Nigel

The formatting got screwed up when I posted. I hope this fixed it... The first thing to do is to identify 3 of the original ignition wires. Black/White Wire originally connected to the coil (+) terminal (0VDC with ignition switch at ON. +12VDC with ignition switch at Start) Green/White Wire originally connected to the Ballast Resistor Black/White Wire originally connected to the Ballast Resistor. (+12VDC with ignition switch at ON and Start) Even though there are two Black/White wires, they are not part of the same piece of wire, and they must be correctly identified. To do this, with all three wire disconnected, turn the ignition switch to the ON (Run) position and measure the voltage to ground at each of the Black/White wires. One of them should have +12VDC, and the other should not. The one without +12VDC is the original coil (+) wire. Once that's been sorted, connect the Green/White and Black/White wires that were originally connected to the Ballast Resistor to each other. This is going to be your Ignition ON source for the MSD 6AL and the 280ZX distributor. Now you can connect everything as outlined below: MSD 6AL Heavy Red Wire to (+) Battery terminal Heavy Black Wire to (-) Battery Terminal Red Wire to (+)12V Ignition ON (to original Ballast Resistor Black/White and Green/White Wires which are now connected together) White Wire to 280ZX Distributor "C" (Top of T) Terminal Orange Wire to Coil Positive Black Wire to Coil Negative Magnetic Pickup (Violet and Green wires) - Not Used Tach Output to MSD 8920 White Wire 280ZX Distributor C (Top of T) to MSD 6AL White Wire B (Leg of T) to (+)12V Ignition ON (to original Ballast Resistor Black/White and Green/White Wires which are now connected together) MSD 8920 Red Wire to Original Black/White Coil (+) Wire White WIre to MSD 6AL Tach Output Black Wire to Chassis GroundViolet Wire - Not Connected You may need to install a diode in series with the Black/White wire connected to the Alternator External Voltage Regulator to prevent engine run-on after the key is switched off. Nigel

It's going to be tough to troubleshoot without knowing exactly what was done. I've never installed a 6AL or tach adapter personally, but I am a career electrical designer, and I can tell you what I'd do if it were me hooking all of this up. But first, do you at least know what was done with the distributor... Original distributor with original points Original distributor with Pertronix ignition Original distributor with Optical Pickup like a Crane ignition 280Z/ZX distributor Nigel

The 8920 looks like the correct adapter for a current driven tach. When you say MSD ignition, are you talking about the 6AL? I think a lot of the problems that people have with this installation comes from how they wired the MSD 6AL. To start, what exactly did you connect the Red and White wires on the 6AL to? Also, what did you do with the original ballast resistor? Nigel '73 240ZT

You have a '73 or later Z, but the middle picture is from an earlier Z (confused me at first because you make it sound like it's from your car), and/or one that someone has rerouted the brake lines on, so you can't use that as a comparison. '73 and later Z have the proportioning valve mounted to the firewall, and it uses brake pressure to the front right caliper to modulate pressure to the rear brakes. It is not a warning light switch. The brake warning light switch is mounted to the driver's side inner fender. It's hard to tell from your pictures, but there should be a third line running from the clutch master on the driver's side, across the firewall to the passenger side. Looks like it's there but cut? Or as other's have mentioned, it's an evap emissions line and the car started out as an automatic? Hard to say without further investigation. Nigel

Did you look at the MOMO hub list for Nissans? http://www.momousa.com/products/products/steering-wheels/hubs/nissan-hubs.html The 240SX has a different part number so I doubt it will fit an early Z. Like BluDestiny said, buy a MOMO hub and get an NRG slim adapter. If you're looking for a cheaper hub, there's a non-collapsible (unlike MOMO) Boss Hub. Search "240Z Boss hub" on ebay. You can also get Momo adapters for Grant hubs. Nigel '73 240ZT

I have a 20+ year old strut on my '73 240Z. It may even be original for all I know. Anyway, it has no problem holding up the hatch with a Victory spoiler on it, which is a couple of inches taller, and presumably heavier, than the BRE. Nigel '73 240ZT

Wheel adapters are much better. The adapter bolts to the hub, and then the wheel bolts to the adapter. Longer studs with spacers are fine if the spacers are thin (1/4"?), but if you need an inch or more, adapters are the way to go. I've never seen proof of one failing. Sounds like a missing reaction disk in the brake booster. There should be a sticky on in it the FAQ section. You may already have the larger master cylinder. The bore should be cast into the side of the master. Check that first before you go and buy a duplicate of what you may already have. There never was power steering in a Z. Enjoy! Nigel '73 240ZT

