Zed Head

Here's something funny. I donated a few dollars on the Hybridz site, and made a few comments about how SuperDan should make it easier to donate, because the Donate button is buried in a sun-menu. So I decided that I should donate over here, but can't find the Donate or Support page.

He's not an admin though. If one guy can ruin a site, this site would be dead also. BUT. Maybe the Admin over there was Made in China. Fits the thought pattern. Broad brushes smear a lot of good things.

I've enjoyed the site. There are many different moderators that have worked there. There's only one Admin and site owner, SuperDan. And SuperDan is fairly noncommunicative. He lets the moderators control things. If you have a problem with SuperDan that's one thing, but if you're talking about a moderator, he's probably gone. I remember that you had a problem with Ron Tyler. But Ron was one of the best moderators. You should be specific. There's no "bunch" to criticize. They don't label people over there. The site is more impersonal. If a bad post comes up they just delete it. If the poster comes back again with another bad post then they give a warning, right in the thread where everybody can see it. So, if you make a mistake or have a bad day or they disagree with your opinion, they fix it and it goes away. You're not stuck looking at Warning points in your profile forever, judgments based on unknown parameters. (I just threw that part in, as a pet peeve). It's a well-run site. This one is too. We need both.

There's a ton of threads out there about either bending the lever, or cutting and rewelding it, or notching parts of the car. https://www.google.com/search?site=webhp&source=hp&q=site%3Aclassiczcars.com+4+speed+5+speed+240z+hit+console+bend+shift+lever&oq=site%3Aclassiczcars.com+4+speed+5+speed+240z+hit+console+bend+shift+lever&gs_l=psy-ab.3...3349.24240.0.24441.71.71.0.0.0.0.166.5552.67j4.71.0....0...1.1.64.psy-ab..0.5.425...0j0i131k1.GGf1gfc9Az0

Cool. You can't give the guys with too much free time extra credit though. Monkeys and Shakespeare, you know. I think that the ignition module can get hot because it's failing and passing too much current. Which leads to more heat and then shut-down. The Crane XR-3000 is the right choice, it has "dwell" control, like the stock 78 system. Dave WM just posted about how nice EFI is. So, maybe you dodged an error. See you with the next one. Something will happen, these cars are old. Edit - Just sayin...

They have video of the car running and actually driving 50 feet in the shop (end of the video). The pictures are thorough and easy to get through. It has about 2 inches of ground clearance and lots of hoses and brake lines underneath waiting to be torn off, underneath. Last 10 or so pictures. Hate to bash on it but it doesn't really seem street-ready. More of a show car. http://gatewayclassiccars.com/tampa/1973/datsun/240z-S950.html

Use the cars scissor jack and a piece of wood to push up on the head from below. You need constant force to open up any gaps and keep them open. The head is flexible and the gaps will close back up after you open them with the sledge or hammer. The scissor jack is mechanical and precise and will allow you to apply controlled amounts of force. Plus, if the head lets go it will only move a small amount. And you can leave it there for days.

Could be a loose contact/blade.

Harbor Freight also. If you get some constant lifting force from the rafters, or from below with a 2x4, then pound/tap on the broken bolt piece that will help break that bond. The broken piece will stretch a bit and each "tap" will compress it, causing it to move it out of the hole a fraction of an inch with each blow. Eventually a gap will open somewhere and you can start filling the gaps with wedges. .

Just saw this. Maybe more headaches for Mike? http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/127731-hybridz-may-be-shutting-down/#entry1193850 @Mike

If you already know these two, what advice are you really looking for? Sounds like somebody else is going to do the work. Lowest possible is still going to be small block chevy. That's why people put them in every brand of car in the world. Cheap power well-supported by the parts suppliers.

I broke your wordblock in to edible chunks. Is there any gap at all, anywhere? We need a visual. The head bolt that broke might be rusted in place. Is it rusty? If it is, you might have to spend a lot of time rocking the head back and forth around that broken piece, until the rust breaks up. I had that problem and just had to rock it back and forth and stick wedges and things in to the gaps to get it to work up off of the broken piece.

