2ManyZs

Classic Datsun Motorsports has them for $375 for the complete panel kit. Colors are also available. They are in California, they were one of the shops Nissan chose to do the restorations of the Z store cars. Here is the link: www.classicdatsun.com/new/panels.html

Just thought of one other place to check. If you have done any repairs to dash lights or anything like that, you might want to double check the wiring harness plug on the back of the tach. It might be loose or possibly has some corrosion. If I remember correctly the plug is one of the hard plastic plugs without the positive type locks that some of them have. I'd explore all the wiring possibilities before yanking the tach out to replace it. Might also be a good thing to double check your connections at the ballast resistor if you still have it. I believe they are all on a common ground. Just another random thought.

Cheapest thing to do would be to change to a lower rear gear to get your RPM's up faster, therefore getting the boost up a bit quicker. Full boost doesn't appear until a certain RPM, so the faster you can wind it up to that RPM, the quicker you are on the boost. Or possibly since it is an automatic, you might be able to try a higher stall converter. Not sure if there would be any available though. Only other way to do anything is with a different style turbo or wastegate. . Not cheap.

Well, I believe it runs directly off the + side of the coil. It may have a loose connection or a bad ground. Or the tach is just plain worn out, have you tried a different one by chance? One other thing you might check is the contact at the ignition fuse in the box. Doubt it would be the trouble, but with an electrical problem it never hurts to check the least obvious places too. Never taken one apart so I'm no help there.

Actually there are two choices of Z 5 speeds. One is the earlier model 280 5 speed up to 78 and the 79 and later ZX 5 speed. See the post in the tech articles about the differences in the gear ratios. Personally I prefer the original style 5 speeds over the T-5. Much easier shifting and they will hold to almost any engine except for maybe a V-8. My choice would be a 79 or later ZX 5speed with either a 4.11 or maybe a 4.37 rear gear, with the overdrive they have you should be able to go to a slightly lower rear gear than the 280Z 5 speed and still retain drivability on the highwy for cruising. I would try to stay away from the Roadster box, too costly when you consider all the parts that must be changed.

Yes, one reservoir feeds the fronts and one feeds the rear brakes. There is no cross-over, they are two separate circuits after the master cylinder. The master cylinder does only use one piston to control them both however. You have a proportioning valve that controls the amount of front/rear brake bias, more pressure to the front brakes because they are the ones that do the majority of the braking. When you are bleeding the brakes you can see that there is no cross over, when you bleed the rear brakes you only draw fluid from one reservoir.

I do hope you are using a 10mm line wrench. If you can't break it loose with that, well, the heat won't hurt it a bit. Just don't get too carried away with the torch. :cross-eye They do get a lot of rust and corrosion on the bottom of the master cylinders so you aren't the only one who has had a stubborn one. But, if you are not using a line wrench , get one, they are well worth the little extra that they cost. If you don't know what a line wrench is it is basically a box end wrench with a slot in it to allow you to slip it over the line and then down onto the flare nut. They will allow you to put a lot more pressure on the fitting without worrying about rounding it off. Round it off and you'll be very :disappoin :stupid:

You may still have some trapped air in the system. Try this before you give up and buy an new master cylinder. Fill both reservoirs and bleed the master cylinder first. Bleed off nearly a full reservoir out of both reservoirs. Re-fill the reservoirs and then bleed the wheel cylinder furthest from the master, the right rear. Re-fill the reservoir and then bleed the left rear. Re-fill the reservoir and cap it off. Now do the right front the same way, then the left front. Be careful while you are bleeding that you never let the reservoir get too low as you will pick up air and have to start all over again. Always try to have at least a 1/4 inch of fluid for the bottom if possible, or never let the master reservoir go below half full. It is possible to pick up air even if there is a tiny bit of fluid in the reservoir while you are pumping the brakes. I was taught you should do the wheel cylinder furthest from the master in that the fluid has the farthest to travel. Once you are sure all the air is out of that line, you move to the next furthest. Try it one more time and see if that helps, if not, then the master cylinder may be to a point that replacement is the best alternative. Always double check the bleeders before moving to the next wheel that they are completely tight, or else you will draw in air into the system. Then you are back to square one again. :disappoin

It sold today for the 15K asking price. :tapemouth Better to spend 15K on this early 240 than to buy the 280 advertised for 20K, don't ya think??

