new member with a Z- help me make it better!

[clutch-monkey]

bit lengthy for my first post i know.. had this 240ztucked away in a corner for the past year or so.. it's pretty immaculate as far as these things go, but just haven't been driving it for months at a time so thought it was time i signed up to see what can be done and what can't. any contacts or pointers welcome!

 

1) looks - fairly straight forward, i should be okay here- i put koni yellows in and will follow up with lowered springs, watanabes. i dislike the front lip so will change that, and add a rear lip spoiler on the hatch. all good! no problems there. debating whether to remove the black from the bonnet.

 

also the rear tail light panel- mine is black, i've noticed a lot of Z's have them in a grey colour. is that the correct colour for it?

 

2) fumes! no. 1 reason i don't drive it much, 15min and i'm getting a sore throat and a headache. i've done some googling, re-sealed the seams at the back. apparently the spoiler may help. next to do is tail light gaskets.

however, some people suggest a longer exhaust tip "1-2 inches past the rear bumper", not quite sure how to pull that off as i have no rear bumper, so might look terrible. ideas?

also, hatch does not seem to align properly- does it look normal to you folk?

 

3) engine/chassis- the engine looks fairly bog standard, twin SU's, generic exhaust. but a previous owner appears to have shoved a pretty hefty cam in there with no other supporting mods. it's been a bitch to get it running right with the SU's, and even then idle will wander about. feels like it would be lucky to make 100hp or so. anyone in bris know these engines well, or can do some of the work to bring the engine up to spec with the cam?

 

chassis- aforementioned koni's in and new bushings, plus weld in rear cage- suggestions for strut braces and sway bars? need to make it feel a bit less 'rickety'.

 

cheers chaps!

[gav240z]

1. The rear panel is grey from factory, I like both black and grey. On your car it looks like someone has decided to go for the Works Rally Car look and I believe they had a black rear panel to match the black bonnet etc..

 

2. Replace all gaskets around the rear of the car, fumes is a problem on all early Z-cars it seems. Due to their shape and the way air moves around the back of the car. If you have your driver window open try opening the passenger window at the same time and see if that helps? The exhaust on your car might not help because it doesn't extend far past the rear of the car. Given your smoothed off bumper I'm not sure what the best approach here would be, other than to consider putting a rear bumper on and extending the exhaust out a bit more?

 

3. I don't know any specialists in Brisbane for L-series engines myself, but I'm sure someone will. Those SU's may be under sized, they are not the original Hitachi Style ones. Modified OEM SU's can and do perform quite well. Otherwise you may want to consider some Triples, but hard to know what to suggest without knowing what engine work has been done and what cam is in it.

 

Overall I really like the look you have on this car, I've been thinking about painting my 72 240z's bonnet black (not the fender tops so much) but the bonnet yes. I really like the old Rally Cars.

 

Maybe get the rest of the livery made up if you know someone with a vinyl cutter?

 

[clutch-monkey]

cheers gav, it was originally a replica of the rally car livery and stickers and all but the previous owner removed them all prior to sale .

i think you're right about removing the black off the top of the fenders, and leaving the rear panel black.

 

one thing i'm not sure is related to the cam,  is that the car has left me stranded twice- usually on hot days, coolant temps are fine but the exhaust starts popping and then the car dies and will not start  for several hours. potentially fuel being boiled out of the carbs? gets very hot under the bonnet, and there is no heatshield at present.

[mossy]

Check all the rubber plugs around the car including the firewall, even check the hatch seal from inside the car, try and slide a piece of paper between the hatch and seal.

[gav240z]

Vapor Lock was apparently a problem on 260z's with the flat top carbs, hence the addition of the vented bonnet. I've never personally experienced this problem on any of my Z's - Although my 240z does have the vented bonnet, my other Z's didn't.

 

The standard 240z SU's had an orange airbox that fed in cold air from the front of the car. You car has the pod filter type things - presumably because the standard air box wouldn't fit on those non-OEM carbs.

 

If you're not going Triples, I'd source a set of OEM SU's and Airbox which should also include the OEM heat shield.

 

You could also source a vented hood, but I personally am not a fan of the grilles in the later Z bonnet. I think they look out of place on the rest of the car. Alternatively you could vent the inspection lids for the battery and washer bottle as a cheaper way around it.

 

Too much ignition timing could also be causing the car to run hotter than it should. You don't have any engine run-on issues after turning the car off do you?

 

The best way to find out how she's really running is to put her onto a dyno.

 

You may be better off going to a stock camshaft profile. The 240z's have an A-Grind cam - the rear of the cam has a stamped 'A'.

