m240

Hey ZmeFly I'm in Export, between Greensburg and Monroeville. Maybe we can get together sometime once I get the car together. I just painted it so I have to put the lights, bumpers, etc. back on. I decided to change gears a little and work on the interior a little (heater, carpets, etc.). I was wondering if you had any ideas on this. I am getting a leak through the bottom of the doors on to the floorboards. You can see the water on the door seals dripping in to the car. The leak is in both doors about 1/3 of the way from the front. I've replaced the door seals, windshield gasket, and chrome stripping with the little rubber strip on top of the door that seals the window on the outside. I've also checked the front cowl area and there is no holes or leaks. It has me stumped. Thanks, Mark

I had some antifreeze leaking on the passenger floormat and assumed that it was either the heater hoses or the valve so I replaced them. After putting it back together I noticed that it was the core itself leaking around a fitting! I have an extra core that is already out of my parts car. I hooked it up to a compressor and shot about 35 psi into it while it was submerged in a laundry tub. There was no air bubbles from the core. Is this a good enough test for it or should I take it to a radiator shop to have it checked? Also I had planned to swap the dash in the car with my parts car dash, is it easier to change the heater core while the dash is out? Thanks again for any input on this! Mark

I know they say you can't use the original tach if you switch to electronic, but I used a 280zx dist in my 73 and the tach worked fine. Try the original tach first before switching it out. Mark

I saw a nice rear bumper on ebay from a '71 and I was wondering if anyone knows if it will fit a '73. The parts books show different numbers for these and I don't know if is because they just look different or that they mount different. Thanks, Mark

So these systems are to good to be true! Thanks for all the feedback! I wouldn't mind spending a couple of $$ on it if it worked, but I guess keeping a good coat of wax on it is still the best way to go. Thanks, Mark

Does anyone have any expieriance with any electronic rust prevention systems. I've seen them on television shows and advertised on the internet and I was wondering if it really works or is it one of those things to good to be true. After putting new floorboards in my car and repainting it I just don't want to do it again. Thanks for any feedback! Mark

Since I've never done this before I've read the FSM and other manuals about windshield installation, is it that hard to install the glass or am I better off having a glass company do it even if there is no warranty against glass breakage? I just don't want any leaks later on. Thanks, Mark

Thanks for the reply! I'll try that. I'm just hoping that it doesn't break on the way out! I think I'll have a glass company put it back in when I'm done. Thanks, Mark

I am getting ready to paint my z and I had a couple of dumb questions. I am going to take the windshield and hatch glass out and I was wondering if there was a trick or easy way to do this so I don't break them. Also do you have to drop the gas tank to get the rear bumper off? Any help on this is appreciated!! Thanks, Mark

Thanks for the input! I was going to use the compressor for other stuff too, but I'll hold off of that one and rent the other compressor if it will do a better job. I was looking at PPG paints and maybe I'll try a metalic one if it is not that much harder to shoot. Thanks again, Mark

I'm getting ready to paint my 240 next month and I had a few questions. I painted a couple of cars many years ago and the paint went on and stayed on fine but there was a lot of orange peel( think it was the equipment that I used). I plan on either buying a compressor from sears-6hp 33gal tank, or renting a 11 hp gas unit. Is the sears compressor large enough number one and will it handle a hvlp gun? Also does a hvlp gun make that much of a difference over a conventional gun? As far as paint I've been told to use the base coat / clear coat type because that is the easiest one to get a good finish with. Is the urethane paint better to use than the acrylic? Lastly is metalics and kandys that much harder to shoot evenly compared to solid colors? Im very open to any suggestions anyone might have! Sorry for all the questions but if someone could answer one or two of them it would help greatly! Thanks, Mark

Thanks for the tips. After sitting in the car during a good downpour I saw some water coming in through the windshield gasket( I didn't think to look there). I caulked that, reinstalled the door seals and checked the drain tubes on either side of the dash. I plan on changing dashboards later this summer so I will check that pan under the wipers then. Can the windshield be taken out and reinstalled by 1 person or is it 2 person job? I should change that seal around it. Thanks for the help! Mark

Thanks for the reply! I'll check those things first thing tomorrow. Mark

Last year I put new floor boards in my 73' 240 and about a month ago I noticed that there was some water getting in and soaking the padding under the front carpets. Not wanting to go through rusty floor boards again I got a set of door seals from VB. I saw on a post that the seals for a 78' works the best as far as having no problem shutting the door and they sealed well. Well I put in the new seals and the door was tight but it shut. A couple days later I noticed the front carpets were wet again after a rain storm. Did I make a mistake using the 78' seals or is there a trick I missed putting them in? I used the adhesive from VB to put them in. Could the water be coming in from somewhere else ( I can't find any other signs of leaks)? Thanks for any help on this! Mark

I did not get to removimg it yet, but I will check into that eraser wheel. Thanks for the tip! Mark:classic:

Thanks for the replies! It is the tape kind of pinstriping so I'll pick up a heat gun and go at it. Thanks, Mark

What is the best way to get pinstriping off? I am getting ready to start prepping for some paint and was wondering what is the easiest way to get this old striping off. Thanks, Mark

Gary thanks for the link! It has alot of good info. I looked at the dist again and I think it has the right mounting bracket on it. My problem seems to be I can't turn the dist enough to get the timing marks to line up. I loosened both the adustment screw on top and the bolt underneath but I can't get it over enough. The engine runs, but a little rough. It also chugs on when you turn off the key. Any ideas? I guess i'll just keep playing with it. Thanks, Mark

I did not get the zx coil and bracket. I was running it with the original coil. The engine would run but the timing was way off and it would run on after shutting it off. I'm going to put the old dist back in this weekend and run it with that until I can find the right bracket for the zx dist(it didn't come with one), and the right coil. Thanks for clearing up this problem. Mark:classic:

Thanks for the reply! I installed the dist from a 79' in my 73' using the original 73' mount and I can't get the timing right. I guess this explains why. Thanks, Mark:classic:

What mount for the distributor are you talking about? Is it the plate that the bolts go through to hold down the distributor or something else? I am doing this conversion to my 73' right now and want to be sure I have the all the right parts. Thanks, Mark

Thanks for the reply! I did get a colortune and it did help me get the carbs a little closer. Right after that though the engine died, so thinking I did something wrong I put the carbs back to what the manual says are the intial settings/ mixture setting 2 turns etc. and then I found out the car was out of gas(bad fuel gauge)= thats why it died. So next time I get a chance I'm get the colortune out again give it another chance. Mark

It looks real good!! Mark

I know the fealing of trying to figure out whether to keep putting money and time into the car or getting rid of it. I'm starting to look at this as more of a hobby than anything else. I wanted this car as more of a sunday driver and to autocross than a daily driver. I originally thought I would have this together within a couple months but as I said its probably not going to happen until next year now. I hope you don't trade your car in and I'll let you know when its ready so we can all get together next year. Mark

I just "refreshed" the carbs on my 71' engine with a VB kit and it runs better than it ever did since I got it, but it seams to be running rich. It flooded out once and did not want to restart and I get some grayish / black smoke out of the tailpipe. I was thinking of getting one of those Color Tune tools to help dial things in better. Has anyone used this before and what do you think of it? Also the head pipe from the rear three cylinders glows red hot above idle while the front head pipe looks normal. Is this a normal thing? I balanced the carbs with a syncrotester and thought that both pipes should look the same. Thanks again for any help or suggestions!