tear down. Saves the extended cranking needed with dry carbs. You should have the valve cover off then to verify oil is getting to the upper deck before starting anyway. Hope this helps, dj

Are you trying to repair a malfunctioning AT or simply trying to improve performance? If it is the latter, I would suggest using the shift lever to manually shift at about 4500-5000 RPM. Limited to three speeds, this method gets the best performance out of our engine/transmission combination. If you want to alter the automatic shift points, it requires changing the internal springs of the AT hydraulic controls. Kits used to be available, but I have no idea where to find one. If you are trying to repair a malfunctioning transmission, overhaul kits are available but cost almost as much as a used transmission. I have the Nissan factory service manual for these transmission if you have the urge to get extremely dirty. There is even a Youtube video rebuilding one.