[gav240z]

Also as Mossy mentioned those are other good areas to check for fumes seeping into the cabin.

 

BTW: I think the black looks good on the top of the fender, especially if you're keeping the rally car theme. The previous owner of my 72 Z was a big fan of the works rally cars, hence the dual exhaust system he had made to suit.

http://www.viczcar.com/forum/index.php/topic,14206.0.html

 

Although I just realised no photos in that thread show them clearly.

 

Ash at Moorrabbin Auto Spares

http://www.viczcar.com/forum/index.php/board,125.0.html

 

Has a vinyl cutter and he has created a replica of the 240ZR

Using Adobe Illustrator he traced out the designs from reference photos like the 1 above, the car looks awesome and accurate. Hopefully he'll show it off some time. .

 

But you could possibly do the same to get the rally car livery correct. This is what I was thinking of doing to my 72.

[Riceburner]

A monte rally replica would be awesome 

 

Are they 2" british SU's? Perhaps a re tune will get them running properly again.

 

With the exhaust you could try a longer dump pipe. The hatch height looks similar to mine after fitting the rare spares hatch seal, unfortunately they don't fit properly making the hatch sit up a few mm.

 

[clutch-monkey]

Check all the rubber plugs around the car including the firewall, even check the hatch seal from inside the car, try and slide a piece of paper between the hatch and seal.

cheers mossy, will double check the firewall and try the paper trick on the rear hatch. as below, the chunky seal on there feels like it's making the hatch fit weird.

big fan of your car..

 

Vapor Lock was apparently a problem on 260z's with the flat top carbs, hence the addition of the vented bonnet. I've never personally experienced this problem on any of my Z's - Although my 240z does have the vented bonnet, my other Z's didn't.

 

The standard 240z SU's had an orange airbox that fed in cold air from the front of the car. You car has the pod filter type things - presumably because the standard air box wouldn't fit on those non-OEM carbs.

 

If you're not going Triples, I'd source a set of OEM SU's and Airbox which should also include the OEM heat shield.

 

You could also source a vented hood, but I personally am not a fan of the grilles in the later Z bonnet. I think they look out of place on the rest of the car. Alternatively you could vent the inspection lids for the battery and washer bottle as a cheaper way around it.

 

Too much ignition timing could also be causing the car to run hotter than it should. You don't have any engine run-on issues after turning the car off do you?

 

The best way to find out how she's really running is to put her onto a dyno.

 

You may be better off going to a stock camshaft profile. The 240z's have an A-Grind cam - the rear of the cam has a stamped 'A'.

thanks again, yeah there is no heatshield on there now. at the moment i'd rather bolt stuff on than take it apart (would like to avoid another long term project).

will likely revise the exhaust and have it coated, make up a heatshield, and insulate the fuel lines. triples might be on the cards as the SU's on there now are likely on their limits?

no run on issues or dieseling, as below i think it's tuned to about as best it can be as it sits now.

A monte rally replica would be awesome 

 

Are they 2" british SU's? Perhaps a re tune will get them running properly again.

 

With the exhaust you could try a longer dump pipe. The hatch height looks similar to mine after fitting the rare spares hatch seal, unfortunately they don't fit properly making the hatch sit up a few mm.

 

yeah i believe so, i got them mostly tuned, neighbour did the rest (triumph mechanic of 30 years; was trained on these carbs). they work well enough, but runs quite rich, and idle wanders a bit and for how angry the cam sounds doesn't seem to make much power.

that definitely describes what is wrong with the hatch, will fiddle with it further (it also feels very flimsy  )

random question, our gear knob thread is 8mmx1.25 yeah?

thanks all for the info, looks like all fairly straight forward stuff i can try.

[Riceburner]

ACL heat shield is excellent and should definitely help out. It's available at supercheap auto for about $50-$60 IIRC, easily bent into any shape you require.

 

 

[Mr Camouflage]

A monte rally replica would be awesome 

But you could possibly do the same to get the rally car livery correct. This is what I was thinking of doing to my 72.

 

I'll put some authentic dents in it if you like

[peter t]

Hi, which side of town you on M8. I could give you a bit of of a hand if need be.

[clutch-monkey]

Hi, which side of town you on M8. I could give you a bit of of a hand if need be.

hi peter i'm bayside

ordered the seals and plugs etc. doing it in stages to see what makes the biggest difference!

i'm after a z432 style vertical stack muffler, as that's the only thing that will extend the exhaust tips out without looking shite on the shaved rear end, but the only way to get it is in the fujitsubo legalis R system.. can't get it separately