I bought the Silvermine rear kit as well, and I'd also have to say that Edan was easy to deal with. He responded quickly to e-mail and was very patient with me while I went through various shipping options with him. First class customer service. I have to admit, I was not quite so impressed with the kit as you. Firstly, I found the e-brake setup left a few things to be desired. Sure the cable connects to the caliper e-brake arm ok, but there was no provision for actually attaching the cable sleeve to the bracket, and the instructions didn't elaborate on this. I was able to rig something up with a couple of washers and a bit of grinding and welding, but that's not exactly bolt-on. The other thing I wasn't thrilled about is that the routing of the e-brake cables has them rubbing against the bottom of the frame rail, and they are forced to bend quite a bit when the suspension is compressed. Once the cables were hooked up, I found that even with all of the slack out of the cable, I could still pull the e-brake handle so that it was pointing straight up. But there may have been some other adjustment I missed, and the brakes still locked up ok. I also found that having to remove the calipers every time you bleed the brakes is a pain. And I discovered that the brake pads run right out past the chamfer on the edge of the rotors, so you get this little lip forming on the brake pad as they wear. One other issue to be aware of, but this is in no way a fault of the kit and I knew this could be an issue going in, is that the e-brake assembly on the caliper will likely not clear CV axle flanges. They wouldn't clear my Z31 CV axle flanges, and they wouldn't clear onetuffz's R230 CV axle flanges. In the end, I made a few small modifications (but took a long time to work out) to the calipers so that the e-brake assembly on the caliper would clear the CV flange, I could mount the calipers on the correct side of the car, and angle the e-brake assembly so that the cable wouldn't be pointing straight up at the frame rail. I also made up my own custom length cables so that I could route them such that they wouldn't rub on anything, and they engage with the e-brake arm like a Ford cable would. Once all that was complete, I was very happy with the results. The brakes performed very well on the track (I wouldn't even consider the smaller 240SX or Maxima calipers if you want rear disks for more than just looks), and the e-brake holds like a 20 ton anchor! Ideally, I think the caliper mounting brackets could be revised so that the calipers could be mounted on the correct side of the car and provide better cable routing, without having to modify the caliper. The CV axle clearance would still be an issue, but there are some simple parts that could be fabricated to deal with that too to make this a truly "bolt-on" kit. Nigel '73 240ZT

IIRC, they're M8 bolts. I'd guess that the length was 25 or 30mm. Doesn't hurt to go a bit longer. Nigel '73 240ZT

Unless he's using 3" intercooler pipes for his power steering line, I suspect your standard $15 tube flaring tool will do the job just fine. They'll typically flare lines up to 5/8"Myhttp://www.harborfreight.com/double-tube-flaring-tool-kit-66534.html link Nigel'73 240ZT

Thanks! Try e-mailing Les at z432@pacbell.net. That's the address he was replying to me from. Nigel

I've only had the car up to 90mph so far, but there were no signs of the vent distorting in any way. I would suspect that a fiberglass air dam or entire hood would see far greater aerodynamic forces and they seem to hold up fine. And this isn’t some flimsy, single layer of fiberglass piece. It’s very well made. But hopefully someone here who has had one of these on their Z for the past 35+ years can chime in on how well it’s held up. I hope to get the car on the track later in the summer and if it appears to be flexing at higher speeds, a couple of carbon fiber rods could be bonded on along the length of the vent for extra rigidity. Nigel

Looks like good results are not that easy to get... My linhttp://www.hotrodders.com/forum/alsa-killer-chrome-product-review-146018.htmlk Nigel '73 240ZT

I finished installing the hood this past weekend. The vent was a piece of cake to mount on the hood, but getting the hood on the car turned out to be an unexpected nightmare! I'll save that story for later though. I've painted the hood and vent satin black for now, because it was quick and easy to do, but I'll probably have them painted white to match the rest of the car when I have the whole car repainted next year. Nigel '73 240ZT

Exactly! A race track is like a giant laboratory. Every time you change spring rates, adjust camber, check tire temperatures, etc. you're experimenting and observing and gaining knowledge. As I said before, it's a simple fact of physics that you can't have a tire dedicate 100% of it's traction to acceleration and to cornering at the same time. It doesn't mean a FWD car CAN'T win in a race with a RWD car. It's just one factor among many others that has an influence on the outcome. And you don't win races by being ignorant of those factors. Experimenting, observing and gaining knowledge about them allows one to make intelligent decisions about their application or influence and consequently improve his or her chances of winning. Nigel

