byunique

I have had a Malllory Unilite for many years now, and I have to admit I have had to replace the light mechanism several times. I don't know how the pertronix unit compares, but the unilite doesn't last forever. Beware of anything electronic, because if it goes out..you get stranded.

First top down Z done with flares that I have seen. I like it!

$1300 for a valve job?...Well, if the head is that damaged, you may be better off going down to the junkyard and finding a head a decent condition or by a used head from somebody for $100. Sounds like the head you have is not worth rebuilding.

I myself knew putting large speakers in the front would be a challenge since the cutouts in the door panels will not accomodate large speakers and I didn't want to cut a lot of metal out of my doors. I eventually ended up putting 6.5 woofers in the doors along with separate surface mounted tweeters. The trick to putting a large speaker like this in is to use a 3/4 inch spacer under the speaker, minimizing the intrusion of the magnet into the door. This way you can go way beyond the 5" speaker limit. For the back, my 73 has those storage bins. I ended up cutting holes in the storage tops and sinking 2 x 6.9 inch speakers in them along with the grills to protect them. I can still place items in the storage bins, but sometimes it is a bit tricky because the magnets have an affinity for them when taking things out. Along with that I have a 4 channel, 35 watt/channel amp that powers the Pioneer CD head unit. All in all, I am very pleased with the sound coming from this Z. The speakers in the front doors present the correct soundstage for the car and the 6x9 speakers provide plenty of bass. 6.5 inch door speakers make a big difference over any 5" speaker, just a whole lot more bass. Most importantly, the 4 channel amp makes it all possible w/o it there would be too much road noise. I mounted the amp behind the passenger seat for the lack of a better spot. It is bit too big for underneath the seat which would be my first choice. I am very happy with my installation because it is very unobtrusive and I have plenty of good sound quality.

I have noticed anyone who drives a 240 is generally pretty cool. There is something different about 240 owners...generally about the way they take pride...and the way they think. Lots of 280 drivers let their cars run ragged and just drive to and fro for transportation. I got hooked on the Z when I was in college. I needed something to wrench on as a hobby. The Z has taught me lots about logical thinking, troubleshooting, project management and mechanics in general. 12 years later, I still enjoy the heck out of my car and often use my knowledge gained from working on my car to what I do today in computers as a Unix System Administrator which often tests my logic and tempermant.

My buddy had told me from dyno testing, the use of red-line oil over convetional oil was good for another 5 horsepower at high rpm. Sorry, can't quote the article.

I have AutoX my Z in the past for fun mainly, but there's lots of guys that are very fast in their Z's racing competitively. The Z's really do well in AutoX will coilovers, swaybars, race tires and a nicely tuned motor with SU carbs. Considering they are up paired up against Vettes, will give you a pretty good idea of how fast that can be. Yes, the Z is a very good platform to take autocrossing or on the track!!...very few cars can do that!!!

Motorsport Auto has them. http://www.zcarparts.com/

The bolt is 3.5 inches long because it first had to make it's way through the timing chain cover. The cover is a good 2.75" at the point which you are describing. The depth at which the bolt screws in the block is probably not much more than 5/8 of an inch. If you were to pull the timing cover off, you would probably see that the bolt broke toward the bolt's head, so that the majority of the bolt would be sticking out of the block. You could then use some channel locks to pull the rest of it out. I had the same thing happen to me, and I felt much better once I replaced the bolt...one of those confidence level things....

Its just illegal in CA, otherwise I would to it.

The weakest thing about the stock suspension is those wimpy 14 " tires, much too skinny for any high speed driving. If you can, upgrade to 15" wheels at least. The must for all suspensions is a set of nice front/rear swaybars. This is the best money you would ever spend on a Z suspension...bar none.!

Remember a stock pristine condition car costs costs and costs. They are great for taking to shows and you will get a abundant amount of compliments. I am sure you will be hesitant to take it everywhere because you will worry about somebody messing with it, at least I would. If you want a fun car to drive, equipped perhaps with bigger wheels, airdam, performance mods you are talking about a completely different car, usually less money too. To me, if you want a car that looks pristine, go stock. If you want to create something of your own, fun to drive, then go modified. Take your time at deciding what you want. You will then be able to inventory what you need to change and how much it will cost. Many times the money will steer you into the right direction, at least for me!!!

Sweet car, I like the red interior!

Has anyone done any experimentation on Manifold lengths with their triple carbs? I have the 6" Cannon with a set of triple 44 mikunis and 39mm venturis. The problem my car has a huge flatspot up near 4500-5000rpm. Past that it pulls well up to the 7200rpm redline. Prior to this venturi change, I had changed my cam from a 276 .515 lift cam to a 284/294 .515 lift split duration cam, looking for more power past 6500rpm. The cam didn't seem to add much power until I installed the 39mm venturis. After I did that it had enough breathing capacity to pull to the higher revs. I spoke a little to Dave Rebello of Rebello Racing and he says for my setup, the manifold in combination of the carbs and 3" air horns is just too long. As a simple experiment, I removed the air horns to see if that change in effective manifold length would make a difference. It did make a difference, but it seemed the flat spot was smaller and closer to 4000rpm. I am not sure which way to go. Is my manifold length inherently too long. I could try smaller venturis, perhaps 37mm that kind of defeats my purpose with going with larger venturis in the first place. Anyone else have any experience with this? Thanks in Advance, Brandon:confused:

My car also used to be very rough idling, but it was because the carbs were getting hot because of the heat rising from the header. I remember I could barely leave my finger on the carbs for more than a few seconds it was that hot. I then built a cheap heatshield and kept the heat away from the carbs. I could then keep my finger on the carb all day long if I wanted to. It idles just fine now, the Mikuni 44's were not happy being hot!!!

