ZSaint

Your are correct, I have a '74 AM/FM radio. It does have the wrong (upside down) faceplate. I wonder if I can rework this radio to have the AM faceplate from my '71 on it? I wonder if I can modify it to use the old antennae switch. I guess I will have to take the AM radio out and see if anything will fit.

How about putting a 260 AM/FM radio into a '71? I bought a radio but have not tried to install it. How difficult is it to romove the radio from the dash. (I had the dash out before I bought the radio!)

I say where, I say where the heck is the money coming from to do this very extensive restoration? I took my '71 all apart had some of it media blasted and painted inside and out. It took me 14 months to complete. I would NEVER have tried to do this Z. What a monsterous job. I have passed the movies of your resto onto a buddy of mine that has shorted, sectioned and chopped a '36 Ford tudor sedan. He will fully appreciate the work that you are doing. Keep the movies coming. Can't wait to see it when it is completed.

My tank was not rusted as was the car. Someone had put regular hoses on it over the years. I cleaned the tank and painted it and re-plated all of the hardware. I replaced every hose with fuel or transmission line/hose. I replaced all of the clamps. I used a fuel-sealer under the hose connections to make certain they did not leak. I spent a lot of time making certain the tank would no longer seep. It still does! I am guessing it may be the gauge connection. I did not replace this gauge or the gasket. I will start there.

It leaked when I drove it back from CA after the purchase. I thought the hoses were rotten so I replaced them all. Now it still leaks when it is FULL. At 7/8, it does not leak. Where the heck? Maybe the neck hose is leaking and draining down onto the seam? Hmmm?

I recently did a complete restoration on my '71 Z. I removed the tank and painted it. I reinstalled it with all new hoses and clamps. I filled it up a couple of days ago and it started leaking. I drove it 35 miles and it stopped leaking. It seems to be coming from the driven side and running down the seam and dripping onto the floor. Anyone have any ideas on where this tank is leaking? I have not been under it to see if I can find the leak. Just looking for some info before I started looking.

Wow. You must have some kind of parts store to get fittings for BSP!

1/8 pipe thread will do it, right?

It's kinda like horseshoes and NASCAR... Close is good!

I have a turbo pump and my running, hot pressure with an "all new" engine is 50#. What I was concerned about was the volumn. I do not care about high pressure. I DO care about volumn with my P90A head. I agree that we do not have low pressure. We have serviceable pressure that makes these engines run forever. As long as the needle still moves when I start it, all is well!

If you are putting in a new clutch kit, you simple need to remove the flywheel, take the seal cover off the back of the engine, press/put a new seal in the cover and reinstall. It will take you 15 minutes to get the new seal on. If you have not seen any oil burning or not using any oil, you can skip the valve seal replacement. It is a major job. I have a '71 240Z with 87,000 miles on it. If I was going to use that engine again, I would definetely replace the valve seals. If you cannot DIY, just pull the head and take it into a machine shop. They will resurface the valve and seats and put new seals in. This refreshed head will really smartin' up an old engine.

You are learning through the college of hard knocks. Your failures will become your instructor. You only take one (1) head off an L-engine before you learn the proper steps. Hope this is not going to be your last engine job. It gets easier as you learn. As a young mechanic, may I suggest you ASK people on this forum before you take things apart? We could have saved you a LOT of work. I guess now you will learn how to take the radiator and front balancer and pulley and cover and alternator off the L28 block. It willl be a painfully slow process this college of hard knocks! I remember doing this same thing at a race track many years ago. We spent the entire evening taking it all apart and putting it back together. Youth is a wonderful thing!:knockedou

I am guessing that you may need to freshen the head while you have the engine out. Valve seals are your number one concern. I would definetely put a new crank seal in the engine. I will cost you a few bucks and all you need to do is take the flywheel off and on. Think about the clutch disc, T/O bearing??? You have done all of the work. It would be sad to have to do it all over again to fix a chattering clutch or leaky seal or ????

I know that these electrical units do not react very quickly to pressure changes. If you have access to a mechanical guage, try plumbing it into the block and check the pressure. As long as you have 30#-40# pressure, your engine will run forever. Now if you tweak the engine and have high rpm needs, now that is another question. 25# oil pressure on the freeway is plenty of pressure to maintain oil viscosity.

My '71 came from CA. There was only surface rust behind the fenders. I understand your maintenance. I probably should have done something similar. Looks like a good idea!

If your plugs are all uniformly black, you probably do not have any fluid leaking into the combustion chambers. Do you have A/C? Are you losing any water/ coolant from your system? I think you just need to get it tuned up. Let us know what the Z guy says and did, OK?

Sounds like you need ZTherapy's help! How about the water? Condensation or are you losing water from your rad? Maybe you have one lean plug? Could be a headgasket leaking water. See if you have one whitish plug. That is the sign of a water leak.

Congrats on having rich parents. There is no substitute for cubic inches or cubic dollars!

Take the car out on the freeway and drive it for 30-40 minutes at speed. Then see if you still get the black soot and water when you start it. We used to call this the "little old lady" tune up!!

I saw what Escalon did when he restored his Z. I figured if the car lasted 34 years with the stock drain, why do anything else with it. I sealed the inner fender with epoxy primer, painted it and then undercoated it. It will never be left out in the rain and seldom will be washed. (drycleaned) So, the only time water will be "draining" is if I get caught out in an Oregon thunderstorm and when I wash it a couple of times a year. I worked too hard on this car to drive it or let it sit out in the rain. I will drive my Durango or Rabbit in the wintertime. I never thought I would build a "trailer queen" but this is what I have decided. I know this is anal but I'm pleased that the car is finished and it is put away for the winter. I drove it 75 miles after working on it for 14 months. Ain't life a bitch?

Sopmetimes major problems turn out to be small problems if you just don't panic. Good job!

What about the vacuum line? Connect or dis-connect? Plugged or unplugged? RPM's?? Total advance? Idle advance? Do you have a FSM for your model?There is a lot more to timing then just plugging in the light.

I remember going through this process when I first started working on cars. It is very difficult to learn all of the things that most of us learned "the hard way". We screwed it up! It's funny how much we all learn through informal learning. I am guessing you simply have a wet distributor. Try cleaning the points and spraying WD40 into it. When it has dried out, it will start right up and you will be able to set the timing. You do know how to set the timing, right?

(Binned as in 'tossed'. Got it!) I have purchased a Pathfinder 1" M/C. I now have a M/C that has the mounting ears side to side VS. the Up and Down ears on my 280ZX M/C. Anyone know of an adapter for this M/C? Any ideas? :paranoid:

I believe all of the ZX and ZXT's used the 15/16" M/C. In most situations this is the M/C that works on the Z 4-wheel brake mod. The Corvette caliper uses rather large pucks and reqires considerable fluid travel to make them function. I will be away from the shop for a while and will not be able to install the new 1" M/C. I will let you guys know how it works.