2ManyZs

That's the one! Remember, if the price gets too high, you can always get one at Sears that will work just as well.....

Nigel, The only reason I questioned the original induction system is that I have not seen the fusible links mounted on the inner fender like that except in FI cars. I know my 75 280 with FI and a/c had the same set-up as yours, just don't remember seeing the fusible links located there on even the late 260's here. I'm thinking that the car might have had FI and has been converted to carbs. In which case, they might not even be needed at all as I think they were for something in the FI system....... Have to do some more research on the microfiche since I no longer have my 75 service manual...

Great site Nigel! I especially liked the Today's date in History idea. After seeing the fireworks on the news tonight, doubt you guys will have to worry about crime for a while "down under", you should have a shortage of gunpowder for a while!:cheeky:

In fact, the more I think about your problem, I'm almost convinced it is all in the distributor. This would explain why you are having to set the timing at double what is normal to get the car to run right in the first place. And if it is the advance plate hanging up, it is possible that it came loose when it revved up and is now where it should be....I guess we should have thought about this one a little sooner:stupid:

Never had one "magically" cure itself, yet.... Now that this has happened I am wondering if the problem may rest solely in your distributor. It is possible the small bearings in the distributor plate and/or the plastic cage that holds them is bad and it is hanging up the advance plate and this is causing most if not all of your problem. I think if you do a search, you will find a post by EScanlon that describes the distributor cure. Easier still would be to take a look at this link for the distributor problem.. http://www.geocities.com/zgarage2001/probs.html

Sorry, the shroud for the 280 radiator is larger than the one for the 240. The 280 radiator is a couple inches taller and a bit wider than the 240 rad. The mounting holes on the 280 shroud will be nearly at the outside edge of the 240 radiator. You might be able to fab up some flat pieces of aluminum or steel scraps to mount it up, but then you will need to make sure you have it centered over the fan correctly. It won't be exactly "pretty" but it could be made to work if you can't find a 240 shroud, which are kinda hard to find.

Well, I can't remember the exact name of the two switches in the yellow box, but they are for the A/C system. The other two are your fusible links for the engine harness. They should have a cover over them though or did you remove it? Did this car have FI at one time and has been converted to carbs?

If you are using urethane bushings the outer sleeve is not really needed at all. In fact, the one time I did this, I was planning on leaving the sleeve in the mustache bar as it is a PITA to get it out. The urethane bushings I had would not fit inside the sleeve so out came the air chisel and after much cussing, the sleeve was out. One item you can do though, before you put the new bushing in is to spot weld the mustache bar end. It is merely rolled into a cylinder but it is not welded and it will have a bit of give to it. If you really try you can actually open the end of it to let out the outer sleeve. If you are planning on any racing with the car you ought to at least spot weld it in a couple spots to keep the bushing in place securely. If it is just a street car, it isn't necessary to weld the end, but you can if you want to to give yourself peace of mind. One other thing, be sure to lube the new bushing before you install it, lube it with a heavier type grease such as wheel bearing grease inside and out to prevent any squeeks in the future.

George, the Dremel might work best if you only use it in the little "nooks and crannies" where a larger wheel won't go. Yeah Daniel, I have seen your car, and if you post those pics everyone can see it too! :cross-eye It's a toss up as to whether or not to clear coat it, a lot would depend on the coating you use. Where Daniel uses a "wadding" polish to touch it up, with a coating it might only need soap and water. Guess it's up to what you really want and if you can find a coating that will take the heat and chemicals such as gas and oil without discoloring.....that's the reason I suggested the mag wheel clear coat, it should be a bit more resistant to the elements and to chemicals since it is designed to stand up againt the brake dust etc. Some clear coats will yellow over time (at least the cheap ones do) so it's a judgement call...... BTW, I used to use a product called Quator(sp?), which is a wadding with the polish such as the Mother's is, and it works fantastic although it takes a lot of "elbow grease" to remove. I used a little tacum powder or even regular flour on a rag and it came off a lot easier......

It is possible to weld up a new mount, you could just remove the rubber and replace it with a block of steel and weld the two sections together. As far as replacing the rubber, it would be difficult to get the kind of bond that the stock rubber to metal has.' You could also have one made from a block of aluminum, such as what the front diff mount available from Motorsport Auto is. I'm basically lazy, and used one of their solid diff mounts with good results on a car I used to race.

I would try a clear coating such as you find for polished aluminum wheels to keep them from tarnishing. You should be able to find them fairly easily, Eastwoods here in the US has a couple of products in aerosol cans for coating polished aluminum. If you go through all the work to get a great shine, you ought to try to protect it. Even heat and the atmosphere will dull the finish over time.

You won't realize much if any benefit by changing the cam to the L-24 version as the cams from the L-24, L-26 and L-28 were very similar. You might be better in the long run to go with a performance grind cam that will give you the low end power you are looking for. Perhaps part of your lack of acceleration is due to the automatic, your torque converter may be slipping, or your trans bands may be worn and slipping. I think I would explore the transmission possibilities before you go tearing into the engine as the stock cams were all designed for a wider torque range than most specialty cams would be. Actually, most of the L series are a bit weak in the lower rpm's, but that is due to the smaller displacement and the lower torque of the engine itself. Most all the cars seem kinda weak until you hit 2500 rpm's or so. But, like sjcurtis said, the rear end ratio, tire and wheel package and your induction/ignition system can make a huge difference as well..

I get the feeling he is partial to red and yellow Z cars....

So Jeremiah, what did Santa bring you? Wasn't like this one was it?

I'm not sure what you got for the 260 in your country, in the US we had two distinctly different models of 260's. If the 260 has thin bumpers and carbs like the 240's then yes they should be the same. If it has the larger bumpers like the 280's we had in the US then they are more than likely different. The us spec 74 1/2 model had longer and larger diameter strut housings that were continued into the 75-78 series. I believe all the 260 2+2's were the larger, longer struts as well. Best bet is to measure the outside diameter of the strut housing, if it is the same diameter as the 240 they should be the same.

Glad to see there still are some "Euro" tallights available Troy, but boy, am I glad I got mine when I did.....:cross-eye

ZMeFly now::cross-eye :cheeky: ZeMeFly after he sells the Z::stupid: :tapemouth :sick: :disappoin :stupid: Just had to bust on ya a little Jaymes......

The early model would hardly be worth the effort in a Z since you only gain 10hp or so to begin with, but the last generation would be a viable alternative. They had 210 or so (can't remember exactly) in non-turbo form. Hardest part with a swap like this is making the engine/trans mounts as I don't think I have ever seen any advertised at least in "kit form", and the electronics and wiring are going to be a major headache. I'd do it if I could find a cheap enough parts car..... I would try to find a complete car you could buy instead of buying the parts after they have been "taken" out, hard to tell if you have everything you need if someone has already stripped the car. Then you could just scrap the rest of the chassis after you cannibalize everything you need. You could probably modify some of the stock Z-32 mounts to make them work in your car... just a couple more ideas to think about.

For the price these are, they would be hard to justify the expense on a street only car, or even a part-time autocross car. Now for a full-blown GT class car, they would be hard to beat. You can't use them in ITS or EP so that's settles that idea, now maybe for a full out auto-X car, maybe. Lot of other things you could do with 1200+ dollars that will make your car a lot better than the competition. Course, 1200 only get's you the control arms, then you would need coil-overs, better brakes..... yadda,yadda,yadda.....:cross-eye

Check out this link, it explains the pluses and minuses of each of the heads. http://www.geocities.com/zgarage2001/heads.html My preference would be an E-31 with the larger 280 valves, but an E-88 with the 280 valves will work just about as well. The N-42 and P-90A would be the next choices as they already have the larger valves. It all boils down to what you can find for a decent price that doesn't require a lot of expensive machine work.

kmack, you need to clean your contacts.....:cross-eye

Me thinks Gavin may regret his offer when he starts getting packages of US spec taillights every day....:tapemouth :cross-eye

I still have one pic of the car. Not sure if he still has it or not. I can look up his number and e-mail and give it to you if you want it. I can Pm you with the details if you would like to get more info from the owner if he still has the car. The ad is no longer on the site, so it may be gone by now..... Here's a pic of the car before he got it. He bought it as a roller and that was the way he was selling it. No engine, trans, seat etc.....

You might also want to check the diff mounts out carefully while you are under the car and the suspension bushings as well. It could be the mustache bar bushings and front diff mount are shot and allowing the diff to move quite a bit which is transferring into the suspension and chassis. It could be a u-joint and with bad bushings in the mustache bar it is amplifying the problem, by transfering the shake to the diff....

I guess visionary means something totally different to those of us who are in no need of a "cranial-rectal inversion". She probably wasn't even born when the 240 came out, so what would she know about the past except for what she may have read? While I was reading her comments all I could envision was a "valley-girl"(like you see in those low-budget movies) suffering from "post-puberty stress disorder"! I read that article and got more than a few chuckles....... Perhaps if Nissan had designed it in Japan the car would have looked a lot better!