240zip

anyone?

Just a word of caution on 'mirror black'. Most people go with a semi-gloss black ... it's called satin or semi-gloss or 80% gloss. Chassis parts have tons of imperfections and a gloss finish tends to highlight them. Also ... it's going to get dirty. The semi-gloss just seems to hold up better to the grime. I think an interesting departure from black would be a gun metal semi-gloss.

I found this gallery of powdercoated parts. Gives you some color ideas. http://keystonepowdercoating.com/gallery.htm Also, most professional places have no issue with springs. So I'd say go ahead and make them look nice. It would honestly be 'fun' to go with something other than black, but that would necessitate a third Z car ....

I was wondering if I should upgrade my chip on my SDS EM-4F to enable data logging. Is anyone else using this feature? Cost for the chip including shipping is about $120 or so.

On the flat vs dished issue. You said a 'real' modern EFI. Does the SDS EM-4F with the crank triggered ignition qualify? I'm going to guess a higher (like 9:1 CR) would change the power curve such that you'd get higher HP at lower RPMs but limit yourself (with respect to HP) at higher RPMs.

I have no idea how such a law could be enforced. Do they expect you to hand over a dyno sheet when you rebuild a non original motor? Does this law apply to the block (displacement) only or does swapping the head constitute a non-OEM motor? The E88 and E31 heads are not ones I'd use for a turbo set-up. You can go with a turbo head, dished pistons, and then add a turbo, but it's not going to be as strong as turbo block which has difference beyond mere displacement.

It's going to be heated to over 450F, so any parts that have rubber / plastic and those parts with u-joints and all. I wouldn't do the springs because the heat cycle may mess up the spring rates. I've been told galvanized parts may out-gas during the powdercoating process and thus can cause bubbles.

If you're going for a pure track/race car then paint the chassis white and paint the suspension pieces black. If you're going for a street car, then I think powdercoating is appropriate. I've done two and swear by the powdercoating approach. Check around for prices. I got an entire suspension (really more like 1.5) for under $200 including sand blasting. I went with a satin black. It's common for some shops to do poor masking jobs and they'll sometimes powdercoat various holes. Doing the blasting of the pieces yourself allows you to work with them in masking. I did this one some critical pieces (like the struts). The bigger industrial shops are the cheapest, but will sometimes have limited patience for the one-off restoration job. If you go with a common color, like satin black, they'll sometimes waive the set-up fee because they'll add you to an existing job. That's what mine did. If you're in Denver, it's called Roadrunner Fabrication. Here are two more shots of one of my powdercoated suspensions. There are some pieces, like the steering rod and rack that you can't or shouldn't powdercoat. For those I used the Eastwood chassis black paint. I have a bead blasting cabinet and use that to prep all metal pieces prior to painting.

currently at $50K ...

Lug Nuts I got off ebay. I wanted to go away from chrome so I bought gun metal ones. what brand? M12x1.25, but couldn't find them on eBay.

It looks like we selected the same color ... Yellow 240Z I wish I had the equivalent of your Mikuni Jet kit for my Webers.

I got the 240Z radiator from Wizard Cooling (there was a link earlier). When I got the product a few years back there weren't that many alternatives *like the sub $200 ones on eBay*. The quality of the radiator from Wizard is good and unlike generic radiators, the tubes to connect up to my OEM radiator hoses were spot on. Also, it didn't hang low like a 280Z radiator. They'll also make a custom fan shroud for a reasonable price. Here's the radiator installed on my 240Z We've had no cooling issues, but it hasn't been all that warm since we've been testing the car.

I'm doing a turbo build for my 240Z. I see they offer a sump option and I'm sure they could add baffles to the tank. I checked the cost of taking a stock tank, completely refurbishing the tank, adding baffles, and then adding a sump and it was about $450 - so the cost of your custom fabricated tank seems reasonable in comparison. I was considering a fuel cell but most set-ups required filling the tank with the back hatch open. The TIG welds are very nice.

Konig Rewinds 15x7, not sure of the offset.

John Coffey has a write-up on this. I'll look for it. Anyway, I had 240Z HD springs from AZ Z Car and he ran out of the rear ones, so I got the 280Z ones which we know are 1/2 or so too high, so I followed John's advice, cut off 1/2 a coil and it worked. The key was I wanted linear rate springs and I wanted stock 240Z ride height because I'd done the progressive lowering springs before and the ride was just too harsh for a street car (at least for me).

