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Carl, I too got my 240Z while in the service and still have it. I had been lusting after one as soon as I read the 1970 Road and Track article, but finishing my degree, my draft notice from President Nixon (Greetings!...), and Navy service (and pay) got in the way until I returned in December 1972 from 11 months on Yankee Station (off N. Vietnam) with enough cash to buy one. It still took 4 months on the dealers wait list until April '73 before I could buy it. After the 240Z came out, no one, at least in my squadron, bought any other sports car. Here is a photo I took in December 1972 as our ship departed Japan returning to the US. I've annotated it with the model of Z each of us bought (eventually).

When I bought my first Datsun 240Z, I had just been at the local Porsche Dealer trying to trade my 67 911s in on a new 911E. The Webers on the "S" were always loading up and fouling plugs in stop & go traffic. It was very hard starting in the Winter and the shift linkage was worse than the Corvairs I'd owned before. I couldn't get together with the Porsche Dealer - they wanted too much for their new car and offered way to little for mine. On the way back to the Base, I passed the Datsun Dealer and saw the 240Z. Stopped and long story made short - I bought the Z. Three months with the Z - and I sold the Porsche. Never wanted one again. Over the years that followed I did add Corvettes, Jag's, and a Ferrari to the garage - and over the following years I sold them all except the 240Z. Nothing since 1970 has ever been better than the 240Z.

Small world - when I was finishing my degree I received letters from two Presidents on the same day. The first was from President Elect. Nixon thanking me for working in his campaign. (Nixon Promised to End The Draft) The second was from President Johnson - GREETINGS. I was to report for induction two months before being graduated! It had taken me about 6 years to work my way though a 4 year degree - so the Draft Board wasn't willing to extend my Student Deferment... Lucky for me, my Journalism Professor Dr. Dean Jachius- happened to be a Colonel in the Marine Corp Reserves and an Administrative Assistant to then Governor Rhoads. He was able to get me a 90 day extension - during which time I joined the Air Force.!!

I e been trying to lay off the beer after work when I’m in the garage... I started drinking chocolate milk. Just need something to take the edge off. 😂😂😂 have you tried jazz? Not all of it is great, sometimes you can find some fire. https://kcsm.org

Well that sounds promising! In my experience, I've never really liked that cold start seal in the first place. It's on the high vacuum side. It's a relatively thin, flimsy flange that is almost always bent from the force of the bolts that hold it down. It's a high surface area to the number of bolts that hold it down, and those bolts are far from the center on those flimsy wings. So if I had to have a cold start valve (which I'm not sure you do), I would slather that gasket up on both sides with silicone sealer. There's no way I would ever trust it put in completely dry. But that aside... Being in Dallas, when do you ever, ever, ever get weather cold enough to even really need a cold start valve? It's not like you guys ever get temps below freezing, let alone into the 20's*. I've removed my cold start valve and capped off the hole and haven't looked back. I think you could do the same. But (and I'm not judging) if you do want to keep it, for whatever reason, I would absolutely use some gasket sealer on that thing. If you got 13 with it blocked off, it's clear that if it's not leaking air, you're readings should be just about perfect. And don't worry about the egg at all! * Except for a week ago, right?

@Racer X, I keep meaning to mention this... You don't always have to quote an entire post every time. You can clip it down to a smaller size, or not include any quoted material at all if it still makes sense without it. Just a suggestion.

Jayhawk, That's a great pic. I love it how everyone ended up in a Z!

Update: Engine is in and I’m about 100 miles into break-in. So far so good, it fired right up, sounds and feels good. Plan to put another 100 miles on it then change oil, coolant, filters etc. Plan to recheck compression then too just to see if the numbers have come up from pre refresh.

Shaquille O'neal. He's on my television all the time. Commercials. Always a nuisance but now with Safer at Home they've doubled. Streaming also affects this last money grab in my opinion. The Royal Family. No comment! is all I want to hear from those poor family members. Craig Robinson, Snoop Dog, Matthew McConaughey, Tim Allen, those damn Kardashians-Jenners, Dr Pimple Popper just showing up on my menu screen, and so many more but I hate to bore my friends. Safer at home hasn't worked like I anticipated, spending time with your loved ones, fixing your cars and house. Thank goodness for alcohol. Maybe Shaq could do that commercial?

