Randalla

Here's a few pictures of Float-Sync in use.

Thanks for the mention Duffman. The tool I created sold out quickly about a year ago and I had not planned to produce anymore but recently decided to produce additional units due to the demand and emails I have been getting. I'm still a month away from having quantities for sale but here are a few pictures.

Great idea! I assume from the picture that you just used the inner felts. Appreciate your response as those are readily available.

I'm in the process of cleaning, lubricating and re-building my 240Z wiper mechanism. Noticed when examining everything once it was out of the car that it appeared to have felt washers as part of the pivot mechanisms. Mine were rotted/unusable but I assume I need to find some acceptable replacements as they must serve some purpose. Seems like nylon washers might be a more durable alternative. I believe there are either 3 or 4 used in total. Has anyone replaced these parts with something that works well?

For what it's worth, the 1/4" difference in dipstick measure translated to just over 1/2 quart to top off the oil in my L-28.

OK, now this is getting interesting jerz. The engine the P6500 dipstick came out of is an L-28 with F54 block and dished pistons. It had been freshly re-built by a well known local engine builder. When I got the engine it had a P79 head, leading me to believe it did in fact come out of a 280ZX. If that's true, then your information on the P6500 dipstick is probably correct. I measured the dipstick tubes on both my engines. The one on the L-24 is exactly 3" long. The one on the L-28 is 3 1/8." The difference in the two dipsticks, to show full, is 1/4." At this point, I'll be swapping the L-24 dipstick out, and the L-28 one back in. Tomorrow I will carefully measure how much oil it takes to raise the oil level in the engine by 1/4" on the P6500 dipstick to determine how much difference it might make running an incorrect dipstick. I'll let you know what I learn.

I know this is a bit of an inane subject but inquiring minds want to know. Good thought about checking the length of the receiver tube. With all the variations I can imagine there are definitely cars running around with too much or too little oil with owners not even aware of it.

Sounds like E3001 and E3002 may be identical except for the part number. The only mystery now is what P6500 fits.

Checked this morning to see what part numbers I had on mine and if there was a difference in measurement between the bottom of the stopper and the full line. The dipstick from my L-24 has the same part number you referenced, E3002. The other one I have has the suffix P6500. The difference in measurement from bottom of stopper to full line is 7- 3/16" for E3002 and 6-7/8" for P6500 (5/16"). Memory is a little fuzzy but I seem to recall having other dipsticks with an even different number, E3001 as I recall, but maybe E3000. Would be interested to know if any of you have a part number on your dipstick corresponding to either of those numbers. Chickenman, thank you for your response.

Some time ago I'd collected 8-10 dipsticks from various S30 and S31 engines. At the time I noticed there were three different lengths, measured from the bottom of the rubber stopper to the tip of the dipstick. I have two dipsticks currently that differ in length by 3/8". Does anybody know which sticks are for which block? Theoretically, the amount of oil in an engine could be off by 3/8," potentially translating to being 1/2 to a full quart different. I'm currently running the short dipstick from my L-24 engine in an L-28 F54 block from a 280ZX. It's obviously easy to swap one out for the other but I don't know for sure which is correct for the engine in my car. I'm wondering if the oil pans were shallower or deeper for the different L series 6 cylinder motors and that was the reason for the change in length. Anyone have the answer to this trivia question???

Here's a copy of an early brochure. Very 70's hair and clothes.

Scarab used 327's on the earlier cars then shifted to 350's. I'm not sure of the exact timing, but it seems they changed to 350's sometime in 1980. What a Scarab is, and is not, can be a bit confusing. Some people incorrectly call all V-8 Zcars Scarabs. Scarab Engineering sold individual parts from their mail order catalog to those building their V-8 Z car at home, however some items were only available on the turnkey factory built cars, all of which were individually numbered, with I.D. plates on the driver's side door jam. Best guess at this point is some number less than 200 of the factory cars were originally built and sold by Scarab. How many are still left is anybody's guess, but about 20 numbered cars are known by the registry. All factory built cars had many things in common, but since there were many extra cost options/choices, it's likely no two cars were exactly alike.

