Jeff G 78

On a late 260Z, the fuel inlet and return fittings are next to each other on the front of the tank. They are the same size and one ends on each side of the baffle, but I don't know which is which. Can someone tell me which is the supply line? I'd guess this pipe on the bottom right of the photo is the return since it's fairly high off the tank bottom, but???

Hmmm, yeah. I guess you are correct. Thanks for the correction.

As long as the fuel tank hanger strap hardware is in good shape, dropping a tank isn't too bad. Remove the interior panel to get to the filler neck clamps. Once you drop the tank, remove the fuel sending unit and shine a flashlight into the filler neck and look for debris on the tank bottom. If you see rust or sludge, you get to have fun and restore the tank. I just did the tank in my LeMons 260Z that had been sitting in a barn for 15+ years. The tank was NASTY, but it turned out great. I used the POR-15 kit. Cleaning a tank properly takes about 7-10 days total and is a lot of back breaking, stinky, dirty work, but the results will be worth it. I can post my before and after pics if you'd like.

Do the TTT parts eliminate the rubber everywhere? I was looking at their TC rods, but I was afraid of what the impact loads would do to me and the body of the car.

When I do my '78, I will slot them and measure bumpsteer to dial them in. This mod was for a LeMons car, so nothing fancy was needed. I don't have the time to dial it in - the race is in 3-1/2 weeks and the body is still at the cage builder. I had a spare crossmember so I did the mod while the car is away. Now I just have to make and attach the reinforcing washers like the stock crossmember had.

Hey Jon, how much can you move the front pivots out and still have enough thread engagement on the tie rods? Last night I did the inner pivot relocation for bumpsteer and camber on my LeMons car. I moved the holes up 20mm and out 6mm. The springs will be cut to lower the car about 1" to 1.5" I really like Mark's rear suspension mod. I might have to do that on my '78 to get the alignment closer to spec. Keep us informed of how it works Mark.

True Jon, but the front transverse link doesn't get much inward force. The TC rod takes the force from a pothole type impact. In the rear suspension, hitting a pothole will try to move the tire rearward just like the front, but with the front pivot fixed and the rear pivot slotted, the rear joint is more likely to fail (slip) due to the arm rotating about the front inner pivot. I also think the joint will be OK, but the paint mark will allow him to keep an eye on it.

Very nice Mark. I'm sure your car isn't the only one that has been tweaked over the last 35-40 years. As long as you don't get any movement in the slots, it should work great. You might want to paint mark the brackets to the body and cross member so you can keep an eye on them to be sure they stay where you put them.

I completely agree with Arne. My '78 speedo is off by around 5mph at 70 yet my odo is dead accurate. I checked it on the road trip to the 2008 Z car nationals and over close to 90 miles on the Ohio Turnpike it was within a few tenths of a mile!

Julio, did Napa stock the 5/8" fuel hose for the vent? I need to replace mine as well.

I know this has been discussed many times and I've read the archives, but I have a bit of a different need. Before our race, I want to replace the clutch in my 74.5 260Z LeMons car. I cannot spend much money due to the rules, so I can't simply get a Nissan clutch or other quality unit. That said I still need it to be decent. I have found lots of REALLY cheap clutch kits on ebay which is what I will probably be forced to use, but I don't know which to get. I have never had a 260 before and everything seems to be a hassle. Every kit is either for a 240 or a 280. Does anybody know if a late 260 is the same as a '75 280? Everything else on the car seems to be, but I couldn't find if the clutch/flywheel is 280 or 240. The best deal I found was for a reman clutch from Fort Wayne Clutch and Driveline. It says it fits for everything from 74-89(???). and it's only $59 shipped for the full kit. I don't know if a reman kit from a "local" shop is better or worse that a new kit from an unknown supplier. Reman kit http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Nissan-Clutch-Kit-280Z-FREE-SHIPPING_W0QQitemZ200112068721QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item2e979bd871&_trksid=p4506.m20.l1116 New kit http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Clutch-Kit-75-76-77-78-79-80-81-82-83-84-95-Nissan-280Z_W0QQitemZ230151491659QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item359619104b&_trksid=p4506.m20.l1116 Here is another new kit that says it's for a 260. It's a bit more and they charge shipping. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/74-75-DATSUN-NISSAN-260Z-2-6-L-6-cyl-NEW-OEM-Clutch-Kit_W0QQitemZ400003737817QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item5d2214a8d9&_trksid=p4506.m20.l1116 Any ideas? I don't want to throw away money, but yet must keep the cost to a bare minimum.

We were working on the LeMons '74.5 260Z today, trying to start it for the first time in 15 years. A PO messed with or removed nearly every system on the car, so consider it a basket case. After installing 3 screw SUs and tons of stuff that had been removed or hacked, we were ready to start it. After not getting anything, I checked the timing. With the #1 cylinder at TDC, the distributer rotor was not pointed to 9 o:clock, but rather at 7 o:clock. I pulled the distributor to check the shaft position and it was dead on 11:25. I turned the engine until the rotor did point at the #1 plug and it was way off 11:25. I had to pull all the wires and index them one hole counterclockwise. Once I did that, it fired up and ran great. Anyone ever see this before? I know where the shaft needs to be as well as where the #1 terminal is located and this is simply off. It runs fine the way it is, but I want to know WHY!! The good news is that the engine sounds great even without the carbs tuned. I never even touched the timing after I moved all the wires. Oil pressure is good and once it was up to temp, we checked compression and got 150psi on all six cylinders. Now it just has to run near redline for 1000 miles on a race track.

