240Z-Fan

Arne, I would love to have you test them for me, but I would hate to put you through so much work just to help me out. It wouldn't be right. However, I will be sure to let you know if I find another set. Currently waiting for Bilstein to call me back. I want know if Bilstein recommends rebuilding them and if they would have parts for them. I suspect the seals won't last given the age. But who knows. If need be, there are other reputable Bilstein rebuilders that probably can rebuild them. Now I need to choose springs. Something I can install on the car without modifying the strut housings. Any ideas? anyone? :-) Al

I can't believe it. I found a complete set of new, never installed Bilsteins still in their original boxes. 2 each P 30 061 2 each P 30 062 (In this case, all four have yellow cartridges. Not green like in post 1) I just received them today. They look fantastic. They even have the straps that hold the shafts in place. Can these insets be used with stiffer springs? If so, what is the practical limit for spring rates? Thanks all, Al

Excellent!

cozye: Good news on the Moog parts. gryt57: Those prices are just too good to pass up. I may have to go that route!

So Guys, I just priced out the balljoints from Courtesy Nissan, $119.62 each! Moog k9011 from RockAuto:$42.79 each. I really want OEM parts but I don't want to throw away money. Has anyone been unhappy with their Moog parts? Thanks, Al

I'll second Leonard's diagnosis. The wheel bearing failed. That would cause the camber problem, the loss of brakes, and the smoke. Get the car towed to a repair shop. Hopefully nothing more than new wheel bearings and maybe pads. (But be prepared for more). Al

I have recently joined the Bilstein religion. I bought a custom valved set for another car and quickly came to love them. This was also after reading the FarNorthRacing article as well. So I am now actively shopping for strut inserts and springs for the 240Z and would love, love, love to get a set of Bilsteins for it. John Coffey, put me on your list of potential customers if you find something that will work on a street Z. I need to buy the springs too... Thanks all for the great thread, Al

FWIW, I would be interested in both style wheels in silver. Al

Hi Dave, I am currently interested in 15x7's, zero offset, in both styles. Ideally they would be in the 12-13lb range, but selection for Z-cars is limited so I'll take what I can find. Definitely interested in 1 or 2 sets in the next few months. Please post weights when you have the data. Thanks, Al

I am quite excited by these new offerings. I would love to see wheel weights added to this list. (Please be light, please be light, please be light...) Al

I want to add this advice: Whatever you buy. Make sure you see it in person first. Don't rtrust the seller or the pictures. In most cases they avoid the rust spots. In rare circumstances you can get a Z expert to look at it for you, but you are taking a chance that it won't be what you had expected. I shopped for cars in CA in 1999 expecting to find the rust-free cars everyone talked about. I came home empty-handed as they were all rusty junk. The worst and most expensive was at a used car showcase. All were advertised as rust-free and ready for paint. None-were. Most would have looked great in carefully shot pictures. Then in 2002 I took a 2-week shopping-trip/vacation to Arizona and California exclusively to shop for Z's. Again I saw a lot of cars that were advertised as rust free. Eventually I found one in LA that was in incredible shape. It looked great but at 11k$ was twice my planned budget. So I went to see a car that was 5k but needed some work. After looking at it I realized that I would have to invest a lot more than $6k to make it look as good as the 11k car. I went back to the first car and bought it and shipped it home. Money so well spent. Al

Yes. It *might* buy you time and it is relatively cheap and easy. I was mostly addressing the fluids discussion that was going on in the same thread. But I agree, with a 165k clutch and a front seal leak, pulling the trans is inevitable. Also consider replacing the engine rear main seal while the trans is out. I agree that rebuilding your trans is the best solution. Finding a nice used one might be a good alternative. The problem is that most times you won't know if the trans is good or not until you install it. I am sure you can handle the job from everything I have heard you say, as long as you have access to good tools. Al

I want to suggest you try GM synchromesh rather than Redline MTL. I put Redline in a Miata and felt no benefit. I heard the same from others. Then I heard a plug for GM synchromesh so I tried it in my other Miata that was being a bit difficult to get into third on the track. Boy, talk about an improvement! You can now get Synchromesh from your local car parts place. It is more expensive but definitelty worth it to me. From my notes: Do not put a GL5 fluid in your trans (ie Castrol syntorq) the sulfer content may be too high and eat the brass synchros. (Anyone, feel free to correct this info) Al

Beware of the aftermarket center pipe. About 18 years ago I installed one in my 78 280Z and immediately experienced a loss in power. The issue was with the way the collector was made, it made a huge restriction. Every parts store I went to had the same exact design issue. Replacing it with a Genuine Nissan part fixed it completely. Al

It looks great sunroof free. Congratulations! Al

Regarding the coolant on the radiator: Best guesses: 1) The radiator cap is leaking - A radiator cap should be cheap to replace. Check the rubber and replace it if it looks dried and cracked. 2) The radiator is leaking at the water neck - If the radiator is in good shape (not rotten or plugged), the neck can be re-soldered by any competent radiator shop. If the radiator is in bad shape then just replace it. Check prices at Radiatorbarn.com. So far I have had very good luck with them.

Cool trick E! Al

It sounds to me like you are having a fuel delivery problem. Possibly as simple as a plugged fuel filter. BTDT on a GMC Sonoma truck.. Low fuel flow will cause the dead feeling at higher throttle positions because it is too lean. Releasing the pedal brings the air flow back down to one that matches the fuel delivery. I am guessing that the gas tank is rusted and the rust has collected in the filter. When you start it up, the fuel flow drives the particles up against the paper, eventually plugging it tight. Then, when you shut it off, the particles fall back down to the bottom effectively unplugging it. So when you restart it, it runs better for a while until it re-plugs itself. This is just a guess. Try replacing your fuel filter. More importantly, cut open the old one and see what it looks like. If it is rust, you may need to have yours cleaned and sealed. One more thing, your fuel pump may have a screen in it. It may need to be cleaned out as well. Someone else can chime in on that... Al

In addition to my 73 Z, I have two Miatas. One is setup as a streetable track car to run HPDE's. It has a roll bar, 6 pt harnesses, FIA seats, and a very stiff suspension with Toyo RA1 tires As much as I would love to have a Datsun track car, the aftermarket parts availability strongly favors running a Miata. Plus, I won't feel as bad if I were to wreck it versus my my Z. I hope to get my 52k mile Z to the track just once this year. But only when I replace the front suspension components with all new pieces as I doubt much of it was replaced by the original owner. I am also contemplating a slightly stiffer spring setup. Yep those Miatas are annoying, but cheaper to fix or replace. Al

A slightly different opinion. Yes, it is bent. Yes, it would look better if it wasn't bent. But, I don't think you need to do anything about it. I think the bend is far enough forward that it isn't a problem from a chassis and handling perspective as all the suspension pickup points are behind the bend so they are not affected. If it is bent down, I doubt you can get any homemade setup to bend it back up. You would need someone with a frame rack to straighten frame. On the other hand, maybe you can see if the local vocational school would be willing to straighten it out for free in exchange for having the students work on it. Whatever you end up doing, enjoy the car. Al PS. I just reread your idea to straighten the rail. Technically what you are suggesting is correct. It could work. But I don't see how you would get a chain around the frame rail without making a hole in the fender. Even if you did, I would be concerned that the chain causes more damage from denting the top and that it wouldn't bend straight up.

I have the same question. I have the dealer added York AC in my 73. It is complete, but probably has a leak as it hasn't worked since shortly after I bought the car in 2002. I would love to get rid of the underhood clutter and regain the passenger footwell space, but I would also love to have AC. I think the others are right. If you can make it work, keep it. Later on, I may convert to a less obtrusive system.

Did the problem change at all when you installed new parts? Did you try rebleeding it? It is *possible* something in your 20 year old clutch failed. But I kind of doubt it. The friction face could delaminate, but it wouldn't take too long for it to completely fail after that. Another possibility is that the clutch disc hub is stuck or dragging on the transmission input shaft. If the disc is stuck on the shaft, it can't move away from the flywheel when you unclamp it. Was the shaft rusty when you installed the new clutch? It doesn't take much dirt, debris or rust to cause it to hang up. Greasing the shaft VERY lightly is good. But too much grease on the shaft will act as a dirt magnet too. Al

Maybe not for my Z. But.. I have been looking at wrapping my (non-Z) track car in vinyl. It needs a couple fenders replaced and some minor rust repair. Once the repairs are done, the panels will need to be painted. However, a roll of vinyl is much cheaper than paint. Also, if I damage a body panel at the track, I can bolt on a a new (or junk yard) part, wrap it, and have the car looking good in a day or two. Another advantage is that my track car has a lot of paint blemishes including peeling (factory) paint. A proper paint job would require stripping all the old paint. The vinyl would not. In the end, the vinyl is extremely appealing. I suspect the results will depend a lot on the quality of the vinyl purchased. Al

Hate you? Heck no. Most of us are jealous that you can choose your destination. I was just in SoCal for work last week and wished I was staying. Enjoy the freedom the rest of us wish we had. ;-) And keep us posted on where you end up. Al

Sarah, I have none of the answers:ermm:, but I have two suggestions. 1) IFF you can't find your answers here, try searching at HYBRIDZ.org. They are more likely to have experimiented with none OEM ignition systems. (Okay, I would think someone here has done this successfully but...) 2) Maybe you can borrow a working OEM ignition module from someone and install it in your car long enough to figure out what you need to make everything work with your MSD system. Keep it up. I'm interested to see what you find. Al