ZSaint

I think you should consider a set of ZTherapy SU's. They really do work and they drive out nicely. When you change to Weber or Solex carbs you are asking for huge tuning problems. If you were racing, these carbs are tuned for full throttle only. They are a nightmare when tuning for idle, mid-range and wide-open throttle. Get a new set of ZTherapy carbs and you will solve your problem.

I have blocked that application out of my mind. I vaguely remember a lot of heat, cussing and pounding. I think the proper tool may be the answer (if you can beg, borrow or steal one).

I am sorry guys but... A stock 240Z with 4.5" rims and radial tires really sucks. I drove my Z on the freeway for 20 hours after buying it and it was not pretty. I remember my wife telling me should would not drive my '70 Z with 4.5" rims and skinny tires over 50 mph back in 1975. It was a handfull. I guess if all you do is drive them to a show or two, it will be OK. Nothing helps a Z more than lowering it, putting on wider rims, and putting on a front spoiler. The Z is now stable. I take my hat off to you "numbers correct" Z's. I just do not have enough courage to drive one! Maybe after I turn 70?

I wish I had taken the time to research this spring/shock issure before ordering my Tokico Illuminas. I would have gone for the KYB's!

I am guessing that the drag race boys would have thought of this "flow technigue" years ago. I do know they use the aircraft flow tricks on their car bodies. The dimples on a golf ball are there to help keep a lightweight sphere in the air longer. I am wondering how this relates to a valve and volumetric efficiency?

I paid $4700 for my '71 Z. It was in very good condition. It had the right Q-panel replaced about 10 years ago. NO RUST anywhere. It had 84,000 miles on it. It has all of the origianal pieces still on it, engine, tranny, rearend, wheels, hubcaps, interior, radio, etc. I am guessing my Z was looking very good to most "buyers" on eBay. I did enter $7000 at the last second but got the car for a fair price. I have no idea what my Z is worth after my restoration. I guess if I ever sell it it will be determined by the buyer. It is a buyers market! I do not feel a stock Z that has been "rolled twice" could ever be worth $10,000. (We are talking speedo, right?)

Go to a garage sale, swap meet, used tool place, or a pawn shop. You can find either a used 14mm or a 9/16 end wrench. ($.50 -$1.00) Grind the closed end down to where it fits. This will save your wrench from your tool set. It worked for me 20 years ago and I still have the modified wrench!

You must find the plastic panel that fits over your tank. Find out what the tank fits and look for the panel. You can paint the new panel with SEM to match your interior. Or, get a stock tank and you will be just fine. Your choice!

I was with Steve during his manufacturing of his 3-SU set-up. He believes the theory of the "pulse" issue is moot with the cross-over tube in place. He wanted to see if it would work. It does! I drove his white Z just before he took it to the Nationals. I do know it really has a strong kick at 4K. It pulls all the way up. I turned it 6500 before I shifted and it was very strong. We have talked about the use of a dyno. He does not want to take the 3-carb unit off to do the 2-carb test. I cannot fault his logic! If Epperly says it works, trust me... It works!

Now you tell me!

Thanks for the nice comment. A friend hooked up the E-brake on my Z in Bremerton. (What a job to hook up 'Vette calipers to Datsun cables) I drove it in the rain for 4 hours. Then after being there for 3 days it rained all the way back to Salem. This pic was taken with the car very dirty. Now it is really filthy, under and over. I just bought a power washer to take care of the bottomside. What we do for a clean car! I agree with the premise that dark cars look better with a polished lip. I think white, yellow, silver look good with black wheels.

Painted wheels look a little like NASCAR to me. Z's do not have much bling-bling on them. I see them needing a little brightness in the wheel lip area. To each his own.

First of all, what's wrong with being "an old guy", BuDavid?" (Heh, heh!) I understand your need for a smoothe but controllable ride. I just came back from a trip to Seattle. (450 miles) The freeways in Washington are not that smoothe. My kidneys are still hurting me. I have my Tokico Shocks set at 1.5 and they beat my bride and I to death. I too have always liked the ride of a soft shock. I wish now that I had purchased a set of Koni shocks. I love their firm but smoothe ride. My Motorsports springs are supposed to be soft with a 1" lowering effect. It sure feels like my old CP 280Z! But then, I was a lot younger then.

