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Within the scope of the rules as allowed.... If you only use a rollbar, you're asking for trouble. I don't know how serious you are, but even (mostly) dry tarmac rallies (Targa Newfoundland is the most obvious example) have full roll cages. A rollbar might work for autocross, but not rallyX or full-on rally driving. Your stock suspension will not likely be up to the task, particularly with regard to ride height if any of your rallyX is on gravel or other loose surfaces. I suggest before you spend your dollars you: a) get a rule book, as Previously mentioned attend several rallycrosses and talk in depth with crews, drivers etc in the paddock area to see what's involved and what others have done. c) Read. And learn. And read. And learn some more. Join your local sportscar club. Here in NC the Tarheel SCC has a separate rallycross series it runs along with autocross and HPDE, W2W events. d) you may want to shelve the idea of building your own car (at this point in time) since you admittedly "have a fair idea" of what you're doing. A fair idea could be a recipe for financial and physical disaster. Why not jump on someone's crew for a while, do some ride-alongs and work on the car? Then consider buying soeone else's prepped ride. It's almost always better to start with a car already done (and go over it, fixing what needs attention) than to start bare bones and build up from scratch, particularly with limited budget and knowledge. Once you have better than "a fair idea" of what to do you can build your car as you see fit to do. Remember, be smart and be safe.

...only when I have a chance to go to the local Z club meeting, then I see 3-4. There's one leaf green metallic near me in N Raleigh that I've seen twice. Hopefully when the Lime is on the road I'll see more! I like the thumbs up stuff. When I'm in the M Roady I flash my lights and thumbs up other Z3s but they don't seem to be too into it (sigh) Those Bimmer owners are such snobs!

Thanks for taking part in dropping the US trade deficit!

...Oh, thank you Honey Bunny...And if you're realllllllly nice, and tell me how wrong you were---you might get to ride in it. Maybe...

Dave, Jimmy, Bart, Stephen: Thanks for your input... The FSM places 12:00 toward the cylinder head and block, and on p. EM-31 states the drive spindle should be oriented so its top is "located in the 11:25 am position, at this time, the smaller bowshape will be placed in the front." I was able to finally do a side-by-side comparison of the drive gear tang orientation, and it appears off (see pics). Tried checking the timing with a timing light, but my old one was non-functional and I finally got a new one today. As a result, the timing marks are off...pretty significantly The 0* mark on the crank pulley is close to the 12:00 position on the crank pulley as it rotates (viewing the pulley from the front like a clock face), and appears to be about 20* away from the 20* mark on my timing indicator:eek: So that's 40* advanced, right? :eek::eek: I have tried readjusting the timing to more retard, but it idles verrry poorly and doesn't fire up instantly like it does with it fully advanced. My question is this: Is the proper timing simply unmasking the un-tuned (but baselined) carbs, or is this all related to the tang orientation? Sort of chicken-and-the-egg, I know... I'm thinking I should tend to the drivegear tang orientation first, then recheck timing, then adjust the carbs. Any thoughts?

So I got it to run at idle after some more fiddling around. The timing is still max advance, making think the distributor drive shaft is off a tooth, but I would REALLY like some other's input into my prior post---any pics of properly positioned tangs? It looks sorta like that image in the FSM, but some exerienced opinions would be helpful.... I've searched the archives, but can't come up with comparison pics or any definitive thread responses, so chime in here and help me out! The engine idles at 1500 with occasional pops that I think are coming from the exhaust ( can't see anything happening at the carbs), and while this could be carb related, with the possible timing issue still on the table I'd like to get some advice on what order to proceed...address the distributor drive first then reset timing then tune carbs? Or, is the tang OK and I should focus more on tuning the carbs? ...Need some confirmation, gents. Help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance, Steve

Compete that look with some new gleaming coated headers and ditch the rusty exhaust manifold! Check my pics in my sig link...MSA 6-1 with new ZTherapy SUs look pretty suh-weeet.... Steve

