My story,(advice needed)

[Time]

so when i was 15 i dropped out of school to be a first year apprentice i saved my money for a year and bought a datsun 260z

since that day I've spent around 8,000$ to try to get the the GOING with no luck.

 

main problem was the twin carburetors, the first mechanic said to me, so he cleaned them up did what he could but could get it going well

 

took it to second mechanic he told me head gasket was stuffed, so i paid to get that fully fixed.( still no luck)

 

3rd mechanic said it was still the carburetors, so he wanted to put a holly on it, so he did for a whole bunch of money but still no luck

right now i'm having major choke problems and trying to start it in the morning. i mean it goes eventually but after i keep starting it over and over because it wont even idle long enough for it to get warm.

 

im at my wits end... almost give up mode, but i don't want to... i love this car

what do i do?

where can i take it , a good trusted mechanic in my area ( Pakenham Victoria ) that someone maybe had this same problem and they resolved

or just a mechanic that will know exactly what to do.

 

im not that good with cars but i am learning, im only 20 years of age and i feel the mechanics just want to mess me around

 

thanks for your time.

 

[reverendzed]

Hey Time,

Welcome! sorry to hear of your problems.  I'm just down the road from you in Berwick and would be happy to talk furthwer with you and lend any assistance I can.  There are also a number of very knowledgable guys that live not to far away.  send me a PM and I'll pass on my number.

Rev.

[.]

Been there done that. Mate don't worry. As Rev said there are a heap of helpful guys here that will help you at least diagnose the problem. After its all sorted you will be wondering what all the fuss was about. Mechanics that know carbies are a dying breed. You are best to learn about your car yourself. Then you have the option of fixing it yourself or worse case at least you will know when someone is taking you for a ride. Did you retain the orginal carbies? Or at least the manifolds? I hope the mechanic didn't take them from you. If so do you think it is too late to grab them back?

 

The zeds are a glorious car but do require some upkeep....but in the end they are well worth it. Chin up.

[Zedman240®]

Welcome...

All our cars upset us from time to time but it's important to keep going and not give up. Best advice is to locate some 240Z early Hitatchi carbs and get them setup properly. Next thing is an electronic 280ZX distributor. The chokes on those carbs work quite well. I'll be moving to Pakenham soon (Feb/March 2011) so in the future, if you need a hand, I can try to help.

[Time]

thanks rev, your car looks awesome

 

galderdi i kept the old carbies

 

just really dont know what i do from now =/

 

 

zedman thanks very much i might hit you up on that

[Zedman240®]

Post a pic of the old carbies you have to see what you have to play with...and your zed too..

[Time]

just realized i don't have the manifolds

ill upload picture of carbies tomorrow so stay posted

here is my car though

 

http://desmond.yfrog.com/Himg163/scaled.php?tn=0&server=163&filename=l1a8e6fee79ec1348381f1b.jpg&xsize=640&ysize=640

 

http://img709.imageshack.us/img709/9636/l78d1bb5a0c864e2ba448c0.jpg

[C.A.R.]

260Z 2+2.

It would have had the horrible flat tops Hitatchi's on it - they are near enough to untunable.

The Holly won't be much better.

 

Get a set of 240Z Hitatchi's, get them tuned by someone who knows what they are doing & most of your troubles will be gone. (Save for being a 20yo Zed owner with NFI... )

[Time]

not even to sure where i'd find a 240z carbie, plus now i need manifold

n wher would i go in my area to get it tuned

(yes i have nfi thats why i came to this site)

[peter mc]

hi time

        if you wont to go for a drive  to churchill some weekend i will fix it for you . it a karma thing

[lightmaster240z]

Peter is the man.  It a karma thing all right. This can be fix by your new Friends   

[Scoota G]

not even to sure where i'd find a 240z carbie, plus now i need manifold

n wher would i go in my area to get it tuned

 

Gee you came to the right place.

 

First of all, welcome!

Second, do not take the car to another mechanic until you have done more research. Pleanty of info here.

Third, Dimitri and Lurch have the right advice... older 240Z carbs and electronic dizzy is a must.

Fourth, look in the for sale section here or ebay for the Bits you need ( there was an Electronic Dizzy on Ebay just this week).

Fifth, place an ad in wanted section on this forum and stay tuned.

 

Just like baking a cake really.

 

 

[gav240z]

(Save for being a 20yo Zed owner with NFI... )

 

Lurch did ok up until this part, Lurch likes to add a bit of tongue in cheak from time to time. Unfortunately when we are young we make lots of mistakes, in this case the biggest mistake you made was paying the mechanics to get your car running. If the agreement was to get the car running then that's what you should have paid for. If their diagnosis of the problem was incorrect you should not be paying for their incorrect troubleshooting.

 

1. The first problem is 260z flat top carbs are not very good (even when new). Add 30+ years of neglect and they would be near impossible to get running right. Also Nissan doesn't offer parts for these carbs new as far as I'm aware so this is why it's good to get 240z carbs.

 

2. 240z carbs are a little expensive and may still need work. Before buying any set of 240z carbs off eBay check with us that they are actually "240z Hitachi" carbs and not UK SU's off a British built car. They are different and many so called "240z carbs" are often undersized meaning they will not perform as well as 240z Hitachi Carbs.