I wonder if our mufflers are the same. We tried it that way and it just didn't work. The muffler was too big. The one thing I wish I had done different is the headers. I wish I had purchased a Stahl or a JDM stainless header (one passed me on eBay a long time ago). Because we used a solid copper gasket, we actually had to machine the header flange. The MSA one is very high quality, but to work with a copper gasket and not one that just crushes it had to be perfect, so we put it on a Bridgeport and milled it a tad.

Tony, the pictured one is likely a knock-off of Tomei or Kameari. I pulled that picture from their eBay listing. I have no idea what 'Sideway original' means. Made in Japan: Sideway original light weight billet flywheel FOR A NISSAN/DATSUN 240Z, 280Z. Engine type: L20, L24, L28 weight: 4.2kg Those parts are racing or track use only. professional installation is highly recommended. have you heard of this 'Sideway' company? On mine ... likely heavier than it could have been, but it's around 16lbs. I weighed it on my bathroom scale once, but I'd have to dig out that number. Not exactly accurate. Works fine in my car. Given my 'granny shifts' it's likely appropriate for me. I noticed no issues with shifting. I do notice it rev's easier, but the car has had so many modifications, it's hard to attribute the free revving to just the flywheel ... likely a combination of things.

I'd like to buy a set of knobs for the 240Z AM/FM radio. I have the radio and faceplate - just need a set of knobs if anyone has a set lying around.

I took the Tokico HD springs and cut 1/2 a loop to drop it to stock ride height.

In Europe, you can get better gas than we can in the US, thus I'd opt for a higher compression engine. You can get over 230 RWHP from a properly built 2.4L engine, but it will cost you in the area of $5,000 USD. Going with the L28 will give you a little more HP and some more torque. People state the 2.4L engine revs more freely. I've not seen hard figures on this. It's mostly word of mouth. I did a 2.8L build with an E31 head, flat top pistons, a 270 duration / .450 lift cam. CR came to about 10.3:1. We did some head work, added MSA headers, free flow exhaust, and a Weber 42DCOE-8 triple set-up. We're running a MSD 6A and Pertronix. A stock 2.8L would get you a nice engine. It really depends on what you want and what you're willing to pay. The price you stated for a rebuilt 2.8L is reasonable. You car (if it's the one pictured) is stunning. You're doing it right. Personally, I'd go with a 2.8L over a 2.6L. You can set-up the 2.8L with SUs or perhaps go with something more exotic like ITBs. Personally, I wouldn't try and fit the stock FI into your car. Webers are nice. I'm biased, I love the sound, the power at higher RPM, and the look. Perhaps the best way to go would be to get the 2.8L, add SUs, headers, and a nice exhaust. You could upgrade the head at a later date or perhaps swap it out for an E31 or any number of other options.

I actually purchased two complete rockers (price was about the same as the patch pieces). We drilled out the spot welds, removed a significant amount of 'bad' metal. welded in good metal, replaced the rockers, spot weld, seam weld, then seam sealer, blended in the piece by grinding, sanding, primer, then paint. We tried to do spot welds where they were there before as best we could to keep it looking stock. When doing the repair we tried to basically disassemble the car and then fix with new metal. It's actually interested how the car comes apart. Of course the rust will cause some pieces to seize, then you have to take an air chisel and pry it off.

I swear that my muffler had the tip in the middle. I'll need to look at the car again and check. If not, it's a simple thing to change.

seems we made similar design choices ... good work. I got a bead blasting cabinet from HF and glass bead much of my pieces prior to powdercoating. I also use a tumbler to polish pieces like bolts prior to sending a batch off to be plated.

Not sure if people want more detailed pictures of the exhaust work. This shows the flex coupling and the TIG work on the MSA pieces We TIG'ed the chrome tip to the exhaust muffler We took the collector and then added the flange Shows some TIG work and the coated headers from MSA I know the MSA 'kit' comes with some nice clamps, but I wanted it TIG welded and as I said, my fabricator does nice work with the TIG unit.

There's this one on ebay that weighs just under 10 lbs Cost is about $379 because of shipping from Japan. Looks cool. Interesting when you compare it to mine above. Not much metal left on the one from Japan.