Mark Maras

Curious. What wt. oil are you using in the carbs? Neither too rich or too lean is good for the engine. Keep going richer with the screws until you get the light tan color on the plugs. I doubt that a little light gray stuff on the plugs will hurt anything although new are always best. When starting out from a stop sign, are you sure the mixture is lean? You can check to be sure by adding a little choke during acceleration. If it is lean, you'll feel the additional power as you add a little choke.

Oh. how I wish there were Z's around when I was sixteen. I would have had one at any price. After thinking about it tho, at that age and always loving speed (mph) it was probably a good thing that I started with drag racing. I undoubtedly would have crashed AT LEAST one Z. While I'm reminiscing, @jchoi have you considered driving school? Not the ordinary kind. Most sports car racing organizations and tracks offer driving schools, classroom and on track experience. Probably the most fun and the best money I ever spent on my Z.

No opinion on the filters. I thought you were going to cut the pressure back to 3.5 psi. 4 psi is still on the high side.

For what it's worth, I've been rear ended in a Z. Bad enough to wrinkle the floor in the rear. Surprisingly, or maybe not, the tank was undamaged. As I recall the biggest problem with fuel tanks back then was the location of the fill pipe. Auto makers started to put them in the center of the rear panel right around the bumper height. In a rear end accident, the fill pipe was being pushed into the tank rupturing it. AS soon as they moved the fill pipe back to the quarter panel, the vast majority of tank rupture fires stopped. BTW I like the fuel cell. Glad to hear you're going to do more work on it.

Yes. 4.5 is pushing it and may be over the limit. New needles and seats in the float bowls MAY be able to handle the extra pressure for a while but sooner or later you'll end up with excess fuel in the float bowl causing a rich mixture (sooty plugs) and possibly overflowing float bowls (engine compartment fire). Anywhere from 3 - 3 1/2 psi will work fine.

@jchoi What year is your 240? I have some usable wiring harnesses from a late 71.

I was thinking the same thing. Might be time to start working on an all electric Z (My God, I can't believe I uttered those words). France is banning gasoline cars in 2040. Will Eastern Canada follow? The good news is, you could grill burgers on the charger.

Late 1960's, Towed the dragster with a 57 Chev. 283 c.i. with stock exhaust manifolds that rose up next to the valve covers. Perfect place to heat up big meaty cheesy sandwiches. Other racers wanted to know where we got them. They were dining on cheap, gastric suicidal, hot dogs. Little to no tailgating back then.

Wrap them in foil, carefully situate them between the exhaust manifold and the SU's. VOILA!!! Hot lunch AND a heat shield.

McMaster-Carr would be a good place to look.

I fabricate everything I can. Donor sheet metal is the next choice. I've not had to buy replacement panels, The fitment of replacement panels seems to be a common problem.

Are you tired of injection and going to go the SU route on your 280?

The slogan of one of the early barbecue joints in Portland was, "You can lick our sauce but you can't beat our meat."

Metal work is similar to paint work. Prep work is critical. Clean sheet metal and the proper 1/32" - 1/16" gap between the pieces will ensure good penetration and a good looking weld. Do have a mig welder?

I actually thought the original seats were fairly comfortable with one exception. During spirited driving, on track and off, my narrow butt would slide from side to side on the wide seat even using a five point harness.

I believe the tanks are the same. The major change was when the compact spare was introduced.

No salt in the rub? Nice set-up. Let us know how they turn out.

My clear filter was never full when the engine was running. Never had a problem with lack of fuel to the carbs and the fuel level didn't change with a new mech. fuel pump. Never have figured out the "Why".

The engine revving freely, but not when it's under a load is lack of fuel. Not much to tear down. Pull the chambers and pistons, clean everything and be sure the pistons drop freely. Pull the float chamber tops, The needle and seat (fuel valve) is under the top. The trickiest part is setting the floats.

@jalexquijano

Does the engine rev freely when it's not under a load? Patcon is right. That doesn't look like much fuel for a four minute run. A fuel pressure and volume test will rule out lack of fuel up to the carbs. Any crud in the float bowl is bad. The crud can slosh it's way into the needle and seat, potentially, either partially plugging the fuel orifice Lack of fuel) or stop the needle valve from seating. (too much fuel) depending on the size of the crud. Be sure to remove and clean it. I'm curious if the floats have deteriorated to the point that they don't float at the proper height anymore. On the outside of the float lid, where the fuel line connects, clean the small (last chance) filter (fine screen) located in the banjo fitting. Check the float height, reset the mixture screws to 2 1/2 turns and fire it up.

Should you desire to practice on one first, I have a 71 dash that leaves much to be desired. I doubt you could make it look worse. No shipping. You're about 3 hours away.

The 2.4's and 2.6's? used the spray bar. I don't know the exact changeover date.

Wheee! nailed it. Burton Cummings. Heck of a vocal range and a great piano player too. American Woman is a classic and the message is still pertinent. No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature is still my favorite.

Likewise. My family is well versed in giving me "THE LOOK" when I do something stupid again.