2ManyZs

I believe the later driveshaft is little longer, perhaps they recommend using the later driveshaft so that the slip yoke is more fully engaged on the output shaft of the trans. I have both driveshafts and the difference is not easy to see, you almost have to measure them. I guess if the splines weren't fully engaged you could possibly end up with a little wobble and it would give the driveshaft a bit of a vibration. Of course if the stock driveshaft works the point would be moot, most people aren't going to thrash a street car enough to notice. I wish I had access to a junkyard that had more older model Z's. It would make for it easier to try different things to see how they work. I'd like to find a diff out of the later model 200sx turbo, as they have a limited slip and I believe about a 3.9 or 4.11 ratio. There weren't a lot of those cars on the street so finding one in a junkyard is not going to be easy. Of course if greenz is going to an R-200 the longer driveshaft would already have the right yoke to bolt right up to the driveshaft. Then all he would have to do is change the mustache bar and the lower suspension crossmember to clear the larger R-200.

I stand corrected. Everything I ever read said when swapping to the 5 speed you needed the driveshaft from the donor car, but if it works without it that's even better. Maybe I shouldn't believe everything I read until I try it, I hadn't done a 5 speed swap into a 240 yet, I have the 240 in pieces so it doesn't need the 5 speed yet. I guess now I will have an extra 280 driveshaft I don't really need.

On the passenger side of the block there is a Y in the transfer line going from the front of the engine to the heater. Take the line off the Y that runs from there around the back of the head (I think it has a clip that bolts on to one of the bellhousing bolts) and unhook it from the back of the intake. You can use a short piece of hose with a bolt in it and clamp it securely or you could put a straight piece of tubing in to do away with the Y. The water returns to the thermostat housing (near the bottom I think) with a very short piece of formed hose. Unhook it and you can use a pipe plug to plug it at the housing, be careful trying to get the hose nipple out, if it won't come out you could use the hose with a bolt in it there. You can plug the ends of the intake with pipe plugs after you get the hose nipples out. You might want to blow out any water out of the intake before you pug it off. If it lays in there long enough it could corrode. I would drain out as much of the block and radaitor before you start doing this as it may be a little messy. Take the bottom radiator hose off the pump to get as much out as you can. Refill the radiator and check for leaks. If this doesn't help the next place you could look is whether your fan clutch is working properly.

When you said they looked like rubber I got thrown off a little. Most everyone has the fiberglass "spook". I was thinking at one time someone sold a rubber one that just ran along the backside of the valence. It wasn't really a spoiler but more like about a 2 inch "L" shaped piece like what you see on a lot of cars today. Or maybe I'm thinking about something that came out for the later Z's.

Oops, I forgot the zx's. The trans from the 79-83zx will work, just don't get the T-5 trans, you will end up with a lot more work. The yoke should be easy enough to remove, you might check it before you take it off to see if it bolts up to the driveshaft. I don't think the 240 yokes and the 280 yoke are the same, the flange is a little different. All you will need is a socket to fit the pinion nut. If you get the 5 speed and the driveshaft to go with it you will need a yoke off an R-200 from the other car. Of course if you just wanted to put another 4 speed in you won't have to do this. You could look in the For Sale here on the site, you might be able to find another 4 speed to use until you get all the parts together to do a 5 speed swap. A 4 speed should be pretty easy to find, it's the 5 speeds that are a little harder to get since everyone wants to put them in their 240's.

Mike, I tried to e-mail you a picture of my ITS car but couldn't. I have a set of American Racing Type 23 14x7's on it. They are relatively cheap (you can get them most anywhere) and they look pretty good on a Z. Have you ever seen the Z Racing (yes, that is the brand name) wheels sold at Sears? They have one that looks quite a bit like the AR's I have, and the neat part is they have a big Z on the center cap. New they run 100 each or less. Just a thought. I believe you can get the Americans like mine from Summit Racing or any one who sells American Racing wheels. BTW they have zero offset, so you can fit 205/50's without rubbing.

Any four speed should work, the only difference is the shifter linkage. The B model transmission is a little better (stronger), the shifter linkage was changed in about 72 to the B model. One difference is the gear ratio between the 240 B model and the 280 B model. I'd have to look it up but I can give you the gear ratios if you like. The 5 speed would require a little work if you want to go with that. You would need the 280 driveshaft and you would have to change the yoke on the rear.

