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So I spent the day slide hammering and shrink heating the door panel. I wasn’t 100% successful but got it a lot closer than it was. The door still needed 1/8” of fibreglas filler and bondo to bring it to working height. Finish work will happen on the car.

Figured it out. Yes, two ways to do it right. 1. set the timing light for 0 degrees and adjust distributor until the 10 degree notch on the pulley aligns with the timing cover pointer. 2. set the timing light for 10 degrees and adjust distributor until the 0 degree notch on the pulley aligns with the timing cover pointer.

I'm swapping out my wide ratio 5-speed for a close ratio transmission. I'm curious to know what, if anything, I can tell about the condition of the replacement transmission prior to installing it. I'll have a choice between a number of loose transmissions and obviously want to make the best choice I can.

Alright I'll get on that when I get back again haha

Fuel injection is an option, but, some upgrades to the fuel delivery (pump and line) are going to be required. Depending on your Mikuni type, you can set them up for street driving no problem (40mm variant). However, if you have a larger set of Mikuni's (44mm) they are likely designed for a more aggressive engine setup. This is what I know about mine, anyway. I have the 40mm and they are nice carbs (cold starts are a little rough though). You can buy a set of rebuilt SU's that will last your lifetime. Ztherapy out of Salem, OR is the best resource for this option. If you have the Mikuni's, then you'll likely need to buy a new air filter setup for the SU's as well. Good luck! Mike

280zxt dizzy is done. I vapor blasted it the housing, wrinkle coated the godzilla race works cap and new zinc hardware. I might not be able to live with the size of it. It's pretty huge.

I am doing the same thing basically. I cleaned up my five speed and replaced the seals at both ends. It shifts smoothly and seems solid and the previous owner removed it to add a BW tranny even though the original was working fine. Everyone seems to think the original parts are stronger/more reliable than the ones available in rebuild kits. I was advised to run it as is until there is a reason to open it and replace the OEM parts inside.

Other than do they go into all gears, not much. Could try to spin them in gear and listen for weird noises. I hooked up a high speed drill to a rubber hose that fit tightly over the input shaft, then a bolt into the other end, chucked into the drill. the hose acted as a flex coupling. You could remove the drain plug and look at the metal particles that will be stuck to the magnet (if not already cleaned off). Look for chucks (bad) fine particles not a big deal. You are looking for bearing cage bits etc.. The only real way would be to open the case up and examine the gears for broken teeth or other obvious damage. You could prob check the end play and baulk rings wear with some feeler gages. As a minimum plan to at least replace the seals on the input and output shaft. that can be done without separating the cases.

I finally had time to work on the car. Valve stem seals are done, new NGK BP6ES's installed + a wideband O2. Mixture ~2.75 rev down showed a pretty rich idle of 11.2-11.4. I went back to 2.5 revs down and now the car is idling at 11.8-12 when hot. Which seems to be inline with experience other people have with SUs on this forum - idling a little on the rich side. I still have to drive a little bit more and check the plugs. And write down the air-fuel-ratio for different conditions. If someone from Europe reads this: The "Ventilfeder-Montagewerkzeug" (valve spring removal tool) from KS Tools (150.0918) works like a charm for removing the valve springs.

I'm going to change my username to Tree Shaker.

Hi Kats, I am glad that my experience with a car originally purchased new on 3/25/71 helped confirm the reasons a redesign of the oil pressure gage/sender combination was needed. I had used the 90psi/6kg combination with the good results that you describe, but I needed to use the 140psi/10kg combination to retain the originality of my series 1 car. During periodic maintenance, my mechanic, who has worked on these car since the mid 1970s, confirms my oil pressure with a direct reading gage knowing that this was a problem from the start. It also, as you say, gives me peace of mind. Sorry, I am no help when talking about S20 engines in Z432 cars, but wish I had this Z432 problem. ?‍✈️ Dan