gav240z is a legend!

[ozy]

just met gav today in dublin. im sorry i was so wrecked, but it was great to meet the person that seriously got me thinking about Zed cars, by showing that lovely red datty in your avatar.

 

theres loads of classic shows on in the summer and theres going to be a datsun stand in ballymena up north, hopefully jay from wicklow will deffo go and we can all meet.

 

anyway, great meeting you and getting a small glimpse into a world of Zed that awaits me.

 

p.s. that rolling road did something bad to her, awful lumpy drive home. will get the carbs looked at early next week.

 

ok, ars*! licking is over!

 

niall

[gav240z]

haha, yeah for some reason i kind of expected you to look like your Avatar but was pleasantly surprised you didn't . Great to see a Zed again, I'm deprived of seeing and hearing an S30.

 

Let me know if you need a hand doing any work on it. Its been ages since I've done anything with them and I'd be glad to point you in the right direction with anything.

 

Shame my g/f had her camera with her when she went to Italy, otherwise would have taken some photos of it.

 

Typical lovely Dublin weather as usual.

 

Attached are some pics of Watanabe Wheels with the black (charcoal) center and some with polished lip so you can see what I'm talking about.

 

If you don't like the all black look i think you should go for the black center's with the polished lip.

[gav240z]

A couple more pics. Also I know you were asking what things I'd work on. For now as I say leave the body work alone as that's a big job and the car looks relatively decent on the outside. I'd say enjoy it as is and focus on getting it running right.

 

Here are some suggestions:

 

1.) Electronic Distributor - Remove the ballast resistor and go with the E12 Electronic Dizzy. I've seen them reconditioned on Ebay in the states relatively cheap. It will make a big difference to top end and makes starting the car much easier. Plus you'll probably get better fuel economy with it too.

 

2.) Get the carbs in tune properly and set up with the rights jets / needles and all that other business.

 

3.) Get the rear tail lights plastic chromed. Will look alot neater than that weird yellow paint on there.

 

4.) Clean the interior up a little bit, although its not too bad.

 

5.) Upgrade the standard brakes and go with Wilwood's or something like that on all 4 corners. The stock brakes are not very good.

 

6.) Not sure what suspension is in it, didn't think to check. But Tokico 5-ways are not bad (have them in my zed) - Koni's are probably a bit better though.

 

7.) Paint those Wat's black in the center and get some nice Watanabe Wheel caps.

 

Anyway that's what I'd probably focus on for now.

[gav240z]

So anyway I did some shopping for you on ebay (next I'll be telling you what T-shirts to wear and how to cut your hair).

 

Anyway here are some reconditioned distributors for your Zed.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Datsun-Z-240Z-E12-80-Performance-Electronic-Distributor_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ66Q3a2Q7c65Q3a3Q7c39Q3a1Q7c240Q3a1318Q7c301Q3a1Q7c293Q3a1Q7c294Q3a50QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem5d24c65e43QQitemZ400048938563QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Datsun-Z-240Z-E12-80-Performance-Electronic-Distributor_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ66Q3a2Q7c65Q3a3Q7c39Q3a1Q7c240Q3a1318Q7c301Q3a1Q7c293Q3a1Q7c294Q3a50QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem5d24d46863QQitemZ400049858659QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Genuine-Datsun-Distributor-Gasket-240Z-280Z-280ZX-NEW_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ66Q3a2Q7c65Q3a3Q7c39Q3a1Q7c240Q3a1318Q7c301Q3a1Q7c293Q3a1Q7c294Q3a50QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem3a4e43a480QQitemZ250421159040QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

 

But yeah for what its worth don't bother with second hand distributors. Go for the reconditioned ones. The worn out ones can have shaft wear and the ball bearing cage in them can fall apart causing it not to advance properly. Also when they wear out they can arc out causing them to missfire.

 

These reco ones are the way to go.

 

Might wanna double check with the seller though what parts you will need. They mention you'll need a couple of parts.

[ozy]

hey man, im only up, been asleep since i posted that 1st post. told you i was tired.

regarding my avatar, you should have seen me pre-haircut last week, very beetlejuice!

 

when i was driving away, i was surprised at how bad the engine sounded, it was great driving to harolds cross, think the rolling road really knocked something out. my uncle has a guy that looks after old rally cars, he should know someone that tunes carbs. ill get it fixed and take you for a spin some day to a place were you can spin it.

 

still not a fan of the black inserts, grey maybe and i mean light grey like the grey Z picture.

 

chrome is hard to get on plastic in ireland, but ive seen them in the Us for very little. so i might just replace.

 

i reckon since our meet, the distributor will be 1 of the 1st things

 

brakes will do till they are worn, then ill get the rears converted to discs and upgrade the fronts then.

 

interior, all i need are original seats instead of buckets and get the carpets. think the carpets are only 2/300 dollars US. and a clean.

 

bodywork? if i win the lotto, shes straight but i would love to strip it back, just to make sure. but there is no need to.

 

oh yeah, a lot of rubbers around windows and doors are tired, can get them in america for little enough money too.

 

all depending on the work situation here. engineering isnt great here at the moment

[datsun-jay]

Alright Ozy,

 

I put an electronic dizzy on mine and done away with the balast, I might know where there is one for sale if your interested,  Simple enought job to change,  You will have to change your plugs tho when you change the dizzy.

 

Still cant figure out how the RR knocked your carbs out, did you check to make sure the dizzy didn't come loose and knock your tiing out?

[ozy]

might be that either. im not touching it, ill wait till ive a carb guy sorted and watch him and learn.

 

but it was great for 50 miles after, then i left it idling for a while before i met gav and as i drove off...

 

maybe gav did something, i hate you gav.

ha, i make joke.

 

in fairness, we were poking around the engine bay, but not very much

[datsun-jay]

Gav what did you do to the mans car 

 

Cant see it being the carbs but its probably something simple.

 

Get stuck in yourself Ozy and fiddle around, only way you will learn!!

[ozy]

 

 

Get stuck in yourself Ozy and fiddle around, only way you will learn!!

 

noooo, my dad used to call me the firestarter because of my inability to start a fire in the fireplace, when i touch things, they break.

 

fair enough, ill be home in a few days again, ill clean the sparks and unplug and replug things. but ive an electrical thing that flared up yesterday too, but it was soaking wet and water may have shorted something.

any chance that may be doing something?

[datsun-jay]

Depends what the electrical thing was really........could be something as simple as a loose plug lead,  that would cause it to miss and run like crap

[gav240z]

I'm pretty sure its carbon build up on your plugs. You left it sitting at idle for a while and I think that because its running rich at idle your plugs are all fouled up. When you pull them out check their colour if they are black as soot you know its been running way too rich.

 

Ideally they should be a nice brownish colour.

 

Give it the Italian Tune Up as described by Jay Leno

http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/video/video_player.shtml?vid=1088821

 

Otherwise pull the plugs, 1 at a time and clean them up with a wire brush.