lowrider

It was a pretty day out and figured id snap a few shots of the car with the backyard's view. Man, you cant beat the view of the country. Oh, and dont mind the date on the pictures the camera has never kept good time.

Is the car an early or late 260z?

I have no idea the brand, maybe someone can help me out here? But they are 15x7 with 225/60/15 tires.

Decisions, decisions! I shoot myself in the foot everyday. There was a complete turbo motor in the local pull-a-part that i should have grabbed! It is particularly difficult to find turbo motors around here. Did you ever get ahold of Rogger at the zbarn? goodluck on the swap since it seems that you have already made your mind up! I look forward to the project thread.

Well, ive had similar situations in my Z adventures. Its just some thing about 35 year old cars that give them personalitys. My Z has been a blessing and a burden. I was lucky enough to find a good start with the finding of my 260, no rust just needed some polishing. Well, throughout my upgradeing and restoring i held my head high and dove in with a smile. But it seems like here lately things have gone to hell in a hand basket. The motor started leaking oil, the transmission has went out and many other numerous things have led me on a wild goose chase while dissolving the money right out of my wallet. I have just walked away and let the project sit for the time being. School has me stretched beyond my means, changing the enjoyment of working on my Z into a frustration. But I have come to realize that i love that car! So as soon as time and money allows im diving back with a smile no matter what the damn thing throws at me.

Hey, i was nice to meet you man. Even if i really didnt get to see all the cars at the event. I look forward to when you move down here and get the car finished. We will have to cruze some time. It by far one of the nicest restos i've ever seen, I've seen a few even at 18. Take it easy, -Lowrider

The most cost effective way to to get both tires to spin is to weld up the spider gears. No sline speculation, and an lsd for next to nothing.

If it isnt one thing its another.... I tried backing the car up the driveway last week, with a violent slipping metallic sound coming from the rear of the car that took me no where. So i figure the diff is dead. Tore the car appart to take the diff out. Removed the rear cover and everything looked mint. I guess the transmission is the culprit... while the diff was out it got a nice cleaning and paint job : After the garage gets cleaned out, the motor and tranny are coming out...stayed tuned

Bad news.... drove the car to school today(about 60 miles round trip). Ran good, strong, although it is running a little rich. Got home and parked the car in the driveway. Came back out and moved the car and there was a small puddle of oil underneath. I lifted the car up only to find that my real main seal has a leak... So the car is down for now, it just had to happen when the first warm days of the spring came... First idea was this is a perfect time to swap the slush box for a 5speed, but unfortunately i have no money to buy all the parts neccassary, Damn. When i tear the thing apart to replace the seal, ill take plenty of pics for all. lol

better interior shot: The next thing i did was adjust the valves. Found a not so pleasent supprise. The oil spray bar for valves 11&12 was bent... took it out and found some shoddy mechanic work. instead of straightening the piece out they decided to cut half of another gasket and silicone it together. I straightened the piece out. I mean really how hard can it be do do stuff the right way? As i said i had problems with the 15" bumpsteer spacer causeing my wheel to hit my tie rod end. I sent the 15" back in favor for the 14" version. Tried installing the 14" spacer to no avail, still hits the tie rod end. So off come the spacers... if you need LBNIB 14" bumpsteer spacers i have some for sale. So after alot of frustration i took the car to the allignment shop to get it alligned after the drop. After adjusting my toe the guy says "your camber is too much". Sigh surely someone can chime in and pm me, does lowering springs like the Tokico and Eibach springs lower the car enough that it will wear the tires badly? Im in college at the moment and can barely afford gas to get back and forth, i cant afford 4 new tires. more to come as money and time allows.....

Thank you! I just might, didnt even know that they had a get together. Although i might not fit in too well with my little ole datsun and all those nice cars.

Maybe when its a little nicer out. Its freezing out so the Z is put up for now. I was thinking that i would have to use spacers to straighten the gap out. I guess ill see the next nice day we have.

