kenz240z

Hi Matt, welcome to the club! This past spring my '73 began to emit white billowy smoke. I had hoped it would be a bad head gasket, as the car ran just fine. I pulled the head and found that the head itself had developed a pit that was allowing coolant to leak into a couple of cylinders. I guess it depends on your goals for the car, but you may consider rebuilding the engine as part of you plan to make the car safe to drive. After sitting for four years there are probably several other items that may need attention, such as brakes, suspension, etc... I'm not sure about the floor pans. Have you tried www.tabcobodyparts.com? A good body shop that specializes in restoration work could probably fabricate replacements for you. Hopefully you'll be able to find the parts you need as you begin working on your car. I think both MSA and Victoria British carry ZX parts. Good luck with your ZX!

What are the rear suspension bushings like? How about the moustache bar? Is the differential mount shot? These are things I'd check in addition to the struts & springs. Even if everything looks ok, you may want to check that all mounting bolts are tightened to spec.

Not exactly to my fancy, but my teenagers would love it!

Umm, running what? Got a picture of what you're refering to?

I'd be careful about using clear plastic tubing, even if it is rated for gasoline. As others have mentioned, it may not stand up to the temperatures under the hood. Not worth the risk of having your Z go up in flames...

Hi Bill, No, T&D auto doesn't have a website. When I first bought my Z, I had them do a bit of work to make it safe to drive. The fellow I purchased the car from left it sitting for 7 years before I came along and bought it. I also had them rebuild the engine this past spring.

I bought my '73 240Z in 2003 for $300. The paint was rather faded, it had been sitting for 7 years, there was a bit of rust on the rear wheel arches, but otherwise solid. The original flat top carbs had been replaced with round tops. The interior was in good shape, seats were ok, most of the interior panels were good, but the carpet was shot. Oh, and the dash top was cracked. The guy I bought it from had brought it up from Arizona and had planned to work on it; however, he apparently lost interest and wanted to get it out of his yard.

I got a both of these plugs from MSA. Here are the part numbers I found after looking through my receipts: 341153 Rear Deck Plug, 70-78 141141 Plug Deck Outer Side 70-78 I remember that at the time I placed the order, I couldn't find the "button" shaped plugs in the catalog. I asked the guy taking my order, and he knew what I was talking about. Sure enough, they showed up with the rest of the parts I ordered!

I went ahead and replaced the steering coupler with the urethane part, since it was in the kit and I had everything apart at the time. With urethane rack mounts, urethane coupler & rebuilt front suspension, the steering on my Z is TIGHT. It definitely gives a feel of the road, quite a contrast to my cars that have a Pitman arm/idler arm/power steering setup.

I'd replace the hatch. It would take quite a bit of new metal, welding & fabrication to cut out ALL of the rusty metal and replace it. Anything less and you'd be left with a wavy panel & rust eating through and bubbling the finish around the hatch glass seal.

I'd also pull the fan, radiator, wiring (starter, oil pressure sending unit, alternator, coolant temp sending unit, distributor, etc...). Be sure to label everything. If you have a digital camera, take lots of pictures, they will help jog your memory! What kind of tranny, auto or manual? Drain it if it's an auto and remove all wiring. If it's a manual disconnect the clutch plumbing. Make sure the shift linkage is disconnect for either one. Drop the drive shaft & pull the engine & tranny togther. Remove the carbs, intake & exhaust manifolds. Not essential, but easier to manouever without them on. If the exhaust manifold is left on, then disconnect the pipe from the manifold. I use a leveling sling. I connected one end to the rear of the head using an exhaust manifold mounting stud. The other end was connected to the front of the head using one of the AC compressor mounting holes & a heavy duty bold. A leveling sling will help you tilt the engine & tranny as you lift them from the car.

Bill, if you haven't done any carburetor work before then you might consider having a shop replace the flat tops with the round tops on your Z. There's a great shop near me, T&D Auto. They are located in Hygiene, just a few miles west of Longmont. Phone number is 303/772-0404. Talk to Dale or Evan. These guys know Z cars inside & out, & may have any miscellaneous parts needed for the conversion. Hygiene would be a bit of a drive for you, but if you call T&D, they may know of a shop closer to you. If you plan to do the work yourself, the first step is to do your homework. Read anything & everything you can get your hands on that relates to the Hitachi round top SU carburetors. These carbs are pretty simple in design & operation. But, just like anything mechanical, it can be messed up and cause your car not to run if you aren't careful & precise in setting it up.

