Ksteve

OK, just a wild guess but I'll bet it was back in the 70s for the V8 conversion with the 350sbc. Who was the first company to use the chevy engine, SCARAB, JTR?

I would also double check the front connection on the TC rod. Perhaps they reattached it with only one bolt and miss-matched the holes?

Dan, I put the KYB-GR2 shocks on my 73 last year keeping my stock springs but cutting each of them down 1 1/2 coils. This worked well for a comfortable ride and maintained the same ride height as before (stock). I wanted it a little lower and firmer so I put on the Eibach springs several weeks ago and kept the KYBs. This combination works ok in most driving conditions but the shocks are a little light/loose for these springs. When riding on a bumpy road surface it tends to be a little bouncy like the shocks are not absorbing enough of the rebound. I am very happy with the Eibachs for the additional firmness and the lower ride height (>1") but I will want to switch to a firmer shock in the future, probably Tokiko HP due to the price and good reviews I have read here. Hope this helps. Steve

I just installed these Eibach springs on my 73 two weeks ago. I assumed the shorter ones went in front but when I finished and took it for a test drive the nose was in the air and the but was dragging. A couple hours (and curses) later is sat much better with the taller ones in front. The rear still sits almost an inch lower than the front but I am pleased with the overall ride height and feel. On a side note, I installed these with my existing KYB-GR2 strut inserts because I had just put them on last year but these shocks seem a little light for these springs. It handles fine in most driving conditions but on a bumpy road at speed they get a little bouncy. Doesn't bother me enough to change them yet but when I do I will probably go with Tokicos.

Austen, I just had a set of these put on my V6 Jetta the other day. Great tires for the price, very quiet ride and lots of stick. A very noticeable improvement over the cheap Big-O brand tires that were on it. I think I will get a set for my Z as well. Sears has them at a comparable price once you add on the shipping. Steve

Check out MadKaw's gallery, he has pictures of the notches on his L24 (nice looking engine Steve). My comp. ratio came out a little higher because the head had been shaved a couple times and I have a positive deck height, close to 1mm. Steve

Adam, In order to put an N42 head on the L24 block you need to cut notches into the rim of the cylinder bore on the block to give enough clearance to the larger valves. I did this on my 73 because I had a block with good compression and a good N42 head I found cheap. Using a compression calculator mine came out to a little over 9:1 factoring in some valve releif work and the notches in the block and using a 1mm Felpro gasket. If you search this forum under "block notch" or "eyebrow" there is at least one thread on it, and there are some pictures in the member galeries somewhere (I couldn't find them just now when I looked). This was just a means of getting the car on the road on a limited budget. In the future I do plan to put in an F54 block with flat top pistons. I think this would be a good high compression combo with the N42. Hope this helps. Steve

Randy, I wish it was my car, I just liked the styling. I beleive I found the picture in the gallery here somewhere. My 73 never had the electric pump installed so the T connector behind the radio was left open and taped back to the wiring harness. It seems like it even had a white tag on the wiring labeling it as "fuel". If your car had a dealer installed pump that has failed, I would check the wiring back at the tank to see if you get 12v with the ignition in the run position. If not maybe it is just a blown fuse? Good luck, Steve

MAX, I had this suspicion as well after looking at the 73 wiring diagram, but after wiring up my pump I found it wasn't so. The pump has continuous power when the ignition is in the run or start positions. I will be installing the oil presure cut off. The nice thing about the factory wiring is all you need to do is bridge the two spade terminals in the T shaped connector behind the radio with an inline fuse (3 amp or otherwise specified on pump) and then you will have power at the pump. The oil presure cut off can be incorporated into this same break in the wiring as long as the inline fuse is included in the circuit. Make sure you get a pump with 5psi presure or less. I made the mistake of getting one rated for 4-7psi thinking a couple extra pounds wouldnt hurt, but the extra presure overwhelmed the float bowl needle valves and they were flooding the carbs (round top SUs). Hope this helps. Steve

Bloxman, The vacuum advance does not come into use durring starting and idling so I don't think that is the main problem (though it is obviously bad if you can blow through it) I would first check to see if you are getting spark to the end of all your spark plug leads while cranking, if yes then double check the position of the dist. rotor when the crank and cam are at top dead center. It should be pointing almost strait forward (to the front of the car). If you are not getting any spark through the leads you may have a bad dist. module, a bad coil lead/connection, a bad coil, or just bad wiring/connections to the coil. I hope this helps out. As a side note, I found a remanufactured ZX dist. from my local parts store for $120. They said it comes with the vacuum advance but not the module. When it arrived it had both! Mabe I'm just lucky. Steve

Does anyone know if the tinted covers are legal in California? I have seen them listed in on ebay as well for around $40. I think they would look good with my 918 orange. Steve

Zack, You've probably already noticed, it appears your radiator and your cooling fan have been in a fight.

Tomohawk Black Dragon list one for the 78 manual trans for $59. Total degrees is probably the difference between the MT and AT but either one would probably make a big improvement over not using any. I do know that the 240 advance unit and the 280 advance unit are not interchangable. They will not physicaly mount up to the wrong distributor and the 240 unit has a spring loaded mechanism that is adjustable with washers. Whether there is a mounting difference between the 280 MT and AT distributor I dont know. Anyone else know?

