Newbie Member - My 2sictyZ

[ZD44TT]

Hi All,

 

as some of you know I've recently join this forum looking for a Z. Fell in love with the 240-260's after driving a friends car at easter creek and the way they look and feel to drive.

 

Over the fast 2 months I got a gauge as to what price they were going for and as luck would have it a seller was refered to me with a very nice silver 260z in very good condition.

 

Some of you may have seen this car before.

 

 

 

 

 

Stock 260 motor.

Half cage.

Custom Bilsteins coilovers with 50mm spline $$

 

Runs exceptionaly well and is nice to drive. Everything in terms of dials work.

 

Looking forward to tidying it up a tad .........perhaps a nice cam down the track.......but I want to address the bump steer issue first off.

 

Hope you guys can help me with some of the newbie questions I'll be asking as I'm having to learn about this car from scratch.

 

For the first time I own a car that I don't want to take out in the rain :lol:

 

Cheers,

William.

[sco_aus]

Really clean mate. I thought it was my car at first, exact same colour but yours is cleaner.

 

Bump steer can be done a couple of ways. You can go power steering which isnt too expensive really:

 

http://www.viczcar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1050&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

 

or http://www.technotoytuning.com/productdetail.php?p=599

 

The roll centre adjusters keep the car at the same height, but lowers the control arm. I just put these exact ones on my car and it took 5 mins, so easy to do.

[ZD44TT]

thanks for the info.

 

wow you have a skyline engine in yours?

 

Does anyone know how much i'd be looking at for new tie rods?

 

Also are their such a thing as wheel bearings for the front? because the shock assembly is so different to what I'm use to seeing.

[sco_aus]

Keep an eye out on ebay for tie rod ends, i got some brand new not long ago for $60 and the same guy regularly has them for auction.

 

The front do have bearings and they are pretty cheap from Repco or Autopro. They have to be pressed in though, but most places will do it for a few bucks cash if you just take the hub into them.

[ZD44TT]

great thanks for that.

 

the steering is ok at present but I just want to get it a perfect as it can be to make the drive more enjoyable.

 

Lucky I found a 260z - because I find them hell slow stock :lol: . If i gotten a stock 240 I'd be wanting to cam it quick.........unless speed wise their similar due to the 240 being a tad lighter in weigh.

 

Any suggestions with a mild cam I can put into the car? price?

 

how much power does stock 260z have?

 

I'm so excited with the new car.......just happy it's in very good condition.

 

still getting use to the long nose of the car

 

Cheers,

William.

[Bruce]

looks like a great purchase. Looks very neat and tidy.

what are your plans for it?

cheers

Bruce

[nat0_240_chevZ]

id say the early 240's were the quickes, the the laet models.

 

and believe it or not the 280zx the slowest.

 

hp figures for a stock 260 is 160hp at the fly, depending on condition and spec of the motor. although the 280 had 170hp and 240 only had 150. work it out, must be the weight of the earlier cars and i think the original 240 cams had better duration so it revved harder, mabe the higher comp ratio also as the early heads had a small cc'd chamber to that of the later.

 

check the casting No.s of the engine and head to determine the uild you have ie P30 block with e88 head.....

 

very nice looking car, am envious, but how much did it set you back??

 

nato

[ZD44TT]

it set me back $7,000 with one FULL year rego..........heheh pretty kool ha?

 

suspension costed him a small fortune - $4200 from heismans in syd, too

bad it's not damper

 

At the moment I only plan to get the car riding nice. I've been through the whole car with a flat head and small hammer tapping around to see if there were any major rust spots and at present cant not find one.

 

Down the track it will simply be just the JDM look with flares + watanabe wheels + bucket seats.

 

Engine wise we all want a RB26 but more than likely I'll be getting the stock motor worked to keep things simple, manageble and affordable : )

 

Have been through the whol sha'bang with my MKI vw golf so not keen to do it again.

