240znz

I had a case of the birthday blues "F~'K I'm THAT old...I guess I need a habit" type emotion set in.(every year actually but this year I did something about it). So I looked on www.ask.co.uk That serach engine has never let me down yet. So I put in 240Z and this site came up first.

I have no experiance with V8's but I agree that they sound sweet. However, there are only 2 things that will make me wind down my window. A late model TVR or a Ducati 748/916. The sound of the TVR Cerbera is devine. Cerbera 4.5 litre V8 gives a range topping 420 bhp and 380 ft.lbs. of torque. Getting to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds....Holly crap. The older Griffith 500 sound is equally digested. Check them out on www.tvr.co.uk I hope that TVR exports to the US or this is another car that you are missing out on. The sound extruded from the V twin Ducati's is also chart topping in my book.

Loads of info on this site about ratios...the only problem is trying to remember where it all is. There is a very good link to a gear ration site. If no one posts it this weekend, I'll get it to you on Monday when I'm back at work. It's really good in that you feed it what box, diff and wheel size you have and it produces a graph on revs vs mph for each gear. A must have tool for you. From memory...a 81-83 ZX 5 speed with a 3.9 rear will be great off the line without too much high highway revs. As Alan says, only one black line means nothing....if you see two then be on the watch out.

I got my righteous cap on now. I remember reading/hearing about changes to the New Zealand law when you change the engine capacity on a car. If you do it, you need to get it tested and certified by a government testing station. This is a good idea in my book. As a kid I saw tons of "hotted up" Holdens and Falcons in NZ...I even saw a Morris Minor with a 350 Chevy in it. Holly crap...just think what that does to the chassis of the car. So what the "law" is saying is: Yes you can change out the old engine for a new one, but if the displacement changes then bring it in and well check to see that if you drive it, you won't kill youself or more importantly anyone else. That is a good thing. Now I do not expect the average 2002 mechanic to be able to spot the difference between a L28 vs a L24. But a 350 in a 240 sticks out like dogs balls. Now when it comes to swapping out car halves, the same thing should apply. If it has not been done by "someone who knows what they are doing" you are in for a very real potential death trap. Get the thing looked over by a "approved" testing station if the law dictates it. If the law doesn't dictate, then use the brain your mother gave you and apply common sense. DOH! Just think how you would feel if you lost someone close due to a poorly repaired car...that you've done. Just hope that if you hurt any one clooe to me that the cops get to you first. Cap off now.

You reckon that's bad. London already has a huge car park called the M25. The south western portion has gantry's at about 1/2 mile distances. Each gantry has cameras that will (not yet though) take a picture of your number plate, a computer "reads" the plate and automatically updates the Police system that not only sends you a automated ticket but also lets you know that you have points on your license. The cameras are currently used to vary the speed of traffic during peak times. A speed display is shown to you have time to slow down...if you don't...yep... you've won a ticket. The government announced some time ago that it will tackle the increase in traffic on the roads by not building new roads but finding ways to get more traffic on the existing ones.....DOH....have you figured that out???? You can buy a map that shows you all the routes around the M25. These routes are now as slow as the M25...classic. In London they are trying introduce a "fee" for using London roads. The major is going to use existing static digital speed cameras to take a picture of your plate. You are then "forced" to pay a fee (the amount is still to be advised) either by calling a phone number and quoting your credit card or over the net. Oh yes they are thinking of giving you 24 hours to make the payment before no doubt sending you a ticket. Driving in London at peak times is a MAJOR PITA. They have to something about it and one of the pet hates of all motorised worldwide is watching tossers driving up the bus lanes at peak times only being forced to que back into the lane at the end....thus more delays. So what they put in cameras. The old type ran on film and they lasted all but 3 days. So now they have put in the new DSL linked cameras that will ALWAYS get you. Good I say. I hate waiting and queing. The Westminister Council (runs the area around Big Ben and surrounding CBD) currently issues about £3million in parking tickets A YEAR..... A metered packing space costs £1 per 20 minutes in places. A public privately run carpark will charg you £25 to park for 8 hours....OHFG. And what is the answer to all this.............anyone know??? You'd make a million if you knew how. Make 2 million if you could convince the bonehead Major that you were right. Sorry, that's my little moan for the morning.

Rumour has it that you can also paint the inside of the gauge white. This should reflect (right word?) more light that the black. Never tried this but might work...read it in a post once. Anybody tried this out there??

