motorman7

Thanks Leon, I'll give that a shot tomorrow. Want to paint some black and yellow stripes on the valve cover anyway (that should add a couple HP ).

Major frustration on this issue. I think I have tried all different combos now on timing and fuel mixture and pretty much nothing changes. Took timing from 10 degrees to 20 degrees, no change. Mixture screw from 2 turns down to .75 and no change. I am thinking this is the same issue that Arne was having with the different dizzy options he was trying. I do have the old one somewhere, but have yet to locate it. May try looking for it again tomorrow. May try a coil change out. The only other thought is fuel starvation. Seems like it revs very well to 6.5K on the quick short bursts. Just doesn't like the prolonged high RPM's above 4.5K. Good thing is I rarely take it past 4K or even 3K for that matter in daily driving. Will post again when I get some improvement.

I think it means that my float bowl levels are off (level too high). Really trashed my whole fuel system putting on the bad tank. Learned lesson the hard way.

I am pretty much stock. I have a 260 motor with MSA 6-1 headers, round tops with the SM needles, and the ZX dizzy, no smog stuff. I will have to get back to you on the timing. I was going to check last night, but was happy with how it was running so l didn’t check. Will try and get that tonight. The 7/8 is less than 1 but more than ¾. It’s a fraction. I am running 91 octane Mobil. 91 is as high as it gets at the So Cal stations.

It’s been great to follow this thread as I am going through similar issues here as well. My bright yellow '71 Z-Car was running great till I swapped my leaky fuel tank for a rusty one (not a good a idea). After numerous fuel issues, adjustments, replacements, etc and putting the repaired once leaky fuel tank back in, I now have a good tank, but am experiencing the exact same issue that Zedyone is having. At first I thought it was electrical but it is definitely fuel related (for the most part). I tightened the fuel mixture screws in ½ a turn and immediately fixed most of the problem. Went from bogging at 4K on short runs to revving all the way up to 6.5K with no issue in first and second (doing close to 60 at point). I am running the SM needles in round tops with a ZX dizzy. The mixture screws are at 7/8 turn from open….nowhere near the ‘standard’ two turns. Not sure why this is, but the more I open them up the worse they run. So, this AM, I had a chance to open it up a bit. Car ran very well in short bursts revving easily to 6.5 k. Pushed it up to 100 MPH which is 4K RPM for me and noticed the power loss and bogging at this speed (Although, I have not ruled out accelerator foot hesitation as the fear of CHP comes into play during this test) . Same as Zedyone, I will need to experiment with the fuel mixture and vacuum advance. I currently have the vacuum attached but will try this again with vacuum off. Will update when further data is available.

I almost bought one. Mentioned it to the people at work and one of the guys had one. I borrowed it and (for me) it was pretty much next to useless. I could turn the dial at the base of the SU half a turn and not see much difference in color. Wasn't happy with that. I stick with the two turn method, and then check the spark plug color after a couple hundred miles. That seems to work best for me.

I have 1970 1600 Roadster. I’m pretty sure it has only 86K original miles, but could be 186K. It hasn’t been operated since 1988. Currently, I have it completely disassembled and will be taking the frame (and other frame parts) in to powder coat next week. I am really looking forward to the assembly process. I’m very happy with the condition of the car. The only bolt heads that snapped off during disassembly were on the exhaust supports. Otherwise, everything came apart smoothly. The body has a few small rust areas, but very manageable. The interior needs a lot of help, but a good friend of mine runs an upholstery shop, so no worries there. I had a 1967 1600 roadster for 10 years, from when I was 16 till I turned 26. Wish I’d never sold it. Coincidentally, I sold it in 1988. So I think this roadster was destiny. Rich

Looks like a great project! I am going the opposite direction from you in that I have restored/ refreshed 3 Z's and am now doing a full restoration on a roadster. You are right about the parts, Z parts are easy to find. Roadster parts are harder to find and a lot more expensive. I don't think I will be restoring another roadster. Fortunately I have a good car to start with, so I don't need a lot of new items. Enjoy the resto. Rich

Wow! That is beautiful. I would strongly recommend you do not make any modifications. Assuming the engine is original, runs well, and has flat tops, and it's a real 28K miles, that's a $15K car easy. Once you start making those mods that you mentioned to that car, you will have a $5K car on your hands. What a waste. I would store that thing, or sell it for an easy $12K-$15K, then go out a buy a Z for $2K on Craigslist and modify to your hearts content. Just my 2 cents.

Here's a nice pic of your car at the 2009 West Coast Nationals .

Good luck with the sale Bob! I'm guessing the car should fetch a pretty good price as it is in great condition. I also think e-bay is the right venue for the sale as yours is one of the nicer Z's around. E-bay worked well for the sale of my silver one. Also, dont forget to take lot's of picures of the critical areas. I'm hoping someone on the east coast buys it so I don't have to compete against it in any shows . Best regards, Rich

I think these are works of art, nostalgic.

If you are serious about selling, the first thing you should do is put up pictures that show better detail of the car. That means; motor pictures, interior(seat/console/ dash) pictures, frame rail shots, better pic under the battery and better pics of dogleg and fenders. Looks like the right front fender has been re-painted/replaced. Was that from previous accident? “Unmolested” is a useless statement: to the average Joe that means there’s not a V-8 under the hood. Good pics tell a much better story. Best of luck with the sale. Rich

I know it's not Z related (Maybe S related), but had a nice time at the Open House at Don Prudohme's shop here in Vista. Got some very cool pics

If you need some right now, you can pick some up on e-bay, but you need to be careful there. ‘reddat’ sells nice ones, but they are pricey and his shipping is high. There are other sellers on e-bay that sell these with a hex head screw, but I do not believe the cars came with this style (personally, I think they are a poor imitation) . If you are patient, Espirit is supposed to be working on reproducing these and should have them available soon. His work is top quality. Not sure if that helps much.

I am guessing they are older as the original cloth material was pretty worn out when I got them. Worn from decay rather than wear. I just recently had them re-upholstered. I will try and take pics of the rails in the next day or two and post them.

My Recaro seat rails attach directly to the existing in car seat mounting points, not to the floor. The seat rails are low profile and mount the seat mounting base less than an inch above the existing mounts. The actual seat height that my butt sits on, is about 1 inch below the aluminum rail that is in the door jam (for reference)

Well, my silver Z sold on e-bay for a fair price. The final bid/sale was for $10.1 K. Everything has gone very smooth so far after the sale. I received prompt payment and drove the car up to LA so the car could be transported to the new owner who lives in the midwest. It was a beautiful final drive on a sunny California day. Most of the drive was up the 15 at about 80 mph and traffic was minimal. My son followed in the yellow Z and we drove that back together. I spoke with the new owner and seems he had a '73 240Z growing up, and that is what he was looking for. Looks like he will keep it original and finish up the underside. I was very tempted to try and finish up the underside in the last couple days of the sale, but felt it was better to leave it as is. That way he could inspect the underside and finish it as he wished. I still have the cans of undercoat that I purchased to re-do the undercoat. I probably should have sent those with the car. I actually did make a profit on the car, which is good. Although, my wife is razing me that I made about 50 cents an hour. I really don't care as I just enjoy the work. After I complete some house projects I hope to get started on one of the other cars here in my driveway. Thanks for all the support everyone, Best regards, Rich

S/N HLS30-02614 has these two lines next to the fuel level indicator hole. One is for fuel filter/pump, other is return. Otherwise my tank looks same as yours.

I am pretty sure that is what the Dash restoration place (in Oregon?) said, 'Leather conditioner'. But I am now over 50 and that was several years ago, so I could be wrong. Not sure if the vinyl stuff was available two years ago. I will have to check into that.

I use the Lexol Leather conditioner/preservative. It was recommended to me by a dashboard restoration shop. I have been using it on my uncracked '70 dash for the last couple years, once every 3 months. Before that, dad just used water and a soft cloth....always garaged. Rich

Thanks for checking Randy. Not sure if they got any volunteers. That's a long drive from SoCal and not a lot of incentive.

Thanks everyone for all the comments and complements. I'm just hoping that the car will be picked up by someone that will take great care of it. I will really miss seeing it in my garage :-(. Also hoping new owner will keep the flat tops and other period unique items. In my opinion, it is what makes the car special. Everybody runs the round tops and they are all too common. The flat tops are rare and nice to show. Thanks again everyone, Rich

This quote caught my eye, so I had to respond. When I first started entering my '70 240Z in concours events, I remember bobc telling me not to get my hopes up. He told me that, "the standard concours judge would believe you if you told him that all 240Z's came with a V-8 and blacked-out engine bays". Of course I thought he was exaggerating. Little did I know that he hit the nail right on the head. The Hunington Beach "Concours" has a category specifically for Z-cars. The winning car as picked by the "concours" judges was painted 'Bada-Bing' silver (Silver with a mild purple haze), had a blacked out engine bay, chromed engine bay parts and bare hoses among other things. Nice car, but not what a purist would consider a true restoration. Even though I love the concours events, I have learned to take the outcome with a "grain of salt". I would have agreed with you in the past, but these are growing on me.