240zip

I think the brake fluid upgrade is my first step. Does anyone make an upgraded rear drum brake shoe upgrade. You mentioned sending them off to be 're-shoed'. I'll look into that. Since my car is not 100% track dedicated, I don't want to chew up my rotors with overly aggressive pads. What about cryo treatment of rotors? Any thoughts there? I know my friends who race Porsche seems to like that approach. I also suspect they use 'unicorn tears' in lieu of brake fluid.

Having spent a few days at the track (Colorado HPR) I can say the biggest issue with track driving is heat build-up. This is especially true if you run two classes (we have four) back-to-back. I run the 4x4 upgrade with cross drilled rotors in front and stock drums in back with a 280ZX master. We've also run autocross at Goodguys and were competitive (3 place overall). After two back-to-back sessions the brakes started to get spongy. I tended to end the second session a few laps early. I'm going to use a performance brake fluid next time and I'm considering upgraded pads for the drums and front. We used the stock Toyota pads that came with the kit and are investigating better track alternatives.

Decent used E31 head from a 1970 240Z would be $110. As with anything that has sat around for a long time, it will likely need refreshing. Cost to ship to your zip from my location would be about $40. So $150 for the E31 head shipped via UPS including insurance If interested, I'd be happy to take pictures and post them for you to review.

I like what you did with the OPM Class. I assume $500 USD was for one (1) seat and not a pair.

once you're further down the road (e.g. engine rebuilt, parts assembled) I'm sure you can revisit this topic. It took me nearly 2 years between having an engine and the 42DCOE's and completion. The direction you're going sounds fine.

fuel economy ... sorry, had to laugh. On my 42 DCOEs I'm lucky if I get 14 MPG, and we haven't even gotten into the whole discussion of what you did to the motor prior to going the triple route. If you've gone with the upgraded cam, head work, headers, high compression ... then yes ... triples. This was before the mechanical advance ... see the little vacuum advance in the picture. Works much better now.

At a minimum, use a mechanical advance, I use an MSD. There's not enough vacuum on the triples to properly make a vacuum advance work. With the MSD you can change the advance curve. I have a Sun 504 distributor tester and it allowed me to test and set a custom curve. At bit of an overkill, but I had one in the shop so figured why not. I'm running the MSD with 6AL. Works well. I tried a vacuum collector and few other means of trying to get more vacuum, it just had this terrible early RPM bog. When I went with the MSD mechanical advance it cleared up. Much more lower-end response. This has been discussed before.

I came across a really beefy engine stand for the L6 engine that mounts to the side of the engine. It uses the alternator and engine bolt locations. I think about 6 bolt locations in total. I find it very nice for access to the front and rear and the middle mount position makes the whole assembly feel more balanced. I've only seen one of these in person and that was at Fortunate Auto in Lakewood Denver. I picked up from the former owner of that shop (Bob Bush) this weekend. I've seen examples of side-mount plates in the FSM. Do other people have these side mount stands? Anything to be concerned about when using them?

best looking Japanese sports car that a tall person (6' 3") can fit in ... not to mention it's fun to beat the muscle cars on the curves.

Let me clarify. I've seen racing 240Zs with triples and the 2 or 3 I saw used distribution blocks. Jeff Winters in Denver told me my sequential set-up was likely fine for my HPR lapping days, but recommended I use the distribution block if I elected to do 'serious racing' with my car. I have an aluminum distribution block, but honestly thought the multitude of hoses made the engine bay look worse - thus my decision was largely cosmetic. The sequential set-up 'looked better'.

that's a nice looking set-up ... seems a bit pricey for what you're getting. It's also a linear feed design which frankly is less-than-ideal. Most racing set-ups use a distribution block and then feed the carbs individually.

$245 for the hoses? I've paid less for a complete set of used 40DCOEs. If you do manage to put it all together, send us a picture.

I'm interested in knowing if the RB flywheel will work in a 280ZXT (e.g. 240mm)? The RB flywheel is 240mm and has six holes. It sure 'looks' like it would work.

You can feed the Webers sequentially or from a fuel distribution block. I did mine sequentially, but under race conditions there can be fuel starvation to the outer Weber.

I love the HKS set-up. I'd love to see what it looks like in the engine compartment and of course a nice video of the thing running. Nice thread. What EMS is used with vintage ITBs? I know that today, you could use MegaSquirt for your EMS, but given TonyD's comment on ITBs being older than I would know ... what EMS was used on early ITBs?

I'm impressed with the whole 3.1ET set-up but don't get all the additional 'investment' without having this running. I'd really like to see some dyno pulls.

I could simply get the fiberlgass BRE non-duct'ed one and perhaps do a little body work on it to round it out. I talked with a shop in the UK that has them ... cost is around 200 pounds shipped to the US which is a bit steep for such a thing. I saw MSA now has the 432-style JDM rear spoiler ... you'd think they'd add the 432 front spoiler to get a matching set.

Does anyone make a reproduction of the UK / Euro and JDM front bib spoilers? http://jdm-car-parts.com/item-for-sale/datsun-240z-ukeuro-genuine-front-bib-spoiler-used-rare/ I know you can get the BRE (with and w/o ducts) all day. I'm more interested in the euro-looking one above.

meant to say 'reading' not 'ready'

Tony, I was ready my older (last years) issues of Japan Nostalgic Car and saw some pictures of TAS. Very cool. I also was looking at the prices of car like 240ZGs. Personally, I think they're reasonable - especially if you take into consideration what a GNose would cost here.

the time to completion of a 240Z restoration is a constant ...

Does anyone have a source for the vintage style JDM seats (low back) that you see in many early 70s JDM cars?

You know you own a DATSUN when you own three other newer cars, but you leave your newer cars in the driveway and then take up two garage spaces to house your 'baby'. You know you own a DATSUN when you have more pictures of your car on your iPhone than your kids. You know you own a DATSUN when you know the exact manufacture date of your car but you keep forgetting your anniversary. You know you own a DATSUN when you have enough spare parts to open an AutoZone but you'll still rush off to a boneyard to pick-up more.

I hope Kali and Tony take some pictures

it's not easy being green ... good job on the paint.