Appreciate you trying to "help" me, but I know exactly what I have. I've been collecting Scarab literature for many years. There's plenty of information detailing what constitutes a Scarab. I have copies of the Scarab catalog, price list, installation manual (for the do it your selfers) and most all of the factory sales literature and press articles over more than 20 years. The only motors that had roller rockers (the brand in my motor) was the 370 HP version and the turbo version (per Scarab factory literature). I really don't care how valuable the car might be. I'm more interested in the car itself and its history. The before picture of the engine was missing the correct valve covers, intake, carburetor and headers but everything else was there. Below is a pic of the motor before restoration with the roller valve-train exposed. The restored engine shot shows the motor with parts on it that I had to source, though I will still have to have headers reproduced. I'd be happy to answer specific questions you might have.

Thought I'd post a couple of pics showing the Scarab factory ID plates as well as the Nissan ID plates on my car. Still seems to be a lot of confusion about what constitutes a "factory" car. All factory cars had the numbered plate shown. The longer plate was on the glove box door recess. Additionally, all factory cars had "Scarab" valve covers and bell housings. The C-pillar bugs and fender "Scarab" nameplates were also on all factory cars. Zed Head, as far as Chevy stats, there were four different horsepower versions. My car is the 370 HP version (highest HP next to the few turbo Scarab motors built) with four bolt main, roller rockers, single plane Edelbrock Torquer intake manifold, block casting code 3970010, cast iron, angle plug, double hump heads (large valve) and Carter 9625 four barrel carburetor. The transmission in my car is a Borg Warner Super T-10 4-speed. Hope that helps you.

Grannyknot, Thanks for the compliment on the engine. I know about the car in your picture that was trailered to Z-Con. It's an attempt to make it look like a Scarab, but it's not a factory numbered car and from what I can see in your picture there are a number of things that are incorrect. My guess is this car was modified at some point with some parts bought ala-carte from Scarab from their catalog, but it's definitely not a factory built, numbered car. Do you have any additional pictures you could post?

A few pictures of the restored and detailed engine and Borg Warner T-10 transmission. I also included a pic of the engine as I found it. The body is coming along. Decided to replace both rear quarters, fenders and hatch. There was rust under the bonded fiberglass and I wanted to start with a solid foundation. The rest of the car was rust free but because the car was stored outside for some time, water found its way behind the fiberglass. More details and photos coming.

Check the post above showing my units. The ad is for Z Car Depot, not Z Therapy. Ryan at Z Car Depot is a customer of mine and I believe he may still have a few units left.

Bruce and Z Therapy don't have them. I'm the manufacturer and sell them on Ebay for $69.95. I had the same issue as many others so I designed this product. The nice thing about them is that you can check fuel levels with the running or not

The Scarab Registry is not posted on-line, as far as I know. It was created and is maintained privately by Trevor and Craig, both of whom own or owned Scarabs.

Zed Head, if you're asking if I have a build sheet, the answer is no. I do have the list of standard features on all Scarabs, know what #160 is missing and I know what Scarab options mine has on it. I've been collecting Scarab information for years and the guys who run the registry have been hugely helpful.

This is a factory car, not an owner built Scarab. As such, there was a list of standard "Scarab" factory equipment included on every car and then a number of owner decisions/extra cost options that could be selected so Scarab could personalize each car, based on owner preference and pocketbook. Engine HP started at 300 and topped out at 425 for the 350 turbo cars.

Thought I would start a thread here as I begin restoration on Scarab #160. I recently purchased the car after seven years chasing it. #160 is built on a 1975 280Z chassis. It has the wide body rear quarters and front fender flairs, I'm told it's one of three "wide body" cars currently listed in the registry. The car is in need of a full restoration and as such will take time. I plan to post updates as the project progresses.

That's a great idea Dave. I will definitely investigate. Thank you.

The level of fuel in the float bowls is the first step to be taken before making any other fine adjustments to optimize “runability” (other than valve adjustment). In my experience Float-Sync gets you to the baseline as quickly and accurately as possible. I learned, like most of us, the way to set float levels is to remove the float bowl lid and measure the distance between the lid and the top of the float when the cover is inverted. What I have since learned is how imprecise this approach actually is (in terms of optimizing engine performance) because of so many variables. Some of those variables include whether the carbs are being run with or without float bowl gaskets, how many turns down the jet nozzles are set, if the float valve is fully opening and closing, if the float bowl lid has short or long ears and if floats are intact and their buoyancy is the same in each float bowl and I’m sure there are a number of others. For those more fluent with SU's than I, what other variables am I missing...Bruce Palmer?

Sold the first 4 sets posted for sale on eBay in the matter of a few days. I posted a few additional sets this morning if you're interested.