Ramses

Finished with the replacement of the springs and struts. I have included some pics. The ride is right, but it is a bit taller than I wanted. I will probably have to cut some length off the springs or put back my stock springs, but all in all I am happy with the result.

Hey, I just finished redoing my head. If you recall a while ago, I was complaining about exhaust fumes in the cabin. I had replaced all seals and made sure that the cabin was completely tight. I had pretty much settled on the fact that I was going to smell like exhaust all the time. I started working on the motor, making sure that it was in good shape and I had a startling discovery. The PSI on 2 of my cylinders were non existent. It seems that every time the number 3 cylinder compressed it leaked into the number 4 and vice versa. I checked out the plugs and there was no residue on those 2 plugs. The other 4 were getting fouled and it seemed to be running really rich. Long story short. I pulled the head, valve guides, valves and pretty much everything else on the head was shot. There was even evidence of fuel-exhaust bypass on the gasket between the # 3 & 4 cylinders. I took the head to a machine shop, cleaned and adjusted the carbs, the exhaust has 4 leaks - fixed, but I should replace the entire system in the future. Put her back together and guess what. I no longer smell like fumes. There is not one trace of that nasty smell in the cabin. I can run with the windows up or down. She runs like a top - I checked the plugs after a 100 mile trip and they look great. Moral of story: If you have fumes in the cab like I did and are tired of trying to fix the small things, perhaps it is a major problem like no compression between cylinders and fuel leaking out of exhaust pipe and getting into the cabin of the car. I am almost finished with her. All I have left is to change the pinion bushing, replace the exhaust and fix a small noise that I have when I change gears very roughly. :love:

On my '73, the electrical fuel pump is wired to the engine compartment harness in between the harness and the voltage regulator. It was disconnected for the longest time and when I connected it, the noise from the electrical fuel pump was great, but it solved my fuel starving problem. I have since disconnected it and replaced my mechanical fuel pump. The pressure from the mechanical pump kept bouncing from 1 to 5 psi, now I get a constant 4.5 psi. I have no more fuel staving situations.

I'm with Enigma. I also sought out my '73. I have always been partial to '73s as opposed to 70 - 72. I believe that they are easier to work on, after you have all of the smog stuff stripped out. I really like my non working intermittent wipers...

Poke a hole in the gas tank jk

How bout the heat shield on the carbs, protecting from the heat from the exhaust? Seems logical that while cold - runs great...hot - runs like crap, something could be heating up the fuel and causing it not to run properly. Do you still have the heat shield on the car? Just my .02

I will post some pics later in the week. I am out of town, currently. The Euro springs from courtesy nissan caused the whole car to grow a bit. There is exactly 27" from ground to top of fender. I would say about 2 - 3 inches to tall. The ride is exactly what I was looking for. I have not finished my bushings, because I ran into another problem with compression. All in all my 240 no looks like a 280. I guess I have to remove some length in the coils.

On my '73 "B" faces the rear.

Yeah, Im with Arne. My clock always gains about 15 minutes every 2 weeks. I used to think that it stopped for 11.75 hours, but after I drove her every day for a month before I started on the suspension, I started to notice a trend.

I was in the same boat as you. My PO had butchered all 3 harnesses to the effect that I ended up purchasing 3 more, not to good ones and merging the 6 harnesses together. I had to unravel the dash harness 3 times, before I got it right. Good luck. I purchased all 3 off of ebay, and neither were worth the money that I paid.

Wow your choke light works!!!

I purchased mine from motorsport. Easy and effective.

I figured I would buy every z that I can fit into...that means no 300z and 350z. Yes $500.00 not $1500.00. Last year I checked and there was no major rust issues... just some surface rust over in the dog legs. The interior needs to be gutted and the AC needs to be updated. She ran very well. I will post next week as to the status.

Bump. I was wrong. It is a '76. I am stopping by on Monday to help him get it started. He just got kicked out of his house by his ex and has no place to store it. After I finish my suspension (next weekend) I will be finished with my '73 and he said that he would accept $500 from me and only me. After next week I am going to buy this car and take it to my friend that has a body shop and start the refresh...I will probably just keep it for fun:) Chuck

Wow Xray, I just wanted to chime in here. What a beautiful color. I, unofrtunately did not have the balls to go with something original when I redid mine. Hopefully your shop guys kept some of the paint. During my re-assembly, I messed up the paint in several places...Under hood, rear hatch support, front bumper brackets, rear bumper supports. My guy told me that after I finished ALL the mechanics, he will take her back and fix mine and his blemishes, while doing the floor pan sealant. Good luck and keep us posted with pics.

