Miles

Yes do mount the MSA bracket to the trans before jacking it up into the tunnel. This has to be done after the engine has been lowered into the car because the MSA trans bracket will hang up on the fire wall going in. We lowered the engine into the car and bolted the MSA engine mounts into place leaving all of the bolts lose. So the now the engine is supported by the engine mounts and the engine hoist with the trans tailstock at a slight down angle to allow room to bolt the MSA trans bracket to the trans mount. Next jack the trans up into the tunnel until you reach the desired angle as measured at the end of the trans output shaft. The engine and trans have to be tilted a lot going in and under the fire wall. Invest in a Tansdapt leveler as mentioned on page 8-1 of the JTR manual. They cost around $50-$60. If you can mark the MSA bracket holes with some white paint you might be able to then lower the trans out of the way and drill the bolt holes using an angle drill. I tried this, but was not satisfied with the accuracy of my marking the holes and then I couldn't get a drill up in the tunnel. Try calling the MSA tech line. When I called I was told that the installation was covered in the instructions. I told the MSA tech that the instructions were unreadable and to send me a readable copy. I was told that those were the only instructions they send out. Actually, installing the engine and trans was one of the easiest parts of the conversion once we had a plan of attack worked out. We were expecting it to be a major hassel, but it only took about 30 minutes. If I had another Z to convert I would use the MSA mounts again. Changing the springs and shocks was the most problematic chore. Not only were the shocks rusted inside of the strut tubes, but the previous owner had replaced the left rear strut with one off of a 280Z(?) which was just a bit longer then the 240Z. Miles

Remember that once you set the driveline and differential angles with a floor jack the trans and the bracket are now buried up inside of the transmission tunnel. Unless you have very small hands there is little room to move any kind of tool around between the transmission and the bracket. I got the idea from another Hybrid member back in September of 2001. I know this sounds flaky, but it works. Just use a very small drill bit.

Don't forget to indent the floor pan where the clutch throwout arm will be located after the trans and engine are in. If you don't there will not be enough room for the throwout arm to move. Installation: The bolt that goes up inside of the MSA motor mount to attach to the chevy motor mount is hard to get to and align. When we did the install I left the motor mounts loose so we could move the engine around to help align the engine and transmission mounting bolts. That single bolt is hard to tighten with a wrench due to the small inside dimensions of the MSA motor mount. The trans mount took us 30 minutes, but sounds complicated: Before you align the trans and differential bolt the MSA trans mount to the transmission so when you jack the transmission up into the tunnel the mount it will be in place and ready to start the drilling/bolt-in process. Do the drive line phasing at this time before any hole are drilled. Bolting the trans mount to the tunnel requires two people. Before you start to drill mounting holes in the tunnel recheck the the drive line and differntial angles to make sure that the jack has not drifted or been moved. To locate the bolt holes after you have the driveline aligned use a small drill bit and drill through the tunnel from inside of the car where you perceive the bracket bolt hole to be. My son was better at locating the bolt holes so I watched through the shifter hole to identify when the small bit came through the MSA bracket bolt hole while he drilled the small holes. He got the drill lined up on the first or second try. Then change bits and drill the small hole to bolt size. Once you get the first hole drilled to bolt size push a MSA supplied mounting bolt through the hole you drilled. Use large fender washers on each bolt. Have a helper go under the car put a lock washer and nut on a bolt that you have pushed through the tunnel sheetmetal and the MSA trans mounting bracket. After the first bolt is in you won't have to worry about the trans drifting out of alignment. There is not enough room between the transmission and the tunnel to wrench the nut tight so I tightened the bolt from top side while my son held the nut with a wrench. Once the transmision is bolted in go back and tighten the engine mounts. Also, after a driving few miles recheck the single engine mount bolt that goes through the MSA mount into the chevy mount. We found that it had worked lose after about 2 years on the road. The MSA motor mount is made from rectangular tube stock.

