sblake01

Not really sure. I do my own installations so I don't really have an idea of shop labor charges.

The price depends on where you get it. I buy mine from the junkyards. I have paid as little as $45 for one, ten years ago, and as much as $125 last year. I replaced the bearings and seals and in a couple of them, the baulk rings. I always drains some of the gear lube into a container and check it's condition before I buy one. I look for metal shavings, chunks, etc. Check for play in the input/ouput shafts, shift mechanism, etc. I have purchased 5 or 6 trannies that way over the years and it has worked out well for me so far.

There should be a brake line pressure warning switch on a 77 which is different from the fluid level warning switches in the master cylinder caps on a 78. It's under the master cylinder.

Those actually look better than Carl Jaeger's $116 knob (New-Datsun-Parts) but it's still not the stock shifter knob that hoboos280z asked about.

Depends on your definition of 'best'. I like the 81-83 ZX or 81-84 Maxima 5 speed because of the slightly higher 5th gear.

That is true. He didn't say whether his car is a 4 or 5 speed.

I've got the lugs.

I'm glad you figured out which two wires. I have a 78 and those two wires don't exist on a 78 because it uses a different system to operate the fuel pump. So on a 78, there are only 5 pins on the connector and on the AFM, no contact points. Only 75-77 has the contact points in the AFM. I was simply going to say to bridge the two closest to the front but that wouldn't have made sense if you don't have the AFM in place. Glad the carb is working out for you. I've seen a couple of 4bbl L motors that ran pretty good. I won't knock them. Besides, I'm one of many few here that don't discount the 73-74 flat top carbs as 'boat anchors' like most everyone else does. With the right amount of thought and tinkering just about anything can be made to work.

Not really sure. I took me a while to find them. You'll just have to look around. Be aware that the center caps are NLA so if you find the wheels make sure you get the caps with them if possible. The cap from the 'Iron Cross' Zx wheel will fit them but they just don't look right.

That's not the OEM knob for a 78 280Z. It will fit but it's not the correct one. I've never been impressed with any business dealings I've had with that seller either. In three different instance he has told me he could get a particular part only to discover that months later, he couldn't. And 'not cheap' would be the understatement of the year. I'd look elsewhere. (JMO) From the 78 brochure: From my 78:

It still could be a vacuum leak somewhere between the mode door actuator and and the vacuum selector valve, in hose D1 or D2. Do you have a Factory Service Manual? I don't want to get too technical if you don't follow what I'm saying. Section AC in the FSM has the descriptions, general service instructions, and trouble diagnoses and correction charts.

It's a black vinyl/plastic (fake leather look with stiching off center, front and rear) with a deep red disc with the 5 speed pattern on top. That's what shown in the 78 model lineup brochure and also what's in my 78. There's a part number for it (32865-U4200) but I don't know if it's still available through Nissan. You might want to check on eBay.

ENGINE CASTING CODE L24 (1970 240Z) # E31 (flattop pistons) L24 ('71-73 240Z) # P30 (flattop pistons) L26 ('74 260Z) # P30 (flattop pistons) L28 ('75-80 280Z) # N42 (dished pistons) L28 ('81-83 280ZX) # F54 (flattop/dished pistons, siamesed cylinders) 1970 through 1976 heads have square exhaust ports (E31, E88, N42) 1977-'83 heads use rounder, diamond shaped exhaust ports (N47, P79) 1981-'83 turbo heads have square exhaust ports (P90,P90a) If you put those two lists together with information in the link in post #2 http://www.zhome.com/ZCMnL/tech/head.htm you can match up the years of each head with the blocks and get a little more info on each head. Bear in mind that this is for U.S. models. I know the model lineup differed a bit in Australia.

Not as killer a deal as I had on them when I did my garage cleanout before selling my last house in Fontana. About three or so years ago, I sold a set of those in mint condition for $150 with caps. I also sold a set of Iron Cross wheels with caps to member PrOxLaMuS© in Colorado and set of 6 spoke wheels with caps to CoastGuardZ in New York even cheaper than that. I was going to offer the Swastikas here but a neighbor bought them before I had the chance.

Is that 302 green leaf metalic? When I bought my 78 back in 1997, I almost bought one that color. It was very clean but was missing the engine and trans and seats. I ended up buying the 510 sky blue metalic car I still own for about half the money at the time.

The turbo engine used dished pistons and the P90 to lower the compression because a turbo doesn't work well with higher compression. The turbo increases cylinder pressure which has the same effect as raising the compression ratio. The higher the compression the more chance of detonation which will lead to engine failure. Airflow and exhaust have no bearing on compression ratio. Stock vs. stock a P90 will lower the compression ratio almost a full point vs. the N42. Something like 8.3 vs. 7.4. Even with an overbore of .120", the c.r. will only be about 7.8 with a P90 on an L28 block with no other changes. You'd want a higher compression ratio than that to run your triples.

I'd have to disagree on the P90. Because it's designed for a turbo, it's a somewhat low compression head. If you go with an overbore and flat top pistions, one will diminish the compression gain of the other. You'd end up needing to do some head work to gain enough compression to run triples. If you're going to do that anyway, why not spend the money on 280z valves and seats and put them in your E31 along with the head work that the P90 would need anyway. At least, that way, you wouldn't be buying another head. Based on the choices you listed, the N42 would be the best choice. Lose the N47s since your're talking about carbs. The E31 will work (with mods) and the N42 will bolt on and work without having to bore the block and change the pistons.

Note what I said in post 13 of that thread. That is the main problem with air conditioning a 240Z. The aftermarket kits mount the evaporator in the passenger footwell. That causes the fan to have to blow the cooled air through the evaporator, through the ducting, into the center housing, and then into the car. While it will cool the car, in higher temps, 95-100 degrees+, it won't cool it as well as cars with a center mounted evaporator.

If you have two N46 heads, hang on to them, they'd have to be rare! But seriously, you must mean N47 heads which are pretty much a dime a dozen, so to speak. Also, they have liners in the exhaust ports for EFI and though I've had no problems with them in my EFI cars, I've read statements to the effect that they are prone to exhaust seat cracks. Here's a pretty good read on L series heads: http://www.zhome.com/ZCMnL/tech/head.htm

Disconnecting the relay will make the light go out because the circuit is then open. That doesn't mean the relay is bad. Check the caps on the master cylinder that monitor the fluid level. They can also go bad.

That's a different problem. They're talking about the brake warning light on the dash.

That's what caliper piston tools are for:)

If he's asking about the most miles, why wouldn't his question be correct?

Well my Z, a 78 like yours, is at 98,715 right now so it doesn't qualify. The 810 as just a shade under 122,000 so it's not in the ballpark either. I'm the second owner of both of those and have the PO documentation for their accuracy. Now with my truck, I'm the fourth owner and I don't have documentation back to the beginning but with what I do have, my guess would be that it either has 427,386 or 527,386!

It's kind of though to describe. It shouldn't turn easy as in free spinning. There should be some resistance but not so much that it's difficult to turn. The colder the amabient temperature, the more resistance but it should turn without having to grit your teeth.