Royce

I don't know Oregon very well but Salem, Oregon is the Z SU capital of the world!!! See www.ztherapy.com! Hope it helps! Have fun!

Sounds like you might already have a good idea what it is. The "spook" is particular front airdam that BRE made that bolts onto the bottom of the front valance. I think you will find the car does drive better at 70+ speeds with it or any airdam installed!

I would say that a good running Z is quite reliable and has a lot of performance potential, that's why I have kept mine for the last 15 years. Many use them as daily drivers although they are not equiped with all the modern creature comforts of a modern car. But the big thing to remember is they are 20 to 30 years old and can easily cost a few thousand dollars to get even the best looking car to the point of reliability. Being an old car the key danger area is rust, there are many posts on this site that discuss the specific places to watch out for -under the battery tray, front frame rails, rear hatch sill, door threshold, etc. Another week point is the dash, center console, and interior they are usually cracked up pretty bad or covered in some way. Also, many of the plastic interior pieces can be expensive, hard to find, and difficult to keep in good condition. Then find one that runs good and drives well and you are on your way to being hooked! Have fun!

And not only is it a V8, it looks to be supercharged as well. This thing is/was one fast 240Z. That clip is at least a year and a half old but it is still an awesome sight. Have fun!

Halz, Sorry, I could not find the VIN# decoding information. I know I have it or have seen it somewhere on the web recently. I know the VIN# does not say much, other than coupe or 2+2 but cannot be sure if it has a different code for manual or automatic. If you provide the VIN# I could compare it since I have a '70, '71, '72, & '73 240 close by (not all mine!) Also, the fact that your 240 is a '72 means that you will be able to fit the newer style trans (post-'71) in either 4-spd or 5-spd without having to worry about cutting the trans tunnel or console. That is assuming that Datsun used the same trans tunnel hole and console for the automatic and manual cars. Have fun!

Here is the copy of a post from the IZCC regarding the Civic blower motor upgrade. Since I have not attempted the swap I will be just a messenger on this one and give credit where it is due. ********** "Since my post about 240Z A/C, many people have contacted me about the details of my A/C system, especially the blower motor. I am using a blower motor / cage from an '88 Civic hatchback. It is a drop-in replacement! Three screws, two wires, and you're done. No cutting, no drilling. The holes on the backing plate are a little bigger compared to the 240Z, which I compensated for with rubber washers from a hardware store. The Honda blower motor is cosmetically different - satin black finish mounting plate, and bare metal motor housing. Could be painted flat black to look stock. At the junkyard, I found several different late '80's and early '90's Hondas that use the same motor, but I just happened to pull one from an '88 Civic Hatchback. You can also get the fan resistor from the Civic if your's is shot. The 280Z 160W blower motor is also an upgrade for the 240 blower, if and only if you swap the cages. The Civic blower motor / cage is favorable because it fits perfect, and performs a little better than the 280Z motor. Much better than the 240 blower. Sean 73 240Z Tucson, AZ" ********** Hope this helps!

I don't know if you have to cut any material off the trans tunnel but you will need to cut a hole in the firewall for the clutch master cylinder. You will need a clutch peddle, smaller brake peddle, clutch master cylinder, hard lines for clutch, and clutch slave cylinder. Oh, and a manual transmission! What year is the car, because you may need to do some modifications if it is an early 240, or was that only for US spec. Just a few things off the top of my head. Have fun!

Yup, talking about the interior fan blower motor but you could try to use it as a forced induction system!

I have a write up on my home computer, at work now. If I remember correctly the benefit is more air flow, faster fan speed I think. It sounds like almost a direct bolt up with maybe a minor wire modification. I happen to have a '90 Civic and the blower motor does look the same from the outside! I'll try to find the document I have and post it! Have fun!

Just curious, is the peddle box the same in an auto and a stick? Obviously, I have never seen the interior on an automatic 240Z. My friend has one as a parts car but he already removed and trashed the peddle box. I can tell the firewall is the same you just need to punch out and add the clutch master cylinder. Thanks!

Z_pyro, Sorry it is not working out! Obviously we would all like to see you in that Z! But it might be best for you to take a break from it and after driving the Caprice you will find you way back to it or another Z. Regarding the DMV paying $2k, I don't think that is going to happen. I think at most they will pay $500, but I think the car has to be registered first. How much would you sell the car for? I don't need another one but that didn't stop me last time. I also know some other people who might be interested in it for the right price. Any pictures?

I used to have a couple of each laying around the garage but now I only have a R200 with both my R180s being in cars. It is easy to tell them appart when they are side by side but not so easy if you don't have the other for reference. The R200s rear pumpkin is almost round, or square with rounded corners, while the R180 is more narrow and therefor rectangular with rounded corner. Also the rear mount bolts that attach to the mustache bar are much thicker and the heavier R200. I'll try to take a look and find something more distinguishable this week.

Funny, I had a very similar experience with my 280Z. Once that motor and trans are gone the front gets very light, especial with jack stands under the rear frame rails. I meant to take a picture with the hood down and me "lifting" the front, but there was just to much Z crap in the garage to get a good picture! Yes, lots of the black widow spiders around here too! They don't seem to be bothered much when sprayed with carb cleaner either!

I know this is a "Z" site, but I, and I am sure others, would love to see some pics of these other 240 vehicles! Interesting conversation!

Thanks for the info on the diff axles. I changed the diff in my 240 from a 3.7 R200 back to a 3.54 R180 that has the same axle setup you described. I pulled it out of my 260Z but I figure it probably originally came from a 280ZX. Hard to tell what is original after almost 30 years. Speaking of your ZX getting lighter, my 260Z probably weighs 500lbs now. I hated to do it but the unibody was wasted! Have fun!

According to http://www.geocities.com/z_design_studio/ the available ratios for '79 280ZX are... 4-speed R180 3.36 5-speed R180 3.36 2+2 4-speed R200 3.36 2+2 5-speed R200 3.7 All Automatic R180 3.54 It also looks like that was the only year a 3.36 was put into a 280ZX. Sorry, I don't know where they got their data, however, it does seem to confirm your findings. Also, it suggests that if your 280ZX is equiped with a 5-spd it would have the earlier "280Z 5-spd" ratios. Sorry if that brings bad news! Now, I have a question for you about the 280ZX diff! I am just curious but do the half shafts attach to stub axles at the diff by 4 bolts (at the diff end) or is the axle attached to a yolk which is held to the diff by one bolt? Sorry, if that is confusing, it will make more sense if you are looking at it!

Z-pyro, When you say "control" and "switch" are you talking about the dimmer or the head light controls on the stalk off the steering column. Like 240Z said, I would be suspect of the dimmer, maybe turn it down a little! My dimmer is not happy turned all the way up, the lights go off, so I turn it down just a touch. If adjusting the dimmer doesn't work you may try bypassing it. Hope it helps!

Cook's Auto Body on Main Street in Redwood City did a great job on my '94 Honda, my Dad's '69 Alfa GTV & '99 cBoxster! For some reason our cars don't get hit as much since we both left the Bay! Hope it helps!

I to am sure Zvoiture is talking rear wheel HP. At the frlywheel the stock L24 was rated at 150HP and L26 was rated at ~162 HP. You may have a little more or less depending on how well the conversion to SUs was done and the overall condition of the motor. All the L series motors feel pretty torquey, especially when compared to my 1500cc Honda Civic commuter! Have fun!

