Jeff G 78

Remove the spacer plate. It's a round disc about 4" in diameter. It's only used with the auto flex plate. BTW, don't forget to install a pilot bearing (bushing). As for the clutch and flywheel. You should be using everything as a matched set. If you are buying a new clutch kit, you have to match it to the flywheel (coupe/na or 2+2/turbo). If the flywheel holes are too far out for the pressure plate, then you have a 2+2/turbo flywheel and a coupe/na clutch. Be sure to also match the throwout bearing collar and the pressure plate. There are a bunch of different length collars and you MUST use the pressure plate that matches the collar you have. Do a search here for throwout collar and you will find a picture with each collar and it's length.

I probably missed it, but what tire size did you go with? I only see the 16x7 rims size and your old 14" tire size. Yours appear really tucked-in compared to my 225/50R16 Hankooks on zero offset 16x7 Panasports. Do you have any rubbing front or rear? Your rims and tires look great BTW. Nice choice!

When I replied about the wheels, I wasn't even thinking about your flares. Is the sheetmetal fender still intact behind them, or has any of it been cut out? If it has been removed, ignore what I said. If it's intact, what I said still applies. Sorry about the brain fart I had.

Depends on the tire size. Zero might work if the tires aren't too wide, but you might need to be a bit positive to clear the fender lips. I had terrible rubbing in the rear of my '78 with 225/50R16 on zero offset Panasports. I had to trim the fender lips to make them fit. Other people have had no trouble with similar sizes. The tire brand and model will make a big difference too. Some run taller or wider than others.

This is exactly what I did on my 260 crapcan racer. I cut 2 full coils front and rear. We did add much longer jounce bumpers as well which are in contact at curb height. They add quite a bit of additional rate. We started with 102 lbs/in and ended up with around 170 lbs/in. It has new poly FRONT TC bushings with old rubber rear TC bushings and everything else is old rubber. The car seems to ride better than my 280 on Tokicos.

They are M6x1.25. Any Z fastener with a 10mm head is an M6. The 12mm head fasteners are usually M8

Try either a motorcycle dealer or see if you have a Grainger in your area. Here in Detroit, we have several fastener houses where we can buy damn near anything. I can usually find what I need at Ace Hardware though. For Datsun fasteners though, I have a stash that stems from nearly 30 years of parting cars out. I have them all sorted by type and size in plastic cases. If all else fails, get them from McMaster-Carr. You can find them on the interwebs.

A stock mechanical pump works just fine with round tops.

The is no spring in a 260 tank, so I have no idea how it got there. Pull it and pitch it. Do you still run the flat top carbs? If not, you don't need the electric pump either.

Steve, I uploaded the photo so I could post it. Here is a pic of how low the seat is compared to the sliders.

It could help on many seats, but the Momo is completely down, so I doubt it would matter. Email me and I'll send you pics of my seat from the back so you can tell how it's designed.

I currently have a Sparco Evo seat in my 260 racecar, but I picked up a used Momo Acropolis seat to try to get it a bit lower. It is the lowest seat I've found, but I won't know for sure how it works until I get it mounted. Both seats are fixed back FIA seats and both are very comfy. I paid $150 for the Momo seat in like-new condition with sliders. The nice thing is that the seat bucket is in between the sliders, so the seat is as low as you can possibly get. When the seat is sitting on the ground with the sliders attached, the center of the seat bottom is only 1/8" off the floor. Here is a pic I found on the web of the same seat. I am 6'-1" and am very tall from the waist up, so if it works for me, you should be OK. My Sparco seat gives me room to the roof with my helmet, but I'm too high compared to the cage. I want to get completely below the halo bars which is not currently the case. Click on my facebook link in my sig and check out the photo section. You will see what I have for a cage. The Autopower bolt-in roll bar is better than nothing, but I'd feel much safer (on the track) with a cage and a 5-point harness. Even though it's only an open track car, bad things can and will happen.

Great info everybody. I might try to move the spring a few teeth and still keep the CTS mod to fine tune. If I don't like it, I will switch it back. I think that like Sarah, I would need a big AFM spring adjustment based on the amount of resistance I have added to the CTS circuit. BRAAP's write-up is great. I started reading it at midnight and was too tired to comprehend everything, but it all makes sense.

Same here FW, but supposedly, it's the "right" way of correcting the mixture. I have the plugs looking perfect right now and I get 25 mpg, so I hate to mess with it.

I added a potentiometer to mine a few years ago and it has run great ever since. I REALLY need to open the AFM and adjust the spring, but for now, tricking the water temp circuit has done the job.

Nice. Thanks for sharing Steve.

I'd like to add a step 37.5 Blue. Once the chain is wedged, stuff a clean rag around the chain so that nothing can drop down into the front cover. It's a big hole that attracts stray parts. If something drops down there, it's a big job to retrieve it. DAMHIK.

Your avatar freaks me out Blue.

That's awesome (as usual) Blue. Koalia, yours will be similar, but slightly different with carbs rather than FI like Blue's Z. The intake and exhaust don't have to come off to pull the head. If you are JUST doing the gasket and do not plan to have a machine shop measure the head, then you can leave the carbs and exhaust on the head as it saves a lot of time. If you know you are going to take it to a shop, go ahead and pull everything as Blue described.

Could something have fallen down in the intake and got wedged either in the cylinder or in a valve? Pull all of the plugs and shine a small flashlight into each cylinder looking for debris. As for the loose head bolts... YOU built the engine, right? YOU torqued them, right? The only way bolts are loose before an engine is ever started is if they were never properly tightened to begin with. It sounds like you need to return to square one and pull it all apart again.

I wasn't aware that Nissan ever made replacement inserts. Interesting.

R&R-ing the head is not a big deal, but you will need a few tools. I'm guessing you have the stock carbs and exhaust manifold which will keep it straight forward. The biggest worry getting the exhaust downpipe-to-manifold nuts off without breaking a stud. Soak the nuts and studs for several days in a good penetrating oil before removing them. Otherwise it really isn't hard. Cut a piece of wood to match the timing chain wedge tool shown in the FSM (download from http://xenons30.com). Drill a hole through the top of the wood block and tie a string to it for easy extraction. You will also need a 1/2" drive torque wrench that goes to 150 newton-meters and a 1/2" drive 10mm allen socket. Otherwise, you will need standard hand tools including a 1/2" drive socket set up to 19mm with extensions and a universal joint for the exhaust connection. With the right tools and some good luck with the exhaust, a novice can do the job in a weekend not counting a trip to an automotive machine shop to measure the head. A skilled Z mechanic can do a head gasket swap on a '72 240Z in 3-4 hours. If you choose to do it yourself, I will be more than happy to do a complete write-up for you.

They should be M6x1.25 bolts if nobody has tried to install the wrong fasteners and cross threaded them.

How much were they? I didn't see a price on the website.

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/raframecatalog.php has them for $11.71 each