2ManyZs

Unless this is something you "just have to have" I would advise you to find plenty of money and a darn good engine shop. This is not just a bolt in job. It is very involved with the machine work needed( and it needs to be done right) and the price of the engine will soon be in the thousands. A professionally built stroker (3.1) will cost in the neighborhood of $7,500. The author of the article in Sport Z did it for under $4,000. This was a "budget build-up", so as you can see it may be nice, but is it worth it to you?? A good remanufactured L-28 will cost you about $2,000 and will give you a significant increase in power over a stock L-24. Then you can modify the L-28 as your budget dictates and still save a lot of money over a 3.1 stroker. In my opinion this is the best option.

I don't know what the difference would be, I know the pan gasket fits all, and the front and rear crank seals are all the same. Guess we'll need a second opinion on this one, I don't think I've ever seen this question raised before.

As far as I know the oil pan for an L-24 will work, I don't think there is any difference in the pans since the gaskets are the same from 70-78. If you have to get a new one, well, I dunno. I guess you could try MSA and VB. They don't list them in their catalogs but they may be able to get one.

Well, it seems that I forgot to check and see when the auction ended cause it's gone already. There is another 70 in San Diego, item no# 1809532115 that hasn't got a bid on it yet. Probably because it looks like it is in pretty rough shape. Bidding starts at $650 and no one has placed a bid. It's vin is in the mid 1600's. P.s. Everytime I have posted the link it doesn't want to work for some reason so I usually just post the item number.

Peter, you could just try a new sending unit, they have a tendancy to get gummed up with sludge for one reason or another. It is fairly cheap, however it will never be as accurate as a mechanical gauge.

The only notches I can think of are on the pistons. Or do you mean the squirt holes on the cap?? Notches on the pistons all face the front of the block, the cap and rod numbers have to agree and in the same cylinder number and the squirt holes should all be on the same side. I believe the squirt holes should all be on the side opposite the oil filter. Hope that helps.

If it is fresh gas odor and not exhaust you need to check the hoses from the gas tank to the vapor tank mounted inside the passenger side rear panel behind the quarter window. They harden with time and crack open. It is the most likely source of the gas odor. They will need to be replaced, there have been numerous discussions on this here. Plus if you have a subscription to Sport Z magazine they covered it in the premier issue (winter 2000). I can't remember if that is still available to order a back issue.

Those of us in the US only wish we could have ordered a Z432-R no matter what wheels came on it.

I believe like most aluminum wheels yours probably had a clear coat paint applied to them, is it the paint that is going bad or is it gone altogether and the aluminum itself is corroding? I would advise against using a wire brush on them, it will only leave scratches on the surface. A much better alternative would be to have them blasted clean with glass bead or plastic blast media. It should clean the surface without pitting the aluminum. You could then use a clear coat paint to restore them or have them polished first, then put a clear coat on them. If you can find a shop that will bead blast them I believe you will save yourself a lot of work, doing them by hand would be a tedious job. You could try it by hand with an aluminum polish but this will only work if there is no clear coat on them at all. If you have access to a blasting cabinet it would be short work to clean up your wheels, I have one and it works quite well, but I think the glass bead is actually a bit too coarse for the job. Plastic media would probably be your best bet as it will not etch the surface like glass will if you aren't careful. If you can find a shop that will do it I doubt it would be too expensive and you could save a little money by doing the finish work yourself. Eastwoods has paints for wheels in different colors and they also sell the clear coat.

Gee, mine hasn't changed since I hit the big 5-0.

Personally I love the look of the spoiler and the fender flares. Not very often you see a convertible with flares to begin with and I think the spoiler looks great since you took the time and did a nice job of blending it in.

Since you are using the black POR-15 on the rest of the underside you could use it inside the fender wells to be sure that you won't have to worry about any rust. If you are not concerned with originality go with what you are using, unless the car is going to be black, in which case no one will notice it. Since there are a couple areas there that are prone to rusting the POR-15 would be a good idea. Many people prefer to paint the inner fenderwells black so that they are not as noticeable, making your wheel and tire combo stand out a little more. Or if you prefer you can paint it body color, it's all a matter of what you want, it's your car and you ultimately have the final decision on how you want it to look when you are finished.

I think the Libra wheel was made by American Racing. They brought the wheel back recently as the 200S. Some versions came with polished spokes and some had a rough cast spoke. If I'm not mistaken Nissan never offered a factory (optional)aluminum wheel on a Z-car till the 77 or 78 model year, a lot of early 240's now wear either these or the later 280zx wheels.

