2ManyZs

And I'm stuck in Massachusetts for the weekend on the job:mad: Can't work on my car, play with my dog, all I can do is sit here and play on the computer while I'm bored to death. At least the dog can keep Mom company, but I doubt she'll be taking her out to dinner. BTW Dan, buying something for your wife from Victorias Secret is really more of a treat for you than her now isn't it?

Won't hurt anything to bypass the heater core at all. You could just run the hoses into one another or block them off completely. I plugged the hoses off on my IT car and ran it that way for years.

It could depending on the color of the smoke, if it's black smoke it could be running too rich which means too much fuel (carb problem?) or not enough air is getting into the mix. Seems like there is always more than one having the same problems, wonder why that is?

Well, that blows that idea out of the water. Probably not ignition then, so that leaves air and fuel problems, of course the valve springs are still suspect. Another idea is cam problems either the cam lobes are worn, maybe the timing chain has so much slack the cam is out of time, or the rockers are shot. Guess this will keep you busy for a while. I'd try air and fuel next. If you are running the stock mechanical fuel pump you could try changing it or maybe using an electric as a back-up. Another idea, probably an "off the wall" one but it will do the same things. How is the charging system and battery? If the alternator and/or battery is weak it might not be supplying the voltage necessary for the ignition. Just an idea, but one that is worth mentioning.

Have you checked your points, cap, rotor, plugs, plug wires and the distributor internals? I'd check there before worrying about the valve spring condition. It sounds to me more like a ignition breakdown. How about the coil? If you go through a complete tune-up of the ignition and it still does the same thing, then it would be a logical step to look at the valve springs. Another idea, what is the condition of the fuel filter? What about the air filter too? 10 degrees advance sounds right on to me.

Personally I like the idea of the translucent powder coat over chrome. Especially if you can find a color that closely matches the body color. The only drawback to powder coat is the fact you can't repair a scratch like you can with paint. I think the stuff that kmack is referring to is the old black out tape that used to be on the market to cover chrome trim (might still be on the market, just don't see it very often) that was nothing more than a tape applied over the chrome. You only have a few choices, leave it alone,replace it, re-plate it, paint it, powder coat it, or have it anodized. Painting and powder caoting would be the cheapest if you really don't like the looks of chrome. Some people like the looks of chrome and some people prefer the monochromatic look. IMO it might look good if you painted or powder coated the windshield and rear hatch window trim in black so that it doesn't stand out from the black gasket, and then powder coat the rest of the trim with a translucent color closely matching the body color. It would appear to be body color until the light hit it just right and then it would really stand out with the chrome reflecting through it.

I don't even remember a buzzer on my 75 unless someone else had already unhooked it. But the Seatbelt warning light on the console would light up, which took me about 20 minutes to get annoyed with and unhook it too.

Be sure to check the frame rails under the floor for any signs of rust while you are at it. You can replace them without replacing the entire floor pan if necessary. If you can cover the holes in the floor pan with your hand, I agree with the previous posts, just make up some patch panels and weld them in. If you have a lot of them or the rust has gotten into the frame rails then it would be time to go with new floor pans.

I agree, I have used nothing but genuine Nissan parts or parts from MSA since the mid 80's. Of course, a lot of parts you get from MSA are Nissan parts in the first place. The only way I would buy anything from VB is if no one else has it. Too bad a buddy of mine who was a parts manager at a Nissan dealer decided he wanted to try his hand at self-employment.

Probably the biggest issue with a Z car electrically was the fuses getting hot and melting the fuse block. Most if not all Z's have had this happen at one time or another. Most of the time it was caused by a little corrosion either on the fuse holder or in the wiring somewhere, but once the damage is done it doesn't matter. Some cars I have seen actually set the plastic on fire. You should be able to find plenty of threads and posts discussing this on the site. It's happened to everyone sooner or later. Other than that, the Z is no more prone to electrical problems than any other 25+ year old car.

Well Mike, it's like this. I had a street bike for years, and the longer I rode the faster I rode. Last street bike I had was a brand new 1884 Honda Interceptor 500 (while ago huh?) and the more I rode that little crotch rocket the more times I had to do "evasive" manuevers around little old ladies, animals (ever hit a groundhog at 70mph?) and all did all sorts of crazy stuff. Yup, they are addictive, but today they are just a little too dangerous for me, I felt a hell of a lot safer on the race track in my 280. I traded the Interceptor for a dirt bike in 86, had that for a year, longer I had it, faster I rode it until the darn trees and big rocks started "jumping' out in front of me. Needless to say I don't own a bike anymore. Bikes today would be just too much temptation to ride like I used to. Part of getting older I guess, the "self preservation" mode kicked in a few years ago. I don't feel safe on the highways today in a 40 ton tractor trailer with all the traffic, people on cell-phones, and the like. But if I still lived up north where I could ride a snowmobile, I'd have to have the fastest one on the market!!

