Zoldman

All, I've been trying to track down my hard steering problem in my V8 260Z, and would like some input if anyone can help. The car's overall steering is just very "stiff", like the wheels don't want to turn. It has been this way ever since I got it last year. Items that have been replaced include ball joints, tie rod ends, struts, springs, all bushings. The steering effort has not changed one way or another with the replacment of these items. When the front end is jacked up, the rack and wheels turn smoothly with no noticeable problems or sloppiness. By the way, I also have a '72 240Z, and it's steering is much lighter by comparison. I guess I need some advice as to all the things that can cause a high steering effort and what to try next. I did my searching and have checked and replaced the items that I thought were suspect, which I was doing as part of my suspension rehab anyway, but no change. The stiffness is not just apparent at low speeds, either. I can feel a difference in the 260 steers at all speeds in comparison to the 240. It does track straight and does not exhibit any dartiness or wandering, and the front tires seem to be wearing evenly. Here is a list of things I have thought of: 1) Tire size. I know width is an issue, but both cars have 205's. Is diameter an issue? The hard steering 260 does have a 25.5" tire, as opposed to the 240, which has a 24" tire. I have checked inflation pressures. 2) Steering wheel size. A smaller wheel, mine is a 13" Grant, should contribute to this problem. Is this wheel just too small. The stock one on the 240 is almost 16" by comparison. 3) Steering geometry. How do toe, camber, and caster figure in? The car is lowered about an inch; the LCA's are level with the ground. This is an area where I am admittedly weak..........toe is 1/8" in, but do not know what camber and caster are. 4) The rack. As I said earlier, it seems to operate smoothly, but I am no expert here. Is there a difference in the steering racks (ratio or fit) between the 240 and the "early" 260? Most of the early 260 parts are actually 240 stuff, I have found. Is there a way I can check the rack that will actually tell me something, other than my "seems smooth" nonscientific method? Sorry for the long post, but I have been tring to figure this out for myself, and although I have learned a bunch while rehabbing this car, I have not managed to learn everything...............and this thing in particular. Thanks Bill

Curtis, Gotta agree with Dale on this. I've got an LT1 motor and was looking at the Edelbrock heads for it, which are about the same config as your performers. With the cam I wanted to use, the heads wouldn't flow enough at higher rpms to do me any good, so I went to AFR LT4 195cc heads w/ 1.6 rockers instead. My cam is much milder than yours (220/224 @ 50), and I still think I needed the bigger ports. You might go to Edlebrock's website, I think they post flow numbers like AFR and some of the others do. With that cam, you would want heads that could flow 250 intake/180 exh at .5" lift at least, or you wont be "using" the whole cam. Check with your cam guy about this also. My recollection is that the Performer RPM heads will be at 225 or 230 intake flow at .5" lift. The exhaust flow is pretty good, I think, but I remember not being happy with the .5" intake flow numbers. A real good engine person should be able to look at what you want to do and help you balance things out. Hope I didn't just make it worse........ Bill

Sorry John, That's gotta be the 10 O'clock.......can't see straight tonite. Bill

Bummer.......are you using the S&P harness or one from the original car? Oh, in looking at your engine pix, it looks like you got the 12 o'clock alternator instead of the 2 o'clock?? Am I right, or just looking at it wrong? Did you get the 105 amp or the 140? Let me know when you fire it up, and how she sounds. Bill

Did she fire??? I gotta know............... Thanks again for your help. I called S&P today, and they helped me itemize away all the rest of my $$$. But it will sure be sweet to have AC. Bill

John, Glad to hear you are ready to fire; my engine is still in the building stage. I have been scratching my head over the AC question, and hoping to hear a good solution..........looks like I'll be calling S&P. What was the deal on the radiator? I just bought the one from JTR that everyone seems to like; is this the one you're talking about? I would really like some pics of your setup if you have the time. Looks like I'll be test fitting in about 60 days, and I've got the same early 260 and LT1 that you have......although I'm staying with the 4L60e. Good luck; I hope it fires on the first crank!! Thanks Bill

Thanks guys, The Taurus looks like the way to go; but I might miss scaring the locals with my "jet engine spooling up" Spal sound. Maybe I'll just wire it up on a switch and turn it on when I need to throw some attiutude!! Bill

Hey guys, My fan is a Spal unit that pulls about 2400 CFM, or so they say, but that sucker is noisy. I mean when it comes on at a light the people next to me do a double take and think I'm getting ready to take off or something. The Taurus fans sound good, and I'm hearing they really move the air, but how are they noise-wise? I have also been looking at the Flexalite "Black Magic" fan. Anyone using this one or know anything about it? Thanks Bill

