240ZMan

Ditto on the fan clutch. I had the same symptoms. In my case it was a little deceptive in that it did engage A LITTLE, just not enough to cool at idle for a long light on a warm day. New clutch solved it.

They are two different lengths. The longer ones are about 2 mm longer IIRC. They are for the metal reinforcing piece that fits around one of the corners. Sorry for the poor description, it's been a while since I had mine off.

Blox, sorry to hear your difficulties. As someone who initially did the non-vented swap, and later upgraded to the vented, I'll suggest the following: If you only drive on the street, then you'll be fine with the solid disc. If you intend to drive on the track, then you'll want the vented disc. The limiting factor on the track is the heat capacity / heat dissapation of the stock solid caliper. It's not the ability of the caliper to generate clamping force. Best of luck to you.

If you are starting from scratch, then the F54 block is more desirable. But MANY people (yours truly included) have used the N42 block with excellent results. Unless you are going to go for outrageously high revs, or lots of boost with a turbo, you would be fine with your existing N42 block.

I'll just add to Jason's comments that if you're on a budget, you can have your current cam and followers reground/resurfaced. I did that with Delta Cam and spent around $125. I was able to keep my stock springs too. The cam has .488" lift and is spec'd at 284 degrees duration (don't know what it is at .050 lift). If you done your homework with the bottom end, and have the breathing in and out of the engine done right, the cam really wakes the engine up. Of course, this all assumes your head is in good condition, including the valves, seats, and springs. Like I said, for that small amount of money, you get a lot of bang for the buck.

How do you define "that very engine"? At the risk of playing with semantics, if you define it as the block, pistons, and crank, you could swap to a P79 or P90 head, turbo it, and have a pretty robust engine as long as you didn't go crazy with the boost. Leave it at the factory levels of boost and that engine would live a long and happy life Please keep in mind I'm not trying to push you into a turbo, just making sure you know what your options are. I'm not a fan of turbos for performance cars, although my daily driver is a turbo volvo. I don't like the delay between pressing the gas and feeling the torque. But that's just me. Lot's of people find the extra hp worth the slight lag. Choices, choices, choices ...

Quite some time ago as a way to make up for a mistake, MSA threw in a set of manifold studs and nuts. They were good quality and even though I've had the manifolds on and off a few times since, have held up well. They aren't too expensive IIRC, and I think are plated to look like new. Keep in mind, these are separate studs to which you attach the washer and nut. It makes installing the header and intake manifold easier, but the initial installation is tedious to get the old studs out and the new ones in.

Another thought: build a 3.1 stroker. It would let you keep the L6 and should get you to your performance goals. BUT... It's not cheap at all. In fact, from what I've read in multiple places, you'll likely spend MORE than a V8 conversion with comparable power.

As someone who has a similar desire to keep the L6 and not go to forced intake or nitrous, I can relate to your goals. I've been gradually building up my L28 to the point where I now have: N42 block bored .020 over Flat top pistons N42 head with mild porting Header + 2.5" exhaust Stage III-equivalent reground cam Triple Webers MSD ignition Lightened flywheel 5 speed 4.11 LSD The car is blast to drive and makes useful power up to 7k rpm. I'm in the process of converting to FI and will dyno it after that so can't tell you the power right now. BUT.... If you want to build a reliable 5 second 0-60 car, then you should be looking at a V8 conversion or turbo L6. Assuming you don't want a turbo, then focus on a V8. Done right, the weight will be about the same and you'll spend about the same amount. Plus, if you want to go faster still, you'll have lots of options available to you. I realize that what I'm saying could be considered blasphemy, and a few years ago I couldn't even imagine it. If you're like me and you like to wrench on your car and enjoy the learning that comes with it, then I'd definitely recommend going down the L6 route and enjoy the process. But if you want to straight to a 5 second car on a reasonable budget, then you should think about the V8. Just my $.02.

As long as you're using a premium brand oil, I'd focus more on the filter. Here's a website that did some interesting experimenting with various filters. http://people.msoe.edu/~yoderw/oilfilterstudy/oilfilterstudy.html#fram-tg8a It's been around for a while, so I don't know if the current filters on your store's shelf are the same as in this test. Before reading this I used the Fran Extra Guard mainly because it was reasonably priced, readily available, and made by a reputable brand. But after reading this, I decided to move to the Tough Guard. I usually don't see much value in the "intermediate" sub-brands, but in this case, I think it makes sense to pay a little extra.

