Arne

Maybe. Where in Oregon are you? Send me a PM.

It's still the original one that came with the car. I don't remember where I found it or why it wasn't in the early pictures. Don't know where you can find them today.

We're close. Looks like we'll miss the previous ETA by a day or two. Final payment has been mailed, and the product should be shipped to me early next week. I'll then spot check a couple for quality and begin shipping.

I'm not sure. I've seen the one you describe. But all three of my cars (from 10/70 through 7/71) had the resistor attached below the coil.

What year and model?

OK, that means it probably conformed to '71 emissions standards, so it would have come with the Summer/Winter flipper on the airbox, and without the "2400" cam cover. That would make it virtually identical to my red '71 as it was when I bought it, except for things like the '1971' date code on my original plug wires. The first 5 pictures are as it was when I bought it. The only non-original things visible there are the battery, oil filter and possibly the fuel hoses to the carbs. If you look closely at fifth picture you can even see the "1971" date on the #6 plug wire (near the top of the picture). The sixth picture is how it looks today. I'm not crazy about the blue NGK wires, but haven't done anything about that yet. The airbox stickers have been replaced, and all the coolant hoses are modern non-braid-covered. If you look closely you'll see a Pertronix coil and the wire to the Pertronix in the distributor, as well as a later plastic fan and clutch. The pictures I attached are fairly large to see best detail. Make sure you open them in a separate window.

What's the build date of your '70, Brad? There are some differences between early and late '70.

On the other hand, some L24s (depending on the year and whether the pistons have been replaced before) may have valve pockets in the pistons. So what you describe as "dents" may be normal. But the resistance while turning the crank is not normal, and needs to be investigated.

If I'm going to drive 900 miles each way, fuel, motels, food, etc., what's another $10-20 bucks as an entry fee? That certainly would not be the deciding factor for me.

Nothing I can cite for certain right now, Phillip. Just stuff I remember reading here and there over the years. May well have been aimed at top-end power, in fact. It may be significant that the old Clifford system was that way, as well as the Trust in Japan. Many BMWs (about the only inline sixes left) and their tuners still do separate pipes all the way back to this day.

I had sent a message off asking if a date had been set a few days back. Haven't got a reply yet. I was trying to decide if I could swing the time off to make it down this year. Since I bought a road-worthy Z a few years ago I've had a conflict of one sort or another each year. Had high hopes that maybe it would work out this year. It will be disappointing to lose this gathering, if it doesn't happen. Because for many of us on the left coast, ZCON is just too darn far away to consider.

Not so far, but that is a concern. I've been running this way since last August. I've suspected something along this line, but haven't been able to pin anything down yet. Will do more testing at some point, as I'd really like to get the original coil off the car.

I've played with several coil selections with my Pertronix, both 1.5 and 3.0Ω coils with and w/o resistor. No tach issues in any config for me. FWIW, I've not been able to get any combination to run correctly with the Pertronix on my car except a 1.5Ω coil w/o resistor. Not what anyone recommends, I know. But using either a 1.5Ω w/resistor or a 3.0Ω Pertronix coil causes the engine to stop revving past a certain point, generally from 3500-4000 on up, depending on the combination in use. I am currently using the stock Nissan 1.5Ω.

I think I'll rename this thread to something that notes that off-the-car exhaust is needed. I can think of several people who might have stock exhaust parts sitting in storage. But Peter, are we certain that the exhaust alone will be good enough for Dan to work from? As was noted above, I'm looking for a period style exhaust for my car. Period sound would be great too, but not as critical. The stainless is not essential for me here in Oregon, aluminized pipes last a real long time here, but stainless is fine if the rest of the system is what I want. My fear is that I'm not going to be able to hold out long enough on the exhaust to wait for this. I know that these types of things don't always come together as quickly as we expect. And the 30+ year old mild steel system on my car now is on its last legs.

The '70 240Z didn't have it, so that's why the '70 owner's manual didn't mention it. The sticker on the air box says to flip it for conditions below 15° C (59° F).

Interesting! How much were they?

No, you'd need two different headers as the flange shape differs between them. One for square port, one for round port. Development costs might be considerable on the headers, due to this requirement for two different parts, and the low sales volume that would likely result.

