kray-z-1

In Wisconsin, cars older than 1996 require no emission testing during ownership, or at transfer, or at registration. When I bought mine back in 2003 - testing was still required at time of registration. I took the Z into the emission testing facility - and it was comedy. They had no idea what to look for - or how to test it. They couldn't find the OBDII connector - so they raised the hood - looked at it - closed the hood and said - we're done! Talk about a sense of relief!

Thanks guys! Kinda figured I was missing something. I installed the new su's from Ztherapy (worked great btw)....so now I can go fast....I just need to work on the brakes so I can stop....it's always something! Thanks again.

Ok - what am I missing here? The standard bolt pattern on the 1973 240Z is 4 - 4.5 (114.3mm) - but the rotors in all the places I've looked show a bolt circle of 4 - 103mm. Do they measure the pattern differently on a rotor than they do on a wheel? I do not want to order rotors and have them not fit. Any info would be appreciated!

Thanks Jim I did check the elec fuel pump. I removed it and connected directly to the battery and it works fine. I also checked the existing in line fuse and replaced and tested...its fine too. It seems that there were a lot of variations on fuel in the 240Z - both in 72 and 73. I remember when I bought the 72 new - it only had an electrical fuel pump - I can still remember the clicking sounds at start up. As I recall, the 72 didn't have a mechanical pump either....but then again...I'm old! I also replaced the relay with a Bosch relay pinned as in the diagram just in case the relay failed. Thanks for double checking my work.....I always seem to miss the obvious! Jim

I have a 73 Z - and only has an electric fuel pump. There isn't a mechanical pump and doesn't appear that it ever had one. I know that many had the electrical fuel pump as a booster - but in my case it is only the electrical pump for fuel. Thanks for the idea though!

My electric fuel pump decided it didn't want to play anymore. In checking the existing wiring, it appears the trigger wire is not sending power to the relay. Rather than take the harness apart, I've decided to bypass the existing wiring and run the fuel pump on all new wire. I still want to have a n/o relay in the circuit but I'm not sure of the correct wiring or my options. Here is my thinking: 1 - Power lead direct from the battery with in-line 20 amp fuse 2 - Ground wire 3 - Positive lead from the fuel pump (the negative from the pump is grounded on frame) 4 - a trigger wire that operates with the ignition. The three questions I have are a) is the above layout correct? on a n/o relay - which wire is going where? c) can i run a wire from the positive on the coil as a trigger wire? I would rather use new wire and a new source than tap into existing if possible. My thinking would be the ground to 85 - the pump positive lead to 30 - the battery to 87 - and the trigger wire to 86. I wish I had better knowledge of auto electrical and being color blind isn't helping any either! Any help would be appreciated - Thanks!

Dave I agree with Arne - you have a very solid car and serious Z buyers will realize that. Here in the midwest - your car would probably go for around $ 5,000 minimum. If you have the time - there is always a buyer for every seller. It all depends on your time schedule and amount of patience. I also think that you are best staying with the Datsun classified ads. They will be more serious buyers and will realize the value of the work you have done. I bought mine from Ebay - sight unseen - so don't discount the crazy buyers out there either! :stupid: Good luck

Good Luck Greg My son and I are going on Friday - Road America is an incredible racing experience!

BadDog - I've been struggling with the outside mirror issure for some time. Can you tell me about the construction of the mirror. Currently I have faded - rusty black "racing" mirrors. While I prefer the original mirror - I really need two mirrors. Are they metal/chromed or plastic/chromed? The "racing" mirrors I have seem very cheap and lightweight. They can't hold their position anymore - but not sure if its cause they are old - or were just poorly made. As far as opinions.....It's what YOU want on your car that matters. If you like them - thats all that really matters!