I would guess those in the picture are 15". But if you are going to buy them new, I would suggest you get the 16". There are not very many performance tires left in the 15" size, and virtually none in 14. You'll be able to find good rubber longer in 16.

FWIW, on my silver car, I have decided to leave it black for 2 reasons: 1) it's less noticeable that way - I prefer to keep it looking as stock on the outside as possible. 2) it's easier to not paint it. That said, if I was to repaint my car, I'm pretty sure I'd paint it while I was at it.

I have the MSA spoiler and have been VERY happy with it. The difference in front end stability at 70 mph is huge. It was even noticeable at slower speeds down to 40. I would suggest that adding a spook should be one of the FIRST improvements done for the early S30 cars. I suspect the BRE may be a better quality unit - you just have to decide if the extra cost is worth it to you.

I have a similar setup - only not painted as nicely as yours. Are those 240SX calipers in the rear? What pads are you going to run? Also, did you include a proportioning valve for the rears? I'll be curious how your front/rear balance turns out.

Yes, you just need to bring the mounting piece over with it. It comes off with 2 10mm bolts IIRC.

Jeremy, a few more things I learned when rebuilding mine: - When I told my shop I had plans for a bigger cam that revs to 7k and some track days, they felt that MORE tolerance between the pistons and bore was good. This was to allow for the aluminum pistons to expand and not bind. - BUT, my shop works primarily on chevy V8s, and mostly the older ones at that for 1/4 mile racing. Apparently they prefer more tolerance than Datsun L6s. - When I spoke with people more experienced with L6s, they felt my tolerances were a bit on the high side for my intentions, but still nothing to be too concerned about. In other words, I really didn't have to go to the next size pistons. - In the end, as this was already my 2nd time rebuilding, I decided to spend the extra to be SURE I wasn't going to have issues, and have been very happy with the results. What I found interesting (and a bit frustrating as well) was even though the measurements are very precise (down to 1/2 thousandth inch), the process/rules used to make decisions from those measurements was much more "gray" and imprecise. Also, the shop I used is very honest and does good work, but doesn't have experience with L6s. In the end, it all seems to go back to classic phrase "How fast do you want to spend?".

When you buy the intake/exhaust manifold gasket, choose based on the manifold you're using, NOT the head. For example, if you're using an N36 manifold and SUs, choose the gasket for the 70-73 240z.

One more thing you will have to decide on once you have the block back from the hot tank: can you get away with just honing the bores and staying with stock pistons? When I rebuilt my L28, the clearances were "ok", but more than I wanted (I forget what the actual numbers were). After speaking with a few people who rebuild engines more often than I, it came down to my intentions for the engine. If it was going to be driven moderately, then there was no need to bore to the next size and go with new pistons. That would have saved me a few hundred dollars. But I wanted to go with a bigger cam and knew that would mean high revs and hard driving. For that use, my clearances were on the high side, and I decided to bite the bullet and go oversize. The point here, just as for almost every aspect of working on your Z, is to have a plan for what you intend to do with the car, and make your decisions based on it. BTW, having given that great advice, my "plan" has changed quite a few times (always in the direction of more performance) and that has caused me to go back and redo things again. The result is wasted time and $$$. That's not a huge issue for me as I want to experiment and learn - and that's the price to be paid. But nonetheless, knowing where you are going is bound to save you $$$.

The center bearing is also a thrust bearing, so has to fit properly in the crank journal. The set I bought was a bit too thick, so I had to sand it down. Used a sanding block with wet/dry paper (400 I think), WD40, and lot's of patience. The process is described in "How to Rebuild your Nissan & Datsun OHC Engine". BTW, you should definitely have that book if you're doing the rebuild yourself and aren't already a trained mechanic.

