Formica

Thanks for the tips :-) I think finding a donor ZX is in my future, given your praise of the ignition and the gear ratios from the NA 2 seaters (so I am told; bear in mind I'm a newbie to alot of this). After spending a great deal of time staring at diagrams and the like, I just wanna make sure I have this right: The EGR (referred to in the manual as the emissions control valve? I think?) regulates the amount of recirculated blowby gas from the crankcase ventilation system, correct? I'm not in a position to replace my intakes quite yet (not that I wouldn't like to), so I am still tryin' to make heads or tails of what I should change/modify/destroy. BTW, I do have the original air filter box :-) the car is just about as close to stock as you can get after 29 years of use. So what I'm thinking is: -Disconnect the smog pump - do I need to cap the piping? Or can I leave it rigged up as-is? -Cap the crankcase vent outlet on the block and the matching end on the balance tube which serves the dirty air back up to the intakes. Is this the right way, or the wrong way? -Leave the servo diapragm (which controls emissions during engine braking?) alone. -Set the timing and idle rpm as per a non emissions controlled vehicle (17 degrees, 650rpm idle) Sound right? Wrong? Thanks again, and please forgive all the newbie questions. [This message has been edited by Formica (edited 01-26-2001).]

So I was going over the timing and valve clearance adjustments for my 72 240, hoping this weekend to get some grease time in and make the engine run a bit smoother than it is (great shape, but currently needs a serious tune up). I noticed the wild variations in timing based on the presence of emission controls - a 12 degree difference?!! - and that, naturally, reminded me that since it's a 72, even in California it's quite alright for me to tune the engine for best performance and remove the emissions control equipment as I see fit. The funny thing is, when I first got the car 5 years ago (my second Z after my first car, a 280, and my companion to my daily driver, a 92 300 2+2), it passed smog just fine. Anyhow, I want to remove all of the emissions control equipment, but I'm not exactly sure what that entails. I know I'm supposed to remove the EGR valve and cap off both ends, but looking at the service manual, I'm pretty sure that's not all there is to it. Has anyone done this to their car recently, and would any of you who have feel like explaining to a newb like me what exactly is involved? Will I need to pull the engine, or can I do it all on the car? Any dangers involved? Once done, can I set the timing, idle, etc by the book for non-US emissions settings? Any and all advice, help, etc, would be much much appreciated :-)