Well.....you'd be the first to do it so we would not be of much help. Can't think why you would want to though...that 350 donk would have more torque than the unibody was designed for. Some strenghtening/bracing would be needed. Just stick in a RB26DETT and whosh...more grunt than the new 350 engine for sure. It was been done...being done. The 350 engine will cost $$$. A RB26DETT would cost less. All in all, why not just stick to the L24? If you want more grunt, build up a L28 with triples, cam, header, EI and you WILL have a very very quick car...quick enough to kill many a Honda (if that's what you want to do). If you are hell bent on doing a engine swap then you may want to drop Cuong a PM (private message). Cuong is a Aussie who is in the final throws of putting a RB26DETT (now a single ball bearing Garret turbo) into a 240. He will tell you just how much your wallet will be empted...my guess is alot. But remember that you will also need to update a lot more things. A 5 speed is a must really in todays higher speed motorway travelling. All those rubber bushes are 30 years old and are most probably shot...get some new poly ones in there. If you want to put in a serious motor like a RB or 350 then you WILL need to upgrade those front brakes. The common thing to do is to put in some Toyota 4x4 calipers. Do a search on this website and you'll find plenty on it and some links to websites for set by set instructions. In fact there are step by step instructions for most things to do with the early Z's. If you get stumped...simply post a question here and the friendly folks will help where they can. So, all in all......the best advice I can offer is to get out a pen and paper and write down a wish list. Then put costs against each item...add that up and stand back open a beer and look again...YES...it will be a large number...so start saving. Soory to be a slight dream killer but it might pay to check it out first...unless you're like me and "MUST HAVE" syndrome:laugh:

I'm a New Zealander so I thought that 240znz would mean that I'm from NZ. Then I made a comment on a thread about "American" pronounced english......so you pronounce a "Z" as zee. So I'm just one of those bored people who loves taking the Michael out of some of our more "challenged" Septic Tanks....hence "Zed not Zee" (znz just happens to be the same).....hehehehehehe...we have similar citizens in NZ so you're are by no means alone. So I'm always joking about. That's why my signature says.........

34 years young.....you are as old as you feel or is that as old as the person you feel?? So 34 in years, 8 in age, body tells me 48 after a game of Rugby...brain says 2 after a game of golf.....@$*>}%:devious:

I'm glad I didn't take physics at uni...gezzz...my head hurts trying to figure this out...ouch:ermm:

The P90a has hydraulic lifters. They can suffer from bleed down but will make you engine quieter by a lot. Expensive to replace though but you can kiss goodbye to opening that valve cover again as no valve adjustment is required with this setup. Make sure you are running a turbo oil pump. The extra pressure is required to "pressurise" the lifters. If you don't like the idea of the P90a head...use your old head. Just be careful with the compression. If the motor is a turbo motor, then you will have dished pistons. That will equal low compression. You could shave the head but that brings more issues with clearance and valve train geometry. The non-turbo F54 block had flattop pistons. Yes you have opened a little can of worms here but the good news is that this site will help you put them all back...and in the right order. It's not that hard...really. A good link for you to use is http://geocities.com/zgarage2001/engine.html this site goes into detail on what you are looking at doing. The key to what you are doing is plan plan plan. Write it all down and then put costs against each part. Make a budget so you can forecast how much you will need and when. Good luck :classic:

The springs would appear to be OK then if you didn't have problems revving upto 7000 before. HMsports wrote in a thread a short time ago that he felt that the performance of the 6-2-1 header could be further improved by running twin pipes to the diff then 2-1 into a muffler and out. You may want to drop him a PM as I can't remember the exact details...but he is racing so it might just be your carbs as Alan suggests. Keep going and keep us all informed to the outcome.

You've probably already checked this but....how many miles has that engine gone? The valve springs might be had it.....old springs often cause the same fault.

Don't buy the car...by the land and build a house on it...what a view. Great colour isn't it. The clutch will most probably be a high performance tri blobby dowhacky. Hell I can't remember the correct name for it. Basically you get more performance out of a clutch with this design. Someone else will tell you why no doubt if you really need to know. The pedal would be a little harder to press I woudl think but I'm only guessing. It is quite obvious that with that engine in there...it would burn out a standard clutch in no time. What rear wheel HP has it got? Check to see if those 17's rub on the guards. It will be very close.

The Prokit lowers a Zed by about 1 inch. They are progressive in that the more you compress them..that harder they become. Therefore during normal driving they feel stock but when you corner hard they stiffen..thus that "on rails" feel. I'm for getting a set one day.

