Leaderboard

I'm a big fan of having a vacuum gauge on the balance tube (and plugging the emmissions holes). If the engine isn't healthy, it doesn't matter how the carbs are tuned. Compression, Timing, then Carbs. The vaccum gauge is a wonderful tool to see the health of the engine. I

'Make damn sure your sparks are right before you start messing around with the fuel'. Butch Bohunk, Master Mechanic, Finzio's Sincair Service

In Brief: Paul Taylor is the person that bought HLS30 02545 from Bill Reagan, the person that restored HLS30 02545. Paul then took his Datsun 240Z to a Z Car Club Association (ZCCA) annual convention. There I believe it caught the attention of a company that produced/sold fairly high end Die Cast Models: The Franklin Mint. They talked Paul into allowing them to use his 240Z as the model - for their Die Cast model. Thus it became the Franklin Mint Model. At issue AIR they sold a limited edition for ??? $125.00… Paul’s Z was also invited to the Automobile Hall of Fame’s Ceremony of Mr. Kayatama being inducted to the US Automobile Hall of Fame. Because of #02545 documented history, full restoration and association with Mr. K and the Franklin Mint’s model - It has become a very desirable Collector item.

I plugged mine off but it doesn't get very cold down here. Less chances off leaking, losing coolant was my main reason. Lots of info in these threads... https://www.google.com/search?q=plugging+water+to+carbs+240z+classiczcars.com&sca_esv=77dc914585b7f4b2&rlz=1C1VDKB_enUS1121US1121&ei=1oETafjINaKHp84P-LudoAw&ved=0ahUKEwj4i8S_3uqQAxWiw8kDHfhdB8QQ4dUDCBM&oq=plugging+water+to+carbs+240z+classiczcars.com&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiLXBsdWdnaW5nIHdhdGVyIHRvIGNhcmJzIDI0MHogY2xhc3NpY3pjYXJzLmNvbTIFEAAY7wUyCBAAGKIEGIkFMgUQABjvBTIIEAAYgAQYogQyBRAAGO8FSJZBUOkFWKcfcAF4AJABAJgBlgGgAcYIqgEDMC45uAEMyAEA-AEBmAIKoALsCMICDhAAGIAEGLADGIYDGIoFwgILEAAYsAMYogQYiQXCAggQABiwAxjvBcICCxAAGIAEGLADGKIEwgIKECEYoAEYwwQYCsICCBAhGKABGMMEmAMAiAYBkAYIkgcDMS45oAfSHLIHAzAuObgH5wjCBwUwLjguMsgHFA&sclient=gws-wiz-serp

Should have put it on BaT so we could pick it apart!

My vote is that electronic distributer. Do you have an old points style one you could swap back to ?

Hi guys, this week i sold my 240z! It needed a good service as the engine leaked some oil, the body needed some work and.. i don't have the energy to work on it i will now concentrate on the engineroom of the 280zx i had restored in the past years.. I kept my self made mahogany steeringwheel and gave the new owner the rear wheel arches that i had stored on my attic with the car and some other nice parts to make an nice driver car for every day. As you can see in this pic the car has glassfiber rear arches and they are not original. As i said, i will now with some help of a friend, going to work on my almost ready 280zx! He also helped to get the lighting ready in my carport as he is a electrician as i am also! I finished also the air to air heat pump in my garage, so we can work on the 280zx coming winter. It was a bit difficult to let the 240z go but i had it for 27 years, and drove it for 25 years! It was a blast!

Here's the Franklin Mint model.

So Cody and I got the tachometer working tonight. Big thanks to @cgsheen1 Chuck. His explanation for current flow to the tach and back made it all make sense. I took the tip of my thumb off with a hammer tonight in the shop, so I didn't get the last piece of leather in. Opposable thumbs are really useful, as it turns out.

RESTORATION Customer excitedly bursts into my now closed shop "Mike, you've gotta check out my 240 - I just had it restored". This is the same chap that wasted a fair amount of my time a few months ago when I explained the restoration process. At that time his only question was "why does it cost so much". That was followed, almost without taking time to breathe, "I don't wanna do all that"! Anyway, I go outside to check out his beauty only to find that it had recently suffered a rather cheap, glass-in, paint job, a new set of incorrect seat covers complimented with mags that are too wide sporting new tires - clearly not a restoration. The industry recognized definition of a restoration is to first reduce the car to a shell with just enough suspension to roll the car around as required. Next it goes to a stripper who removes all of the paint, undercoating, sound deadener and rust to expose what I call the "sins". Sins are the holes in the body that resulted from the rust being removed by the stripping process and or repairs done to the body in the past that, in most cases, were poorly executed. Yes, one may strip the body by applying paint stripper and scraping the layers of old paint off but this takes way too much time and doesn't expose all of the sins. Of course, the chap doing the stripping MUST know his craft and apply the correct media otherwise there could be problems no one wants or needs. The pictured 510 wagon went through the stripping process using 2 different types of media. The fellow who did the job is very experienced and knows his craft. Many, many years ago I restored a 74.5 260 and an 82 ZX which were both stripped using plastic media. I was very happy with the results but plastic seems to have fallen out of favor as I couldn't find anyone to do the 510 with plastic. The next step is body and paint. The body shell may be mounted on a a rotisserie which could make working on the body shell easier - each case is different. All of the unacceptable sheet metal is replaced with new metal which is carefully, and hopefully, done in a way to replicate the original process. Major ripples, dents and or unevenness are treated with hammers/dollies or rivets and pullers. Bondo or plastic filler is used to smooth out minor imperfections. Now we're ready for the paint booth. Interesting to note - about 90% of the dirt that finds its way onto new paint jobs comes off of the painter. Most painters now use a one time use suit and hood. While the car is making its way through the body and paint shop is when all of the stuff you removed to reduce the car to a shell gets the business. Engine and trans rebuild, heater restoration, gauge restoration/repair, fastener replating, suspension powder coating, seat rebuilding, etc. Yes, the list is much longer than I've outlined but each system needs to be addressed and now is the best time to do it. Now is NOT the time to say "well it just costs too much to address X. NO, now is the time. Just got a VERY important call so I'll finish later.

How about the old standard of mixed up firing order? Just watched a pro do that. It happens.

I happen to have a complete E30 head that I have never been able to sell, quite a niche market for sure. I’m in Western Canada, send me a PM if you want to discuss getting it to you.

That is NOT factory. It looks painted or perhaps sprayed on...and appears thick in some locations. Very difficult to tell what it may be from the picture so this is a big huge wild guess...I'd say it is rust inhibitor of some sort (think POR15, Rustoleum, etc.) and if that is the case you no doubt have rust under it.

I used BSPT fittings on the N33 balance tube I have in my 260Z when I was doing the fuel injection conversion.

Read the articles here about the GM HEI module, if you find that your wiring is smoked or the factory Transistorized Ignition Unit (TIU), aka ignition module, is gone. You can run wires in the engine bay directly from that terminal block with the green and red wires. https://www.classiczcars.com/articles/electrical/

The reaction disk won't just fall out all by it's own. If this problem occurred all of a sudden, it's not the disk. A torn booster diaphragm will cause a hard pedal, and so will a malfunctioning poppet valve inside the booster. Either way, you're opening or replacing the booster.

Sorry about that but I HAD to take that call. Every part on that car will pass through the hands of the restorer so why not do it correctly. So many times I've casually helped an owner who's doing a lot of the work himself and he'll often put an incorrect finish on a part or subassembly or use an incorrect part. His reply to my comment about the mistake he made or is planning to make is "well, I never plan to put it in a show". WRONG, every time he takes it out it's in a show. OK, what about cost? In the world of today, and it doesn't make a bit of difference what the marque is, it starts @ 80K. Yes, I said 80K. It will very quickly go up from there if rust is prevalent. "But Mike, I just talked to a body shop who quoted me 25K for the works". Be careful, very careful. Another important issue in the case of Zs is parts. Expect to pay a TON for that rare gem you found after shaking the bushes for a while. Last week I had a chat with a Z owner who recently sold an NOS 240 air injection manifold for 2K. Restoration is not for the weak of heart. Next installment "Factory Restoration", "Just off the boat restoration", etc. How to cut through the hype/marketing.

About rust free section from a series 1 . Not using this so up for sale. Hard to find a clean section like this . I’ll ship anywhere 200$ Email Sfinnerty1018@gmail.com

@Terrapin Z - you have a PM! @kickstand80 - you have an email.

It is a thermostatic switch to close off the manifold coolant line (the tube across the manifolds). A remedy for over heating the fuel, that did not function well. IMHO

Another reason to look @ a car before bidding/purchasing

SX

Maybe try one of these cheap plug testers. At least you could visibly see spark getting to the plug and rule out ignition. What do the plugs look like? https://www.harborfreight.com/90-in-line-spark-checker-63593.html?hftm_sc=532&hftm_source=google&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=21901271210&campaignid=21901271210&utm_content=171677806542&adsetid=171677806542&product=63593&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21901271210&gbraid=0AAAAADAHb4cCWCcSJ4qCMytUVmlv7v7bX&gclid=CjwKCAiAlMHIBhAcEiwAZhZBUlzpLzH9TR7YSC9i3f7bzmYEm7gw-Ai3uRRfne-Qjhh-zYy0O4G-khoCpwwQAvD_BwE

Disconnect at the manifold/header exit and run your borescope up that way. That distributor looks like just a magnetic pickup distributor, that uses an external ignition module. But your exhaust blockage sounds reasonable. Good luck. Post pictures.

Your compression test would seem to rule out anything mechanical in cylinders one and two. And yes, front carb supplies all three front cylinders, so I would not suspect a "no fuel" issue. How confident are you that the carbs idle settings for the carbs are where they should be - so both carbs flow the same amount at idle? And, when revving? Spark plugs can be dead right out of the box. I'd move plugs around and move plug leads around with them. I'd try swapping known good, perhaps from six to one and from four to two and vice versa. I think a Z engine will have a very hard time running if it has two totally dead cylinders. They may be intermittently firing a bit. So, new plug wires, new plugs, and new distributor cap?

Probably not your issue, but thought I would share. I had an issue with my white Z where it ran great driving to a show 20 miles away and then horribly on the return drive. Cylinders 2 and 3 were bad. I was convinced it was fuel and wasted a couple hours rebuilding and then replacing the front float bowl shut off valve. Eventually I took off the valve cover and saw that the #2 and #3 valve rocker arms had 'relocated'. The end that was supposed to depress the intake valves was no longer touching the valve. Long story short, took the head to the machine shop and was told the valve stems were all gummed up from running old/bad gas. Sadly, I do not drive the cars enough. Anyway, put it all back together and it runs great now. Machine shop cleaned all the valves and guides. Fortunately, no damage was caused to anything except for my wallet. You can see the two valve 'nicks' on cylinders 2 and 3 in the pic.

Correct firing order? 1-5-3-6-2-4 CCW?

Do they have good grounds? Have you tried to bench test them?

I think that I saw that or something similar on PBS or one of those channels. It was more focused on the main guy with the mustache. Rick Hall. Pretty fascinating show. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Hall

I'd just cut the pans out and clean up whatever is left on the edges using dry ice or heat and a scraper.

Eh, sorry but who is Paul Taylor, i only know Tim de toolman Taylor.. 🤣🤣

BOT!

One of them is incorrect for the diff then. That's just the way they were built. You can see it in the eBay picture and in the illustrations. One is longer than the other. That's why you get the same result when you swap them. Because yours are the same length when they shouldn't be. If you bought the diff used it might be that the seller popped the axles out for storage and gave you a mismatched set by accident. I used to have several R200's and I stored them with the axles removed sometimes. Anyway, in short...your stub axles should be of two lengths, not one. Good luck.

Is BSPT a possibility? The prevailing internet Z forums' "wisdom" is that the oil pressure sending unit holes are BSPT. JIS VS BSP: What's the different ?Before choosing a suitable thread standard, it is necessary to understand from various aspects. This article will introduce the difference between JIS and BSP, so that you can better choose the thread

I used aluminum aircraft rivets - and like your pop rivets, I should have used a semi-tight washer on the squishy end. The sheet metal on the contacts is really thin. I also "re-squished" the (original) rivets on the bulb holders.

Some of the holes had real taper plugs, pipe threads. Two of the taper holes were about 10mm and somebody had forced straight thread bolts into the taper holes, ruined the threads. I might be able to chase them and put in 1/8" taper pipe plugs. I don't know that the bolts made a good seal. I"ve verified that some of the threaded holes are 1/8" NPT 27, I'll chase the threads and with teflon tape will repair the holes. I have a 1/8" to barb adapter I can connect my vacuum gage, haven't used it in years. Jim

I agree with Patcon. I'd cap off everything you don't really need right now, including the brake booster and the transmission. And yes, I think a vacuum gauge could be helpful. You should be in the 17-20 inches of vacuum at idle. If you're at 10, there's a leak somewhere. I also think pics could be helpful.

Oh, and I'd be hard pressed to believe it's a malfunctioning check valve. If you're off the gas pedal when you're on the brakes (as you most likely are), the check valve won't really matter because the manifold vacuum is high (because you're off the gas pedal). Does the idle go up a little bit when you press the brakes sitting at idle? That's a typical sign of a torn diaphragm.

Hahahaha!! It's true!!

I made some progress last weekend but not quite there yet. So I drilled out the two rivets at the switch. Replaced them with aluminum pop rivets for now. That made it better but it still didn't work. There was also a continuity issue at these other rivets The only problem is I used a grinder and as the rivet heats up it melts the housing. A die grinder might be a better choice. The LED lamp I was using worked for a moment then freaked out and wouldn't go full brightness. I ordered some more. So we'll see. I would like to replace the aluminum rivets with small copper rivets if I could find some good candidates and a proper way to staked them. They need to be about 0.095" or about 2-2.5mm OD

I think I would cap everything on the manifold that uses vacuum with an assortment of rubber caps. Then if you can get the engine started and sorted, add them back one at a time to check for vacuum leaks

Couple comments to hopefully help the process... So I don't know exactly how you are handling the choke lever, but the typical process is to give it a good pull, crank the motor, and then as soon as it starts, push the choke lever forward "some, but not all the way off". It's not unusual to need partial choke for several minutes to keep the engine running smooth when cold. If you're pushing the choke all the way off immediately as soon as the engine starts, you are probably moving too fast. Give it some time to warm up with partial choke before you try to get the engine to run with no choke at all. Engines don't like to run cold. and engines that have sit for decades are usually grumpy about being woke up from their sleep. It'll probably get better as you get more time running, but first bunch of minutes on an engine that hasn't run in a long time? Don't expect perfection. Next is there's no way you should need to be running five turns down on a stock motor. If you're thinking you need five turns down, there's something wrong somewhere. I'm hoping that it's as simple as you need to leave the choke on partially for five minutes, but if the engine is warm and you need five turns.... There's something wrong. And that "lifter" on the bottom of the carb does not make things richer on that carb, and in fact, it does the opposite. When you lift the piston like that, it completely disables the carb by making it super lean.

I haven't posted in a while.....hope life is treating everybody with kindness The single best thing I have done to my braking system was to install a larger 8" brake booster. Best of my memory 69-72's had a small 7" booster. Nissan updated the 240 brake boosters to a 8.5" in '73. They knew the boosters were to too small and corrected the braking problem. You also may want to inspect/replace your brake booster check valve. I did go a larger caliper but never got that great breaking feel until I completed this upgrade several years ago.......This made a HUGE DIFFERENCE in my braking power. JDM-Car-Parts use to have an upgrade for 69-72 that had the correct bolt pattern to accept into the firewall. That made the transition from a 7 to 8" a breeze for me with no extra drilling. https://jdm-car-parts.com/products/datsun-240z-1969-1972-8-inch-brake-booster-upgrade-kit?variant=31778739748973

I'm going to need to get some replacement floor pans as well. I have had at least three separate people tell me to go with KF Vintage. One was a contractor that had done previous classic car restorations, another was a vendor at the Carlisle Import & Performance Nationals, and another was a Z mechanic. Needless to say, that's who I will be going with when I finally pull the trigger and decide to replace my floors. Mine were filled in with old Maxwell House coffee cans and lots of filler by a previous owner that did not want to weld. I was planning on replacing my floors as this winter's project, but I may need to put it off due to the persistent Gov't shutdown. Not having a current and reliable source of income may stall my plans somewhat.

I wonder if the needles are set too low in the pistons? Closing off the fuel with the choke off

Pre-Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac.

I wondered if it could be for air conditioning