I have not checked compression yet, I wanted to let the rings seat for a couple hundred miles prior to testing. Probably be a couple weeks, damn job interferes with my play time in the spring! here is a pic before I dropped it in

This 510 got pretty good money. Only one turbo. Maybe that 240 will do well. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1971-datsun-510-38/

And I know you don't want to, but this is what I did:

And to answer some of the other questions... The idle mixture screw is just a rounded nose fine pitch screw that bottoms out on a seat inside the AFM body. So I guess it could be possible for there to be crud built up down inside there that might prevent that screw from bottoming out completely? I do consider it a little unlikely though, because any crud inside there would probably be a soft carbon sticky mess of crankcase PCV blowby and would probably be smooshed by the screw tip and seal pretty well. I would consider it to be more likely that it would be to crud SHUT than crud open. And about the carbon canister, to be honest, I'm not completely positive I understand the valve in that cap completely. I mean, the description in the FSM is pretty simple, and I understand how it is SUPPOSED to work, but after messing with that diaphragm and valve in the cap for the CARB can, I'm a little unsure. I do know that the way it's SUPPOSED to work goes like this: 1) When the throttle is any position other than light cruise, everything is supposed to be shut-off and hold vacuum. 2) When the throttle is in light cruise, you should be able to draw a small amount of air through the larger vacuum line straight into the intake manifold. This is the purge cycle of the carbon canister. 3) The small control line is always vacuum sealed. You should be able to draw a small amount of air out of it with vacuum, but then it should always hold that vacuum. The part I'm a little unclear on is the purge line... Looking at and playing with the valve in the CARB can cap, it seems like it's "normally open". But then the control line also pulls it open when you apply vacuum to the control?? So I'm thinking the manifold vacuum actually pulls the valve closed to seal it. And then the control line overcomes that vacuum and opens it again? Does that make any sense or am I just making things worse?

Leaking around the injector body itself ? Surface of mating surfaces were so rough that the dry seal wasn’t sealing ? vacuum leaks get everyone . You seem to know what your doing , so you keep pushing on . You might even get brave with timing 😉

Looks like there's definitely egg on my face - I will be eating crow for dinner. @madkaw @Captain Obvious There was indeed a non-trivial vacuum leak coming from the cold start valve's gasket. Regarding the valve on the carbon canister, are those supposed to hold vacuum or are they a pass through because mine seems to bleed vacuum on this vacuum hand pump I got. After covering the cold start valve inlet hole, the gauge's idle went from 17 to 13 immediately - I think we're onto something. The cold start valve gasket had some bumps and unevenness to it which I sanded down and it still leaked after I screwed the bolts in with vigor, so it looks like I need a new one of those. I don't understand how it was leaking though as there are no rips...

1970 Datsun 240z - $12,000 Located in Seward, Nebraska (near Lincoln). Originally a 901 Silver car that was resprayed light blue. VIN# HLS30-05655 and has its original matching-numbers engine (#L24-007235) with 2400 valve cover. Judging from the pictures and the description, this 240Z needs a lot of body work. Here's the link: https://lincoln.craigslist.org/cto/d/seward-1970-datsun-240z/7287924044.html For sale is a 1970 Datsun 240z. Car runs and drives. Car has original 2.4 liter inline 6 with 4 speed manual that came in the car. Car has a clean title. Normal rust for a 1970’s Z car, floor boards, rear quarter panels, lower part of front fender. Spare tire well has no rust. Pictures show passenger door panel missing but it will come with the car. The gas tank was replaced last year with new stainless steel tank straps. Stainless brake lines and a new brake master cylinder installed.

Sorry. Gotcha. I thought it was pebkac. Didn't know there was editing issues. I'm gonna go back in my hole now.

Excellent. Sounds like that will get your car to you without the moving guys killing your battery or burning out your starter. You could also still unplug the oil pressure sender in addition. Maybe give that a try tomorrow morning to see if it makes things even a little better. I mean, I think you're good enough already, but just in case you're looking for that extra push over the cliff (as Nigel Tufnel suggests), you could try that too.

I think the one in the photo is a Nikon. I was an Asahi Pentax bigot. Still have that too!

