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65 degrees here yesterday. I cleaned up and out my garage then drove the little car for the rest of the day. Those new 15x7s with 205-50s make all the difference in the world. Looks good and drives like it's on a rail. Anyway, all I did last night was pull the hood off. But today I'm filling up some boxes and baggies. DJ that book was crucial when I rebuilt my very 1st car engine, my '77 280. I'd only took the top end off dirt bikes then in the early 90s I learned how to work on outboard motors by working with a mechanic while I was healing after an ankle fusion surgery. He turned out to be a good friend that I'm still in touch with today, Dr Brown we call him. I had a 2.5 liter Mercury V6 with OMC carburetors that would turn 9,200 RPMs with a 24 pitch prop. 8,000 with a 26 or 28 prop (can't remember) was 102 MPH on a handheld GPS I had in a pouch on back of the driver's seat. 1,200 lb boat and motor I raced 1/4 mile side by side "run what you brung". It was a '83 Hydrostream Vector. Sorry about that, great memories from then. Anyway I have to do everything by myself and taking the engine apart piece by piece is the easiest way for me without banging the car up. After getting the top off I put 2 head bolts in the block and lifted it out with a hoist. It may take a little longer but I tend to make mistakes when I try to do too much at once. I let the 280 motor worry me to death, not going to happen with the 240. I've learned enough with Tom's book and the helpful members on here to have some confidence now, plus the 240 is so basic and simple I can hardly wait to tear into it. I'm going to take the block and head to the machinist in North Georgia. They're going to set up the valve train and notch my block for the exhaust valves. Port match and anything else I can afford. When I take it apart, if there's anything that looks suspect I'll have it checked out by my local machine shop.

Mine have the pull strap on the passenger's door only, as well as an armrest.

Sorry about you losing your Mom. Seems like these Datsuns last a long time, maybe you'll find one soon.

I'm a bit of a wino myself. I enjoy some Ripple and champagne mixed together, Champipple. Kidding aside, that's a great story.

That's something I've read before where they are talking about sanding them yourself. $36 plus shipping from the North West was only $50. I would spend that on sanding paper and beer, plus running my heater to keep warm. Anyways I'm hoping for the best out of the resurfaced pads but maybe will have to learn a hard lesson in a year or so of running the cam. $125 regrind with a component kit of $250 plus the $50 and the unknown set up price, $1,000 at least down the drain if the rockers don't have the "lanolin wipes".

I'm about to tear this motor out and then apart. It's kind of hard to do because it runs pretty good today but I can't trust a 43 year old motor's stamina, so here I go. I think updating this thread with the progression of the build will save my butt from mistakes with the help of the forum. My plan is to remove the carbs first then the head and then block and transmission. I know the basics, label and bag everything and clean, clean, clean. I did my 280 a couple of years ago with step by step instructions from Tom Monroe. I'm feeling a little sick knowing what I'm about to do but these beers are helping. Thanks, Cliff

Okay here you go, 9 and 3/4" between the two holes. That's the drivers side if it matters?

I've got a 240 driver's side armrest in my shed I can measure later today. I could get pretty close measuring the pulls on the passenger's side door, they have those plastic chrome covers on there and they're mounted in the cars.

Oh yeah they slide, they're universal so they don't fit very tight. Putting some kind of friction tape is a great idea, might do that myself. I always tuck the cover in before I get in the car. I put mine over white seats in a 240 I bought with white interior. I tend to get dirty when I work on cars and don't like changing clothes for a quick test drive. One day I'll be like my Dad and wear coveralls, but no time soon. Get you some Hello Kitty's until you can get them recovered. A guy on here, Hardway, recovered his with a kit off ebay. He did a good write up on the process. http://www.classiczcars.com/topic/44331-diy-how-to-recover-your-z-seats-lots-of-pictures/

Here's the intake gasket I bought a month or so ago, if you haven't sourced one yet. Nissan #14035-E4610

I called my Nissan parts guy and asked about your numbers, your right "none out there". He suggested Felpro 21157.

I bought some neoprene seat covers from a chain auto parts store or walmart one. They have the tube looking thing that goes between the seat and the back to keep them in place better. Also came with small bungee cords to keep the bottom tight.

So using a 280 HG on a worked E31 head on top of a 2.4 block, one could avoid these issues (other than the block notching)?

What did you do about the 6 that were bad? Did you send 6 more for proper coordination or buy new? I may have that same situation.

My orange one with the 280 radiator and shroud reads 176. I'll check the 280 tomorrow and let you know.

I've been thinking grinding off the stock cam would require thicker lash pads? Sounds bass ackwards now. The guy doing my geometry kept saying John Williams, R.I.P, got the last .150s they could find. Schneider guy says he'll send the ones I need with my cam component kit. The same cam kit MSA sales comes with .175"s.

Delta Cams received my original Nissan rocker arms last friday at 4 p.m. They called at 8:30 a.m PT and asked my card number for payment and shipping. 2 days and $3 each. That's a pretty good turnaround time and a helluva cheap price. He said they barely needed work, that they were in good shape to begin with. But Schneider requires new surfaces for their warranty on my cam regrind and professional installation. Not on Main Street Garage will set it all up for me as soon as I take my perfectly running motor apart and take them the head and intake manifold. I emailed them and asked for one more weekend of enjoyment, 60s here on Saturday. I'll get started on it Sunday.

I thought about it but didn't. Reading Blue's tips had me thinking that they would work with OE size rotors but I was just wanting to stop reasonably quick. here's his write up, http://atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/toyotabrakeupgrade/index.html here's what i bought from chain stores for around $200. Slotted and drilled rotors reman calipers and a can of red paint. Also bought the stainless hoses from the calipers to the hard lines.

My '77 2.8 block runs way cooler than both of my 2.4 blocks but there's some differences other than water passages. Temp sensor in the thermostat housings are different as well as the temp gauges in the 240s. The 280s have bigger radiators, plus fan shrouds. Everything I've read about other 240s is the excessive needle reading towards the hot side. Could be older gauges or newer blocks? Good question.

Here's one for a '77, http://atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/distributor/index.html

I have the ceramic from msa and it looks as good today as it did 4 years ago. No discoloration anywhere.

Time stopped for this one. I hope they get 30K.

240 end pieces on the rear, never seen that before, pretty cool. Nice car. Welcome to the forum.

I found "my" best deal at amazon.com, newly reconditioned distributor with the E12-80 ignition for a '79 ZX $100. Then a Crane PS20 1.5 OHM coil for $40. That has been one of my best upgrades yet, it was like going from charcoal lighter fluid to gasoline on a campfire, they really made a difference. You'll need a ZX cap and rotor too.

I dug out a used L24 head gasket, it's oval too. I don't understand why?