 

[NZeder]

nice car.

 

Re the power thing - the first 240z ie 70-71 were the lightest of the stock production cars (with special 432R lighter still but these are not a 240z but a S30 Fairlady Z I believe Gav has a blog on this somewhere) and therefore had the fastest 0-60MPH when tested back in the day.

 

Re the cam and revs, nat0_240_chevZ is not correct as the 260z has the better stock cam in terms of duration but this was let down with the flat top SU's (and I guess one of the reasons for the different duration so Nissan could keep some of the sport car feel given the SU/emission compromise). The reason a L24 revs better than a L26 or L28 is about the stroke (and rod to stroke ratio). The L24 had a 73.7mm but the L26 and L28 share the same stroke of 79mm. The L24 use a 133mm center to center rod and the L26 and L28 130.3mm. The L24 = 1.8 rod/stroke ratio and the L26/L28 = 1.65. Typically shorter stroke engine rev quicker and this is the reason the L24 feels like it revs better = because it does. However the speed any given car accelerates is based on a number of factors and weight is part of that equation.

 

As to which is better the early 240z or a later 260z personal choice (and car usage comes in play here). The first 240z had it faults due to its light construction they seem to rust more (well they do here in NZ) Nissan change things and made these bits bigger here and there on the later 240z and then again on the 260z (the suspension got bigger, stronger stub axles, R200 diff on some models etc) why - engineering improvement or simply due to production costs (point in case - the early 240z all have GRP, glass renforced plastic, head light buckets - why because it is ligher = no because they did not have the tooling to make them in steel once Nissan perfected this process the switched to the metal units = cheaper to mass produce, heavier but cheaper = the production of the cars could increase).

[Toecutter]

ZD44TT, nice buy, congrats, nice colour too! It's good to buy a car thats running and all you need to do is jump in and drive. With that coil over set up you'll be able to get thye car sitting exactly the way you like it. Really looking forward to the transformation you have in mind! Will you be attending the Nationals this Easter with your new purchase?

 

sco_aus, have you got any pics of the bumpsteer spacers installed, I'm trying to get my head around how they fit!?

[NZeder]

sco_aus' date=' have you got any pics of the bumpsteer spacers installed, I'm trying to get my head around how they fit!?[/quote']

 

This might help but please don't call them bumpsteer spacers as they don't really correct the bumpsteer issue just move it - this is why technotoyturning call them roll center spacers as they effect this more than bumpsteer. I have been told the can alter the C of G (and some time too much). I have a set that I was going to install but as I am also running adjustable lower control arms my tierod end only just catches on the rack end. So I plan on making a new tie rod end setup to correct this thread issue and the bumpsteer issue at the same time (you notice that Zed tie rods bend down which is part of the problem on a lowered zed - so my fix will be to use a straight threaded bar on the end of the rack and then a flater tie rod connected to that and the steering arm - I just need to find a tie rod that will do the job)

 

Hope this helps anyway.

 

EDIT:Forgot to add that even the stock suspension still has the non parallel issue but you never notice as the suspension never travels through this bumpsteer issue - this is not the case with a lowered zed as the lower arm can travel through this region. The real answer is to get both the steering arm/tie rod and lower control arm parallel. Thus endth the leason - and yes I have learnt all this but talking to people and reading.

[Toecutter]

Thanks Mike, great diagram. I've noticed the problem quite a bit in my car especially when driving fast through round abouts when nobody is around.

 

I'll have to install em!

[ZD44TT]

interesting..........means I should go much lower in the mean time........so tempted to low ride it. But it has been corner balanced so it would be a waste to ruine that.

[sco_aus]

Another thing to note with the RCAs is that you will need to wear 16's at least. I swapped my rims from my datto to my R31 and vica versa and we could only rest the datto on the 15's but wheel it with the jack or swap back. Hope that makes sense but 16 inch wheels is the main point.