This was a while back, but something I just wanted to share. When I first got my Z, I was pretty enthused about bolting on stuff for added performance. At the time, my motor was mildly modified ( 40mm triple webers, Mallory distrib, motorsport headers, and 2 1'2 pipe from header back to muffler). I used to drive my car pretty hard, up to the 6000+ redline (give or take a couple hundred). Afterwards, I noticed my muffler started to break the seam and the muffler shape was starting to bulge and deform. The muffler was part of the Motorsport kit which was a Dynomax muffler. It's design was not a S shape chamber but of a more primitive design, like a muffler stuffed with fibreglass with inlet/outlet tubes coming in from each side. The gas would have to enter the muffler through the inlet tube, travel through a bunch of small perforations, travel through the fiberglass and make its way through the exit tube with the same process. I replaced this with a Dynomax Super Turbo, with the S shaped chamber. To me, this makes a whole lot more sense with the ability of the gas to smoothly enter and exit without going through all these perforations. The muffler had less backpressure, never split seams again, car ran faster and cooler!!!. Wow, this actually solved some of the car's overheating tendencies as well. All for $35 bucks..money well spent!

John - Have you seen any good examples of a normally aspirated EFI setup on the web?. I am considering trading in the Mikuni 44's and gaining power from the increased engine management. Brandon

I have never seen any replacment interval on the timing chain. Unlike plastic (modern cars), the metal one just stretches and Nissan also put adjustments into the timing gear itself to compensate for this type of wear. Yeah, so they will last a long time. Yeah, since you will have your head off, good time to replace it!

Beware of fiberglass, they crack too easy. Look into the urethane ones.

If the stock flywheel was 24, then I must be wrong. Its been a long time since the flywheel was shaved, but it is noticeably lighter than stock. Don't know why I have 22 lbs stuck in my head.

I have been debating over whether to spend the cash for a light flywheel, such as a Tilton, HKS, something in the sub 10 pound category. I have a moderately warmed over 280, triples, 284/294 camshaft, 5speed, 3.90, shaved flywheel (approx 22 lbs.) primarily a weekend car. I am not big into drag racing, but rather into slalom and track events. The car idles well at 800-1000rpms, not bad... So, is it worth the cash for a approx. $350 flywheel and the labor installed. I expect faster acceleration, lightning engine response. My car will still idle right?

I have had tons of experience with electric pumps over the years. The reason I replaced my mech. pump w/ electric because I installed a set of triple 40 webers and it was the recommended thing to do at the time. I initially did buy the motorsport elec. aftermarket fuel pump. It lasted a year before it burned out. Considering the price, it did work, but guess what happens when an electric pump burns out? Yeah, you got it right...stranded. Considering its diaphragm, I thought I would be better of with anything else because the diaphragm material just wears out. I later went to a Mallory unit which was a higher flow unit and non-diaphragm (gear design). It lasted much longer than the previous unit but went out later out. Over the course of a few more years, I had gone through another 2 inexpensive pumps ( those bought at a Kragen ( made for V8's), because I didn't feel like spending the cash for a more expensive Mallory and at the time I was left stranded and that was all I could get my hands on. Most recently, I went to the junkyard and pulled electric pumps from the early Rx-7 (79-83). They were $15 bucks at pick a a part and they work great and at that price, you can afford to have a spare. Just consider a decent Mallory (Red) over the web is $80 a pop and a big bulky item to mount. The Rx-7 pumps are small and can be mounted inline. I have only been running the Rx-7 pump with my triple Mikuni 44's for 6 months or so, but it has been running great and enough fuel flow to keep the thirsty Mikuni's happy. I also run it with a preset low psi fuel regulator which is what the Mikunis's need. The morale of the story is if you go to an electric, carry a spare pump with you!!!!. All pumps burnout over time...how long? who knows? Don't get caught with your pants down!!!

I enjoy it everytime I get it. I just wish it was more frequent.

What about carburation? Maximum RPM to be sought after, head work? Compression ratio? Is this before or after the turbo?

My buddy and I had put in new shocks and springs at the same time. I opted in for the Tokico, (non-adjust) and he put in the KYBS. When it came time to replace them, which we did at the same time, 3/4 of my shocks were still working. 1 had lost its rebound completely, while my friends shocks were in worse condition. 2 of his shocks were moreless totally dead and the other 2 were compressible with little force. The KYBs in my mind don't last as long. I would consider the adjustables because: If your shocks ever feel a bit weak after a year or so, you can turn it up a notch and you have moreless a new set of shocks. If you consider all the labor involved with changing a standard set of shocks, the difference in price is justified. Yes. the adjustables are twice as much, but figure you will get alot more wear out of them. Also, if you ever go on the track or autocrossing, adjustable shocks on a high setting are mandatory.