=Enigma=

LOL That's a great pic.

Since the engine compartment smells of raw fuel, I'd start buy looking for leaks on the fuel rail and hoses. While in there I'd check the fuel filter to see if it's clogged with rust from the tank. Rust tends to form in the tank when vehicles sit for long periods of time, especially when exposed to the elements. This could lead to clogged injectors causing them to spill fuel into the cylinders which can be checked by puling the plugs to see if they're wet and smell like raw fuel. Aside from that, I'm not very familiar with diagnosing FI on these cars so I'll stop there.

Here's a couple pics of a 260Z 2+2 here in the member galleries. Not sure who's this is. Note the longer doors, extended roofline, and the shape of the rear quarter windows. They're the same as the standard S30s from the windshield forward, but it all goes to hell from there back. Whoops, did I say that out loud? :tapemouth

Good point for those with stock alternators that only put out 50amps or less due to father time. The Taurus/Sable fan is a two speed unit. Low speed should be enough for all but the most extreme conditions. According to research on the web, low speed startup draws ~32amps and low speed continuous running draws approx ~17 amps. However, hi-speed startup draws between 85-100 amps and hi-speed continuous running draws ~33 amps. So.....with a 50 amp alternator, running the fan on hi-speed would only leave ~17 amps for everything else including the ignition. Not much left if any to keep the battery charged, especially if using other accessories like the lights, radio, heater or defroster to name few. I wouldn't be too worried about start-up since any sane person would incorporate a relay, and a good battery will easily handle a momentary 85-100 amp draw. That's precisely what relays are for. If you plan to run the fan on high, you'll need a 60 or 75 amp relay. Keeping the battery charged with a stock alternator could pose a problem if you run the fan on high all the time, but that really shouldn;t be necessary under anything but the most extreme conditions.

As a suggestion based on experience, use half of the vacation time to work on the car, assuming your spouse will let you, and use the other half as a well deserved respite from everything that normally goes on including acting as a slave to your mistrezz.

I've bought plenty of parts through BD. All mostly good experiences so far, save one or two ocasions where I recieved the wrong part. Note that many of the parts are aftermarket reproductions, not OEM parts. This is not a bad thing, especially if OEM is NLA, just something to note if originality is important to you. As Stephen indicated, www.nissanparts.cc is good place for OEM parts that are still available, and www.courtesyparts.com is another.

As a kid, I always admired the Scarab conversions and this was what I thought my goal would be when I grew up. However once I started learning more about the history of the 240Z and had a chance to drive and listen to one, I knew I had to keep the original motor, or at a minimum stay within in the genre. That said, my present plans are to store the original L24 and swap in a pumped L28. I have no plans to stray from this objective at this point. If conditions allow, I may add a 280Z to the stable in the future and that would be a definite V8 candidate.

Moyest hasn't posted on here in a year and a half, and this thread is over 3 yrs old so I'm pretty sure he's no longer worried about this.

Welcome to the site Jacob and congrats on your purchase. Note that you're actually going to need to pull up the tar mats under the carpet to accurately assess the condition of the floors.

While this may work, it will be difficult to know when it's full without dropping the vehicle back down from time to time to see if anything comes out the fill hole. Using this method is potentially very messy as well as unsafe unless you put it on jack stands everytime you jack it up. Based on that, I believe it is easier to by a pump for $4-6 at the auto store and "git er done".

Rick, I don't want to hijack the original topic but I must appologize, I was caught thinking American market only again. Did your 260Z come with a mechanical distributor from the factory?

I belive all 260Zs have electronic (breaker-less) dizzys so there shouldn't be any condensor. My understanding is that these are used to prevent the burning of ignition points.

Welcome to the site Darbji. I can't wait to see some pics of the car. You've definitely come to the right place for info and have already recieved some great tips. As Chris sugested, take care of the safety items first. You need to be able to stop and steer reliably if you want to keep her and yourself in one piece. Aside from that, be prepared to lighten your wallet as you get "the bug" and start making improvements and modifications to the car as time goes on. It's a true sickness that most of us here suffer from, and if you hang around long enough, you will too. .

I'm guessing this is an ignition issue. Start by checking out the plug wires for shorts (best done at night). replace as necessary. Also, check out the distributor cap for cracks. Arcing can occur due to cracks or carbon traces on the inside of the cap. If traces are evident, clean the cap and try again. If cracked, replace it. Another source could be a bad coil whose output gets weaker the hotter it becomes. When the problem occurs, feel the coil to see how hot it's getting. If it's too hot to touch, replace it. Also, it wouldn't hurt to take a look at your plugs and see what's going on inside the cylinders. Do a search on the web for how to read the plugs. It takes a fairly trained eye to make a reliable diagnosis but there are some basics you can look for.

Well gooooooolly, that's the least I could do for a fellow Z head. Anything to escape the monotony of work. Thanks for filling in the finer points Arne. Note that this picture was taken when stripping off the entire front and rear suspension for refinishing so things like plugging the brake lines or bleeding the brakes weren't a concern at the time. You can find more pics of this process here including spring removal, and spindle pin and strut insert removal using Beandip's spindle pin puller. http://jaderunner.com/Gallery/240Z-Suspension-TearDown

Try the following sites: http://www.zxman.com/ http://www.zcarsource.com/ Zcarsource list a refurbished tank for $435

Here's a confirmation for you. I just took off the three bolts on the tower and swung the whole assy down and away. Next step is to use a spring compressor on the assy and remove the nut on the top of the strut insert to dissasemble and remove the spring.

Thanks for the great info John. I've been meaning to do some research on this myself to replace the 6 gal 1.5hp unit I have. About all that's good for is filling tires, blowing out clogged lines, drying cleaned parts, and freaking out the neighbor's cat when she's taking a dump in my garden.

That definitely is a tough choice and I'm not sure which I'd go with given the current status of the 280Z. On one hand you have a car that you can jump right into and get some instant gratification, and on the other a pile of work to be done and a list of WIATs waiting for time and cash. On the upside, you'll have plenty of cash after the sale. Good luck with your project.

I should probably add that there may be other reasons for the change in part numbers and the only way to be sure is to take some measurements.

I belive Arne is correct, and the part numbers seem to bear that out. Assy Strut RH 55302-E4126 - up to 7/73 55302-N3425 - 8/74 - 8/74 55302-N3725 - 9/74 to 2/76 55302-N4625 - from 3/76

Sorry for the confusion in terminology. I'm guessing that it's actually zinc plated with a yellow chromate finish since cadmium based plating is rarely used anymore. Not sure if that makes a difference or not.

I want to plate some CAD plated parts and was wonrdering if I should use self etching primer on them or not. Knowing that cad/zinc plating is sensitive to acids, is this a wise choice, or is it better to just paint directly over the cad plating? The parts I am looking to paint are some MM disk brake adapters. They are cad plated cast parts and are pretty rough so there is plenty for the paint to stick to but....or should I just use a non etching primer to be safe?

Very nice pics David. Photoshop can be really fun if you know how to use it.

Looks they did a great job there Randy. I hope you didn;t spend all your retirement or college funds on that.