 

Also I used to have a 240k box on my L28 (blue_leaf has it all now). It wasnt the best for highway, but it made a difference with the shorter gears.

[ZD44TT]

Ah good point, in terms of clearance. Yes lucky the car came with 16" wheels.

 

I had a good look under the car last nite and with the not so low ride height that it's on atm there wasn't THAT much clearence with the ground - i dare say around 20cm roughly. i.e wouldn't be able to lower it much lower anyhow.

 

Took the gf for a ride last nite - poor thing didn't like it...heheheh.

 

'it's so rough, creaky, noisey' + ' god i dunno why you like it - the golf so much more sensible and cute'

 

:lol:

 

I love it when i hit the accel pedal on the lower gears - HOUSTON WE HAVE LIFT OFF *BOOOOM* hahahhahah just love it guys.

 

 

 

Another thing to note with the RCAs is that you will need to wear 16's at least. I swapped my rims from my datto to my R31 and vica versa and we could only rest the datto on the 15's but wheel it with the jack or swap back. Hope that makes sense but 16 inch wheels is the main point.

 

Also I used to have a 240k box on my L28 (blue_leaf has it all now). It wasnt the best for highway' date=' but it made a difference with the shorter gears.[/quote']

[sco_aus]

Hehehe, wouldn't be a Z without the noise. There is plenty of room for lowering there, Im running my car at about 8 cm (ground to lowest point) and still have the ability to go lower, but 10cm is the lowest for rego.

[ZD44TT]

Going to try to be as sensible as I can before the flares and wheels come.......hehehhe.

 

Long wkend come'n and i'll be cleaning + polishing up every bit of the car inside and out.

 

Anyone know where I can get new windscreen and rear hatch window seals?

 

 

 

Hehehe' date=' wouldn't be a Z without the noise. There is plenty of room for lowering there, Im running my car at about 8 cm (ground to lowest point) and still have the ability to go lower, but 10cm is the lowest for rego.[/quote']

[Toecutter]

Any local mobile windscreen supplier can instal a 260 front screen for you at your home. From memory I think I paid about the $250 ish mark inc installation last time. If you do it and your front seal is in poor condition be sure to change that while your at it!

Try Zworx for the side quarters!

 

Sulio

[JP240z]

windscreens O'Brien charged me $130 for a new windscreen, which was covered by my insurance which allows me 1 free windscreen a year.

[ZD44TT]

oops I meant the seals not the glass...... :lol:

 

I sense the begining of the bottom less end.........."ah yeh change the seals ....while your at it change the glass...........ah actually I'll leave them out and we'll fix the rust........hang on better still i'll let the shop have it and we'll work all the windows and have a full respray...........etc"

 

hahhahahhahaha.........jk.

 

Just sat in friends recently finished 150KW@wheels MKI vw golf weighing 800kg..............even that didn't wow me ..........

 

to the rwd JDM dark side, arrive I have.

[sco_aus]

Jeez, not hard to please or anything

[ZD44TT]

Jeez' date=' not hard to please or anything [/quote']

 

maybe his slipping clutch and problem with putting the power down didn't help.

 

Taking pics is pretty much all I can do with this car atm : )

 

 

 

 

[Azon]

Thats a very nice car right there mate - looks to be clean (especially for the price that you got it for) and you are lucky enough to have rollcage in already - even a halfcage should make a absolutely massive difference in handling I can imagine. Good luck with the car!

[Toecutter]

ZD44TT, very nice pics. I like that cage too. You should post these pics into the members galleries section for all to see as we get a bit of traffice through there also.

[ZD44TT]

ZD44TT' date=' very nice pics. I like that cage too. You should post these pics into the members galleries section for all to see as we get a bit of traffice through there also.[/quote']

 

Will do, cheers.

 

Going to give the car and fresh service tmrw .........oil, filter, plugs, brake fluid.......

 

can someone tell me how I can get to the tranny fluid?