Obviously it was someone with more dollars than sense (cents?)!!:stupid: :stupid: :stupid: :stupid: :stupid: :stupid:

Sounds like you may have a bit of air in the system yet. Try re-bleeding it again. After you bleed it have someone step on the clutch pedal and look under the car to see if you are getting full travel out of the slave cylinder. You may have gotten a bit of air into the master cylinder somehow so make sure you bleed it completely. I would use at least two reservoirs full of fluid to make sure you have bled it completely. If that doesn't help, it may be time for a new master or slave cylinder. The noise you were hearing may have been the throw out bearing against the pressure plate. It may not have been releasing as it should if there is air in the system. BTW, there have been times I have let the slave cylinder bleed by only opening the bleeder slightly and letting gravity to it for me.

Sorry, just couldn't resist that one, been around one too many cattle farms when I was a kid. :tapemouth I think the sound of the small block motors has more to do with the displacement, firing order and exhaust pulses. Take a smaller displacement small block and it doesn't have the same sound. It's just the size of the engine that they did right for once. :stupid:

Hmm, could it be in the barley or grain they are feeding them? :stupid: Hate that flatulence, don't you?

Driveshaft bolts shouldn't be a problem. 2-14mm wrenches are all you need. Spin the driveshaft around till one of the bolts is accessible (usually on the bottom when the yokes are angled), usually you can break them loose with an open end wrench but a box wrench will work much better. Once you see how the yokes angle away form each other as you turn the driveshaft you will see how it's done. You might want to spary a little WD-40 or something similar on them as they do tend to get rusted fast a lot of times, not only together but also to the flanges. You can't turn the nut on the inside more than a little at a time, so most of the time I turn the bolt itself on the backside, breaks the bolt loose while you take the nut off. They have a very coarse thread so once they are loose you will find they come off rather quickly.

It sounds as if you may have "soft' valve springs on the head you are using now. The way you describe the problem because you over-rev'd it might suggest your valve springs are well used up. Of course, if your vavlve timing is way off the way you describe you may have slapped a piston and bent the valve. I think the best thing to do is to take the head off and check it over thoroughly for any damage it may have received or if it needs any further attention. If you want to, you will need to make sure both valves are closed before you hook up air to the cylinder. You will probably need at least a portable air tank to give you a supply of air to hold the valve in place while you are working on the valve. One "old timers" way of doing it is to take a soft cotton rope and feed a long length of it into the cylinder, and then raise the piston to top dead center to hold the valve in place. I don't like this method myself, because of the risk of a piece of the rope being caught in the valve and being left in the cylinder when you fire it up. You will need a top end gasket kit or what parts people call a head gasket replacement set. It will have all the necessary gaskets to do the job, Head gasket, intake gasket, valve cover gasket, thermo housing gasket and the like. Next question is why is the valve timing off? You will need to correct this or all your repair work may be pointless. If you have a stetched chain ort a bad tensioner you may as well take off the front cover while you have the head off and replace the timingchain and tensioner at the same time and correct your valve timing issue.