Wheelman, Now that's what I'm lookin' for!!! I emailed Brad just now; hope the early 260 tank is similar enough that his unit will work. Low enough profile to keep me from getting nervous, and should do the job just fine. Looks well made, too. Thanks for the help Bill

Dan, Yeah, I was surprised that Mark still had the prob, even with the sump, but if you just cut one big hole, half of what was in the sump would slosh out right away, and defeat the whole purpose. What kind of ground clearance do you have with your sump? Is it the typical 3" deep unit sold at Summit and Jegs? I really like the sump idea, just having a hard time envisioning what might happen with that thing hanging down there. I guess you can run the lines up and over the tank and that would help. Thanks Bill

Mark, Thanks for the fast input; I just knew someone would steer me back to the surge tank idea Nothing is ever simple.......... OK, so you still had the problem, and the surge tank fixed it. If I remember correctly, you can use the steel evap tank for a surge tank and feed it from the main tank with a low pressure pump, correct? Does this mean that the low pressure pump is running constantly? I have one of those setups on another car, and the noise gets old after awhile. I guess if you get real quiet pump, it would be alright. How does your sound? Can you give me the step by step or a schematic on what you did, and what pumps you used? I get the concept, but where the return line goes and all that is not real clear. I only want to do this once, and your experience would be much appreciated. Thanks again, Bill p.s. What kind of track running are you doing?

After doing all the searches I can think of, I think I like the fuel sump solution to cornering starvation better than any other method, except for one nagging issue. What kind of ground clearance do you need to be real safe with a sump hanging down? The two sumps I found at Jegs and Summit are about 3 inches deep. The bottom of my tank is about 8-9 inches off the ground now, which will leave me with 5-6 inches (figured that out all by myself). What would a safe minimum be? I've got good stiff Arizona Z springs and Illuminas, so rear squat is not excessive. My car is an early 260. The engine is a '95 LT1 being massaged to make 425 at the flywheel, which means I will need a 3/8" fuel supply, by my math. Also, has anyone had long term experience with using the drain plug fitting in the bottom of the tank? My searches turned up some discussion of doing this, but no difinitive answer as to whether it solves the cornering starvation problem. Thanks Bill

Very common to go with different ratios to make up for a head/cam flow issue on one side or the other, so this would not be out of the question. Problems come in with extended lift rockers when you lift too much and smack a valve into the piston. You've gotta know what clearances you've got. Over ratio rockers give more lift and because of this, a slightly longer opening/closing time. So, you also gain a very slight increase in duration. IF the motor is getting new heads and such, you're better off sizing your cam to give the lift and duration you want, rather than using rockers to beef up a weak cam. What is your situation with the motor? What is the car used for? Bill

Hmmmm, Springs switched front to back; that would be interesting. I'm guessing that somewhere on the spring Tockico has a "F" and "R" stamped. Any other easy way to identify front vs rear? I'll take a look today. John, I'm not sure if Sum Ting Wong worked on the car, but his daughter Ping Ping has been known to visit the motor from time to time. Anyone know about the use of 280zx (or regular 280) springs and hats? I remember reading somewhere that these springs would fit. If used with the 240-260 spring hats, you got about 1.5 inches of lift. The hats alone would give 3/4" and can also be used on the 240-260 strut/spring. I tried to search the site, but if I read it here, I have lost the thread. By the way, the 25" tire and wheel combo is the only thing keeping the exhaust from hitting the ground. At its lowest point the pipes are 1" off the ground. I will be redoing when the LT1 goes in, but still will be too low. I mentioned in my original post that my front crossmemebr was about 3.5 inches from ground...........looks scary low to me. What do youse guys tink about that height? Help me Obi Wan(s), you're my only hope. Thanks Bill

Blueovalz, I verified that these are the correct part numbers; at least the correct number is on the boxes............ I think the "bouncy" may be from bouncing off the bumps stops, but won't know that till I can get it up on the lift and check for abrasion. Again, the ride height may be normal, and I just miscalculated what I would get. I'm hoping someone with this setup or in the know will be able to tell me. Thanks Bill