I see no reason why it wouldn't be a good choice, although I have not seen one done in a Z-car yet. I'm not sure why though. I would be interested in finding out if anyone has done it and what it takes to do the swap.

Sonic, If you have air bubbles in the fuel filter you may have a problem with your electric fuel pump, of course I'm assuming since yours is a 73 that you do have one. All the 73's were recalled to have one installed so yours should have one. Have someone check the output pressure on it with a fuel pressure gauge to start with. I don't remember exactly but I think it should be around 8 pounds. I don't have a service manual here for a 73 so I can't be sure, maybe someone else has one and they can post it for sure. You might also do a visual inspection of the fuel lines to see if the are crimped anywhere, the metal line under car may have been hit at one time or another. As far as the sputtering under load, is your timing set correctly and is your vacuum advance working right? These would be two of the places I would look first. Of course there are quite a few other things that could be causing it but if these don't help cure the problem then you can at least rule out two things, by then there should be quite a few more postings with more things to check.

Now that's a tough one, I haven't seen one of those in years. I remember seeing them on a couple cars a long time ago. If I remember they may have been a dealer installed piece. As far as where to look for one, try Motorsport and just for the heck of it try Impact parts. Impact has in the past found me things no one else had, they have kinda gotten away from the Datsun only business but they may know where to look. I have an old catalog of theirs here somewhere, I'll try to find it if you don't know how to get in touch with them. Other than that you may need a lot of luck finding one.

I had mine plugged off for as long as I owned my 73, the only thing was I had to run with the chokes on a little longer in cold weather. One of the "big" things now days is cold air intakes right? Well it makes sense not to heat the intake with warm or hot water, it just heats the air going to the engine too. Z cars were notoriously cold blooded and only got worse with the added smog equipment so this is one of the main reasons it is there. Try blocking it off and see what happens. It can't hurt, but it may help.

Well, this one is beyond me. It is a shame there is no one with the resources like Galen Govier has with Mopar, to have factory build notes and the like on Datsuns. This one would be the kind of thing that would make their life interesting. I hope someone like Carl Beck can figure this out, because I don't have a clue now. P.S. Yes, it's possible to have 2 many Z's. I built a two car garage for the two I had then bought two more cars, guess I'll have to add some more space to the garage.

In case of the worst, yes the tanks should interchange. I believe the tank will interchange with any Z up to a 280z but not the 77 or 78 models. Anything up to 76 should work. But since it only leaks when it is over half full it will probably be either a vent hose or filler hose. Be sure to check them all carefully, if you have to change one you may need to change the others as they all get hard and brittle. The worst thing that can happen is the long one that goes to the drivers side rear of tank will leak sometimes onto the exhaust or close to it, this happened to me as I filled up once, it is not something I want to have happen again.You can change all of the hose without dropping the tank out all the way, just loosed the straps and let it down as far as you can without taking the straps loose but be sure to have the tank as close to empty as possible, or use the drain and drain it completely.

Do you still have water running to the carbs? It is possible that while sitting still it is trying to vapor lock, sometimes the water control valve will keep water going to the carbs after the engine is up to temp and will overheat the intake. If you still have the crossover line hooked up to the intake try blocking it off and see what it does. If you put the early carbs on the original intake you probably still have it hooked up. I'd also check your fuel pump and filter while you are under the hood along with what everyone else has said.

In my case and evidently in his the switch contact were worn, the barrel of the switch gets worn out, and what happened is it wasn't cutting off the ignition currant. It was as if the key was still in the run position. When you are dealing with cars as old as these weird things are bound to happen, at least they are still simple enough for most anyone to fix, sometimes it just takes a little time to find the cause.

I used to get that too, that's one of the reasons I didn't marry her!! Also got it from my father when I started building an ITS car in the back yard in 89, but he sure did go to every race when I got through with drivers schools.

What they mean by the tool sorage being moved to the deck pockets is this, if you have carpet that is split for the deck, and you pick it up and find two doors in the deck. They are small cubby holes in what was empty space on the series 1 cars. There is one thing I didn't see in Carl's list, and that is the gas door being one that has a latch on the series 1's while the series 2's don't! Please be sure to check out your Vin numbers carefully, we may find the solution yet.

That HAD to hurt!!!!