Are you talking about the stiffening braces to keep the urethane air dam in position at higher speeds? If so, I remember seeing a great write-up on hybridz.org with pics and dimensions. Look in the body section and search urethane air dam brace.

Beautiful pictures! Thanks for sharing novy.

This is what I don't like http://jalopnik.com/5337515/maserati-biturbo-gets-cash-for-clunkers-death-sentence Yes, it's a POS Maserati, but with only 18k miles and a perfect interior, it shouldn't be put down. :disappoin

Watch these videos as well. This guy does a decent job of explaining SU tuning.

Assuming the dealer didn't let on that the car would not be turned in for a rebate, they would be slimy. If they were honest and told the customer that they would resell the car, it wouldn't be a CARS transaction, but rather a simple trade-in.

Yes, but a slimy dealer could give the customer $4500 and not write it up as a CARS turn-in. It would simply be a trade-in.

On Jalopnik, they had people sending in Death Row pics from dealerships. Many of the responses came from kids who worked at the dealers. There were many claims of cars that would likely sell for more than $4500 on the used car market.

Either buy a parts store slave or buy a rebuild kit and do it yourself. I just bought a Beck Arnley kit including piston for $3.62. Chances are good the seal is just old and cracked.

My DD Toyota 4x4 qualifies, but there's no way I would part with it and get stuck with a payment. It has 258,000 miles and is rusty, but it runs great and gets 20mpg. I still need a truck, so I would have to buy a $30k truck to get the same option content as what I already have. This whole CARS program is going to get the country into further debt. Many people who take advantage of it can barely afford their clunker, yet think they are getting a deal, so jump into a new car with a huge debt load. Those of us who are smart enough to keep our paid-for vehicle still get stuck with the bill as well as the increase in loan defaults that will surely follow.

Just be very careful that you don't bend any brake lines. I'd actually be surprised if you can remove the booster without removing the lines. The MC will have to slide forward quite a ways to clear the mounting studs. Hopefully it can be done. Good luck.

Hey Ron, I just got the microfiche CD to work. I had to disable the web plug-in per the CD's recommendation. Weird, I never had to do that before the Adobe 9 download. Yes, now I see that the pistons do look different. I guess I will simply get the basic rebuild kit without the piston. I can't imagine the seals will be any different. As far as parts go, anything that is free via sponsorship, donation, etc. technically counts towards the $500. Used parts aren't going to be scrutinized unless they add performance. Now, if someone were to give me a used Rebello engine or set of Illumina struts for free, they would have a problem. One thing I am looking for is a '79-'80 ZX distributor so I can dump the points. I have several '75-'78 distributors, but would then have to get a GM HEI module and I've heard the HEI units are lousy for high RPM usage. The race is October 3-4 in Northeast Ohio at Nelson Ledges. Of the ten S30s I've had, this is my first 260 and it's quite the bastard child. I can never quite be sure what parts do or don't fit it. Some parts are 280, some are 240, and some are unique. I like my '78 because I always know what works. The car is pretty clean and luckily, everything comes apart easily since it's from Texas, but all of the hydraulics are shot after sitting for so many years. I poured about a tablespoon of powder out of the brake MC reservoirs. The piston was frozen solid just like the clutch MC. I will replace the seals in the wheel cylinders, front calipers, clutch slave, brake master (spare), and clutch master (spare).

So Ron, when I check any auto parts store's website, they all list the rebuild kits as 70-78. I could certainly see the seals being the same, but does the piston look the same? From what you say, the shorter MC should work fine as long as I can rebuild it. I do have the Parts CD, but when I tried it today, it wouldn't work. I think the latest Adobe Acrobat Reader is incompatable with the CD. It worked fine a month ago, but now gives me an error when I try to go to any section of the CD.

I am rebuilding my '74.5 260Z LeMons car that has been in a barn for 10-15 years and the clutch master cylinder piston is frozen solid. So, I went to my parts stash and grabbed another MC that I could rebuild. I am not sure what year the MC is from since I have parted out everything from '72-'78 Z cars. What I found is that the MC is shorter than the 260Z MC. They are both 5/8" bore, but the reservoir is shifted a bit and the whole unit is about 1/2" shorter. I always thought they were all the same for the S30s. I can't get the piston out of the 260Z MC, so I can't measure the stroke to see if they match. The auto parts stores only list one MC, so I need to know if the shorter one will work and if a standard rebuild kit (with new piston) will fit it. Our LeMons rules only allow us $500 total, so I can't simply replace the MC with a new one. A rebuild kit is $6 vs. $40 for a new MC. Longer MC was on 260Z, shorter came from my parts stash and has no name cast in.