Here is the latest. Late last night - after trying to adjust the carbs - I decided to try a couple of tests. The front carb was not responding to any adjustments either in air or fuel. I turned the fuel adjustment to full rich - no change. I turned the fuel adjustment to full lean - again no change. This told me that the front carb was getting no fuel. I removed the float cover - and the float bowl was completely empty. The float moved freely when not in the bowl and the adjust was accurate. I reassembled the float and started the car - this time having fuel shoot out the vent pipe. Instead of being stuck closed - it was now stuck open. I took the float out again - and decided that rather that continue trying to reseat and fail....which seems to be the recent history.... I decided that I will take the carbs completely off - clean and adjust (using newly ordered floats from Ztherapy). The ones I have are swollen and just need to be replaced. (btw - the 2 1/2 and the 1 1/2 turns of fuel and air I originally reported were just baseline settings to get the car started) I am fairly confident that once the carbs are completely cleaned and set - the problem will be gone. Thanks for everyones help..... Should I have problems with the carbs after the clean and adjust - I'll be back here with the next round of questions!

I've adjusted the timing. It was at about 10 degrees - I changed that to 15 degrees. That seems to have eliminated both backfire at the carb and afterfire at the exhaust. I set the fuel mixture to 2 1/2 on each su with the air mixture to 1 1/2 turns initially. If I raise the rear piston - my understanding the car is now running on the front su - it wants to die no matter how much I richen the front carb. When I raise the front piston, idle is steady. That would indicate to me - the front su isn't getting enough gas. Right? I visually checked the nozzle when the fuel mixture was totally screwed in - the top of the nozzle is flush with the botton of the su body. Can I assume the problem is only with the front su? Can I also assume the problem is with the float level? I think we are getting closer to a solution - whatever that might be! Thanks again for the help

Gary Ever since I got the z - there have been backfire & afterfire issues. I attributed it to the weber set up. I installed the su's - got the rebuild kit from ztherapy - checked the float level 3 different times - in fact went over the adjustment with Bruce from ztherapy the last time. After each time - the z ran virtually the same way as far as having problems getting the carbs to balance and not stall during driving. I then installed the ZX dizzy and coil this spring. Off the top of my head - i cant remember what the timing was set at - I'll check that tomorrow (Tuesday). I am using 20 wgt fork oil for the dampers (being from Milwaukee - using Harley fork oil). When I'm checking the timing tomorrow - I'll watch the advance during the acceleration from idle. I agree - difficult to determine once so many things have changed - especially when it never ran right since I got it. I'll also clean the plugs as they are now probably fouled from the various carb configerations. Hopefully Tuesday I'll have a better handle on the timing situation. It drives me crazy to know what the car is capable of....when tuned correctly. Thanks for the help!

The wiring from the elec fuel pump goes to a relay on the passenger side of the dash - mine was a Bosch 20/30 amp with 5 spades on it. From there it goes to an in-line fuse that should be inside the console next to the fuse block. My in-line fuse melted - leading me to the relay. I got a new relay at NAPA - replaced the fuse - replaced the pump and things were good. Hope this helps.

I have to admit I am leaning toward timing. Since I have had the car, it has never had smooth power and has always back and or after fired. I have checked the floats several times, as well as taken the su's apart and recleaned & checked everything. I have done the raising of the vacuum piston test - and have made the adjustments to where I thought it would be good. I balanced both front and back - yet during the drive I continue to get both backfire and afterfire - with no real power. It's like it has 2 personalities....one at idle in the driveway....and the other on the road. This brings me to 2 questions: 1) How do you time the engine to get to 15 degrees when the pointer on the pulley doesn't go that high. I am assuming that the 15 degrees is without the vacuum advance connected. I am using the ol fashion non adjustable timing light. The dizzy seems to be situated correctly as far as rotor pointing to #1 cylinder. 2) Would any of the symptoms indicate timing to be too retarded....or too advanced? I havent checked to see the timing mark is correct.....I wonder if the timing got jumped somewhere along the line - as it has never ran well since I got it. The best I have been able to do is about 1000 rpm at idle - any rpm lower really causes dead spots in the acceleration ( usually causing backfire at the carb) I really appreciate your input.....cause I have no clue. I remember buying a new 1972 z.....didn't have these problems on the original... thanks again

