240ZX

Tourniqet, I have coilovers on all four corners, 10" free length springs up front and 8" free length springs in the rear. My wheels are 17 x 8 up front and 17 x 9 in the rear. Tires are 215-40 x 17 front and 235-40 x 17 rear. I can assure you they do not rub any where! I've seen guys with the same wheel setup as mine with even bigger tires......generally, 225-45 x 17 front and 245-45 x 17 rear. If you visit my gallery you can view my setup on my 240. The lowest part of my 240 is at 3 3/4" above the road surface. Mind you, I don't drive through shopping centers with speed bumps!!! Anyway, this setup has been successfully done by many z owners. Good luck with your adventure. Hope this helps you out a little.

The reason one would not want to use copper lines for fuel lines is safety!!! Copper lines are pretty much in an annealed state (soft) and when subjected to movement and vibration, over a period of time, they will work harden (get brittle) and fail. A failure is likely to happen on or near where the line becomes flared, for a fastener. So do yourself a favor and use an appropriate steel fuel line.

If you have the stock fuel system, you definitely need to have an operational return line. Fuel pressure is regulated by that little rectangular block at the rear of the fuel lines that run next to the cam cover. It has a small metering hole that provides the correct resistance to maintain approximately 4 psi to your SU's. The fuel that passes through the metered hole returns to the tank through the return line. If the return line is blocked, you will have too high a pressure at your SU's, resulting in probable float bowl overflow, because the needles and seat are not designed to handle much more than about 6 psi. The newer the needle and seats, the more pressure they will hold. Anyway, you need to get that return line unplugged or replaced. It should not be a very difficult exercise. Hope this helps you out a little....good luck!

Mike, I've seen this car at a couple of shows and it is definitely a nice 280Z!!! I, myself, am not to keen on the overall styling, but that's just my taste. However, if the styling is pleasing to you, you may want to go check this one out. The best part is, is that it's all done........OK, everyone knows these toys are never really done!

Jason, Very nice job!!! Viewing your site takes me back to when I was redoing my 1970 240Z. Oh, the memories........ Sure is all worth it though, when its a driver again. I know what you mean about friends asking if its done yet.....do they think these cars just redo themselves over night?!! Anyway, your Z looks great. ENJOY!!!!

BillD, The shaft that is between the oil pump and the distributor, has a gear on it that needs to be timed to the crankshaft so that your distributor is in the correct position (factory position) when all is assembled. On this gear, there is a little dimple that should face toward the front of the engine, when the engine is in the #1 TDC. So put the engine at #1 TDC first. If you have a repair manual, it will give you the exact details of the dimple position. Basically, you install the shaft on the end of the oil pump and rotate the shaft until the dimple is facing forward and then slide the assembly (oil pump & shaft with gear) up into the engine. When installing the pump/shaft, it is very easy to install it one tooth off. This is because the gears are helico and rotate slightly when they begin to meshtogether. You may have to do it a couple of times to get the distributor in the correct position. By the way, pull your distributor out before installing the pump/shaft. After the pump is in, then put your distributor back in. If you have timed the shaft correctly, the distributor will be correct also. I hope this all makes sences and will help you out. Have patients and good luck.

If I remember correctly, you will need new cam followers for your new cam, as the old followers have taken a set (worn to match) to the old cam. New followers, would mean new rockers. The actual follower is the part on the rocker that bears against the cam lobes. Maybe someone else here will confirm this information.

The last time I checked, about two years ago, they are no longer available new. I was going to replace mine because it was less than perfect, but had to use it because I could not locate a new one. So, if you run across one.....grab it up. If not, you may try refurbishing your old one. Good luck! By the way, mine is a 1970.

I'm not familiar with the twister, but it looks like a nice unit. However, it does specify that it's a race muffler, intended to reduce noise levels at a race track. You have to wonder if it would be quite enough for street use. If you install them, let us all know how they sound. Good luck!

White94cam, I don't mean to be rude, but do 240's look like drag cars??? I think not! Do they look like sports cars that go around corners well??? Affirmative!!!

Xargon321, That flat nut they describe is the knurled knob, with a ball bearing, you have at the bottom of your carbs. You may want to check your float adjustments before you move forward. Once you have played with your SU's a little, you will begin to see how easy they really are! By the way, do you have a UNI-SYNC to balance the carbs air flow? If not, buy one. Pretty inexpensive at most auto parts stores. Good luck!

Tanny, If you are going to run new wires for the rear speakers, use large gauge multi-strand wires. Doing this will insure better high frequency responce. The small gauge stuff that is typically used in a long run to a speaker will degrade the higher frequency responce. ( The longer the run, the more the degradation). That one reason why MONSTER CABLE uses such a big cable. Just some food for thought!!!

