Arne

Danny's web page is pretty lame, has no real info. I always e-mail or phone him. I'll ask him tomorrow what he has. N57 is preferred, P79 will work?

Well, I was told this engine was from a '72, but maybe it is a '73. It does have an E88 head, and valve reliefs in the pistons.I thought I might be able to have the bores honed and re-use the pistons, but when I start to remove the rust in one of the cylinders, I can feel some pitting. Now maybe I don't yet have all the rust removed and the "pitting" is really the cylinder wall. But at this point I'm planning on new pistons. Since I don't need anything real fancy, I'm looking at the set from Black Dragon (the vendor formerly known as VB) for $220 with pins and rings. They only have .030 over, which is more than I'll really need, but...

I've got a P79 in my car now that will be surplus in a few months, but that doesn't do you any good right now. How about getting one from someone like Danny's Datsuns or Bad Dog Parts? I'm going to be picking up a bunch of parts from Danny tomorrow, you want me to see what he has?

Hmm, I passed on an opportunity to buy something from Urgelis a while back, his answers to my questions about the product just didn't "feel" right to me. Add that feeling to the hidden feedback, and I went elsewhere. Sounds like it was the right decision.

I'm going to need a set of pistons for the L24 I'm rebuilding for my '71. The block will need to be bored to clean up rust pitting (the engine was sitting outdoors when I acquired it), but won't need much so I'm open to any reasonable overbore. Since this car will be a total street machine, I think sticking with cast pistons will be fine. Anyone have a favorite brand or vendor that they'd care to recommend? Obviously I'd like to spend as little as possible, but I want good quality. Oh, I noticed the current pistons have valve reliefs in the top. (P30 block, E88 head from a '72 240Z.) I suspect that replacements will need those as well, do they all come with them?

On the 240Z the headlights are wired backwards from what is considered normal. There is a common hot lead, and a separate ground wire for both high and low beams that goes to the dimmer switch. If your headlight is dim on both beams, the problem is likely in the power lead. If it is only dim on one beam or the other, suspect the dimmer switch.

You know, if my head needed that many shims, I think I'd be looking for a replacement head. Round port heads (assuming that is what you are using) aren't all that expensive.

I think what you are seeing is the "blue dot" jeweled lens insert that was popular in the old days. You have to drill a hole in the lens right in front of the bulb, then snap in the insert. Be aware that in many states these inserts may not be legal, but they are ignored when used on older cars which don't see much time on the street.

So it looks like the late '71 (Series II) cars started at 0.

Yeah, looks painted, or powder-coated maybe.

Speaking of, what's the best way to bring back the factory look, and keep it looking that way too. I want mine to look right, but don't want to have to spend a lot of time keeping it looking good over time. After all, my goal is to use my car as a driver. Maybe not every day, but most of them at least.

Definitely going to have to watch them again on the desktop that has real speakers, the iBook speakers don't cut it. But now I need details: Engine - size, compression, head casting, cam, fuel delivery? Exhaust - brand and type of header/manifold, tube size, type and brad of muffler(s)?

Anyone want to fill in the rest of us uneducated people on what it is/was?

Whoa, guys! What no one has mentioned is that those graphics are not in the public domain, but are the site owner's property. In other words, they are copyrighted. Before you go out reproducing them, you should get Mike's permission.

The workmanship looks awesome. Great to see that it was done correctly. I personally don't think I care for the look, but that's just me. It's your car and if you like it that's all that matters.

No choice quite fits for me. All stock is closest, but not quite. I want a reliable Z that looks and performs like a typical, lightly modded Z from the '70s.

Like I care? Not even. I learn lots from this type of give and take.

Did some poking around on eBay. The links below plus Stephen's post above added to my knowledge of my personal car now lead me to believe that: '69 through early '71 (Series I cars) started at 20. Late '71 (Series II) and '72 cars started at 0. (Edit - added info from posts #9 & #10 below.) '73 240s and all 260/280s started at 10. Added pictures to the thread, will try to remember to complete the collection later. Filename indicates the year.

My early '71 (10/70) also has the "start at 20" speedo. As several people have noted, the '72 and '73s seem to start at zero. So maybe the only ones that started at 10 were late '71s?

Agreed, and I may go to a little hotter cam at some point. But if I can use one of the existing cam/rocker arm sets that I already have, that saves cash for other needed things. My first goal is to get my car back on the road, then I can worry about making it faster.

If the chart linked above is correct, the stock L24 cam has more lift on the intake valve than any other stock cam. But the L26 cam has longer duration and more overlap. That said, it doesn't appear to me that there is a heck of a lot of difference between any of the stock cams.

No. I just saw them on craigslist this evening. The link to the posting is just above the picture.

Perfect, Jon! That's exactly the data I was looking for. Looks like the L26 cam was maybe even a touch hotter yet. But of the two I have the early cam would appear to be the better choice.

And if you just gotta have triples: Mikunis on craigslist in Oregon

I guess that's the nub of it, does anyone know what the timing differences (if any) are between the stock L24 cam (marked E30, as I recall) and one from an '83 NA 280ZX L28? I've got two good cams to choose from, the one in the E88 that I'm going to use, and one in a P79. Both cams are in good shape, and I have all the matching rocker arms for both. If I go with the L24 cam, I'll replace the spray bar, even though the one on the head looks OK.