Hey all, I got my early '74 260 back from the shop today with a fresh set of Tokico springs and Illuminas. The springs and struts were bought as a set from one of the Z vendors and are supposed to lower the car about 1", according to all I've read. My old springs and struts were toast, and so I didn't expect much lowering at all, just looking to get better handling and such. However, the car is now what I call "slammed". The front crossmember is only about 3.5 inches off the ground, and the top of the front tires actually sit up inside the wheel wells about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch. The tires are 205/65 on 15" rims. The lower control arms are angled upwards instead of horizontal, which I know is a bump steer issue, but the degree that they are angled is also not what I expected. Maybe I just didn't get it right, but I searched and read and looked at other members pix and I don't see the degree of lowering in others vehicles that I got with similar spring/strut changes. I have verified with Tokico that I got the right part numbers for my car; the early verses late 1974 issue was considered. Ok, after all that long winded blather, my questions are: Is the lowering I described normal? Is it possible that my mechanic forgot something in reassembly? The car drives OK, but is bouncy. I turned the Illuminas down to "3", front and rear, and that helped a little. Maybe the spring hats or something else didn't get back on.......or is this possible? Assuming that he didn't screw up, what alternatives to stock springs do I have? Motorsport says the stock height Euro springs for the 240-260 are NLA. I have a 305 in it now and am going to an LT1 shortly, so I really need a somewhat higher rate spring than stock. At this point coilovers are not an option. Any ideas, comments or suggestions? I don't want to spend the rest of my days dodging speed bumps, steep driveways and roadkill. Someone mentioned that the 280ZX springs and/or spring hats can be used on the 240-260 and will increase both spring rate and height. Anyone know the scoop on this? Thanks Bill (broke and now bummed)

All, I'm working over my '95 LT1 engine/trans, and got to thinking about wiring and such. My biggest question is where to mount the PCM/ECU; in the engine bay or inside the vehicle. My unit is engine bay rated; it came out of a '95 Z28 Camaro. My car is a '74 260. Any thoughts? Thanks Bill

Still have this set up? You have a PM

Welding would be great, but I for one have some (real basic) questions about suspension. My 260 is a wreck underneath, so if anyone wants to talk to me about where to start when we get together, I'll be all ears. Thanks Bill

March 6 looks good to me. I'm in Riverside, so not too far. My car is an early '74 260 with a 305 TPI and 700R4. It's not in super shape, but runs......... I'll bring some eats/drinks if needed. Let me know. Bill Boyd

Hey all, Here's one for the books. My recently adopted 260Z w/GM305 TPI and 4L60 trans did not have a working e brake, so I climbed under her to set things right and found a real mess. Someone pounded, beat on, and generally mangled the rear swivel arms that the cable frome each wheel attach to (close to the diff). The whole assembly is pushed up against the underside of thebody, and is badly damaged. He must have thought that the arm assembly was going to be in the way of the new driveshaft, but I measured and it would have been ok. I tried bending it back down to hook up the cables, but it is so mangled, that it doesn't want to swivel any more, so that won't work. The e brake handle and arm up front are fine. Has anyone dealt with this before, and found another way to hook up the cable from handle to the rear cables? LIke maybe run the cable back to a "Y" fitting and hook both cable on? I did a search and found nothing like this........lucky me. I'm not a fab/welding guy, so what to do? Thanks Bill Boyd

Charles, Thanks, I've got a MAP setup, but the wiring to the dist is similar, so I'll find it. You're right about the 383 being a torque monster. I've got a '79 Vette and stroked the motor to 383, went with mid level cam, Air Flow Research 180 cc heads, and an Edlebrock 795cfm Quadrajet. The damn thing will beat anything in town from light to light, and that's in a car that weighs 3400 lbs. It would be OK in the 1/4, but the 700R4 isn't the best for that distance. IF I was going to strictly drag the car, I think I'd go TH350 or 400. I like to cruise with it too, so the 700 is a the perect trans. Thanks again for all the help; good luck with your future motor! Bill

Charles, OK, that's not how I did it........must have screwed it up. I'll re adjust the right way this weekend when I get back. One thing I need help with....what is the distributor set timing connector, and what does it look like? I'm guessing it is near the Dist, but a discription would help. If you didn't disconnect it when adjusting, would it just tell the ECM to ignore what you had done? I'm still learning this computer car stuff............... By the way, you put a 383 in that thing, I hope you get a cage (and maybe a parachute?!) Good luck. Thanks Bill

Bill, No servo motor; base idle set by adjusting throttle plates. The IAC motor opens/closes in steps to adjust the amount of air getting past the throttle plates, so it serves the same function as servo motor does on other engines (I think). Bill

Charles, Forgot to ask; what RPM are you running at idle? What trans? How did you set the base idle (before IAC is hooked up)? If you can't copy instructions, let me know what book you used and I will go get it. Thanks Bill