zguitar71

The rotor number 1 position is @ about 9:30. Check to make sure the oil pump shaft is in the right position. The shaft feeds into the bottom of the dist and rotates it. if it is off the timing will be wrong. The shaft should be in the 11:30 position. Remove the dist., line up the 2 mounting holes that the retaining screws for the dist. reside, the shaft will be about 5 deg. clockwise from that line. The larger 1/2 moon side of the shaft should be toward the rear of the motor. If the shaft position is off the oil pump can be pulled out and the shaft turned and the pump put back in place.

Yes the 5 speed will mate to the motor from a 260 auto but you will need to add the entire clutch system to the car, use a flywheel from a manual and the starter might need to be changed too (not sure on the last one). The drive line might be the wrong length and the trans tunnel might have to be modified too (for the shifter to fit). I am not sure of all the mods I listed but they are just some things that come to mind when I picture the change over in my head. It is not nearly as straight forward as a 4-5 speed change. There are articles people have written about the swap on Hybridz.org and possible here too. It can be done though.

I loved both of those beers only one at a time, I never was a black and tan drinker. Now I'm a tea drinker, I know off subject and kinda wussy but I quite drinking 8 years ago and I have to have something to do after work.

Wow! I love the car. I have always been a big fan of the old Fords. When I was a kid my fathers boss had an old pick up from the 20's or very early 30's. I think it was an A. He would let us take it for a drive on occasions. I remember my father being very nervous about the mechanical brakes, he would pull back on the steering wheel and press the brakes at the same time, I was too young to understand the difference between those and hydraulic brakes and never fully understood why we traveled so much slower than the other cars on the road. Of course we only took it out on Sunday mornings when the traffic was low. I had to have the lower part of the windshield pushed out for the airflow, I thought it was too cool. That was in the 70's. The car is still parked in the same garage, probably with a big coat of dust on it. It has not been driven in many years. Thanks for posting your car. Take more pictures!

I will be 39 on the 4th of May. I had a friend when I was in the 7th or 8th grade who's mother drove a 280zx. I thought it was a really cool car at the time. Later in life we used to take the car on illegal joy rides when she was gone, illegal because we were 15 at the time. That was my intro to the Z world. When I was 18 a friend of mine bought a 240 with a modded L28 in it. I took a ride in the car and was blown away. It was fast and loud and handled great. The car was beautiful inside and out, I wanted one. Fast forward to 28 years old and I have moved to Missoula Montana from my home town of Memphis TN. I owned a `90 Saab 900 that I started to autocross. On my first autocross (which I won running studdless snow tires!) I watched a guy with a `71 240 with a 3.1 L motor, suddenly I remembered being 18 again. I got a ride in the car and was more blown away then when I was 18. This car was very fast, it ran on race fuel and had 13.5:1 compression, racing slicks and a very stiff suspension. I continued racing my Saab for a couple more years and picked the brain of the guy with the 3.1 240. I went to work one day in `03, parked my Saab in front of the office on the street. A woman slammed into it while turned around yelling at her kids in the back seat, totaled it. I was bummed but it was time for a new car anyway. I ended up buying a Subaru Outback. It was a great car but boring, big mistake. I sold the car a year later and bought a $650 `87 Toyota pickup and a `71 240z, much better car arrangement. The guy that raced the 3.1 helped my pick the car out. We did some mods to the car and I started racing it in FP, though I kept the car streetable. I raced it for 2 years, He and I traveled together to the races in our Z's. Then I started racing his car. We shared his car for a couple of years on the track. I ended up winning quite a few fast times of the day awards in that car (beating him in his own car!). I had won one in my car but his is much faster with the 3.1. I have not raced for 2 year now and I think I am going to get back into it this year. I spent all my $ racing the Saab and Zcars, mostly credit cards. I decided to get out of debt. I refinanced to a 15 year loan on my house with out raising the monthly cost and I have paid all other debts off and I have saved $ to play with. So I am going to get out in the Z on the track not just the street this year and see what happens. I think I will be a little rusty but I have always done well autocrossing so I think I'll be alright. Check out my user gallery for picks of the Z on the track.

Another benifit of the zx 5 speed is the ratio spread as well as the trans being stronger. I love mine but I did not care about resale but that does not matter unless you are building a trailer queen. I have run diff ratios from 3.54 to 4.44; 4.11 is my favorite with the zx 5 speed running 205/60/14's (tire diameter changes things). I have a bigger cam in my motor so the power band is higher than a stock motor but I still prefer the 5th gear for higher speed cruising. I can always downshift if I need too. The inside of the car is quiter in 5th than 4th which is why I like it for the highway.

A zcar in Germany! How could you not take it? IMO you should take it!

I like it, I was not a fan of the 350. Now if they could get it down to 2400 lbs.... Nissan is going after Porsche pretty hard, first the 911 Turbo now the Boxster, I hope they don't let up.

I ran an early 4 speed and a 3.54 for a while. it is about the same as a zx 5 speed and a 4.11 until you hit 5th gear. The draw back is the high revs in 4th and the big drop off between 2 and 3. The zx is a close ratio (not like the racing trans) so the motor stays in the power band better. If you can go with the zx 5 speed I would do it, that with a 3.9 or a 4.11 is better than the 4 speed.

Very nice! My Z sleeps in my garage every night. It is down for the winter now.

When the car was on the stands the spring probably came off the perch, when you lowered the car the spring was setting up on the perch not in it. When you drove the car it worked its way back in. I assume you have some type of lowering springs on the car, there free length is short enough they will not be held in place when the car is off the ground like the stock springs.

