sdaughtry

I am swapping out my clutch on my '73 240Z. Previous owner installed a 5 speed tranny from a 280ZX. I ordered the clutch kit from MSA that had all the goodies - now that the tranny has been dropped out of the car and flywheel resurfaced and put back onto the car, the mechanic showed me the old clutch disc (that had 6 springs) compared to the Excedy (sic?) new clutch disc (4 shorter springs) - more concerning is the pilot bearing tool (the one included with the kit) - it is an extremely tight fit when slid into the hole (tight enough that it makes a loud pop when it finally comes out). The mechanic said the tool should slide in & out pretty easily, and it is gonna be 10x harder to get the tranny back in if the tool is that tight going in and out. $1,000,000 question is now this: should I have not ordered the 1970-1974 MSA clutch kit for the 240Z and instead ordered a 280ZX clutch kit for my car? The car has the stock 240Z engine installed - I swapped out the differential from the original 180 to the 200 about a year ago.

I also have problems with the MSA bulbs - my factory bulbs were dim so I took the MSA bait and had all the bulbs swapped out of my '73. The speedometer bulb started flickering immediately but has consistently worked for a couple of weeks now - my clock bulb is completely dead and my fuel gauge bulb flickers on/off every time I hit a bump. Not a happy camper.

Getting ready to replace my clutch; I have no service history for my '73 240Z and have no idea what shape the flywheel will be in. The only flywheels I can find are lightweight aluminum flywheels intended for racing - MSA hasn't had availability for stock flywheels since 1997, and Black Dragon only has the aluminum flywheel. My car is a daily driver driven in lots of stop & go traffic - it is my understanding that light flywheels make feathering a clutch much more difficult, and I don't feel like stalling my car in highway traffic <g>. Does anyone make / stock stock flywheels any longer?

My '73 is missing these clips - previous owner took them out for some reason. Can't find anyone that has them. If you have some spares you'd like to sell OR you know of a different vehicle that has a workable fascimile of the same clip PLEASE get ahold of me!! Thank you! Scott Albuquerque 505-846-7729 sdaughtry@yahoo.com

I just installed the Pertronix on my '73 240Z with a new distributor/Petronix coil and new resistor - happy to report this is the best my Z has ever ran - smoother idle, went from 12-14MPG to 20.5MPG for the same drive route. Great investment!

Today I freaked when I saw the temp gauge was absolutely pegged off the charts when driving home.. the oil pressure was fine and the car ran normal so I pulled over, checked for leaks (none) and drove home. Let car cool down completely (4 hours), popped radiator cap (full), checked oil (fine), so I restarted the car (started immediately) - gauge again went from normal (dead cold) to immediately pegging off the charts. Never did this before today - I'm thinking it is the Water Temperature Sending Unit but want to ask the question before I get the part in from MSA.. anyone else run into this problem before? My '73 has the original gauges and I will assume has the original sending unit...

You guys/gals are amazing.. thank you for steering me in the right direction!

I upgraded my 1973 240Z, which already had a 5 speed installed, from the stock differential to a R-200 3:90 differential. Now my speedometer is reading at least 10 mph faster than it did before. I found that Courtesy Nissan sells the replacement gear needed to fix the problem - but, I don't know which one I need to buy to get my speedometer reading correctly again. Hoping someone here might know the answer - I did run several searches on the forums (which is how I found the Courtesy Nissan reference)...

John, Check your PM - just sent you a message! :squareeye Scott

John, Here is the part that I'm told I need by the mechanic as posted on the ZCarSource web site: http://www.zcarsource.com/content/p/9/pid/43036/catid/6626_6630/Strut_Ass_y__Left_70_74_Coupe Hopefully it is the same that you have available - apparently the spindle pin has welded/rusted itself into the strut assembly (my car came from Illinois) and simply won't come out. He said that the left rear strut assembly has other rust issues, so even if the pin eventually came out it wouldn't be wise to stick back onto the car. Since he builds street rods and show cars I'm apt to trust his judgment. If the part you have is the same as the one on the URL please let me know immediately, as you will have an immediate sale - I will pay for overnight shipping. Thank you for replying to my post! As luck would have it, I bought nearly every single rear suspension part from MSA shown in this url diagram (http://www.zcarsource.com/rearsusp_diagram.html) EXCEPT for the strut assembly... and of course now ZCarSource is closed for six weeks <g>.

:cry:All, I have my car broken apart at the shop to have the rear suspension parts swapped out, along with installing a R-200 differential. The spindle pin on the passenger side rear came out no problem; driver side rear is seized and will not come out (mechanic tried soaking, heat, etc) - partly due to rust. I now desperately need this part so I can get my car back together AND free up the shop's lift - they are losing money while my car sits in pieces. Z Barn might have one but the owner is away until next Tuesday. MSA and Black Dragon don't carry this part. Z Specialities is in the process of moving their warehouse for the next 6-8 weeks. Does anyone have one available, or know where else I can find this part? It is my understanding that this item is universal for the 240Z-260Z, but was lengthened for the 280Z - can someone verify this for me, as I found one for a 280Z 2+2.

Both auctions have been pulled now by eBay... would be nice if they could get this guy/gal for mail fraud. I've reported this individuals auctions to eBay security for nearly nine months now. Caveat Emptor

Item 1 http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Datsun-Z-Series-1973-Datsun-240z_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ6187QQihZ011QQitemZ320219501552QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW This clown has posted this car FIVE times now on eBay, using slightly different wording. Same pic though.. I almost got taken for $4800 for this auction last year - he was stupid enough to claim the car was in AZ - close enough for my dad to drive down to the fictitious address and confirm the car didn't exist. Item 2 http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Datsun-Z-Series-1973-Datsun-240Z_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ6187QQihZ011QQitemZ320219524052QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW I think the same clown is responsible for this auction too; HLS30130124 was sold for $12k from a car dealer in California; I confirmed this by Googling the Vin number; the text from the auction is the same as this web page: http://www.classiccarmall.net/classified2-9490.htm Bottom line: if a seller on eBay trying to sell a Datsun Z car has 0-10 feedbacks only the chances are high that they are a scam artist. I've reported both auctions to eBay, but sometimes they act slowly in researching these reports and getting the auction pulled in time. :mad::mad::mad:

I purchased this nice looking steering wheel from MSA (http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/SWM/50-3134) - problem is that the horn button is recessed 1" or so down into the wheel. I can't find any pics of the wheel actually installed to see if that is normal (it looks stupid) or if my mechanic has missed a step with installing it onto my '73 240Z? He followed the instructions that came with the wheel...

I've not driven the car in the wet so I don't know if the problem is diminished then. The factory rubber diff mount was replaced last weekend.. that cured the grinding sound but amplified the variety of noises coming from the rear <g>. I have an appointment this weekend with my mechanic to go thru the excellent list of ideas...

I searched the forums; didn't quite find a match. My 1973 240Z has new: Eibach springs, Tokico Illumina's (all 4 sides), factory diff mount. Previous owner installed a R-180 LSD, 280ZX 5-speed trannie. I hear horrible clunking NOT when driving down the road or when shifting gears - my problem surfaces when I'm driving through the neighborhood (i.e. stop sign; turn left; stop sign; turn right). Sound is horrific. My mechanic said my u-joints were tight... what else should we be looking for to figure this out?