Arne

Weather forecasts for Sunday are very encouraging at this point, partly sunny and lower 70's.

Best part about that book is that even if you decide after reading it that you aren't up to the job, you'll know what to look for if/when you search for someone to do it for you.

The engine rebuild process is the same, doesn't matter what induction you bolt on when you're done. The book I linked covers L-series engines through '84, including all 280Z and ZX.

Don't try to find something online, go with the real thing. Buy this book: http://www.amazon.com/Rebuild-Your-Nissan-Datsun-Engine/dp/1931128030/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1244604165&sr=8-1

I don't drive mine daily, but regularly. Several times per week, generally. And I can echo the comments above. A solid, well-maintained Z will not need a lot of maintenance to keep it going, and what it will need is generally within the skill level of most backyard mechanics. That said, condition is everything. I used a '67 MGB as a daily driver for the better part of 6 years. Never any problems, and the maintenance it required was quite reasonable—a far cry from the MG horror stories we've all heard. The difference? I restored that car from the ground up myself. So I had no qualms about driving it anywhere, anytime. I knew every part on the car. My current Z is a somewhat different story. It was/is a fairly low mileage car that I have refreshed, but not totally restored. I bought it supposedly "ready-to-drive" with 59,500 miles on it. It still needed a fair bit of refreshing to get it to the point where I trusted it to be right. And that's something to consider—no matter how good the car you buy may be, it will likely still need a few things done to make it ready for daily service. You don't mention what part of the country you are in, but rust will be an issue in most cases. Watch especially for rust in the critical front frame rails and suspension mounts.

A resistor is recommended with the Pertronix for 1.5Ω coils, not needed with 3.0Ω coils. That said, I'm betting there are plenty of cars out there running Pertronix with 1.5Ω coils and the resistor bypassed.

Yup. As mentioned earlier, getting to the rest area from the South is much the same. Go past the first Canby exit, get off at the first exit after the Northbound rest area and flip around and back onto I-5 South to the Southbound rest area. My wife and I and another couple in a '77 280Z will be coming up from the Eugene area. May be meeting up with Mike in Albany as well. (At least that's the plan right now.)

I'd still be curious to know about the plugs, as I had a similar issue and the plugs were part of the answer.

As I recall the latest Pertronix instructions say to use a BR (or not) depending on the resistance of your coil. I can't remember which way is which now, and don't have my instructions here at work. I know that I am running my Pertronix sans BR, but I have a Pertronix coil of the proper resistance for that.

Just a WAG here, what plugs are you using, and how wide are they gapped?

That's what I thought. That is the later, double-sided key that fits all the locks on the car. It was used from 1/71 on. I have not been able to find a source for these.

I took a look at your profile to guess what you mean by "early" 240Z. Looks like you have a '72, which is not an "early" 240Z. I note this because I have seen repro key blanks from Singapore on eBay for the true "early" 240Zs - i.e. the '70 and early '71 cars, a.k.a. "Series 1". But I have not seen or heard of a source for correct original blanks for later '71 and up.

No, I'm betting the master cylinder has failed. This is actually fairly common - a master cylinder that works fine suddenly failing immediately after a bunch of brake service, especially a big fluid change. Blame it on corrosion and gunk inside the master cylinder bore. During normal use, the normal stroke of the piston doesn't reach the gunk, but when bleeding the system the master cylinder piston is pushed beyond its normal travel (pedal goes to the floor when the bleeder is opened), and the seals are damaged by the stuff in the bore. I suspect you'll need to replace the master.

I didn't do it that way exactly. What I did was a bit simpler, and required no cuts, splices or changes to the car's wiring or switches. I did have to sacrifice a pair of spare tail light harnesses, but not my originals. I can revert to stock easily, and with no after-effects. My way even allows you to do a semi-divorced brake and turn signal circuit that works with US all-red lights, but increases the rear visibility (IMO).

I merged the two threads into one. Don't need two on the same problem.

I'll see about writing it up and posting it in the Tech Articles section.

The '70-72 factory air box will perform better than Ramflo's unless you have air horns inside them. SUs need a smooth airflow for good metering performance. So if you don't have air horns in them, plan to get some or replace the original air box. If you stay with the Ramflo's, drill a hole in the rear plate of one of them and plumb the breather to that. Get rid of the mini-filter entirely. And again, make certain that the PCV valve is not clogged. If you are spewing that much out the breather you may have excessive crankcase pressure.

Needs to be plumbed into an air filter, like the factory did. Also, check to make certain your PCV valve isn't clogged.

There are several reasons you haven't gotten any help on this, Dustin. Part of it is that your posts are difficult to read, and therefore hard to get details out of. This is a technical forum, not Twitter or a txt msg. Posts with proper spelling, capitalization and punctuation are easier to read, and much easier to understand, which is important in this situation. Speaking of details, there aren't many there. You say a fuse keeps blowing, but we don't even know which one. There are at least 12-14 different fuses on a 240Z, maybe more on your 260Z. We need much more detail on the original problem and its symptoms. Lastly, electrical problems are a b*tch to diagnose by someone who can't touch and see the issue. Please don't be mad if we still can't help after you provide more detail. Do you have a service manual with a wiring diagram? Do you have any test lights, ohm meters, etc.? How much electrical experience do you have?

We should also remember that many (most?) Nissan accessories were simply US-made aftermarket parts that Nissan re-packaged. Often, the exact same part was available from other vendors without the Nissan packaging. So which is more "original"?

Shafts from '70 and '71 are shorter, as the diff was mounted farther forward. My spare '71 shaft measures about 28 1/2", maybe 28 3/4".

I figured that was what you meant, Jeffrey. But I wanted to clarify this for any people new to Zs that might read this. There are still a lot of people out there who think things like slot mags, side moldings and side stripes are "factory" since so many were dealer-installed when new. I've taken to referring to such parts as "vintage" or "period" to differentiate from true original parts.

It was not "original". No Z came with it from the factory. Often dealer installed prior to sale, but not "original".

Note that the JDM light harnesses will not plug into a US wiring harness. US harness has four (4) terminals, but a JDM needs (and has) five (5). Some mildly creative wiring is needed to use the JDM lights with JDM harnesses on a US car. Basically you need to run a separate brake light wire from the brake switch to the rear, and bypass where the brake circuit goes through the turn signal and hazard switches. Not too hard to do, I can provide details to those who want it. I've done it on my car (with some slight differences).

We should see if we can get Gary (beandip) to chime in. He has an L28 with P79 head and a mild cam and header, found the SMs were too rich for his setup. Can't remember what he ended up running, I think it was the needles for a '70, which were the richest of the stock 240Z needles.