Alan Pugh

Steve, Don't drain the battery acid out and replace with distilled water, all this will do is render the battery useless. No acid no charge. It sounds to me like one or more of the cells in the battery have shorted out. Sediment sinks to the bottom and rises to a level where it joins the plates togther and renders the cell inactive, or it gets stuck between two plates of a cell and does the same thing. When you hook up the charger it goes straight to zero because the short circuit in the battery is telling the charger it is fully charged. Just a bit of information for everyone, the average life of a wet cell lead acid battery is 39 months, and extremes of weather either hot or cold are a batteries worst enemy. Adding anything other than pure distilled water to top up a battery will shorten its life quite dramatically. My Dad worked for Dunlop batteries for 25 years, so a little bit has rubbed off on me. Alan.

Ok, i'll wade in now and get wet, up to my neck if need be. Gav, I believe your right about the 260 2+2 being the most commonly seen of the Z's (240/260) on the roads here in Melbourne. Why, who really knows, is it sales figures or the fact that a lot of 2 seaters were written off in accidents? I am restoring my 260 2+2 from the ground up, keeping it as stock as possible with a few exceptions, front air dam, simmons wheels (if I ever get a fourth one) and some cloth inserts in the seats and door panels. As to whether it's worth a lot or a little in the end, or if it's rare as hens teeth or common as dog $^!#, I don't care. It's mine. I think sometimes we get a little lost in the who's got the rarest or the lowest VIN# or the whatever, that we forget why we enjoy these cars in the first place. Because we all like the Z car we've got or we wouldn't have it. Hope I haven't upset anyone. Oh, by the way i'm using my boat anchors too. Alan.

If it's a blown head gasket between one of the cylinders and the water jacket, it would have to be a fairly big leak to overheat the engine in 5 to 8 minutes and you would notice some rough idling. Remove all the spark plugs and check for the one that is either showing rust or is very clean. This is always a good sign (not a good thing) that water is getting into one cylinder, which in turn means you are virtually pumping the water out of the engine by displacing it with air. Another tell tale sign of this is to drain the block and radiator and collect the fluid in a bucket and check for rust granules. A bi-product of filling the cooling system with combustion gasses is rust. This rust circulating through the system then in turn reduces the impellor on the water pump to nothing but a flat disk. For a car to overheat so quickly is quite strange and I would be interested to find out the final cure. Alan.

Thanks guys that gives me 2 places I haven't tried yet. Alan.

halz, I think these are the wheels you're refering to. I believe these were standard fit to Aus delivered 260's, but don't quote me on that. Sorry I can't find the picture of the centre cap. Alan.

Well I've done things in my life that were pretty silly, and I thought I'd grown up a bit since then, but the little boy inside me has come to the top again. I need help from all the Aus members to find one Simmons F15 wheel. I bought three the other day from a bloke who was basically giving them away, $300. The blokes at work are calling me the three legged dog. A new wheel is $600 so if worst comes to worst I can get one but who wants to pay full price. Your help would be appreciated if anyone knows of someone or sees one in their local wreckers. 15x anything as I can get the rim sections changed, the centre with our 114.3 PCD is the important bit. I have attached an image of the wheel.

Life as I knew it is now over. The wife came in as I was reading it and made me print it out. She's back i'd better

Hi all, Well i'm getting close to painting the car, and i'm getting close to picking a colour. Main question I still can't totally answer is what paint. 2 pack has great advantages, fantastic shine off the gun, good wear & tear, but from what I understand if it gets scratched you have to re-spray the whole panel. On the other hand acrylic lacquer or single pack, allthough it requires buffing to bring up that great shine is relatively easy to repair in the event of scatches or the like. I would appreciate your opinions on this as it is a big expense and something I would prefer to do right the first time. Alan.

Just got my ball ball joints and tie rod ends yesterday from Rare Spares here in Melbourne. They are Power Max brand and very good quality. Ball Joints: Early 240Z $45.93 ea Late 240Z & 260Z $43.92 ea Tie Rod Ends: 69-78 $52.68 ea These prices include GST. I always get on the rare spares web site before looking elsewhere, there not just for Holden and Ford anymore. Alan.

I think this is a bigger photo of the first one. Alan.

As Zedrally said if these carbs are re-built to manufacturers specs they will perform very well. As I understand it the mixture is changed by altering the float level and supplied in each re-build kit should be a small cardboard ruler for this very purpose. As far as disconnecting the water from the manifold and carbs goes there are benifets both ways. The carbs sit directly above the exhaust manifold, a great source of heat. Highway driving stops a lot of this heat soaking into the intake manifold and carbs and the water cooling tends to make the whole system run hotter, but get stuck in traffic and the soak time is greater and the water cooling actually woks to cool the whole system and prevent vapour lock. All great in theory. The water jacket in the intke manifold and base of carbs serves to keep the system at a constant opperating temp which in turn helps to keep the carbs opperating at a constant setting. Hope this helps and doesn't confuse. Alan.

In Aus wheel spacers are illegal in all states for road/street use and can only be used off road. I would imagine it would be the same in most if not all states in the US. There are also a lot of good reasons why they are illegal. Spacers move the wheel centre out on the hub which changes two main things, the steering geometry and increases loads on the bearings. I would never contemplate using spacers of any thickness let alone 1 1/4 inches. Obviously there will be people out there that will disagree with me and praise wheel spacers as the only way to solve this and that, but when it all comes down to it aren't there enough wheels out there for Z cars without having to resort to front wheel drive wheels. My 20 cents. Alan.

