beandip

Can you post a picture of the inline V-6 engine? This is rare indeed.

Well since I started this thread back in 2003 plenty has changed. I have nearly finished my Z. as it it will ever be finished. There is an established Z car club with a growing membership of some really great people. From Oregon and SW Washington . We number 56 the last time I checked. We also have a non club, club, of about 15. We keep contact with one another via Email , list style. We try to gather for a beer and Pizza a couple of times a year as well as for a cruse or two. The Northwest Z membership own Z of all years where the non club club, the Z are almost all 240s. Maybe since this thread has been resurrected there may be renewed interest from others that were unaware of us. Now that Carl Beck's list will be going away soon , we all need to keep in contact with one another . This demise is going to leave a large hole in the Z community. Being part of a group definitely has its benefits . Gary :rambo:

It is a common thing with these cars having the sender malfunction. Grounding the lead as nissanman stated is the easiest test. I bought a cheep mechanical gage so I could see exactly what the pressure is at the different RPM . Then I installed a new sender. Not a after market unit but one from Nissan. Before I read 0 at idle but the gauge showed 25 psi. My new sender shows at idle the needle is 1/4 '' off the zero peg. the 0 reading had me worried as you are.

OK it turns over, but will it run? Do you have a mechanical fuel pump? Not likely if you have a 280 engine, but could be if the head is setup for a mechanical pump. Check the fuel connections and rubber lines by the tank. There are two close together by where the gage sending unit is mounted in the tank. The larger of the two is the supply and this is the one the electric pump is connected . You appear to have a couple of things going on. One is obvious a leak, this should be easy to find. Second , there is possibility that the pump is failing causing the engine to starve for fuel. Before you go any farther with this , there should be a small filter in the fuel line before the pump. I would just replace it . If not now you will soon need to anyway. There is also a filter up front on the inner fender up by the Alternator , change that one as well. This could be the cause for the engine dieing even with a good pump. As for the battery going flat. The Alternator should not allow this to happen if it is working correctly , since you were driving especially. Have the Battery checked if it wont hold a charge. With the engine running ,check the voltage of the battery and it should be at or near 14 volts, if the Alternator is putting out properly. By the way , Congratulations on your ''new'' Z Gary If you have both mechanical and electric pumps the electric could not be working and if you have a small leak back by the tank , the mechanical will be drawing air through the small opening.

Good information. thanks for the heads up. Gary

Send EScanlon a PM , he is in the middle of restoring one just like it .

If you do not have weight in the car, 300 lbs recommended, and you torque the suspension with no weight applied . You are setting a pre-load condition for when the car is then lowered and resting on the tires. this stresses the bushings and they will fail in short order. Not a big thing , just put some blocks under the tires when you lower the car off the stands , have a couple of people sit in the car and torque down the bushings. If you don't the bushing police will NOT arrest you. Why argue with the original builders of the Z. This is how they say to do this .

The hatch louvers do help to breakup the air flow and the vacuum created in back of the car. I had a set of louvers on for a couple of years but they rattled like a marimba band. The exhaust fumes went away when I extended the tail pipe beyond the bumper. It is not 100% because I do have a small leak at a exhaust pipe joint. However now she is about 95% clean. My louvers were aluminum and they also marked the glass on the hatch. The damage to the glass was the main reason I removed them. Gary

When I was redoing my Z I contemplated removing the marker lights, I really like the clean look without them. I decided to keep the lights because of the lack of visibility from the sides at night. I also want to do the turn signal mod. I think a good compromise on these markers is to use the Euro clear lenses with colored bulbs. Gary

Old guy?? Ha ha I have you by 18 yrs. All kidding aside , welcome . Gary

Congrats on the Z, she looks vary good. And yes the Z was originally Gold. So there goes originality. If this was my car , I would put a nice set of 15'' mags on her , from there , enjoy the ride.

Welcome to the Club , good to have you aboard. Gary

Congrats on the Z, like the others I also think you did vary well with what you paid for the car. Unlike several others I am not a fan of the OEM Yellow. Just a matter of taste. Great car. Gary

I agree , do a search there is a ton of info. One thing follow the directions from POR and you will be vary pleased. Cut any corner and the stuff will peal off like a decal. Done correctly it is damn near bullet proof. Gary

Arne , you never saw my roof before my redo. It looked like a bag of potatoes, with all the waves and dents. Butt dents just aft of the windshield on both the driver and passenger side. Now she is ripple free and there is no bondo . EScanlon and I spent a bunch of time with it but it came out vary well. I think geezer is the way I would go. Contact jetjock240 , Roger has a good body guy up here in Hillsboro that does Z cars and has done some great work on his 240.