Thanks for the advice. I got the nose of the hood down, but i still have to work the gaps a little bit.

imo, Eibachs put the car just right. The front isnt high, atleast not on my car.

Im not sure about your problem pertaining to a turbo Z, but i had a similar problem with my S10 truck. It would wind up to 4000, then fall on its face. If i let off it would surge and act like it wanted to go. It turned out to be the fuel pump. It was providing the fuel pressure but not the volume needed when i would step on it. It may not be the problem but just thought i would put that out there.

Thanks for the advice, i guess ill put that next on my list.

Got the car on the ground and boy did it sit good!!!! Then the maiden voyage. Took it to a local dam, called Norris dam. boy it looks GOOOD!!! lol, you can see dad in the car. Not much has changed since then. just working the bugs out. Found out that the 15" bumpsteer spacer didnt fit, so waiting for a 14". both my rides together more to come as the project developes...

Some time inbetween, i buttoned up the carbs and engine bay, and was finaly ready to go after a radiator. The next thing to be changed was the front "lip". The lip that was on the car just screwed to the top of the stock valence. It just didnt flow very well. It just so happened i had a perfectly good Xenon airdam that was on the wrecked 260(see a pattern here?) that would look perfect. Mock up of the airdam (hense the silver lol) : I took it off and primed it black so it wouldnt stick out like a sore thumb. I drove the car with the new airdam for a week. Christmas had just passed so i had some money from that. So i ordered a set of eibach springs, some u-joints for my driveshaft and half shafts, some urathane bumpstops, bumpsteer spacers, and some urathane control arm bushings front and rear. Before i wrecked the other 260, i had just replaced the worn out shocks with some tokico HP's. I robbed them from the other car to save a little bank. lol the new goodies I dont have any pics of working on the front but i do have pics of the rear ripped out. lol whats not right here?

The first thing i did when i got the new car home was swap the wheels and tires for the ones on the wrecked 260. Then i cleaned up the interior: before after a night and day transformation! The interior was near perfect too! The next thing on the list was to get rid of the crazy Holley 4 barrel intake. I went ahead and gave a call to Rogger at the zbarn. Made a trip to Maryville, tn to pick up a set of round top SU carburators for the car. After i went through the carbs and rebuilt them, i put them back on the car. The car came right to life! I did all of the pittly stuff like changing the oil and checking over and bleeding the brakes. drove the car for the next couple days, oh and it drove good, for the exception of the dead struts.

Let me start off by thanking Hybridz, if it werent for this forum i would be unknowlegeable and bored. This is my second 260Z, the first fell victom to a tree during a moment of stupidity. Well i wrecked the first car january of 08, after which it sat behind the garage with a tarp over top of it. before the tree... And after the tree... Well, some time passed and i started my first year of college. One day my dad calls me up and says he found another 260Z in the paper, and that i should give the woman a call. I call the woman and ask the most important question, how much rust... she says there isnt any. Turns out she bought the car brand new in 73. She drove it till the 80's then only drove it on occasion. Then parked the car for good in 1990. I went up there the next day to look at the car. I couldnt believe my eyes its the most rust free "Z" i had ever seen. Payed a down payment and came back the next weekend to have it hauled home. The car when i found it in the garage... more to come....

With all of these nice and pretty engine bays, im kinda afraid to post my kinda messy/stock engine bay. Well anyway ill give it a shot. Stock l26, with 240z round tops...

Although its not the best looking, or best performing its mine! Here is my early 74 260z.

There is a diagram in the haynes manuel that gives the dimensions of the wedge. If i was at home i would scan it, but unfortunately im at school.

I also have a similar problem. The steering wheel is the only thing that shimmys, and i dont feel it in the suspension. I bought a set of bump steer spacers, hopefuly those and an alignment will do wonders.

Like Jimbo said, you will have to remove the sway bar end link, unbolt the half shaft, and disconnect your brake lines to swing the top of the strut out of the fenderwell. After that its pretty straight forward.