2ManyZs

Well, I hate to disagree with you guys, but the choke cables come out on the drivers side of the engine compartment. The hole is just below the throttle linkage. I believe it is a little to the left of the throttle linkage, not directly below it. It should follow a straight path from the console thru the firewall and out to the intake. For confirmation, look in the Photo Galleries. Mike has posted a picture of the engine compartment from a new car brochure of the 240Z. And if I'm not mistaken there is no real return spring on the choke cables, since the cables are solidly mounted to the bracket on the carbs I don't think there is a real reason for one. And with new cables I think there is a little bit, maybe an inch, that will be excess when the cable is adjusted properly that will be through the lever assembly for the choke. Easiest way to find out if the choke is opening all the way or not is to take off the air cleaner and have someone operate the choke lever and watch the butterfly.

There is a hole in the firewall just for the choke cables. It is just to the right and a little below the hood latch frame. It is right in line with the backside of the carbs, it should come straight out of the firewall and go straight towards the metal fuel rail before it turns towards the carbs. As far as the return springs, I'll have to get out in the garage and see exactly where they should be, my mental picture is a little clouded due to lack of sleep. :sleep:

Where is the water leaking out of the pump? Is it coming from around the shaft behind the pulley? If it is you need a new pump. If it is coming from around the gasket you could try to re-mount it with another gasket. Can't tell you much without knowing where the water is leaking from. The missing belt shouldn't have any effect on the water pump.

If it is just one bent valve you can replace just the one that is bad, but, ( don't ya hate when someone says that) you really need to thoroughly check for any other damage. Then try to figure out why this valve bent. Usually there is only one reason, like a piston slapping a valve. There has to be a reason why this happened, like did the keepers come off? Or did something else weird happen. Before you pull the head do a compression check to be sure, it's not hard to do and it may save you some time and aggravation. If the compression is still good pull the valve cover and inspect the valvetrain, it could be something as simple as a lash pad retainer spring has broken and the lash pad is loose. Sorry, but it could be a whole lot worse, you could be having these problems with a brand new car with alarge payment book attached. This is what we go through to have our "old cars".

If he hasn't replaced it already I think I would start by trying a different coil. It sounds like something between the coil and distributor if it isn't the bad ground. Either that or it's in the wiring (corroded or loose) connections on the coil or on the distributor itself. Just a couple more ideas to check out.

Hmm, well, if all you want to do is take the spring and strut off this one to put on yours I'd say take the spring and strut and forget the spindle for now. If it has the blue springs, they are a bit shorter than stock, but it still would be a good idea to use a spring compressor as they are stiffer. If you don't have a spring compressor, try this little trick I have used. Get 3 large diameter hose clamps, about 2 1/2 or 3 inches, and loop them around at least 3 coils of the spring and space them out evenly around the spring. You should be able to tighten them enough to take most of the pressure of the spring off the upper mount, then just use a 14mm socket to take of the nut off the top of the strut. Then to get the collar off the strut you will need a good sized set of slip joint pliers. They can be a PITA to get off at times, but it will be a lot simpler to do this than to fight the spindle.

To those of you who have used the POR-15 I have a couple questions. 1. Did you spray it or did you brush it on. 2. If you did spray it, did it need to be thinned or was it OK out of the can. 3. I am wondering if this stuff is going to be impossible to clean out of the threads of the body mounting nuts if it is sprayed in there. As hard and permanent as they say it is I am wondering if it will be hard to chase the threads with a tap if it were to get into the threads. Just wondering, since I have never used the POR-15 I don't want to find out the hard way. I guess I really haven't decided to use it on my 71, or save it for another job.

Luckily my 71 was a garage queen for most of its life, so that probably helped make mine easier, and it was the first time I had done the job so I guess I got lucky. You could try using an impact gun to turn the spindle if you have one. The problem is in the bushing sleeves, that is where the spindle will be rusted or corroded, there is very little clearance between the spindle and the sleeve so let it soak for a while, sooner or later it will break loose.

Well, mine came out of my 71 pretty easily (?) so maybe I can give you a couple hints. Before I started trying to take mine out I sprayed the pin with WD-40 and let it soak in for an hour, spray it into the wedge bolt hole too. I then double nutted one end of the pin and used a wrench to turn the pin to make sure it was loose, they usually are corroded inside the bushing sleeves. Then I took a ball peen hammer and a punch and punched it out. If it is very stubborn try not to hammer on the end of the pin (even with a nut on it) or you'll end up mushrooming the end of the pin and also ruin the nut. I used a small brass drift I had that was a little smaller than the end of the pin and tapped it out. Once it moved it slid right out. If you have new pins to put in you don't have to be quite so careful beating the old one out, but if you mushroom the end too much it won't slide thru the bushing sleeve. Try soaking and turning the pin, if it won't turn it isn't going to slide out. When you put it back together be sure to lube the pin as well as the bushings, this will prevent any squeeks and it will make it a whole lot easier if it needs to be taken apart in the future.