Gary, Mike, I went with a 2 1/4 glasspack followed by 2 1/2 tubing to the back. I am pleased with the sound but from your comments I am wondering if the smaller glasspack is doing nothing for me and may be detrimental. Do you think its holding back high end flow? Im running an L24 with SUs, a mildly ported N42, stock cam, 3 into 2 header. (bigger cam on the Christmas list) Any advice is appreciated. Steve

Thanks for the laugh! I thought I was the only one with posessed tools. In my case it is a curse from the many times I have left them in a pile on the garage floor rationalizing that I will need them when I come back to my project. Days later when I find time to sneak back out to the garage I find that they have deviously rearanged themselves so now I need a completely different set. A word of caution, don't drink and drill. But think twice before asking your neighbor over to be the designated driller, he may get the wrong impression Steve

"Also what does the hose fitting on the Float bowl go to? I had it just open as assumed would go to air filter, but then blocked it off to make sure wasn't causing problems. It's the one located kind of in the centre of the top plate" From what I gathered from the ZTherapy video that overflow fitting also acts as a vent to equalize the presure in the bowl allowing a consistant float level and thus a consistant fuel ratio. It will run with it capped off but not optimaly. If you can't pipe it into your air cleaner set up, pipe it somewhere so it can still breathe. Just not anywhere near the manifold/exhaust in case it does overflow. Steve

Marty, Make sure you confirm the cam is getting oil before firing it up. I had my lovely assistant crank it over while I watched through the oil cap hole (plugs out of course) but got nothing after several long attempts. Primed the pump and checked at the presure sensor hole while cranking...still nothing. Finaly found that my timing cover gasket was misaligned over the oil passages and the pump was just sucking air. After replacing the gasket and cranking it over for about 30sec I got a nice stream of oil comming out of the cam oiler bar. I was sure glad I had not just fired it up and hoped for the best as my instincts told me to do. Steve

I just used gasoline but a mild solvent like mineral spirits would be safer:dead: Take a drive to warm up the old lube prior to draining it out. Then replace the drain plug and add about a pint of solvent and let sit for 10min to desolve the sludge in the bottom of the case. Drain, then flush again without the plug to wash out any remaining particles. Let it sit about 30min to let any remaining solvent evaporate, then chase it out with a little clean lube for good measure. Be sure to clean the threads on the plugs and the holes good with a rag and some solvent to get rid of any grime that might prevent a good seal. Then refill with your choice of 90W lube (Redline:D ), and enjoy the ride! Steve

I recently refilled the diff and gearbox with Redline MTL. I noticed a big difference in the shifter, much smoother and not as much of a notchy feel. The diff is still a little noisy but after I changed it I noticed on the Redline website they recomend the 90W rather than their regular MTL (75W?). I think I will change it out. Remember to flush out the old stuff prior to refilling. I ruined a good roadster gearbox that way due to crud and metal shavings that did not come out with the old oil. Steve

I just installed the KYB GR-2 strut inserts on my 73. I ordered them from jdmwerks on ebay for $152 after shipping and CA tax, best price I found and quick shipping. I am very pleased with the ride difference. It does not feel soft or floaty anymore and they give plenty of support for spirited street driving while still providing a comfortable ride. Ride height was a concern for me since I am using the stock springs and the 73Z started out at 8 1/2" ground clearance at the rocker panels (185/70-14 tires). I cut 1 1/2 coils off each of the stock springs when I installed the shocks and it now sits at 7 1/2" clearance at the rocker panels. I have read warnings against cutting the stock springs but I figured I could not live with the stock ride height (or higher) and it would give me an excuse to buy a set of Eibach springs if I was not happy with the result. As it worked out the cut springs are working great and the combo gives just the ride firmness I was looking for. As a side note the car has much less body roll and the steering response is much tighter with this shock/sping setup combined with urithane bushings on the stock sway bar. It now drives like a sports car rather than just looking like one.

Zack, Did you rule out the gasket first? Is it possible someone sold you a 240 instead of a 280 gasket? Curious to hear what you find regardless. Steve

I recently installed a MSA 3 into 2 header on my L24 and overall I am happy with it but it did take some work to make a good fit. The bolt/stud holes all lined up well and the alignment of the primaries to the exhaust ports seemed good. I did have to take a large file and flatten out the mating surface of the flange, especialy where the tubing penetrated. It had high spots and low spots of about 1/16". You should definitly trim the two end pipes before bolting on the 2 into 1 collector to get the right fit. I made the mistake of bolting it on tight before attaching it to the head and the collector ended up hanging down about 2" below the floor of the car and was not angled enough toward the transmission tunnel. If you are at all concerned about appearance and longevity go for the extra cost of ceramic coating. I used a header paint on mine and did not heat-cure it, now it is shedding and blowing silver flakes all over my engine bay when I drive.

Beandip, Thanks for the suggestion on the clamps, I will check them out. Being able to remove and replace when needed without cutting is definitely a benefit. Steve

I have the 2 1/2" Turbo exhaust from MSA as well and I am happy with it. I reversed the muffler so the offset is in the back and downward. It tucks in very nicely with about 1/2" clearance all around, it was tricky getting the hangers attached as it is a very tight fit. The pipe was not a good fit but I was able to tuck it up in the trans/drive shaft tunnel better by leaving all the clamps loose and using a pry bar to work it into place before tightening it up. I also turned the clamps upside down so the ugly clamp/nut is on top and gives a little more ground clearance. I used an 18" glasspack as a resonator right behind the header collector and I went with a 2 1/4 because I have the original L24. I also went with the MSA 3 into 2 header. The sound is great, it has a deep throaty gurgle with that distinct glasspack accent. It is still plenty loud but not enough to annoy the neighbors every time I blip the throttle. It is especialy pleasing to wind it up to 6K with the windows down on freeway onramps or when passing someone. I was worried it might have too much flow (not enough back preasure) for the L24 but it still feels very torquie at low revs and has plenty of flow at the high end. The only things different I would have done is get the aluminized pipe and coated header (already rusting after 2 months), and have a shop weld the sections together rather than using the ugly clamps. Steve