Walter Moore

The Toyota Land Cruiser is one of very few Japanese vehicles that I remember seeing in Indiana back in the 70's. Unfortunately my earliest memory of one was from July of 1975, helping load a dying Boy Scout leader into the back of one to try to get him from the inaccessible backwoods of a scout camp to a waiting ambulance. He was DOA at the hospital, but that was no fault of the Toyota. It did its job perfectly.

If you post a picture of the wheels we can likely tell what they are instantly. Most of the aftermarket wheels would have normal tapered lug nuts. If you have lug nuts that look like this: Motorsport! Lug Nut, Factory Mags, 77-83 280Z-280ZX - The Z Store! Nissan-Datsun 240Z-260Z-280Z-280ZX-300ZX(Z31/Z32)-350Z-370Z Parts Those are for Nissan wheels from a later car. You may be able to buy them at a Nissan dealer but I don't know. They sometimes are available on Ebay, or for a whopping $7.69 each at the link above.

Yes, the early EFI systems are basically just calibrated analog timing circuits that fire the injectors on a pulse and hold them on for a variable length of time. Remember, the first patent for a microprocessor was issued in 1973. Digital computers fast enough to control a FI system, and rugged enough to survive in an automobile didn't exist outside of the military until well into the 1980's.

If you have the OEM 72 distributor, even with the Pertronix kit installed, you have to stay at the stock static timing. That dizzy has a very large, 24 degree, centrifugal advance and if you advance the static timing beyond the standard setting you will have spark knock and potential engine damage.

Do you mean this: Motorsport! Thermostat Housings - The Z Store, Nissan-Datsun 240Z-260Z-280Z-280ZX-300ZX(Z31/Z32)-350Z-370Z Parts Looks like if you have a 70-72 or a 79 you are in luck. Otherwise...

The clips get loose also, which leads to arcing, which causes all sorts of issues. (Like melted fuse boxes...) I have all of the fuse clips held shut with tie-wraps. That requires needle nose pliers, and must be done with the battery disconnected. If I was going to do it over I would just buy one of the replacement fuse boxes.

On the 280Z the vacuum advance was only engaged in the highest (generally 4th) gear. (or so I have been told...) My B series 4 speed (the one that is on the floor under my work bench with no 2nd gear syncros...) has that same switch. I don't think there is one on the ZX 5 speed.

I second the motion on having a jack for the differential. The case is cast iron, and it weighs as much, or perhaps more than the transmission. Not something that I would want falling on my head...

OK, it isn't exactly showroom stock, and the description is over the top. But the body looks reasonably good. The current bid (on 5/11/2013) is $12K+, a little steep perhaps for that car, but everyone always complains that the prices on S30s are soft... If you don't like it, don't bid on it.

If you put a 3.9 differential in the car you will need the 83 5-speed, at least on the highway. I cannot answer the question about the halfshafts, but a L28 with the 83 5-speed and a 3.9 differential is pretty much the hot setup for all Nissan parts. Good motoring!

To some extent it may be an optical illusion. The wheel well opening is close to the wheel at the front and far away at the rear giving the illusion that the wheel is pushed in. My car has some toe in of the rear wheels, and the driver's side is worse. (At least it did when I had a "4 wheel alignment" several years ago.) I blame that on my overzealous attempt to "drive" the spindle pin out with a sledge hammer. :stupid: My tires haven't shown any measureable wear that would indicate there is a problem, so I mostly ignore the issue. I have had to come to grips with the fact that my Z is, and always will be either a good looking "#4" or a just over the line #3 condition car in the historic vehicle association's grading scale. So why worry about a little extra toe in on the rear wheels?

I don't know how it works in the warmer parts of the world, but in Indiana back in the 70's you had to replace your exhaust system every 18 months regardless of how many miles the car was driven.

I have the MSA exhaust system that you referenced, except that I also have a header. I never got a ticket for a noise violation, but it was too loud for me. Like Arne, I added a glass pack in the long straight section that fits inside the transmission tunnel.

On my 71 it was on the front side of the tank. I installed mine with the tank out of the car, but it might be possible with the tank installed. Check for sufficient clearance first. I guess that if you try to do it in place and can't you could always drop the tank if needed. You will have to drain the tank first. (But you knew that I assume.) On the early cars the sending unit goes on the side of the tank near the bottom. Also, do your self a favor and carefully check the old float arm angle and bend your new arm to match. I just installed the new unit with the arm straight, and as a result the gauge registers 7/8 full with gas filled up to to the cap on the filler neck. When I hit empty on the gauge the tank still has about 5 gallons (U.S., about 19L) left in place. It is very annoying, but not so much that I am willing to take the sending unit back out to fix it.

All the more reason to be careful out there. Situational Awareness means being aware of everything that is going on around you...

I thought that everyone south of the Ohio river just plugged those things... I didn't take mine apart when I had it off. (It gets cold here so I hooked it back up) Have you tried snugging the hex nut? The other option if it is a really small leak is to try some stop-leak in the radiator. On some of my older cars I have been able to plug small leaks with the over the counter stuff.

Do you prefer hard cheese or soft cheese with that whine?

Carfax also does not provide any data on vehicles made (or at least sold in the U.S.) before 1981. I don't know how they deal with Canadian registrations. But still, there is a difference between not being able to document all potential incidents, and being able to document some problems. It is like going to court. If the prosecutor can't prove the charges they call the defendent "not guilty", instead of "innocent". Not being able to prove something is totally different than being able to disprove it.

When I first read the title of your post I thought you were talking about putting racing tires on your street car, which would have been an easy argument to make. But when it comes to full race tires on a race car... Sorry.

I walked around my Z on the way to my snow plow... does that count?

While others, like me, have far too little... That looked like great fun!

I take it that you don't like the stock springs....

And some of us just don't have junkyards nearby with 40+ year old cars in them...

Our club recently rebuilt our site, but the new site doesn't get much traffic. Personally I am beginning to wonder if a web site for non-commercial interests is fading from the realm of normalcy. I personally do not have a Facebook page, because I have concerns about becoming part of the "Self-surveillance society", but nearly everyone I know under the age of 40 spends as much or more time on Facebook as they do in "normal" web surfing. I see that this site has the little Facebook symbol at the top of the page. Is that the direction that we need to be headed to attract younger members?

The cam shaft rides in aluminum cam towers, which expand more than the mating steel parts when they get hot. Oh, and when I first got the engine running I had only done the cold adjustment. I didn't check the hot setting for a week or two. The valves had huge clearances when hot. After I got the valves in "proper" adjustment the car had more power, and sounded different. It is hard to explain, but with too much clearance the exhaust note was raspier somehow...