GrayZee

The front diff from a 4x4 nissan truck is "supposed" to be able to work.. it dosen't rotate backwards but the driveshaft from the transfer-case turns it backwards when the truck goes forward. The interesting thing about the 4x4 diff is the ratio.. 4:38

Yeah it is a great idea and has been discussed before. However I think the general opinion was that if you live in north america then the cost of the engine/tranny makes it not worth your while. You'd get more bang for your buck building up a L28t or a V8, not to mention the problems you'll have when it breaks and you have to pay a visit to the local parts store. "you want a part for a what?" Don't get me wrong, I think it is a awesome engine, but not very practical.

but is it legal to have glass that is not DOT approved? Here the law states that any vehicle manufactured after 1970 must have DOT approved safety glass.

That is very good to know, Thanks dude!! but why did you post it on the chevy V8 board? I just about missed it! (I rarely read the V8 posts)

Heavy trucks use aluminum fuel tanks. (diesel fuel) Would gasoline cause corrosion problems?

The later Z's have the stronger diff, as well as a slightly stonger body, stronger bumpers and are a little more refined, the gas tank/fuel lines are already set up for a fuel injected engine. However the BIG drawback is that the later Z's are ALOT heavier! Basically it depends on what you want. I believe that in some states you can put a V8 in a 240 and pass emissions but not with a 280.. at least not without spending more money? You also have to consider that if you want a 240 because it is lighter are you gonna just end up adding extra weight by trying to strenghten your car? (roll bar, frame connectors, R200, ect.)

The temp gauge would be up and the engine would be warm with good heat before it would run properly (probably because the carbs and carb heater hoses are too small and have lots of surface area to dissipate any heat) especially in -20 or colder.

quote: Originally posted by MacDaddy: I run custom Centerline 15X8 in the front and 15x10 in the rear with 225/50/15 rubber up front and 265/50/15 rubber in the rear Ok, the front I can understand, but 265's in the rear! and they don't rub?? what year of Z do you have? I had a Z with 245/60/14's once but it also had flared fenders.

jvh22a: I wouldn't worry too much about what year to get a zxt engine. I would just worry about the price and condition. You can use your tranny (unless you want to change to a 5spd?) A 240z stock would have a 2.4 liter engine (L24) and a 280zx would have a 2.8liter (L28) any 6cyl L series engine will bolt up. N42 is a type of cylinder head. you can read more about that @ http://www.geocities.com/zgarage2001/heads.html

Ha ha ha... I like your signature Frog!

I recently replaced my gauges and looked at the "guts" of the factory gauges, looks like they use a bi-metalic strip heated by electric current to cause movement of the gauge needle. My gauges didn't work at all and there didn't look to be any broken circuits so I assumed that the the bi-metalic was worn out. If that is true (of my gauges, and yours) then it would be difficult to repair them. Autometer sells a line of gauges called "auto-gauge" they aren't that far off from the original style of the stock gauges (black face with white lettering) They easily are modified to fit in the stock location, are mechanical and much more accurate. I think Drax20Z has pics of his in a Z dash on his website. Hope this helps..

quote: Originally posted by Zpeed: how cold was it for you to do that with the petrol into the carb. Like I said, I don't think the cold temperature thing is gonna effect almost anyone in this forum. The only members that live in a really cold climates would be some (not all) of the Canadian members and Stoney is from Alaska I think?. My early Su's would require the use of the choke at about 10c and about 5-0c it would be tough to start and colder than that it would get near impossible. I don't drive my Z in the winter here, for starters the salt and sand that they put on the roads for traction causes the cars to rust away, and Z's with very little clearance and not much weight on the drive wheels makes them absolutely USELESS and DANGEROUS to drive on the snow and ice. I did the ole "pour gas in the carb" trick a couple of times just because I had to move the car from point A to point B but I would guess that it was -20c or colder when I did that. I don't imagine that you see temps like that in Austrailia though! B.T.W. need a house guest from Dec to Mar?

I don't have my MSA catalog handy but I believe that they sell frame rails. Also you might want to check with the the guys at ontariozcar.com I sure that there was a guy in that club that was selling them. Not sure on the price but the Canadian dollar might work to your advantage?

If you are getting "white" smoke that means that you are getting coolant into the cylinders. If it was oil, you would be getting "blue" smoke. The white smoke would also have the "sweet" smell of antifreeze. Could have been leaking though the head gasket, makes sense if your head was warped. If you wanted to try a different head then I would use one that was either a p90 or a p79. Any other head and I think your compression would be getting a little high to a turbo.

Just thought I would add one more thing, I do know ONE area where the flattop SU's are superior, Ever try and start a early 240z (or a motorcycle) in really cold weather? The roundtop Su's have a choke that uses a sliding jet to richen the mixture, but in really cold weather the engine will not turn fast enough to draw a good vacuum. The flattops have a more conventional style choke (a butterfly valve) They also have accelerator pumps. So the flattops will start easily in the cold. The only way I could ever start my old 240 in the cold was to pour gas right in the carb! Not a easy task for a sidedraft carb! and then you'd have to let it run for 1/2 and hour before you could attempt to drive it. From my experience I would agree that the carbs seem to have a little more "get up and go" but my SU's were a constant PITA they would constantly drift in and out of tune, where my injection system now starts and runs the same... EVERY DAY! I had always dreamed of one day getting a triple sidedraft system, but they are very expensive and now I realalize that for less money you can have more HP with the ZXturbo route. I know that the cold start issue isn't a issue for you at all but I just thought I would throw that in because everyone is always bashing those carbs and I thought I would stick up for them!

Superior? superior to what? if you have a 74 260z and it has the original carbs then it has the "flattop SU's" those are the smog carbs the allow the use of EGR. It has been said that the "round top" (more like a dome) are better. They were found in the 70-72 240Z's There are many choices in fuel systems for a Z however, dual SU's, dual downdraft webbers, triple sidedraft webbers/mikuni's, 4barrel.. If you are mechanically inclined you could even consider taking all the compontents from a later Z (75-83) and convert to fuel injection. Depends what you want and how much money you wanna spend. If you want stock performance then buy some early Z carbs, if you want performance then you could spend a fortune on triple sidedrafts (and your engine would require mods to use them properly) Probably the best (and cheapest) way to get real performance from a Z engine is to get a complete 280zx turbo powertrain and drop that in your car. Or even drop in a big'ole V8!

Thanks for clearing that up Hydra. At least I wasn't totally crazy (just had outdated info) So when did the car industry introduce the 3 way style cats?

When they clamped down on emissions in the early 70's they introduced things like.. EGR, air pumps and catalytic converters; but they also started building engines with "lower compression" Even the early 240z had higher CR than later models. Today they can get around it with better engine control systems and improved engine design.

Actually wouldn't a L28turbo engine produce less emissions than a L28 NA? At idle the turbo isn't doing anything and it it'll have a lower compression ratio than a NA engine.

Victoria British is relativly close to you (Kansas City) they sell fenders for $150 but the quality isn't the greatest, mine were "too short" for my car and needed a little bit of modification. www.victoriabritish.com

The government truck weigh stations around here are usually closed on Sundays, but when they are closed you can still drive over the scale and they put the meter in the window so that the truck drivers can check their weights. Maybe that is a common practice though Canada and the US? My 76 280z was just over 2900 lbs with me in it.

quote: Originally posted by Nion: Aren't all Maximas FWD...? Or did they switch over a few years ago? Nion, the original Maxima was actually called the 810 (77-80) with a L24 fuel injected engine. The next generation was the Maxima (81-84) also with the L24i. It wasn't till the third generation that they received the 3.0 V6 with FWD.

First of all I don't have any actually experience with a V8 in a Maxima but I do own a Z and a Maxima (yes, basically the same engine) but I can tell you that for some reason there seems to be alot more room underneath a Z hood than in a Maxima. Not to say that it can't be done, but it would be alot tighter in there than a Z I would guess... While we are on the subject though I do know that you can't just bolt a Z engine in a Maxima or vice-versa. The Z oil pan is shallow at the front and deep in the rear, while a Maxima is just the opposite. If you look at the bottom of a L6 block you will see that there is a spot to bolt up the oil sump and a blank "dummy" spot with no holes. Where the oil sump "would" bolt up if it were designed for use with the other style pan. I could see this being a problem with trying to put a V8 in there as you would have to find a V8 that has a pan that is deep in the front and shallow in the rear. Either that or go with a dry sump system? but that would be alot of extra dollar signs..

81-33 280zx turbo cars have 15" wheels that will fit. Also the early 300zx's (84-85?) have the 4 lug pattern, but I believe they have more of a front wheel drive type offset?

Some L28 turbo engines have a light emitting diode type pickup, 1983 and maybe 82?