Mark Maras

Cap'n, should you want to give it a try, www.circletrack.com has a write up on the subject of alignment using strings. Looked quite interesting when I read it a few years ago.

IM(not so humble)O, That's how "They" start out ruining great cars. "They" (pick any manufacturer) start adding extraneous B.S. instead of quality and design tweaks to improve the car. Eventually "They" end up pushing a bloated "Jabba the Hut" on the masses and wonder why the appeal is dwindling. Thanks, I'm feeling a little better now.

Vinyl tops and sun roofs on Z's fall into that category of, "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should."

Not a dumb question at all. Add me to the list of people who don't understand why. Some Z owners have used the early Mazda RX7 electric pumps. It reportedly is quite good, inexpensive and much quieter than most.

I believe he replaced the needles.

Welds look like the wire speed was too fast and or the tip was too far from the weld. I have to get really close to the weld with the gun on my Eastwood 135.

Define, "stopped working." Won't engage? Won't disengage? Did the throw out bearing slide on the collar easily when you replaced it? Worn collar causing the bearing to bind?

Sounds like the float level is too low in the rear carb. Fuel level should be 1/16" below the jet at 2 1/2 turns down.

Stick your finger in the tail pipe and collect a sample on your fingertip. That and a sniff test will indicate what's coming out of the engine. I think I'd take a look at the plugs and do a compression test too.

You may want to consider pulling the engine. It really is quite easy. The oil pan can be removed (my experience is 240Z) in the car but it can be a BIG PITA to break loose. As I recall, when removing the pan, the crankshaft has to be turned.

Thanks for sharing. Fascinating. looks kind of fragile although it probably isn't. 14:1 compression is impressive. I'd like to see the Harmonic Drive internals. Kinda reminds me of the auto articles from the early 1900's. Inventors were everywhere and tried almost everything they could lay their hands on. To control engine speed, the cam lobes were cut on a compound angle. They would slide the cam endways to control engine speed. Variable valve lift and duration. This was prior to butterflies in the carbs to control the intake flow.

Are the carbs flat tops or round tops? If round tops, 4 (early) or 3 screw (late)? The car, as described, shouldn't exist. Unicorn?

What leads you to believe it's a 260? EFI or carbs?

Yup, it's worth a try. I've seen ones with a couple of rusty lobes that were cleaned up and worked fine. That one would be a challenge but you'd know after cleaning a lobe or two if it was worth the trouble to finish it.

Finish tuning it and drive it. I've heard of a lot worse things than this and everything turned out fine. I had one old engine that ran fine when I fired it up after years of sitting but was a little low on compression on two cylinders. A bit of blue smoke in the exhaust, slightly oily plugs in those two cylinders. After a few hundred miles, everything cleared up. I think those two cylinders had stuck rings and or rusty cylinder walls. Marvel Mystery oil in the cylinders prior to starting may have prevented more problems. Evidently the rings became unstuck or the rings re-seated. The engine lasted for years with good power and no problems. Enjoy it.

Hopefully, no damage. A compression test might ease your mind a bit. Other than that, watch for symptoms like blue smoke from the exhaust, oily plugs, gas in the oil, etc. Install a new set of plugs so you can get a good color reading and dial in the carbs. I think the engine will be fine. Good luck and keep us posted.

Eyeballing the fuel level is close enough. I don't recall how many turns of adjustment the mixture screws have. My original 4 screws had adjustable stops below the mixture screws. The stops you're referring to were probably adjusted down farther or removed to allow more mixture screw adjustment. 2 1/2 turns down and the fuel level (floats) set 1/16" below the jets is what you're shooting for.

Bruce Palmer (Ztherapy) shared this tip a while back for checking float (fuel) level in the float bowls. Run the engine at idle, turn it off. re-set the mixture screws 2 1/2 turns down(factory setting), remove the 4 screw domes and the pistons with the needles, I temporarily set the pistons, needles down, in the cowl slots), look straight down at the fuel jet (orifice) that housed the needle. When the floats are adjusted properly, the fuel levels will be 1/16" below the tops of the jets. I find this method much easier than pulling the float bowl tops, measuring, re-setting and still wondering if I got it right. Let us know what you find.

@78280ZXHELP You might want to check with Bill's Datsun Shop in Clackamas to see if they have an ECU. Ask for Jaques. It sounds like it's time to go at all the electrical connections with DeOxit. Everything will work better, even the things that are working now.

It'll be interesting to see what the red-headed step child is worth. Eventually, IMHO, the scarcity of the one year model is going to make them quite valuable. This one may start the trend.

Attn. @Zed Head and all others in the area. It would be fun to get together for food and?. However, if there's a Z around that needs TLC, that should probably be the first priority.

A trip to the beach from Portland may be coming up.

"Going gangbusters" is the right term considering the meticulous quality of your work. I'm enjoying seeing someone "Make a silk purse out of a sow's ear." "They" said it couldn't be done.

Reply to post above. As you stated, you can still see the cross hatch pattern in the cylinder walls. If the bores all look that good, and you're not trying to up the compression with new pistons, why bother tearing it apart all the way. Using a micrometer to measure bore taper would be a good idea. If the block is out, I'd take a look at the main and rod bearings as well as the crank but I wouldn't expect to find anything wrong. More just a step to reassure myself. If, however, you do decide to tear it down, be sure to pay extra attention to the coolant passages in the block. They are notorious for collecting deposits on the walls. IMHO, all that money in a new engine when used in a daily driver could be better spent elsewhere on the car. BTW, if you really want to enjoy the car as a reliable daily driver, keep everything as stock as possible when it comes to the engine and induction system.

Have you turned the engine over and inspected the bores? If they look good, I'd think twice before opening up the bottom end unless, at some point in time, it lost oil pressure.