Guess you might as well go ahead and pull the distributor and fix it, it should have had a 10mm hex head bolt in it. So somewhere along the line someone has messed with it. You'll probably end up needing to fix it sooner or later, might as well do it now while you are thinking about it.

Hmm, guess it depends on how far down you are trying to tuck yer head. You know the old saying "place your head between your legs and kiss yer butt goodbye". Wonder if you'd have time to do that at 150.:eek:

Find a 10 mm wrench first, then look under the distributor body. You should see two bolts, one on the valve cover side and one on the back side. Loosen them both a little and turn the distributor. You should have a silver plate under the bolts with a small scale on a tab that sticks out a little further than the rest of the plate. One bolt is the pivot bolt, the other is on the adjustment groove in the plate. Sometimes they are a little hard to see under the plug wires but they should be fairly easy to get to if the distributor is in correctly.

I have them on my old IT car and I put a set on the 71, I love them. It just reduces the number of turns lock to lock and makes the steering a lot more responsive. Less movement of the steering wheel gives the same car response. If you like a quicker steering these are what you want. They are a factory part, through Nissan Competition I believe.

Now we know why you can't finish your Z, you just have too many vehicles to play with. You have to many other toys to keep you from the one that needs your attention the most. I'd have to vote against the last two on the list, too many nuts on the road today, a lot safer in number 1!

Nuttin wrong with mounting it on the bumper any way you want to, it's your car. I'm just wondering why the darn thing is so short, I can't remember what the later style looked like. Somewhere there has to be a pic of a 73 with the bumper guard mounted so you can get an idea of where it was mounted, or how close it was mounted to the edge of the bumper. Maybe someone else has a pic of a later 240 you can look at with the bumper guard mounted. Actually I think this short one may have been mounted to the backside of the bumper somehow. In your pic I think it is actually upside down. BTW, MSA only shows one part number for all Z's from 70-74 for the front so that raises another question. Where did this one come from and why is it different?

Well, wouldn't ya know the parts car has a rear bar on it. It's in better shape than the bumper for some odd reason and it doesn't have the front one. From what I can see it really is up to the person mounting the rear bar where it goes exactly. Mine is mounted as far back on the bumper as possible and the two rear holes are right at the edge of the bumper, make it kinda hard to get the holes drilled just right. What I would do is this, first set the rear one on the bumper and decide how far back you want it to sit in the rear. Then mark, center punch and drill the holes for the side mounts first. Make sure they are centered in the bumper top, and after you drill them out drop a bolt through the hole to hold it in place. Then trace the outline of the rear pedestal mount onto the top of the bumper in the rear. Take the overrider off and mark the center of the rear holes, center punch them, and drill them out. You will need to use the right size bolt with a hex head on these so you can tighten them from inside the bumper. Mine has a phillips head bolt, but you could use a hex head if you want. Then you will need to remove the whole bumper in order to get to the inside to tighten the mounting bolts, then mount it all back up. Hope that helps.....

Bad Dog, I have one of the front overriders that is the same as yours. I also have one that is ~31.5 inches overall, and ~27 3/4 between the mounting holes. The short one is brand new, still wrapped in the original plastic with mounting hardware and instructions (still in the original box too). The longer one is brand new but not in the bag, hence it has some minor surface rust. It also has the instructions and mounting hardware. I did a little cleaning on it with some polishing compound and it came out great. Not sure if I have a rear one or not, if I do it's probably rusted up, of a parts car somewhere in the past. Now as far as selling them........ not sure, but I might entertain offers...... last I checked the front ones were NLA from MSA.

Maker sure you have all the correct throttle linkage pieces for the round tops, other than that enjoy the improvement.

If you are going through the trouble to swap tanks by all means go ahead and change the vent hoses now while you can get to them. Even though they may look oK, when you go to take the tank out you may find they are hard and brittle. It's a lot easier to replace them now than it will be in the future, and it's a little insurance that you will have one problem erased and not have to worry about for years to come.

And I thought I had too many vehicles.

A couple other things to check would be the idle rpm setting and the ignition switch. If the idle is set a little too high this can cause the dieseling. If the ignition switch is going bad it won't cut off the current to the coil properly and this has caused more than one car to run after the switch was turned off. Seems like you have checked most everything, try separating your plug wires, they may be another part of the problem, they could be allowing current to cross over from one wire to the other.

I already put them in the links section Royce, but silly me, I put them under Racing. Couldn't remember where I put the link till I went looking for it.

I posted a link for Weber parts. Not sure where they are located. There are a couple more I saw in Grassroots Motorsports magazine but they didn't have a web site. It should be under the random links or search the links to find it.