Miles

I recently purchased the Toyota vented 4 x 4 caliper kit from Ross at Modern Motor Sports. I finished installing the MM vented rotor 4 x 4 kit and the brakes are awesome! The pedal is high, firm and modulates well after properly adjusting the booster push rod and taking some slack out of the brake pedal travel. The car hauls down confidently at every stop. Here is what I did: -New (remanufactured) Toyota calipers from a local dealer: $117.00 ea. I clear coated the calipers preserving the clean looking castings. -1979 280zx MC (bench bled) with the booster push rod adjusted to 10mm past the aluminum spacer. -Recent rebuild of rear drum breaks with MSA shoes (look like KVR shoes.) -Adjusted slack out of the brake pedal travel. -3/8” wheel spacers were required because the caliper cylinder blisters just rubbed on the outer edge of the hub of my 15” Eagle rims. I may be able to go to a smaller spacer. I had considered grinding the blister, but I was not sure how much material surrounded the cylinder. Only the fronts lock up in a hard stop. I could never lock the wheels on either of my stock 240Zs. Miles

I am doing the Modern Motor Sports Toyota Vented caliper conversion. The MMS website says to use 89-95 Toyota 4WD pickup calipers or the 4/89-91 Toyota 4Runner calipers stamped S12W. Questions: Are these both for the V6 4x4 models? Does anyone have the correct p/n for Napa, Autozone, Kragen, Pep Boys or other parts stores? Thanks Miles

One of the control levers on my 72 240z heater controls is stuck solid. Last winter I pushed the vent lever to the right and it is now stuck. I wonder if it has something to do with that ball. Miles

I isolated the problem by having a freind move the steering wheel while I inspected the steering components. The connection between the outer tie rod and the rack (ball and socket) has a lot of slop in it even though all parts are new. I did some research and found that the most likely cause is that the connection at the ball and socket has to be tightened. Also, I am going to recheck the calipers and the push rod adjustmnet one more time. Thanks Miles

Usually it yanks hard left on rough roads or after hitting a bump. On smooth roads it may not show up or only slightly. I am also suspecting that my left caliper may hang up, but I have never had a caliper just start pulling while just cruzing. I did an adjustment on the booster push rod about two months ago ands now wonder if I have it adjusted out to where it is preloading the MC. Thanks Miles

Steering clunk and Pulling Left 72 240Z I have replaced the steering rack with a remanufactured unit from the Steering Store. The steering rack came with new inner tie rods. I have replaced the outer tie rod ends and ball joints. The car was aligned after the the parts were replaced. There is still a clunk coming from the left inner tie rod where it connects to the steering rack when I have someone move the steering wheel back and fourth. The car still randomly pulls left. Sometimes it is a good tug to the left. I have rechecked the upper and lower steering shaft U-joints and they are tight. I placed my hand around the left inner tie rod connection and feel/hear a clunk when the steering wheel is turned right and left. Should there be any play at the inner tie rod connection? Thanks Miles

The upper u-joint on the steering shaft next to the coupler is worn. The u-joint is not replacable so I am ordering a used replacement from Z Barn. Question is how to remove the upper steering shaft. Can the shaft be slipped out of the steering column while still in the car or does the whole column have to be removed? Has anyone done this? Thanks Miles

Anyone ever buy a steering rack from: The Steering Store? Victoria British? Autozone? The Z Barn How would you rate the quality? THanks Miles

Mike Thanks.

We just shot some base coat, 4th dimension, by Sherwin Williams and went to color sand it before applying the clear coat. Tried sanding the base coat with 800 grit sand paper and the paint just gummed up. So we ended up stripping the whole car to start over. Are we supposed to sand the base coat before applying the clear coat? Do we sand each coat of base? Do we sand each coat of clear? Thanks Miles

Go to the brake section on HybridZ: http://www.hybridz.org/ They have a long sticky section on all of the tried and true front and rear brake upgrades. All of your questions can be answered there. Also, check out Modern Motor Sports. Best kits at reasonable prices. Modern Motor Sports: http://www.modern-motorsports.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=2&PHPSESSID=4fe125e6fba2d5ddee08c06a02228c5c Miles

Has anyone had a bad experience with Prothane brand rear control arm bushings and do they install the same as Energy Suspension on a 240Z? Thanks Miles

I installed Dave's headlight harness a few months ago with H4 headlights. It is top quality, plug and play and only takes a half hour to install. lights are now very bright. Miles

ES should do a recall of their bushing kits or advertise a fix since their distributors such as VB and MSA may have their shelves stocked with defective parts. Miles