I have a set of Panasports. I like the looks but want to polish the lip. These are machine polished but they will look much better with a high gloss lip, IMHO!

Wait until you put these SU's into service. The best is yet to come!

Arne: I am keeping my 'D' hubcaps and original wheels. I also have the numbers correct engine and tranny and diff. I may rebuild all of them and put my Z back into it's original configuration. Maybe after I have some fun! Maybe not... At least I have all of the stuff to make the car a numbers correct '71 240Z. I understand your reasoning. Go for it!

I understand this "advance" system like this. You have two systems: mechanical and vacuum. For racing purposes, you do not need the vacuum advance. You time the engine at total advance (36`-38`) depending on your compression ratio. This advance is by weights with different springs attached. (soft springs-early advance... stiff springs late advance) The vacuum advance is controlled by a diaphram) It will run all the way up to 40`-50` advance when the car is NOT under any load (cruising down the freeway at 70). A street car will get better mileage with the higher advance. If you get too much advance your engine will ping/knock. You can modify the amount of travel in the distributor's mechanical advance by welding a stop in the slot. Or, you can file the slot longer to get more advance. You can also get different vacuum advance units. The value is stamped in the rod (X2) say 15 which will give you 30 of advance... 17:34, 20:40, 25:50, etc. I am guessing you just need to experiment with these items to get maximum performance. A dyno is your best test! Most people just stick a dizzy and run it. A lot of performance is lost or gained here.

I have a bead blaster and it works great on small stuff. You need to replace the glass beads frequently when you use it on steel parts. The beads turn to powder and do not work as well when they are "used up". I used it on an old rusty set of headers and it cleaned them right up. Bead blasting however works the best on aluminum pieces. Keep fresh glass in your blaster and it works very well. I did not do anything special on the steel parts after blasting. I cleaned them with an industrial spray cleaner, rinsed them and dried them. I had them powder coated or painted. The coating sticks well in both situations.

Yes you will need a keyway. Most part houses have keyway selections. Just take your pulley/balancer into the store and get them to match it up. You may want to check the floor and wherever you carried the pullies. It probably fell out sometime after you pulled the pulley. Interesting way to learn about the L6 engine!

I think someone in his shop tried to sell this camashaft with the crack. When I returned it per his instructions the same person tried again. Once He knew what I had, he said to discard the cam and he would send me a new one. He is a good person. I will see how he responds to his promise.

The owner is sending me a new cam. He said to destroy the damaged cam. I will let you know when I receive the replacement cam!

I received this cam and it was damaged. I sent pics to the grinder and he said to send the cam back and he would cover the shipping. I did. He simply took out the damaged dowel and replaced it. The cam sprocket shoulder is still cracked. He returned it yesterday with the new dowel. I sent him another pic and asked him if he would pay $350 for this damaged cam. I will wait until I get a final answer (or a new cam) before I divulge his name. He may not have done this modification. I am betting it was someone in his shop. We will see.

Look at this pic... Would you pay $350 for this cam? I sent it back and it came back with a new dowel pin. Same camshaft that had been returned with a broken shoulder. Help!

I have pre-registered for Canby. It will fun to finally have the car at a show. See you there!

We put on the early electron ignition system. We got it all wired and tried to start it and get it timed. It would barely run. I changed the dist drive (adv & ret) and nothing would make it run. We decided the ECU was bad so we borrowed one from Datsun guy. It still had the wiring harness on it. BINGO! I had the red and the green wires mixed up. I used a drawing for the set-up that had a ECU with a plug-in. The red wire was 'stacked' above the green wire. I assumed the red wire was last. My ECU had the screw-in connectors. Once I changed the wires around the old Z fired right up. I am very close to declaring the restoration complete. I need to install the blue rivots that I lost during the radio wiring screw-up. (Where do those little round plugs go?) I will install the under the engine belly pan, too, and the car is ready! Whooha!