2ManyZs

Well Daniel, St. Stephen has already explained it. It was a trick we used when racing, as the fluid got hot and the pedal started getting a bit soft, pulling on the e-brake would tighten the rear brakes and give you a stiffer pedal. Hard to heel and toe when the brake pedal was going almost all the way to the floor. Didn't really give you any better brakes, but it made you "think" you did....:cross-eye

You can get a new master cylinder for your 71 from MSA for a little under 200 bucks (142.95 US in their new catalog). The 70-71 master is different from the later ones in that the reservoirs are reversed. Should be a few other suppliers that can supply one, might possibly try Napa or one of the chain auto stores, might save a few bucks. Or if you are so inclined, you could buy the cheaper 72-on master and then reverse the lines, little more work that way but with a tubing bender and some care it's possible. For a couple other things to check, first verify you have no leaks. One of the main areas for leaks is in the rear wheel cylinders. The only good way to check them is to pull the rear drums, could be a pain to do, but it's the only sure way to check them. Second, check your pads and shoes to see if they might be worn to the point where they really ought to be replaced. One trick is to pull up on the emergency brake one click at a time and see if the brake pedal becomes "harder", if it does, it's time to replace shoes for sure, and possibly pads..... Third, if it hasn't been done in a while, you could try a proper bleeding, starting with the master cylinder, then moving to the wheel the furthest from the master cylinder and working your way to the left front as the last one (RR-LR-RF-LF). I would try all these things first, and then if it doesn't help, then change the master cylinder as it would be one of the only things left that could cause your problem.

Torque is 116-130ft/lbs. As stated, don't drive it until you get it fixed.

Double check that the plug wires are in the right order and the distributor is in time. Other than that, you could possibly try to advance the timing a bit to see if it will at least idle long enough to get a timing light on it. Remember the firing order on the distributor is counter clockwise.

If you drain the trans and find a lot of metal shavings, it might be an internal trans problem, perhaps the bands are shot. But if you only find burned fluid, it could possibly be just a torque converter problem. Either way, it sounds like you might have had plans on ditching the auto anyways.....

One way to find out something real quick is to pull the dipstick on the tranny, and if the fluid smells burned, you might possibly have a torque converter that is locked up. Or it could be in the trans itself, but it will at least point you in the right direction. Better yet would be to put the car up on stands, and pull the transmission pan, burned fluid and lots of metal shavings spells trouble.

Mine are used also. If you can't find any close to you, let one of us know and we'll try to send a pair. I think I have at least one or two sets, maybe more, so I should be able to come up with one decent set....

owenk, they are talking about the chrome rails above the door that fit over the rain gutter. Another place to look for them would be Andy Russell, at emailus@zcarsofarizona.com if you don't want to try used ones.

They should fit fine, the only difference that I know of is the detent.

Of course, there are some of us who have a couple extra sets..:stupid:

I wasn't sure if anyone had tried it yet. But since you have, I say go for it! Main thing I was concerned about was getting too close to the water jacket and causing a hot spot in the head and having the head ruined. I would have been out of my mind to advise someone to go cutting on a good head without knowing if it would even be possible. In this case, it would have been better to be on the side of caution. One good thing about having a bunch of old parts lying around is you can try some of these ideas without loosing a pile of money. Always wondered why I had so many old junk lying around, maybe I'm just too attached to all the clutter....:cross-eye

Well, that's what they say..... Truthfully, I doubt you will see the extra webbing between the cylinders as it will more than likely be in the block casting itself. Unless you take off the pan, and look inside, and find a difference in the casting around the cylinder bores.......Don't have one to compare to an L-24 block.

One of the main reasons I would go with the 280 head is the fact that you will need to mill the injector port into the 240 head or you won't be able to use the FI. Since I've never seen a cross section of the various heads, what I'm wondering is this. Is there enough material in the 240 heads to get the injector port milled without it getting too close to a water jacket in the head since the 240 heads were not designed to have the notch for the injector? Yes, the 280 heads do have a larger combustion chamber, but with the larger valves they will flow considerably better than the 240 heads, and with a little mill work (shaving) you can come pretty close to compression ratio that you would have with a 240 head. Then there is the alternative of shaving and using one of the 1mm or 2mm head gaskets to bump the compression a bit more. Unfortunately these head gaskets are a bit pricey..... There is one other alternative which I have thought about but have not seen or heard of anyone doing. Using the 240 head with one of the 4 barrel intakes, and using something like the Holley Pro-Jection fuel injection systems (yes, I know they are expensive). The Holley would offer so much more flexibility and capabilities as far as mixture settings. You can just bolt on new injectors, that this would be so much more adjustable than the factory FI system. Maybe one of these days I'll have the means to try one......Or if I had the money, I'd try one of the Haltec programmable set-ups or something similar..... All in all, it's up to you and your machinist, if they can do your 240 head up with the injector ports, go for it. BTW, I've had the parts in my garage, and never attempted it... call me chicken:ermm: :stupid:

Like everything except the whale tail, the fender flares really look nice the way they are integrated into the fenders and the rear valence.