It seems that my Z can not settle on a normal idle. Sometimes it backfires through the carbs - other times it afterfires at the exhaust. There doesn't seem to be any minor adjustments - it either one or the other. The PO had dual webers, I changed to SU's (3 screw). I have done the following: 1) installed 3 screw su's - using a rebuild kit from Ztherapy. I have taken them apart and reinstalled so many times...thinking about using wing nuts instead of bolts. 2) I have adjusted the valves - they are dead on - so don't think the problem is with the valves. 3) I installed an E80-12 dizzy and coil (removed ballast resistor). I have new plugs (NGK) and new wires. If I get the idle to remain relatively stable at 800 rpm - taking it up to 3000 rpm seems smooth - but when trying to drive it - it bogs and backfires at the carb. Then the idle moves from 700 to 1300 rpm before settling on new idle rpm. It just seems to have no power. When shifting, I get a fair amount of afterfire through the exhaust. When I adjust the idle adjust nut, its either too lean or too rich - can't seem to find a happy medium. I have read su posts and elec dizzy posts until i'm nearly blind. I have noticed that the front damper seems to move faster than the rear damper (both up and down). Is this normal? I have to be missing something - any ideas? (If I had hair....i'd be pulling it out!)

We all agree that if someone wants your car they will get it. I wanted to find a quick, easy and inexpensive way to disable the ignition while at a restaurant etc. I accidentally stumbled onto a way to accomplish them all. When I was installing the electronic ignition in my 73, I temporarily jumpered the old ballast wires together. During the test, it worked great. Unfortunately, the jumper came off (unknown to me) and I couldnt restart the car. Once I found the loose jumper - I realized this was possibly the deterent I was looking for. I extended the 2 wires to the console and installed a generic electrical key switch. I turn the key, the circuit is made and the car starts. When I leave my car, I put the key in the switch, turn it and disable the circuit - the car will not start. I mounted the switch on the console tunnel and it is quick to lock and unlock. Will keep my car theftproof - no. But it will slow someone down for a little while.

Welcome - this is the place to be if you own a Z. Don't worry about your cars issues....we've all had them. Glad to find another 73 Z in the area.

Last weekend I couldnt get my 73 Z started. I initially thought the battery was low as the car has been sitting for about a month. After charging the battery, still no go. I opened the fuse panel - to find the fuel pump inline fuse melted. I replaced the inline fuse but still no start. The electric fuel pump is not priming. My questions: 1 - any ideas what would cause the fuse to melt beyond the obvious overload. Where would I start to find the reason for the overload? 2 - Its my understanding that the wiring goes to a relay by the passenger side kickpanel. Exactly what is the purpose of this relay? 3 - I plan on tracing the circuit and testing along the way - but where does this circuit start ( I assume it ends at the fuel pump)? Its a stock 73 that only has the electric fuel pump. It does not appear that there was ever a mechanical fuel pump on this car. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Jim

For the last 3 weeks, I have promised myself not to get sucked into this debate. Many times I have sat at my computer looking at the blank reply screen trying to compose a restrained response - each time closing the window thinking why bother. The following is MY opinion - if anything I say bothers you - get over it. All of our beloved comments and pictures are now safe thanks to this websites safe guard of encrytion-watermarks and copyrighting. Or are they? If I post a picture in a gallery - the watermark on MY picture shows classiczcar.com. If I right click, I'm told classiczcarclub - I can't copy - save - or republish. So - who actually owns the rights to this picture? The definition of copyright, according to the dictionary, is the exclusive legal right to reproduce, publish, and sell the matter and form (as of a literary, musical, or artistic work). All of this is moot if you aren't prepared to go to court and fight it out legally. If you have been injured ( ie: having your picture put on a clock face ) you need to legally confront that person. While it isn't right that these people did that - only the recourse is against them legally. Here is a suggestion - create your own website and safe guard it with all the various means available. If you want your pictures seen, people will go to your website if they are interested. It seems to me that we want to apply justice when it suits us. While we want to protect OUR pictures through copyright - we have no problem using other peoples material ( avatars "borrowed" to express our creativity). I seriously doubt that there is a member on this site that has a hard drive that doesn't have a few illegal MP3's or software that wasn't purchased. Bottomline in my warped view of the world - with all the destruction of the recent hurricanes - people dying due to war, hunger, and genocide - if the hijacking of a picture is the worst thing in your life - then you are having one sweet life. Personally - take all my pictures - keep my personal identity and credit records safe. Finally - three random thoughts. With all the high winds and hurricanes in Florida, no wonder Vicki's fudge is flyin and secondly, perhaps instead of selling hats to members - consideration should be given to selling decoder rings and finally - perhaps we need to realize that our lives should be more than the quanity of posts and pictures. Some people on here have posted more pictures of cars - than I have taken in my lifetime. Remember - if you are expecting people to do and say the right thing - you will end up blowing bubbles in your chocolate milk in a padded cell. And yes....you can quote me on that! Having said of this - I'm tired and I'm going back to my quiet corner in search of information that will make my Z car better. When do my meds get here ... anyway?