TexasZ, Before you install the head, you may want to lay a straight edge across the head just to make sure it is flat and true. Check it from end to end as well as across. Also, if it looks like its been milled down (resurfaced) check that it has not been milled too far. I've read that too much milling can cause problems with the cam tower height. There's a post some where on this!!? I don't know the details on it however. Just something to consider.

Victor, I saw a post some time ago that said it is available from J.C. Whittney. I will look through my notes at home for the part number on the item. Will be able to post it some time next monday (07-28-03).

dero, Just a suggestion.....save up some $$$ and get yourself a 82 - 83 280ZX 5 speed and 3.90 gears. You will be so happy you did. I found mine at a pic-a-parts for less than $200.00 and that included an R200 diff with 3.90 ratio. Of course I had to remove the parts myself. If you install only the 5 speed with your original gears, your gearing will be less than ideal. Good luck on your adventure.

Datfreak, Type in REBELLO RACING....it will take you to their site!

2ManyZ's is correct.....many have asked the same question. Review the posts, but in the mean time you may want to order up a set of new spindles, nuts, and locking pin assemblies. They are relatively inexpensive and will go back together pretty easy and it is likely that the old ones may get dorked up during removel. Nothing like having new parts on your baby!!! If you are installing urethane bushings in this location, it is helpful to grind a slight chamfer on the hub housing to facilitate sliding the rebushed control arm into place. It sure made it easier for me anyway! Good luck with your effort and let us know what happens.

Victor, This Sunday, in summerland, CCZCC is having a luncheon/meeting at the French Bulldog Coffee House @ 11:00 a.m.. I'm going to cruise up and join them. After the luncheon I will be cruising the back roads, back to my house. The address is: 2354 Lillie Ave. It's right next to ther 101 fwy. Maybe I'll see you there!?

Tom, The situation with the early Z throttle linkage can be improved. You should first do what 2manyZ's suggests. However, one of the real problems is 30 some years of wear that has taken it's toll. If you can get rid of as much play as you can in the linkage, use the adjustable links to position the bell crank properly, and slightly reduce the return springs tension you will end up with a throttle that feels and responds almost linear. I had the same problem you are talking about before I started my redo on my Z. Some time ago I found a post, written about 1970 something, by this engineer guy who went into great detail about this problem. Basically he said it had to do with the position of the bell crank, because when a bell crank is actuated by the driving rod (the one that comes through the firewall) the result of the driven rod (the one that parallels the firewall) the resultant travel of the driven rod is not linear to the driving rod....hence the strange throttle pedal feel. I actually had to read the post a number of times before I understood what he was talking about. Anyway, I found that most of the play in my linkage was from the very worn bushing that the rotating part of the linkage rides in and the end of the rotating rod that sits in the bushing. I couldn't figure out how to replace the bushing so I fabricated a new end for the rotating rod that was big enough to get rid of the play. I little bit of work to make it happen, but the end result was worth it. I did replace the stock return springs with stainless steel springs that have slightly less tension. Now my throttle works like you would hope a throttle would work.....smooth and linear. So, to some it up....get rid of the play in the linkage, lube it, and adjust the bell crank position. P.S. At one point I even considered installing a more modern throttle cable assembly, but as you might guess that involved even more fabrication of parts.

Victor, Your plan sounds like a good one! We could meet and have breakfast in Ventura at a place called "Pete's Breakfast House". The food and service is great! To get to it, if you were heading north on 101 from LA, get off at Seward in Ventura and head into town (go right from fwy), go past the stop light just after getting off the fwy, continue up Seward under the train overpass, past two more stop lights, and at the third light (Main St.) turn left. Pete's Breakfast House is on the right side of Main Street a couple of blocks down. It is just past Ventura High School and across the street from the high school is a vacant gas station right next to Pete's for parking. This is my favorite place for breakfast. Yah, the 33/166/101 would be a good run!!! Plenty of twisty stuff on 33, some high speed stuff on 166, and a nice cruise back on 101. Let's try and put this together. I'll e-mail you my phone number.

Thanks for the responce SoCalZ. I've had the pleasure of meeting Steve in Salvang a couple of months ago. I had a good time and everyone was super nice. I plan to attend the luncheon in Summerland this Sunday @ 11:00. It's likely to be WARM but, being next to the ocean it should be very comfortable. If I remember correctly, parking can be limited on the street but, there are a couple of parking lots. Thanks again for the info and maybe we'll cross paths some time in the future. P.S. My 1970 240Z is so much fun to drive, it should qualify as illegal.