OK this is what I remember without getting out the books. Backfire, when fuel is ignited in the induction system back to the carbie (not usually an issue on F.I.). Afterfire, when excess fuel is ignited in the exhaust system which can be caused by a combination of different faults in the engine, Valve timing incorrect, Ignition timing incorrect, Running too rich, Throttle opener solenoid not working. I'd have to go back to the text books to give you the complete list. Alfadog in your case it's only happening going down hills at 3000 rpm or over which suggests it's the throttle opener solenoid. This is only fitted to manuals, not auto's. I'm taking it for granted you are decelerating when it happens or you are just getting back on the accelerator. The dangers are that you will in extreme cases blow your muffler apart. Other than that it's not going to do much damage. The fouling of the plugs will occur but only if the cause is from running too rich which will foul the plugs anyway, even without the afterfiring. Hope this helps. Alan.

Thanks Alan T. you are right about the Japanese cars. I have found it hard to find figures on home market cars sold. I had heard that the 2+2 was designed in unison with the 2 seater cars but thought it might have been a rumour started by a 2+2 owner. Does anybody know why the 2+2's were shelved and not released. Was it a last minute market survey? I probably should say about now that I am a 2+2 owner and yes I have come up with some good stories to mates as to why. Truth is i'd have a 2 seater tomorrow if she who is to be obeyed would let me. Having said that I wouldn't get rid of the 2+2 to do it because I honestly do love the longer look but I think they could have done better on the shape of the quarter window. So when my car is finished and on the road with myself, my wife, my son and the dog, who loves the fact that the quarter window opens we will enjoy it. Alan.

OK i've found my figures. Disregard the initial 500 240's sent to the US in 1969 as the US was the only country to recieve any cars that year. From 1970 to 1977 in the US 328,863 240, 260 & 280's were sold, compared to 3,481 in Aus. That's 94 to 1. 2+2's on the other hand US 34,885 & Aus 2,956. Thats 12 to 1. I find these figures stagering. I do always remember though my Grandfather who fought in World War 2 and a lot of his mates,would not buy Japanese cars of any description. My mum bought a Datsun 1200 and he did not speek to her for 3 months afterward. I suppose these cars weren't aimed at their age group but there are a lot of different factors that go into these things. A lot of people my age (42) as kids got taken on Sunday drives for a picnic, you can't fit the kids in a 2 seater. Anyway that's enough from me, and if anyone else from other countries has anything they can add i'd like to hear it. Alan.

This is something that has always intrigued me. In Aus there were roughly 2400 240Z's sold here. Some might say not many, but keep in mind this was a fairly expensive sports car at that time with a population of somewhere around 16,000,000. Then the 260Z's came along with which the 2+2 was introduced. About 1100 2 seaters were sold but nearly 3000 2+2's sold during the four and a half years these were on the market before the 280ZX was released. As we all know 280Z's never made it to Aus, other than a few, i'll say special imports. In the US on the other hand, the figures are quite the reverse when it comes to 2 seaters and 2+2's, is this a lifestyle thing or a matter of different tastes between the two countries. I'm not sure on actual figures of cars sold in the US but I do know that the 2+2's made up a very small percentage of all cars sold. I would like to hear your comments on this, and any other things that have influenced you younger guys that were not around when these cars were released. Alan.

Unfortunately in Aus there is such a thing as, as is where is. Which means your on your own. You could take it to small claims court but it is your word against theirs, and it could drag on for years and cost more than it's worth. Different states have different laws but that's the general rule. Been there, had it done to me. Alan.

I have tried to order parts off MSA on four separate occassions. The only time they have taken my money and actually sent me something, was when I ordered their catalog. On the other hand Vic British have been nothing but helpfull and on the three occasions I have ordered parts off them it has taken longer to get them through customs than it's taken the parts to get here.

Alan T is quite right as usual. If anyone is thinking of Cadmium plating any of their nuts or bolts, be carefull as Cadmium is poisonous. It is widely used in the aircraft manufacturing industry but generally not used on cars anymore. If any of you come into contact with cad plated nuts and bolts wash your hands afterwards. Alan.

I've just had all my nuts and bolts done at the zinc platers, they just called it yellow zinc and they were done by the barrel method. Hope this helps. Alan.

2Many is right on the money, it is all repairable. Frame rail might be hard to get in oz, but any sheet metal worker could bend you up a floor pan and most likely the frame rail as well. I don't know how much you can do yourself as far as the repairs go, but anything you can do that someone doesn't saves you precious dollars. The only thing I would really stress to you is to remove the rest of the sound deadener for quite some distance arround both frame rails, and if possible check all the floor from the inside too. Anything that you think looks suspect try to push a screwdriver through it. Good luck with it and if there is anything you find in Melbourne parts wise that you need send me a message and i'll see what I can do to help you out with getting it up there. Alan.

The little bits of wire with blobs on the end come from someones unsuccessful attemt it would seem at mig welding. From what you've described someone has found the rust, tried to fix it, discovered more and more then given up and sold the car. The good news is that nearly everything on these cars can be repaired, it's just a matter of time and money. Photos will help everyone give you better answers if you can post some. Alan.