gav240z

Even better, that is a great tutorial. Very detailed photos and explanations. The 1 thing I still don't understand is the role of the ball bearings. I recall when I rebuilt mine (with some help) that we welded it together so it wouldn't rotate anymore. I'm not sure what effect this has on the way the distributor works? Also we disabled the vacuum advance because the diaphram's were stuffed and we couldn't find 1 that worked. Also the plate in the distributor where the weights attach to, if you modify it like with a dremmel piece you can get more advance. Various Datsun's and their distributors have different plates, weights and springs. You can mix and match to get the desired amount of mechnical advance you want. We did this with my distributor and it made an amazing difference in the way the car behaved - I couldn't believe what an animal it became . So my tips are: Go to a junk yard, find as many different types of L-series distributors as you can (4 and 6 cyl versions) and pull them apart for their weights and advance plates. Mix and match to get desired advance. Unfortunately at this stage I can't give advise on what weights to use or what plates and their numbers, but I'm sure if you experiment a bit and use a timing light you can find out what kind of advance you are getting.

Hi Everyone, I found this article and thought it would be a good start for anyone looking to rebuild their distributor. http://www.jrdemers.com/280ZX/distributor/distributor.html Also found this article on replacing the E12 module (since these give up the ghost and are expensive to replace) with cheaper readily available GM parts. http://www.zhome.com/ZCMnL/tech/gmhei.html If someone can document a full distributor rebuild I'll make it a sticky instead of this, but for now this should do.

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

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?

Great looking Z, sorry to read about the superficial damage to it. I hope it goes to a good home and is well looked after. Welcome to our community also.

If it's running too lean it could cause it to misfire as it gets too hot and then pre-ignites, I wonder if the fuel bowls in the carbs are at the correct levels. It would also be good to see the manifold the 240z carbs are on. Are you running vacuum advance? Remove the distributor cap and suck on the rubber hose that feeds into diaphragm, if you suck hard enough (not being dirty here), you should see the advance arm move a bit. If it's not moving your vacuum advance is stuffed in the distributor. Since you are running points, I'd also double check the points gap and make sure it's correct. If you removed the distributor make sure it's still correctly aligned, if it's a tooth out it could cause a timing issue. You did mention you set the timing though. 260z's should have come with an electronic fuel pump located near the fuel tank. It's a low 3-4psi unit and quite noisy. If you are running mechanical pump that should be fine provided it's getting fuel as it should they are pretty unbeatable.

Hey Mark, Mine is red, but it's at home in Australia. http://www.viczcar.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=random&cat=0&pos=-276 I've been living and working in Ireland for nearly 3 years now, while the Z waits patiently at the old folks place in the garage. I don't have any tools over here, but I'd be happy to lend a hand and help you try and get her running. When you get a chance throw a few pics up.

Hi Mark, I live in Dublin, which Z do you own? I know of only a handful in the country. If you need help with it I'd be willing to lend a hand. You "Flamin Mongrel" Lurch, you do realise the Irish never say that? Kind of like "Top of the morning", I've not heard it once. .

It's all about the sound baby.

Well it sounds like you know what you are getting yourself into. I'm just hoping for your sake that what's visible to you right now is the worst of it. At least it appears this car hasn't had someone try and cover it all up with bog - which in my opinion often just makes it all worse. Good luck with it.

Looks great and it looked fantastic in the sellers video too. I remember watching that and thinking damn that's a clean Z. Did you have to cut the guards to fit the Watanabe wheels? I wouldn't have had the heart to cut the guards, but more power to you. It certainly looks great. In my opinion to finish off the look you could add the 432 style (also known as BRE) rear spoiler, but maybe you prefer the smooth clean look. Hope you enjoy your stay on the site. By the way if your ever over in Ireland let me know, I'll shout you a pint!

Dude a 260z 2 seater for FREE, you scored big time. Well done and look forward to seeing her restored. Be sure to give Nan a drive once she's running properly again!

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.

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 .

