oldhemi

Dave - 10 GAUGE!!! How many amps does that fuel pump consume? Or am I missing something that you have unearthed in this snakes nest of excellent '70's engineering? Are you considering using one of the original relays? I hope you share this because I have a 260Z and would like to go a better way. I understand now that my add on regulator is tough on the pump. I did connect the return line 14 years after I initially installed the Webers because I was concerned with the Houston Heat. Still have both original pumps. Not sure if the electric pump ever worked again after I disconnected the seat belt interlock and then later installing a points dizzy after having many problems with the "ecu". I got unplugged wires all over the place form my temporary fixes - decades ago.................

Here is a trick that I came up with many years ago to check oil pressure much more accurately on electric sending units or idiot light only vehicles. I use a cheap gauge set up from a discount parts house. They were about 10 dollars and come with a fitting to attach to the block and a plastic oil line. I think that I bought a seperate tee at the same time. This gauge is fed by the oil line that is hooked up to a tee fitting on the block. The new oil line goes into one of the tees and the original sending unit is fit onto the other. I find a spot on the firewall to snake this thin plastic line into the passenger compartment and set the gauge up on a temporary basis. I can then watch both gauges to get a better idea whats up. I originally used an extra MGB set up when I bought American cars that only had an idiot light. Over the years I must have included the extra gauges in a selloff of MG parts. So, many years later, I had to buy one from HI-LO to prove to Chrysler that I had a pressure problem in a minivan.

Nigel, my guess would be that there would be removal effort of some sort on taking the dies for the holes out of the stamping process. Special requests to a manufacturing process always cost more even if its a simple and quick process. I imagine that Charlie orders x amount of floors at a time? If the quote is not too much or even within the $20 or so for the plugs, I'll go with no holes, if its $40 or more, I'll have the holes and maybe weld up a few of them!

To implement a cutoff switch; Tip from Tony D: I have always used an interrupt switch from Ford Products (Tempo-Topaz have them in the left rear corner of the trunk, Ranger Pickups under the mat on the passenger's floorboard). I bolt them to the bulkhead where the wires go through the floor on a 280Z for the stock electric fuel pump. If you get hit hard, or roll over this switch will trip. You simply reset it with a push of the big red button on top. Curiously, it's the same part Pegasus Racing sells for crash/rollover pump interrupt as well! Looks the same at least. But boosting it from the junkyard is cheaper and you can dissect the wiring harness on the trunk mounted location to get at least one meter of heavy gauged wire on all the connections...it's almost enough to go from fusebox tap to fuel pump. I am not sure what the 280Z has in way of wiring that Tony Refers to. The 260Z uses engine RPM to cut off the electric pump, so its *NOT* used during start up! Here is info from Steve Golick on the 260Z set up: Electric Pump Operation Here’s what the 1974 260Z service manual, section EF Fuel System, page EF-7 says: This system controls the operation of the electric fuel pump according to the engine speed. It receives the engine speed information from a voltage generated by the voltage regulator. When the engine is running below 400 rpm, the electric fuel pump cut relay #1 remains OFF and the pump will not be operated. While cranking the engine, the electric fuel pump relay #2 remains OFF and the pump will not be operated. Under normal engine running conditions, both the electric pump and the mechanical pump are operated. As part of pre-planning exercise (gleaning info from various members - Steve, Zsonda, TonyD, Beandip, ezzzzz) a general wiring cleanup/upgrade project, I am considering deleting my 260Z electric pump and its associated relays and wiring along with the seatbelt interlock system. Notice, I said "considering". As implemented, the electric pump does nothing on start up. I also run a fuel pressure regulator into my Weber 40DCOE's because the mechanical pump is more than enough for me! YMMV.

Needle turnng completely around and off? Sounds like it possessed - maybe an exorcism is in order here?

I have to agree with everyone. Charlie's email response surprised me, sorta like no one ever requested the floors w/o plug holes. I'll find out what the difference in price is after April 1st or so. Thanks for the responses!

I would bet that the 1st glass pack with the pipe though it was an attempt at a resonator!

Not for nothing, sounds like maybe your mechanic might not have tightened down a nut or one loosened up or the setting was too loose? Seen it many times on Honda SOHC 750's. I would either pull the valve cover and do the work yourself or bring it back! Is it possible the noise that you hear is more like a timing chain rubbing? Or does it have the clickity noise like a loose adjustment. Sluggish feeling in this case would indicate to me my above suspicions as opposed to thicker oil. 10/40 to 20/50 should not make that big of a deal in the cars feeling. But if the temps are freezing and below, it could - been there. Hey, change the oil and see if you can feel a difference - its $25 or so for POM!