Hey, I finished up the front end yesterday. It was rather time consuming, because I had not done it before. I had to keep referring back to the shop manual. I guess I will tackle the rear end next week. I will also take photos of the rear end. I did not take photos of the front end. I replaced the rack, ball joints, tie-rod ends (motorsport), the struts (KYB-GR2), springs (Euro-springs from Courtesy) and all the bushing that I could - except for the stabilizer bar. The questions that I have is in regards to the front end alignment. Should I go ahead and set a static alignment before I lower her off the jack stands? My problem with is as soon as I lower her off of the stands, then I am too big to get under her to adjust the tie rod ends. Maybe, I could borrow someones ramp stands? By the way, I would not recommend this job for anyone that is not completely familiar with the Z or at least mechanically inclined and can read a good shop manual. Chuck

I haven't tried tapping on my tach face. Mine just gets stuck on 3500, then it just starts working again, until it gets back to 3500. I have just been dealing with it and not letting it get me down.

I have an electric fuel pump on my '73. I had to disconnect it, electrically, and leave it in place. I could hear it over my stereo. It was way too loud. It was the one that was originally installed by the dealer. The carbs have since been replaced with the SU's so it is not necessary any further. The mechanical one works just fine for me

I am in the same boat as you, but different. I ordered KYB GR2 struts and the euro-springs from courtesy Nissan. The springs came in quickly, but the struts still have not arrived and I was planing on using this weekend to change out everything, including my bushings and rack. Good luck with your switch

mrcow, When I removed my dash, for the 1st time of about 10, I found that the evaporator coil was rusted completely through. I ended up tossing it. I also labeled all the connectors that you are talking about under the passenger side, because if I had not then it would of been nearly impossible to tell which set of wires connected to which relay. I basically had to "merge" six wiring harnesses together to make three. It SUCKED. The previous owners of my '73 butchered all three harness to install several stupid items and to make it go. The ignition switch, the blower motor, the fuse box, temp sensing switch, rear speaker, electric antenna, distributor, voltage reg, horn, and about 10 other connectors were cut and twisted together or somehow made to work. It took me about 2 months to get it back together the way it is supposed to be. The only advise that I can give is be patient, purchase several harnesses and try unravelling them to see how they are put together. Then replace or repair the butchered segments. Good luck

Nice job on the resto. Any more pics online anywhere?

Thanks for the ideas about the exhaust tip and the exhaust lines. I do have a leak in the manifold and the tip does not extend past the bumper. I guess I will work on that during the summer. Not much fun though. The entire cab is sealed shut and tight. I have checked with all the fun little tips mentioned in this and other threads. Thanks again.

Jimmy, Please do not use scrap metal. Please use the correct items for the car. They will keep you more secure and will not rack the car. I have attached pics.

Hey guys, Thanks for the replies. I performed a smoke test. I have already replaced all the rubber seals on the car. I have replaced all the gromets on the car. I even siliconed some of the penetrations that looked like there may be some issues. I have such i tight seal on the interior, that it is difficult to shut the rear hatch or either of my doors with out the window being down. That being said, I still smell like exhaust. I performed an experiment the other day. I went out without rolling the windows down, and I did not smell like exhaust. The culprit must be in either the tail pipe, which has an extension on it and stops just before the rear bumper or an the adjustment on my SU's. Any Suggestions?

Hey guys, Thanks for all your help on my previous posts. I am still trying to tackle the smell that I get only when I roll down the windows. This is what I have done thus far: Replaced all rubber...seals, grommets, all penetrations in cabin. I did a smoke test in the cab and after replacing the seals in the window channels, I have found not one leak in the cab. I took her out yesterday and when I got home, I smelled like exhaust. I have a couple of questions. How far out does the tail pipe need to extend from the rear bumper to help eliminate this problem? I have also read that I should adjust my SU's. Is this correct? Why should I adjust my su's if they are running pretty well...no backfiring, starts right up, timing is dead on. I removed the dealer installed AC and I have to drive with the windows down, because it is really hot in Houston. I will not try to attack this problem until after I replace my struts, springs, wheel bearings, front end or rack and bushings...I will be doing this during the Memorial day weekend. I am really starting to get perplexed. Thanks in advance for you information. :stupid: