zKars

So I had reason to read a book on SU tips and tricks a couple of weeks ago, and came across an interesting tidbit that I need to share. It talked about piston movement and how venturi vacuum makes it move according to load. Great. Then they mention the special case where the piston is all the way down, like at idle, or at startup when the flow rate is so low that the DeltaP over the bridge hasn't gotten high enough so that the pressure diff can't move it yet. The piston has to be held mechanically slightly off the bridge to allow SOME air to get through. How is this accomplished? WIth this apparently long forgotten item on the bottom of every piston. That little round plastic thing is supposed to stick up ~.010 below the piston face to keep it off the bridge. So far I've checked two sets of darn near fresh SU's, and found both to have that little spacer guy mostly flush with the surface on both pistons. I have another car with a fresh set and a couple of local cars with more fresh sets to check yet. Here is it in (crappy) close up. Its a little plastic tube with a ball bearing pressed into it to slightly expand it. It needs to be pressed into the piston, and left proud 0.010 or so. I suppose it gets pressed in a bit everytime the piston drops if its old and doesn't have enough friction to stay put. Here is pictures of how I found them in my Z, looking from a sharp angle you can barely see the black line that just proud of the surface (like .001) I have added a blob of epoxy on top of the button thing on the SU pistons in the 71, then shaved them down to 0.01. This will provide a more stable and lasting bridge spacer. The car starts better, not that it was poor before, and idles at a more stable rate. I'm still in the process to doing this mod to my 73, so I don't have any comment on improvements, but that dang this is not easy to start and idles very poorly. Big cam, crappy vacuum (not that engine vacuum is what actuates the piston), blah blah blah So, I'm not out here saying this will fix all your SU related ills, more like it seems to be a forgotten rebuild setup item that should improve low flow rate operating conditions. @BrucePalmer ? Steve? You out there?

The correct dimension from the flywheel friction surface up to the tip of the collar fingers where the actuation arm touches it is 92 mm +/- 2. So no matter what clutch you buy/have, the total stack height is what matters. Get a collar to get 92 with whatever clutch you buy.

I just went through an incredibly nasty time with my Black Dragon order. I had placed two orders last Sunday after the feeding frenzy began. On Tuesday I called to combine them into a single order to keep shipping costs down after getting the first shipping quote. We went over the two orders in great detail, and even then there were a few small items that were not available. I was given verbal confirmation on the remaining items. Great. Today I finally received a shipping quote that was way too small. So I called again. I was then told that one of my orders had been CANCELLED !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes, the one with the bumpers on it. I WISH I COULD SWEAR ON HERE!!!! ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG! Needless to say, I raised incredible hell, got absolutely no where with the poor girl's manager. All she could say was sorry we are closing, our stock may not be on the shelf, even though the system said it was, blah blah blah. Absolutely no attempt to make any part of my problem right. I cancelled my entire order and told them good luck with the rest of their business. Long story short, if you think you are getting anything from them, be prepared to get very little. I'd call them and get them to re-confirm what they actually have for your order and be prepared to have them send you something in writing if they say they have it. Very very disappointed in the level of customer service. Buyer beware

I think this is the same as yours. Seems to be pretty good. Not clean, but not busted! And of course some of you will want to play "what stuff inside Jim's place do we see in the mirror"...

I think I have one. Can you send me a couple of pictures of yours to z240@shaw.ca and I root through the mirror collection and see if I have exactly the same one. Repair wise, I've had good results with same plastic based expoxy's intended for bumper repair. Easy to sand, nice finish.

The stock hood bumpers are SAE 1/4-28 thread. Yup it's true. This is just 1/4 NF thread, easy to find nuts to match. Seems Nissan had the same hard time finding these in Metric back then and relented to an SAE piece from who know where. MSA's replacement uses a M6x1.0 bolt with a flat head at least, closer. You can tap the welded nut to M6x1 and thread it in (its a tad loose), using a matching nut underneath to lock it in place.

You're not using a big enough hammer. The pass side sticks out over the block giving you a place to bang upward. Use a block of wood between the head and your 2-3 lb sledge. You do have one don't you?

Very likely, reproductions for sure. The price is $3.95 actually. Just crazy....

Now's the time to jump on stuff. I picked a front and rear bumper for the 71 I've restored. At that price, who can resist.. Door handles are $5.95! Pedal covers are $0.95.

Been busy making ads on several sites. Just posted the beast on our datsunclassifieds.com http://www.datsunclassifieds.com/autos/datsun/1971-240z-series-1-1971-25-000-00-4583.htmlhttp://www.datsunclassifieds.com/autos/datsun/1971-240z-series-1-1971-25-000-00-4583.html Its on local kijiji and Autotrader.ca as well. Have submitted an ad to zcartrader.com as well.

There's a big school yard right across the street. come on down! Thanks also for the kind words. Just always works out best this way. Now if someone would just buy the dang thing before I decide I love it too much to keep it. That blue is growing on me.

Went out to the shop Thursday morning and discovered a wet spot under the rear end. Now what the hell is going on? I've put a total of maybe 100 km on the car so far. Turned out to be a leaking side seal on the diff. This will never do. Ripped the whole dang rear end apart and while I was at it did more "detailing". Decide the red diff and drive axles just don't fit the vibe so.. Here is the seal. Totally ripped up. No idea why. The other side is perfect. Easy enough to change. And removed all the grime from the back end. Down to the white paint. Not a hint of any prior undercoating, every seam is exposed. I suppose this all should be undercoated, but not until the next owner sees this rustless wonderland.

Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my closeup now... How can you resist not taking this puppy home?

All 240 dashes bolt up in the same way at all all attachment points. Swap away.

Now if it could fill in the pitting, THAT would be impressive!

Well sure I have one! Now the fast part is a bit of a $$ challenge from way the heck out here is western Canada. I can get it on the way tomorrow I suppose. Let me know at z240@shaw.ca and I'll conjure up some pictures....

There is commercial source for these, and it has been discussed here a year or so ago. Sorry can't find it at the moment, just to give you hope that you may be able to find them.

Glad it arrived in good shape. I did replace the connector shell, the old one was pretty grungy as can be see seen in the picture above. Just couldn't ship it that way. No more of these here!

They are both flow through. The resonator is 2.25 and the muff 2.5. No buyers yet. Going to a car show tomorrow out in Radium BC so the 73 still thinks I like it, then will get to proper advertising next week.

Muffler work is complete. Main muffler is a stainless Magnaflow 14211 and the resonator is a Vibrant 1140 "Ultra Quiet" The fitment of the muffler is fantastic. It is standing upright and looks totally tucked from the rear. Both inlet and outlet are offset to the same side. The resonator is about as wide as it can be. Wish it came in double offset, the in and out pipes would not have to be as curved. Just have to find a nice tip. The sound is fantastic. Quiet'ish at idle and cruise but has a good sound under power, but not loud or obnoxious. I see more cleaning I need to do... sigh....

Remove the weatherstrip from that door and close the door and hold it in position so that as much as the door is aligned with the front and rear fender, then see if it fits differently/better. This will give you an un-biased indication if the door fits the opening or if the weatherstrip is in fact holding it away. The fit overall is pretty good, I would not be suing the shop just yet. You can tap the pinch weld where the weatherstrip sits and bend it back into the car a bit to adjust how close the weatherstrio comes to the door. Also after a few months the weatherstrip will compress and the door will likely fit better. You cna then tap the pinchweld back into alignment. This is normal body fitment work. They didn't do anything "wrong".

And it went for its inaugrial 'toodle" around the block this evening. Other than the lack of muffler, it was un-eventful. No police summoned from mad neighbors, it goes, stops, turns, lights work. Midas, here we come in the morning. Good thing its only 1.5 miles away.

You'd think I'd have done this by now, but I finally did the initial 20 min engine break in. Shall we just say...

Single stage white paint. I didn't paint it, would have to ask the painter for details. It's more about the underlying body work and priming and sanding than about the top coat.