240ZMan

It was a fun event! To Darrel's point, I think we had the best early Z turnout I've seen so far. We had a few totally stock and pristine 240s, and then a few with lots of mods, both L6 and V8. Lot's of variety. Even a few roadsters. Here are some more pictures:

V8-240Z, I hope you don't mind if I take exception to that statement. A voltmeter and ammeter measure 2 different aspects of the charging system, and I don't think either is "better" than the other, just different. For example, if a minor accessory is still pulling power when the engine is turned off, the ammeter will clearly show the battery is discharging. A voltmeter will probably not move enough to be noticeable.An analogy would be the merits of measuring oil pressure and oil temperature. Each one tells you something different about your lubrication system. I do agree that switching to a voltmeter may be the only option for those who have upgraded to a high output alternator and use the extra capacity. But I would say that for a street driven car, staying with an ammeter if possible, is probably the better measurement if you can only have one.

Jeremy, I just did a proper rebuild of my L28 this summer, after doing more or less what you are suggesting the summer before. I really thought I could cheap out in a bunch of places but in the end, I was very unhappy with the results (burning oil, poor compression). I'm not suggesting you replace everything, but you should evaluate everything, and replace ALL the parts that need to be. I think this is most important with the bottom end since it's the most work by far to repair. Plus, any time you take the crank out, you should be changing the bearings, so you have that expense again if you have to go back in. On the top end, I think a good head shop can measure your valves, guides, etc. and help you decide what needs to be machined or replaced. In my case, my valves and seats were all in good condition, and I just needed to have my guides cleaned up and add new seals. BTW, if you haven't already got a copy, you should get "How to Rebuild Your Nissan & Datsun OHC Engine" by Tom Monroe. You could go crazy doing everything he recommends, but at least you have all the best practices in one place, and then you can decide how much you can afford to do for your particular case. FWIW, before I did my first "rebuild", I asked on this site for advice and was told what I'm telling you now. I didn't listen, and this story tells the rest.

I would focus my efforts on the throttle and linkage. It's hard to imagine a vacuum link that would provide enough air to cause the car to keep accelerating beyond 80 mph! And to Beandip's point earlier, even if the piston wasn't falling, with the throttle closed your engine would not continue to accelerate at that speed. If you can get your buddy to help, one of you should look at the linkage while the other sits in the car and floors the accelerator. Do this with the engine off:) You're looking for something that could cause the throttles to stick open. Let us know what you find.

Couldn't the same be said of the way the original hot rodders modified their cars in the 50s and 60s? I'll bet that some of their parents saw things this way.

As someone who was critical of him, I personally didn't have any issue with him offering a service of finding/matching cars with buyers. While not everyone here values this, some do, and if he was good at it, I suspect he could make a nice side business out of it. My real issue is that he made pretty outrageous claims, and then took offense when asked to back them up, and then when he offered some examples, they were nothing more than the result of searching Craig's List. And then he took more offense when some of us didn't see the vaue in what he was offering. One of the best things that can happen when selling anything, is if the potential buyer gives an objection. That let's the seller continue the discussion and explain how they add value. It's an opportunity. He clearly didn't see it that way, and the results speak for themselves. I also dont think he understood that the real "product" he was selling was himself. If people don't trust/like/feel comfrotable with/etc. you, then you are not going to have success, which he proved in spades. As a seller, you have to earn peoples' trust and offer credible references when you are in a new environment, such as joining this board. I suspect that if he had found one person for whom he could provide a car, and that process went well, then he could have built off that reference with others. It's really common sense. But it takes time and patience, something he wasn't willing to invest here.

Looks like he went back and edited his post. If you really want to know, you can see the original in the quote box in post 53.

I can just imagine how it would be to work things out with this guy when the car delivered didn't live up to the car described.

Let me see if I've got this correct:1) you're new to this site and claim you can literally find hundreds of clean 70's vintage Zs. 2) When asked to validate that claim, you take offense, but offer up a few examples. 3) When it's pointed out that all those examples are taken from Craigslist, you take more offense, rather than explaining the value you can add. 4) Now you're further complaining about the attitude you're feeling here, yet claim again that clean early Zs are plentiful and that we should just trust you. Vintagecarman, I'm sure you know that trust is something you EARN. And your claims of experience and success in the past might be true, BUT WE DON'T KNOW. If you want to be trusted and respected, you have to earn it, just like everyone else does. It feels like you want to short cirucuit that, and most of the people on this thread, myself included, aren't buying it. That's really too bad, because if you really can do what you say you can, then you would likely have a lot of success here. But I think you might want to rethink your whole approach. The real product you're selling here is yourself, and so far, you're not doing too well.

I will add one more that's a function of the site software: the search engine is a bit weak. I've become used to google and the ability to group search terms together and eliminate others. If this site supports that, i haven't found it. But it's no big deal, just means that there are more threads to read

The worst part of this club is that we don't get to meet each other in person and see the cars in the flesh! Seriously, I agree with everything sblake01 said, and like him, just ignore what I don't like because there is so much good to focus on instead.

