2ManyZs

First thing I would chek would be how the electric fan is wired. It isn't stock and it could be wired whereby it is taking its power form somewhere it shouldn't. Since you say you have changed to the HEI it is possible that the fan could be drawing away from the ingition, any electronic ignition needs a consistent voltage to run properly. That's why a car with a weak alternator will run farther on a set of points than it will on electronic. Another possibility would be a faulty ICU in the HEI itself. It should be a small square under the plate in the distributor. It should have a couple wires running to it. Not sure exactly what it looks like in the HEI but they are all similar. When one side of the ICU burns out it will try to run off the other side of it and overheat, bringing about similar problems as the ones you described. Another possibility is an overheating coil, you didn't state as to whether or not this has been replaced or not. If not, try a different one just to make sure if you do not find any other problems. There still is the possibilty of vapor lock with the symptoms you described. So if you find no electrical problems this might be your next step. Try blocking off the water to the intake, (the line that comes around the back of the head) and see if this helps. It is a slight possibilty since you say the symptoms are dependant on engine temp. It could be a faulty water control valve.

If you want the cross bar between the front uprights under the dash where it is out of the way, you will probably need to have a cage custom built. I believe all the cage kits on the market will have the cross bar in front of the dash. This is because the kits have the front uprights mounting to the floor just ahead of the front corner of the door. I had an Autopower weld in cage kit in my 280. It fit very tight to the dash and the cross bar was against the dash. It wasn't really in the way, but it was possible to to hit your knee against it. I have heard that Kirk Racing Products sells a decent cage kit with the Nascar style door bars but have not seen one installed in a Z but I would imagine they will be the same as the Autopower with the cross bar behind the dash. If you get it close enough to the steering column and dash it really isn't too bad in front of the dash, mine was a 2 inch cage so if you put a 1 1/2 inch cage in you would gain a wee bit of clearance. It is possible to cut the corners out of the dash and run the top bar down the the floor so that the cross bar can be behind the dash. You'll have to remove the dash to do this so you can notch it out for clearance around the main upright. A custom built cage will cost you a bit more but it may be worth the money as you can fit it to the car and your preferences as it is built. As far as the other question, the front sway bar mounts usually break because of the rust that always forms inside the front frame rail. The front frame rails always rust out from the inside out, so until the sway bar mounts pull out or a hole develops you don't know how bad the frame rails are. Only way to make sure they don't pull out is to replace the frame rails so that you know their condition before doing any type of racing, autoX or road racing. Rear bars were added after 73, or possibly during the 73 model run.

The triples will bolt up and work fine on the 2.8, the only thing you may have to do is to re-jet the carbs. As far as the transmission goes, if it came from an L series engine it wil work, L-24's, l-26's and L-28's all have the same bolt patterns.

Well, since you quoted me I'll have to say one thing. The owner not only did a lot of mods under the hood that a lot of members might be curious about, he addressed the complete package. He didn't just try to build a killer motor, he also upgraded the suspension and the brakes. His engine choice wouldn't be my "cup of tea" personally, but I do respect him for building a "sleeper" that can handle and stop as well as go. While it may not be a 100% restored trailer queen type of car, it is not chopped up, not overly modified in its outward appearance, it is a decent car that will not attract a lot of attention. It's not "arrest me red" and it's not a car a thief would follow around all day trying to steal it either. So in reality it is the ultimate kind of "sleeper", it won't attract a lot of attention until the person behind the wheel decides he wants it.

Bob Akin raced in the glory days of IMSA. He spent most all his time behind the wheel of Porsches as stated in the article. If I remember right he drove 935's, 956's, and 962's against people like Bob Tullius, Hurley Haywood, Geoff Brabham in the Nissan GTP car, Bob Wolleck, Al Holbert, Brian Redman, and many other of the best drivers of the era. I believe his involvement with the Nissans started after his retirement from the professional ranks and only when he started his own vintage race car business.

Any year 280 block will work from 75-83. The better block is the F-54 from the later ZX's. It has siamiesed cylinders (more webbing between the cylinders) and is purported to be stronger than the earier L-28's. Any 2.8 is going to be an improvement over the 2.4 so the F-54 is not a mandatory block. As far as the 5 speed, it will go behind any of the L series engines so an L-28 isn't mandatory for that swap, but a displacement increase is always a good thing.

An N-42 head will fit on the L-24 with no problems, just bolt it on and swap over your intake and exhaust and go. Most of the N-42's were installed on the FI L-28's so it may have cutouts for the injectors. No worries, the intake covers them up and they will not be a problem. The N-42 is nearly the same as the E-88 head as far as compression ratio etc. but has one big advantage. It already has the larger valves. One problem with these heads was the bronze valve guides, they should be replaced with steel guides as the bronze tended to fall over time. Dropping a guide isn't much better than dropping a valve. So, check to see if it has steel guides already, and if not, install them and hardened valve seats while you are at it.

ah, but the question remains, can she "dance"?

