Zedyone_kenobi

Question, just because it has the vents on the rear hatch, it does not mean it was a series one. Where are the 240Z badges behind the C pillar and on the deck lid. Why would you take those off during the respray and not put them back? also, is that an overflow tank underneath the coil? I have never seen one of those on a Z. I would think that would get in the way of the stock air box, which is always missing. comments? Also the comment that it has a dash cap on to protect the perfect dash underneath is a bit hokey to me.

I like my set of gear wrenches I got at Sears. They offer fine indexing and a relatively small head. One thing of note, any indexing boxed end wrench will be bulkier than a non indexing boxed end wrench. Meaning it may not fit into some areas you would would like it to fit. I would get a set of gear wrenches for sure, but also a good set of slim boxed end wrenches available. Do not skimp on tools. They make the job easier, and the better the tools the more joy you will gain from working on your car?

I get the engineering behind it and all (BS in MCHE), I was alluding to the fact that I am not sure I can actually feel 1 extra volt.

Installed my 60 amp alternator today with custom plug. Could not be easier. Great instructions Arne! Took the car out for a drive. MY old alternator was only putting out 12.4 volts, my new one gets 14.5 volts. Very strong. I am getting almost 13.89 volts to the hot side of the coil, versus 12.2 volts. Car runs liquid smooth now. I cannot make the car hiccup or bog, or pop or sputter. Ran strong all the way to 6500 and even was smooth under all combinations up to that magical 5000 rpm band. I am very pleased. I swear the extra juice makes the fan blow stronger, but it is probably my imagination. I do wonder if it will effect my headlights since my old alternator was so marginally charging.

No special tools. just some open and closed end wrenches will do the trick. I would recommend getting the stud kit for the intake/exhaust. I put one in mine when I swapped out my carbs. Really made things easy and you know you have good bolts going back in. Also, make sure you clean out the threads in the head when you have everything off. It is a horribly boring job and it will murder your fingers, but having clean threads to put bolts/studs in will make all the difference. Plus, dirty threads negatively effects the running torque, meaning you may not get the proper preload on the system when you put it all back together. Other than that, patience. It is not hard, but it is time consuming. Take a couple of hours to properly clean off the sealing surface of all the parts. Cleanliness is key to a good seal. Also read up on the proper torque specs of your manifold/header. Good luck, and take Franks words to heart. Soak those bolts before you put a wrench to them. Do everything you can to make those things come out easy. The last thing we want to hear is you stripped your head or broke a bolt. Take your time and you will be fine. Remember, working on these cars is suppose to be fun, not aggravation.

UPDATE: Yesterday I had some time to fiddle with the Z. First I checked my timing. Still about 5-7 degrees at 800 rpm static, so I am happy about that. I think it should be more stable, but it will do for now. First thing I did was change the plugs/cap/rotor. (plugs looked a beautiful light brown, she is burning cleeeaaaannn) 15 minutes later, I was out the garage and yup, still had my popping and spitting at 5000 rpm. Pulled back in. Next I changed my fuel filter. Out the garage I went for the second round, and the car immediately shot to 6500 rpm when I floored it in 1st and 2nd gear with no drama at all. I was starting to smile. Did some driving and again, no issues pulling very hard all the way to yellow line. I was very pleased. I still need to hook up my 60amp alternator and plug in module (nice instructions Arne), but I was happy. One thing I did find out is when I rev the car very slowly in gear, meaning I do not floor it, just part throttle and I creep up on 5000, it will still pop once or twice until I put the pedal down to the floor. Perhaps I am still running a bit rich. Judging by the plugs I would say that is not really the case. Anyway I went from hitting a wall sputtering and spitting at 5000 rpm to smooth pull to redline with a fuel filter change and tune up. I have to physically try to make it pop now and it is not easy. I am going to try to check my wiring to my coil like Arne did, maybe run a larger wire, and install my 60 amp alternator next. If I can still find a way to make the engine hesitate, I will resync my carbs. I have not touched the air/fuel on the bottom of the carbs since I got them installed from Ztherapy. I turned each of them half a turn and ended up putting them back to where they were. And they were balanced spot on in 10 minutes. LOVE my carbs. Although, I did balance them with the air cleaners base plate with the horns not on it, and I think I need to balance it again with that part on the car. I figure you should balance the carbs in as close to running condition as possible.

I was not aware that the Z's could adjust toe in the rear? Before you start blaming anything else, I would recommend a new set of struts, and replacing your bushings in the rear end. Under braking or decel the weight transfers to the front of the car to some degree, leaving the rear suspension somewhat unloaded. It may be enough to upset something. Just a thought. It is hard to diagnose something when you have known rear suspension bits that are shot. I would recommend parking her and fixing the bits that are worn or tired.

A spring left unchecked will bounce up and down like a slinky. This is what your struts are designed to prevent. They dampen the motion of your springs. A car sits on its springs, and DRIVES on its struts. If you put overly stiff short springs, the car will bounce all over the road uncontrolled. Not only is this not good for handling it can be down right dangerous. Properly stiff struts are needed to handle stiffer springs so that all the movement of the chassis is controlled.

Why do you want to lower it. Is the rest of the car in good condition? How are your struts. You do plan on matching the lower car with stiffer dampers right?

Nothing anywhere I have found near us Frank. Need to keep as little of that crap in the tank as possible. I think if I can fill up more often, I can at least keep fresh gas in the tank.

For what it is worth, when I added mine, the whole car squeaked far less going up and down my driveway and the car felt more solid. It is a great mod that is not intrusive

Noted. I think I will pick up a battery tender.

I would not give you a dime over $110,000

Wow, this may be the real deal. But not driven since 76 worries me. The car would need new brakes, new rubber seals just about everywhere, the engine may need to be broken free, the carbs will be toast sitting that long with fuel in them. Not saying it is not worth a serious look. But I think for 19000 dollars it would have to be running and drivable. The seller could do a lot of good for himself if he would get it reliable and then tried to sell it. As it sits now, I would not offer him 10000 for it. A car that does not run is a bee's nest full of potential problems to me. Does that 19500 seem just too perfectly centered? Maybe I am stirring things up, but something about seems too dead center.

Agreed 7500 is too much for that car. for that price in a 280Z it would need to have a much better body, (ie no rust) and should be mechanically sound, meaning working AC and the like. The dash cap is not really a big deal if it was done correctly. Finding a perfect Z dash is like finding a leprechaun on a sunny day. The haste at which it was painted worries me. Could be hiding much more than you see. 1600 dollars in fuel system repairs is really nothing considering most of that was probably labor. Sounds like to me they just did a quick job of fixing it up just enough to sell to a buyer who is not yet trained to spot the issues. Walk away. There is no shortage of Z cars.

If I ever make it back up to Oregon, I will have to come by and we can compare war stories. I bet you will win though.

Actually Arne, with my energetic 2 year old running the roost lately, I will HAVE to do them one at a time! HA HA

Just to keep this thread full of useful insight. I took out my gal for a spin last night, after being parked for well over a month. She had a horrible time getting past 5000 rpm. Two months before at a track day she screamed to 6500 with NO hesitation. Certain things come to mind, as I did not change anything: 1) Ethanol, ethanol. I wonder if the gas is going south after sitting for well over a month. 2) I had a very low battery after sitting for so long, car barely started, and I noticed that my amp gage was reading very positive which to me means the alternator trying to charge the nearly dead battery back up. That low voltage may have been hurting my pertronix output What I am going to do to try to solve this. First the easy stuff. Check timing (that solved all my revving problems before) Second, tune up, new plugs, cap/rotor, fuel filter Third 60 amp alternator upgrade from MSA Fourth, Fill up with fresh ethanol free gas I will let you know of the results if I keep putting these small projects in front of my tranny swap I will never get it done. But that is how these things happen

I can concur that 195/60/15 works on tokiko lowered car with a stock valance. 205/60/15 rubbed every so slightly.

So this weekend I went to Toronto with my good friend Kirk, and we took the Targa Newfoundland qualifying class. I was learning the roll as navigator, and Kirk was driving the 300C rental car around the Driver development track at Mosport. It was a wonderful weekend and unbelievably tiring. I will get some pictures up of where we stayed , etc. But I have to say that navigating is a large challenge for me. So much to keep track of, and I will need some practice to get the hang of the pace of calling out notes. We are entering his 944 turbo in the 2011 Targa Newfoundland. My Z is slated to go 2-3 years later, as I still getting her ready. While we plan to run the Porsche in the Targa class, my Z is going to be limited to the Grand Touring, which does not require a roll cage or any major car modifications. Anybody have any advice on good books on navigating and tips or tricks to learning that skill.

I have a european dizzy on order right now and I plan to add my experiences with it when I get it installed and dialed in. The main difference as far as I have been told is that the euro dizzy can run far more static advance as its centrifugal advance is much less than my stock 71 dizzies. I think it still has about 11 degrees of vacuum advance built in. We will see, my thanks to Walter Moore for the education on the types of dizzies I can run. FYI, currently I have a stock 240Z dizzy with a pertronix unit with a flamethrower 3 ohm coil, resistor bypassed and running 5° BTDC. Basically just like Arne.

Your enthusiasm is intoxicating and rejuvenates so many. While my Z is in pretty nice nick, it always invigorates me to see someone like yourself that started from something more humble and turned it into something beautiful. I completely respect anybody who has had the patience and time to do this. My hat is off to you sir. One day I will have to strip mine down for paint, and I hope I can stay as focused as you did!

AFter the tranny swap, this will be my next upgrade. I would imagine all the electrics work better and at 60 amps, it is just a minor bump in power but enough to make a difference. So your stock wiring should not get all smokey

One thought there ZCurves.. a smaller pulley would in fact 'overdrive' the compressor would it not? Usually underdrive denotes that it accessory spins slower, which would require a larger pulley.