Arne

Quite low. HLS30 indicates a left hand drive 240Z. 01399 is the sequential number indicating the 1399th left hand drive car (more or less). A car with that number should have a build date in 1969, not 1970. Very low.

If you are concerned with investment value, you want it as original as possible. If - like me - you are concerned with a nice classic car that you can drive every day, the 2.8 is no big deal. But only you can decide what you really want the car for.

I'll try to swing by next time I'm in the neighborhood. Thanks for the invite.

A final thought - many years of dealing with British cars with SUs have led me to the conclusion that people mess with their SUs far more often than they should. Once you get them set, leave them alone. Typically, the SUs are the first thing people start messing with if the car starts running badly. But in the vast majority of cases, the carbs are fine and something else is the problem. Just because they have SUs, and people who know nothing about them have given SUs a bad reputation, people always blame everything on the carbs, and generally just make things worse.

That would explain a whole lot. Thanks for the insight, Bruce!

I doubt it. I don't think anywhere other than the US got the round port heads with the emission-burning inserts.

Can't tell for sure, it's a bad angle. But it looks like it may be the EGR tube. It should probably connect to the bottom of the dashpot (on the end of the intake manifold) that is directly above it in the picture. At least, that's where it goes on the '83 280ZX engine in my car.

If you have to ask, you wouldn't understand. (And you're probably a whole lot younger than I am. :sigh: )

First car of my own was a '63 Ford Galaxie 500XL 2 door hardtop. Big 390, bucket seats, floor shift automatic. Clean, straight and solid. I think I paid all of $600 for it in 1973. But if you want to hear a contrast, I learned to drive in my mom's '63 MG 1100. For those who've never heard of those, it was a bit bigger than (but very similar to) the original Mini. Later slightly badge-engineered for the US as the Austin America. But the MG version was a manual transmission with dual 1-1/4" SUs.

It's been several years since I've done this. (Haven't got SUs back on the Z yet. Last time I did this was on my MG.) But it seems to me you want to measure it with the weight on it - that way the valve will be closed.

Oops! I didn't see that part. I was assuming he was having you connect to the float drains like the ZTherapy kit. If you are connecting to the bottom by disconnecting the hose to the nozzles it shouldn't matter which style float bowl you have.And no, you want to adjust the float level until it matches the line you marked at 23 mm from the top. The level in the clear hose will always match the level inside the bowl.

Update - I don't know what the issues earlier were, but I have been able to contact Danny's on the phone a couple times this past week.

You want to raise the level in the float bowl, so you want the float closer to the lid. I'd go in smaller increments, probably 1/2" as a first step.You can try to judge the amount needed by opening the choke slowly until the engine starts to run decently, then look to see how far the nozzles had to drop. If the nozzles moved 1/8" raise the float 1/8" closer to the lid. If the choke pulled the nozzles down 1/4", raise the float 1/4" and so on. That should get you in the right ballpark. That will work fine, provided your SUs are not the early models (like mine) without float drain plugs. It allows you to make an accurate actual measurement, and to get it the same for each side.

No, I can't see this as relating to your issue. The carb is supposed to meter fuel based on the amount of air passing through. But again, the mixture is adjusted primarily by the float level, and then fine-tuned by the mixture thumbscrews on the nozzles.

Previous floats may not match up with replacement needle valves, which is why trying the old float(s) may not tell you anything. All your symptoms point to float level being too low. The only other thing I can think of would be wrong or improperly installed needles in the pistons, but I can't really envision needle problems making the car run this lean.

This is the best way: ZTherapy's sight glass

Mixture setting with SUs is dependent on several things - among them the level of the fuel in the floats. If the float level is too low, a lean mixture will result - and adjusting the mixture nuts may not help much unless you screw them way out. The fact that it runs better on choke supports this theory, as the choke simply drops the nozzles way down. Replacing the float itself may not be enough to know that the level is close, you need to actually measure it properly. So in your situation, first thing I'd want to verify is that the float level is where it should be.

Back in the day, when I sold tires and wheels for a living in the late '70s and early '80s, I sold lots of sets of 215/60 and 225/60-14s on 14x7 wheels for Z cars. I don't recall many having any rubbing issues. I'm wondering what offset your current 14x7s have?

Buy it now is over, it's at $17k, but the reserve is met.

MSA's catalog is no longer free, it costs $5. But they will credit that back against your first order.

Yup, based on the firewall VIN, your car is a month younger than mine. (12746, 10/70) Still would be a Series I car though.

Don't know about the Datsun injection, but most other injection systems close the throttle completely at idle, and use the idle control valve to regulate that. Carbs are different, they typically have the tiniest opening at the throttle plate(s).

Other way around. The L28 in my car is from a late (82 or 83) 280ZX. I have verified that it is an F54/P79 combo. According to Bryan Little's site, the N42 head came on 75-76 L28s. It has square exhaust ports and bigger valves than earlier heads.

Sounds like either a 70 or early 71. Mine is much the same, the hatch has been replaced with a later one. But since there are no vents under the emblems on the quarter panel, I'm sure that yours is also a Series I car. The true chassis number is also stamped in the firewall, and that is the very best place to verify what you have. Look on the firewall to the right of the battery. Replacement ID plates are available from several sources, Banzai, for example.