beandip

With the vary rich needles I can understand the use of Mystery oil or ATF in the dampeners. I have never said that the car didn't or wouldn't perform. I am running 9.5 compression and a P-79 head on a flat top engine. It ran vary strong with the richer needles but I did find fuel in the oil and it was too rich . Where I live , normal driving on the streets , I don't have the RPMs in the upper part of the power band and mostly around 2K to 3500. Since I changed back to 54s my oil is staying clean and free from the fuel smell , stink is more like it . I can only relate to what I have personally found on my Z . But it has been confirmed by a person that I vary much respect that is in the business of building these engines and restoring Z for a living . He has been doing so for over 25 years that I know of . No flame intended . Gary

I don't know if your 260 had one , although my build date 8/73 '73 240 does . They are NLA as far as I know. Most of them have been removed and tossed. Like the hub caps . They do help to keep the engine bay cleaner and I have read that it helps to allow the air that builds up under the front of the car at speed , to exit back under and out and they increase the air flow through the radiator. I don't know if any of the air stuff is true but I did feel the difference in how the car felt when I pulled it off and ran her up to 95 , then installed it did it again. It could be a case like seat of the pants dyno telling me it is better, I don't know. I will say that I read the information AFTER I tried the on off test. I had just removed the pan to clean it and paint it . Then a couple of days later I installed it and drove over the same stretch of hi-way . A month or so later I read the article . Gary :surprised

You are correct about the back pressure issue, however the slightly smaller glass pack wont do what you are thinking. If you install a Thrush glass pack of 2 1/2 '' as a resonator it will help a lot with the resonance ,'' droning '' sound that occurs at around 2K. The other brands of glass packs have louvered center pipes that actually restrict the flow of gasses. The Thrush brand , actually they are made by Dynomax , has perforated pipe that just absorbs sound and remains the size of the piping. 2 1/2'' systems are for a high revving engines that have a cam making it's HP up in the 4k to 6k area . For a street engine how much do you drive the car like this . What is involved is the pulses of burned gasses traveling down a exhaust pipe cause a scavenging effect drawing the burned gasses exiting the combustion chamber to exit that much faster and better. If too large of a pipe is used then this effect will happen at higher RPM . So on a stock engine or one running a cam that's power band is around 2K trough say 5K , you are loosing your low end power or torque . It's not to say that the 2 1/2 piping is bad , it's just not as efficient as the smaller setup. 2 1/4 would be a better choice. Also Quieter . Unless you are racing on a track or comparing on a dyno , I doubt vary much that you could tell by the seat of your pants dyno. You can tell where to install the glass pack by using masking tape . Start at the collector of your header and run a strip all the way down to the first bend . Then start the engine and run up the rpm to the place where the resonance occurs and hold it there for 30 sec or so then shut off the engine and see where the tape is scorched and this is where to mount the glass pack. I got this from Dynomax . Hope this helps you . Gary:)

try Ace Hardware

I am running SUs on my ZX engine with a cam and headers etc. I have found so far the SMs and 47s are way too rich . I am running 54s at present and so far all seems good , I am going to set the needles deeper in the vacuum piston in an effort to rich-en up a little for the higher revs. With SMs I was getting fuel in the oil because of the added fuel was washing away the oil on the cylinder walls. The 47s are a Nissan needle for a '70 240 and is also vary rich as well. Gary

Welcome to the both of you . If you want any help finding one in your area it would help if you added your location in your profile . More than likely there are other Z drivers in your City or State . Gary

Has any one used these people Speedy Car Parts . I found them on the web while I was looking for KYB G-2 and they came up with some great prices . I hadn't heard of them before and just wondered if any one has had any dealings with them . Thanks Gary :rambo:

Kirkgz , I think I have a couple of the wiring harness for the tail lights . I'll take a look and see , at least I can come up with a light socket or two . Gary

If you are using a ZX electronic ignition , not only do you eliminate the resister but you need to use a different coil as well . I am using the stock ZX coil and find it is vary adequate. Gary

THERE YOU GO MIKE NAILED IT . I bought mine at the local parts store speed section for $25.00 about 6 years ago . Gary

By 1/2 way are you speaking of the float bowls of the carbs ? Because they shouldn't be filling up full. if the floats are set too high it will dump fuel into the carb and flood the engine . I am running a electric pump only, and there is an air pocket at the top of my filter also . As was mentioned before if you can squirt a little gas into the float cambers through the over flow hoses , then try to start the engine . If it starts and dies this is telling you the pump is not getting gas to the carbs . If this has no effect then look to the ignition and have you checked to see if you are getting spark at the plugs ? Gary

We used PPG 2 stage on my Z , so I don't know if this is relevant , but we didn't sand at all after the final sanding of the primer . After that , epoxy primer in white went on to seal and make the surface all the same color , followed the next day with color and then the next day with a second double wet coat of color , then the coats of clear. There was a specific window of time that needed to be met between coats. If the paint was allowed to cure past that window then it needed to be scuffed off and re shot. As long as the time frame was met no sanding was necessary. But this was PPGs 2 stage . EScanlon shot my Z and I defer to him on any thing beyond this. I used to shoot enamel and Lacquer , the new stuff is '' GREEK '' to me . I just follow directions with this stuff. Gary

Check with Zedd Findings . Charley Osborne will sell one side if that is all you want. I don't know what years his floor pans fit . The one I used is great and better than original. He has rockers as well but I think the firewall will be a problem . If all you have is a dime sized hole in the floor and the rest is sound . Just cut the bad metal away and have a patch welded in. Same with the firewall. Just because you have surface rust doesn't mean you need to remove the whole area. How bad is the rust really. If it is surface rust , clean it off with wire brush and or a DA then use POR to seal the bare metal . That is if the metal is sound.