Hmm, guess I was right about the "Wearevers" from Napa. I thought maybe I was the only one crazy (or cheap) enough to try them. They are hard as a rock, don't fade out any worse than anything else I tried, and for about 40 (?) a set they are a lot cheaper than the Nismo (over $100 a set) I tried. hmsports, nice idea for the rear brakes. Most of the people here just ran a hose up the tunnel to catch air for the rear brakes. BTW, wheel choice is another factor in brake cooling as well, the more open the design of the wheel, the better cooling you can get for the brakes. Just something else to consider when you are getting ready to buy wheels. But be careful, there have been wheels that were open but not strong enough for racing that got the owners into a lot of trouble too. See what everyone else is running before you make your final choices.

Sounds like the dimmer may be all or part of the problem to start with. If the contacts in the dimmer are that bad they may not be supplying the needed power to the dash lights. I'd change it first since it is easier to get to and see what works and what doesn't after that.

I'll have to put my vote towards the Classic Z car club or just Classic Z club.

I believe Carbotech does have a street oriented pad available. I can't seem to find the new GRM magazine I just got but they have an ad in there and I believe they offer a choice of pads for racing and street. As far as which drum dissipates heat better, the aluminum may have a slight advantage, but it would only be a slight one. You still have to contend with the heat build-up in the cast iron insert. Aluminum should transfer the heat better than cast, but being a two piece drum it will only help but just so much.

Well, as far as I know most of the Z-racers in my area went to the Carbotech pads many years ago and still use them. I believe they call them the Panther Plus pads now. You will need to duct as much air as possible to the rotors and calipers as you can. I'm not sure if they are having their rotors heat treated or not, but the Carbotechs seem to be the most rotor friendly. Rear shoes are a bit of a mystery, you could try and see if Carbotech does the rear shoes too or maybe they will take your cores and do them. I used el-cheapo rear shoes from Napa for the last few years I raced back in the early 90's. The Nismo shoes are expensive and they only lasted a weekend or two on my 280 if I was lucky. The "Wearevers" from Napa lasted the longest, and were less than half the price of the Nismo shoes. I know Porterfield used to take cores for shoes and put their linings on them. I used the Porterfield R-4's on my car for a couple seasons and they ate up rotors like mad. Hmsports may have a better shoe or pad since he is still racing in IT. I've been "retired" since 94, so things probably have changed a lot since then.

Well, MSA does have a smaller billet water pump pulley, I recently bought one. That is the first I have ever seen advertised for a Z. As far as the other pulleys go, I have not seen anyone who offers one for the alternator or smog pump:sick: yet.

I wouldn't give up on the Z just yet, it might only be one u-joint. There are 6 total on a Z, but even then you are only talking about 100 dollars or less to repair. It could also just be the mustache bar bushings are shot, or the front diff mount could be bad or even that the rear is loose on the mustache bar. Don't give up yet! Anything that is wrong with the car we can walk you through the repairs as it needs them, you just have to save what money you can to make the repairs as your budget allows. What makes your Dad think a Chevy Caprice is going to be any better than the Z? They break down too!

It's a lot of work to put the vented rotors on a 240, is it worth the effort? I don't know. I haven't done it and have not seen all that many cars that have had it done. I have seen pics of the Z-32 front rotors on a 240, I would imagin this would require quite a bit of machining in the hub, rotor hat area, and would therefore end up being rather expensive. For a street car the stock rotors should be plenty with the 4 piston calipers and a decent set of pads, you shouldn't have to worry about overheating them on the street or even in an autocross. Road racing is where the problems show themselves. I'd have to disagree with the Porterfield brake pads though, especially the R-4's, they will eat up a rotor before you run out of pad. A better one to use might be the Carbotech's, they are a lot more "rotor friendly". I used the Porterfields when I raced, by the time one set of pads needed to be replaced, I had to turn the rotor once and after one turning there wasn't enough left to turn a second time. This was starting with brand new rotors.

I believe the POR-15 adheres better to bare mtal than it does to old paint. It probably would be a good idea to have the bottom(at least) blasted with some sort of media. Sandblasting or plastic media would probably be the best. I wouldn't worry too much about the interior panels unless you have rust, a decent coat of paint would work just as well and probably save a little time and money. The inside of the doors might benefit from a coat on the bottom of the doors but it is going to be a messy job to get it done right. Whatever you do make sure you don't get the POR-15 on your skin as it will take a long time to get it off. Use rubber gloves and an old long sleeved shirt if you plan on brushing it on in the hard to reach areas. Using the POR-15 along the rocker panels and any seams on the uni-body would probably do wonders to keep your car form any more rust problems, if you notice there are a lot of seams that have gaps in them. The biggest problem area is where the drain for the front cowl dumps all the water on top of the front edge of the rocker panel behind the front fender. Make sure you seal this seam up, or water will continue to accumulate in the rocker panel. While I'm on the subject of the fron cowl, it may be a good idea to do this area too, take the windshield wiper motor out and put a coat of POR-15 in there. The area under there has a tendancy to rust and any holes in there will dump water into the interior.

