zspert

Of course, if we go to 15% ethanol all bets are off!!

Did someone say V-3 kit - final installment So, for the next two plus years we tried very hard, at least I did, to make those 73, 74 & 74.5 Z cars run properly. I paid careful attention to each and every service bulletin ignoring those that didn't make sense and trying those that I thought had a shot. I found that as time passed less and less of the affected cars ended up at the dealer. Where did they go? Fast forward to my post dealer days. I was getting a fair number of mostly second owners who weren't aware of the faulty induction system but knew something just wasn't right and wanted very dearly to make the damn thing run properly. Of course the fix was to backdate the induction system, the entire system. Everything from the cylinder head out. This operation turned the undriveable into pleasurable. Most of these second owner cars had low mileage, often less than 15k. It seems that most of these cars were parked by the original owners after their patience ran out. In about the year 2000 I did the backdate to a 73 with only 8K miles. Uemura-san's book drew a detailed picture of the extensive real-world testing that was done before the 240 was introduced to the US market. It's clear to me that Nissan did ZERO real world testing before introducing the 73 240 to US market. What a colossal foul-up! Interesting postscript - 10-15% of the cars in these model years, according to the original owners, ran just fine! In my view these chaps weren't being completely honest or they only used their Zs in the cooler months. Some time in the future I'll go into the other 74 & 74.5 big problem - loose crankshaft pulley bolts, oh yea! Cheers

Wrong seat covers but contemporary Nissan hose clamps. Rather a mixed bag.

It even has door jamb bumpers!

Obvious - that's it!

Did someone say V-3 kit, almost done My last installment had me and my Datsun mechanic buddies trying to decide where we were going for lunch while checking out all the chic professional ladies in our downtown neighborhood. But - after lunch and a visit to the stereo store we eventually had to get back to those 73-74.5 Z car induction systems. Between the time the Nissan engineers left our dealership and the kits became available wasn't too long but until that happened the first blush of 73 Zs had to sit on the dealer lots and at the ports. They took up space and more importantly they took up floor plan $s. When all was said and done the the best the V-3 kit could do was make most of the affected cars drivable when the air temp was below about 80 or so and the humidity wasn't too high. Over the following 2.5 years Nissan issued service bulletin after bulletin trying to get a grip in what was becoming a real problem. In the end they issued more service bulletins on this induction problem than any other system on any other model I was involved with in my almost 10 years of dealership employment. Sometime in 74 the engineering dept. put all of the bulletins in one volume. I had never seen the compilation book until several years ago when I was able to snag one from e-bay. Among the many modifications listed is the one I find to be the most radical, and the most amusing. It was authorized for use only in those parts of the country that had very hot humid climates. It was the installation of a massive hood scoop! Now, before you, a dealer, could cut up your customer's hood you had to have permission from just about everyone from Mr. K on down! I have that book somewhere but I just can't find it. I've included a couple of pictures of the the interim attempts to organize the bulletins. I've never seen one of the hood scoop cars. There was one factory modification I was able to use with modest success but to this day I can't understand how it was legal. You simply attached a length of vacuum lose to the end of the float bowl vent. You secured the end of the hose using rather fine stainless wire. You then ran the end of the hose to a space away from the venturi. No more partially vaporized fuel being directly ingested by the carbs. Next time - the final cure, my observations and opinion.

No fender cover, OUCH!

Currently there is only one manufacturer of the diamond pattern trim. The company is Distinctive Industries in CA. While their product is of very high quality it takes a skilled hand to achieve a good look, especially when it comes to the rear strut towers and rear wheel arches.

inside

Did someone say V-3 kit? Part2 A little color to what may be for some a very boring tale. As I mentioned - the Datsun dealer that was employing me circa 1972-1976 was in the heart of Bethesda, MD on a very busy main road. Bethesda, home of the National Institute of Health, and my birth place, The Bethesda Naval Hospital, is just outside DC. The dealership had been a Dodge franchise in its past life. The showroom could accommodate 5 cars and the service department had 10 bays and room for a a modest parts department. The chassis dyno and a flat stall were in a dedicated building adjacent to the main shop. For an early 20s hot shot mechanic like me and my mates the area had a very positive vibe. There were lots of excellent places for lunch well within walking distance. There were 2 high end stereo stores - remember them - only a couple of blocks away. AND, the streets were populated with lots and lots of attractive well dressed women! Think the Shelby Venice shop in "Ford Vs Ferrari" but with suits and dresses instead of bikinis. Final chapter to follow.

For your consideration, would the rarest Z be a 74.5 - only 3 months of production - 260 2+2 with automatic trans?

Yes, and the wood blocks seal the deal.

When I see their ads in Hemmings I don't bother to read the text.

Did someone mention V-3 kit? The following is an edited version of an article I wrote for the Z Car Club of Northern Virginia many moons ago when we still had a monthly newsletter. 1972/73 found me working as a mechanic at a Datsun dealer in Bethesda, MD. We sold our first 73 240 to a member of the Redskins football team as a promotion. Only problem was it got towed back to the dealership for the next 3 consecutive evenings - so much for the promotion. This was in the early fall when the weather was still pretty warm and the car was exhibiting very rich symptoms. The owner of the dealership was pretty pissed as his name was starting to turn to mud with the guy who had bought the car with a lot of hype. Long story short, about a week later we were visited by 2 engineers from Nissan Japan. We were the only dealer within bunch of miles of the Eastern headquarters in NJ that had a modern chassis dynamometer. For the next week or so these engineers and one of our mechanics spent most of their time with the Z in question on the dyno and on the roads surrounding greater Bethesda. The result of their work was the V-3 kit. The kit included an electric fuel pump, fuel pump relay, asbestos like/aluminized engine compartment fuel line wrapping, carb floats and needles and a handful of other parts that, when the weather was warm, did little to address the problem(s). Until Datsun/Nissan could start fitting the kits at the factory it was up to dealer mechanics to install the V-3s to those cars already in distributor/dealer hands. A real rush was put on the program and we started getting kits about a week or so later. What was the problem? Adding an EGR system to the induction system raised under hood temps a great deal and moving the float bowls from the side of the carb to the bottom of the carb often resulted in fuel percolation as there was almost no movement of air in the very confined space between the float bowls and the exhaust manifold. . The 1969-1972 240s vented the carb float bowls into the atmosphere through the air filter housing. The 73s and 74s couldn't do that anymore because of tightened emissions regulations. Those years vented the float bowl, now mounted in a confined and hot space, directly into the venturi. Now you had hot fuel vapors, unmetered, entering the venturi resulting in a very rich condition and LOUSY performance. More later.

I was going through my stash of factory service literature and refound this. It's a training aid for parts personnel that taught them how to identify Datsuns from day 1 in the US through about 1975. If you see one for sale don't hesitate. It's really cool and very informative as well as a reliable source of correct model info.

Sorry to say, I agree with you. Bragging rights and nothing more. I enjoy touring with my old cars when the weather cooperates.

I don't know him

While these ultra low mileage cars are indeed a rare find; they will require a lot of $ before they can be considered safe and reliable. Of course, if one like prancing horse just wants bragging rights - well that's another story, no?

Dealer installed V-3 kit.

Incorrect outer deck lid seal. Should be one piece. The 3 piece style appeared much later.

Splash pans appeared in a hit or miss fashion on the 70 and early 71s. Later Z cars all had one. We saw a VERY FEW hand throttles on the early Zs. I also saw hand throttles on the odd Volvo and MB as well.

Congratulations to Mark G for his second MARRS ITS championship and for setting the ITS lap record . Mark you done good!

When the marketing geniuses at Datsun US dreamed up the Z Store program, so many years ago, they were completely clueless about the restoration process and probably didn't give a damn given the rarefied atmosphere they enjoyed. It wasn't until the program was turned over to those who would have to make it work that it was realized how few 240 parts were still on the parts shelves. For example, there were only 60 or so dashes, windshields and back lites remaining in stock. There was NO soft trim. So much for the 200 or so examples the geniuses wanted to run through the program. What to do? Pierre knew about me and my, at that time, very modest offerings, so he had the Datsun procurement people get in touch so the ball could get rolling, like yesterday!! I was in almost weekly conference with 2 and much later 3 individuals at Datsun. Pierre, Les and I had quite a few conversations as well. During that time there was some back and forth about a book that would, among other Z car related topics, address what the early 70s were like at the Datsun dealers during those golden years. Fast forward a lot of years and I get a call from a publisher asking if I would like to help them sell a new Z car book. Deep discount for volume, official endorsement, etc. I asked for a copy and a few days later it appeared. Turns out it was written by one of the chaps I had so many phone conversations with back in the day. Upon reading I found it to be far less than it might have been and while I was listed as a recommended vendor it also had what looked to me like a broad, multi page, endorsement of our friend in OK. Thinking that the author might have been conned by the fellow in question I sent him, the author, an email. I asked him if he remembered me and thanked him for giving my business a recommendation. I also gave him a brief on the Guild backstory. No, don't know you from Adam and the 240 Guild seems to be a very solid operation with significant bona fides. I left it there. It's taken me a very long time to establish the reputation I enjoy. Those like the character in question make my job just that much more difficult.

I have much to add regarding the book in question but we're waiting for the arrival of guests and don't have time just now, keep tuned.

I'm not going to do anything until more info is forthcoming.