There are a couple options This item is pretty usual on ebay. There is one on there now- http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7919044696&category=43946&sspagename=WDVW Only downside to that one is the sellers rating is only 81%. Ztherapy sells them as totally reconditioned - http://www.ztherapy.com/ There are several aftermarket air cleaners available. You might try - http://www.zcarparts.com/ http://www.victoriabritish.com/ Hopefully this info will at least get you started. Others may be able to provide more options.

Could use some suggestions on the following problems: I was installing 3 screw SU's on an E88 intake on my 73. I removed the N36 intake and was installing the E88 when it happened. Apparently some idiot (insert my name here) let the fuel rail bracket get between the intake and the gasket. I learned that aluminum is not forgiving during the tightening down procedure! I have the original N36 intake cleaned & took the balance tube off the E88 and installed it on the N36. Here are my questions: What can be done with the cracked E88 intake? Is this something that can be welded. The crack does not go all the way around the intake - just about 3-4 inches. If I use the N36 intake, which has the shorter studs, I will either have to go to the thinner insulators or replace the studs to the longer ones. Am I better off replacing the studs and staying with the thicker insulators - or doesn't it really matter. I would think replacing the spacers would be easier that removing 8 studs and putting in new ones. I am not sure but I think the linkage will be ok as I swapped the balance tube. Besides getting new glasses or taking my tools away - does anyone have any suggestions or ideas?

I have been a member of several online car clubs in the past. It seems that every one has the same issues. There are at least 2 groups: 1 There are the people usually 2-5 people that are legends in their own minds. They know everything and enjoy telling everyone that there is only one way to do something....their way. Usually at some point, there is a flame war between at least 2 of this group and nearly always ending in the phrase " I guess I should just leave the club". This is where everybody begs them to come back - that they are indispensible. They almost always come back. After a couple days - they and everything else is back to normal. 2 You have the members ( I'm in this group ) that mostly read - learn - and seldom say anything. Every once in awhile this group will post a question and either they get no response or a "read the archives" kinda answer. Reading the archives is like trying to get the correct spelling of a word by looking it up in the dictionary. If I can't spell the word - I'll never find it in the dictionary. Car clubs are like very slow chat groups. Our common interest is the Z and all things related. Sometimes we need to remember that many of the people on this list are trying things for the first time. In most cases, they are trying something that many others have already done. It seems to me we need to share the information we've learned without bragging rights and the need for self importance. Hopefully Beandip does come back - and I'm guessing that after a period of time he will return. That is my .03 worth - and no.....I don't give change!

I just went to the Midwest Z site - this is what i found: www.midwestz.com Not Available The domain www.midwestz.com which you are trying to access is currently unavailable. This may occur for several reasons -- the name may have changed, or it may have moved to a new location. Please try to access the site later, or contact the site's administrator. Hmmmmmmm - not sure what that may mean

Just checked mine - the ball fittings on the 72 & 73 are both peened.

In taking a closer look at the linkage bracket on my firewall, the pin that is welded in the bracket has not been cut and actually has a groove for the retaining clip. I've taken pictures of both the pin and the two bell cranks (believe bell crank is the correct term?) showing the difference in profile height. In watching the Ztherapy "SU" video, some mention was made to the bell crank being different heights - but they did not go into any detail. I'm assuming that as popular a mod as this is....someone must have run into this problem before. I've read the archives until I'm crossed eyed...but havent found any mention of this problem. Any ideas or solutions would be greatly appreciated. Sorry this isn't the type of post that generates excitement or interest. But until I get this figured out - my Z will have a cleaned up intake - rebuilt carbs - and lots of sitting still and being silent. :disappoin The pictures are on my website - http://www.1973-240z.com/tech.html