Royce

Awesome looking car dridge! Nice neighborhood too! ;-) I guess I will need to change my login picture and signature if I am going to hang around here! Hope the Z treats you well!

Mitchka, I don't think you can do much better than validation from Bruce at Ztherapy! I'm sure he has seen many of the manifolds and had the chance to inspect them from different angles. Thanks for the good info Bruce. The only thing I would like to add is just that neither of your 260Z's would have come into the US new with round top SU style carbs nor an E series intake manifold (E46 or E88). I would assume that on your early 260 car someone just swapped the carbs and on your later car someone swapped both the carbs and the intake manifold. One advantage to the earlier style E46 intake manifold is a cleaner look. The earlier intake manifold and balance bar had less smog ports. So some people install the earlier 240z intake manifold and remove the later 260z smog gear. Now that I think of it I also believe the balance bars themselves may be swapped, been to long to remember this one for sure. So your early car with the N36 manifold may even have a early balance bar and a lot of the smog removed by now too. I am not saying removing the smog equipement is a good thing or a bad thing either way. I still have the stock smog pump and gear on my Rebello motor. I was told the air pump helps to cool the valves. Don't know how true that is. But I'll leave that choice up to the individual. Boy, looking back throught this thread brings back memories. I cannot believe this thread has been around for so long an nobody corrected the fact that I listed E33 and E36 manifolds instead of N33 and N36. Have fun!

From zhome.com, Documents, Index Of Technical Articles, How To Determine what ratio a specific differential contains. "The Following is a note related to an easy method of determining which rear end gear ratio any Z differential is - before you take it out of the car, or install it in your Z. Sent to the IZCC's "Z Car List" by: Ross Corrigan, IZCC #255 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Want to know what gear ratio that Z rear end is, before you remove it from the car or install it in your Z? Take a buddy, and just turn it to find out. My dad and I have turned at least a dozen. Fix one rear wheel so it can't turn (pry bar and foot of the driveshaft counter, or jam it otherwise). Mark the driveshaft w/ chalk or scratch w/ a nail. rotate the other rear wheel 10 times, other person counts the driveshaft rotations. Then multiply the driveshaft rot's number by 2(and divide by ten I spose) and whammo its your diff ratio. If 10 turns gives you (x driveshaft rotations) just shy of 17, then its a 3.365 17.5 then a 3.54 18.5 then a 3.7 19.5 then a 3.9 Each difference is at least a whole number (except 3.36->3.54, but still 16 or 17?) so this always works for us. Don't forget to grab the speedo gear out of the tranny (one 10mm bolt), even though you don't need it (w/ a 700R4 for a V8 conversion), if you ever sell it it'll help out a Datsun dude. Others reccomend removing the rear cover plate and readig the ring gear. The number of teeth on the ring and pinion are stamped on the ring gear - so just divide one number by the other. The units I look at most of the time are still in the cars, so this "counting the turns" method works for me. Ross Corrigan / Vancouver, Canada IZCC#255 '80 327ZX [14 February 1998] " There is also another article in the same location that will help you identify the ratio if you have the differential cover opened up. Hope it helps!

Nissanman, Good call. You guessed correct. I did measure the rotor hat from the outside starting at the rotor surface and not from the inside which would include the rotor surface. Thanks to you and Stephen for the information. I was just on MotorSport auto web site and it "seems" that the wheel bearings and seals are the same from '70 240 - '83 280ZX. So that seems to support my theory that the 240 hat/rotor combination might be able to be swapped with the later 260 hat/rotor combination. I tried to confirm on the Courtesy Nissan site, but they do not list the wheel bearings. I may have to break out the Z parts CD that I bought from this site a long time ago! I'll have to take some more measurements and see if the bearing race sits in the same place relative to the axle and that the rotor will be in the same place relative to the caliper. Why do all this, you ask? Because I have everything apart and am waiting for the guy to respond regarding how he wants to handle the return of the rotors. I don't think he believes me, that they are wrong, just yet. So I figure I will see if it is in my interest to keep them and use the other hubs. Thanks for reading! Royce

