2ManyZs

Yes, I think you are experiencing the squeak because you didn't grease the outside of the bushings. When I put mine in I greased the inside and outside of the poly bushing, plus I put grease on the inside of the steel insert. Anywhere you have steel and poly in contact you have an area that may cause a squeak. I even greased the outside ends so that the bushings were completely covered inside and out. I haven't driven the car yet so I can't say for certain mine won't squeak but it won't be because I didn't try to grease them enough. Sorry. When you say you replaced the upper bushings in the rear I believe you mean the inner bushings, as there are no upper bushings. The lower bushings you referred to I believe are the outer bushings where the strut mounts to the control arm. You shouldn't have too much trouble by not replacing them. However it wouldn't be a bad idea to replace them soon, they aren't that hard to replace, the hardest part is getting the pin out but with a little work and patience you should be able to do that without too much trouble. What you may have gained by replacing one set may be cancelled out by not replacing the other, although one set is better than worn out bushings in both places. The front control arms can be be taken off without removing the strut. The hardest part of this job I found was to get the control arm back in with the new bushings. I ended up using a piece of all-thread rod with 2 large flat washers and 2 nuts. I used it as a spreader as the new bushings were a little too tight to get them into the mount. Once I spread it just a little it gave me the room needed to slide the control arm in. Do you mean a shimmy in the wheel? If it is, you may have worn tie rod ends or some other parts that was not noticeable before you replaced the bushings. In other words it was doing it before but it wasn't noticeable because the bushings were cancelling it out with the slop they had in them. I'd check the tie rod ends first, then go to the steering coupler in the steering column, then on to the wheel bearings and maybe even check your brakes. You could have a warped rotor or a seized piston in the caliper.

Well, glad to hear the "better half" if OK. As to what you could say when you return to the shop, well, guess that isn't fit to put on the site.:eek: I would calmly explain the situation first, then if they don't want to make good on the repair it might be time to go a little ballistic.

Well, Congratulations. Nice car. As far as the choke levers go it sounds like the previous owner didn't want to spend the money to replace the choke lever with the original. You should be able to get a replacement from Motorsport Auto or Victoria British. Get the cable for a 72 to match the carbs on the car. They aren't too hard to replace although you may find the center console might have been cracked or broken( perhaps that is why they chose not to replace the originals) but you should be able to find any part you need here or if you prefer to buy new MSA and VB offer them. BTW, few Z owners can live without one of these catalogs, go to their wb-sites in the web-links and request one. How do you work them? Easy, when the engine is cold, chokes full on until you have driven a mile or so and slowly ease them off. Z's are notoriously cold blooded, so if it spits and sputters just pull back on the chokes a bit till it runs smoothly. As far as the tires go, I'm not even sure what brand a Z came with when new. I guess it is up to you to buy what you like the looks of and what your budget allows.

Well it has been done. A lot depends on what you are going to use the car for. Daily driving only or are you going to race it once in a while. With a 280 block and 240 crank and rods you will be around 2600cc's but the powerband is going to be in the 4500-7000rpm range, which would require re-gearing to use it to the fullest extent. It will have a much narrower powerband than if you used a straight L-28 swap and the torque curve is going to be less linear than the L28. There is an article in the Nov/Dec 1997 issue of the old Z-car magazine about this swap. One thing the author did say is that below 3,000 rpm the engine was pretty weak so in stop and go traffic it is a bit hard to deal with. It would almost be the same as the new Honda S2000 where you have to run the car to the upper ends of the rpm range to use any of the available power. IMHO for a street driven car it would be better to use a straight L-28 swap and gain the torque down lower in the rpm range and you will also gain a bit in displacement.

If your dealer has a body shop they probably can get the paint, however, you would likely get a better price if you went directly to an automotive paint supplier. Find out where some of the local body shops buy their paint and go there yourself and cut out the middle man.

