Pop's Z

Oh yes, I DO know...I am a moron! First one went in too far because I was being proactive and moving it slightly to deal with wear patterns, second one was installed crooked, third one replaced #2 same time...then still got it in too far. Fourth time's a charm I hope. Putting this down on here reminded me that it was actually replaced 4 times, not 3. So I'm an even bigger moron than I had at first thought. I had hoped that as I got older I would learn my life lessons the first time. Sigh. The PVC cap really did work well as a seal setter...lined it up perfectly...a few taps with a hammer got it right where it was supposed to have gone in the first place. Cheers, Mike

Replaced my rear main seal for the third time...hoping that the third time is the final time. It took me and a friend 6 hours. He has a lift so we just pulled the tranny. I used a 3" PVC cap (NIBCO 3" PVC #4817) I got at Home depot as a seal setter. It worked really well. So far no leaks, no drips, no errors. Fingers crossed. Cheers, Mike

Actually 215/60-15 is what matches the original tire/wheel O.D. 205 is slightly less, so the speedo will read slightly higher. Cheers, Mike

The one on my '73 is made out of 1/4" masonite. Hope this helps. Cheers, Mike

Brian passed away last night in his home in Auckland surrounded by his family. He was a good friend and mentor to some here. He was very knowledgeable about 240 Zeds and was very willing to share that knowledge and to help anyone who asked. We met on this site and when we traveled to New Zealand in 2011 he and his wife, Sheryl, welcomed us with open arms. I'll never forget the luncheon given to us by the New Zealand Z Car Club organized by Brian or the personal tour around Auckland. He was a gentle true spirit and I will miss him very much. He is finally pain-free. He had fought prostate cancer, heart problems and injuries from a construction accident which damaged his shoulders (in true Brian-like fashion he put power steering in his Zed so he could still drive it). Rest in Peace old friend. See you on the other side. Mike

FWIW, my old tired butt was unhappy with the original seats even after putting in new foam. I was at one of the MSA Z Car Nationals and saw a 240 with seats from a Z 32 300 ZX 90s era. I sat in the car and was amazed at how much more comfortable/supportive they were. The owner said it was a pretty simple swap using the seat rails from the 240. After i got home i found a pair of seats from a '90 ZX and installed them. I've been happy with them ever since. Because i have a '73 I wasn't too worried about originality. My old tired butt thanks me every time we go out. Cheers, Mike

I think the major change came in '75 with the advent of F.I. There were different pickup points inside the tank to avoid fuel starvation.. External dimensions were the same until the use of the compact spare in'76. Just being nit picky. Cheers, Mike

I have been smoking meats for years using an electric MECO water smoker. BUT, I have been converted to the Pit Barrel Cooker. Google it. It is a 30 gallon upright barrel, nicely finished, uses charcoal. I was totally amazed at the quality and taste of the St Louis-style ribs I made. They were incredibly good. A friend turned me on to this cooker and he has been using his for 6 years. he has smoked chicken, turkeys, ribs, brisket, pork shoulder, salmon, etc. I am very happy with my purchase of this unit. FWIW, it was invented by a veteran of Iraq who came home to eastern Colorado with a case of PTSD and did the work to help him deal with that. It must have worked because it has become a very successful business. Their website has some really good videos and their customers are really happy with the results including me. "Happy cooking" Cheers, Mike

He said it doesn't turn. I assume he means it doesn't have starter activation...the 4th thing needed. Could be a lot of things from jammed starter gears to bad starter to electricity not getting there etc etc. Cheers, Mike

Just being nit picky, but the cylinder head from an '83 turbo car would be a P 90 and would require much modification to work on a flat top piston setup...not enough compression ratio. The N 47 head is from an non-turbo. +1 on the putting a thermometer in the radiator. These old gauges are notoriously inaccurate, Cheers, Mike

Sad news from New Zealand. Brian has gone downhill and has been moved to palliative care. It won't be long now. I'm very sad. Mike

Hi all, Brian has been a member here and has been a part of a discussion lately. I have just had an email from his wife, Sheryl, and he is in hospital recovering from hip replacement surgery. His cancer pain there was so bad there was no other choice even with his wonkey heart. It will be touch and go for a while. I'm sure he would love to hear from his old pals here. schoubs@hotmail.com. Cheers, Mike

olzed aka Brian Schou has been battling cancer, and heart problems for a while now. He sold his zed to another member of the ZClub NZ. We traveled to NZ in 2011 and he and his wife Sheryl met us at the airport in Auckland. When we returned to the north island he and the zcnz put on a luncheon for us at the Villa Maria winery. A good time was had by all. Kiwis are good folks and they like Americans. Good food, great wine, good beers and spectacular scenery. If you haven't been you should make it a priority. Oh yeah, and the government will close down the roads so car clubs and groups can go like hell, too. Gotta love a country that will do that for the mad motor heads. By the way that is NOT a poodle it is a Bichon Friese. Don't let Sheryl hear that poodle stuff, she raises dog show champions. Cheers, Mike