By the way Mike thanks for the blue can of 3 in one . I have never see that stuff in any store. I have a qt of fork oil and that will last me the rest of my life . but I would use it if I didn't . To answer the question of 5w-30 or 20 . I wouldn't put it in my engine. And remember these engines are a design that dates back to the '50s When Mercedes was building it as there 4 banger. True today's new iron use lighter oils but my engine is a 30 year old design , I run 10w30 . and no lighter. The dampener is dependent on the weight or thickness of the oil to slow down the rise of the vacuum piston. With light fluid being lighter than 20w oil the piston snaps up and allows too much air to flow as soon as the butterfly is opened. There is not a proper amount of fuel in this air and thus a lean condition. This is for only a split second but it causes the stumble like a ignition that is weak. Then the engine takes off when it recovers and as long as the RPMs are up there is no problem . But when at idle and the throttle is opened this is where the dampener must do it's function. This is the best I can do to explain this , I hope it makes since to others . If not , take my word for it. Gaza AKA Gary

How can this be possible ? Have you looked under the car and checked the suspension to see if something is disconnected of fallen off ? Unless the body is so rusted away and the suspension has pulled away from it's mounting I haven't a clue ! Have you recently changed to a different set of wheels that have a different off set ? Or did you buy a set of low profile tires wider than 205/60s ? Gary

marvel oil is about 8w ATF is 5w both cause lean condition at first throttle opening and a stumble . 20w will allow the richer mixture to the engine just like a accelerator pump in a carburetor like on a V-8 . As to the amount of oil needed, they take about 4cc each . If over filled the excess will just be burned off by the engine , no worries . If you cannot get 20w go with some 10w30 . that will get you by nicely . Better to be thicker than thinner so the dampener can do it's job as intended . If you were running on a track and keeping the engine up in the high revs , you could eliminate the oil completely because you would be at WOT most of the time anyway . Its for normal street driving that this makes a difference . I have , over the years , heard of members trying everything from brake fluid to water looking for the '' golden bullet of power and performance ''. The makers of these carbs call for 20w for a reason. 33+ years later the debate still goes on. Gary ( Gazza ) for you bloks in Auzzy land .

I would keep the intake that is installed on the engine. You need the thicker insulate rs , the brown bake-a-lite parts, that fit between the carb and intake manifold . You also need the linkage that fits between the SUs that connect them to one another. With the intake that has the water jacket mentioned before . You must drain the coolant in the engine down below the level of the carbs . Otherwise when the carbs are removed coolant will run into the intake and into the engine. The swap is pretty much straight forward , but you will need to adjust the SUs to you engine combination . Like Arne said the Schools wouldn't be interested in working on the carbs because it is vary old technology. They are learning injection . Do a search on this web site there is all the information needed to do this swap and adjustment . Gary:)

It all depends on what you want . What is the goal here. If you want a Z keep the in line engine. Otherwise the hi-bread will give much more HP potential but the car no longer will be a Z really . I haven't done a V-8 swap into a Z , but the small block Chevy engines fit nicely and the weight is almost the same. From a cost standpoint to highly modify a L-6 vs a V-8 that is mildly modified , with the installation and all It is about the same . The 8 is a monster though. There is a web site for Hi bred Zs and they would be a great source info. Gary PS I have a '82ZX engine in my 240 running SUs and am vary happy with the combination .

I had good success starting with 400 grit wet/dry and Kerosene and graduated up to 600 , then 1000 and then I used the polishing compound . Did the same with my valve cover . Great find they will look great on your Z . Gary

The only source of 20w oil that I have found , without buying it by the small bottle form mail order , is a Cycle shop. They have 20w Fork oil that is used for the forks on a motorcycle. I have tried several weights and for my Z far and away the 20w is the best . But do a search . There are many posts on step by step on how to adjust the SUs. Gary:)

Arne , so when you do cut the coils , what are you meaning ? The flat top circle of the spring plus how much of the helical beyond that. On my present old springs I have removed the flat circle + 1/4 of the helical . I figure it dropped the front about 1'' . I am setting at 7 1/4 at all four jack points with 195/70 /14s Gary

My '73 originally had a chain . I found it in the tank when I pulled it. I have the chain attached and a new rubber protector as well. Here in Oregon we still have attendants that dispense the fuel . It is not legal for us to do it. The problem I have is that they are not prepared to have the cap chained up and 9 out of 10 times they remove the cap and the chain yanks the cap out of there hand. So far it hasn't hit the fender . I am thinking that I will remove the chain for that reason. At present I exit the car and remove the cap my self if I can do it before the attendant does. I don't want some idiot setting the cap on the roof or forgetting it , so this is why it is intact at present. Have you priced one lately ? Gary

Adding triples to a stock engine will not do much for you . Triples are for big cams and high revving engines . With out going all out on the head , big valves and porting and headers plus a 2 1/2'' mandrel bent exhaust system . You are much better off with the Stock SUs . Find a good ZX ignition for this engine and get away from points . You will be vary glad you did and will like the improvement it makes to the driveability . It's hard to improve on the performance of the SUs , I am running them on a '82ZX engine in my 240 and and am VARY happy and I am running a cam and the rest . Another thing larger exhaust piping on a stock engine will lower the low end torque at least any thing bigger than 2 1/4 '' . The triples look cool though . Gary

I am sorry that I didn't see any thing there worth saving . Other that the battery tray and spare tire tub . Too far gone to be practical to save . Unless you want to prove a point. Just remove the battery tray and drive another Z under it. Gary:cry: