2-4-T-Z-MAN

Carl, After reading one spacific line of your note I proceded to smack my forehead and go DUH !!! I reread lonetreesteve's note and realized that I had, in my mind, placed his spare engine in his 71. DUH !!! Total misc. ramblings on my part about the shock tower ID plate, his car's title, etc. Datsunzgarage.com has an article that talks about how to identify engine and head series. Brian Little states that 1970 240's have L24s with the E31 block and that 71-73 Z's have L24 with the P30 block. So this 60039 engine leans to the thought that the above statement is too broad?

Carl, Thanks for some very detailed information. I wondered when you would see this topic and jump in. I have to say that by no means am I an authority on the Z. Every day is a learning experience. Your answer that this car , based on the 60039 #, indicates that it was built 10/71 making it a 71 confuses me. I'm not disputing your information, it just seems that there is more information out there than can be assimilated and come up with a simple method of determining a vehicles model year, other than the title. It was my understanding that the E-31 block made it a 1970's car and if it had a P-30 the car would be a 71-73 depending on build date. Now the 60036# issue places a car with a E-31 block as a 1971. Which lonetreesteve's title states. Whats up? If he checks the plate on the shock tower and finds that the numbers match, would that eliminate the prospect that someone put an earlier engine in his car? I have since gone to an article you wrote for the Internet Z car Club back in may 2001. In that article you made mention of two cars, one having a later build date than the second. The car with the later build date was titled as a 70 model while the one with the earlier build date was titled as a 71. So do we just go by the title information as to what year vehicle we have? Is this entire topic just semantics? There just seems to be so much conflicting information.

Is it OK to mention the name of another site? ZCar .com has a couple cars listed.

The state of Confusion is a place we have all been at some point. That's why a site like this is so great. TomoHawk, Knew it had to be a typo, my comment was just a "little tongue in cheek".

Lonetreesteve, Congratulations on having a 1970! Sorry I really don't know the meaning of the number cut in the block, other than maybe meaning that your engine was the 60039th L24 made. ?????? Seems like a high number for that to be the answer though. I'm sure someone in this club knows the answer and as soon as they see this thread then we'll all know.

I wouldn't think so, wouldn't it be a '79'?

One simple little question. Lots and lots of information. Thanks guys. This site is a learning experience. And to think for the past 27 years I've just been driving the car. Now I'm picking up so much more information about the car and the heritage.

Did all the ZG's go to the UK, and Aus.? That seems to be the case from what I'm seeing on this site.

LONETREESTEVE, LOOK ON THE ENGINE BLOCK, DRIVER'S SIDE TO THE RIGHT OF THE MOTOR MOUNT. THE BLOCK NUMBER IS LOCATED THERE. IF IT IS AN E-31 YOU HAVE A 1970. IF IT IS AN P-30 YOU HAVE A 1971-1973.

Where in central Fla?

Bill, If you want that question answered along with a ton of other useful information, try Ultimate Z Car's site. I just recently found and printed alot of information on the various heads and engine builds.

I bought my '72' in 1977. I was the second owner. The guy wanted $2000. It had a bad dif. mount and he came down to $1500. The dealer had told him it was a bad dif. and wanted $500 for repairs. It's been what I call gatorade yellow, the orig color. It was white for a number of years , then red. Now it's nissan champagne. Both of my kids fight about who gets the car when I die. I think I'll take it with me. It's never let me down.

Where are you located?

Gray smoke usually means burning oil, however it can also mean water vapor. Black smoke usually means you're running too rich. Did it smoke before? Check for water in your oil and check to see if the water in the radiator is milky. If either of the se thing appear you could have a problem with the head or head gasket. Did you replace the radiator because the car over heated? If neither of these things appear, then start on the vacuum lines. Good luck.

Jack the car high enough to place the tranny on a floor jack. Make a small cradle out of 2x4's, about 10"x10". Make the cradle by crisscrossing two 2x4's on top and 3 on the bottom. They should be square to one another. The center 2x4 on the bottom can be bolted to the floor jack. Place the tranny on the cradle, roll it under the car. You might want to secur the tranny to the cradle with some rope. I didn't as it sat fairly stable in the cradle. Make sure the clutch assembly is lined up correctly. Jack up the tranny so that the imput shaft is lined up to the clutch assembly. Now comes the fun part . Unless you are very lucky, the splines will need to be finessed into the clutch. But with a little jiggling they will mate up. Bolt the bell housing up. Jack up the tranny for the tranny mount. Button up every thig else and go for a ride. Good luck !!!!

What color was the smoke?

If you are having trouble with vapor lock, have you installed a heat sheild between the manifold and the carbs? If not that will most likely take care of your problem. I fabed one out of sheet alum. and it made a world of difference. I'm also running 6-2-1 headers with the ceramic coating. And SER240Z is correct about the Solex's and the Mikuni's.

Paul, I have Mikunis on my L28. They are 40's because I could not find 44's. A buddy of mine that repairs and races datsuns rejetted and adjusted them. The car runs like a scalded dog. I chose the Mikunis base on his experience as a mechanic. He said that although both brands are capable of producing more hp the Mikunis are simpler . Good luck! Bear

Thanks Lance. Possession is something I wanted to mark off the list. Bear

That's a good possibility. Maybe more so than the clock being possessed!!!! Any more ideas out there?

Yeah, it will keep good time for a day or two, even when not driven during that time.

It came out of a later model Z. All I did was a small adjustment to the orig. clock's bezel so that it would fit the clock case. Snip off the plug and replace with a male and a female barrel plug, and plug it into the orig. harness..