smg1404

How much power do you want???? If you want to dominate for the minimum cost. Give in to the dark side,,, go for the small block. If you feel unable to pua an engine in you car that is not from Nissan, then wait for the 280 block, or go for a Z32 engine. etc... The cheapest way to make your Zcar a low flying object is a big honkin V8... No one will fight this fight and win.... Do not buy a 260 engine,,,It is a mistake that datsun built for 1 year ,, and regreted real fast.... Sorry 260n owners. but that's my view on it. Where you live , you have lots of long streight roads, (I think) so don't bother with a quick quick rever, build a high torque, freeway blaster... Take the competition at 160 plus. Just remember to get some good brakes.

If you watch Ebay, or other sites that have Zcars for sale there are many chaces to buy a car for much less than 3000......... I f you consider the reality that you will probably have to replace the floor boards in anything you buy, then get a car that goes for a few hundred, or go for one that someone else has already restored... the cars in the middle will cost you more.. If you pay 2 or 3 K then you will have to rebuild almost everything within the first few years. This is the same story for the cars that cost 600.. If you spend 6000, or more, for an already restored car you will cry about the price, up front, but you will come out cheaper in the long run if you consider your time as a valuable item.

There are several paths to stopping better.. You can stay stock with a better set of pads and shoes and stop a little better, you can use the Toyota calipers and stop much better, or you can buy one of the very expensive, but fantastic 4 wheel disk systems and stop like a real race car.... It's just a matter of how much you can spend... I also found that if you know the limitations of your brakes real well,,,, you can stay within their limits, (most of the time ) and survive... Isn't that what brakes are for???

You could just replace the whole engine with one of the RB type engines.... They have them in Austrailia... I almost did, it was going to cost about $1500.00 to get it to my house... Not too bad, but I am sure there would be more expences to get it in the car.

That is a beautiful sight.... Could cost a lot before it's over.

From a previous post I heard that the difference was the thickness of the steel...

How much to ship one from Arizona, or some other dry place..

Hey don't get me wrong I am not selling my car... And I know about the mustangs... and honda's But with that kind of jack I could find much bigger challenges than building a car.... I would pay someone else to build it, I will be glad to punish it... For now the car challenge is almost too big a challenge (financially)

Only good spider...... dead spider!

Heck all of this makes good conversation. But unless you drive hard and fast, your plugs will not make much noticible difference. Unless you never change them at all... I have noticed a difference from plug to plug, but I only noticed it when I was pushing the car hard, (which I do alot) . But most people do not drive that way. So if you like splitfires, go for it. Are they the best plug? Probably not,,, It's your car , run Champions, or anything else it your business... If you really want the best plug, I would recomend listening to what the majority of people from a racing background recomend. That is NGK. I am currently running Autolite platinums. (could not find NGK) They seem to work fine. I used to run Champions, and Bosch... They worked from fair to OK... The only way to be sure is to try the different brands and convince yourself. The wrong plug will not likely hurt your engine (as long as it is the correct size) it just may not last as long or provide maximum performance.. Have fun experiment.

If you want the car for the track car... Remember the '73 weighs a couple hundred pounds more than a '70 , or '71.. This could make a big difference when racing..

Cmon guys.. I'm sorry but if I had millions to spend the Z would only be a memory.. gimme that F50, then a Mclaren, and maybe a Lambo for every day... and one of those bullet Proof Navigators for the family trips, and a 60' sail boat, and...... lets go play now.. Sorry got carried away Oh yeah I need a 20 bay garage with a big shop on the end,, and a couple of babes to keep the stuff cleaned up.. .... ROFL ROFL

Found on Ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1858774823

I have floors in my car. Put them there last winter.. But I also have several leaks, air and water seem to flow through the car with relative ease... Any good thoughts as to haw to seal up body repairs..

Are you getting a hesitation at the same time the backfire is happening??? You could be experiancing a flat spot between the place where the primaries are doing all of the work, and the place where the mains take over. This is not unusual... My webers have a similar issue... It can be tuned out ,to some extent. But maybe not completely.,You may have to adjust your driving style if this is the problem.... It may not be possible to completely get rid of it, without sacrificing some performance in another rpm range.

