Mark Maras

One down and nine to go.

Interesting. I assumed it was aerosol. He mentions the mixing ball still rattling in the can. Never having owned a new Z, it was news to me. I didn't see it on CL today, probably gone.

Craig's list Salem $10.00, an original aerosol can of Datsun #306 sterling silver. Seller says Datsun used to include them with the car in the early days? I can pick it up & ship it if anyone wants it.

Craigs List Portland, There's a fellow who has a torque plate for rent, that fits many different heads including Zs. $90.00-7 days, $150.00-14 days, $350.00 refundable deposit.

Sorry, this is not going to be pretty. IMHO, As far as body strength goes there are no good points. They were built with thin sheet metal and are very prone to rust, especially in hidden places, thus weakening what was already a so so structure. They don't hold up well in an accident. There is also the cost of keeping a 40 year old car in running condition. Much of the work can be DIY, IF you have the DESIRE, but if the repairs are farmed out, the expense of repairs, the towing bills & the time the car is in the shop will soon spoil the joy of owning a Z. The drivers ability is a huge factor. A lot of people jump into a Z & think it's going to make them faster than *&^% before they learn the cars' or their own limitations. Not a good recipe. You haven't given much info about yourself but the following advice is applicable to any new Z owner. Join a local sports car club that is involved in club racing. Shouldn't be hard in Cal. They usually host a drivers training course. On track, you will learn, in safe conditions, how to handle a car at speed & learn the cars limitations. In my years of driving a Z, that track time experience was the best money I ever invested in my Z & myself. I hope you get your Z but PLEASE respect it & drive it carefully for at least six months to get used to the car. Many Zs were wrecked in the first six months due to driver over confidence. These cars have the ability to make you feel like Paul Newman. Mark

You're welcome. I forgot about the bolt on the bottom. It has been a number of years since I did a Z cyl. Most recent one for me was an 81 RX7.

Pull the snap ring out of the end and drop that end onto a piece of wood several times. The seals and pistons should move toward the open end. Keep them in order as they come out. Take a close look at the bore & pistons. I normally clean them with a Scotch Brite pad & brake fluid. After cleaning, inspect the bore for pitting. If the bore looks good, reassemble the new & old parts in the proper order, reinstall the snap ring & you're good to go. Oh yeah, It's best to loosen the bleeder screw first. just to make sure that it will. I rebuilt a cyl. once & broke the bleeder screw off after reinstalling the cyl. in the car. Never again.

Spade type on an early 260Z also. The female spades on my 260 are 90` and are a sgl. wire to each one. Both located on the top left and right of the rear window. The one pictured doesn't look like it's long enough at least for a 260. I'd go with zKars advice and test it for ground continuity first & then for voltage with the key in all positions. if you find it has voltage, pull fuses until you kill it. Then you'll know which circuit it's on. Just remembered, Zs wiring does use a color code. ie. lighting circuit uses red base with colored stripes. Pull some of the tape back. You may get a clue from the wire color.

It revs as quick as a Wankel and sounds a lot better. I'd love to hear it unleashed on a track.

Wow! I'm not sure why it got that kind of money but it got me to thinking, tomorrow I'm going to visit a fellow that has a 240 & a 260 that have been sitting in a dry barn for decades. I was looking for a few parts from his business but I may try to coax him into letting me look at the Zs too. He was willing to sell the 260 to me ten years ago but apparently he has done nothing to either one since then. Tomorrow is going to so much fun. I love looking at vintage tin.

. Your before cleaning looks like my after cleaning.

Agree, The owner & I are making arrangements to fire it up & give it a comp. test on the 21st. We'll see what happens then.

Update The owner says "nothing" is wrong with the 2.4 except an oil leak. He's replacing it with a 2.8. Engine comes complete with carbs, & exhaust manifold. Pretty much a drop in, plug it in & fire it up. OH no! I think I may be talking myself into buying it. The carb set-up alone is worth the price. The only thing stopping me, at least for now, is the thought of sleeping in the basement with all of my unappreciated parts. Anyway, I'm going to try to listen to it run & check the compression before he pulls it. More later. Mark

Craigs List, Portland Nov. 28, A running 2.4 is being pulled & sold. 55,000-odom. Includes the round tops & presumably more. I'm getting more info. I don't need this, I hope, but if anyone does, I'm just a few miles from it & offering my services as a P.I.F. middleman. I'll update the info when I receive it. Mark

If you haven't treated the gas yet the cough & die could still be fuel related.

I bought a welding spoon at H.F. $8.99 Nice tool. It has a slight radius to it. I was able to clamp it behind a short section of seam that suffered from "gaposis". It made that section soooo much easier to fill.

You don't say what the clearance was on #4 but I don't think a tight valve was causing your misfire. If that was the case the compression in that one would have been lower than the others. I don't think there is anything wrong with your OEM rockers. I do sometimes question the info you're getting from your mechanic. That said. congratulations. You're running on all six. Confirm the clearances for your cam You don't want to run it with the valves too tight. Enjoy

Ok, I'm convinced. Putting in my order for an Eastwood 135. The reviews, versatility & especially the price changed my mind. The very wise father of a friend of mine once told me, " Every new project should start with a new power tool". I'm looking forward to comparing flux-core & hard wire in the same conditions.

Yes, I agree. At the very least, I'd set fire to a small piece & watch the results. There is enough combustible material in the interior as is. I found out once reaching under a burning, dripping fuse block trying to get to a hood latch. Adding more, probably not a good idea.

They were both silver on my 71.

Hotrodding has become sooooo much more difficult than it used to be. I remember the days when fit was the only problem. Getting them running was a piece of cake.

Saw this on CL too. I was shocked that someone had cut the quarter panel out of her. If it's complete & relatively rust free, go for it. If you need a quarter panel, there is a wrecking yard south of Portland that has a few Zs. PM me for Info.

You're right. Old school mechanics would use a vacuum gauge first. It still may be the best diagnostic tool for the money.

I should have mentioned in my previous post that I don't have 220v avail. at the Z & I borrowed a friends' welder for the sheet metal welding. Hardway is right, you can't go wrong with a 220v with argon. It will give you many more options (flux core & alum. wire, CO2 or mixed gas) than a little flux core welder. My favorite 220v was a Miller that I used years ago.

A Z engine will run on 5 cylinders. #4 not firing didn't cause the stall. At this point, not enough info to diagnose that. Compression ratio figures, I don't remember if this engine is new or old but either engine would run fine with these #s. If the engine is new, the #s should be very close if not the same. However, the valves MUST be adjusted to specs before ANY troubleshooting including a compression test. If a mechanic has been doing this in the past, IMO, YOU should pull the valve cover & check the clearances. It's the only way to be sure & it's not difficult. #4-compression is good, & it is fed by the same fuel supply as #5 & #6. The only reason the cylinder is not firing, IMO, is little to no spark at the plug. The coil supplies elec. to all the plugs through the distributer. The pathway to the plugs is very simple. As the dist. turns, the rotor distributes the elec. to the contacts inside the cap. From there it goes into the plug wires & into the plugs. Fact, there are 5 cylinders firing. The problem has to be located somewhere from the dist. cap to the plug. A quick check with an ohm meter will tell you if have a bad plug wire. Compare it to the others. Other options already mentioned, timing light on #4 plug wire or just trade #4 wire with another one to see if the problem moves with the wire. You've replaced the plug, if the wire is good the only thing left is the cap. Rare, but I recently had one go bad on one cyl. Ohm meter check, inside to outside & double check the connections at the cap & plug.