I'm wondering where the best place to buy this ECU is also? I think you will need to convert your distributor to electronic ignition (some kind of CAS will be needed) and fit your EFI fuel pump and tank baffle (with return line). Then you will need injectors and a fuel rail and manifold. You will also need to fit an 02 sensor somewhere in your headers. Wiring will be a challenge for me also, but I don't plan on doing this conversion for a long time (if at all - I want to see how the Triple Carbs perform first). I'm sure I've forgotten something so check this link out for more details on EFI. http://www.viczcar.com/forum/index.php/topic,7515.0.html Also alot of the HybridZ.org guys have converted to megasquirt with their L28 Turbo's so have a search over there.

Yeah so it seems he does a fair amount of head work on his motors. Doing home jobs on the port work and polishing up the stock valves and giving them a good 3 angle job. Then it seems he match ports the manifolds and does a fair amount of internal work the SU's to improve their flow. If you watch the SU carbs video from Ztherapy you can get a good idea of the work that gets done. I think he's now using an LD28 crank, but to be honest I think you should be able to get the same results from an L28 crank and bottom end. The other thing is he really does drive it like he stole it. The car itself is not very refined or for that matter beautiful but I guess that's what helps with the surprise. Certainly inspires me to have a go at port work myself and building my own engine.

I know it's old news to some, but for some people new the scene you may be interested in this: http://www.youtube.com/user/zrunner240Z Norm the 12 Second SU dude. He run's a pretty standard set up and can get pretty remarkable times out of the old L28. http://www.zcar.com/forums/631729/hats-norm-12-sec-dude-king-na I came across his videos on youtube today and thought I'd revive it and get some discussion going .

Changed wording of Karma to +Karma and -Karma figured it was a bit more clear that way.

I have been thinking about enabling a feature called Karma. It basically allows people to give Kudos to valuable members and at the same time smite or mark down members. I wasn't sure about the smite part, but I figure it's worth a try. So for now I have enabled kudos as an experiment. You will see under each persons profile a link to allow you to applaud or smite a member. I might start a new topic for further discussion if needed.

Perhaps you should have waited for April fools to pull this joke?

When I was flying between NY (JFK) and San Francisco (SFA) a few weeks ago, on the JetBlue flight they had cable TV. That's when I first saw this show and I thought man I wish we had something like this in Ireland or Australia. However I just found their website and you can watch the Episodes there: http://www.myclassiccar.com/ Pretty cool if you are into anything vintage. Hope you guys like it.

Man that was a steal, only seen it now. Looks very tidy and original from the outside. A great restoration project and it looks like the original yellow too! I love 240z's in that colour. You can subscribe to eBay RSS feeds and if you use Google Reader or another RSS program get updates when new cars become available. I was thinking of having an aggregated feed on this site showing all the newest cars listed every couple of hours. But even in this case it wouldn't matter because it was sold within an hour.

I was reading this today and found it quite useful. http://www.emeraldm3d.com/ems.htm Figured you guys might find it useful too.

Best advice I can give you, is spend as much as you can afford buying the best car you can get for that money. You almost always end up spending less than if you bought a cheap rust bucket and tried to bring it up to the same standard. Having said that, if you enjoy a project car and working on it yourself then there is absolutely nothing wrong with buying a rust bucket. Also the quality of restoration can vary significantly so it's best to buy a car that has a documented restoration history, ideally with photos of body restoration. Welcome to the nut house.

Yeah the rear guards is what killed the shape of the 240K coupe's. It just didn't flow with the overall shape, however by adding flares and cutting the guards it really improves the flow of the car. It's strange but the 240K shape is almost similar to the Mazda RX-4 or at least shares some similarities. Nissan never really raced the C110, although in 75 (I think!) it did appear at Bathurst - I think only to retire with engine trouble. Funny thing is, you couldn't give these cars away 10 years ago. They were being crushed and destroyed. In fact I remember seeing 1 at pick-a-part while rummaging around for Z-parts and thinking to myself what a waste to a see a 240K coupe here. Now it's a different story, they are quite rare and people have now seen the potential of them and the heritage being a GTR, so they are quite hard to find and prices have gone up. Supply and demand I guess. Is it RockyAuto who are notorious for this? I think you may be right...