240Z-Fan

perhaps 225-50-16? Thanks Al

I am truly impressed. I see you have (had?) a butterscotch Z in the works. I love the before and after shots. The photography is excellent. I will try to duplicate some of those low angle shots. Really nice. Are the Panasports on the white Z originally from the green Z? What size tires are on them? Thanks, Al

Having shopped for Z-cars and Roadsters in Arizona and Southern California, I feel compelled to say that there are very few 'rust-free' cars. "Ready for paint" usually meant it needs paint... right after finishing the rust repair. There were many sellers claiming the car is rust-free. But a close inspection revealed that virtually all had significant amounts of rust. I really wonder about some seller's eyes or ethics. The one good example I found, I bought. And it wasn't for $2500 either. Yes, do shop in these states and other southern states. Just don't assume that all Z-cars are rust-free. Request pictures of all critical areas. Then have someone familiar with Z-Cars inspect it. In my opinion, it would take months to find a worthy car. Al PS. No offense intended to the quoted poster. I just feel obligated to comment on my experience.

Thanks Arne. Assuming no major hiccups, I am guessing this is a 2-3 hour job per axle. (I have a press, 250 ft-lb torque wrench, slide hammer) Does this sound right? I ask because I want to fix the car before Saturday. Al

I discovered my 73 Z needs new rear bearings. The local parts places don't seem to have a listing for the spindle nut. 1) Is the nut on the rear spindle the same as on the front? or 2) Is this something I can buy if I know the size and thread? or 3) does anyone have a Nissan Part number? I could order this from courtesy Nissan but I would like to have it sooner than later. Many thanks, Al

Reviving an old thread. I weight my 73 today. I was dissapointed with the following results Front 1346 lbs Rear 1193 lbs Total 2539 lbs (w/o driver) I thought a 73 should be closer to 2350 lbs. Or is it 2450? The car has dealer added AC. And maybe a full tank. It also has the dealer added bumper gaurds. I still don't understand why so heavy? Thoughts? Al

I will second the Radiatorbarn.com recommendation. I bought a radiator and a condensor from them for a Miata and was quite happy with them. Their customer service is excellent (based on others experiences). Al

Carl, I think the secret is the chopped windshield. Note the top of the windshield frame is missing. I like this solution. In my opinion, making the windshield look right is the second biggest challenge in making the transformation. (after making the rear quarters look right) Al

You are right Arne. I have found tape in several locations. I had 3 Z's prior to this one that had not lived a good life. Any evidence of the manufacturing process was detroyed with the use and abuse. It makes me smile knowing I can learn something about a car built some 34 years ago, just by taking the time to look underneath. Sorry, I digress. Al

I purchased my 73 240 Z from the original owners. The paint is original. One of the things that confused me when looking at the car for the first time was that the undercoating had overspray. But, the suspension braces and differential braces clearly did not have overspray. I called Classic Datsun to see if this made sense. The answer was something like this: 1) The car gets undercoated 2) Then it gets painted. 3) The the suspension is attached In looking at the underside of the car, it is clear that this is the only way it could end up the way it is. FWIW, my car has 48,000 miles. I have receipts and documentation back to day 1. It is not a 300 pt car but it is a very nice car. I have layed underneath the car and stared at it in awe of the originality. My conclusion is that the above process becomes 1) The car gets primered 2a) The holes for the body plugs get taped over 2b) The mounting locations for the suspension get taped over 3) The car gets undercoated 4) The car gets painted 5) The tape is pulled off 6a) Body plugs are installed 6b) Suspension gets attached 7) 34 years later I get to enjoy seeing evidence of the above Al

I had a 78 once. As I recall, I had to remove the plastic inner fender liner first, then there were three(?) screws (bolts?) that had to be removed to get the headlight out. I recall rust being an issue so be prepared to struggle a bit. Al

