my_mad_z

Really sorry I haven't posted this earlier, haven't been online in a while, been working on my 240z trying to get it on the road asap. I found out that the wheels are superlites, 15X7, and are roughly $220 ea. new with silver coating I believe. I hope this info is still valid, I'm just passing on info from Warren, I haven't called to confirm the prices. The name of the place is Highway Tyre ervices Pty Ltd, Address: 104 Governor Rd Mordialloc 3195 Phone number: (03) 9580 7900 Sorry once again guys.

Seen Z's in a number of films; In Rocky 3 or 4 can't remember, Adrian has a Z31; There's a Jackie Chan movie where there is a fight scene in an alley way with a group of bikers. There is a 240 or 260 that is ridden over by a trail bike; Think it was an Usher music clip where he dances beside (or ontop) of a white 240z. My Z was in a music video (never got released though! bummer.) My Z was also on the local news.....first ever case of pedestrian road rage in melbourne........to cut a long story short, I was with two friends on the way to the beach, some pedistrians were intoxicated and being troublemakers (there was about 8 or so)....... threw a bottle at the car.......fists flew (from 8, we dropped the numbers to 2-3)......one of the pr*cks had a gun and decided to shoot my friend.......had a gun pulled on me....... they fled the scene, called an ambulance for my friend (who is ok)...... Police, ambulance and news reporters came, saw the Z on the news that night........ A bit off the topic.......sorry.

Hey guys, if this is the wheel you are after (attachment), I know that you can source them much cheaper in Aus. I will get in touch with Warren from Z Works here in Melbourne and find out where he got his from and how much. If I'm not mistaken, I'm sure I recall him saying he got them for just under or just over $200ea. Let me find out all the details and get back to you. I know his are plain silver. Will find out size, price and source asap. Marc.

Sorry guys, I should have been a little more specific on the engine combo. The L28 is an F54 block, P90 head with the flat tops. Initially I changed the head to the N42 to increase compression for a n/a motor. It was then that I noticed the pitted piston which looked as though it had been the victim of corrosion; the motor had been at idle for some time and all I did was change the rings, bearings, timing chain and a few other bits and pieces. I left the piston as is. I noticed there was a bit of detonation with the n/a motor; this was due to several factors: 1. The higher than normal compression (I was running approx. 10.5:1 after having the head shaved) 2. Poor fuel grades 3. Mechanical advance on distributor 4. Pitting on piston 6 I then got my hands on a T03/T04 hybrid turbo setup (running twin stromberg carbs, 42mm wastegate, 3 inch mandrell bent exhaust and water/methanol injection), so I used the P90 head to drop compression so I could run the turbo, I think it was 8.0:1 or there abouts. I cleaned the carbon deposits from the pistons and completed the head swap. I still had detonation problems until I reco'd the dizzy and added the water/methanol injection (well it was only water cauz I couldn't get my hands on methanol). Keep in mind I was running 18psi boost and the motor handled it quite well! After the tragic car accident, I stripped the motor down and it looked fine, no other pistons were damaged! This time however, curiosity got the better of me and I decided to sand the pitted piston by hand to reduce hot spots. The only reason I did this was because I remembered "Stormin Norman" from Zdriver sanded his pistons by hand....... and I have plenty of time on my hands before I finish the 240z. Deciding on the n/a or turbo setup is not a big thing for me, all I have to do is swap the heads and a few other fiddly bits. I do all of the work myself, so it's only going to cost me my time. I want to stick with the flat tops if they are still within spec, but if not, I will pull down the other motors I have and see whats inside. 2ManyZs and Steve, thankyou for your advice, I agree with what you both say; I think I will check the pistons in the other motors or get a new set of pistons. Thanks a lot for your feedback...... Sorry the post is so long, I've tried to keep it short.... Marc.

After stripping my L28, it came to my attention that piston # 6 was severely pitted. The piston has been like this since I rebuilt the engine after picking it up in a "patrs" car I bought. I didn't bother replacing it due to $$$. This time, I decided to sand the pitting out of the piston and took off approximately 0.5mm..... I'm wondering whether I should get the rest of the pistons machined in order to suit. The reason I did this was to prevent detonation with the turbo. I realise that shaving the piston will have an affect on the compression, but it doesn't really concern me if I'm going to put the turbo back on. The thing that concerns me is if I decide to go back to the stock SU carbs or tripple carbs. Should I not worry about it, should I shave the rest, or should I replace all pistons? They are all within tolerance but I haven't measured the bores yet, but I'm assuming they are still within tolerance. I've got another 4 L28 motors lying around, but I'm not sure if they have flat top pistons......if they do, can I mix n match??? Any suggestions??? Merry Christmas to all and a safe and happy new year. Marc.

Thanks a lot for the reply Ben, looks like I may have to bore the block and replace the rings.....Will also look into investing some $$$ on the books you refer to. Thanks once again. Marc.

Hi guys, was wondering if anyone has the specs for the L28; I have the Haynes manual for the L24/L26 but the supplement chapter doesn't contain much info on the L28. I was after the wear limit for the compression rings. I'm not sure if it's the same as the L24/L26.... The rings have done a hard 20,000km's......I can't remember the gap that I measured, I took the measurement a while back and forgot to chase it up. If anyone could help or lead me on the right track, that would be great!

Thanks for the advice Enrique. I will experiment with some shimms on the weekend and hopefully get the hatch to line up. Marc.

Hi guys, I'm working on my 69 240z and I've struck a major problem! I have been trying to line up the hatch and can't seem to get it right. I have replaced the roof skin and at the time I didn't have a hatch to make sure the roof was correctly lined......I know I should have waited until I got the hatch, but impatience got the better of me..... The roof is slightly out where it meets the hatch.......I've figured out how to rectify it, my main concern is that the bottom left corner of the hatch protrudes 5-6mm further than the quarter panel! I've tried 2 hatches and 2 sets of hinges, but no improvement...... Could the body be out of shape (please don't say yes)??? Everything else lines up, and I know that the replacement roof is not causing the problem as it has no affect on the mounting position of the hinges.....Any suggestions??? Can I just bend the hinge to suit? BTW, the bottom right corner of the hatch lines up perfectly with the right quarter...... Please help......Thanks in advance. Marc

I had some idiot in a VW Transporter Van do a u-turn directly infront of me and I couldn't avoid him; ended up T-boning the van and flipped it over from the impact........my Z was ruined and the b**tard had the nerve to accuse me of being in the wrong.......Police clarified that I was in the right! The Z took the impact pretty well, in terms of saving me, but the car is a wreck now.......insurance were tight a*ses, giving me a very poor payout......oh well, what can you do???:disappoin

I agree with you Ed, it is a big puzzle! Only reason I took it cauz it was build #418 - very early model. I've restored a 260z in the past, 2 year process and it was well worth it! I just bought another 73 240z last night, so I'm gona be quite busy! When I restored the 260, I had it back to a rolling shell, so it's not so bad with the 240z; although I'm having a little trouble with the hatch! I removed the roof skin cauz it had a sunroof and I put a new skin on.......at the time I didn't have a hatch, so it was a lot of guess work! Now the hatch/roof are about a 1-2mm off..... So that's gona be fun!