Mohamed, let me give you another perspective from someone who has owned 3 BMWs in the past. They are wonderful automobiles if you can only have ONE CAR. They balance power, handling, practicality of 4 doors, safety, and reasonable fuel economy (if you keep your foot out of it). They are extremely refined as well. On the other hand, cars like the S30 Zs will never be built again. There is something that is more basic and elemental about them that I find a joy. They are not for everyone - my daughter thinks my '73 is loud, rides rough, smells bad, etc. Of course, I see it quite differently. Also, ask yourself if you a) really want to GO FAST, or would rather FEEL LIKE YOU'RE GOING FAST. The fact is that the M5 is going to blow the old Z away on every level of performance. But your license (and freedom) is going to be much safer with the Z. Lastly, if you really want the M5, then perhaps you should go for it. I'm sure it will be a memorable car. But if the only reason you're considering this is the special price (~$4k discount from fair market value), then I'd think at least twice before I gave up the Z. Perhaps you should wait a while until you can afford an M5 AND keep your Z. As you and others said above, you probably won't find another S30 where you are. Best of luck with your decision!

I have the Tokico red springs and Illumina (adjustable) struts on my '73. I can confirm that only the fronts are progressive rate. The rears are linear. The ride is definitely firm, even with the Illumina's set on their softest setting. Actually, it's the front that's quite stiff. I drive on the street with the rears set on 3 (on a 5 scale) and the fronts on 1. I've noticed that nobody is discussing their anti-roll bars here. The bigger your bars, the stiffer your effective spring rate (at least for single wheel impacts). I'm running with the MSA 1" front, 7/8" rear. After my last day at the track, I'm thinking I may drop to a 7/8" front bar as I had more understeer than I liked. I even ran with as much as 6 psi less air in the rears. Of course, this is compounded by the LSD in the back. My point is that the handling and ride quality of the Z is determined by many factors - springs and struts are just part of the bigger picture. And going back to the beginning of this thread, that sure looks like a good deal to me Lonetreesteve! I paid $500 for my set (springs and struts) and was happy to get that deal.

I've tried all three options here: 1) stock 73 dizzy w/pertronix 2) stock 280zx dizzy with nissan module 3) stock 280zx dizzy with MSD 6AL I'll be honest and say that the only differences I have been able to tell with my butt-o-meter is that the car drives much better with the advance curve from the 280zx dizzy. Keep in mind I'm running an L28, cam, headers, triple webers. The main reason I upgraded to the MSD was because it had a rev limiter. I saw a friend miss a shift and over-rev his roadster motor and bent a few valves. I figured this was cheap insurance. As for the benefits of the multiple sparks at lower revs with the MSD box, I can't say I noticed a difference. I'd like to think that the exhaust doesn't smell as bad at idle, but if there is a difference, it's very small. For a moderately driven stock L24, the pertronix is an excellent solution. It's solid all the way to at least 6k rpm and once you set it, you never have to deal with it again. It also keeps the "stock" look. If you have modified your engine, or have carbs that don't have much intake vacuum at low revs (meaning you can't take advantage of the vacuum advance of the dizzy), then the 280zx distributor is the way to go. If you do swap to the 280zx dizzy, and are worried about the reliability of the ignition module, there is a simple mod to swap in a GM HEI module that's cheap and readily available from any parts store for about $25. Search on "GM HEI" and I'm sure you'll find the details.

Michael, On question 2, there's no reason why you couldn't put a mildly built L28 w/5 speed and appropriate diff in, upgrade front brakes, and springs, struts, and bars. If done with care, nothing would require you to cut anything, so you could always take it all off and put back to stock. The difference in its level of performance would be huge. Of course, you have to decide if the extra performance is worth the time and cost for yourself. For me, I've done all of the above and also the rear disc brake swap. That one can't be so easily undone, and unless you track it hard, isn't necessary. It's a very different car now, much more of what I wanted. But I'm sure there are some who would say that I've comprimised the ride too much. It's a very personal thing, and only you can decide what the right balance of performance vs. comfort vs. originality is right for you.

I do notice the creaking when going over a driveway, especially at an angle. Jon, which bar did you use?

Ron, interesting thoughts on the rear bar. For the last 3 years I've had my 240, I've tried to be consistent about how I spend money on the car: only buy what makes me faster, or safer. Given that the rear bar makes it harder to fit things in the already small rear area, maybe I'll just do the front bar? I'd rather put the $$$ saved into my next set of tires (which after last weekend's track session, are going to be needed a little sooner!)