No, the opener on my car only works when backing off at higher RPM. I found it annoying, and readjusted it so that it looks like it is working but never actually opens the throttle, and I have no stalling problems at all.

You will spend a lot more money buying parts for the 390 and custom fabricating mounts and such for an unusual swap than you will in buying a basic Chevy SB and the already proven and engineered parts to install it. Your "free" 390 will be a lot more expensive in the end.

Not MT90 in a diff, or I hope not. MT90 is a GL4, but diffs need GL5. Probably Redline Synthetic 75-90 Gear Oil. MT90 is for transmissions.

I was involved (with Peter) in some of the early discussions, and can add a few things for clarification. A couple of reasons. The main one is that they no longer have the jigs from 30-odd years ago. Quite some time ago they started focusing their business on a few specific makes, and Datsun/Nissan wasn't one of them. So eventually all the old jigs (pre-CNC days) were discarded to regain room.Additionally, as best anyone can remember, their original systems were for 240Z only, but were not really correct for them due to having horizontal tips and having to hang the muffler very low under the valance. The new plan is for systems for both 240Z and 280Z, and different tip choices as appropriate. Might not be as bad as you first think, Ron. Knowing that MSA covers all North American S30s (more or less) with two part numbers, I think that really nice systems with very broad coverage could be built with minimal differences. For example:Center pipe - Start with this one, and design it to connect to the outlet of the catalyst on cat-equipped 280Z. From there just go straight back and end near the rear crossmember. Probably offer two versions - with resonator (cars w/o cat) and without (cat-equipped cars). Downpipes - Two parts cover most non-cat-equipped cars. One for the '70-72 stock manifolds, and one for the '74-78 manifolds. (The '73s have EGR piped into the downpipe, difficult to make. Even MSA doesn't cover those.) Both parts terminate with an outlet having the same size, type and location as the catalyst outlet on the cat-equipped cars. Probably no downpipes for those cat-equipped cars as exhaust upstream of the converter is subject to CARB approval in California. More headaches than it's worth. Rear "S" pipe - Simple, and only one part needed, as long as the connection to the center pipe allows some height adjustment at the muffler end. A simple slip-fit joint would do. Mufflers/tips - Since the tips would need to be welded on to the muffler, current ideas are that three muffler/tip assemblies would be offered. A single tip muffler, a dual tip (vertical) muffler and a dual tip (horizontal) muffler. The two dual tip units could use the same shell, just different tips. The hangers here would need to accommodate different muffler locations - it would need to hang lower on big bumper cars than on small bumper cars (where the tips can tuck well up into the valance cutout). If headers were to be offered (uncertain when I was involved), you'd need two parts there as well, for the different port shapes. But the collectors would be designed to exit as the downpipes, the same as the catalyst outlet. Minimal parts required, and minor differences between the versions. People who already have other headers would just buy the cat-back and fab the front connection locally as always. I'm very interested in this project, and wish the distance between myself and Stebro was less - I'd love to assist.

I'm not sure what you are saying on this. Did all of the clutch parts come from the same donor as the transmission? I'm wondering if when you say the flywheel sits too close to the engine, what you are really saying is that the clutch doesn't disengage fully when pushing the pedal. Which makes me wonder if you have a classic pressure plate/release bearing collar mis-match.

DOT 4 will mix with DOT 3 just fine. DOT 4 has a bit higher boiling point, but tends to absorb water quicker. That's why European cars (which typically use DOT 4) have a lot more recommended fluid changes and flushes. DOT 5 is NOT at all compatible with either of the glycol-based fluids (DOT 4 & 5). To change to DOT 5 you will need to flush all the lines with alcohol and then blow through with air. Most experts also recommend that all rubber parts be changed when changing to DOT 5, including all hoses and the hydraulic cylinders, or at least the rubber seals inside. Additionally, DOT 5 is more compressible than the others and so tends to deliver softer pedal feel and a bit more travel.

L28s all came with electronic ignition, no points. If you still have points, you still have the 240Z distributor.

Production will begin next week. Estimated to ship to me around 2/5/10.