blue 72

The previous owner of my '72 had replaced the dizzy with one from an automatic car (dual points). He had hooked up the yellow temp sensor wire to the distributor for some reason. I was very glad to switch to the ZX dizzy, as the old dual points only let the car rev to 4k. Even with the D6K8 distributor I could only rev to about the 5.5-6k range with the stock head and cam, just remember that those can have an effect on rpm limit as well. Post mods there is no problem going to 8K with the same junkyard sourced dizzy (now it needs a rebuild though). Just for reference, there are a few places on the net that show exactly how to wire in a later distributor in early and late S30's. For instance: http://www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/distributor/index.html http://www.datsunzgarage.com/engine/ As far as modules go, I have seen only three different (although they may have numerous P/N's). The E12-80 has only the two top prongs, while the E12-92 and E12-93 have two more on the side. I've posted before about how to wire in the E12-92 and E12-93 modules.

I've had problems with the rock auto hard black valve cover gaskets in the past. I've now got a cork valve cover gasket on mine with a light coat of Gasgacinch, and no leaks to report yet. Unfortunately, I haven't seen a Neoprene valve cover gasket for this motor yet.

Not really a recent phenomenon. As long as there have been irresponsible people (teenagers included) and automobiles, there have been these kind of incidents. Everyone does stupid things behind the wheel from time to time. Those of us who survive the stupidity and learn from it / from others' stupidity go on to be more responsible drivers. Fixing the situation would require much more education in my opinion. Since that costs money and time, there will always be those not interested in pursuing it. That would include local and national government programs, continuing all the way down to parents and peers. Even still there will be those who ignore what they have learned. At least we could reduce the amount of carnage if we took a more proactive approach.

Yours has paint on it, hence in looks it is nicer than mine. Are you going for a complete restoration back to stock?

Yes, there is an easy way to find out which 5 speed it is. If you search thoroughly enough, then you will find it. I'll be nice though, the earlier 5 speed has two "ears" on the tailhousing, below the shifter lever. The later, close ratio transmission only has one "ear" and it's on the driver's side. Here, check out the pictures of a "uni-ear" here to see what I'm talking about for yourself: http://www.geocities.com/jasonparuta/gearbox.html

If it is uploaded to a server, then you could simply link to it. I've never tried attaching anything other than photos on this message board.

I can't say I've ever seen holes in that spot. I just looked through my hard drive at about 7 other S30 core supports. Most looked exactly like the one on my '72. The ones that are different had more holes, and slightly different configurations, but none like the ones you showed. Those don't look to be done by the factory. I'll hazard a guess at an aftermarket overflow tank bracket.

Looks like a standard Nissan 5 speed to me. They are aluminum, and only attach to the block with 4 bolts and a sandwich plate between them. As far as I know, the numbers cast on the tranny don't mean anything useful. Very strange rear end ratio. Is this a standard R-180 or R-200 we're dealing with? I'd also like to know how you came up with the numbers for that ratio. Did you read them stamped into the ring gear, count the ring and pinion teeth, or just turn the driveshaft and count tire rotations?

Okay, I finally got a moment to crawl under my Z (it snowed on Saturday), and mine are indeed just like they should be, the early or "former" style. Brake hard line at the front, bolt and copper washer in the blind plug hole, and bleeder at the back end. I stumbled on the registry through another thread, and then tried searching through the member list to find your name before finding out I was already posting to you. Funny coincidence.

You'd have to get it up in the air to get at it from underneath I'd guess. Luckily when my hood release cable snapped it did it right where the knob attaches on the inside of the vehicle.

The progressive failure apparently is not an uncommon thing when these let go. They shut the car off, but after letting it sit for a minute, the car starts back up and runs a while before dying again. When that happened to me, I went to a junkyard to find a replacement. Luck wasn't with me that day, so I grabbed a couple of E12-93 modules from some later ZX or Maxima junkers. Upon returning home, I realized my mistake, but didn't feel like doing any more junkyard scrounging immediately. I started some extensive web searching instead. I had tried simply installing the module in place of the E12-80, but the timing retarded quite a bit. No amount of timing adjustment (turning the distributor body) would get the car to run like it should. Based on the experiences of some members over on the HybridZ boards, and reading from a few other web sites, I found out what those little prongs on the side of the E12-92/3 ignition modules are for. For example, let's quote Bryan Little (http://www.datsunzgarage.com/engine) for a second. "Okay, so substituting an E12-92 or E1-93 module pulls off timing, but the prongs on the side get signal from the computer to advance timing? Right? Did I read that correctly?" I thought to myself. Easy enough to theorize what happened next. All I had to do was run a wire with 12 volts (spliced from positive post on coil) to one of the pins on the side of the E12-93 module, and gained back 5º of timing (iirc). It's wired to the I pin, but the W pin does the same thing. After that, I simply adjusted the distributor to give me 18º btdc @ idle, and it has run flawlessly for over 1,500 miles. Pulls cleanly to 8K RPM too (although I do have the head and cam to make it there). Well, there you have it. Now anyone can run the E12-92 or E12-93 modules which have been completely worthless up until now.

