SteveJ

Alan, I don't take it as rude, but without the specific knowledge you cite, it is easy to misunderstand what the Haynes manual intended to communicate. As usual, your impecible research/historical knowledge reveals more to the group, and I appreciate the full description.

Okay, I probably won't have a chance to look until tomorrow night. I am flying home tonight, and I don't think my wife would be thrilled for me to be playing with car parts when I first get back.

Alan, would care to elaborate? There is no "U" in the US VINs, and I do not currently have access to my Haynes manual to read the VIN explanation in context.

I'm in the Forsyth county part of Gainesville. Do you have ready access to a lift? You might have two new best friends who live in Forsyth county.

By the way, where in Georgia are you?

Actually, it's more like the Haynes manual is wrong.

Then track down user Bruce Palmer here. Tell him you want the ZTherapy video on tuning SU carburetors.

You might try colortune to see how rich you're running. You could also try welding a bung into your exhaust for an oxygen sensor. Where did you source the carburetors from? And by "a typical two-carb Datsun setup" are you referring to SU style carburetors?

Thanks, Arne. I can see it now.

It's easy to verify. If the VIN is from America, it was not originally a 5 speed.

Mike, your link isn't working for me, and I didn't see anything new in the Articles forums.

Look at this write up I did: Turn Signal Repair | Fiddling With Z Cars Otherwise, contact Dave to see about getting your turnsignal rebuilt. If you don't like that choice or he can't rebuild it, check back with me. I may have some suitable turn signals soon. Edit: Come to think about it, I may have some already, though I would want to clean & test before selling. Send me a PM.

So you made it over here from ZDriver. Was I not fast enough responding to you over there?

I didn't have a chance to go to Caffeine & Octane today, so I decided to create a blog post from my pictures taken at the 2010 Mitty. Pete Brock was grand marshall, and plenty of BRE tribute cars were on hand as was the Baja Z lovingly restored by Carl Beck. Enjoy! The Mitty 2010 | Fiddling With Z Cars

One word about upgrading the alternator with the 260Z to an internally regulated alternator. (Okay, it's really a few sentences...) If you want to keep your electric fuel pump you'll need to get an oil pressure switch or install a diode between the alternator and the battery. I would have to do some research to tell you what wire. One of the electric pump relays is energized straight off the alternatore (before the voltage regulator). The other relay is energized off of the starter circuit. The voltage regulator keeps the battery from draining back toward the alternator and fuel pump relay coil. Going to an internally regulated alternator will allow the battery to energize the fuel pump relay coil even with the car off.

Dremel to cut the slots in it. Described here: 240z Ignition Switch- Removing Mounting Screws - ZCAR.COM - Datsun : 240Z, 260Z, 280Z, 280ZX, 300ZX, 350Z, 370Z : Nissan.

PCV = Positive Crankcase Ventilation. If you have a valve on it, it is not a vacuum leak. If you plug it up, you will allow pressure to build in your crankcase where you do not want pressure.

Just for giggles, post another that lets us see the distributor and spark plug wires.

Sorry I didn't respond sooner. Popular places to find 20wt oil are at Ace Hardware (3-in-1 oil) and at motorcycle shops (fork oil).

The flip side, Gary, is that I have learned a lot from my boneheaded mistakes.

You may get better responses if you either take off the control panel and describe what you see (pictures help) or download a copy of the 78 factory service manual (FSM) and go through the diagnostics and report results.

The Georgia Z Club took a trip to the museum shortly before it closed. No one mentioned any Z cars in the collection.

But...but...but...where could one find one of those "service manuals"?

Looking at the parts manual, each brake booster superceeded another through part number 47210-N3001. The top end of the date range is 7507, implying that the 260Z and 240Z boosters are essentially interchangeable. Blackdragon Automotive lists the range from 73-78 for their boosters. You can always return the part...

I try to avoid letting others do basic maintenance such as oil changes, free or not. On more than one occasion the drain plug was overtorqued or otherwise damaged. Who knows how well they let the oil drain, too. Until I am physically unable to do so, I will continue to work on my cars.