kenz240z

I like the way the grille was customized to fit the space between the hood & air dam after the bumper was removed. The style of the Z car is so timeless, looking at this one it's hard to imagine it's over 30 yeard old!

Hi Billy, before I rebuilt the suspension on my '73, it would darn near rattle the teeth out of my head when I hit a pot hole or any bump on the road. It sounded like the struts were bottoming out, there was a metal to metal "clank" sound. The struts were shot, and the bump stops were missing on all 4 struts. Most of the original bushings were intact, with the exception of a couple on one of the rear transverse links. I also had a rear end "clunk" that I never could pinpoint, but it was gone after the suspension rebuild, too. In addition to new struts, springs, and urethane bushings, I also replaced the engine mounts, transmission mount and rear differential mount.

Hi Dewey, welcome to the club! Keep us posted when you find your Z car, and be sure to post pictures!

Wow, what a great find! Is the FM/AM booklet also from Datsun? FWIW, Wahoo (2 o's instead of 3) is a small town in Nebraska, just north of Lincoln. For awhile, it was location of the home office of the Dave Letterman show.

Do you have any pics of it? I have a '72 Factory Service Manual, I don't recall seeing anything in it about an oil cooler option. I've seen an aftermarket unit in the MSA catalog (www.zcarparts.com).

If you have done any bodywork and painting, you might want to check all the ground connections in areas that have been painted. Perhaps new paint is preventing a good ground from being made somewhere. When I repainted the engine bay of my Z, the horn wouldn't work after I put everything back together. The horn circuit ground is made through the steering column to the body. The threads got a coat of paint, and I didn't chase the threads that mount the steering column to the body. I finally figured it out after a couple of days of troubleshooting. I'd replaced the horn relay, checked all connections, verified all wiring with a DVM, all to no avail. Anyway, after cleaning the threads, the ground circuit was completed, and the horns worked perfectly!

Hi Gordon, welcome to the club! There is a lot of information to be found on this site by using the search function. And, there are a lot of knowledgeable Z enthusiasts, too! I've got a '73 with round top carbs, MSA 3-2 header and MSA 2-1/2" turbo exhaust system. My Z is an automatic, so not a zippy as a manual car, but it will get up and go pretty well, especially if I manually shift it! The SU carbs are basically vacuum operated devices. The different vacuum conditions, which are based on the engine (idle, acceleration, deceleration, etc...), determine how much air and fuel will be drawn through the carb by varying the height of the suction piston in the carb. So, it is somewhat self adjusting. The SU carbs are simple in design and operation, and there isn't a lot to change; however, you could experiment with different fuel needles. From what I've read, there are different tapers which will affect the air/fuel ratio. Another way to vary the air/fuel ratio would be to change the float drop, but this probably isn't a good way to go about it. You could also try different viscosity oils in the carb damper. The recommended oil is 20 wt. A heavier oil would cause the damper to rise slower, which would give a richer mixture during acceleration. This might give you a little more pep when taking off from a stop. If you really want to have better acceleration off the line, consider changing the differential to a higher gear ratio, like 3.9 or 4.11. Keep us posted with what you try and how it works for you!

Are you running the stock distributor? If you haven't made any changes to the ignition system gapping the plugs to the stock specs is probably a good starting point. How many miles do you have on the rebuilt engine? Is it running good and is it in good tune? What do the plugs look like?

Yeah, when I tore my suspension apart, there were no bumpstops to be found...

MSA has strut mount insulators listed in their latest catalog for $47.23.

Hmm, that sure looks a lot like the one I have on my '73.

Gary, do you have a stock distributor for the engine? If so, you may consider temporarily re-installing it. The tach will work again, and it may help pinpoint the trouble. Keep us posted!

Doug, that's quite an amazing difference! I used a B/C on my Z (also orange!) and you're right, it does look great in the sun! That had to be a pain to strip all that undercoating off the engine bay. How long did that take?