 

To clarify SU carbs were a type or style of design or carb. Hitachi under licence produced a copy of these carbs to use on the 240z. They came in 2 versions a 3 screw and 4 screw. This refers to how many screws were used on the Dome Tops (Note: Not flat). If they are genuine Hitachi they should have an old school looking Hitachi logo stamped into the fuel bowl (hat) area.

 

http://www.jkcomputersystems.com/Assets/Pictures/items/repeat/hitachi_logo.gif

 

3. To be honest you don't "need" a 280zx distributor yet. With a proper set of 240z carbs you should be able to get your car running on the older "points" style ignition system. You can always upgrade later. The problem with the 280zx distributor (that you find in a junk yard) is that the ball bearing cage in them is often brittle and broken which destorys the vacuum advance. Also the electronic modules tend to shite themselves when moisture gets in them. Also you have to be careful of excessive shaft wear (you know what I'm talking about).

 

Anyhow, the bottom line is, if you get a 280zx distributor, either rebuild it yourself or get a specialist. At this stage I would get 1 from a specialist. Although you will need to spend a bit of money for a good 1, but they are indeed worth it and will serve you a long time provided you periodically maintain it.

 

4. To get a 260z running, you need fuel, spark and compression. That's it! If your so called mechanics couldn't manage that see step #5

 

5. You spent $8000 getting this thing running with no result. Do you still have receipts? I would honestly consider going to a small claims court. If a mechanic tells you your head gasket is stuffed, he must have done a compression check right? Or seen water coolant in your oil?

 

It sounds like you have been screwed over and honestly I would try and get your money back by talking to them or looking at small claims your choice.

 

6. If the guys on this forum can't get your car running I'd be surprised. Feel free to make a donation once they do though .

[Scoota G]

Here's that Electronic Distributor.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Datsun-Nissan-240Z-260Z-280ZX-Electronic-Distributor-/130424274089?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories

[C.A.R.]

Lurch did ok up until this part, Lurch likes to add a bit of tongue in cheek from time to time.

 

My apologies - I ran out of Lithium this arvo.

Gav raises some VERY good points. With the people & information on this site, your Zed will be right in no time.

[gav240z]

Here's that Electronic Distributor.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Datsun-Nissan-240Z-260Z-280ZX-Electronic-Distributor-/130424274089?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories

 

From the pics it looks like internally its in good conditions. Just needs a clean externally, but careful getting any water near that electronic module. (remove it first).

 

Also found this:

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/DATSUN-NISSAN-L24-240Z-Engine-Motor-Dual-SUs-Carbys-/260654181584?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories

 

Looks like they are proper "Hitachi 240z Style SU's" minus the airbox (airbox is hard to find - but worth finding if you can get 1). Also they look like the 3 screw version. I'd ask him if he could separate the carbs and manifold for you? You never know he might just do it. Offer him something like $200-$300 for them as is, or he may even still have the original airbox which is worth paying a little extra for.

 

If you do strike an agreement, ask him for close up photos of the carbs first.

 

 

[sexual_sushi]

Get the Just SU's video and 240z-280zx videos from Z Therapy

http://www.ztherapy.com/

Steve and I post this all over the forum, telling people to get these videos and for good reason... these videos are bloody excellent! The one about su's you could show to a 6 year old and have them rebuild and tune your carbies (nearly).

 

The bloke who said to put a holley on it should be shot. Like others have suggested, I would get a set of 240z round tops BUT also buy a decent rebuild kit for them (order it from ztherapy at the same time you get the videos). The original 240z round tops, with the original linkages etc have a pretty fool proof design when it comes time to tune.

 

When you're done send a copy of the video to your mechanic to teach him a thing or two

[maddos]

I have a set of round tops in good working order complete with proper air filter.

I've upgraded to EFI and doubt I'd ever change back so might as well sell them to someone

who needs them.

Asking $300 plus cost of shipping.

[maddos]

Boy that offer sure shut down that discussion.

[C.A.R.]

Yes indeed. Offers like that sure do weed out the serious people from the idiots on this site...!

[peter mc]

harsh  that's y i like you lurch . but the pore bloke is coming this weekend for a tune

[.]

If you can't get the airbox to suit the early SUs try finding tumpets instead. They look sooooo cool.

[gav240z]

Boy that offer sure shut down that discussion.

 

I thought it was a great price and offer myself. Perhaps he is thinking about the price of persuing this 260z project any further? Or looking to get his money back from previous mechanics?

[gav240z]

Yes indeed. Offers like that sure do weed out the serious people from the idiots on this site...!

harsh  that's y i like you lurch . but the pore bloke is coming this weekend for a tune

 

Edit just read these posts and now realise what's going on.

[Time]

harsh  that's y i like you lurch . but the pore bloke is coming this weekend for a tune

 

Took my car into peters  workshop today ( broke down twice on the way and delayed the trip about two hours)

but i finally arrived there, he looked at the disgraceful job the last mechanic had done and laughed

tune it up moved some shit around  and now its working brilliantly. drove home without a problem

 

peter has done an amazing job and i cant thank you enough