Carl Beck

Hi Dan: If you search google.com for "Key Wallet" you might see something that is close. The Nissan Dealers actually bought them in bulk and they could be either vinyl or leather. Some Dealers had their business names printed on them/others didn't. Here is one I bought a few years ago on E-Bay, it came with a complete lock-set and four original keys for a 71 Z. Also received one of the early key fob's. FWIW, Carl B.

14 BTDC should be a good point at which to start. On all the dyno runs I've seen a more of less stock L6 will lose HP with total timing much above 34 degrees (on todays "high octane gas 93). You can pull the distributor and take it to a good automotive ignition shop and have them check the timing curve. You always want to do this when you swap in a distributor from another application. Make sure your vacuum advance is working properly and that the distributor shaft is running true. (no bearing wobble etc). You want a timing curve that starts to ramp up around 1500 RPM and has the total advance all in by 3500 RPM. That will get you in the ball park with the S.U.'s. You can go to the junk yard (in some area's) and get a timing pointer off another L6, or you can make your own out of thin sheet aluminum. Then put the engine at TDC and set your pointer to the mark on the crank pulley. To drive every day - I'd put either an electronic distributor in, or replace the points with an electronic pickup. In todays world mechanical points are a PIA. If it's breaking up at 4500 to 5000 RPM you may be running a little lean... (if everything is fine as far as the ignition system goes). When you get to about 4000RPM start pulling the choke in - to richen the mixture. If it runs better you'll have an idea if it's carb's or ignition. Keep an eye on the condition of the spark plugs - pull a couple and check them after a clean run (not after stop and go driving). good luck, Carl

Hi Gus: Thanks for the video's and the update. Saving an original engine with 34K miles is well worth whatever time and money you have put into it. Now put some miles on it - 200 to 400 - to give the rings a chance to polish themselves and the cylinder bores....Fresh oil and filter - and it should be good to go for a couple hundred thousand more miles. FWIW, Carl B.

Hi Adam83: You would have to give us more to go on. Did you just rebuild this engine or does it have 120K + miles on it already? For the sake of discussion - I'm going to talk about a stock engine, in an 83 280ZX with 95K miles, that has had good care.. The truth is that there is very little that one can add to that engine, that will increase its performance. If I were spending my money I'd do it in this order: 1. have a good engine shop do a fresh valve job, check the cam/followers to assure they are fine, relieve the valves, port match the intake/exhaust ports to the intake/exhaust manifolds.. do a mild milling on the head to raise the compression slightly...and reinstall. A good Z shop will know how much they can mill the head without going to far. Check the cam timing and made sure it is to spec.(might have to replace the timing chain and gears to get it near perfect). 2 open the stock exhaust pipe at the "Y" - into a 2.25" exhaust system with a turbo muffler at the rear. 3 Super Tune that engine - make sure the ignition system is fully up to spec., that the injectors are clean and delivering the proper amount of fuel, etc etc. Check the distributor function and timing curve. Do the above and that car will run circles around the cars with lots of add no goodies - that do nothing more than waste your time. FWIW, Carl B.

As I recall they were N54's FWIW, Carl B.

humm.... I just checked the link - it said "auction ended" ... reserve not meet... Wonder if someone made him an offer he couldn't refuse, so he ended the auction or what??? BTW - not having the original wheels and tires on the car hurt it from a Collector perspective. Also, it did look in the pictures like someone was under the car cleaning and polishing selected parts... shouldn't have to do that with a 6K mile car... and doing that also hurts it from a Collector perspective. Being a 4spd. rather than the 5spd. also didn't help.. You would have to see it in person to really value it - but all-in-all $18K to $20K would be about right on that one... With the original tires showing 6K of wear, and the undercarriage looking like it should.. $21K to $23K to someone that loves the color and really wants a 77... FWIW... Carl B.

Points Distributor - will most likely have the 240-Z advance curve.. and vacuum advance So 14 to 16 degrees BTDC will make it a little easier to start... however with today's gasoline - you might have to back it back off if you get ping.