The 280ZX T5 is only a few years newer. You're not going to get your 250+ HP without a turbo on the RB25. Here's an RB25 starting point. They're all used engines from Japan (JDM), so a bit of a crapshoot on quality, you could end up pulling it back out right after you install it.. Then you have to figure out to work on them. It's a big project. http://www.ebay.com/bhp/rb25det-engine

Not Z? What? I'm not so sure the small block changes the handling much. It's another one of those things where when you do the numbers they can surprise you. The L6 is kind of heavy. The torque of a large V8 probably has a bigger effect. The question was power to money ratio so... The SBC is cheap and they make some high horsepower crate engines. Can't really pick a motor until you know what you want the car to do. If it's a show car then a nice LS or RB might work. Drifters like a big torquey engine to break the tires loose so aV* works there. Race cars might like a 6 cylinder that you can wind up. Don't forget the other parts like the transmission (stick or auto) , and the differential and suspension. More cost. You can just pick an engine alone and make it though.

I was looking back at some old inline 6 builds and see that the thread I linked above got Photobucket'ed big-time. Sad.

Cheapest power to money ratio is the small block chevy engine. The engines are inexpensive and there are kits available with all of the bugs worked out. You can run carbs, with no turbo and hit your numbers. The smaller six cylinder engines need turbos and fuel injection so there's big cost and complexity there. I'd recommend making a list of each engine and collecting the costs and the effort required for each. Some of them have high risk actions you'll need to take, like buying an RB engine from an overseas importer. Then there are maintenance costs. I'm convinced that many engines are popular just because the names sound cool. RB, JZ, LS, etc. No offense. But when you do the math they don't seem so cool.

Google search works well. Type "site:classiczcars.com" before the search terms. Could also be that you're not choosing "All content" from the drop-down box.

I see your problem. I just uploaded some 1971 FSM supplements that have wiring diagrams on page 34. Not sure if it will help though.if wires have been cut. It does show another circuit if the car is an automatic, to the inhibitor switch.

Did you get a new pressure plate? You might verify that the throwout bearing collar is the correct height. There are a variety of different pressure plates out there, and bearing collars to match. 92 mm from the surface the fork rides on to the surface of the flywheel seems to be the correct number, +/- a couple of mm. If you're using the old plate and collar then no issue. Another confirmation of 92 mm would be worthwhile though.

There are several ground points in the harness and at various components and lights. Have you looked at any wiring diagrams? Your questions are very non-specific so they're hard to answer. "What is the purpose of the black wire at the body harness connector?" You talked about a whole of red/black wires but didn't mention a black one. The door switch? You could re-establish the original purpose. Here are some resources to work from. http://www.classiczcars.com/files/category/1-wiring-diagrams/ http://www.classiczcars.com/files/category/11-240z/

The more writeups the better. There are many different ways to get the same job done and reading about them helps understand the basic principles behind the work. You can break a pilot bushing in to pieces with a chisel to get it out also, for instance. I had to do that once, when my new pilot bushing was too big to insert fully. You might add a few details about you and the car just so people know who the heck the new guy with the 280ZX is. That flywheel looks like it's been sitting for a while.

Nice writeup. The 225mm flywheels are hard to come by. There's another trick people use where they pack the area behind the pilot bushing with grease then stick a dowel in the hole and hit it with a hammer. Hydraulic pressure forces the bushing out. The Factory Service Manual is pretty good. Did you not like it? http://www.classiczcars.com/files/category/14-280zx/ And you posted in "CAR TALK > 510 cars" for some reason. This is a 1983 280ZX right? Maybe Mike will move it for you. @Mike

Who told you? If they don't understand SU's then they don't know what they're talking about. Like me. I do know though that if the pistons don't move, then air won't flow and the engine won't make power. But it will idle because the pistons are at their starting point (Edit - actually I don't know if this is true). What kind of oil are you using in the carburetors? Somebody had a very similar problem recently.

Does it do the "start and idle, then bog after a half-minute" thing even when the engine is warm? Or are you describing a cold engine? One could be fuel supply, the other could be a warm engine problem. And did you do all of the replacing after the problem showed up? Or are you just listing all of the work that you've done and the problem happened in the middle somewhere? S/U's are an odd type of carburetor and can have their own odd behaviors.