Welcome to the club, you will find lot's of good information here, and lot's of knowledgeable folks, too.

I'm not familiar with the flat top carbs that came with the '73. Somewhere in its past the flat top carbs on my '73 were replaced with the round top carbs. Is the front carb leaking fuel? It could be that the float isn't floating any more - maybe has a hole in it, or is out of adjustment - and the fuel inlet needle isn't closing against the seat. That would cause too much fuel to enter the float bowl and leak. If you are mechanically inclined you might pull the carb off the car and open it up to check the float. Not sure what gaskets & rebuild kits are available for the flat top carbs, you might check on e-bay. Sounds like the carb needs a little attention.

Hi Steve, Yes, I remember meeting you at the salvage yard. How are you and your son doing with your Z's? Mine has come a long way since that day!

I replaced the steering rack bushings on my '73 with the energy suspension urethane set and it is solid. No side to side movement of the rack itself.

Hello Mike, welcome to the club! I, too, have installed the Tokico HP struts & springs on my '73. I also replaced all the bushings with the Hyperflex polyurethane set. My Z handles great with a nice firm ride. I cleaned and refinished all the suspension & driveline parts when I did the work, now everything looks clean & new.

How about ZCAR4ME

Regarding the speaker wiring (series vs. parallel), the important thing is to have the total speaker load match the rating of the radio power amp output. In addition, the speakers should have a power rating that is the same or higher than the power output of the radio. I'm not sure where to find these tidbits of information, perhaps in the service manual somewhere? For arguments sake, let's say the radio is designed to operate into a 4 Ohm load. You could hook up one 4 Ohm speaker, two 8 ohm speakers in parallel, or two 2 Ohm speakers in series. All three variations would present the same 4 Ohm load to the radio. Now let's say the power output of the radio is 20 Watts. If only one speaker is hooked up, it should be rated for 20 Watts or more. If two speakers are hooked up, they should be rated for 10 Watts or more. When connecting two speakers together in a mono setup, I'd wire them in parallel. That way if one blows, there is still a load on the radio's power amp. Without a load, the power amp section could burn up.

You might want to do a basic tune up: points, plugs, cap & rotor, air filter, fuel filter, maybe the plug wires & coil if spark is weak. The carbs could probably use a good cleaning, especially if fuel has been sitting in the float bowls for 6 years. They may need to be rebuilt. Also, you might want to adjust the valves. Check the timing if you can keep the engine running. My '73 has an electric fuel pump back by the fuel tank. Not sure if the '72 has this. If so, the pump has a fuel filter inside that I'd recommend replacing. It can get clogged with sediment from the tank and restrict fuel flow. A few other items to consider: Drain the old coolant out & re-fill with new coolant. Replace the radiator hoses. Change the oil. Check the brakes (pads, fluid & hoses, calipers, wheel cylinders, rotors & drums). Brake fluid absorbs moisture, you might consider flushing the old fluid out of the brake system and re-fill with new fluid. Replace the fan belts. How's the suspension, struts, springs, bushings, etc? What kind of shape is your Z in? Post some pics, and keep us updated with your progress!

I bought a dash cap from MSA. It came with a tube of silicon. IIRC, the instructions suggested applying the silicon sparingly around the perimeter of the cap.

I'm on my first Z, a 1973 with an automatic transmission. I'm on the lookout for another one, but I don't have any room left in the garage for another car!!!

I put a full dashcap on my dash. You can see the seams along the side of the dash when the doors are open. But, it sure looks a lot better than the original dash, which had several large cracks! Not what you'd want on a show car, but fine for a nicely "refreshed" weekend driver! http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=9937&size=big&cat=500&page=9 I have a few other photos in my gallery.

Wow, sounds like you found a great Z! Once you've been bitten by the Z car bug you just can't stay away!

Congrats! All the time, sweat, bux & cuss words are forgotten when you get your Z put back together! At least that's how it was for me! Keep the pics coming!