Take the rear cover off the diff and look at the carrier, this will confirm if it is an lsd or not, you can also check the ratio stamp on the ring gear too. But if you cannot turn the wheels seperatly and you have a receipt that said it is an lsd then it probably is.

The r200 is strong enough but you should run a 4 pinion lsd for the most strength.

The 3.9 r200 are easy to find but do require some part changes to fit it in. The 4:11 r180 from the 200sx and pick-up truck are easy to find too and do not require any mods, just bolt it in. I personally would go for the zx close ratio 5 speed and the r180 4:11. The r180 will be plenty strong anough for a 2.4l with mods

IMO you can save $ by buying an L28 and getting a 5 speed from a N/A 81-83 zx. Take L28 short block and the head from your car. If you have the flattop su's get rid of them and buy some Ztherapy su's or a good set of used round top su's. The zx 5 speed is stronger and has a better ratio spread. While you are at it change over to a 3.9 ratio r200 diff too. You should be able to do all that for $1500 or less.

I do not have one personally but my girl friend's father does. His is about 10' wide all together so the space left over will be tight in your garage, 24' deep is plenty of room, he has a door in front of his that can open fully and leaves room to move too. You have to be careful to place the lift forward enough so you can close the garage door without hitting the car on the rack, with a z that is probably not a problem (the transitional area from horizonal to vertical is where he had trouble). As far as getting in and out of the car below, no problem. He has a `37 Ford hot rod below a `65 Tempest, access to the car below is good including under the hood and trunk, doors open fully without interference. If you are tall you will have to watch your head getting out from under the rack. With a Z on top you should be able to go pretty high with the lift. One thing to do is order the optional pans that can be inserted between the two racks (the runners that the car sits on). If your car has any leaks at all then the car below will be covered in oil ect. The pans are deep enough to contain quite a bit of fluid before they over flow, more that your car should ever be able to leak. He bought the optional larger motor for the hydraulics, it is still pretty slow but, according to him, much faster than the smaller motor (110 vs 220 volts). Sorry I do not know the brand he has. Hope that helps.

Look at www.hybridz.org for info on the RB and RB-R wheels. There are hundreds and hundreds of post about them and info on group buys too. For what it is worth I am getting a set of them (16x8 +10).

For street driving you would not gain from disc over properly set up drums. They do look better though. I would not do it unless you go to a set up like the AZC Willwood's.

15x7 Volk TE37's, 0 offset, with 225/50 tires. Super light wheels and there are still a good amount of 225/50/15's out there. The lighter the wheels the better the feel of the car is imo. With a good sticky tire in that size your z will handle well enough on the street to get you into plenty of trouble with the cops and have enough sidewall to absorb the small bumps the stiction does not allow the sus to get. That is the rational choice for the best handling for a non-track car but I tend to be a little irrational. I would love a set of 17x9 with a -12 offset and fender flares with 255/40's all around.

Get the 5 speed from a zx 81-83, the ratios are close and the 5th is the lowest and it is stronger than the 5 speeds from the 280z's. Worth the effort? Yes. I did it for the close ratio aspect and the extra strength of the zx unit over the older z unit.

More than a 4.5" back space and you will need coilovers. more than 4.5" of front space and you will need to roll your fenders or go to flares. So an 8"x17" wheel would be the biggest you could run (with a 0 offset) and a stock suspension and body. The front might need to stay at 7.5" in width. A 9.5" wheel would need flares and/or coilovers depending on the offset.

Back to the issue of America loosing its economic power due to the importing of cars (and other goods). America has its hands in the profiteering off of other countries too. American mining companies have mines of many types in many different countries. The largest gold mine (and one of the profitable) in the world is located in the mountains of Irian Jaya and is owned by the Freeport Mining Company, an American company. So while the import car companies are selling cars here and making profits off of us we are making money (and lots of it) off other countries and peoples in other ways. No one or country is guitly or innocent in the global market.

Z's are the car that took America by storm and started the Japanese invasion. Driving a vintage Z is a great advertisement for the Japanese car market, it builds nostalgia and brand recognition and reminds people of the Z lineage leading to the new 350z which they can go purchase right now. Many import cars are produced here in America creating jobs and economic growth. The big three have taken more jobs to other countries like Mexico than create new jobs here. The bottom line: American cars are not competitive with imported cars and the big three can only blame themselves. If they paid attention to the desires of the American public and built a decent car then they would not be in the state they are in now.

For the last year I have been autoxing a 240 with 3.1 stroker. The guy that ownes the car has been running it on the street and the course since the mid 90's. He used the N42 block and an N42 head. The motor has around 13:1 compression and a very worked head. The motor probably makes 300 HP (at the crank). He has never had any problem with the block and never had an over heating problem either (uses the 3 row radiator). A 2.8 can make the same hp but the torque can never be matched with the 2.8. If you want an inline 6 with big torque the 3.1 is for you. But to get the power out you need to spend time or money or both on the head, the conversion alone does not do that much, the real power is from the head.

The E-88 with big valves will not work on the 240 block, the valves will hit the cylinder walls. My 7-71 had an e-31. I see no reason not to go with the 31, the compression will go up a bit and on a 240 block it is still well below the need for anything other than pump gass. If it is not milled there could be some warpage, you might have to get it milled for the head to work. If it is rebuilt then it should have been milled for flatness, it is part of the process.