No statistics on how many times someone said "Wake up Bubba, cuz he ain't never seen a wreck like we're fixin to have?" :eek:

It is possible to have the rear shoes radius to match the drum better. If you notice when you change shoes typically only 1/2 to 2/3 of the shoe has been in contact with the drum. Many of the IT racers had theirs radiused to use more of the shoe. But then you build up more heat, so there you go with that problem again and trying to cool them. Just put Z-32 dics all the way around and you won't have any more brake problems. :eek: That is if you want to spend that kind of money. The biggest shortfall of the rear shoes is that they are a single piston design. If they had put on a dual piston design, where the top and bottom of the shoe moved outwards to meet the drum there would not be as much problem with not having as much contact area between the shoe and drum versus the shoe area. In racing it was always a fine line between burning up shoes and pads and not using up rotors and drums like crazy. One set of pads might have great braking abilities and eat up a set of rotors in a weekend. Drums were the same way, you either overheated and cracked the drums or you had shoes that just burned up and disintegrated. Drums, rotors, pads and shoes were almost as expensive to keep up with as tires when I was racing. Todays shoes and pads are much better than they were 10 years ago.

The biggest advantage the ZX rear discs have over the stock drum brakes on a 240 is their ability to dissipate heat. The total brake swept area is actually smaller with the discs when compared to the drums, but the drums will not dissipate the heat. The biggest enemy of the drum brakes is heat, once they get hot they will not cool as efficiently as the discs. Comparing the early 280ZX brakes to the later vented discs and the ZX brakes are a big loser. The biggest problem with the 240's is that they don't even have a vented front disc. Once you get the solid rotor hot it keeps the heat for a long time, and transfers it to the pads and then to the caliper and fluid. The rear drums don't transfer the heat to the fluid like the front discs do, but the shoes and drums will disintegrate from the heat instead.

I don't know if it's the miracle cure or not, but I can say it is not flexible. It probably would not stay on a panel that flexes. Considering how expensive it is, dipping would be outragiously expensive. Not only that but it would end up getting into places that would make it extremely hard to remove it to put the car back together. Getting it out of all the threaded body mounts etc would be difficult at best if not nearly impossible. Painting over the top of POR-15 requires special steps and a primer to get the top coat to adhere to POR-15. I personally have decided not to use it on the chassis of my car for that reason only, I've already sanded the entire underside once and don't relish the thought of having to do it again. Not only that but POR-15 doesn't adhere to painted surfaces as well as it does to bare metal. Since my car still has paint on the underside I don't want to re-do the entire chassis and take it to bare metal. I plan on using it only in places where it is necessary.

First thing you need to do is establish whether or not it's an electrical problem or a mechanical one. It could be either. Using the screwdriver method I described, find out if the injectors are firing or not when you rev it up. If not, it may be a problem in the air flow meter(mounted on the plate in front of the throttle body), either in the wiring harness itself or the potentiometer inside the AFM. If they are working it could be the fuel pump is the problem and not supplying the correct fuel pressure to the rail to supply the injectors. Best bet would be to check each and every wiring connector and make sure they are clean and securely connected. Then check for a fuel problem, may be the fuel filter is stopped up or the pump itself is not working properly. If you don't have one already, you should get a factory service manual from MSA, they are a bit expensive but they are worth the money when working on the Fuel Injected cars, there are a lot of tests described in them that you can do to find the problem rather easily with just a couple basic tools.

Dave, you aren't the only one. I check their on-line classifieds at least once a week or so, just so I don't miss anything. The best thing about the mag is that they have something for everyone. Parts, build-ups, long term project cars, it covers every budget and fantasy.

Since I just sold my 75 I don't have anyway to check to see what if anything the white wires are connected to. I remember seeing them at the ECU but can't remember where they went to. I let the service manual go with the car so don't have that for reference either. Seems to me they weren't connected to anything but I may be wrong. If you are certain 4 injectors are firing and two aren't, then I would guess the problem is in the wiring harness or connectors to those two injectors. Be very careful when you take them off the injectors as they become very brittle with age and will fall apart in your hands. I would almost bet the plugs on the injectors are the problem. Replacement plugs are available, you can get them from MSA if you need them, along with the wire clips for the plug-ins. If you don't have a Motorsport Auto catalog I would suggest getting one, they can be a life-saver for small things such as this. You might be able to find replacement plugs at the local Nissan dealer, but they may not have them in stock and the price may be higher. To check the injectors you can use a long screwdriver as a "stethoscope", put the blade on the metal retaining ring around the injector and put your ear to the handle, you should hear the injector "clicking" as it opens and closes. No noise, you have found the problem injector, then it will be a matter of checking the wiring connections. Hope that helps a little....

Probably the best way to get rid of light surface rust is sandpaper and a little "elbow grease". In other words, sand it, scuff the surface, use a self-etching primer on the bare metal, use a primer sealer over it and re-paint the area. Use sandpaper, wire brush to remove any scaling, scotch brite pads or anything abrasive to remove all the loose paint and rust. Media blasting is another alternative for larger areas. Then be sure to coat it so it doesn't rust again. Chemical strippers have their uses, but not on spot repairs and certainly not for anyone who has no experience working with them. If not used properly they can do more harm to the metal you are working on (not to mention yourself) and make the situation even worse.