visionary

Gentlemen, All of your suggestions of possible cause are viable, I think I will get out the volt meter and explore these potential causes prior to removing the signal stalk. I had never heard of the filiment short before. The rear signal does function which is one of the baffling things about this... thanks keith

It is always good to hear some support. Actually, the cover panels are off as I have had to replace the light stalk on the column and have had to dismantle the ignition switch to remove the door key several times due to worn tumblers and worn levels of attention when inserting the correct key. I am of the understanding from more knowledgable Z parts guru's that even different '73 versions have different switch harness connectors. I was able to go through a bucket of light stalks in Denver at Fortunz of Wheels to find one that worked on my '73. I need to do some rewiring of harness conncetors because of "meltdown" that has occured in them over the years causing me to have to cut and splice individual wires that have been burned through in the old connectors, so, I think I will remove and disassemble the turn signal switch to see if I can rebuild the worn assembly. I was successful doing this with the original fan switch for the heater/AC. Will update... Keith

I forgot to mention that is for the SU type Hitachi carb.

The standard mixture screw "Backoff" is one and one half turns from the completely closed position. In other words: tighten the screws completely against the carb body and back them off (counter clockwise) 1 & 1/2 turns as a starting point for your sync and adjustment process... Keith

I have a small problem with my left turn signal I can not seem to run down. The signal has stopped working when I activate the turn signal lever on the steering column. The hazard switch activates the signal and the parking/running lights work. This leads me to believe it is the steering column switch that is malfunctioning. Any opinions??? Keith:tapemouth

Hey, good luck tomorrow. All of us feel a little pride when another Z owner brings recognition to the ownership and heritage of the automobile. I am glad the car has smoothed out for you. You might consider the option of a 3 core radiator. I waited a full year to replace mine (which had the original 2 core). During that time I had it flushed and reconditioned twice at a cost of about $50 US both times with no noticable results. On warm or just F---ing hot days the car always registered above the mid mark on the gauge and if I decided to push speed above 90 it was more to the 3/4 mark. After replacing the radiator with a 3 core, I have run all day above the 90 mark with the needle barely touching the mid mark. This last trip was in daytime temps above 80 degrees at altitudes above 7500 ft. In fact, I hit Donner Summit (ask someone else where that is) at 95 with the mark at 1/3 and 1/3 left in the pedal two weeks ago.... The cost, after a little negotiation, was $212.00 delivered.... have fun Keith

Hey Baddog, I doubt there is a 240z.org member that would not support the following statement. The sending unit for the oil pressure gauge on the L24 engine is a piece of crap. You can replace the unit. I have read various accounts of junk yard and aftermarket parts replacements of the sending unit, however they all end with the same ending; the unit fails again. I replaced my oil pump with the turbo version from MSA and it did make a slight difference at the gauge. I have a parts box with 4 old sending units from previous owners, so, I haven't bothered to replace the crappy one on the engine currently. It is devilish how the mental effects of a needle that does not move play havoc with grey matter. Like I said, I had to replace my oil pump with a turbo pump before I felt comforable. The actual problem is the sending unit. I did see a VDO sending unit last week that I will most likely end up buying ($35.00), but, once again, that is only for my mental stability... Keith

Bad dog, First of all, I want to say that you have gotten yourself a very nice Z with a great deal of TLC before your purchase. In contrast , My Z had 23 previous owners and was found in an impound lot in Los Angles. So, go slow with any changes you make to your ride and be careful to consider all of the options available to you when making any choices. I ALWAYS put premium gas in my Z. The changes in octane rating between 1972 and now require the 89 to 92 octane rating for these engines in todays market. Correct tuning, ie fresh plugs, points, condenser, wires, etc. are all very important components of a smooth running Z. The point is your relationship with your Z will be very intimate, and the smallest inconsisitency will be noticable in your car. Keith

Rick, Thank you for offering to do a test fitting for me. I am going to replace my tires but it won't be until the latter part of the summer. Currently I have 14x6" mags on the car, so I think I will stay with the wheel this time, however, when I am ready, some time in July, I will contact you about tires and fit. thanks, Keith

Rick, Are there any substantial inner fender "rub" issues at full suspension travel with the 225-50 on series tires on a 14" rim with street setups, i.e. performance springs with 1" overall lowering? Keith

I like the T/A's also, although those potenza look good. The 215 60 series fits on a 6" or wider rim well without any adverse effect to the speedo. I ran VR 255 50 15's on my 84 vette at speeds above 150 and they were always smooth but the best thing about them was that you could feel the sidewall flex and have lateral traction before they break loose in the corners. I switched to the T/A's after spinouts with the Goodyear gatorbacks that had no indicators or lateral grip before breaking... Keith

I will add my testimonial to the ztherapy carbs. They are worh the money. One issue you must be aware of when rebuilding a stock Hitachi roundtop is that when the linkage wears out it also wears the bushings out and you get air leakage into the throtle body. The bearings eliminate most of this "wear" problem and the performance is great. Keith

Baddog, The only box I could find for the individual air cleaners is a Beck Arnley worldparts box. These work well and should last you thought the summer. The part # is 042-8136 and, like I said before, I believe these are acutally for Volvo's. You will also need four 3 1/4" bolts to fit though the air cleaners as the mounting bolts for the stock airbox are to long. Be sure to get some good lockwashers as well. One other thing, you have to route your float bowl venting lines into the back of one of the air cleaners. Use a little common sense to secure the atachment. MrMoonshineMan, connecting the two nipples will not do anything bad or is it wrong to do so but pluging the outlets with pipe plugs will insure that the line doesn't break or come off, etc. as these occurances would be bad and your distributor would receive the wrong amount of vacume advance pressure from the intake manifold... Keith

Thanks for the info. The site has alot of good info and products. Now I just need to figure out which will fit my '72 SU carbs (which are actually Hitachi HJG 46W-3A if anyone is ordering parts for '72 roundtops) individually. Keith

Baddog, I glad the info helped. Five miles to smooth out is not unusual for a '73 with the smog system dsconnected. If your carbs are adjusted correctly and you choke system works well you can 'feather out' the choke lever while driving for a smoother transition until your engine is warmed up and your vacume systems stabilize. If you go down to your local import parts store and replace the flex tube from the exhast manifold to the air intake box your car will warm up faster. If you are going to keep the original air box I would suggest doing this as leaving the connection open does not allow the box to work as designed. If you want to know the part #'s on the individual air cleaners from Borg Warner, I will post them for you. They are actually for volvos but fit perfectly(about$28). The PCV valve attaches at the intake manifold from the crankcase vent hose. You might also consider replacing the '73 intake manifold with a '72 which allows better flow for the carbs and subsequently better vacume stability. good luck Keith

Brandon, Car looks great. I like the seats and the fit is very consisitent with the interior. I think I will look around in the yards. By the way, I lived on Nob Hill and Buena Vista for many years while I worked downtown and in the media district in SOMA. I'll let you know... Keith

Mike, they do look good. This is an option I should explore. If you don't mind me asking, what is cost range? There are several good shops here, however I am not aware of cost and value parameters. Another thing, I noticed the weatherstrip on you doors is not as thick as the replacement rubber I got from MSA. Did you replace or is your weatherstrip original? thanks, Keith

I don't know, with a dark paint job, different hood, three point restraints, roll bar and a diplomatic passport hadcuffs and a gold card you could probably pick up a blond with big hair in it.... Keith

Jeff, Check out the Weatherstrip thread at the beginning of this forum. I have had full rubber replacement from MSA on my Driver door for a year and the door still won't close completly flush to the rear quarterpanel. Am thinking about trying some test strips on the other door that are"trimmed" so as to reduce the physical thickness of the replacement rubber... will update Keith

zz, let me know how that works. I am going to brainstorm this issue a little more to see if I can come to an acceptable solution. I think I will try a couple of small strips first now that the weather is warming up... Keith

Baddog, You have a '73 manifold with '72 or earlier SU carbs. The two holes you have circled on the front manifold are not holes per say. They are screw threads that mounted the idle speed hose crossover tube for the flattop hitachi's that are no longer there. There should be two identical thread holes on the rear manifold. If the cosmetics bother you, simply fill the threads with appropriate screws. The two nipples that are coming out of the manifold next to the thread holes were for vacume hoses connected to the Throttle opener control valve that was linked to the flattops to allow air-fuel mixture into the engine to minimize the unburned hydrocarbons in the exhaust. These should always remain pluged. I would put pipe plugs with teflon tape on them to ensure you don't get a vacume leak. Any leak here will affect your vacume advance to the disrtibutor dramatically. The "hole" on the equalizer tube I cannot see very well, but if it isn't a mounting or thread hole plug it because as you can see, the vacume boost for your brake master cylinder comes from the equalizer tupe and good pressure here ensures your brake master cylinder booster doesn't fail. The breather tubes from your float bowls you can join with a "T" fitting and then send to the air cleaner or if you decide to run individual air cleaners you can run them into the appropriate one. Do not plug these as it will cause the float bowls to overflow and gas will run out of the front of your carbs. The "winter" setting on the stock air box is forward or closed on the intake baffle and the "summer" setting in rearward or open. I have elimiated all of these issues by using individual cleaners, putting a valve cover breather filter instead of the hose and disconnecting the hose to the flow guide valve from the carburetor. You also need to check the PCV valve from the crankcase breather hose.... good luck Keith

Baddog, I have to go to a meeting, but when I get back I will detail your manifold for you. I also have '72 SU carbs on my '73 and have disconnected all the smog, etc.. I also removed the "box" aircleaner and replaced with individual aircleaners. these cars are not cold running cars, especially after the smog system is removed or is in poor condition. It is a must for all of the holes in the manifold to be plugged for several reasons beyond engine performance... Be back soon.... Keith

Hey Baddog and anyone else who is interested: There is a Z shop in Lakewood Colorado ( a suburb of Denver) called Fortunate Wheelz. The owners name is Bob Bush,303.798.9822, and this guy is a brilliant Z mechanic with alot of parts. Baddog, he has a set of seats you may be interested in... tell him Keith with the Idaho Z sent you. Keith

I would like to see some photo's if you have some of the fiero seats. I could care less about the headrest speakers, I have a Kenwood system with rear 6x9 and front 5" speakers but would like a mod that has minimal fabrication.... Thanks, Keith

Let me count the ways... On the horn pad On the cam oiler tube On the vacume tube I modified with a flexible brake line from the intake manifold to my auto trans kickdown On the interior to fix may cracks on the inside of the panels during resoration On the console to rebuild many areas during resto To fill a couple of holes in my head... Keith