If your carbs are in good shape, the mixture is correct, and they are well balanced, the next place to look would be the timing. It might be a bit too retarded and causing the backfiring. How long since you did a good thorough tune-up of all the engine systems, ignition and all?

Your not the only one that goes the "economically responsible" route:stupid: I use a lot of Simple Green, it one of the best all purpose cleaners I have found. You can dilute it and use it on seats and carpets to get out stains. Or you can use it full strength and de-grease an engine or transmission quite well. It works great through a pressure washer too....:cheeky:

According to Wick Humble's book the early grills were the same color as the rear taillight panel, the textured matt grey while the later grills came with a matt grey-black. What year did they change? Not sure to tell the truth. Most Z grills were painted matt black sometime in their life, or at least all the ones I have seen. I would say the 260's were probably the matt grey-black, but unfortunately I don't see where he describes the paint mix for the later grills.

A decent parts cleaner is a good investment, you can pick one up for about 100 bucks from Harbor Freight or Northern Tool. I bought a 20 gallon parts cleaner from Northern and use a cleaning solution that is biodegradable and is mixed with water in it and it works very well. Just don't let it freeeze! I did and it took the paint right off the tank of the parts cleaner. Now it's coated with POR-15! A blasting cabinet is also a good investment, you can clean not only steel parts, but with glass bead you can do a nice job on the aluminum parts and have them looking almost like new in no time. With these two and a few small hand tools with abrasive discs, you should be able to tackle most any job.

If you put the FI on a 240 head, for example an E-31 or E-88 you would have to have the head milled out for the injectors in the intake ports. The only question I have is why? The N-42 head is a good head, it already has the larger valves that you would possibly want in the earlier head, and it has the intake already notched for the injectors. With a slight shaving, the N-42 head will give you the same compression as the earlier heads. Of course there are other FI heads, I am just using the N-42 as an example. IMO, why spend the extra money when you already have the a head that will work just as well as an earlier head? Just bolt the complete head, intake system off the 280 on, and then all you would need to do is the wiring, which might create enough head-aches as it is.......:cross-eye

A Merlin V-12 in a Chevy? Yikes! I've seen them in pulling trucks but never on the street. Talk about a bit of overkill. Probably a bit cheaper than one of Ryan Falconers V-12's he built a while back which was basically a Chevy V-8 with 4 extra cylinders........ But what a waste for such a hard to find item.:disappoin

Ian, Too Intense has a set of the clear front signal lense up for auction right now, gonna cost a lot more than they used to, but if you want them, they are right there.......Bid opens at 165.50 ande there are no bids as yet... Here's the link to their auctions.. http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewSellersOtherItems&userid=intense04&completed=0&sort=0&since=-1&include=0&page=1&rows=25

Actually the original lights are a sealed beam. The bulb (reflector and lens) and filament are made as a unit, whereas the later style lights are made as two distinct units. The filament is made separately from the lens and reflector and can be changed with simply a twist of the plug and removing the bulb. The bulb itself is a sealed unit in that the filament is enclosed in its own glass enclosure, and that is filled with gas to prevent the filament form burning up. A sealed beam is a sealed unit with a fialment that is made as part of the assembly and whole unit is filled with a gas to prevent the filament from burning out. That's why a stone chip in the lens will burn out the light, the gas escapes and the filament then burns itself out.

They really aren't that bad, but you need to do a couple things to make them better. Like ditching all the smog equipment if you can legally do it, and then blocking off the water to the intake and carbs. I had a 73 that ran fine with the flat tops after doing these things. The flat tops aren't as good as a set of the early round tops, but they would be better than the downdraft Webers IMO. Good luck....

Well, there are some of the euro lights still in the US, but they are not being sold at least for now. The last new set I saw was being offered for 300 each. As far as a set of new US spec taillights Too Intense has a set right now on Ebay, but the price is going to be fairly high. Check out their web-site and their auctions, they do have some hard to find parts available. Since they have become one of our latest advertisers on the site, take a look and if you buy something, let them know their advertising dollars are working for them by mentioning our site! Here is the link to Too Intense Restorations auction site on Ebay: http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewSellersOtherItems&userid=intense04&completed=0&sort=0&since=-1&include=0&page=1&rows=25