kenz240z

Ha, ha, I'm almost done serving two concurrent life sentences!!!! My daughter is away at university, and my son is a Senior in high school. I'm almost free! The answer, of course, is for you and your new baby (when he or she arrives) to spend as much time together as possible working on Z cars! You gotta get the little person's priorities set straight right from the get go!

Hi Gary, that is a sweet looking Z car! What year is it? The '73's have an electric fuel pump mounted back by the fuel tank. There is a fuel filter in the tank that can cause fuel delivery problems, especially in a car that has sat for a long time. The filter can get clogged with sediment from the tank. I had this problem with my Z, it would start & run fine, but on the highway it would develop a fuel starvation problem, top speed was around 55/60 mph. It got worse to the point where the engine would die after driving for a few minutes. Took awhile, but I finally tracked it down to the clogged filter in the electric pump.

A bit off topic, but... Pininfarina designed the Cadillac Allante. The Allante has fender emblems that say "Pininfarina". They turn up on ebay every now and then.

Rich, another thought about your Z being sluggish and the engine coughing below 3000 rpm's... It could be that the carbs are not balanced. If they are out of balance, it could result in only one carb flowing air at idle & low speed. Then when you hit the higher revs, you've got the foot feed down a bit to where the throttle in each carb is opened up and the engine is running off both of them. The engine will run off one carb, but not very well. How does it perform when the choke is applied? With the carbs choked and everything adjusted properly, the fuel nozzles will be pulled down about 1/4" (results in a richer air/fuel mixture) and the throttle plates will be cracked open about 0.023 inches. So, applying the choke has a balancing effect on the carbs.

Hey MatMan, glad to hear you got the tach working and all!

Those look like the ones that go over the fusible links on a 280Z. Here's a link to a nice photo in the gallery. The covers you have look like the ones in this photo, just behind the passenger side strut tower. http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=15514&si=280z%20engine%20bay&perpage=12

You may consider taking it to a driveline shop and having someone insure the bearings & seals are good. Hopefully it can be inspected & set up to work well without costing too much. It sure looks clean inside, you'd think it would be great shape.

Rich, I forgot to mention in my previous reply that my engine really takes off at around 3000 rpms, too, seems to be the start of the power band. It is smooth up to that point, no coughing or sputtering, but it's not real quick. I had the engine rebuilt last spring, it's a '73 L24, but has an earlier E88 head (the original head developed a crack), round top carbies & intake from a '71 and an MSA header & turbo exhaust system. I think the block, pistons, crank & bearings hold up real well on the old Z engines. I could have gotten away with only replacing the head, the cylinders were barely worn, no ridges at the top or anything, a faint trace of the hone pattern still visible on the walls, etc... I spent just under $2k to have the engine rebuilt.

Have you adjusted the valves, timing & carbs? If it's ticking a bit could be the valves need adjusting. Adjusting the timing & carbs won't yield as much improvement in performance until the valves are set. I recently looked at a '72 Z with a 4 bbl intake and Holley carb. It had a 5 speed in it, not sure what kind, and I'm not sure about the differential gearing. But, it was quick, it would put you back in your seat when you took off from a start. The guy said the engine was out of a '73 so it would be an L24. The rest of the car was too far gone for my liking, but I've been thinking it might be worth it for the drive train... I know you want to keep the stock engine in the car, perhaps swapping out to a 4 bbl might be an option, though...

Hi Joe, What year is your Z? Fuel injected or carbies? Do as Gary said and install new plugs, check the cap, rotor, & wires, etc... If you have carbs, make sure they are cleaned and properly adjusted. Make sure the choke works and pulls the fuel nozzles down and that neither of the nozzles is stuck or binding. A first place to start is to make sure the valves are adjusted. That may be the ticking sound you hear. Next set the timing. Then adjust the carbs. This should get the engine running good. Does the engine have good compression? How many miles are on it? The drop in oil pressure could be due to the oil, which gets thinner as it heats up, maybe the bearings are starting to wear. Post some pics when you get a chance. Good luck getting it running good!

Hi Jani, that is a nice looking ZX you have. Welcome to the club!

That's good to hear! What did it take to get your Z running again?

Hello DDash85, try the search function, you may be able to find some info on the engine swaps you mention. Also, www.hybridz.org might have more info, folks on that site are more into the modified Z's and engine swaps. Most people on this site tend to keep their cars stock.

If you have carb problems, it's probably best to clean them thoroughly and rebuild them. Are these the flat top carbs, or the round tops? If they are round tops, here are a few recent threads on carb adjustment, and also starting an engine that has sat for a long time. There are a few things you should do before starting an engine that has sat for so long to prevent any problems and make starting it easier. See the second link for that. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20171&highlight=nozzle http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20263 Use the search function and you'll turn up a lot more information that may help.

