2ManyZs

Well, I guess it could have been worse. It could have been Skyline being whispered about, in which case I would have another name for him.:eek:

Sounds like someone used ATF since the oil is red. If you put 20w I would try to get all the ATF out or just use ATF. It probably would be better to not mix them.

You might need to post a pic of the front one, I believe there were a couple different styles from the diffrent year cars. The only front one I can remember is the one that connects the bumper guards. I think I have two out in the garage somewhere and I think they are both different. The rear one should have the end mounts that go directly to the bumper, right? You should be able to find carriage bolts that will fit the mounts, but if possible you should try to find stainless or chromed ones to prevent them from rusting and being noticeable.

Now that you mention it, I haven't seen the Koni's advertised in a while. I think they only had 3 position adjustment where the Tokico's have 5 adjustment settings. About the only ones I see advertised anymore are the KYB gas, the Tokico gas, and the Tokico Illumina adjustables. Maybe someone else knows if there are any more on the market than that.

Regarding your question about the Toyos versus the Kumho's. I think Grassrootsd Motorsports did a comparison test no too long ago with the Toyos, Kumhos, and the Hoosiers. I like the looks of the new Kumho, seems like they would make a pretty decent rain tire if left full tread. And the price is a LOT less than the Hoosiers that only last a weekend or two.

I have the Ground Control set up under my old 280 IT car. It's great for a race car, but for a street car I would suggest not spending the money on the coil overs unless you plan on doing a lot of autocrosses or the like. It's a lot of money, it's a lot of work and it needs to be done properly for it to work. You will need to cut the strut housing and use shorter strut inserts so the choice of struts will be limited. Then you would need to decide on a spring rate so that the car would be give a decent ride. They could make suggestions for the spring rates and struts when or if you decide to order. If you do use the Ground Control system you will need to address the camber changes from shortening the housing, use strut spacers to get the roll center back where it belongs and then you will have the issue of what swaybars to use. The one advantage to the coil overs is the selection of spring rates available, one thing you can't di if you use the lowering springs where you have to take what they offer. I'd just use a good quality set of lowering springs ( Eibach progressive rates would be my choice) and adjustable struts and use the leftover money for something else. You will likely save over a thousand bucks if you don't go with the coil overs, there are a lot of things you can do to a Z to improve the performance with a extra grand in your pocket.

I've used the KYB gas struts years ago with good results. Of course back then there was no such thing as an adjustable on the market from Koni or anyone else. If you are on a budget they are fine, but if you have the money I think the adjustables would be well worth the money for the simple reason, you never know how the ride is affected when you change springs for lowering. If you have the adjustables you will be able to change them to improve your highway ride and then stiffen them if you decide to run an autocross for fun some weekend or do an open track day.

Sorry, but it sounds like the switch may be the problem. If you can, try one out of a parts car to be sure before you spend the big bucks on a new one. Sounds like the barrel assembly may be so loose it is not making contact inside.

Before you pull the wiper motor do a check on the wiper switch. They are prone to corrosion in the switch if left for a long period of time. My 71 has this problem with the headlight switch. If I left the car in the garage for a few months the lights wouldn't work until I had turned the switch off and on a few times. The wiper switch can and probably will do the same thing. If you have checked for current going to the switch and checked the fuse panel, check for current going out of the switch before going to the wiper motor. You might be able to spray some electrical contact cleaner into the switch and see if that helps.

Well, this may sound like a stupid question but it has happened before. Is the belt in the right groove on the crank pulley? Or it could be the pulley's aren't lined up properly. Only other thing I can think of is try a little belt dressing on it or try another type of belt. I prefer the belts with the grooved V instead of the full V belt. Could be the bearings in the alternator are giving up and letting the pulley "wobble". Perhaps if you have had the alternator bracket off recently the spacers weren't put back in the proper place. I'd try a little dressing first, if you can find it try the solid dressing, not the aerosol kind. It comes in a stick and you just rub it against the belt. If that doesn't help it's time to start looking for another cause.

No kits for a Z engine specifically that I know of. You could probably get something to work, but you would be limited somewhat in the fact that without major upgrades to the fuel system you would need to stay near the 100hp kits. 50-100hp kits should be available for a somewhat resonable price and shouldn't require too many modifications. Anything more than 100hp and you would need to supply more fuel and that means a larger fuel pump, possibly a seconday fuel injector etc. Not that an extra 100hp at the touch of a button wouldn't be a blast. There are kits up to 300+ hp but they probably would require internal as well as external modifications to the engine. One goof and it will go up in a very loud bang.

I used the R-4's on my 280 years ago and the biggest thing I found is they ate up rotors and didn't last very long. Not sure about the glue you are referring to, it could be it is some kind of heat barrier also. All the Z racers in my area went to the Carbotech pads quite a few years ago and quit using the Porterfield altogether. The Carbotechs are much better in the long run, they lasted longer, and they were much easier on the rotors. I think the Spirit of DC 24 hour team was one of the first to try them. They must work pretty good considering their record in the 24 hours of Nelsons Ledges. Just be sure to bed them in as the instructions say and you should get decent results. How much bleeding you do will depend on how hot you get the brakes. The unvented rotors don't dissipate the heat like a vented rotor and will boil the fluid easily. Be sure to get as much ducting to the rotor/caliper as possible. Anytime you finish a session with a mushy pedal, it's time to bleed again. The inability to upgrade the brakes according to the rules is one of the reasons Z's are becoming less popular in ITS. Of course you can upgrade them, but then it's into EP and a more expensive class.

If it isn't leaking at the joint, it may be a good idea to leave it as is. Since you have the rest of the exhaust welded you have no other place to allow for a little movement from expansion/contraction or the movement of the motor in the mounts. If you have everything solid in the exhaust you may stress the header mounting flange when the engine twist in the engine mounts. I'd leave it the way it is.

Had to rub it in didn't ya. Guess it's time to start looking at a trailer. Start my own Z car garage............. Car looks good no matter how much you paid for it.

More than likely it is blowby. First thing to do would be a compression and leakdown test to find out where the problem is. It could be in the valvetrain or rings or a little of both. Until then you could run the breather hose to a catch can until you get the problem diagnosed and/or fixed.

After all that you scored a 71 that looks like that??? Geez, some people have all the luck. Guess I'm going to have to buy one of those big 3 or 4 car trailers to put behind my pickup and start making some trips to the west coast so you guys don't have so many to choose from! Hmm, not a bad idea.........

Well, the price is fair. I wouldn't go much more than 200 for a used head since you have no way of knowing exactly what condition it is in. Z heads were susceptible to warping and cracking from overheating so you might ask if you can have a machine shop check the deck on the head for straightness before you pay for it. Sorry to say this but with the compression you described you may have more problems than a head. Sounds like the rings may be one thing you need to check over, when you have the head off be sure to check the cylinder walls carefully for any galling or scratches. You might want to borrow an inside micrometer if possible to check the bores while you have the head off. No sense in wasting the time putting a different head on with a new gasket set only to find the compression isn't much better.

There is a way to remove the muffler without ruining it, but it's kind of a pain to do unless you can find a shop that can do it for you. You'll need a cut off tool and an abrasive wheel, take the clamp off, and put three slits in the muffler inlet pipe from the clamp crimp to the outside edge. This will allow the pipe to expand and hopefully slip off even though it is crimped.Try not to get into the inner pipe, when you have three slits somewhat evenly spaced you should be able to work the muffler loose and turn it around. The slits shouldn't cause a leak unless they had to be cut too long. Best thing to do is to get a couple of the stainless steel band clamps to put it back together with, they will seal over the slits to prevent any leaks. I get mine from www.summitracing.com. They are $8.50 each, but IMO they are worth it, no leaks, no crimps, no rust.

I've got two or three of the A types out in the shop, let me take a look in the morning and I'll see if I can come up with an idea.

Maybe we missed something, is your shifter sitting high above the trans case with a nut on the bottom holding it into the shifter mount?? If it is you have a type A trans, if not you have a type B. From your earlier description I thought you may have had a type B. Type B transmissions had the shifter mounted on the case itself with the shift rails all being internal to the case. A type A transmission is going to have a lot more play in the shifter compared with the type B. It's just in the way it was designed. There should still be some bushings that could be replaced that may help. Just need to know for sure which trans you have. I am not sure by your VIN number but it seems to me you should have a B type. My car is a late 71 and yours is about 4,000 later so you should have a series 2 240 if I'm not mistaken. If it is a type B there are 3 bushings, one that goes into the shifter rail itself, and two that go into the shifter where the mounting pin goes thru. The type A transmissions are quite a bit different, I'd have to go look at mine to be sure I'm giving the right info.

I e-mailed the guy and asked him if he thought about the fact that scams such as his are illegal. Let's see if he has 'cojones" enough to reply or if he closes his page down.

What do you expect from a bunch of Z "car nuts"????:tapemouth

If the rust hasn't spread to the floor pans themselves and is only in the rails it you are looking at a relatively easy fix and not too costly. The hole in the front could be patched easily enough. Check under the battery, check the rocker panels with a magnet for signs of bondo, check the inner and outer rear fender lips for rust or repair and under the hatch above the taillight panel. Looks like it might be a good buy as long as the rust is confined to areas you have shown. Also check the front frame rails around the swaybar mount and look carefully at the inner front fenders around the strut tower bottoms and above the lower control arm from underneath. If you don't find too much more rust hiding somewhere it looks pretty good in the pic. Good luck.

What a load of bull----. Sounds like an internet scam if there ever was one. 50 bucks and I'll tell you what a sucker you are if you haven't figured it out already. I'm surprised he doesn't have one of those ads you see on TV at 3 am. Guess the internet is cheaper. You can tell he's full of it, an L engine will pull 7k rpm without any of his crap. He says he lowered the nose of his car 7 inches to knee level? Well, duh, that's where it is stock. Look at the pic, doesn't look modified to me. The only type of "atmospheric supercharging" that I know of is nothing more than a ram air induction system. Unless there is a nitrous bottle hidden in the spare tire well. This guy is full of you know what! Even if he can prove he's a mechanical engineer, I'd still want to make sure he isn't on some kind of medication for delusional schizophrenia.

Kinda what I was afraid of, once the old style clamps are tightened down they crimp the pipes so much you can't do anything with them. That's one reason I won't use them anymore now that they have the band clamps available in sizes for cars. They have had them on tractor trailer exhausts for years, don't know why they took so long to get them on cars. I think if the muffler is a offset inlet/center outlet that that is where they ran into alignment troubles. All the MSA turbo exhuasts I have used and seen all had the mufller mounted vertical so the outlet was low enough to exit. This brought the pipe down the tunnel away for the differential to keep it from banging against that.