Tough question. No good answer either. First, a lot of the tire manufacturers are steering away from 14 inch tires so the choices are becoming more limited. Second, you need to decide which brand tire you want and which aspect ratio you would like to have. 50, 55, 60 ,65, 70 series?? You would almost need to find a tire size chart to decide which will fit your wheels and your need. With a 6 inch wide wheel you will probably want to stay with a tread width of 7 inches or slightly less. So, you probably will be looking at a tire size of 185 -205, but the deciding factor is which aspect ratio you decide on. A 185/50 and a 205/60 are going to be pretty close to the same width. Just remember the lower the aspect ratio the wider the tire will be, so a 195/70 will be narrower than a 195/50. So while I can't give a decisive answer I hope this helps. Also each tire manufacturer gives a recommended wheel width for their specific sizes so you would almost need to get with a tire dealer to find out exactly what sizes will fit and then choose a tire brand.

MSA has them for about $70.00 a pair with the 240 Z logo. If you don't already have one of their catalogs go to their web-site and get one. VB has floor mats but they don't show any with a logo. Check in the web-links here, MSA's link is there. You could also try zparts.com or strictlyz.com.

Well, I don't know how they sound but I have been planning on using a Flowmaster turbo muffler on mine when I get it ready to put on the road. grantman, aren't you going to keep your car? I thought you would have bought it back from the insurance company so you could part it out and use all the parts on your replacement Z. Sounds like you have already found your "new" ride.

I for one wish I had the funds to buy one of the "Z Store" cars. Why? Because I love my Z's and the one thing I never had a chance to do was to buy one brand new. I always wondered what it would be like to drive one off the lot with that "new car smell"! Too bad this car isn't one of the factory cars, it might be worth the asking price.

As long as your cooling system is in good condition you shouldn't have any problems. Radiator, fan clutch, water pump, thermostat should all be checked and if they are in good condition you won't have any overheating conditions while driving. If you have problems while sitting in traffic, you can add an electric fan to keep air flowing thru the radiator. One thing a lot of people forget is the fan shroud, if you don't have one you lose a lot of the efficiency of the stock fan. Without it and your stock fan won't draw enough air thru the radiator while you are sitting still. Of course, you could get a 3 or 4 row radiator to replace the stock 2 row core radiator to improve the efficiency of the radiator. The hood vents aren't really necessary but if you like the looks of them go ahead and put a set on. They certainly can't hurt anything, especially on a carburated car. They would allow some of the hot underhood air to escape, anytime you can remove the hot air you would be improving the air intake (the cooler the better)into the carbs and also allow the hot air to escape to prevent any chance of vapor lock. Just my two cents.......

Well, they might but I doubt it for a couple reason. I think the wheel stud size is different which would make the bolt circle just different enough the they would not fit on the Z pattern. Second, any wheel made for a front wheel drive application would have too much backspacing to be used on a Z. I guess you could try one on your Z if you could find a dealer that would be willing to let you test fit one. Sorry I can't give you a definate answer, I've never tried one and I don't have the info to make a comparison.

Well, it isn't really necessary when you are just changing the T/C bushings since the only thing that might change is your caster, which is technically non-adjustable from the factory. However, you may find a slight toe problem depending on how bad your stock T/C bushings are. You could end up with a little too much toe-in if the front end was a lined up when the T/C bushings were bad. I would at least have the toe-in checked soon, especially if you notice any difference in the way the car handles. Of course if you replace the tie rods when you do this then the point is moot.

Sorry, just couldn't resist that one.

4 lug, 4.50 inch bolt circle.

Hate to tell you this Mike, but if you didn't spend so much money to change your oil you wouldn't be in that predicament!

I believe they are 7/8 inch.

I wish I had a shop in Memphis, 500 to 600 for a clutch job? Yikes!!:eek:

Without being able to see the actual damage and rust in the car it's kinda hard to put an estimate on it. I would say anywhere from $1500 up to $2500 (US funds), depending on the severity of the rust. It looks like a very original car from the outside so that is a big plus. It could go higher, it's just hard to judge from one picture. Hope I don't offend you with my guesstimate, but from a distance it looks great, it's how it looks under close inspection that will determine it's actual value. A lot of it will depend on who is making the offer, it is possible it could go for a lot higher than my guess. Sorry, with only one picture I'm merely guessing. If it were a 70 or 71 it would have a little more value as the production figures for the 72 and later cars is much higher than the earlier ones.

Seats will fit just fine with no problems. Dash will fit but there are some minor differences that will have to be addressed. Such as some of the wiring connectors for the gauges and harness may not be compatible. The easiest way might be to re-use the 240 gauges and just use the 260 dashboard shell. You may run into a few little things to be worked out but it shouldn't be too difficult to make it work OK.

Well, as usual my memory failed me when I made that last post. I found a new t/c kit in my shop so I read the directions and sure enough I have it bass-ackwards! It is the Plastic or delrin socket you want to sandwich the t/c rod mount NOT the aluminum cup. So the order is rubber boot, 12mm flat washer, aluminum cup, plastic socket then the opposite on the backside. I can scan the directions if you want and send you a copy. In the directions it says to bolt it to the control arm last but I find it a lot easier to tighten the mounting nut if you bolt it to the control arm then tighten the mounting nut.

In my opinion $7,500 is a bit too high. For one thing it is not all original, and the floor repair might be OK but if it were truly to be considered a well cared for car it should have been done right with a true replacement floor pan. Also with the engine being modified and a 5 speed it brings the value down some too, but yet some people might buy the car and turn around and do the same mdifications. The A/C dryer is not much of problem. Change the dryer and charge it. If that is the only problem with the A/C. The car might be worth it if you really wanted a Z-car bad enough. It's hard to judge. One person might say it's outragiously high and another might write out a check without thinking about it. It all boils down to what you want, and how much you are willing to pay. You will ultimately have to make the final decision.

To lower a car by 1 to 2 inches all you have to do is buy a set of lowering springs although you will lose a little bit of your suspension travel and most springs are a bit stiffer than stock. There are progressive rate springs available that will not sacrifice as much of your ride comfort. As to what size 15 inch wheel and tire you should be able to use a 15x7 (zero offset)with a 225/50 tire with little problem. Anything wider than that and you will need to be careful with the wheel offset to prevent rubbing. I'm just using that as an example, you can fit quite a bit wider tires with a lower profile but you must be very careful when choosing your wheels to get the proper offset.This just gives you a general idea.

Well, if you can't get a set off a car someone is parting out you can get new ones from Motorsport Auto. They are a bit expensive, about 50.00 to 60.00 dollars each, each of them is a different price upper and lower (don't know why the big price difference). They list the same part number for 70-75. Any hinge from 70 to at least 75 should work although the series one cars had a different hinge (hold open detent) so all I can say is good luck. Check thru the For Sale forum here, you may find a set on a car that is being parted out.

Actually I touched on that in my first post by telling him to get his pressure checked with a mechanical gauge to find out the exact pressure variation. I never have trusted the electric gauges and probably never will. There are just too many things that can mess up an electric gauge. Sending units, electrical connections, wiring problems, gauge problems etc. So the best advice is get your pressure verified accurately before you do anything. Once you have established how much if any pressure drop you may be experiencing then move on to some of the other ideas. I would start at the oil pump first and proceed from there.

Well Daniel, I can't find the instructions so I'll try to do this by memory. After you remove the t/c rod mounting nut at the frame mount unbolt it from the control arm and remove it altogether. If your kit has the rubber boot put this on the rod first, then the delrin bushing, then the aluminum cup. (I believe there should be a large flat washer that goes on before the delrin bushing), put the rod into the frame mount and reverse the order. You want the aluminum cup to sandwich the frame mount with the flat against the frame. Put your nut on and then mount it back to the control arm before you tighten it up. The gauge has an opening of 2 1/4 inches, so all you need to do it tighten the mounting nut until you have 2 1/4 inches (outside measurement) between the flat washers. You should notice an improvement in your steering response since you are getting rid of any control arm movement. And it should help any wandering under braking (if you have any) so hope that helps. Have fun! And go get dirty!