ksbeta

I may have purchased the wrong tach adapter. I'm going to try this example: Getting your early 240Z tachometer working with an MSD 6 Series ignition. - Ignition and Electrical - HybridZ

Got Todd's shift lever installed today. Fits great, no issues. Cycles through all gears without bumping. Great investment. Having issues with the MSD Tach Adapter, but will post in the Electrical section.

Absolutely. If I can stop driving it long enough to hold the camera!

Thanks! Exciting to be this close. Need to attach the throttle cable to the pedal and install the shift lever... and we'll be off!

I guess if it were easy, there'd be more of these running around. After some (surprise!) challenges with the radiator (280z unit), Jason managed to spark some life to this thing. Haven't had an opportunity to tune anything up yet, but it runs, and starts fairly easily with the reduction gear starter and MSD box working together, and hopefully that'll continue to improve as the engine breaks in. Pulled the butcher paper off and put the hood back on. Starting to look like a car again. I have to say - even without having been tuned yet, it sounds incredible. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hj5ThMGQ58w

Thanks Guy. I'll update on the shifter once it's in. This MSD wiring is tricky. I've read nearly every thread on it, and there's not a lot of definitive alternatives. I'm using the E12-80 Module, no ballast resistor, MSD Coil, and MSD Digital 6A. Not using the Green/Purple, and the rest of the wiring is per one of the threads on here. I've actually got another call into Todd to pick his brain; he mentioned at the show he probably knew what the issue was, but needed to get more details.

Hi Peter, I think I saw your car at the Manassas show, but somehow missed you. Looked good out there. I did not remove the baffles. They were riveted in, and I couldn't get the warm-fuzzy feeling that anyone had every had them go back in properly. I brought AMSCO a spare oil cap, they bolted the VC to a wood plank, and plugged the breather vent, then went to work stripping. I cleaned it real well when I got it back, but they did a wonderful job - I didn't clean much.

Getting closer. Brakes and clutch all buttoned up; pedals reattached. New Fan & clutch bolted up, and the Datsun Spirit head shield, along with the Air Horns & Filters from Wolf Creek are ready to go. Having some issues with the MSD setup. Followed the instructions on here to a T, but so far no-go. Probably something small, we'll get there. Finally, I cleared one of the bigger hurdles I was concerned about. I didn't want to cut the Series-1 dash or the Transmission Tunnel. While it would be a PITA, nearly everything I've done could be undone at this point. That would cross a threshold. Todd down at Tidewater Z fabricated the shift lever needed to make the 280ZX transmission work in a Series-1 without cutting up the console. His is the chrome/black one. The gold zinc one I purchased from Datsun Parts LLC., which was supposed to solve the same problem, but you can see from the angle it just hits the area near my choke knob. Todd - Thanks much! And that lovely Gail working with him must know she deserves all the credit for this one...

The sanding and stain moved quickly, but I kept running into issues with the paint. Never could quite get it where I was happy with it. Many months later, I finally finished these things. Just in time - motivation for sanding steering wheels is low during the summer.

Busy spring with yard/house projects, but got some work done Sunday. Carbs finally setup, ignition system installed, along with the fuel pump back in the rear. Went with the MSD 6A, and a Carter fuel pump Brake Master Cylinder isn't bolted on yet, but that's the later-style 15/16" cylinder. Had to modify the BMC a lot to get it to fit the 240z booster, as discussed here. We'll see how they work together, along with the Toyota calipers up front.

David - Sent you a note. Looking forward to speaking with you. On another note: The early-5 speed was fun while it lasted. The car is - frustratingly - once again off the road. The transmission is too far gone to keep driving. Some great contacts led me to LNA Enterprises in NC. Sam there has been rebuilding these for years, I suppose. Trying to decide whether to rebuild this one or do the ZX swap. That 5th gear thing is too good to let go...

BRG and Butterscotch - exactly the combination I had been looking for. Why didn't you find this car 3 years ago? I'm just down the road! Nice find. Good luck!

Been waiting a long time to look out my office window and see this.

Hi Chas, It likes to pop out of 4th while cruising, not just deceleration. The 150 or so miles I've put on this car since Saturday are the first this transmission has done since circa 2003. Truthfully, I think it's getting worse still. First is getting harder to find, Second is starting to grind, and now Fourth is starting to grind. I'll check my slave cylinder adjustment tonight, but my money says the transmission is to blame. I knew putting it in the car without more information was a gamble, and it looks like it'll have to come back out. Somewhere on this site I saw someone from the UK mention once "We can't give them away over here. I have 3-4 of the FS5C71A's sitting in my garage." Where is that guy now? I'll gladly pay the freight Koalia - That strut bar, and it's twin back in the rear, were purchased used from a local Z-Car guy a few years ago who was cleaning out his garage. When I bump into him again I'll see if he remembers where he picked them up.

Thank you both. I figured money spent on the engine would make a more enjoyable driver than money spent on body work. I joke that I can't really see the paint job while I'm driving, so there hasn't been much of a reason to do anything about it. The transmission, however, needs some work. Besides popping out of 4th, it doesn't go into 2nd easily either. One more problem to dig into. I believe we did replace the mounts. I'll watch that carefully though.

Back on the road! Little bits, timing, and tuning, but this weekend paid off nicely. Got about 100 miles on the new motor so far. Sounds strong and pulls strong, at least up to around 3K. The transmission likes to pop out of 4th gear, will need to diagnose. Having a 5th gear is great though; 70mph and I'm spinning around 2900/3000, as opposed to the nearly 4000 I used to be running in 4th. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51bhS1TJk_U Pay no attention to that 9-month expired state inspection sticker... whops!

I realized that along the line somewhere, but felt too foolish to mention it here... Thank you both again. I can not wait for this car to be back on the road this weekend. It's been a long time coming and the weather report says it'll be Sunny. Wooo buddy!

Thanks very much. I likely won't be out wrenching again until Saturday, but do appreciate your help.

Wrenched down too hard on the old thermostat housing while putting in the sending unit, and cracked the housing. It's car-ma for trying to put old parts on a fresh engine. Point taken - Ordered a new thermostat housing. Picked up the fuel rail, along with some other misc. engine/ engine bay parts from Zinc Plating. Will install these this week, and hopefully over the weekend the car will be back on the road. Still need to fix the Choke-Cable situation, but thanks to a few forum members (Wade/LeonV) I think I've got a solution there, cutting down the extra-long '73 wires to the appropriate length. Barring any unpleasant surprises, this should be a fun, rewarding weekend.

Leon, Wade, Thank you both. Leon - The length from the bend in the wire (in the console) to the ends of each wire would be very helpful. I located a set of wires from a '73 per Wade's suggestion, and boy are they long. Knowing what to cut them down to would be wonderful. Thank you both, Bill

The tall windshield really ruins it.

Are the choke cables a different length in Series-1 cars than in later 240z's? The cables on my '70 were mangled, and so I replaced them with a set I had lying around, presumably from a later-model car. The cables are now stretch tight over the carbs - too tight. There are no kinks anywhere. All I can figure is since the position of the choke changed, they must have moved it forward a little as well, and hence shortened the cables.

I can be of a little help here. I just put the FS5C71A in my '70. It's the roadster box with the 240z bell housing. Hopefully those help the comparison. Let me know if you need more details. I think I have more photos.

Great thread. Sure beats buying that one on ebay for $200. So which one of you is going to start selling these bad boys first?

Great looking car. Might be a worthy candidate for Bring a Trailer (www.bringatrailer.com). BAT does Seller Exclusives, or something similar, where (for a fee), they help market your car to a pretty voracious community of car-buffs.