Probably the same way I remembered Brian, I looked at the old issues and saw I had 4. You get 4 for a year so then I checked the dates and realized they should have another one out. :eek: Sure enough, I was missing an issue. Got it now and a 2 year subscription.

I don't think Nissan had any other wheels for the early cars, the slots were about the only ones I know about. BTW, I still have my set that look just like the ones in the picture. They are 14x5.5 and were made by Western Wheel. They are an exact match to the wheels in the pic.

The Mikunis are a better choice for the street than the Webers, but like Bill said, on a totally stock engine they are a bit of overkill. If you have a later engine (smogger) with the lower compression you will possibly have problems setting the mixture correctly. If you have a pre-73 engine you would have a much better starting point. A slightly more radical cam, maybe one step up from stock and a header and free flowing exhaust would be a good idea if you don't have that already. Of course this is assuming your engine is in top-notch shape to start with. If it is getting a little tired I believe you will be creating a large headache for yourself trying to get the carbs adjusted. If you are planning on a lot of modifications to the engine and drivetrain these carbs should work right into your plans.

There is a 1970 240 on ebay right now for sale. The guy selling it has had one or two other Z's posted before and all these cars supposedly were given to charity????? I sure wish I was the lucky charity!! Seriously though the car doesn't look too bad, even though the seller doesn't seem to know a great deal about Z-cars. He says the 70 models were the only ones that had the vents in the hatch, but we all know better. Doesn't look like it would take too much investment to make a decent street car out of this one if all the parts are there. Check it out and you decide.

They are definately after market wheels. Western wheels had them (Hurricane i think they called them) and I think 2 or 3 other companies made a similar wheel. I had a set like them but they were only 14x5.5 inch. I might still have them, I can't remember if I sold them or not.

I agree with Royce, don't trust a used head if you don't have to. To many Z heads are floating around out there that are cracked or so warped that they are junk. For the best comparison on heads check out The Datsun Garage web page under the top 5 web-links. Lots of good info there. If you are taking off the head it would be wise to go ahead and change the timing chain at the same time. If the head needs that much work the chain and tensioner probably aren't in much better condition and you will only have to tear the engine apart once. If you haven't gotten one already get a Victoria British parts catalog (it's free), just go to their web-site and apply for one. Their prices are as good as Motosport Auto and they do have a few parts listed that MSA doesn't. They sell individual valves, valve stems, and hardened seats as well. And they have a decent price on the timing chain kit too.

In my opinion the only truly accurate oil pressure gauge is a mechanical one. I have had Z's that showed 0 at idle and some that showed almost pegged the gauge at idle. Not only is the gauge somewhat innacurate the sending unit is always suspect. Sorry, never trusted anything electrical(especially in a car that is now over 30 years old) so the only way to find out is to take a reading of the stock gauge and then check the oil pressure with a mechanical one and see how much difference there is. You can pick up a decent mechanical gauge at an auto parts store for 20 bucks or so and hook it up temporarily and go from there. Why take a chance on ruining an engine whe you could have saved it for 20 dollars?

mmagnus, let me go check all my parts drawers this weekend. I can't remember if I have a spare M/C for my 72 or not. If I don't have one I may take that one of your hands.

I agree with EScanlon, the only reason I said to use a block of wood is that the sponge blocks in Eastwoods kits are not really hard enough, however they do sell the rubber sanding blocks which I think are as good if not better than sponge. Of course the sandpaper in their kit will only work with their sponge so you would need to buy a sheet of paper seperately.

I'll admit I was wrong on this one. But I think I know why, I've been looking at mostly early cars (pre 73). I guess they decided to change the location after 72, since I'm quite sure they were all on the drivers side. XYZ, if your car has never been painted I'd have to say that the sun has faded it enough to make it look like the 918 orange. Personally, I have never seen a 110 red car up close, only in pictures. My 71 was 918 but I'm going to re-paint it in 110 red since I'm not a big fan of orange (out of 7 cars I have owned only two were not originally orange). I guess the 110 isn't as dark as I thought it was.

Ok, that's 2 that make me look like a fool. I've probably been under the hood or 40 or 50 Z-cars and these are the first two that I've seen with the paint code sticker not on the drivers side. Guess we need to find someone who has been under the hood of more than I have.

No problem, I wasn't too smart, I went out to the garage then checked all my manuals and parts books right here in front of me. Didn't have to go outside in the first place.:eek: