240ZX

This weekend I watched the TARGA of NEWFOUNDLAND. It's a rally run on local backtop roads and the participants seemed to all be of the non professional type. Anyway, the rally was every interesting. This guy and his wife, from down under, have a 68 Mustang fastback that just ripped. Then I really got excited when I saw an early Z, paint white with the red and blue side stripes, that was doing really well and looked way cool....................but then, on a tight right hander that was damp, the guy locked it up and right into a barrier. There went that front end!!! I almost got sick. Did anybody else see this Z car tragity?

Inspect your bottom end!!!! The picture of the metal peices that came from your pan warrant it!!!!

If you started with your front wheels pointing straight forward, you would be @ "0" toe. The dimension given for toe-in will be the total of both wheels, not each wheel. So, toe-in is the total toe-in of both wheels, from "0", at the leading edge of the wheels. Hope this helps you out!

Check all the rubber bushings and differential front mount for deterioration. My quess would be that the front diff. mount is shot and allows the diff. to rotate up into the retaining strap!

Hey! Anyone in the Ventura County area interested in putting together or just getting together to do a fun run locally.....we do have some pretty nice roads to work out on. Saturdays or Sundays can work for me. It seem that we have clubs in the L.A. area (south) and we have clubs up in northern Cal, but nothing in between.....anyone intersted?

Just replaced my worn out Yokohama A520's with a set of the new Yokohama AVS AE100's. I'm running 215-40x17" front & 235-40x17" rear. I love the A520's, as they have great turn-in responce and great traction, but they are a bit noisy and tend to follow road irregularities. The new AVS AE100's seem to have the same kind of traction, with a slower turn-in responce, but are much smoother, quieter, and don't follow the road irregularities nearly as much. Overall I'm quit happy with these tires. They are used mostly for spirited canyon cruising here in SoCal. Ok, I know there are probably better choices if you want to run autocross but my toy is just that....a street toy! Come on, lets here what all you guys are running and what you think about tire preference and performance. Please deposit your 2 cents worth............................

A couple of places you might check out are the centrifical advance in your distributor, assuming the valves are adjusted and the idle timing is correct, and also your fuel pump delivery. If either the distributor or fuel pump are near shot, they can provide intermitent operation. Just some ideas to investigate! Tell us what you find.

Check out KRYLON paints. (there are probably many companies that have similar products) They have a wide selection to choose from and have recently come out with a new paint for plastics. Spend a little time searching the net and you should be able to find exactly what you need for your application.

Coilovers......that is the question!!! Well, they will allow you to adjust the ride height at each corner of the car. They will allow you to run wider tires/wheels because of the reduced O.D. of the coilover springs. You don't necessarily have to shorten just struts unless you are intending to lower your car an inch or two or more. If you lower the car concideraby, without shortening the strut assemblies, you will wind up with very little bump travel and have loads of rebound travel...not a very effective suspension set-up!!! If you do lower the car, you may want to consider camber and or caster adjustment capability. Relocating the front transverse link pivot height (up) is also a good thing to do when a Z car has been lowered considerably. This step will improve the suspension geometry and minimize and or eliminate the bumpsteer effect. With a little research, on this site and on numerous other Z car sites, you will be able to gain a perspective on all sorts of suspension possibilities. Regarding the strut inserts (shocks) when shortening struts; the easiest way to obtain the correct length inserts is to talk to the manufacture of the coilovers you will be installing. Oh! The Chapman struts in the rear do have inserts like the front but, slightly longer. Anyway, this should get you thinking in the right direction. Understand that just about any modification you can think of, for your Z car, has likely been done and has been written about. All you have to do is do your homework. Good luck and I hope this info helps you out a little.

Shoot, my little 240 w/L28, 5 speed, 3.90 diff. blew right past this twin turbo 911 the other day............Ok, OK guys, your saying that's pretty impressive for an old 240 but hey, the 911 was parked on the road side!!! Ha, ha, ha, ha!!!

It's likely that the bands in your auto trans are slipping. Have you checked the fluid level and or changed the fluid?

Some things to consider. With your foot in it....full throttle, you will be at full advance in your distributor. I had a similar problem and discovered that the centrifical advance assembly was worn out and ran like crap at lower RPMs. Also, at full throttle the only circuits in your carbs that are working are the high speed circuits, so possibly the balance and or idle adjust screws may need adjustment, to achieve low speed and idle smoothness.

It's late in the day so I may have been a little haisty on the steering rack position but the rest of my previous post is OK! Sorry for any confusion!

If you did decide to move your steering rack, you would want to lower it instead of raising it but, it's much much easier to raise the front transverse pivot bolts on the crossmember. Much has been discussed about this subject but, the objective is to obtain front suspension geometry that does not induce steering input when bumps or dips are encountered in the road's surface. Hope this helps you out a little.

Could be wrong, but I don't think they are an original Datsun item! Come to think of it, I've never seen these animals before. Some of the other guys on this site are likely to know for sure. There's a lot of great information within the heads of these guys. If you want to find out.......post some information that's B.S. or incorrect and see how quick you will be corrected!!!! Hope this helps you out.

My 240 A/C is really cheap!!! Two windows down at 40mph!!! Just some humor there. Seriously, give Motorsport Auto a call. I believe they have a complete kit available.

Looks like you got it covered. Anyway, you can get the parts from Courtesy Nissan also. FYI 9-5127 = 23mm 9-5128 = 24mm 9-5129 = 25mm

Sounds like we agree it's a GM product anyway!!! Do you think if the person survived this, they're saying....."F_ _ _ing cell phones!!!!

Downfall, From your side of the fence, it sounds as though there is too many unknowns to this equation. If the guy is not a porting & polishing expert with loads of experience on Datsun L series engines......don't let him touch the manifold!!! Now if its just a matter of cleaning up the flashing left from the casting process, then maybe you'd be OK. But screwing around with port design is an art in it self! But that's just one man's opion!!!

Chevy Caprice???

Well Steve77, It would definitely be quick off the line however, you'll be wishing you had a 5th gear on the highway. But I'm sure you already know that.

FYI, I decided to use motorcycle fork oil. It's designed for a sliding mechanism and has anti-foaming additives as well. Your choices are wide.....5w, 7w, 10w, 15w 20w!!! If there are any drawbacks with this oil, I have encountered none! I am using 15w, in order to obtain a little quicker piston/needle responce. When choosing oil viscousity, consider the temperature of where you live and drive your toy. Cold weather, use lighter oil and for hot weather, use heavier oil. However, I wouldn't recommend going over the recommended 20w. But that's just one man's opinion!!!

Victor, I believe I have one (plastic VR shroud). It is off of my 1970 (3/70). I am now using an interrnally regulated alternator, so let me look through my stuff tonight and I'll let you know about it tomorrow.