peterc

Great idea Alfa! I want to do 'something' with my exhaust, but don't want "loud", but rather musical, a la Ferrari. A bunch of sound files would sure help narrow the selection

Want to hear a real Z rust story? My '72 240 had been parked for about 10 years as the body was far too soft from rust; doors wouldn't close, you could see daylight through the floorboards etc, but I wanted to keep it and restore it one day. I had to move it to my fathers to store it but knew that it was too weak to tow. So I called a tow company to have it flatbedded to the new location. The tow truck driver was pretty skeptical as to whether it was even strong enough to pull up the ramp. I told him 'no problem' and it went up with only a few bits and pieces falling off. We get to the new location and he undoes the chains and tilts the flatbed to start winching down the car..... when all of a sudden the car gave out a little sigh and promply broke in two at the firewall. The front half of the car, including engine and tranny rolled off the truck trailing various gas, brake lines and wiring harnesses while the cab stayed put. Needles to say the driver was mucho steamed. And that ended any plans I had of restoring it . So it became a parts car. Peter

Clutch Yep thats exactly it. If you want to be extra safe, shove a length of heater hose (about 12" long) between the chains going down into the block. I've used a common plastic tent peg (those triangular ones) which work just as well as the hose). Tie a piece of strong wire to it so you can fish it back out. The tensioner is at the bottom of the left (facing the engine from the front) chain guide. The timing chain has one bright (brassy color) link. Slowly rotate the engine by hand until this link lines up with the timing mark on the cam sprocket. If you haven't already, DEFINITELY go buy a Haynes manual for the z. I think I paid around $20 CDN so you'll probably get yours much cheaper. You should be able to get one at most any parts supplier. It will walk you through anything you'll ever do, including a complete teardown/rebuild. Lots of pictures and easy to follow. Good luck Peter

I agree with Zme, newer = better. Datsun didn't change engines until 1984 (300ZXz) so anthing up til 1983 is interchangeable. The newer engines have stronger blocks (especially the turbo models), the heads flow better, pointless distributor, etc, etc. Good luck Peter

Yep, the only thing worse than a Buffalo winter is an Ottawa winter (actually, I think Buffalo does get more snow than us, but as for salt..... I dunno). Anyway, if you have ANY intensions of keeping the car for longer than 2 seasons don't drive it in the winter. The '83 I got last fall had rusted through the front fenders (where they meet the front valance) by 1985!!! I know because the second owner (who I got it from) bought the car in 1985 and had no idea that it had rusted and been repaired by the original owner. I only found out when I started tearing it down this winter. There is an upside however . I've found that I really, REALLY, appreciate my Z more when I haven't driven it for a few months. Sometimes I'll just go and sit in it in the garage and make 'vroom, vroom noises . Peter

Alfa, Am I just confused or isn't a roadster technically a convertible without a top as in the early Vipers? Not that I'd ever turn down a Fairlady Peter

Another way to prevent the tensioner from moving is to thread a section of antenna (the skinny hard steel ones that come on new cars) through the chain BEFORE you remove the cam sprocket. Choose the links, on both sides that are closest/just under the top of the head The antenna is small and flexible enough to easily thread through the chain links without damaging them and strong enough to hold the tensioner in place. The cam sprocket will then just slide right off. Be sure to line up the timing mark on the cam with the bright link on the chain beforehand Peter

Can't contribute much to this with regards to Z's, but I once saw a video done in the winter up here (Ottawa, Canada....Motto: 9 months of winter, 3 months of bad sledding). I can't remember what kind of car it was but they were running 10W30 oil in it. The oil was new, the engine cold. They took the valve cover off and started the engine (-20F). It took over 2 minutes at high idle before two 6" long spaghetti-like plugs of white waxy sh*t came oozing into the head. This was followed by very viscous oil, more pudding-like than liquid. It was closer to 5 minutes before the engine started pumping anything that we would normally recognize as oil. I've owned 2 Dodge Caravans (Z's make terrible family cars...but are a good way to promote birth control ), both with over 300,000 Kms, (that's about 200,000 miles) with zero work done to either engine. They both used 5W20 oil. You really notice the viscosity difference in the winter. I've never plugged either car in during the winter and they start on the coldest day as if it were summer. As for m Z's, I use 10W30 in both as thats what is called for in the manual, and I DON"T run them in the winter. Peter

Alfa Can't help you with the antenna problem (I'm looking for a replacement mast for mine as we speak), but looking through our galler I noticed oyu don't have any side marker lights. Is that original or did you remove them during resto? If so did you bondo, or butt weld new metal? I'm toying with removing mine as I think it's a much cleaner design without them (and the damn things rust like hell anyway). Peter

Just a couple of thoughts. Sounds like this might be the first time Sean has tried to install a tranny in a Z.... "I have it all lined up so that its pretty much staight." and " I'm pretty sure I got the disk alinged correctly". The first time I did it it was a bitch. 'Pretty much straight' won't do. It has to be dead on or it won't slide on, and likewise if the clutch disk isn't centered properly. When you're sliding the tranny up and down and sideways, remember that the input shaft itself has some play to it. I found the biggest problem was to get the splines meshing properly. Once they engage properly the tranny will easily slide home. It helped a great deal to have someone turn the tranny output shaft while we lined it up. Definitely don't force it or use longer bolts to pull it home. If its lined up properly and the splines are meshing it will slide home, if it isn't lined up and meshing properly you'll only break something (voice of experience here). Something I did which helped me a great deal was to drain the rad and uncouple the two heater hoses going into the firewall. I then tilted the engine ( front up , rear down) and wedged a short piece of 2x4 between the engine oilpan and the crossmember. I found it easier to line everything up with the engine tilted down a little. Good luck and while you're under the car cursing like mad, remember, as difficult as it is now, by the time you've done it 4 or 5 times it'll be a breeze (yep, that voice of experience thing again). Peter p.s. I've pulled and installed a Z tranny by myself, without a jack, so it can be done. But it's much easier with 3 or 4 guys. When your lungs give out there's always someone there to curse for you.

2Many, ya, I was thinking the same thing, it all depends on how old the one for sale is. Guess the only way to find out is to call. A complete car would be the only way to go, you never know what parts you're going to need. I figure there would be some mounting mods to be done to accomodate the new engine/tranny. Hence the reason for the original post. I was hoping that someone had already done this mod, and save me a lot of trouble.

Hey guys, Thanks for the replies. I was away for the holidays, hope everyone had a super Christmas or Festivus or whatever you celebrate. kmack, thanx for the link (XYZ steered me to it as well). It's got a lot of interesting and relevant info. Ivan, the reason I started thinking about this swap is that there is a 300ZX for sale here (Ottawa). It looks pretty beat up and I haven't been able to contact the owner yet. So I don't know any particulars (age, mechanical condition, selling price etc), but I thought if he was selling for parts it might make an interesting project (like I need another one :stupid: ). As 2ManyZs pointed out, fitting it in shouldn't be a problem. But that was one of the reasons I was trying to find someone who had actually done this swap, just to see how easy/hard it would be. On the other hand, I've since found out that the I was mistaken on the horsepower rating. As 2ManyZs points out the early 300ZXs only put out around 170HP. So no real gain for all the bother. On the other, other hand if the one for sale is a TT model...... . But not much chance that a car that new would look so beat up.....mind you, this is Ottawa, Rust Capital of the World. I got my 1983 280ZX from the car's second owner, who bought it in 1985 (the sale records confirm this). She told me that the car was in pristine condition when she bought it, and had never been in a body shop. No reason for her to lie as she gave the car to me. She took it off the road in 1996 due to excessive rust. When I started tearing it apart this winter to see how extensive the damage was, guess what I found. Both front fenders were totally rusted out where they join the front valance. The original owner had a body shop weld skins over the joints and bondo'd them, then repainted the whole car. And the car was only TWO years old!! dohc, did your buddy give you any idea what the conversion would cost? Are you thinking of doing a straight swap, or are you going to rebuild/mod the engine before installing it? Again, thanx everyone for your input! Peter

Thanks XYZ! Interesting site. It wil take a little browsing to see if anyone has actually done this swap before.

Anyone had any experience with swapping an engine, engine/tranny or engine/tranny/diff from a 300ZXinto a 240? If not, any opinions as to the advisibility of said swap? If I understand correctly the 300's V-6 weighs less than the straight 6 with twice the horsepower. Sounds like a pretty sweet deal.

Hey Bambi Mine was built in 02/72 and the original paint was that pukey fluorescent yellow. It was repainted white at the time of delivery (white was not a Datsun option that year) by the original owner. I'm painting it metallic blue (base/clear), or will be, in the spring. I've pulled all the glass, doors, hood, hatch, etc. to be sure and get everything done right .

The hazard switch for my '72 240 is of the long-tail variety. Hope this helps.