So what's the point of this thread then? Showing that a particular car won one race with a million different variables coming in to play proves nothing. "All else being equal" is not a BS argument, it's priciple of science that allows us to establish actual facts, and not just meaningless conjecture, which is what the internet is really full of. BTW, I've had FWD cars run circles around my Z at the track. How about we talk about live axle vs independent suspension instead? Or drum brakes vs disk brakes. Mid engine vs front engine... Nigel

Can you explain why FWD = Death? Also, racing rules frequently have little to do with what's "better". Why no AWD then? Nigel

As pointed out, trying to compare apples to apples among different race series is going to be exceedingly difficult dut to rule restrictions. But this applies even within a race series. Sure BTCC has FWD and RWD cars competing side by side, but typically, RWD cars are subject to a weight penalty, and AWD even more so. That alone points to the inherent advantage of RWD and AWD over FWD. It comes down to physics. Tires have a finite amount of grip, and you can either dedicate 100% it to accelleration or 100% to cornering. You have to compromise one or the other in a FWD car. Which is not to say that you can't have a fast FWD car, but all else being equal, a FWD car will be at a disadvantage. Just look at the driveline choices for supercars, where there are no rule restrictions. They are all either RWD or AWD. You'll never see a FWD Ferrari. Nigel

How do the weights compare? Nigel '73 240ZT

I think he needs someone to update his website for him. I paid $175 + shipping for mine.

No problem! I understand your enthusiasm. I felt the same way, and that's why I kept following up with Les until he had the part ready. Just be aware that he's apparently very busy, and it can take a while to get a reply back. Mind you, that may have been because he was still arranging production, and had nothing to report. Once he had a part available, the transaction occurred pretty quickly, and the part was well packaged. Nigel

He has his own website, which I posted earlier... Nigel

Les at Classic Datsun came through and has released a reproduction of the Competition Hood Vent. I'm not sure if I'm the first, but I just received one. The quality looks to be very good. There's a flange bonded to the bottom of the vent for mounting. There were no threaded inserts molded into the flange, so I used some 1/4-20 clip-on nuts that I found at Napa: Here you can see that the entire length of the engine can be opened up for venting: The vent matches the contours of the hood very well. Other than some scuffing and minor sanding for paint, no work needs to be done to make it fit. I wish I could say the same about the hood, but it was free. Mounting holes drilled: Hole cut in hood. Note, you can only cut back to about 6" from the rear of the hood before the hood frame gets in the way. Nigel

I'd be really shocked if there was no bearing at the front of the counter shaft. What does the inside of the truck bellhousing look like? Here's a picture of the inside of a long shaft box bellhousing: At the very least, I would expect a bushing in the truck bellhousing where the 62mm dia countershaft bearing would ordinarily go. If you were to try to swap the gearset from the long shaft to the short shaft, you would have to pretty much completely disassemble both transmissions. You can download a 240SX service manual for free from http://carfiche.com/manuals023/cars/, which have transmission rebuild instructions so you can get an idea of what's involved. Keep in mind that the 71C transmission continued to evolve even though the designation didn't change. The later model boxes have significantly wider gears than the earlier one for example. So there's no guarantee that a gearset from one would work on the other mainshaft from the other or from a long shaft to a short shaft box. You'll probably just have to try it and find out. On a side note, it's interesting how much bigger the 3/4 shift fork is in the SR box. To the best of my knowledge, the SR and KA 5 speeds have the same gearsets, but it looks like the SR is beefed up in some other ways. I wonder what else is different? Nigel '73 240ZT

I don't want to side track this thread too much, but I wouldn't say that what I described is 'different' than what the Lexus manual shows. The Lexus manual doesn't talk about what happens if brake pressure is held for an extraordinary amount of time, and as you indicate, is not the usual scenario. So I was theorizing that if brake pressure were held for a long time with the piston extended, the seal could slide back to the position it would normally be in as if the brake pedal were released. Consequently, when the brake pressure is released, the seal would no longer act as a spring to pull the piston back in. Regardless, your comparison to a a caliper with an integrated parking brake is a good one, and after finding what information I could (not much) about the internal workings of one, it would appear that my theory probably doesn't hold up. I can't find anything that would indicate that the piston gets pulled back in mechanically when the parking brake is released. It looks like the piston floats at the end of the screw. It's probably a faulty linelock like cygnusx1indicated. Nigel