I've also got a '79 ZX dizzy on my car. It is pretty simple and straightforward as long as you can follow the instructions which are available on a few sites. As far as coils go, most people put a hotter coil on to take advantage of the electronic distributor not using a ballast resistor, so it takes a full 12 volts all the time. The cars with non electronic coils only provide 12 volts on startup, while the rest of the time they were choked down with the ballast resistor. I too have had an E12-80 unit go out on me. Luckily it was a progressive failure, and I was able to limp it home. Now I carry two spares in my glovebox. I've currently got an E12-93 module running mine. Everyone says they aren't worth anything, but they just don't know how to wire them correctly. I've got a local junkyard with 3 E12-80 modules still in cars that I'm going to pluck next time I'm out that way. You never know when they might come in handy.

Oh, and by coincidence, our cars are less than 400 numbers apart as far a VIN's are concerned. Interesting happenstance I thought.

Interesting find. I went through my photos from when I changed my brakes, but unfortunately didn't take any pictures specifically of the cylinders themselves. I do know that mine were the same type though, just mirror images of each other. I even went outside just now to have a second look and make sure. Quite odd that you have two different ones. Especially as the Original owner doesn't remember having ever modified them. One possible explanation could be that perhaps some time in the past, when it was a relatively new car, it was taken to a dealer for service. Maybe then one side of the car was updated, backing plate and all, because damage was found? I'm just throwing out a guess there. As per Humble's book, I would check the backing plates and rest of the brake assembly to see if they are the same, or different. If they are also different, then you either need two different wheel cylinders like the ones you removed (one early, one late), or you would probably need to find a backing plate and assembly from an early Z to swap on. Or just scrap it all and go to disks or some other expensive thing.

Oh great, another magazine to look into. Our cars pop up everywhere. I just counted two in the latest issue of GRM, as well as Classic Motorsports running a comparo of 240Z vs. 350Z last issue. I've got tuner mags with S30's and on the other end of the spectrum, articles in Hemmings Sports and Exotic car. Then there are the easy ones like Nissan Sport and JNC (plus, I like the Auto Otaku blog). If you know where to look, the Z is pretty well covered.

Yeah, ATF is a detergent, so it'll just clean the intakes a bit as it goes through. I overfilled mine once, but just wiped up the spill from inside the bodies, around the needles. Like Bruce said, no big deal. I also tried a much heavier weight oil at one point in time, but didn't like the throttle response (hmmm... wonder why:rolleyes:). I may try straight 20 weight next time I find some. I do live at 6000', so some more experimenting may be in order.

There has been some discussion on which weight is best for which driving and in such and such environment. I'm sure you could search and find some of these threads. As for filling, you don't want to overfill the pistons because it will overflow and leak down into the carb bodies. My general rule of thumb has been one capful of ATF (cap from a standard 1 quart oil bottle). Just make sure the levels are close on each one. It isn't an exact science, just as long as they rise and fall at the same rate.

Trying to wrap my head around your question. Okay, lets establish some facts. Then, maybe with some more info I can better answer your question. 1: The 240Z rear wheel cylinder designs were changed around 9/72. Or 7/72 if you trust Autozone.com. 2: The rear wheel cylinders are made specifically for either the left or right side of the vehicle (passenger and driver side). 3: You purchased new rear wheel cylinders from "a man" to replace your worn out ones. 4: You contacted MSA and asked them questions about wheel cylinders. I think that so far I'm on the same page. My questions: Who was the man you purchased the replacement wheel cylinders from? A friend, a business, a Z enthusiast, an auto parts store employee? Did you purchase them from MSA, or was your phone call a completely separate incident? Are the wheel cylinders that you purchased from "a man" of a different design than the ones that are currently on your vehicle? Is just one different? I just couldn't make out from your post what the exact problem is. And now my answer based on what I think the question was: Around 9/72 both the right and left cylinders were re-designed, so neither is compatible with the other. If either of the cylinders that you purchased are of different designs than those on your vehicle, then you need a refund or exchange from "a man". An auto parts store with Worldpac access should be able to locate official Nissan rear wheel cylinders for around $70 or so. Carquest is who I ordered mine through, and was quite surprised to find new Nissan parts on the counter a few days later. No fitment problems on my 02/72.

Poly = Metallic. At least that is how it was explained to me. I've had both 115 and 903 mixed up by the same company, and couldn't tell the two apart. My car (02/72) for whatever reason, is color code 072, a darker blue poly.

I'm wondering how the Optima battery on the p1010016.jpg car is held in place.

If you are interested in learning about how the SU carbs work then there are plenty of resources. Try this one for instance: http://www.jetlink.net/~okayfine/sutech.html

Plus, the block is stamped P30, not N42. Plus, there are differences in the heads like fuel pump blockoff and knock sensor provisions. You can't fool us.

I've even heard of people pulling fuel pumps with similar outputs from junkyard cars to avoid the parts store pumps that wear out quicker.

The only pictures of stock rims I have ever seen only have one hole for one valve stem. There is only one hole punched through the hubcap as well. I have seen an S30 w/o hubcaps, gloss black stock rims and thin whitewalls. Kind of a unique look. Keeping with the Porsche theme, were you thinking of removing the hubcaps, painting them silver and gluing five lugnuts around the outer rim?

Hmmm. I was able to turn the Dynomax muffler that came with my 2.5" MSA system up and tuck it in close to the body (w/o touching). My car is a '72 with an MSA 6-1 header. I would assume that the mufflers are the same, but that could be an erroneous assumption. I'll include a picture of mine for reference in case you wanted to try my approach.