Darbji, If you had enough sense to trace a hydraulic line, and correctly identify the problem, you can probably fix it yourself. For reference, Rockauto.com is selling slave cylinders for $10-$18. The Lock: You could take the lock apart and see if it is fixable. Again for reference, Rockauto.com has a lock cylinder for $25. A more complete assembly is $90-$118. I would look at the original and see if the $25 fix is easy enough. In a Z I used to own, the previous owner gutted the cylinder. This means ANYTHING could be used to start it, including a screwdriver. But, the car was ugly and tired, so I had no concerns about it being stolen. :-] Valve stem seals appear to be $1. Anyway. I think it is great that you figured out how to drive the car without a clutch! Nicely done!!! :-) (I had to do the exact same thing once) Let us know how the repairs go. Al PS. I have never purchased anything from Rockauto. It is just a quick way to get a handle on prices.

Fabian, At this point, the timing might be way off. Who know where it was before the change. But changing the distributor almost certainly is adding to the problem if the timing wasn't verified. You can check timing with a timing light while the engine is cranking. Do that first. If that doesn't solve the problem, it is also possible that the rubber damper in the crankshaft pulley failed and allowed the outer part of the pulley to slip. This will cause the timing marks to be off. Verify that Top Dead Center matches the timing marks by pulling the spark plug, and inserting a screwdriver in the hole so you can feel the piston reach TDC. IF the pulley slipped, you will need to replace it first before proceeding. Let us know what you find Al

I really hope Stephen is right, as the solution is easy and cheap. A 2nd possibility is that the clutch isn't fully releasing. If this is the problem then you more than likely have a bad clutch slave cylinder. It could be the clutch master cylinder too. These are still relatively cheap. Hope for slave cylinder of the two. The only issue with this diagnosis is that it should be easier to engage a gear with the engine off. A 3rd possibility is that the roll pin on the 1-2 shift fork sheared. The roll pin is cheap, the problem is that it requires removing the transmission and opening the case to replace it. As I said, I really hope Stephen is right. Let us know how it works. Al

Huh? I have people ask me why a bother with an old Japanese car when for the same money I could have a 69 Camaro. These kids are crazy about their cars. They are no different from us other than they exhibit poor judgement in racing their cars on the streets. -Al A fan of all cars, including 16 second Hondas.

The advantage to pressure bleeding is that it goes quickly and it helps force out stubborn air pockets and foreign material. As a one-man job I found I like to pressure bleed the system using the following method: 1) Remove as much old fluid from the MC reservoir as possible with whatever method you like. I.e. A turkey baster. 2) Ad fresh fluid 3) Make a small hole, 1/8-1/4", in something with a flat surface that covers the reservoir opening. I used a plastic cap from a windshield washer bottle even though the cap raised lettering (it is all I had handy). 4) Open the bleed screw on the caliper or wheel cylinder of interest (Use a short length of hose to rout the fluid to a bottle or pan). 5) Lay the item from three over the MC, apply 3-15 psi from a compressed air source to the hole in the cap via a rubber tipped nozzle. (if necessary, lay a couple thicknesses of paper towels across the opening to help seal, don't bother making holes, air will get through) 6) Stop when the fluid is low enough to need refill. Keep in mind it will gravity bleed until the bleeder is closed. 7) Close the bleeder. 8) Repeat for next wheel. It works beautifully, Al

I had one more thought to add: If you haven't already, open the bleed on the slave cylinder to confirm that the problem isn't elsewhere. I did a clutch swap on a 240z and found I couldn't engage the clutch when I was done. To make a long story short, cracking the bleeder open solved the problem. In hindsight, I think that should have told me the release port in the MC wasn't opening back up. Al

As Stephene said, it could be the temp sensor. If it has failed to "always open" or the connection is bad, the car would run rich. OTOH, if the sensor failed to always closed (a short), the car would not start very well. A flaky sensor could give you eratic behavior as you are seeing now. An ohm-meter across the terminal to ground would tell you what it is doing. Next time it dies, check the sensor with an ohm meter or unplug the connector and see if it restarts. My next guess is that the problem is in the ignition side. Check all the connections. In fact, I would take them all apart and clean them with a wire brush (or a very fine file). I have to wonder why the aftermarket ignition is there in the first place. Was there a problem that the previous owner was trying to fix? Or did the "upgrade" create the problem? Good luck, Al

My first thought is that the idle speed is too low. If it is idling at 400-500rpm it may not handle the extra load of the AC very well. I think the idle speed may need to be in the 650-850rpm range. Find out the correct idle speed and adjust accordingly. It should be on a sticker attached to the hood. Or make an educated guess and see if it solves the problem I recommend checking the timing too to be sure it is correct too. I can't remember if 280z's had something to bump up the idle when the AC is on; surely somebody else will know this answer. Anyway, this could be coming into play too if it isn't working right. Al

I don't know how a 76 compares to a 78 but, I had a 78 that wouldn't start. To make a long story short, the power to the FI system was inadvertently left disconnected when replacing the battery cables. This was some 12+ years ago but, I believe a pair of white wires goes from something near the relays in front of the battery to a 2nd lead at the positive battery terminal. I figured it out when I was tracing wires and was puzzled by the paired white wires going "somewhere" below the battery. Even if it is "connected", check to see if there is any corrosion at the battery terminal. Al

The problem boils down to interpretation by the reader. With BBS’, email, etc it is easy to misunderstand the writers intent. That is why we add smilies and the sort. As a writer, we try to be careful to write something that conveys what we mean. As reader, we need to be careful to not react to something that is not there and give the benefit of the doubt to the writer if possible. I also read the thread in question. Okay, someone could get offended if they choose to see it that way. (I didn't) But, why bother? Life is too short. Regarding the PM itself: My opinion is that I would rather have the person with the complaint come directly to me (PM or otherwise) than complain to the boss, my coworkers, or my friends. The irony here is that the PM did the complainer no favors. (My English teachers are rolling in their graves). It did not ask for a clarification, nor was it a polite request to change the language. It was knee-jerk response to an email which rubbed him/her the wrong way. Let's learn from this: 1) Learn to be careful about what others may read into your writings’. 2) Learn to question your reaction before assuming the worst from a post. Now let us get back to the Z-Car discussion. Al

The bad news: Courtesy Nissan called to tell me the thermostat housing is NLA. Well, sort-of. I could get one from Japan if I was willing to pay $400+ cost plus markup, shipping etc. Ouch! The good news: I got my housing back from the machine shop; It looks ok. I'll clean it up and use it, barring any surprises. For those of you that have spare engines: Hoard your parts if possible. I scrapped a rusted out car with the running L24 about 6 years ago because I had too much stuff. Sure wish I had the engine now as it also was a 73. Al

I am a fan of Daikin/Excedy clutches. I had one in my Z a long time ago, as well as some more recent non-zcars, and like the feel a lot. Do not get a LUK self-adjusting-clutch. They are hard to modulate and generally just don't feel right My 2 cents Al

I proved that a three-wheel stand is unstable, especially with a long engine that overhangs beyond the front caster. I had a L28 mounted on my stand. One day I had to move it in a hurray, the front wheel caught on a pebble, fell over and landed on the valve cover. It was ugly. I welded up a new front leg that had 2 wheels (an "I" vs a "T") and was as long as the engine fully dressed. I sized the front portion to be as wide as possible but still fit between the legs of my hoist. It works great. The only problem with it was that the next engine I worked on was a Honda 4-cyl and I kept tripping over the front leg :stupid: Two more things: 1) As with many tools, take the rated capacity and divide by 2. You will be much happier with the resulting purchase. The engine stand I bought had a lot of flex when a Chevy V8 was hanging on it. 2) Beware of cheap casters. A friend had one that failed two casters with only an air-cooled VW motor hanging on it. Al

With all these differences between 72 and 73, what would it take to make a 73 engine compartment look like a 72. My 73 has been stripped of smog equipment and fitted with roundtops, but it looks it too, capped off fittings and the like. I want a clean under hood that looks right, even if it isn't exactly like a 72 (ie choke cable routing). Al (Sorry if I am hijacking the thread, if need be we can move this to a new thread)