Mike, if you want to look at girls I'd bet we could tell you about some web-sites ( yes, free ones). You could do like I did and by their calender, and when the year is over cut of the pictures you like the best and frame them. I got one of the calenders before the magazine changed hands, ( yeah, I lost my $20 subscription renewal too) and have a couple of the nicest Z's framed in my room. IMO let's let them stay the way they are, just keep them in business!! Not like that last one! We can worry about cheesecake later!

You know, I just re-read RandyC's posts and got to thinking maybe we are looking at this the wrong way. It is possible he has a series 1 that has a series 2 quarter that was put on by mistake. He has too many similarities to a series 1 for it to be the other way around. So, first thing is for you to confirm your Vin numbers. Check the one above the brake booster first, this will be the one that is darn near impossible to change. If I'm right it will not match the one on the door frame that says you have a 4/71 build date. It could be that the left rear was damaged and for whatever reason the wrong plate was put on the car after it was done. If all the vin#'s match we are back to square one again. Check the dash plate, the one on the right strut tower under the hood, the one on the firewall and see if they match the one on the door frame. The one on the door frame is the only one that gives the build date. As far as how to fix it if it is a series 1, ouch, that's going to take some work. As far as I know the complete rear quarters are not available any more unless someone knows where you can get a new one, if not it's time to go hunting the junkyards. By the way the tool boxes behind the seats aren't really boxes. They are a cover for the tools that mount to the bulkhead more or less, not a true box. When you said you don't have the tool compartments and lids in the floor that is what got me thinking we were looking at this the wrong way.

Well, he could try I suppose. But he doesn't know who he's up against, or how many of us will be watching!!!!!

Glad someone thought to do that, it never crossed my mind. Sadly someone probably got taken on it. I hope the seller gets what he deserves, and finds it difficult to pass off another fake! I guess that is one of the reasons I only look to see what is being offered on ebay, I don't think I am trusting enough to bid on something on the other side of the country without being able to look at it closely. Perhaps ebay should put a banner on their site that says Caveat Emptor!!!!

Well, all I can say is there must be a very intersesting story as to how your car could have ended up with 2 different quarter panels. If you ever find out how let us hear "the rest of the story"! I do know this, if it is in good shape it sounds like it is worth keeping quite a bit longer, it sure is a bit of a mystery. Yes, the tool storage boxes were behind the seats on the series 1 cars only, I have a series 2 (rusted out and only good for parts) that has them in the floor. I'm not sure of it's build date. If I had a digital camera I would post pictures of the ones in my series 1 which are in excellent shape. Santa didn't bring me the camera only a scanner so by the time I get the pictures developed someone else will have them posted. To Kmack, I have a friend here that has a series 1 with an 11/70 build date. His Vin is 1028 less than mine. So by that his was built in early November and mine came a couple weeks later. So between late November and January that's roughly 3,000 cars. It's ironic that he and I have been friends for 20 odd years and we both end up with series 1 cars with Vin's so close. If it weren't for him I probably never would have gotten interested in Z's. Plus the fact he and I raced together (with each others cars,long story). He bought his brand new and I got mine from my doctor here in town after he owned it for 6 years and put about 1500 miles on it.

For joe71, yours is a series 1. Motorsport also has the new vent grills for the hatch as well as the c-pillars emblems. About the only ones you may find difficult to find are the Datsun emblems for the lower front fenders and hatch as well as the 240z hatch emblem. Motorsport can get them but they were unavailable last time I talked to them, they may have them by now.

I just have to put in my two cents worth. I love the chassis and running gear, if only they would leave the body off! It draws so many similarities to so many other brands that Nissan is made to look like it has no design studio. Don't they have one in California? The home to probably thousands of REAL Z-CARS?? In my opinion this is going to be a huge disaster. They should have hired the team that designed the S2000, and let them have free reign on the design. Personally it offends me they use any reference to the Z car. This car has no resemblance whatsoever to a REAL Z-car!! If they had gone to a more retro look with the underpinnings this car has they would have had a winner. I will be waiting for one to get totalled so that I might try to get the chassis parts under a REAL Z then rub Nissans nose into what they could have, or should have built! By real Z I mean a body older than 78. Somewhere there must be one person designing most of the new cars today. They all look so much alike that it's hard to believe that more than one person would have such an abstract idea of what a car should look like. Must be some of those leftover party "favors" from the 70's and 80's are having their influence on another generation!!