Hey all. Be aware that 240ZNZ has been sidetracked by kids, catamarans, mountain biking, craft beers, etc, etc, etc. Plus living in New Zealand itself is a major distraction. Many lame excuses for why his "zed" is still in pieces. Oh, yeah, now it's winter again...just sayin.............. Cheers, Mike

Thanks, Phil. The ingenuity here always amazes me. Where there's a will, there's a way... Cheers, mike

Phil, you can't just leave us hanging! Tell us how you did it, please. I would love to be able to do that changeover with modern fuses. Pics, please. Cheers, Mike

Two words about bleeding brakes...Speed Bleeders. Makes the process less of a pita. Cheers, Mike

Hi Chad, Look at my signature. F 54 w/ N 42, stage 2 Delta cam, 10.5-1 compression. ZTherapy Hitachis. ZX distributor, 91 octane. No knocking at 5,000+ feet of altitude. P 79 and P 90 will require major modification to obtain high CR. They have to be shaved and the cam towers shimmed up to match among other things. N 42 is a bolt-on. Just clean it up, and have your machine shop replace the valve seats with steel (if stock they are bronze), do a valve job, and put in new valve guides and seals. You will be good to go and believe me the power is really good AND streetable. Good luck. Cheers, Mike

73STR86...a couple of points: First, there are a lot more 240Zs than you might think here along the front range, and there is a Denver based group called zroad which was formed to combine the 311 roadsters and the 240/260/280 Zs, also there is a Northern Colorado Z Car Club of which I am a member. Second, I had my Hitachis redone by ZTherapy shortly after I got my car in 2005. I explained to Steve that I lived at 5,000 feet and that a lot of my driving would be at a higher altitude than that. He put in 100 nozzles and N27 needles. FWIW I have driven over Independence Pass, Loveland Pass, Red Mountain Pass, Berthoud Pass, and Trailridge Road with no problems at all. I have since replaced the original 2.4 litre and put the carbs on a 280 F54 block with an N42 head (10-1 compression) and a stage 2 cam and a header. The car runs like a striped-arse ape. Plugs are NGK BP6ES. Distributor is a ZX w/ the 12-80 module. The only issue is a slight popping on deceleration which I can live with. No heat soak issues. Hope this helps. If you need more info PM me. Cheers, Mike

Well, I'm probably not the one to ask as I have boogered up the last two I did leading to a leaky rear main seal, and I'm going to have to do this again when the weather gets nicer. The way I heard it is to take the seal to Home Depot and find a piece of pvc pipe that is the same diameter. I'm going to cobble up something using the pipe and some fittings so I can tap it with a hammer. I've been told that you can get the seal in part way then use the hammer gently to seat it. I will be watching this thread for any good advice as I don't really want to get any better at pulling the engine/trans than I already am. The last time I had the help of a friend with a lift and just pulled the tranny, but this time I think I will pull the eng./tranny as I didn't really have enough room to get an accurate install of the RMS. Good luck. Cheers, Mike

Long story short...the two mustache bars are NOT interchangeable. R 200 diffy requires R 200 bar ('75-'78 cars with manual tranny). R 180 bars will not work with R 200 diify and vice versa. Put the Prothane bushings in the R 200 bar and call it good. Good luck. Cheers, Mike

Rich, if you need a complete heater assembly I have one I took out when I did my HVAC system. It's out of my '73 and it had about 70,000 actual miles of use...no leaks. Cheers, Mike

A granny knot is a square knot that isn't. Nice find. Enjoy the ride. Cheers, Mike

The picture of the car at a marina is very interesting to me as I had those same wheels when I bought my first Zed a '73 in 1974, blue with a cream/white interior. They are EMPI wheels originally designed for the four lug VWs. If I remember correctly they were 14X 6 and were two-piece. FWIW, I have seen that same picture in a British book about Zeds. It is "Essential Datsun Z 240z to 280 zx, The cars and their story 1969-1983" by Colin Shipway. There is a picture on p. 11 of a car just like my first one. Cheers, Mike

I have one out of my '73. PM me. Cheers, Mike