Pentax, Nikon or Canon?

Hi Jeff, You can try an alternative check valve for the Bosch 044 pumps. Bosch 1 587 010 536 is a banjo type fitting with built in check valve and stil, easy to find on the internet. Be carefull not to buy the M12x1.5 fitting. You need the M10x1.0 fitting.

I went on another quest to find hardware that I have not run through the prep process yet and it led me to my seats. The seats had been recovered at one point, but thankfully, whoever did that work didn't disturb much of the original construction. So, I was able to take pics and document how things were done at the factory, which I hope to replicate accurately. Some disassembly pics: A piece of material was glued in place over top of the straps. I found that interesting as the material is just a canvas type cloth was not inherently flexible. So, I don't think there was much give in it compared to the straps which were elastic. The "U" shaped wires that hold the straps to the frame were some of the hardware I was after for re-plating. The "elastic" straps were stretched and hard as concrete. This should be considered a mandatory replacement item for "original" 240z's with this type of seat construction for sure. Bare metal in the seat frame that hasn't even surface rusted. Original foam application from the factory included a thin sheet glued to the back of the seat with edges wrapped around head rest foam and then covered by a super thin clear "bag" of plastic I disassembled both seats, and collected the hardware I needed to get plated. Both of my seat back adjustment knobs are cracked, so I will look for some that are not. The design is not very good on those - they are not very sturdy. It would be nice if there were some one piece billet ones available, but that is not likely to happen. I saved all of the seat foam - in case. I plan on buying new foam which is available from online sources. I have black seat upholstery that was made by Distinctive Industries, and understand that I have to pair that up with the correct foam version (there are a couple of options available currently) for proper fit. For now, the hardware from the seats will be cataloged and bead blasted, tumbled, etc. I am running out of hardware to track down... I think! I am looking forward to moving on from the hardware stage of the restoration.

Those AFRs are perfect for part throttle / cruising. You may wish to reconsider the mix if your definition of load is WOT. My idle is also pretty rich at about 12.5-12.8 - which makes for a cooler idling engine but boy does it smell ;) For comparison, my AFR on WOT dips to a crazy low 10.5 at 3.1krpm where there is a reversion torque hole and then sits doggedly between 12.5-12.8 from 3.5k to the red line.

Here is a very useful graph: Measurement: Same Car Red O2 measurement at manifold Blue O2 measurement at exhaust pipe. Findings: Both read the same value for steady state. Dilution reduces resolution of transients at exhaust pipe.

Good day guys, Another milestone achieved: exactly 5 months after taking the wheels off, Zinta is back on the ground. Last beating on the rear quarter panels and bumper to use as little as possible body filler, and also 3 spots on the roof to correct... Doors/Trunk/Boot/air dam/fenders are ready for the final coat. Tomorrow afternoon or Sunday morning latest we shall lay down the final blue coat !

My observations on the Phillips Island video as related to similar HP track days here in the USA: The difference in performance seems to me more related the driver's ability and not the car they were driving. Only a few were track prepped and I suspect on street tires, maybe even high performance tires but not race tires. Unless you have done a lot of track days having a "race" car in your rearview mirror can cause folks to let you go by so they can concentrate on their own driving. I race with a few vintage groups and they operate in one of two ways; specific classes based on HP and car performance (in the day in the USA such as A, B and C production SCCA cars) which run as a single group. It can also be B, C & D production with AP big block cars running by themselves or with others cars (lots of Zs , 911s and 914-6s). The other grouping is a mish mash of cars ranging from a 70 Camaro, a 911, a 930 turbo, 240/26/280 Datsun Zs, an Alfa GT V6, a Shelby GT350 Mustang, IMSA corvette, a 65 Barracuda or a Datsun 510. Each is in a different subgroup but on the track racing at the same time. My 72 Datsun with a fully race prepared L28 is only 2-7 seconds off the pace depending on the track and conditions (wet vs dry). As a Datsun driver I admit to getting a kick out of beating a Porsche (when I can) in the same manner that Bob Sharp, Sam Posey and Jim Fitzgerald did in their Datsuns. I use the later rear spoiler from the Sharp #33 car to remind a Porsche driver who's in front of them.....

A Zed putting it to some P cars, as it should be.