Allright you are infected. Like the rest of us. Welcome to our little patch of heaven . Nice Z. Gary

Now this is a whole different matter! You working in a body shop changes the picture. By doing any an all metal work your self and not having to pony up 3K for paint. Now it becomes doable. On the flip side of being one of many out there . Parts are readily available . You are 10 times more likely to find a ZX in a bone yard than a 240Z. Now it is weather you are a Z driver or not. I think to have one of these older cars you need to be in love with the Z. Otherwise they can be a pain in the butt. Just because of the age of the car. My Z is 35 years old and she does require more maintenance than either of the three other vehicles I own put together. I don't mind because She is a pleasure to own and drive , for me. I thinks it comes down to your own attitude toward the car and your ownership.

I don't have a clue what someone has added these for, this a new one on me. You can just take the intake to a welder and have the holes filled or as you said tap them and screw in plugs or a bolt. As for your Grose Jets I have been reading for years in every venue not to use Grose Jets . ZTherapy would be a place to ask about them. Gary

Hi Chad , welcome to he club. As to the value of a '79 as you described wouldn't be vary much in this condition. My friend recently bought a ZX with a freshly rebuilt engine from Nissan and the body and interior was in good shape . No rust issues or dents. The PO had started to remove the dash and realised he was in over his head and couldn't figure how to get things back together. He had taken the car to a Shop and the estimate for the repair of the electrical was more than he wanted to pay. My friend picked up the car for $500.00 . He wanted it for the engine and trans and diff. He sold some of the rest of the parts and recouped some of his purchase price and took the remains to the Bone yard. Another friend picked up a ZX that was running for $200.00 , it was in rough shape interior wise and badly in need of some paint. She is a great looking car now. these are both cars here in Portland Or. Because your car is a right hand drive there may be more interest and value , and or less. Others here may be of help there. The ZXs are great cars but because they are plentiful now the dollar, value suffers. So if you are not going to do all the work your self , you will in no way going to realize the money spent when you sell the car. Gary

I have a '73 240 that I bought about 7 years ago. A PO had changed out the old flat tops and installed 4 screw SUs. Like your engine the air injection on the exhaust manifold was all blocked off and all the emissions parts removed . This engine ran great and with out a problem. I would have done the same thing my self. After driving it for a couple of years, I decided to ''redo'' the car. I pulled the engine and trans as part of the disassembly. While the car was apart I came across a '82ZX engine in good condition for a fair price. It came complete with injection, headers , even the alternator. I gave the injection intake away and used my SU set up from the L-24 engine . The engine runs strong and the performance is far and away greater than the 240 engine. I haven't seen dyno results for SUs vs OEM injection taken on the same engine. But I have been told by experienced people that the SUs will make more torque at the low end and the injection at the upper end of the RPM ranges. And that overall the difference isn't that much. Now emissions wise, this is another matter. If you make the effort to learn and understand how these simple carbs. function, you will see just how easy they are to use. Weber's this is another matter. I cannot help you in any way with them. I know of two Z Mechanics that will not work on a Z engine that is equipped with them. My 2 cts. Gary

From the pictures , unless you have some sentimental attachment to the Z , like it was your Dad's car and he bought it new and was the first on in the area. That sort of thing. Also you have vary deep pockets, this is a parts car. Sure it can be salvaged but it wont be cheep and easy. Personally I wouldn't do it. Gary

Just be careful not to over tighten the bolts. If you deform the thin lip of the pan you will have a leak. This is a common mistake. Also DO NOT disturb the inside of the engine. You may have a compulsion to wipe things down. Not a good idea because you could dislodge stuff that can damage bearings and or clog oil passages. I would thoroughly clean the pan while you have it off thou. If you use gasket silicone be sure to make it a vary thin coating. The stuff tends to squeeze out to the sides and if it comes loose inside the engine can cause major trouble. Gary:rambo:

There is a member of the club here that has a Z for sale. rolfsis . The car is in San Francisco so it is a Cal car already. As to the Or. Car. I live in the Portland area and if I can be of any help , just ask. If this 2+2 you are thinking about has been taken care of and is all stock there shouldn't be a problem with it. You can take it to DEQ and they can test it if it hasn't been done already. Not the whole state is being tested by the Dept of Environmental Quality. DEQ so it depends where the owner is located. Are you certain your Son is looking for a 2+2 and not a coupe? Gary

Jim knowing all the work you did on your z that was first rate , I look forward to more of this. Fantastic stuff , thanks . Gary