SSuspect

I was looking through a few pictures and in this one, you can see that the washer is weather cracked. I assume that the bushings may not be much better (even though they feel OK). I guess I will be looking for a spindle pin puller! DAMMIT! Next, to figure out the wheel bearing situation... :sick:

Thanks guys. I am torn on this one. I may replace them for that "peace of mind" feeling and the ability to get everything powdercoated, but I am still not 100% sure that I want to deal with the hassles. Especially since eveything feels tight and the bushings seem to have no slop at all. I do have the new bushings in my Hyper-Flex kit. May just bite the bullet and do it since I don't know if they have been done before. One more question - Rear wheel bearings... I know that this is another major job. Critical requirement? Another $200 - $300 for bearings, seals and any labor involved if I can't get it myself. Between this and brakes, I am trying to avoid sinking $1k+ into the rear end. Thanks again guys! I appreciate the input.

Hi all, Couple of questions here... I have the rear suspension on the 240z completely torn out (doing the R200 swap). The strut housings and lower control arms are still assembled (at spindle pins). Before I go through the hassles of replacing spindle pins (and potentially wheel bearings), I would like to know if I really NEED TO do this. The pins and bushings seem very tight. The LCA springs back up if I push it down. There does not seem to be any "slop" or "play" in the pin area. I do not know if these have ever been replaced (no info from PO). I have 2 options here: 1 - Bead blast the entire LCA and strut housing and re-paint with POR or Eastwood black. Would leave everything assembled. 2 - Go ahead and pull everything apart and do the powdercoat and re-assemble thing. I am leaning toward doing the "big job" just to insure that it is all done correctly, but I do not want to if I don't have to. I am out of "play money" for a month or so. I AM going to go ahead and do the rear disc brake conversion while it is down. Any info is greatly appreciated! Thanks! Tim

I will re-post in the review section. Will post pics of the HLH install too. I have plenty of "wire management" to finish up under the dash... Back to this thread... payment sent for the R/T mount! Thanks again! Tim

FYI Dave - Got everything buttoned up in the column tonight (still need to clean up wire under dash). You can see your combo-switch handy work here. Thanks for your help! (sorry for side-tracking the thread)... :stupid: Tim

Hi Dave, Count me in! I will get the MO in the next couple of days and send it over. I'll send you the info. I will install everything in the next few weeks when I swap the 4:11 R180 setup into the car. For everybody else as an FYI... I also had Dave rebuild my turn signal and headlight combo switches and I installed his HLH and PLH harnesses in my 2/71 240. This car is not yet on the road, but I am VERY close. The quality of Dave's work as well as his customer service and ease of installation is OUTSTANDING! I will put together a full post of my build (over the last year) in a few weeks. I can't wait to get this car rolling! I will get my door seals this week (needed to complete the interior install). I will bolt my seats in next weekend and take it around the block for the first time since I bought it... WooHoo!!! Thanks for putting this together Dave!!! Tim

Thanks Enigma! That is what I figured, but I was unsure if it should go to the negative side of the coil for some reason... :paranoid: Tim

Hi all, Hope you don't mind, but now that I am making progress, I will throw out a bunch of questions that are probably simple to answer (this one should be VERY simple). A Chevy V8 guy has a lot to learn about these little Z cars! :stupid: Anyway, can somebody tell me where this wire gets grounded to? I did not pay enough attention when I pulled the engine from the ZX... Thanks in advance! Tim

Excellent info! Thanks Dave! I may even have another one in all of my parts. I know that there is one there, but I am not sure if it is from an early or later car or if they are different. I'll try to look through one on my MANY boxes of stuff tonight. Do you know which years are interchangeable with these units? Thanks again! Tim

Thanks Dave! The white/red wire issue you detail is backwards. They stay on when ir IS connected. That is why I am thinking that it is the switch itself. Do you agree??? Is it easy to remove and clean? I'll check into the harnesses as you have detailed. I would rather do that than rewire half of the car like Jason had to do! Thanks again guys! Tim

Hi all, I was able to get her running for the first time this weekend - WooHoo!!! '83 2.8L ZX engine and 5 speed, new Z-Therapy carbs, stainless header, yada, yada... Here are a couple of shots: Anyway - Done gloating. Here is the electrical issue that I have. Electrical issues ARE NOT my strong point! I have installed the ZX alternator, dizzy (with Dave's plug-n-play diode - tach is working fine). I am just afraid that I might have missed something during the alternator swap. Car will run fine with White/Red alternator wire disconnected, but obviously this wire needs to be hooked up (I assume no charging is being done without it). When I hook the White/Red wire up, the ammeter shows strong charging, BUT, the headlights WILL NOT turn off. Headlight switch? Research shows this as a common issue. The white/red wire also starts to warm up fairly quickly (common issue?). Also see ground wire pic below - part of the charging circuit? Alternator connections. Do these look correct? Anything missing (condenser, etc)? The car was apart so long that I am fearful that I may have missed something. White/red wire I am talking about. Is this ground wire a part of the charging system and is it required right now> I was waiting for dash and stereo install before hooking it back up. I can add more pics and details if needed. Thanks in advance for the assistance! Tim

That's what I was thinking too... Thanks again Steve! Tim

Thanks Steve! I have the ZX Dizzy setup so the ballast resistor is gone. The thermostat switch is mounted near the oil pressure switch, so I can tap into that cleanly and add to the existing wire loom. Another dumb question: Should I tap into the power lead before or after the fuse going back to the pump? I have a 7.5a fuse running to the pump. Just wanted to do something a little bit different on the valve cover. The intake manifolds are powdercoated the same color. Both are clear coated too. Why be normal... Thanks again! Tim