I used the MSA mounts for my son's 72 240Z conversion. You can see pictures of the mounts on my son's web site below. They were easy to install. Drive line phasing was a matter of jacking the trans up/down until I got the desired angle. Then I bolted the trans mount in place being careful not to move the jack. The good thing about the MSA trans mount is that you can move it up and down in the tunnel several inches allowing a lot of freedom in getting the transmision output shaft at the correct angle. This is an important step so get an angle finder and take your time. We installed a WC T5 trans and bell housing. The shifter comes up in the stock shifter hole. The T5 BH tilts the trans to the left so you will have to trim the left side of the shifter hole a little. We used a B&M shifter that has the correct angle offset to correct for the transmission tilt so that the shifter is vertical. The MSA directions were worthless crappy copies. Email or PM me and I can walk you through the finer points of the installation such as bolting in the trans mount. Note that the engine mount with the pad welded on top goes on the driver's side to provide steering shaft clearance. Also, the MSA trans mount was designed for a 700R4 trans, but it works with the WC TM too. Miles

Not stuck on a brand. I'll give John a call Monday to further my research. Cibies are reported to have the best beam pattern, but they are expensive. The only difference I have found between the Hella 70476 and the 70477 DOT "Vision Plus" is that the 70476 may be for off road only. According to one reviewer, the 70477 beam pattern isn't much better then a sealed beam. Thanks Miles

I have reseached the Hella 70476 and 70477 part numbers and can't find what the difference is. Autozone sells the Hella 7 " lamp as 70477 for $48.99 each and Kragen sells a Hella 7" lamp as 70476 for $59.99 each. As far as bulbs go the Narva XB3 and the H4 Xenon appear to offer bright white light.

Which is the correct Hella headlight part number for a 240Z: 70476 or 70477? Also, which 65w/55w bulb gives the brightest white light? Thanks Miles

Robin What kind of problems are you having? I ended up buying a max vac from Autozone for my 72 240Z. I checked to see if there was a reaction disk in the new max vac. There wasn't. But the place were the reaction disk sits was also redesigned and different then my stock unit. Evidently the reaction disk was designed out of the replacement. Which was good news since I was always a bit afraid to adjust the push rod that engages the MC fearing that I might drop the reaction disk. With a stock MC my brakes improved somewhat, but they were still not firm. I suspected that my MC might be leaking internally so I replaced the stock MC with the larger bore MC from a 79 280ZX. The 280ZX MC was also cheaper. I carefully bench bled the new MC by hooking old rear brake bridge tubes with clear plastic tubes pushed onto them from the outlets on the bottom of the MC. I connected clear plastic tubes from the bleed screws and then bent all four plastic tubes so they returned fluid back into the proper reservoirs. The plastic tubes were held in the reservoirs with clothes pins. You can just take one old rear bridge tube and cut it in half and then fit 1/4 in. clear plastic tubing over the cut ends. Make sure there are no leaks in your connections. I took my time and pushed in the MC piston slowly watching the bubbles get smaller in the clear plastic tubing as I continued pushing the piston in. I had to close the bleeder screws after each pump at first because bubbles would get sucked back into the plastic tubes initially. I let the MC sit for about ten minutes and then pumped more very fine bubbles into the reservoirs. When I was ready to onstall the MC in the car I closed the bleeder screws and plugged the outlets with rubber stoppers I bought for that purpose from the hardware store. I left the stoppers in until I was absolutely ready to hook up the hard pipes so as to minimize fluid leaking out of the MC. I then bled the brakes using a power bleeder ( messy, but effective). The brakes were firm, but there was still too much pedal travel so I pulled the MC loose from the max vac while leaving the brake lines attached. (Just push the MC and the connected lines away from the max vac.) Then I adjusted the push rod out and tested the pedal feel while driving and then repeated the push rod adjustment 2 or 3 more times. Be careful not to adjust the rod out too far as it can cause the brakes to lock up. With the the new max vac, new large bore 79 280 Zx MC, proper bleeding and push rod adjustment I now have very firm brakes. They are not great, but better then my old stock brakes. One factor in going to the larger bore MC is that I plan on installing large vented rotors and Toyota calipers soon. The larger MC did improve my brakes and gives a firmer pedal then my stock MC. With the larger bore MC you do have to apply a little more pedal pressure due to the change in bore size. Miles