What intake set-up and what distributor are you using?

The picture that sblake01 posted, was originally done by Eric Neyerlin I believe - - but it can be misleading as the various throw-out bearing sleeves are labeled with transmission types in that image. The type of transmission has nothing to do with it. All the transmissions have the same length input shafts. The throw-out bearing sleeve lengths, are designed to match the thickness of the various clutch pressure plates. The thickest was the original 240-Z Pressure Plate, with later ones being make thinner. Almost all "replacement" pressure plates that you buy today, are of the thinner type. Note that I said "almost" - some aftermarket manufacturers still sell the original thicker type, but it's rare. So if you need a new clutch assembly - for a 240Z - order both the 280Z Pressure Plate and the 280ZX throw-out bearing sleeve. FWIW, Carl B.

If you didn't remove the throw-out bearing, and throw-out bearing sleeve from your old transmission and either put them on the new transmission, or at least compared the length of the throw-out bearing sleeves to assure that they were "exactly" the same length - - - - then it is possible that the throw-out bearing sleeve on the transmission you installed is the wrong one for your existing clutch assembly. (you have no way of knowing what clutch assembly that transmission was mated with, when in the car it came out of) By all means try making sure your clutch master/slave are functioning properly first - it can't hurt. But - with the clutch slave extending as it should, when you push the pedal down - if you still can't get the clutch to disengage you might have the wrong length throw-out bearing sleeve ... good luck, Carl B.

Hi Elliot: We need more specific information - - what year/type transmission did you replace - and what year/type transmission did you install? What if anything did you use or change related to the clutch pressure plate, the throw-out bearing sleeves between the two transmission? Tell us exactly - in what order - did you do. Sounds like you may have the wrong throw-out bearing sleeve on the tranny you installed... If the clutch was working before you swapped the tranny - it should still be working after. FWIW, Carl B.

Hi Chris: Is that "new" as in New Old Stock - I had several of them, and all suffered from the foam rubber pads falling apart. Or is that "new" as in recently produced? I think my player is fine - and if they produced new tapes within the last couple years I'd sure give them a try. The 9999 indicates an after-market, locally sourced part - sold though Nissan USA and its Authorized Dealers. Still a very rare part to find NOS... I'm afraid my 510 no longer has its OEM radio... PO changed it out... FWIW, Carl B.

and for anyone that does have one - for a reasonable fee I'll autograph it for you !! that is just too funny...

The best option is to install the 70-72 S.U.'s.... FWIW, Carl B.

Hi Kats: Did you find/buy new blank 8-Track Tapes for recording? Or did you rebuild older pre-recorded 8-Track Tapes? thanks, Carl B.

Was an 8 track standard on any of the Japanese models? It looks like it was an Option to be ordered. The people in Japan that ordered the optional 8 Track got it. The people in the US that ordered the optional 8 Track got it. We sold several of them... More usual however was for customers to buy 8 Tracks in the after-market, for lower prices and/or more options like AM/FM Stereo 8 Tracks with higher output power. 29220-E4125 Kit-Radio & Tape Player AM 8TR Stereo 29400-E8725 29240-E4225 Kit-Speaker RH (AM 8TR Stereo) 29240-E4125 Kit-Speaker LH (AM 8TR Stereo) I am sure very few people have them today. It's hard to find 8-Track tapes that will still run. They had a little piece of foam rubber in them - to hold the tape against the read heads - and most foam rubber pads today simply turn to dust, and will no longer run without wrapping themselves around the power drive. (I keep trying however). FWIW, Carl B.

Well Carlos and many other Automotive Executives say that we are going back. Back to the days when a NEW Car has an MSRP of less than $10K, and a new "economy car" has an MSRP of $5K. Automobiles from all major manufactures well be produced in China and India... A couple billion people seeking a job, no EPA, no OSHA, no SSI, and no liability to speak of.... It's a wonderful world today IF you are a capitalist. Of course our idea of what is "affordable" will also change... When that new car is $10K we still won't be able to afford it... we'll all be unemployed.. FWIW, Carl B.