Ok, let's see if I get this right. :cross-eye L-20 block is the 2 litre block that was offered in the Fairladys. PS-30 cars? Y-70 head was a head offered in New Zealand/Australia. According to info on the Datsun Garage web site they may have been a higher compression head than what we had here in the US at the time and possibly made to run leaded gas. Hmm, wonder where this came from originally? I think I'm correct on this, but I'll need corroboration on which model or models had the L-20 as original equipment. Perhaps we can get Alan to post from his research collection the differences in the heads used between the Japanese home market cars and the export cars that were sent to Aus/NZ and the UK. I'm curious as to how many different ones were used and if there were any that were exported to more than one market. We have a good idea of which ones were installed on US spec cars, just wondering aloud if there were a differetn set of heads for home market, US market and European market cars or did they consolidate them? We know this much. Between the L-24, L-26, and L-28 in the US there were 7 different heads used. E-31, E-88, N-42, N-47, P-79, P-90, P-90A There was also an E-30 on the L-20 Fairlady version as well. Aus/NZ had three types of heads used: Y-70, E-80, and the E-88. So how many other heads are there?

All depends on what kind of contest you are having doesn't it? Just a gear change would be enough to have the 280 out front if it's going to be a short run. Longer run would mean more HP AND gearing changes to optimize what you have. On a road course I would say it would be a near dead heat in stock form. One has more power and better brakes, one has less weight and perhaps better handling as a result of it. Of course one of the biggest factors is the loose nut behind the steering wheel.:cross-eye

Not sure if it is or not, I meant the early 240sx motor, I think they called it the KA24? Doesn't matter, don't have a Roadster....yet.....:stupid:

Thanks Rob, just had to do that didn't ya??:tapemouth I think that might be just a little too much. Been considering a one of the early 200sx motors though, a lot easier to find here in the US.

Just thinking that engine would look just about right in the engine bay of a 1600 Roadster. Hmmmmmmm. And I know where I could get the roadster....... So many choices...:tapemouth

Only two ratios were offered here in the US as far as I know. 3.36 and 3.54 were the only ones that were from the factory. The 75 280 was the first to use an R-200 unless the late 74 1/2 260 had one as well. Would need confirmation on that from someone who knows the late 260's better than I. Only reason I would balk at buying the Nismo LSD unit for a price approaching 750 would be that it might be possible to purchase a Quaiffe unit for nearly the same price. The prices on them have been falling as more and more of them are available. At one time they were over 1K each here in the US, last time I priced one they were nearing the 800 dollar mark. There has been a lot of debate on the pros and cons of the LSD versus the Quaiffe unit. I guess it boils down to what you can afford and find when you need one. Sounds to me like you are planning a V-8 swap. Probably the best source for information on V-8 swaps is www.hybridz.com if that is what you are planning.

Classic Datsun Motorsports has them also, for a lot less than these on Ebay. I think they were 170 bucks on their web-site.

At the price it is right now, it's a good deal. If it starts getting up near the 600+ range it would be a little harder to justify. Only good thing is this one is a brand new unit. If I had an R-200 sitting here that needed one I would be bidding against you. :tapemouth If you really want one I say go for it. Good luck.

There are LSD's available if you can find them. They are starting to be hard to find. Nissan competition may still have some. Another option will be a Quaiffe, they aren't much more expensive than the LSD's and are a geared diff like the Torson units. Last I knew the LSD's were in the 750 dollar range and the Quaiffe's were about 900.

Guycali, after looking at your pics I would say you are in pretty good shape. The cave-ins were probably caused by someone who didn't know how to jack up a Z properly or maybe putting it up on a lift with their eyes shut. If the rails are solid, no weak areas that you can find, I wouldn't worry about them. The only area you need to work on will be the seam across the front on the passengers side. The seam where the floor pan welds to the firewall is what is rusting out. You will probably need to get rid of all the loose rust flakes, and see how far the rust has progressed. If you can keep it in a small area, maybe a couple inches wide, I would suggest POR-15 on what is there and a small patch panel on one or possiby both sides. You could probably use a block of wood and hammer out the caved-in section of the floor pan on the drivers side form inside the car. All in all, it looks pretty good. Not perfect but far from what others have seen.:cross-eye If the floor pans have no rust on the inside I would just repair the one rusted out area and POR-15 them good inside and out.