I just purchased the Energy Suspension rear control arm bushing kit. The ID for the metal sleeves for the outer control arm bushings is way too big allowing consideral lateral slop between the sleeve and the spindle pin. I called Energy Suspension and the technician I talked to said that they know that there is an engineering problem with the metal sleeves and that they are taking steps to correct it. If you run into this problem just call Energy Suspension and they will send you new metal sleeves. Cheers Miles

Urethane bushing fit over spindle pin for a 1972 240Z: I just picked up new spindle pins and checked out how the new urethane bushings that I bought from VB would slide on. They slide on very losely, There is some lateral play when holding the bushing and moving the pin from side to side. One bushing set out of the the four sets that go on the spindle is snug. Is this normal or should I return the bushings VB? I have read that some brands of bushings are too tight and require sanding/polishing the spindle pin until they slide on. My concern is that the lose bushings will cause the spindle pins to rattle going over bumps. Thanks Miles

Did Rick ever find the cause of the rattle? I have the exact same noise going over bumps. There is a metalic thump followed by rattling coming from the right rear strut tower. The noise started after I installed Arizona Z springs with Tokico HP shocks. I did the exact same suspension on my V8 240Z and have had no problems for three years. Miles

Did Rick ever find the cause of the rattle? I have the exact same noise going over bumps. There is a metalic thump followed by rattling coming from the right rear strut tower. The noise started after I installed Arizon Z springs with Tokico HP shocks. I did the exact same suspension on my V8 240Z and have had no problems for three years. Miles

Here are some pictures of how the strut assembly goes together. It shows that the strut mount bearing goes face down. http://www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/suspension/tokicoupgrade/tokicoinstallfront.htm Miles

What is the correct orientation for the front strut mounting bearing? It is located under the strut mounting insulator. Does the open face of the bearing face up or down? On the rear suspension there is a spacer that goes under the strut mounting insulator. This spacer is missing on both of my 240Zs. I am debating if the spacer was lost over the years or is ok to to just leave it out. Thanks Miles

The distributer is one year old Nissan OEM with all new Nissan points, condensor, rotor and cap. Plug wires are one year old NGK from MSA. Problem started about one week ago. No emissions equipment left on the engine. Also, I thought it might be a leaking intake manifold gasket so I had the gasket replaced right after I noticed the rough idle. All vacuum lines are good and the vacuum advance works. I went out and started the car a few minutes ago and set the choke full on. The engine ran even worse. Could the float needle valve be stuck or possibly the jets are plugged??

The SU carbs were rebuilt by ZTherapy two years ago. No problems until one week ago. 240Z L24 Engine idles very rough/ragged. It smoothes out at higher rpm, but there is a definite surge at times at high speed. Here is what I have done so far: • Replaced all ignition parts using Nissan parts. • Set points • Set timing per factory specs. • Set mixture and balanced the carbs. The new ignition parts and timing did not improve the rough idle. After balancing the carbs the engine still idles very ragged. If I lift the piston on the front carb the engine RPMs drop slightly and then the rpm recovers. If I lift the piston in the rear carb the rpm drops and stays low and the engine idles very ragged. When I drop the rear piston the RPMs increase, but the idle remains ragged. If I completely cover the throat on the front carb with my hand the engine continues to run smooth. Actually it runs smoother when I cover the throat of the front carb. Evidently the rear carb is capable of carrying the load of both carbs. If I cover the throat on the rear carb with my hand the RPMs drop and the engine will die. It doesn’t matter where the mixture/idle is set on the front carb it will still idle ragged and the engine will die when I cover the throat on the rear carb. Any help will be appreciated. Miles

I just bought a set of Tokico HP shocks from AJ-USA, INC., San Diego for my 72 240Z: Front: Tokico HZ 3015 $62.69 Rear: Tokico HZ 3016 $64.18 This is much cheaper than Victoria British or MSA and the shipping was free. Received the shocks in 6 days via FedX after order was placed. Contact: www.ajusa.com 1-800-877-1911 Miles

I found a strut housing in good condition at a local recycling yard for $75.00. The yard had a complete 72 240 plus some new Nissan and after market stuff. If you are near Sacramento the yard is called N.O.W. and deals in Nissan, Datsun and Infinity parts. They are located in a suburb of Sacamento called Rancho Cordova at 3561 Recycle Rd. Phone: 916-631-8333, 800-649-9936. They can special order Nissan and after market stuff for you. Ask for Mike. Also, the gland nut is a M48 x 1.5 thread according to the info that came with my struts. Miles

Anyone in Sacramento have a spare 240Z left front strut for sale? Miles