Hi kmack, Using 4th gear is a good way to figure this out since it is always 1:1 in all the standard Z transmissions. What makes this difficult is that we don't know how accurate your speedometer is! You really need to find out how fast you are really going at that speed to figure it out this way. I put your tire size, desired RPM and checked a few different rear end ratios, according to http://www.geocities.com/z_design_studio/ 4th Gear 4100 RPM Diff Ratio MPH@4100RPM 3.364 86 3.545 81 3.7 78 3.9 74 4.11 70 Now there is another way, the junk yard technique that will probably save you some time and effort. You need to spin one rear wheel while the other is still, just jack up one side of the car. Put some jack stands under there and put an easily visible mark on the drive shaft and on your tire. Now rotate the free wheel 10 times and count the number of rotations of the drive shaft. If the drive shaft spins less than 17, then its 3.365; 17.5 then a 3.54; 18.5 then a 3.7; 19.5 then a 3.9. By the way I borrowed this technique from www.zhome.com were it was documented by our very own Ross Corrigan. I have used the technique and it works quite wheel! Have fun!

m240, The stock 240Zs in US market had a 3.36 rear diff ratio. The stock 240Z auto had a 3.54 rear diff ratio. So if your trans has the stock speedo gear than yes it will need to be changed. I don't know if the auto trans speed gear is interchangeable with the speedo gears in the manual trans, but it very well might be! I have a friend with a 240Z auto trans in his parts car, maybe I'll take a look one of these days. Anyone else know for sure? Also, another thing to consider when looking for the right speedo gear is that you have to compensate for tire size changes too! How many people are running a tire that is stock height! My favorite RPM/MPG calculators is http://www.geocities.com/z_design_studio/ which has most the stock Z trans and diff ratios in it and provides an interactive graph so you can look at different speeds or RPM very easily.

Yes, the final drive ratio represents engine revolution to wheel revolutions. You would probably experience a 1 or maybe 2 MPG difference. Look at it another way- with 205/60R15 tires, and a '81-'83 280ZX 5-speed you would have the following RPM @ 75 MPH... 3.9 - 2967 4.11 - 3127 A difference of less than 200RPM, not very significant. The gap is smaller if you drive slower and higher if you drive faster! If you could get it to 6500RPM the difference in top speed is about 8 MPH, 164 compared to 156. So I wouldn't change to 4.11 from a 3.9 but if you have a 3.3 or 3.5 with a ZX trans, maybe!? And don't forget about your tires size, you could make a the same RPM/MPH relationship change with tire selection. For example going from 215/60R14 to 205/50R15 would net almost the same results as going from 3.9 to 4.11 with 215/60R14 and give you potentially better handling at the same time. You are not changing the final drive ratio just the distance the car will travel given the same number of wheel revolutions. Corrections, questions, and comments are welcome! Have fun!

Regarding the AU market 5-speed, do you know if it has a yoke bolted to the output shaft instead of like the US market cars with male splines to go with a female driveshaft? Someone her says the have a early 5-speed that matches this description! Anyone heard of it? Sorry to get off topic, here is another on topic. How fast a Z can go is only a mater of time and money! It also helps to have someone behind the wheel that knows what they are doing!

Well it sounds like a great deal! Unless you find the original motor it will never be at the top of the value scale but for what you got it is a steal! Sounds like a good car to start with, they all have their challenges, I am sure you will have a lot of fun with it. Also, you have the makings of a good performing Z car. L28 block/N42 head with dual carbs, I perfer SU's but dual SUs are fine for that price! Just try to focus on fixing one thing at a time, ask for help when you need it and I am sure you will enjoy it!

Howdy, Every car and ever situation is different. Due to condition of suspension parts, driveline, tires, road conditions, and even the weather. I have driven Z cars that are scary over 70MPH and I have pushed mine to almost 6K RPM in 5th. I wouldn't trust your speedo to be very accurate past 100MPH. If you really want to know how fast you are going you can calculate your speed using your gear ratios, tire diameter and RPM. Bottom line is if you plan on going fast make sure you are paying attention and your car is safe! It is possible there was a 5-speed available for Euro and AU markets but don't know for sure. It is an easy swap so after 30 years there is a good chance it is not original. I agree with the statement that you will want an airdam or something to keep the front end down. I noticed the difference in the front steering at speeds close to the legal limit. Have fun!