Hi all, I am finally making good progress on the 240 and am VERY close to firing it up for the first time. I have done a lot of searches, but this simple issue eludes me. I have installed an aluminum radiator with electric fans. I have a thermostat control switch with a relay for the fans. There is a constant power source to the fans directly from the battery, but there is also a lead that needs to be attached to an ignition based power source. Here is the dumb question: Where can I find an ignition power source? There are no extra connector points on the fuse block (all of my old cars have had 12v spade terminals available). Just the basic glass fuses. I have added an oil pressure switch in line with the fuel pump wiring (spliced in behind the radio). I might be able to tap off of that, but do not want to overload that circuit with the pump and fans in the same line. Is there a simple source that I can connect the fan relay to? Wiring diagrams are not my strong point and I hate electrical gremlins. Any "easy" ideas are appreciated! Pictures are even better! FYI... Here is my work to date... I'll post an "everything" writeup when I get it running. Thanks! Tim

If you want to spend the money, here is the setup that I am going to be running. I am VERY close to firing this up for the first time! I bought the full kit (Radiator and fans) from MonsterRadiators on eBay ( http://stores.shop.ebay.com/Monster-Cooling__W0QQ_armrsZ1 ). Total cost (with fans) was about $250 shipped! The radiator bolted right in with NO MODIFICATIONS! He does not have any listed right now, but you can contact him if interested. Each fan will pull 8.5 amps - it is worth doing the ZX alternator upgrade. I am guessing that I should not have any cooling issues... Tim Here are pics of the radiator and fans and the clearance between the pulley and fans.

Cool! I know that some pumps are very loud. I hope that the isolators will help! My L28 is almost ready and the 5 speed is all cleaned up and ready to go. Should install everything in a few weeks. I have the 3:36's too and will leave them in place for a while. I have a 4:11 R180 setup, but that would defeat my plan for better mileage (this was my "justification" for buying the car)... I will save those gears for a rainy day... I am going to pull the fuel tank out and have it cleaned up at the local radiator shop. That way, I won't have to worry about too much funky junk in the fuel system (initially anyway). I am still not sure what I'll do for a filter yet. I've got a custom stainless header and will have my exhaust guy build a custom 2 1/2" system as well. Can't wait to start it up with the open header! Thanks for the info! Tim

Done deal! Very simple and straight forward. Both tubes were pretty tight, but came loose with some effort. Used some good sealer putting it back in. Will let the sealer dry until tomorrow and paint it up to match the rest of the block. WooHoo - one less thing to worry about! A little closer every day. Thanks again to all for the info! Tim

I'll be following this thread too Walter. I have the same pump/oil pressure switch and need to install them on my '71 in a couple of weeks to support the L28 install. Need to pick up a fuel pressure regulator and gauge first though. Question - Is the pump very noisy? I have a couple of sound insulators that I am going to install with it. Thanks, Tim

Thanks guys! I have no fear of sealant! (and my L24 tube looks just like the one posted above) This is going on a 100k plus engine, and I would like to avoid any additional leaks. It had a broken valve cover bolt and from the looks of it, it had been broken for a LONG time - this thing was a MESS. The engine is VERY clean now. I hope it stays that way! Again - I'll report the results once I am done. Thanks again! Tim

Perfect - Thanks for the confirmation Stephen! I'll post an update when I get it successfully swapped over. Thanks again! Tim

Thanks guys - I think that rxsleeper has it... Here is a pic of the tube I am referring to. This is the L28. I will try to mess with it tonight when I get home. Any other feedback is appreciated! Tim

Hi all, I am almost ready (still need to set up the SU's) to drop the '83ZX L28 into the 240, but had a question about the vent tube. The L28 tube is capped at the end with a smaller tube sticking out from the side. The 240 tube is open at the end and has a small tube coming from it. They are obviously different and the L28 tube gets in the way of the carburetor heat shield. I need to swap these out, but have no clue how to remove them. I do not want to damage them in the process. Can somebody give me a few pointers? Any help is appreciated. Thanks! Tim

Cool! Thanks for all of the info guys. I was figuring that the stock setup would be fine as a replacement. Glad you got the 5 speed installed Mike! I "almost" want to install the 4 speed in the car just to get that "what a difference" feel after I put the 5 speed in it! Since I need to separate the engine/trans anyway (for cleaning/painting/etc...), I am planning on replacing everything (clutch wise) while it is apart. The new clutch setup and a few other things are just for peace of mind on my part. I would rather spend the extra $300-$500 while everything is put of the car than to have to lay under the car to do all of it. Seeing what that kid did to the interior and the general condition of the rest of the car, I have serious doubts he had any clue whatsoever how to "maintain" the car... Now - If I could just decide whether or not I am going to refinish the engine compartment while the engine is out (I think that I am)... :tapemouth Thanks again! Tim

Hi all, I am going to yank the L28 and 5 speed out of the donor car in a couple of weeks and was wondering which clutch kit I should go with. I will convert the EFI L28 over to my SU's. I will be using the 5 speed from the '83 ZX. I will also be installing a 4:11 diff into the stock R180 rear end. I am going to get the flywheel resurfaced and was looking for a good clutch kit (disc, pressure plate, pilot and throwout). Not looking to spend a fortune and don't need any HD race units. There are a million options out there and any input is appreciated! Thanks, Tim

Just sent Dave an email to request ordering info. This will be on order in the next day or so! Thanks again! Tim