I'd be cautious about using a cork on the inside of the air cleaner. It would truly be a bummer if it came loose and got sucked into a carb...

Hi Gary, glad to hear you're making progress! If the engine runs well above 1200 rpm, but poorly below that, then I'd suspect the carbs are out of balance, with one carb perhaps not flowing any air at idle and low rpms. Here's a quick test: Remove the air cleaner cover. Start the car. Momentarily place your palm over the front carb mouth, you should feel suction, and the engine rpm should drop like it's going to stall. Repeat this process on the rear carb, you should get the same results. If putting your palm over the mouth of one of the carbs doesn't cause any change in idle speed and you don't feel any suction, then you've found the culprit. At one time there was an excellent how-to tech article posted by a former member; however, I searched for it and it seems that it has been removed. Perhaps folks who have installed a Pertronix unit can help out with this one.

I found a D cap with light colored paint, like the ones on this car. The cap I have doesn't appear to be repainted, looks original. This car is the first one I've seen with the light colored paint on the D caps.

That's another area on the Z car prone to rust. Moisture gets trapped beneath the sill plate and rust forms, ultimately eating away until holes develop. Have you given the rear wheel arches, front fenders, rear hatch, cowl area, battery tray area, frame rails, etc... a good once over? These are also some of the common rust areas.

Did you rebuild the engine yourself, or have a shop do it? If it was done at a shop, did it come with a warranty? Have you talked to the shop? Running on thin oil could definitely damage the parts Montoya mentioned.

Just a guess, but I'd bet there probably isn't much cad plating left. Scrape off as much of the crud as you can with a putty knife or screwdriver. Then, as montoya suggest, use mineral spirits and a rag to remove any residue, or a Scotch-Brite pad and solvent. Then, have it replated, or use Eastwood's Cad Paint system to refinish it (www.eastwood.com). As for the duct tape on the air filter...that should be blocked off. If you remove the duct tape, it will allow unfiltered air to enter the carbs. Follow Stephen's suggestion and look for a rubber cap that will fit. I think that is where the intake hose from the air pump would connect, to supply it with filtered air.

You might also want to check for vacuum leaks around the rear carb. Start the car and spray a little carb cleaner around the rear intake, carb gasket, throttle bushings, etc... If the engine runs rougher for a moment when you spray one of these areas it is leaking air. The leaking air will cause the mixture to be leaner.

Hi Gary, like Beandip says, if you have the stock flat top carbs on your '73, change them out to a pair of round tops. Then change the differential to a higher gear ratio. You may consider looking for a 3.9, 4.11 or higher ratio differential. I can't recall if these are all available as an R180, or if you would need to do an R200 swap. Do a search on this, it's been covered in depth before . If you are looking to increase the horsepower output of the engine, then you might want to investigate adding a turbo :rambo:. The hybridz site might have more info on that. This option could get expensive . Another thing to try might be to get a 4bbl intake and a good 4bbl. Most of the ones I've seen use a Holley carb. But, I imagine a linkage could be fabricated to work with a Q-jet or Carter AFB. This would allow you to tap a little bit into your SBC background... But, this would probably cost about the same as a cam change, probably more :eek:.

I had my engine rebuilt (L24) last Spring. The rebuilder suggested keeping it under 3500-3700 rpm for the first 500-750 miles. Change the oil after 750 miles. Don't cruise at the same speed/rpm. Varying load, but don't overdo it. I've followed these instructions, and now have about 850 miles on it. Runs like a top!

Hi Tristan, Here's a link with some info I provided on how to adjust the carbs: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20319&highlight=carb+balance Before you install the carbs, make sure the float level is adjusted properly. The links on the other thread cover all of this. Also, make sure the throttle opens 0.023" when the choke lever is applied. Applying the choke should also pull the fuel nozzles down about 1/4". Once you put them on you will need to balance the carbs, adjust the mixture and set the idle speed. Refer to the other thread, you will also find a lot of info if you search the site. I hope this helps! Post some pics of your Z car when you get a chance!