You've answered all your questions. This has nothing to do with how your engine is running. 2mz (again) is right that you should check your plugs for mixture control. Yes as the flows help air out you will need to richen the mix a tad to allow for more air in. Heat is causing the paint to lift, then it is oxidising, this the white colour.... As Ed says...Jet Hot coating will sort the problem..or take them off and try another paint. But be warned that eventually paint will lift and you'll get the same look back...jet hot or similar is the only way to go. Have fun.

Style 1 is more in keeping with the era. Better cooling characteristics as 2MZ's details, the split rim option is a bonus as long as parts are available. Style 2 is for drag cars...yuck. Just my 0.02 euro's.

What's with the two holes to the left of the "23" badge on the rear....fuel entry points?

quote: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kinda like saying hello or hitting on a disgustingly fat, ugly and toothless woman in a bar. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Oh yes.....now your cookin...I like to think of them as Mini owners:cheeky:

Well...that statement tells me that you are very similar to the driver you hate...cause he is thinking the same thing. If you must..challenge the car to a bout down at your local open track day...then give him what for....if you lose....well....you decide. Just be carefull that under that hairdryer bonnet just might be a monster turbo with a sqillion psi.....your ego might be in for a wake-up. I once had a Datsun 1200 coupe that I worked over. A 1400, with 5 speed, twins, cam, flows, lowered in rough way with 14" rims and sticky rubber. It was a screamer that used to surprise many a Holden and Ford...especially the Mazda RX boys. So be very careful when lining up with of these guys. I got laughed at...but boy o boy did it shift. Now I never lined up against a 240....because I wouldn't waste my time. In fact most people who appreciate a nice care will more than likely wind down the window and say "Gidday...nice motor". So I guess we were all like them once in some way or another. I just hate Mini's !

Here is a good link to see what the internal differences are. http://www.geocities.com/z_design_studio/ I would think that the later the year the better the design. As more power came from the 280ZX Turbo, the gearbox would be a bit stouter...don't you think? Might be wrong....any corrections welcome.

I don't hate Honda's. How could you hate any car (Mini's excluded) You see guys, we are all able to work on our old 70's cars because it is easy to do so. Just look at the S2000...yeah right...try working on that in your garage at home....I wouldn't know where to start as it has probably got more pipes and wires in there than in the Pacific Princess. The thing that I laugh about is the Honda boys going about lowering, farty sounding resonator, big bonnet scoop etc...these guys are just image boys...but they remain harmless. We all know that if you pulled up at the lights with one next to you, you'd look at them and say to yourself...what a waste of money. However, they just may look over and say what a old (but nice looking) POS. They rev up their hairdryers and attempt to disappear in a cloud of single front wheel spin....while we hcasually cruised forward knowing we have no need to crush his dreams. My good mate has a Toyota Celica that is puke. It is a jappo import with mags and that little SOAB that rings a little bell at 100KPM. It has more wax on it than paint...never been wet. He once put a ski rack on it...he's never been skiing. So we decided to give him grief about it. We gave him so much stick that he finally hacksawed them off, only to place some pink...yes pink pipe lagging with "Prorack" stamped all over it in an attempt to look like a windsurfer dude.....yes...he doesn't own a wind surfer and he can't swim......so the list goes on. The guy in my eyes is a diamond mate but when it comes to car tastes...wow light years of space between our preferences. The reason I hate Mini's is because I've owned one. Now, if you have owned a Mini and are reading this then, you know what a PITA they are to work on. Yes they look and handle sweet but mechanically they are dire. So don't hate any cars....it's just a form of expression that makes the world a less dull place....I just laugh...I have to...my current car is a Nissan Sunny:disappoin T minus 7 weeks to NZ...where my car awaits.......:classic:

Have you any experiance with triples? If not then you are in for a lot of time tuning and getting them setup just right. Your mileage will most probably drop and the reponse at low RPM will be worse. Saying that, the induction tone is delicious at you will probably get more poke at higher RPM's. It's the same ol' question I'm afraid. Is this car a DD or weekend fun car? Take a honest vote on how you drive the car. If it's hard all the time them triples and a cam are for you. If you want something that has great all round drivability...stick with FI. The cost of fixing the FI system will be far less vs triples (you need the manifold, filters, initial tuning). Just my 2 pence....corrections welcome.

I have to agree with 2ManyZ's. I'd check those valve springs, if they haven't been changed since new...now is a good time to recon that top end.

I've seen RADDAT and RATSUN in New Zealand.