I know this is wierd since I am an electronics engineer, But I just think there is much more reliability in the old stuff. And since I have been working on it since was 8. I almost don't have to think to maintain it... I can fix carbs in my sleep... EFI I have to get out the book... Since I have to do that all day at work I like something that is easy to live with at home... Give me that hammer I will fix it ya know... If you think EFI is easy... I guess I am getting old.

That always makes me dizzy.... I guess I am too retro for the new world... I can't believe you would put EFI on a car on purpose. I always worked hard to get rid of it... Too much electronic junk for me... Heck I hardly have turn signals...If you are going fast enough no one will see them anyway. If it dont make the momo go I don't want it...

I agree that If it starts at all things sound good for starts... My concern about the fuel filter is that even a car that is used regularly, can get rust in the gas tank. That is because gas tanks tend to accumulate moisture if they are not kept full , or at least filled regularly. For a car used a a daily driver, this is not much of a problem. But when a car sits for long periods of time, not only are the top and walls of the tank exposed to air and moisture, but they don't even get sloshed with fuel now and then... If the tank was low on fuel the whole time it , could get really corroded.. This would mean when you start the car back up , the crud will make it's way to your carburators. They will plug up fuel passages quickly if no fuel filter is in place... If there is a fuel filter, it may plug quickly. This would give a symptom like you are now having... The car can start, but not keep running, because the fuel supplied cannot keep up with demand.. Just a thought... Look for dirt in the fuel system.. It may not be your whole problem, but I would be surprised if it were not part of it.

You said he put new carbs on??? Are the new or just different.. Since you say that two months ago an attempt was made to start the car... You can forget a lot of my previous list... May be there is a vacume leak, .... maybe... is there a fuel filter.. You may want to have a filter that you can see through for a while.. That would make it easy to see if there is junk (rust etc.) in the fuel. When you say it started, how long did it run? did it sound like it was running OK, but just quit after a few seconds, or did it sputter a lot and sort of give up..

That sounds good ,,, But I hope he asks before adding an additive... I would personally be pissed if someone added anything to my oil or water without asking. I wonder , if your car is running OK and will no doubt last for many years either way.. What is the need to add a product that has any controversy about it's worth... With out it your car is fine, with it it might last an extra year, or die sooner,, maybe much sooned if the product is bogus... I will let someone else try it .... I will wait...

I am not really sure... I used to build hot SAAB engines , and the guy I bought my parts from was a long term race builder... I asked him once about running the thinner synthetics. He did not recomend it for his race engines. His claim was that the thicker oils protected the engine better... His quote was something like the thicker oil keeps the parts from beating themselves to death... I don't know if I conpletely buy this idea, but who knows. I have read the info on the synthecic oils, and they sure sound superior. But I think that if you keep clean reasonably good quality oil in your car, you may have a hard time proving any difference. If your car will last 200,000 to 300,000 miles either way. And a Z will,, what's the difference... I will want to rebuild before then anyway..

If the car sat for 10 years, it probably needs many things... How long since the last successfull start?? If that was not too long ago, the engine may not be too messed up.. The things I would be worried about are ... 1. rust in the gas tank 2. rust on cylinder walls 3. other corosion caused from inactivity.. The things I would definately do before trying to start the car.. 1. Pull the plugs & spray in a little oil 2. change the oil, and filter 3. drain the gas tank and replace the gas with fresh 4. while the plugs are out try to turn the motor with a wrench. 5. check and or change the coolant. 6. replace the fuel filter I might do more or less depending on how long since it ran last.. Check things as you are doing this.... Like is there rust on the plugs, what does the oil look like, will the motor turn easily. There is a pretty good chance that (if the last start was not too long ago) the engine is going to be OK... Good luck.

I am now using 20 w 50 .. I have run a couple of different brands. I am now running Castrol... Seems to work fine..

I never drive crazy.... I often drive fast. All that is needed is an absence of other cars,,, police cars mostly.

Do you feel the car lose power during that period... If so you may have made an improvement, but not completely cured the problem...