Just a few thoughts. Did you adjust the window frame after installing the new weather stripping? If the new weather stripping is thicker than the old one (likely, especially after the old one has been compressed for so many years), then the new stripping will put excess pressure on the window frame. If not remedied this can actually rip the door skin where the window frame attaches. To test for this. roll down the window and loosen the window frame adjusting bolts . Then try closing the door. Does it close any easier? If this helps, you will have to remove the interior door panel and adjust the window track, so the window won't bind in the newly adjusted frame. Something else to look out for. When I replaced the weatherstripping on my '72 the driver's side door closed perfectly, but the passenger side was under incredible pressure. The door would literally 'pop" open when you opened it. Sounded like a gun firing. I tried readjusting the window frame (even ended up taking it out all together), to no avail. So it was binding in the door somewhere. Turns out that I had stretched the weatherstripping a little when I installed it (I hate that yellow glue!@#@#!!!) and it was pinching the door just about where the door latch is. I.e. the weatherstripping wasn't positioned properly and was jamming against the interior edge of the door. It didn't look that far out of position, but that was what was causing the problem. I tried (not very successfully) to remove the weatherstripping intact so I could try reinstalling it, but it ripped in several places (did I mention how much I hate that yellow glue . Without the weatherstripping the door lines up and closes perfectly. so when I feel the need for more frustration and aggravation I'll attempt to reinstall it .

I've heard complaints about Armourall as well. I've used it in the past but was never really very happy with the results. I found it to be rather greasy feeling to the touch and attracted dust like mad. But I must say I never personally experienced any cracking. However, I very recently bought an '83 ZX that had been sitting in a field for 8 years. The dash is badly cracked. I asked the PO (previous owner) if the dash as cracked when she parked it and if she had ever used Armourall. It wasn't, and she had. So was it the Armourall or just 8 years of sitting in a field? One last note. I have a firend that collects older American muscle cars ( to each their own) and he has nothing nice to say about Armourall. He uses baby oil, says it penetrates and protects the vinyl whereas Armourall strips it. On the other hand baby oil doesn't have any UV protection, so who knows !?

So as not to upset Dero even further lets hope that ZZ Top never goes on world tour . Imagine the confusion.

Zed is the British (and Canadian and Australian) way of pronouncing the letter Z, as opposed to Zee which is the American pronounciation. Cheers

Hey Darryl, Thanks for suggestion! I never thought of scanning the diagrams and enlarging them. we'll see just how good my scanner is

I seem to have a short somewhere in the electrical system since the voltmeter continues to read 12 volts even with the key out of the ignition and I get massive overcharging with the engine running (already fried 1 battery). I think I've isolated the problem though. There are 4 fusible links on the passenger-side inner fender wall. When I remove the one thats closest to the front of the car/farthest from the engine, the voltmeter shows normal charging when the engine is running and drops to zero when the key is removed (just the way it should) and the battery stays charged overnight. The wiring diagrams in the Haynes manual require an electron microscope to read so I don't know what all runs off this circuit. I do know that the 4 way flashers and the running lights on on it but since they all operate properly (all same intensity, no flickering) I'm thinking the short might lie elsewhere. Anybody know where to get wiring diagrams that you can actually read or know what else is controlled by this circuit?

Thanks for the info axrph. I'll check and make sure that I wired the voltmeter up properly (wouldn't be the first time I installed something incorrectly. After the rebuild I actually installed the Airbox backwards. And surprisingly, the car started!! It would idle o.k but stall when I tried to give it any gas. Took about an hour before I realized what I had done According to the voltmeter I'm definitely overcharging, with readings from 12-18+ volts, depends on how high the engine is revving. Another question. When the key is NOT in the ignition, what should the vo;tmeter read? On all other cars I've owned the voltmeter goes to 0, but the 280's still reads 12 volts. So I'm assuming the circuit is still live.

After my beloved '72 finally succumbed to the heartless rust gods (my fault for living in Ottawa, Canada) I went looking for a replacement. Eventually I was able to get my hands on a '77 from So/Cal with a solid body, but not running (warped head/blown head gasket). After doing the rebuild and putting everything back together I'm experiencing a problem with the charging system. There is a little red light in the voltmeter which remains 'on' whether the car is running or not (it even stays on when the key is removed from the ignition). I'm assuming that this is not normal?! When the car is running the voltmeter continually overcharges, in proportion to the engine speed. Sounds like the voltage regulator, but I can't determine from my Haynes manual whether the '77s had an internal (in the alternator) or external regulator. If it is an internal regulator thats gone, can it be replaced without replacing the whole alternator?