steve91tt

Agreed. A stock car in good working order should not need such additives. I do like the POM though!

It will allow you to safely run more water and less glycol therefore significantly enhancing the cooling efficiency of your system. That's a benefit to me and being in a warm climate I see no down side.

From the waterwetter (Red Line) web site... "Compatible with new or used antifreeze (including DEX-COOL and long-life versions) to improve the heat transfer of ethylene and propylene glycol systems" As I understand it, it's just a blend of anticorrosives, wetting agents and lubricants that allows you to run more water and less glycol in your cooling system while still protecting your system from everything but freezing. Water has a much better heat transfer efficiency than glycol therefore you get better cooling without the danger (lubricity, corrosion) of running high water levels. Not so good for freeze protection so I would not run high water levels in a freeze prone climate. I've always used Waterwetter with great results in glycol based coolants.

I agree that the gauge could be suspect. Your readings on #1 and #6 were higher the first time you did it when the engine was cold and the throttle was closed. This does not make sense, I'm guessing your numbers are actually higher than you are measuring.

I am taking on a similar project soon. How much paint do you think you will need to do the entire engine bay?

Good point. I guess the extra ammeter deflection could be due to the load of the head unit and amp.

I'm not sure why a bad regulator would cause a current draw through the dash I would check the voltage coming off the alternator to see if it is functioning correctly.

I have a similar setup on my 1973 240Z but if anything my ammeter shows less current that before the installation of Dave's kits. I think you have a problem. If you have a large current load where it shouldn't be you can cause a fire more easily than you might think.

Fired up the AC and worked on 3 generations of Z'ish vehicles this weekend. Fun, fun fun!

I love the sound of a car with a lightened flywheel. The extra throttle response gives that "super car" sound. The extra acceleration doesn't hurt either. Here's a quick vid to show what I am talking about...

Does the fast rpm drop cause any drivability issues?

I simply grabbed a universal filter from the autoparts store and put it on the outlet from the tank before the electric pump. Quick, cheap insurance. Nothing but gas should get to the pump.

I am in the planning process of bumping up the HP of my 1973 240Z. Nothing radical. I plan to keep my SU's and keep things looking stock(ish). I'm leaning towards a 3.0L short block and maybe some head exhaust and cam work. In the end I suspect I will be somewhere in between 200 and 250 crank HP. I have done a bunch of reading about clutch/flywheel options and I have come to the conclusion that a stock l28et clutch, pressure plate, and throw out bearing from a 1981 turbo 280ZX should hold the power that I plan to make. I think if I couple it to a Fidanza aluminum flywheel and install a 1981 clutch collar everything should work fine. Does this sound right? Does anyone know of any issues with this clutch/flywheel setup?

I don't have any experience with the MacMaster seals but I have a 1973Z with a new set of Kia strips on both doors and deck lid. I have no water leaks at all and no slamming needed. I did have to do a little massaging of the inner lip of the opening in the rear to everything to line up just right. Not too bad, just a little bending on the side where the strut attaches and around the hinges. I suspect I would have had to do this no matter whatever seal I used. In other words, maybe your bad experience is due to the fact that you have used Kia seals. If the MacMaster thing does not work out you might look at a set of new ones. New ones might fit better.

I've been a paint chemist for many years and Geezer is right. Clear coating is the best way to protect the look of polished metal. Unfortunately, adhesion, corrosion resistance and weatherability are hard to achieve at the same time in a paint formulation. That's why we use multicoat paint systems. Polyurethane clear coats can be made to stick to polished metal but you will have marginal corrosion protection and adhesion. I wouldn't drive a car like that on the street or in the rain but it would look and work great for a pure show car. You could also powder coat the body like they do for polished rims. That should give the durability you are looking for but powder coating a car body means baking the body at +130°C. Baking a car means totally striping the car of everything that would be effected by high heat. Just my $0.02:)

Great looking car. Congrats!

I slit a rubber line up the middle and used it to wrap my metal lines. That way you have the rigidity of the stock lines with less heat up I daily drive my 240Z in south Texas and I have had no issue with vapor lock.

I'm on a rattle hunt today. While I had the interior out I decided to dynomat the strut towers and interior wheel arches. I'm not normally a fan of he baked potato look when it comes to dynomat but I suspect that I'm getting a bunch of road noise from these spots so I hit them harder than the rest of the interior.

Electric fans also sound better than mechanical but I agree they aren't worth the bother as they generally don't cool as well, they have a huge power draw and if mounted directly to the rad can cause premature radiator failure due to vibration fatigue.

I'm guessing fan clutch as the problem only occurs when the car is not moving. I had the same issue with a 300ZX a few years ago. The car would overheat at idle or driving slowly around town. The fan looked like it was moving a bunch of air at idle but it turned out that it was not moving enough air. I replaced the fan clutch and all was good again. Do you hear the fan get louder as the engine gets hot? If the mechanical fan thermostat is working correctly the fan should be much louder when then engine is hot than when it is cold. If the fan speed (volume) is not varying with temperature then you need to look at fixing the clutch. My fan is louder than the engine when I sit at a traffic light for a while but it's barely audible when the engine is cold.

Wow, looks like great progress. Looking forward to seeing more of your posts!

Please correct me if I'm wrong but From what I understand a set of SU's should support anything a 2.4l NA L6 can put out. No?

How is the optimal timing curve determined?

It's an easy swap. You could always install it and see how it runs. If all checks out you could save the time and expense of a rebuild.

I've got the same questions. Looking forward to what the electrical wiz's have to say.