Howdy folks, I have a 09/71 built 240Z ('71 model). I just received new rotors but they don't fit. The "hat" height is different. I used a tape measure and got the following measurements. The new rotors have a hat height of ~1.25". The old rotors have a hat height of ~1.5". I did have some old rotors around from a parts car that look like they match the new rotors. In fact on the spares it looks like the hub is thicker and the rotor hat is more narrow. So the net result looks the same, using eyeball only. I am sure they came from a first generation Z but not sure what year or 240, 260 or 280. I really don't want to use the hubs attached to these spares because the bearings in them look like they should be replaced. The bearings in the hubs that came off my car look good. Also, I am not sure if the spare hub rotor combination would be a bolt on swap anyway. Anyone know when the change was made to the rotor hub and hat? Anyone know if the thinker hub/thinner hat combination could be swaped for the combination that I took off the car? I did try a search on rotor hat and read through those posts but did not find my answer. Thanks for any assistance!

jimmypleitez, You may have relized that posting was from several years ago. Sorry, I don't know if the cars are still around or even have the guys contact info. I don't have any parts for 280Z fuel injection system either. Hope you find what you need. Happy Holidays! Royce *<| : -)

That car looks familiar! Didn't Zmefly have it in his avaitar at one time. Maybe he knows something about it to!

I have some old ones that I would like to replace and have not been able to find the same quality these days. I like them with one of the hooks right on the ratchet and about 3" wide and about 6' in lenght. I got some at either Jegs, Summit Racing, Racer Wholesale, or Pegasus. But they just don't work as nice as the old ones I have. The newer once have flimsy straps that bind in the ratchet. Also, the ratchet action just isn't as good. You may want to try those places to find what you need. They all can be found on-line. If anyone finds some they consider good quality let me know. Thanks!

Howdy, I am sure a good cold air induction system would help a little. I think it is somewhat of a scam with how heavily they are marketed these days. But for a track or race car I am sure they help a bit. Scott B., former owner of Ztherapy, used to make a custom airhorns and a airbox for the 240Z SU style carbs. But it wasn't cheap, something like $400. It looked good with about a 3" round inlet so you could easily plum to the front. I think he opened up one of the holes in the radiator support and ran a cone type filter like K & N. I have also seen someone show a picture on the web of a design that used the 280Z hod vents as an inlet. They sealed the front of a 240Z aircleaner, cut an oval opening in the top of the aircleaner, attached oval rubber to it to form a seal to the closed hood. Here the problem would be with rain getting in there. The 280Z's have cold air intake stock with the air cleaner in front of the radiator housing. Have fun!

Compression tests and leak down tests are best done with the engine warmed up to operating temperature. If the engine is not in a car and cannot be started it is very hard to tell what you are getting. I would ask who rebuilt it and ask for receipts. If they cannot produce an engine builder and receipts for the valve job, vavle seats, rings, bearing, machine work, etc. then you might as well flip a coin. At that point it is a gamble at best! You might end up with a great deal on a rebuilt motor or spending money for a fancy looking chunk of metal! If it is on an engine stand you could look at the under the valve cover and under the oil pan to see how things look. But even then you will not be able to tell what parts they used to build it.

One thing I didn't really touch on is the external differences between the diffs. Remember the diff assembly has many pieces. There is the diff carrier which is generally what you see on the outside. Then on the inside you have the ring and pinion gears and all the bearings and other bits. The interior and exterior of the R180 and R200 are different. The R180 diff assembly is physically smaller and lighter than a R200 assembly. The big difference, as far as compatability is concerned is that they require a different rear suspension member on '70 and '71 model 240Z's. The early 240Z's had a straight rear suspension member, not sure of the technical work for it. Starting with the '72 model 240Z the diff was moved back and from that point on all the first gen Z's had the bent rear suspension member. The R200 also requires a modified or different mustache bar. The R200 has larger rear mounting bolts and so the holes in the mustache bar are larger to fit. The R200 mustache bar is also wider and a better choice than modifing the hole size of a R180 bar. I thought I used the same front diff mount and insulator but that was a long time ago. I have read some people say they need a different special R200 insulator and that may be the case. I used my existing drive shaft and half shafts when I swaped in a R200 unit for my original R180. You can buy a LSD unit for either a R180 or R200 unit but they can cost a few $$$. I believe a unit made by Quaife can cost $800+ and that doesn't cover the installation in the diff carier. I am not very familiar with the R230 but I get the impression it is the same case as the R200. There is a lot more to the Z diff story but I think that should get you on your way. There are many other posts that talk about different options. You might want do a search for "diff ", "LSD", "welded", and probably some other associated words. Another good one is "Subaru" because some Subaru's came with LSD assemblies that are very similar to Datsun 510 and Z units and can be used in Z cars with some modification. Damn this post just keeps growing and growing. I'm going to have to stop there! Again, I hope it makes sense!

Here I go again with the fancy Z ratio tool again. I added this to the links on this site under "Z car transmission calculator" See http://www.geocities.com/z_design_studio/ and you can graphically compare different preset Z trans, diff ratio, and tire combinations. So you can see what the difference really is in terms of top speed or revs and any MPH or vis-a-versa. It is very cool and I used it a lot when comparing different parts I found for my car. The key to gear ratios is that in performance situations you want to "have the engine where you want it!" That means so that you are not waiting for the torque or power to kick in when you need it. When you go to a lower ratio diff ratio, higher numerically, you not only get the engine into the higher revs sooner but you also shorten the distance between each gear change. An example of changing to a lower ratio is going from 3.54:1 to 3.9:1. But it really depends on how your engine makes torque/power and how you are going to be driving the car. Whether it is an R180 or R200 doesn't make any difference in the ratio itself, except for the fact that some ratios are more available in a particular style of diff. The big difference between an R180, R200 or R230 is the size of the gears and the amount of abuse a particular design of diff can handle. Limited Slip(LSD) or open diff is again another style of design. An open diff is what came in most Z cars, and most any stock car for that mater. This is were if you get stuck in the mud and only one wheel turns when you gas it. With a Limited Slip both wheels would turn. This also applies to accelerating out of a corner. If you give it a lot of gas with an open diff the inside tire may start to spin and slow you down. While with the LSD diff will supply power to the outside wheel as well and you get out of the corner faster. POSI, locker, and welded diffs are a variation of the them. They are each quite different but are to achive the same goal which is to supply power to both wheels. Sorry for the long winded response. Hope it makes sense. I got on a roll and couldn't stop myself. Have fun!

Actually, "over restored" cars is much an issue with all makes. If you watch the restoration shows on SpeedTV they are always talking about the need to match the factory overspray on the undersides and door jams of classic cars- like Corvette's, Mustang's and Mopar's. I am sure the same is true fo the European restoration. In fact, I was at a very high end Italian car restoration shop in Berkeley, CA. I was commenting on a beautiful '50s Maserati OSCA MT4 that was still on the shops transporter. The shop owner said how it was such a shame that the owner paid more than half a million dollars for the car and that they will have to take it down to bare metal to fix all the things done "wrong" during the restoration of the car. Things like using gloss paint were it should be flat. Things painted the body color instead of grey, etc. But I guess if you can afford to pay for the car, you can pay to make it right. But it is things like this that make history interesting! I would have to say my Z is a combination of under-restored and over-restored bits! But as Keith says, it is paid for! Have fun!

Oops! Rewind... ment to say the car had never been "repainted". I mean, the paint was original. Oh, it's not a DeLorean! Good catch Mr Camouflage! Too funny!

Both mine were blue same as the engine. I bought my 08/71 240Z from the original owner. Engine had never been out of the car. In fact the car had never been painted.

I have spent a lot of time playing with gear ratios and tire sizes so I'll jump right in here. From other articles, the stock 240Z was a 175R14 tire. It was believed to be between 70 and 80 series profile tire. According to the Z ratio calculator in the links, technical articles section: http://www.geocities.com/z_design_studio/ I compared a 175/75x14 with a 225/50x16 and the difference was about 3MPH at 150 miles an hour. The 16" wheels are a slight bit taller. That would suggest that at 75MPH the difference would be about 1.5 MPH. Of course this assumes that the speedo is working properly and that the speedo gear and diff ratio haven't been changed or that they match. Fred, Okay, how close is it? Also, what offset wheels are yours?

I think all the differences have been pointed out. The block casting number is on "drivers left" side of engine near the bottom just behind the motor mount. If your engine has a P90 head than most likely it is a F54 block. I say this because using a N42 cast L28 block with a P90 head would require a piston change to produce enough compression for even a turbo motor. Have fun!

I have 205/60R15 on 15 x7 Revolution wheels. My car is lowered about 1.5". Your tire wheel combo will have a lower overall height so should give you more clearance. But as Carl says the key is the offset. My wheels have a -10mm offset which puts them inward 10mm. I have stock struts on all four corners and the only problem I would have would be with the tire hitting the front spring perch if I went with wider tires. With the coil over setup this would be no issue. I am looking at having some spacers made and don't see any potental problems with moving the wheels out 10 or 15mm off the hub, other than I might need longer wheel studs. With a 40 series 215 width tire you will not have much sidewall. I am not a big fan of super low profile tires on old Z cars, but if you are going that route make sure and check your pressures often. If you live in a climate with lots of temperature fluctuations you may end up damaging your wheels due to low tire presure on particularly cold days. Have fun!

Haven't noticed any particular dents in the floor on mine. I'll have to take a look.

Kmack, I was just there, they now have the Feb '04 issue on the main page. You want the Jan '04 issue. They don't have the complete article but you can see some of the info by clicking on Issue Details then in the Back Issue Search box select Issue January '04. I have a question, what is with the front turn signalsf? I see the red cover car and gold car in the article both have the 240Z valance with the turn signals filled in and then rectangular turn signals attached to the bottom of the bumpers. Is this the way they came in Europe? But then the two cars look way too similar to be by chance. I am wondering if they didn't just modify the photo and change the color for the cover. Mark, thanks for pointing out the article. Always good to see the Z in print!

Oh, and the Earl's Hyperfirm lines are listed as DOT approved! "Hyperfirm Brake Line Kits HyperfirmJ brake hoses not only meet all D.O.T., T.U.V and J.W.A. standards and specifications for flexible brake hoses, including SAE J 1401 (Jan 81) and FMVSS 106 - 74 - 38 FR31302 1973, they are individually inspected and tested before shipment. Batch testing, the industry standard, is not acceptable at Earl's. Each individual hose assembly is pressure tested at 4000 psi after manufacture. " See http://www.holley.com/HiOctn/ProdLine/Products/EPP/EPPBS/Hyperfirm.html for more info on these brake lines.

Steve, If I remember correctly I started at the Earle's website and found what I wanted. At the time, last fall, they did not sell them direct so I used the vendor search function and Summit Racing was the only vendor I recoqnized from the list. Then I did a search on the Summit Racing web site, because Summit has a slightly different part number and ordered online. I looked it up again now and it seems that the Earl's web site has changed quite a bit, it looks like they may have an online store now http://www.holly.com/earlsplumbing/index.html Here is a cut and paste from the Earl's web site: 350 ZX 2003 All, including Brembo 28C180ERL 300 ZX 1990 - 96 All 28C010ERL 300 ZX 1984 - 89 All 28C020ERL 280 ZX 1982 - 83 All 28C030ERL 280 ZX 1979 - 81 All 28C040ERL 240, 260, 280 - Z 1970 - 78 All 28C050ERL Here is a cut a paste from the Summit Racing web site, don't know why they don't list '82 - '83 ZX or Z31 cars but you probably can order them: Earl's Performance Products EAR-28C010 Brake Line Kit, Hyperfirm, Nissan 300ZX 90-96, All $89.99 EAR-28C040 Brake Line Kit, Hyperfirm, Nissan 280ZX 79-81, All $89.99 EAR-28C050 Brake Line Kit, Hyperfirm, Nissan 240/260/280Z 70-78, All $89.99 Have fun!

Hey Steve, I'll have to check to see what I got. When you say size are you refering to the length? I ordered by application not by size. I actually haven't installed them yet. Is still on my winter plan to do so.

I ordered Earl's Stainless Steel brake lines from Summit Racing. I wanted Earl's or at least some name I was familiar with and didn't know the manufacturer of the MSA ones, until now. I think the price is similar or the same, but you might want to check them out as well. http://summitracing.com

It is probably binding, like everyone has said before me. The shaft comes out eash when it is pulled out straight. But when you are fighting with a diff attached and the exhaust in the way it is easy for it to shift and then it will suddenly not want to go further. Also, the early style 5-speeds, which would have been available in '70 - '71 AU 240Zs, did have a bolt on yoke at the front of the drive shaft. But this should be obvious! It would look the same as how the half shaft yokes mount on either side of the diff. Another warning, if you take out the drive shaft make sure you keep the back end of the car higher than the front. If it is level or the front is higher you will empty much of the trans fluid on the floor! Have fun!