Jeff G 78

It's been so long since I installed my system, I had forgotten what I used. I still have all the boxes, so I just went and looked. I have an Alpine receiver, two Alpine amps, a Sony crossover and a pair of Boston 4" speakers. Obviously, I planned to install more speakers. 🙂 It's nothing super fancy, but with additional front and rear speakers, it might sound okay for an old car.

Thanks @dmorales-bello for finding and sharing your install! How intrusive is the driver's side speaker? It looks like it might block the dead pedal completely. When I installed my system 10 years or so ago, I mouned the amps under the false floor, so other than the receiver, nothing is visable. The MSA rear speaker box has been unavailable for years, so I will just try to duplicate it for my '78. Is your rear speaker box attached? If so, what does it take to get access to the hinged wood floor panel? Your system looks super clean. Even though, speakers are a low priority right now, I want to get the panels before they are no longer available.

Has anybody with a 280Z used these MSA speaker panels? Not that I have my Z on the road right now, but when I do, I will need to add more speakers. I have a nice Alpine stereo with a few small amps, but I only have the two 4" quality speakers in the factory locations under the quarter windows. The sound quality is okay, but the system is all but useless with the road noise in these cars. I could build a real speaker panel like they used to sell and I might still do that, but the sound is still all behind me. Are the front kick panel speaker mounts worth getting? How much space do the eat up for foot room and do the speakers sound decent in those thin plastic housings? Is the dead pedal blocked? I'm looking for feedback from someone who actually uses them. https://www.thezstore.com/product/3509/front-speaker-panel-kit-75-78-280z

My thought is that the Z cars that bring big money on BaT are bone stock. Even though all the mods are tasteful and make the car better, the BaT crowd might not agree. I hope the OP gets what he wants wherever he decides to sell it.

Ad says JDM, so it should be Japan. It's an odd combination. N47 head and no EGR, yet head temp sensor. Wasn't the US the only market that got the L28 before 1979?

Shockingly, somebody bid $1,450 in the last few minutes of the auction.

You have what looks like a very nice 240Z. Keep in mind that you missed the peak. I've seen BaT Z's come down a bit over the past few months. That said, you should do well. My dad sold a car on Hemmings last year and did very well, so you might check that site out as well.

Seller claims to not know the lone bidder, but I call shenanigans. Even if the bidder was legit, why would anybody pick that number as a starting bid? I could see somebody bidding $100 with the hopes of getting a few usable parts, but $1,350??? Shame on BaT for accepting this listing.

That's actually pretty cool. It looks fairly weathered, so I'm not sure how well it would clean up, but somebody might think it's a good buy.

Seller says that the block has no main caps which is why he planned to scrap it. I'm not blaming the seller as he sounds honest in the ad. I can't figure out why anybody would bid more than about $50 for it. I'm also surprised BaT accepted the item.

I don't get this at all. The seller took a bunch of junk engine parts with no internals and built an engine to sell. With two days left on the auction, it is at $1350. There are a few salvageable parts, but who would pay this much for common scrap parts? The seller doesn't hide what is being sold. It is clearly stated that the parts were destined for the dumpster. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/datsun-nissan-l28/ From the seller.. for everyone wondering, the reason this is a display motor is because its a collection of parts that weren’t useable cores. We build a fair number of L-series motors in the shop and I couldn’t stomach tossing the parts in the trash. The block came to us without main caps The cylinder head (240z) was rebuilt by the owner and he didn’t replace one of the valve spring seats and the seat was damaged. The crankshaft is an L24 that came in with a car full of spare parts. The timing cover has a corrosion perforation behind the water pump. Sure there are some useable parts on the assembly, and if it were the last motor on the planet a machine shop could fix it and make it a working engine. But that wasn’t the intention. Instead of tossing the parts in the scrap pile, or sitting around the shop taking up space i made it worth looking at. In my opinion it’s perfect because you wont be tempted to take it apart! We bought 30 or so cars in a batch deal back in 2021. So we have dozens of motors on the shelf for rebuilds as well as the plated parts and fasteners. If you’re looking for parts give the shop a call.

After a while, you get a feel for how to loose set them so they end up at the proper clearance after tightening the lock nut.

If you ever need to cover a hole, don't use duct tape. Use foil tape. It is actually the correct tape to use for ducts too. 🙂 It sticks great and will not fall apart like duct tape does. We use it all the time on prototype vehicles. I always use it on race cars to cover stick-on wheel weights so they don't fall off from the brake heat.

Great job so far @chaseincats. I was looking at Amazon and a smoke machine with no frills is only about $33. Once I get time to actually work on my Z again, I plan to buy a smoke machine and seal it up tight. It's amazing how many places exhaust can be sucked in. Every grommet and seal will be dry after 50 years.

Sorry to hear that Cliff. It just goes to show that life has no guarantees. Nobody knows when their time is up, so enjoy every day and never assume you can get to it later when it comes to personal stuff.

http://www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/efisystem/280zfuelinjectionbook.pdf

Did you re-smoke it yet? Let us know how it works out.

Another option would be to get butyl rubber in a caulk gun and chase the leaks with the smoke machine again. Rather than trying to seal the whole gasket, just put dabs where they are leaking while using the smoke.

3M trim adhesive *should* come off the body in the future. It's sticky and gooey, but it does come off. Besides, who cares about the next guy? 🙂 Seriously though, I'd rather have a sealed panel than worry about what might happen to somebody else in the future if they try to remove the lights.

All of the gaskets I have removed on old Z's were "stuck" to the body. I would either use something like 3M trim adhesive, or maybe contact cement on the gaskets. Glad to hear the smoke machine worked though. Sealing the leaks is much easier than finding the leaks.

Have you measured the height yet? Make sure both the top and bottomare flat and see if it has been milled once already. If so, make sure you take that into account when you shave it.

Very cool find Cliff! Remember that you don't have to do all that valve swapping and tower shimming. You can go one of two ways and keep the ZX valves. Either shave a bit less (0.060") and take up the difference by slightly modifying the stock chain guides, or go the full 0.080" shave and buy the Kameari chain tensioner. I've heard they are rather loud, but it's a cool loud. With either solution, you don't shim the towers and you dial in the timing with an adjustable cam gear. This can be done cheap as well. I started with a high quality timing chain set and then drilled one of the dowel pin holes for a Chevy V8 eccentric bushing setup. For less than $10, I got a set of eccentric bushings and I was able to dial in my timing. An adjustable gear is easier, but both accomplish the same thing. This engine was in my race car and ran great.

Cliff beat me to it. Thanks @siteunseen

Mine has had a potentiometer for 20 years or so. I was organizing the garage today and I came across a hard copy of the instructions on how to install and tune it. I am pretty sure I printed it on a dot matrix printer. 🙂 Mine sits right on top of the intake and I haven't had to adjust it since first dialing it in.

I have never used the special bent crow's foot wrench. I've always just used two open end wrenches and snugged the lock nut. After hundreds of adjustments over a dozen cars and 40 years, I've never had one loosen. Of course, I always check the clearance after it's tight to make sure it is still correct. After a while, you get a feel for how loose to leave the clearance so they tighten just right when the lock nut is snugged up.