Hi Mike, Like Cremmenga says, verify good fuel delivery and good spark. Have you checked the valve adjustment lately? Have you checked the timing recently? What about the rotor, distributor cap, plug wires, plugs, coil and coil wire? Does your 77 280Z have EFI, or have carbs been put on the engine? If it's EFI, I'll defer to others who are more familar with that. If you have carbs, check the float level in the float bowls, make sure the fuel nozzles move downward smoothly when the choke is applied, and make sure the throttle opening is adjusted properly for full choke. Hope this helps!

Hi Steve, I had a devil of a time getting the strut assembly to fit between the new bushings in the control arm :mad: . But, with a bit of persuasion, I was able to finally wedge them in without having to trim anything off the inner portion of the bushings :rambo: . Once I got the strut assembly wedged between the bushings I sat on the garage floor and used a foot to push the strut assembly into place. Took several tries! The fuel/brake lines are the original ones. I cleaned them up throroughly and painted them with Eastwood's Cadmium paint. Here's a link to a thread on the subject: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19775&highlight=eastwood+cadmium+paint

Hi Marvis, extensive rust damage on a Z car can be expensive to fix. Especially if the frame rails, floor pans, inner fenders, etc... are rusted out. There are replacement parts available, use the search function on the site and you will find a lot of information on rust repairs other members have done. One thing to keep in mind is safety. Excessive rust damage, especially in areas that support the front suspension, can cause major problems and make the car unsafe to drive. If it were me, I'd consider looking for another Z car without so much rust. Salvage as many parts as you can from the rusty Z car you now have, use what you need for the next one, sell the rest of the parts.

I have the Energy Suspension urethane bushings on my Z. The spindle pin bushings that mount in the transverse link have a metal sleeve that is inserted into the urethane bushing halves. The spindle pin then slides into the metal sleeve. Not sure what VB sells or how it compares to the ES bushings. You can see the sleeves I'm referring to in these photos.

What is interesting is that some US automobiles had fender mounted mirrors. In my various visits to various salvage yards over the years, I've seen examples of 50's & 60's cars with fender mounted mirrors. Not many, but a few. Perhaps they just never really caught on here?

There are several things that should be done to an engine that has been sitting unstarted for years before an attempt is made to get it running. Sounds like you insured good fuel delivery and took care of the cooling system. But, before attempting to start it, was the oil replaced? I recommend pulling the plugs, spraying each cylinder with WD-40, pouring oil over the cam & lifters, and then manually turn the crank with a breaker bar & socket to make sure the crank rotates freely. With an engine that sits a long time the rings can rust in the cylinders and cause the engine to bind a bit. The rust can also contribute to debris that will score the cylinder walls, and the rings can break, causing the compression to degrade. Once the crank can be turned manually, leave the plugs out, or at least the plug wires off, and turn the key. Let the starter turn the engine over for a few seconds and see if the oil pressure rises. Keep in mind that it takes the oil a moment to flow through the engine and fill the spaces between the bearings and rotating and moving surfaces (cam, crank, etc...). Cranking the engine with the plug wires off will help pump oil through the engine without it starting and heating up too quickly. Keeping the plugs out allows it to turn a little easier, as there is no compression being built up. If cranking the engine allowed the oil pressure to come up, then go ahead and attempt to start the engine, but be on the look out for immediate trouble and be prepared to shut it down if necessary. If everything is OK, let it run a little bit, but change the oil again before you attempt to drive it. The WD-40 sprayed in the cylinders will thin the oil out, best not to take chances. As Enigma says, if there was steam coming out instead of smoke, it could be due to coolant getting in to the cylinders, either from a blown head gasket, cracked block or cracked head. Only removing the cylinder head will reveal the cause. Hopefully there is nothing majorly wrong with your engine, good luck getting your Z running again!

Hello Trudge, When I painted my Z, I removed the hood, cowl panel, inspection lids, fenders, doors, rear hatch and all glass. I left the door hinges mounted to the body. I cleaned the hinges real well will brake cleaner to remove all traces of grease, dirt, etc... I used a ScotchBrite pad to scuff them as best I could to prepare for primer. I also used a BC/CC paint system, PPG's Omni AU, and the appropriate primer sealer. If you've removed the hood, doors, hinges and fenders, I'd recommend you reassemble everything to verify that it all fits back together ok without anything binding, and all gaps look ok. If you install the hinges on the body to paint them, this will allow you to adjust the doors before painting the car so that you won't have problems and can avoid chipping the paint off any of the edges by having a mis-adjusted door hit the fender or door frame once everything has been painted & reassembled.

Speedgato, Here are some shots of my Z, it has the Tokico blue HP struts and Tokico springs that came as a package deal. The fronts are labeled 5020-F as shown. The rears are 5020-R, but the label isn't visible in the photo of the rear spring. As seen in the other photos, the front is a bit higher than the rear. I've got taller tires on the original steel wheels, they fill up the wheel wells a bit more than yours.

As Arne mentioned in your original thread, check the float level for both carbs.

Greg, I like your 280Z rally car. Very cool.

Yipes, what a rake, David! A scary look for a Z car! Please say it ain't that way no more!!!