Hmmm, wife's away and there is an empty dishwasher sitting there????? When I replaced ours 15 years ago and hooked up the old one outside - picture the Clampets - and wow did it work great on those greasy junkyard finds. Wife was frowning on my intention of doing same last year when I replaced the dishwasher again. Old electric ovens have their uses also. Old crock pots w/wintergreen soften old rubber pretty good. I digress... Did not mean to sound like Debbie Downer, I pulling for you also!

Webers like a low fuel pressure - like 3.5 or less. I installed a FPR and set it 3lbs and my leaking through the air horns on installation stopped. Ran my 40dcoe's like that for nearly 15 years. Added a return line when I got to Houston which really made no difference.

I see that you have finished welding in the floor pans. Looks great to me! :)Your posts here and at Hybridz have inspired me to order a set of pans from Charley Osbourne and I am getting ready to order a set of Baddog rails. Take care of yourself - you have a lot on your plate! Been there back in '95 trying to make a meet with '57 Chrysler 300C and have the heart attack(1st one) to prove it.:stupid:

I would install everything that I could. If you screw something up - he can paint it when he does the car. Brake and fuel lines. ebrake cables. Master cylinders for the brakes and clutch. Bleed them now if you can to avoid screw ups later. Trial fit anything that you can now, so that you are not risking dings later. I would hang the doors to get them fitting right. He can take them off for painting (or you can when delivered) so that they are aligned correctly. Anything that to screw up now - he can paint when he does the car. Mask off anything that you dont want overspray on! Ensure that the front valance is prepped for paint on the inside also, It is visible when you pop the hood for shows! No rubber installed anywhere. Consider having the windshield installed AFTER you have re-installed the dash - its a little easier IMHO, and the paint gets a chance to get harder. Engine and tranny obviously - maybe not the radiator! Drive shaft now if you have the time and the car is up in the air. Mask everything that you dont want paint on. Rockers - they are low and painters will scimp on their efforts. Discuss how the car will get painted well down there. Good luck - btw, Hawaii is over-rated.

I have decided to get new floorpans from Zedfindings. Charlie has replied that he could make the pans w/o the holes for a premium. I will not know how much the extra cost would be since he is on vacation until April 1st. BTW, he sells the 8 plugs plus the 2 in the hatch area for $2.52 each. My question to everyone is: Do I really need these holes in my new pans? Seems to me that they would be an area for rusting again. No way that this car would ever be a concourse type - it was not when new! I do plan on driving the car in the rain and if I do get water in the car for some reason, I will attend to it quickly - not like the daily driver it was in the snow and salt in Connecticut. It looks like that my request is not something that Cahrlie has dealt with much because he does not have a firm price for deleting the holes.

Hmmmm, where did the car come from? I dont think that car spent its formative years in the Northeast! Looks to be a quick project?

Yeah, they all leave something to be desired. But, they are what we have. This is light years ahead of no - internet and I look at it as a good starting point. Try combing junk yards and unsympathetic dealer parts departments. S30's are old, most of the guys that are still selling parts are old and dont give a crap about a whizbang web sight. There is very little in the way of a major repro parts company like Moss motors for British cars. Money is tight for parts inventoring and manufacturing,let alone for nice websites costs. MSA and Blackdragon are distributors for some "small" guys making parts. When those guys are done, most likely that part is NLA. That is a BIGGER problem. Restoring or maintaining a s30 is not for the faint of heart. You have to put up with what you have and having a poorly designed site is the least of the aggravation. Badly designed sites are a PITA and I dont foresee them getting any better.

I usually push the old grease out of ball joints when I get around to that maintenance on my cars. If your new grease is a different color than the old, you will notice when you "get there". I would leave the grease that is in there for now, its pretty easy access later on when you feel that you need to re-lube, which will probably not be in our life-times!

Speedo cable could probably use a lube. That is generally the problem in most old cars that I have dealt with. I say most, because it has been a worn out speedo also. Dont know anything about EFI, is there a cable? My carbed 260Z has rods and ball joints - for a lack of a better word. I'll bet that some WD40, followed by some lube would do wonders on the pivot points of your system.