I did a bunch of searching as well. I think on a stock engine you'll see little improvement over the baseline exhaust manifold, except for the aesthetics, and only when the engine is more significantly modified will you see substantial performance improvements. That didn't stop me from dropping some $$$ on a new exhaust, though. Coated headers, 2.5" stainless etc. Why? For me, it looks good and that's what I wanted. May net me a couple extra HP, but to me that's gravy since I doubt I'll feel much difference in 5 HP for street driving. Until I decide to modify the engine... Racing's a different story, and beyond my knowledge base....I'm sure you've seen some of those threads since you've been searching. Buy what you like! Steve

:mad: Too busy fuming over (a) how I keep missing these events and ( how my insurance agent keeps me from trying racing--gotta protect the kids and wife, you know.... Your photography continues to improve, Mark. Seems better now mainly from the variety of camera angles provided. Is that just me, or are you doing more location scouting?

So...more work on the patient today. After mulling it over yesterday I just could not figure out how a coil in a sealed container could go bad sitting on a shelf...Recall I initially measured 15 ohms across the primary coil and could not get a reading on the secondary coil. So, I decided to distrust my meter. Borrowed a friend of mine's, rechecked the resiistance and it was normal. 1.5 on the primary, 11000 on the secondary. Great! Rechecked for spark at the output wire...check (Liking not buying a new coil now:laugh:) Rechecked for spark at the plug wires...check! (woo-hoo! Distributor works!) So, back to where we thought the problem was---timing. It was a worthwhile exercise excluding air, fuel and spark as we move downstream on the combustion pathway. Even if one has a good idea it's good practice (in cars, medicine and life) to follow a known algorithm to exclude additional problems that may compound the initial symptoms So I moved the screws a little to the advance side (charging 200--clear!) Still...asystole:tapemouth Moved the screw a little more to the advance (chraging 300--clear!) What was that? Did it fire? Was that automotive VTach??? Still...no pulse :devious: Advanced the distributor all the way using both screws (charging 360--clear!) VROOM! Like phoenix from the ashes the car revved up to 3k then...nothing...The tach worked while it revved too, so that's nice...And the cloud of smoke was encouraging. So, I still have a problem. With the distributor fully advanced it fires up. I got to thinking about when I repositioned the drive gear when reinstalling the oil pump/distributor...was I off? It seems likely given how this came about, so I checked the distributor drive gear tang after manually setting the camshaft to TDC at #1 (picture #3) I'd like to say that's at the 11:25 position, (pic #1 and 2) but I have my doubts...Is it closer to 11:45? 12:00? Maybe it's off by one groove--that would cause these kind of symptoms yes?...any thoughts? In looking at the pics I think my reference line drawn for 12:00 may be slightly off. I haven't had much traffic on this thread, but I'm hoping someone with additional experience will chime in and help me out. Thanks, Steve

So...I did some work on the car today: -Float level in carbs normal -Plugs gapped correctly and wet with gas (leaned it out a bit after seeing that) -no sparks at the plug wires -No spark at the coil -12V identified at the low-tension side of the coil I noticed the condensor was still attached and wired up to the distributor, which I thought was unusual since the condensor is associated with the points (which were discarded), so I'll remove it. Double-checked the wiring of the Pertronix at the ballast resistor and coil. While the Pertronix may or may not be bad, it would not affect the coil's ability to produce sparking on the high tension side if I'm getting battery voltage on the low-tension side--correct? I know the coil receives voltage via the tachometer, so since I can see battery voltage at the low-tension side of the coil is it safe to assume the coil/tach circuit is intact? Whether the tach functions or not is yet to be seen... I think it's narrowed down to a bad coil, but I don't want to miss something obvious. It's strange b/c it's a nearly new coil with no signs of external damage, leakage etc--anyway to test it without getting a big shock? I enjoy the troubleshooting a good bit, since it involves learning a lot of stuff I didn't pick up in med school, so any advice would be worthwhile. Thanks, Steve

The pertronix is installed according to the instructions, so it should be good. I'm testing the primary coil, spark, plug gap/condition and carb float level today, and playing a bit with timing...One step at a time, slowly inching to the finish. BTW, if baseline fuel mixture is 2 1/2 turns, what is typical for "normal" driving at 300ft altitude? Thanks for the help so far, Steve