Hey Bill, just a heads up for you: I recently picked up the dreaded clunk as well. Having been on this list for a while, the first thing I did was get under the rear and try to move the front diffy mount. But it was solid. Lot's of head scratching... After a few weeks, I tried the same thing again. Still "solid". But I noticed that the diffy is canted to the passenger side and is hitting/rubbing against the mount where the strap attaches. While I can't push the front of the diffy up, I can slide it side to side. So I have a new mount on order... Just be careful to not be fooled like I was if you can't move it up with your own strength.

That comment pegged my BS meter. I suspect the hostility you received was a reflection that others feel the same way.If you were using the term "literally" as a figure of speach, then now would be a good time to eat a little crow and clarify it. You'll find the people on this site respect those who speak from fact, or acknowledge when it's only opinon, and have little tolerance for exageration.

Just remove the mounting screws and the entire box slides forwards. Not the most convenient, but the bulbs don't burn out too often.

I forgot, Mike is right. In my case the PO had installed a second speaker on the other side. But 2 small speakers facing each other all the way in the back leaves a lot to be desired. I cut discs out of masonite the size of the old round plastic speaker covers, painted them black, and mounted in place of the speakers when i took them out. If you look closely it looks a bit goofy, but since it's all black and way in the corner, I don't notice it anymore.

Are you sure the two above the towers are really speakers? On my '73 those are vent holes that allow air to vent from the cabin at speed. Look at the silver "emblems" on the outside. I'm guessing that's what they are on yours as well.

I built one for my '73 this summer. The only hard part, and actually it's more tedious than hard, is the top piece where I had to cut it to fit the curvature of car. If you lift up your hatch and look down, you'll notice that it's not a straight line. It probably took me an hour or two to keep taking a little more wood off until it fit reasonably well. Then I covered it with speaker carpet which is great because it hides all the imperfections. If you're going to mount 6 x 9 speakers, don't worry about trying to make it air tight - 6 x 9's don't need that. That makes building this much easier. Here are 2 pictures with the key dimensions. The width of 48" is a bit less than the full width of the interior at that point, so there is ~1/2" gap on the ends. I just used 48" because that's what I had lying around. I experimented with plugging the gaps and it made no difference in my car, but my car is on the loud side, so there's little point in going for great sound in it. My goal was to be able to hear the news reasonably well with the windows down on the freeway, and to hear tunes with "reasonable" fidelity. All on a budget... Good luck!

Since you said it's urgent, I'll try to answer from memory. The left and right pieces press in with some spring metal fasteners as I remember, and also a rivet from the top. The hole for the rivet is towards the center edge of each piece. There should be matching holes on the center piece that are held by the same rivet. I think there are a few screws that help hold the center piece to the back of the car as well, but my memory isn't very clear on that. Perhaps someone has theirs apart and can snap a picture... this is tough to describe with words alone.

Wow, there was just a thread on this last week. A quick search on "acura seats" will take you there.

I put an MSA 2 1/2" exhaust w/header on my '73 a few years ago. My hope was that since I was buying the entire system from 1 place, it would just bolt up. In the end I still had to have a local muffler guy tweak a few bends to get it to fit right. It would have been easier to just have him build one up from scratch, and probably cheaper too. I've read others having a similar experience with aftermarket exhausts they installed themselves. That said, try to find an independant shop. The big chains may not take the time to do it right. My guy had me under the car with him - something I doubt the chains would even allow.

Zedrally, I'm glad to hear that it worked out well for you. I experienced the same snapped off nut, but my stub did NOT want to come out. I rented a puller and it was useless. In the end I put a wheel on, left the lugs loose, and used it as improvised puller. Took a LOT of pulls My experience was more like a 7 or 8.

I agree with ZGuitar71's comment about the Yokohama ES100s. I have a set right now (225/50-16) and all in all, they are a very forgiving tire. They break away very gently when pushed too hard, and I haven't experienced the excessive highway noise others have complained about. I don't drive in the wet much, but the few times I was out I was very impressed with their stick. But ... they are pretty soft and are not going to give you a long life. After 2 track days and about 5k miles of spirited driving, they have about 50% tread left. From widget777's description, I don't think you drive as hard as I do, but still, be prepared for a shorter rather than longer tire life. Of course, the other way to look at it is that you get to try a wider variety of tires:)

If you are using an MSD box, you should be able to eliminate the stock inginition module by running the output of the dizzy's pickup straight into the MSD box. I have a box on order, so haven't done it yet myself, but I've read others say they have, and the MSD instructions show it should support that.

The threads are NPT. You didn't say what year, so I'll guess it's 3/8". My local Checker Auto Parts carries a small selection of bushing adapters, and I"ve seen them at Home Depot before as well. Best to take the housing off the car and bring it in to fit the adapter.

Well, I just answered part of my question. Went back under the car and with a big screw driver was able to move the nose of the diffy towards the center. It moved pretty easily, and I noticed the rubber of the diffy mount is sliding in its housing. So I guess my original statement that it's solid was a bit off :stupid: I guess I'll be looking for replacement for that tomorrow. BTW, for those of you who have replaced it with a solid metal mount, how much additional noise comes into the cabin? Another question: with the cross member off as in the pictures, the moustache bar drives the nose of the diffy completely into the right side of the tunnel. Is that normal? Or is my moustache bar tweaked? To my eyes, I can't see any issues with it. No bends or marks. I suppose I can just replace the diffy mount and hope the problem goes away? Suggestions?