You might have a drivable car for $1500 if you do ALL of the work. MSA has a lot of stuff. But you can get the mechanical stuff a lot cheaper from rockauto.com, local parts stores etc. You have to have a lot of patience and dedication to revive an obviously abandoned old car. And you need tools to do things yourself. You are looking at battery, clutch, hydraulics - brakes and clutch, brake parts, exhaust system, cooling system, carb cleaning and rebuilding at the least, shocks, electrical crap, possible suspension problems - bearings and bushings. That list is probably not close to complete depending on what else you find - gas tank rusted to hell, gas lines plugged and or rusted/split and then the rubber lines everywhere needing to get replaced. Do yourself a favor and do some research using some of the online parts listings, search this site, hybridz, zcar,com etc and - if you can - put the prices that you find in a spreadsheet. That will give you a better idea of what to ask next - you will have a better specific question and get better specific answers. I have not even covered things like frame rail(s) rust, floor pans, and body panels rust. Fiberglass spoilers, wheel well flairs and other niceties are very far away in your price point. I am not trying to discourage you, but try to be realistic for $1500. You can easily spend that much and have a drivable car that leaks, has some paint/body and interior "issues", home-rigged floorpans, temperamental window cranks and the like, but it should be safe and somewhat reliable at this point. You can make a decision to go futher with the car or make some small improvements here and there and drive a beater. Weasel and Walter make some good points. Good luck and don't forget that the "search" function is your friend.

Same thing happens with folks lawnmowers every spring! Next time that you have a planned sleep, use some Sta-bil. Our new fuel formulas really gum up stuff.

I have had good luck with radiator seal on my winter beaters when I lived in New England - one had a heater leak and that got sealed. I never thought to use it my MG's and other LBC's because I was told by folks that the radiators and engine passages were small in comparison to Buicks and undesirable plugging of galleys could happen. I have had my Z radiator fixed at radiator shops 2 or 3 times. They basically solder off a "column" or so. A reputable shop will tell you if there is too many to block off. Sometimes the solder that is used on the tanks fail after many years and all that is need is a fresh re-solder job. If my Z radiator leaks this time after a 19 year sleep, I'll put in the JY unit that I have that looks brandy-new. I have had radiators re-cored on my old Chrysler's because of the rarity and unavailability of replacement units. It really was not all that expensive. Your level of originality requirements could dictate to you if that is a route that you want to pursue. Warning: If you get one of the aftermarket aluminum units, I think you should look at rubber grommets or such on the mounting bolts to isolate that metal from your steel. I have read that that some folks have suffered electrolysis damage. You prolly already know this, but I thought I would add it.

Ratzzz, 26th! You are the bearer of bad news aren't you! Its a dirty job, but someone has to do it,eh? Thank you for your knowledge and posting. Since its part of the damper, I think that I would have to do more research if its a good idea to cut it down. I wonder if the 510 motors would have a single row..... I have searched on the other forums and it does not come up at all. But, to tell the truth, this quest is now moot to me. Too much work and possible expense for what I thought would be a simple and cheap deal. Now I know!

Well now, thanks guys for the info! This explains why I never saw one in the junkyards years ago when there were Z's in the junkyards! Many years ago, an emission inspector would look for empty rows to quickly check if an air pump was removed. So, I was just keeping an eye out for one in case i ever ran into that situation. Now, I dont care about this consequence since Texas has no smog inspections for vehicles over 25 years old. And, I dont feel too bad about my carbon footprint on the environment because I really cant see putting more than 2000 miles yearly on this car. I see a picture of the L28 engine with a 2 row pulley in a '76 service manual of an HLS30UN (new term to me!). One row was empty. Hmmm, no smog pump in the 75-78's? But, I digress. I'll push my luck here a little and ask: does one have to change the damper to use either of the above posted single pulleys? I am guessing not.

I was kind of curious on what engine or which year car came with a 1 row pulley. I am suspecting pre-73 Z's w/o a/c. My early non-ac 260Z has a 2 row where one row that drove the smog pump has been empty for many years . Here are the weights from datsunzgarge.com: 3-row: 8 pounds 2-row: 6 pounds 1-row: 3.5 pounds I would like to get a single row more for appearance rather than any real or imagined performance gains.

Not applicable, but now I know what color my suspension parts need to be! That gray/silver color will look great against a black background of chassis-black/rattle-can/undercoating etc! Great choice Dave!

Johny, I have done this job about a gazillion times - well maybe a few less than that. MEZZ and tlober posted good advice. You dont need the HF FWD deal. A drift - brass is nice if you want to reuse the part - piece of rebar if you dont! Atlantic's tech tip is the best tutorial that I have ever seen. Make sure that you pack your bearings really good with grease. There is a really cheap tool for packing grease. I usually take a big gob into my hand and use my other hand to work the grease into the bearing - repeat, repeat, repeat! What I like to do is turn the wheel(w/tire) when I tighten the castle down. I turn it until it is hard to turn the tire and then back off. Take it for a drive and redo it. The fish scale for measuring preload is a pretty good trick! I also check the bearings a couple of times in the next week/month of driving. I found that most cars of our era were running their bearings too loose. I bought many a VW whose owners thought that their front end was fubar and it was usually just loose bearings. Good luck and have fun on your heated floor!