The Z has always had a large number of parts from Nissan's common parts bins. What sat the 350Z aside from all previous Z's and ZX's was the fact that the 350-Z shares a platform with another production sedan. Doing so, it is forced to have a very high firewall and thus body line, as well as a rear strut brace that can't be removed when extra storage space is needed.... Very much what AMC did when they cut 8" out of the Javlin and called it an AM-X. Nissan Design had a couple of pretty good looking "concepts" for the next generation Z's - but Carlos said they could not afford to design and build a complete new platform for a Z .... So they cut 8" out of the Infiniti G-35... and call it a Nissan 350-Z. Of course the Nissan Dealers got screwed in that deal as they had no 2+2 to offer their customers... Infiniti did of course... ;-) What was ironic about the way things turned out - was that many of us in the Z Car Community suggested that Nissan use the existing 240SX chassis - just redesign the body and add a 6 cylinder. There were already lots of aftermarket and performance parts for the 240SX chassis, and it had been race proven over several years of development... But the people running Nissan then, said "NO" the Z has to have it's own platform - it was Nissan's Flagship Vehicle. Just to prove that Nissan isn't the only manufacturer capable of screwing up a great idea - Pontiac showed the Soltice Coupe - - only now it is a Targa Top... overweight and far more expensive that the stripped down, clean and affordable fastback version originally conceived. What a shame... FWIW, Carl B.

Yes - that is a coupe They did not use the "X" in Japan, just Fairlady 280Z FWIW, Carl B.

Nissan had the L20 circa 65-68, followed by the redesigned L20A in 69, then the L20E and L20ET as inline six cylinder engines. Yes the four cylinder is the L20B. I think your 81/83 would have had the L20A not an L20. I'd be interested in knowing / hearing more about a shorter stoke, larger bore version - I'd seen reports that the L20E was simply a fuel injected version of the L20A. Where did you find the spec.'s for shorter stroke, larger bore versions? FWIW, Carl B.

When I was in college - circa 1965/67 - one of my roommates (4 to 6 of us shared an apartment)... owned some back Federal Income Taxes... and was scheduled for a meeting with an IRS Agent.. to arrange payments. When he was there - he was so pissed off - that he said something to the effect that - President Johnson (was it?) should be shot for wasting our money......I don't know what the exact words were, but following Federal Law, the IRS Agent was obligated to notify the SS that a threat to the President had been made and by who. Within a few weeks - I had SS Agents at the apartment asking all manor of personal questions about our roommate. They knew everything, I mean everything about him... from Gradeschool records, and interviews with teachers, to a parking ticket he received in another State five years earlier. It was amazing to say the least.... all of us were thinking "Big Brother", good grief - is this Germany circa 1938?.... you can't say anything without it being reported.... It turned out that my roommate was picked up - taken to a local SS office and questioned extensively.. once the SS felt that he really wasn't a "threat".. just a dumb arse for saying anything to a Federal Employee.. they let him go. Seems that President Johnson was scheduled to make a stop and speech at Port Columbus International Air Port a couple weeks later - - - and the SS has to check, investigate, review any and all potential threats in the area. They said they had over 300 people like my roommate to check out in the area.... The security surrounding a President is simply insane - at a cost to the American Taxpayer of BILLIONS of dollars annually. It is paranoia carried to an extreme... George Washington would be rolling over in his grave.. Certainly the security of our Presidents is very important... but the reach and extent of the fanatic effort at this point is simply out of control - and far beyond what any reasonable person would consider to be justified.... Just my experience and opinion... Carl B.

That system is a combination Heater Core and A/C Evaporator unit - yes? Carl B.

How much did it cost for the labor etc. and how long did it take???? thanks, Carl B.