I finally got to fire up the engine today and like I expected it was not a glorious roar of inline 6 goodness. More like a dull thud. :sick: Help me troubleshoot... Here's what I have L28, reman, compression 160# all cylinders P79 with very mild cam (specs unknown, but had very little lope when I heard it run) Previously set up for triple Webers...I have new Z Therapy SUs on an N36 intake Non-emissions balance tube Pertronix ignition, known good coil (at least, it worked prior to disassembly), all spark plug wires have 5k resistance (8mm Energy Core wires). Here's what I've noted: Turns over great. All electrics work fine Backfires through the front carb (more like a light puff of smoke) when it fires up for about 3secs Distributor advance is set all the way to A No leaks--yet(let's hear it for new gaskets!) My plan is to retard the timing from "all the way" at the A to a little ahead of midline...Isn't stock baseline supposed to be set at 7 degrees? I presume the Backfire is from a lean condition--I'll need to check the float level and adjust the mixture nut (it'[s already baselined according to Z Therapy at 2 1/2 turns) I'll also have to double-check the spark from the ignition coil, and I'll need to check over theplugs themselves... I've been wary of the reversed distributor problem some have experienced, so I took care to mark the distributor and engine cover, as well as take pics to ensure it goes back the right way...but what would it look like if it was backwards? The number 1 spark plug wire is at about 7:30 position on the distributor cap, and it then goes anti-CW from there 153624, right? Any other suggestions? Anything I'm missing? Thanks, Steve

Meh...no good with the smilies over here. Of course I knew you were kidding--figured it was a good plug for my local Z club, though!

Hey! Easy on the hell there buddy ....I know a couple pristine S30s and a pretty sweet 10th AE S130 that can hold their own against a host of others:love:....You can see them all next weekend at our Triangle Z Club meet 11/3 at Michael Jordan Nissan (One will be available for private viewing in my garage since it currently lacks a windshield!) But, we all have our dark side!:ninja: BTW, it's in Apex not Raleigh--near what is affectionately known as the Containment Area

Glad to hear it! I hope to hear a little vroom! from my car this weekend....

Their tech pages have saved my behind on a number of occasions. Club seems to be a fine upstanding part of the Z community, but I know no one indivudally. They offer cars for sale but like as mentioned above it's from the individual not the club itself. Caveat emptor, and all that....

ring connector to the B+ terminal...you can make it out on this pic from my car prior to disassembly. Steve

Good point you bring up...I heard it was rainy/wet some of the time which may play a part in the lap times. IIRC even the big bad Vipers and Vettes had slower lap times than I expected. But, DSR/CSR times were in right around 1:30, so we can see where the speed really is...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Datsun-Z-Series-Datsun-240Z-STUNNING-and-BEAUTIFUL-OEM-STOCK_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ6187QQihZ003QQitemZ130166645538QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW OK....so what am I missing here? Nearly fully stock, well-preserved 72 240Z with a BIN of $12.5k? This is a much better car than that (from the pics) and NADA wills upport that as an excellent condition vehicle in the 18k range.... I know it's brown, but that shouldn't warrant too much a price cut:laugh: C'mon folks, sell em for what they are worth! PS--I think every braided hose is on this car! If I wasn't 25k+ into mine, and I trusted blind car purchasing from across the country...grrr...

Doh! You said distributor, my mind saw "alternator" so Disregard what I said earlier...Although there is another condenser near the coil, but on my car (5/72) it's blue, not green. I have no Blk/Yel wire in that area--there is a yellow wire that goes to the temp sensor. If in the past there was a Pertronix installed in your distributor you could have two extra wires hanging around in that area... Is your ballast resistor installed? Any pics?

Off the top of my head, the oil pressure sender and VR condenser wires are near there, but without pics it's a tough call...

Here's a good link... http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&om=1&msa=0&msid=114250687465160386813.00043d08ac31fe3357571&ll=32.997146,-116.968689&spn=0.962878,1.867676&z=9 updated google interactive map of evacs, fires, etc Steve

My sister-in-law and her family got the evacuation call from Carlsbad earlier today, but have not been able to talk with her much. Hope it gets under control soon... Be safe So Cal! Steve

Good to hear (ha! dumb joke)...maybe you could attach some pics? I think it might be cool to have some photo reference of multiple systems for consideration by future purchasers