LeonV

Welcome! You're very fortunate to have a Z as nice as this one for a first car, just be sure to take good care of it. Better ask the PO what the switches are for, they're not stock. What's the backstory of acquiring it and what made you get a 240Z as a first car?

I have plenty of fun in my L24-powered, drum-braked Z...

I don't know about the Pathfinder, but that's not how the Z PCV system is designed to operate. The spring (we're talking Z's) holds the valve closed. At a certain vacuum, it opens, as determined by the spring constant. The higher the vacuum, the more it opens, hence "variable orifice". Keeping the vacuum side of the PCV at atmospheric pressure is the same as WOT, no flow. Have you tried blowing through both sides of a Z PCV? From the '72 240Z FSM:

I was 5 and in Russia...

This would possibly be true only if the PCV valve were open.

I don't think you followed my last post. You said you have a PCV valve installed. Since it is not connected to manifold vacuum, the PCV valve is closed and will not let the crankcase vent. If you remove your PCV valve and run a hose directly from the crankcase to the vented catch can, you will be fine.

That would be an AMC Pacer...

A-ha! You have a PCV valve but no connection to the intake! This means that the PCV valve never sees vacuum and thus never opens. Therefore. your crankcase is not adequately vented. The PCV valve is designed to open with vacuum pulling on it (light-throttle conditions) and close at atmospheric (WOT conditions). Without a connection to the intake, all the valve sees is atmospheric pressure. I suggest ditching the PCV valve altogether and simply venting the crankcase through that catch can. This is the typical (but not optimal) setup for anyone running triple carbs.

I'm with Zed. Looks like excessive condensation in the crankcase from not running the car to full temp many times over (lots of short trips).

I should have said, "the consequences of your actions are normal", i.e. hotter exhaust temps with retarded timing and hotter engine with advanced timing. Running 200 degrees is not normal, unless you're using a 200 degree thermostat. Did you flush your cooling system and make sure that the coolant level is adequate? Is the thermostat a Nissan unit? Waitaminute, you didn't loop your heater hoses, did you? The SUs are cores at this point, ZT values cores at $150. They will not ever run right with leaky shafts.

I'll be going to Keith Franck's place pretty soon to tune the Z with his new idle jets and e-tubes. Luckily enough, he's local to me. I'll post up after doing so. Sounds like a pretty good idea though, although I currently don't have much of a jet selection to send out.

Retarded timing and/or a RICH mixture will both raise exhaust gas temperatures. With timing advanced enough to reach MBT (Max Brake Torque), you will be generating more heat in the cylinder since you will be generating the highest peak cylinder pressures. I think everything you see is normal. I'd change the water pump if you don't have any history on it, same goes for the thermostat. You are robbing some power and fuel efficiency by retarding timing, although you're probably only a few degrees off. Aim for about 33-36 degrees at 3000rpm, depending on what piston/head combo you have. Also sounds like your SUs are dead. They will not function properly with a throttle shaft leak.

Newer Webers (151) have idle mix screws with a finer thread pitch. One turn out on the old carb means more like 2 turns out on the new ones. FYI... So being 2.5 turns out on the new ones is comparable to 1.25 turns on the old ones.

First gear definitely has a syncronizer on this transmission. Make sure the clutch is properly adjusted first, before jumping to any other conclusions. Can't wait for the video especially after it's broken in!

I don't associate Flowmaster with performance. Borla is nice, their XR-1 is a great performance muffler.

I use relatively fine steel wool or a razor blade, depending on what the situation calls for.

Steve's asking some good questions...

CF pedals??? That's definitely not a Z anymore. That just pushes it over the line for me. LOL

A compression test can tell you many things, not just "max (cylinder) pressure". In fact, it's a poor way of determining max cylinder pressure as it's more for comparative purposes than absolute measurements. It will diagnose a blown head gasket and/or leaky valves quickly and easily. A leak-down test will narrow the results further. Both should be done, especially if compression results are unhealthy. With that said, I'd probably pull the valve cover before doing anything else. Overly high engine speeds can cause rockers to fly out of place.

I did the same with my Cannon manifold, in terms of rod ends. However, one of my rod ends was bent for whatever reason so I'm unsure whether it's an alignment issue or rod-end issue at this point. It would be great to run a hardened steel rod, but I'd have to cut and weld the U-bracket through which the Z throttle rod fits into. Correct, the 260Z rod fit perfectly with the Cannon manifold.

In that case, I'll put Daihatsu emblems all over my Z. The ultimate sleeper.

An exhaust leak at the stud has nothing to do with lifting the engine from it.

I do! Brand new and unused. I keep thinking I'll install them, but it hasn't happened...

I'm with John, although I'll go with the VIN stamped into the body as the ultimate say. And I'll also second everything Alan has contributed. Everything else is as fluffy as a 9th grader's English paper.

The rear manifold stud is the manufacturer-deemed rear lifting point. I don't understand why there should be any hesitation to use it.