Since there have been numerous questions on the subject I thought this would be a big help to anyone planning on swapping transmissions or rear ends in the future. This is an excerpt from an answer to a tech question from the old Z Car magazine. If anyone has the magazines it is in the Nov/Dec 1997 issue on page 10 and 11. The stock transmission gears are as follows: 240Z 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 4 speed type A 3.549 2.197 1.420 1.00 4 speed type B 3.592 2.246 1.415 1.00 280Z 5 speed 3.321 2.077 1.308 1.00 .864 280ZX 5 speed 1980 3.062 1.858 1.308 1.00 .773 1981-on 3.062 1.858 1.308 1.00 .745 Now the author went on to compare the final drive ratios with different ring and pinion combinations as a way to compare the 280 5 speed to the 280 Zx 5 speed. This is the overall drive ratio, which is the combined mutiplication of the transmission and the rear end gear. Recommended rear diff ratios for the early 280 (77-78) 5 speed: Either a 3.70 or 3.90 5 speed w/3.70 12.29 7.68 4.84 3.70 3.20 5 speed w/3.90 12.95 8.10 5.10 3.90 3.37 Recommended rear diff ratios for the 280 Zx 5 speed: Either a 3.90 or a 4.11 5 speed w/3.90 11.94 7.25 5.10 3.90 3.01 5 speed w/4.11 12.58 7.64 5.38 4.11 3.18 Now if you are running the later ZX 5 speed 81-on the first four ratios are the same but the overdrive 5th will give you a final drive of 2.90 with the 3.90 rear, and it will be 3.06 with the 4.11 Take note that by running a 5 speed of any type, if you don't change the rear end gear you will really have a tall overdrive, notice that all the 5th gear final drive ratios are all under 3.36 except for one. Which means that you will turn less RPM's on the highway while cruising but you will substantially increase your acceleration in the lower 4 gears. IMO with the later ZX 5 speed you could also go to a 4.38 ratio in the rear and you will still not see an increase in the highway RPM's and you will gain a slight improvement in the lower gears as well. Remember, if you change the rear end ratio you will need to re-calibrate the speedometer drive pinion whether you change transmissions or not. The drive pinion is based on the rear end ratio, regardless of what transmission you have in the car. You will need the following pinions to calibrate your speedometer: Yellow, 16 tooth for the 3.36 ratio Black, 17 tooth for the 3.54 Blue, 18 tooth for the 3.70 White, 19 tooth for the 3.90 Red, 20 tooth for the 4.11 Purple, 21 tooth for the 4.38

I found the ,agazine it was in, it's the old Z Car magazine, Nov/Dec issue 1997. It is in the Ask Mr. Goodtech section, I will post the gear ratios in the Tech forum later today. This will give everyone a chance to look at it and perhaps answer a few questions for future users. It list all the gear ratios for all the different transmissions, plus the overall gear ratios comparing a 280 5 speed with the Zx 5 speed.

Ben, I think you will find the R-180 won't hold up to 400hp. Up to 300 is about the limit from all that I have read. Anything above 300 and you are risking a failure. Especially if you put the extra strain on the stub axles with the Quaiffe. I don't think the ring or the pinion will take that amount of hp for very long. Check out the hybridz web site, I believe they have the most experience with Z's with that much hp and I think they will agree that 400 is too much for the R-180. dhayes5, the 720 4x4 truck from 1/83 to 6/83 have the R-180 3:90 front diff. The 720 4x4 from 6/83 to 12/85 had a 4:11 as did the 200SX non turbo from 84-88. The 720 4x4 also had a 4:37 from 6/79 to 12/82 and a Long Bed 6/79 to 6/80 had a 4:62 fron diff. IMO, if you are putting a ZX 5 speed in if you can get a 4:11 or 4:37 you may be more pleased with the rpms in overdrive on the highway while substantially increasing your acceleration in the lower gears. I believe I read somewhere that with the 5 speed and a 4:11 the overall gearing in overdrive is below 3:36 which is the stock diff. ratio. I can look for the write up if you need more info, I can't remember which magazine I read it in.

I think you are on the right track, the dimmer switch sounds like the culprit. It isn't too hard to get too, and it's a lot easier to take apart to clean than the headlight switch assembly. If it still doesn't work, mperdue is parting out his 73 so if you act fast he may have a switch you can replace it with. He just posted it. Just be careful, if I remember right there are some small pins and springs in there you will not want to lose. It's been years since I took one off, so I can't remember exactly what is in there.

Since Royce mentioned 260's, I'm not sure but it would seem logical that the early 260's would not have the door beam, but the late 260 probably would. Since they had to use the government mandated larger bumpers I think it's quite possible a late 260 door would be the same a a 280. The door bar probably makes the 280 door a few pounds heavier than the 240 door, maybe 2-4 pounds. I haven't taken a door bar out but it looks to be quite stout. I have heard that it is possible to take it out, you need to grind off the panel near the door seam on both ends and then hammer it out so that you can grab it with vise grips and work it out. Then you'll need to weld the seam back up on both sides of the door.

The way to distinguish the progressive rate spring by looking at them is this. If you jack up the front end to take the weight off the suspension the coils will be spaced much further apart at the top of the spring than at the bottom. The more suspension travel you use (in cornering) the stiffer they will get. The stock or lowering springs of any type will have evenly spaced coils. Some progressive rate spring also may have slightly thicker diameter wire at the bottom, depending on how much progression the rate has.

Gross hp ratings are 150 for the L-24, 162 for the L-26 and 170 for the L-28. These are factory advertised gross hp ratings. The net is what you can expect in the real world. A lot of manufacturers would advertise gross hp ratings that were unrealistically inflated to sell cars, then left it to the buyers to find out they didn't get what they paid for. That is the main reason all hp ratings are now given in net hp ratings. It is a more realistic rating of the true hp of the engine. Net hp ratings are more along the lines of what you could expect the engine to produce on a dyno at the crankshaft, not the rear wheels. A manufacturer might take a test group from the production line and dyno them, then publish the results. So if the net hp rating of an L-26 is 139, then the L-24 would be about 127 and the L-28 nearer to 147. Not sure of the exact numbers. The only correct way to judge an engines true output is to build it and dyno it. No matter what, one engine will not be the exact same as another especially if it was built in a mass production. Hand built engines of equal parts may produce equal results but even then you will slight variations.

Of course the one thing a lot of people overlook is bleeding the master cylinder first. It will not only get rid of the old fluid out of the master cylinder easily, but if there is any air in the cylinder you will be bleeding at the calipers all day to remove any air that might have been trapped at the master cylinder. Sounds like a good idea for bleeding the front calipers. Guess I'll have to try it. Never thought much about having air trapped in the piston like that.

Just as a side note, my ITS 280 with 14x7 zero offset wheels and 225/60's measure about 65 1/2 inches to the outside of the tires, so you will be close. My trailer has 78 inches between the fenders(old homemade trailer) so I never had a problem there, but it was close on the inside width between the rails.

Most people have reported having to slam their doors after replacing the door seals. The old seals were worn out, someone may have re-adjusted the door at one time or another and with the added thickness of having new seals it may not let the door latch properly. Try adjusting the striker plate on the door jamb. It may take a while for the new seals to "seat" or conform to the door opening. It's possible it may take a couple adjustments to get it right, and may have to be done again after you have used the car for a while.

Timberwolf, I had the twice pipes on my first car. Yes, they sounded good, that is, until the glass packs burned out. Then it drove me and the neighbors nuts! In a very short time you will have nothing more than a straight exhaust. I hope you can deal with it better than I did. I hate to rain on anyones parade, but let me know how you like it after about a month or two.

My 280 IT car is approx. 56 inches measured at the center of the tires. 240 should be the same but the tire width will differ. I could measure the distance between the rail of my trailer, but it will have to wait till daylight. Or do you want the overall width?

Don't forget to clean and lube the "bellcrank" on the firewall. This has been one of the places I have had the most trouble with sticking linkages, it comes off very easily. Just pop off the linkages and then remove the snap ring on top, and pull it up off the pivot. Clean it up and grease it like the rest of the linkage. I have found all sorts of junk and even some rust on there in different cars.

Yes, more compression will give you more hp. How much will depend on the displacement increase along with the compression increase. IMO a compression ratio of 10.5:1 would be about the max on todays pump gas, even at that you would need to use the highest octane available to ensure that you won't get any detonation. Most high performance cars today run about 10:1 to 10.5:1 but as you know the ignition systems in those cars make a Z look pretty archaic. You would probably need to upgrade your ignition system as well. At the very least you would need to upgrade to a hotter coil, with some of the better plug wires. The E-31 head is one of the better heads that came on an L series engine, but they will not breathe as well as some of the later heads since they and the E-88 have smaller valves. Luckily you can swap in the larger 280 valves easily, most any machine shop should be able to do it for a minimal cost.

Check all the wires between the coil and the distributor. Check for loose connections and any corrosion. But since you say you left the ignition on and killed the battery you might want to check the condition of the points while you are in there, they may be pitted or burned up. Post an update and we'll try to get a few more opinions to get you going again.

Well, ya got me. The closest thing I can think of would be the old Western Turbine wheels or maybe another brands copy of the same design. Now that I think about it could it be she was referring to Keystone wheels? I think they were bought out years ago, so that would make them no longer available. I have a set that are similar except mine have more spokes. I believe mine are by Western wheels. I'm not even sure if Western is still in business or maybe they got bought out by someone else too.