Don't want progressive springs. However both dealers sell the Tokico blues for around $62.00 which is better then MSA or VB. Thanks for the heads up on the progressive spring info. Miles

While searching the web for a good price on Tokico Performance struts for my 240Z I came across two dealers that sell Tokico suspension kits. Each kit includes a set of Tokico Performance struts and a set of Tokico springs. I emailed each dealer and asked them to confirm the type of struts included and the spring rates. If they are the same springs that MSA sells then they should be 140#/in. front and 165#/in. rear. Here are the dealers and the prices for the kits: Direct Source Outlet located in San Diego, CA. 1-800-877-1911 HPK251 kit with non-adjustable struts: $380.97 ILK252 kit with adjustable Illumina struts: $591.97 Link: http://www.ajusa.com/cgi-bin/tokico/products?ajr_skey=f46b4ed5b716e6cc2ffdabbc02b1cff0 Spliting Imagez located in Irwindale, Ca. 1-866-358-8799 HPK251 kit with non-adjustable struts: $363.38 ILK252 kit with adjustable Illumina struts: $541.78 Link: http://www.splittingimagez.com/contact.htm Has anyone bought this kit or done business with these dealers? Miles

I ended up going with Eagle 28 series 15 x 7 wheels and 205-50R-15 Toyo Proxes 4 tires. The Eagle wheels were $89.00 each from Summit Racing and the Toyo tires were $80.00 each from Les Schwab. The wheels look good on the car and there is a very noticable improvement in handling. Miles

Just use a pipe wrench. Be sure to hand thread the gland nut as far as you can as it is easy to cross thread. Use the search button as there has been a lot written about the gland removal. I did research on the special gland wrench and it cost over $100.00. If you find one cheap please post the info here. Miles

I found this at another Z site: This is easy. The only special tool you MUST have is spring compressors. These aren't expensive, and are also available for rent from some parts stores. Once properly equipped, all you have to do is: 1. Jack the car up, secure it on jack stands, and remove the tires. 2. Open the hood and hatch, and remove the plastic plugs/covers. 3. Loosen the nut that lives under there, but DO NOT remove it entirely. 4. Disconnect the end links for your sway bars. 5. Disconnect the brake lines, front and rear. 6. Remove the two large bolts the hold the front strut assembly to the steering knuckle. 7. Remove the three nuts holding the strut insulator to the body under the hood. 8. You may need to disconnect the TC rods where they bolt on to the front control arm. 9. Take the front strut assembly out of the car. 10. Remove the nuts from the four bolts that hold the halfshaft to the wheel axle. 11. Disconnect the halfshaft from the axle. 12. Remove the three nuts holding the strut insulator to the body. 13 Lower the strut assembly downward until the studs clear the bodywork, the pivot it outward until it clears the fender. Careful, don't scratch the wheel arch! 14. Place the spring compressors in to the spring, and, believe it or not, compress the spring. 15. Remove the nuts loosened in step 3. 16. Remove the upper spring seats and springs. 17. With whatever burly tool you can get, loosen the large nuts that hold the strut cartridge in the strut housing. 18. Remove the strut cartridges, and toss 'em out! 19. There should be oil in the strut housings, but if not, add some oil.Aim for an ounce or two. This helps radiate heat from the cartridge. 20. Put the new strut in, and retighten the nuts. Make sure they're tight - if they get loose the struts will rattle around. 21. Compress the new springs, and place them on the strut assembly. 22. Put the upper spring seats back on, and tighen the retaining nuts. 23 CAREFULLY loosen the spring compressors. 24. Once everything looks seated well, put the rest of it back together - remember to bleed the brakes thoroughly. Leaving the rear strut assembly in the car would save some time and there appears to be room to pull the rear assembly out and away from the fender and then install a spring compressor. Miles

I think I'll just pull the assemblies off and use a spring compressor. Short cuts don't always save any time and can lead to problems. Thanks Miles

I changed out the springs and shocks on my son's 240Z 2 years ago by removing the entire strut assembly and then using a spring compressor changed out the springs and shocks. It took about 4 hours. I recall reading on another Z website that there is a way to remove the bolt on the top of the shock and then jack the car up which allows the spring to expand and then, without removing the whole strut from the car, push the strut down and pull it out of the wheel well far enough to then remove the spring and shock out of the strut assembly. A freind told me that he changed the shocks on his Z with this procedure and it only took about 20 minutes per corner. Anyone here tried this procedure? Thanks Miles

Greg I have the exact same question as I am installing a new headlight relay harness. Miles

Greg I have the exact same question as I am installing a new headlight relay harness. Miles

I looked at the wheels deals. The bolt pattern is correct, but the offset is 42 mm. Would that offset be a problem? Thanks Miles

Anyone here have any experience with the Eagle 028 wheel? I am also looking at Centerline Autodrag, Star, ET and Telstar model wheels, but they evidently have to be custom made as I can find no shop that sells them with the correct bolt pattern, offset etc for my 72 240Z. The Eagle 028 comes off the shelf 15 x 7, 4 x 4.5 bolt circle and 4 in. back spacing which should fit with no problems. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks Miles

Don't waste your time or money on a rebuilt MC. Every rebuilt MC I ever bought failed. Buy a new OEM MC from Motor Sports Auto or Victoria British or from your local Nissan dealer. Miles

Go to the site below and you can see a picture of a T5 bell housing. In my JTR book the picture is the same as the bell housing on the left on page 5-7 of JTR. When I did my conversion I bought the bell housing, T5 and driveshaft all from the same car. After installation, the trans mount was level and the shifter was angled, but the BM shifter for a T5 corrected the angle so the shifter was in a normal position. http://www.fbodymotorsports.com/inc/pdetail?v=1&pid=8098 Miles

Brian I used a stock clutch kit from Carquest p/n NCL-K1675-21 for an 89 Camero T5 @ $150.00. It has been 3 years since I did this project, but I recall that I had to have my old flywheel resurfaced for a larger clutch face. So it must have been an 11 inch clutch. You could check the Carquest p/n for clutch size. Miles

The pictures in my JTR book seem to be reversed too. I used the Camero angled bell housing with a 89 Camero T5. You can buy a clutch slave from Napa p/n 37821. I used a clutch MC from a Ford F150 Napa p/n 39560. The Ford MC and the Camero slave both use roll pin connectors allowing me to use a ford F150 clutch hydraulic hose. The Ford MC requires redrilling two of the mounting holes in the fire wall. Using the Camero bell housing keeps the transmission mount vertical. If you use a different bell housing the transmission mount will be at an angle which will require an angled mounting bracket. With the Camero bell housing the shifter will be angled towards the driver. Using a BM shifter for a Camero trans angles the shifter straight up. I used the Motor Sports Auto (MSA)engine and trans installation kit to mount everything. The trans mount was designed for a 700r4 auto trans, but the auto and T5 mounts must be identical because the MSA mount fit the T5 perfectly. You can see pictures of the installation at my son's picture site below. If I build another V8 Z I would use the Tilton 15/16 clutch MC and try to find a shop that could make up a -3 SS line with roll pin connectors to avoid re-tapping the Camero clutch slave as shown in the JTR book. http://www.netsnapshot.com/pcw/b?KEY=0&ACCOUNT=4581 Miles

Pop N Wood I installed a 79 280ZX 15/16 MC on my stock 72 240Z this morning. The brakes are firm and there is much less pedal travel. The hard pipe connections to the MC were all in the normal 240Z stock positions so no changes were required. I may tweak the booster push rod out a little to give it a higher pedal, for now the brakes work well. Thanks for your help Miles

Pop N Wood What is the pedal feel like and how is the performance affected using the larger bore MC (280ZX I presume) on stock 240Z brakes? I plan on replacing my worn stock 240z MC with a 79 280ZX MC in preparation for the Toyota upgrade. Miles