Miles

Just finished installing Arizona Z springs 180 lb/in front and 225 lb/in rear with Tokico performance shocks. Made a major improvement in both ride and handling. However, the car has always had a slight lean to the right. The new springs and shocks improved the lean, but watching the car go down the road from the rear I still see the car leaning to the right. The car also pulls slightly to the right if you let go of the steering wheel. Is it time to visit the frame shop? Thanks Miles

Dan I am running OEM Nissan shoes now with KVR pads up front. The left rear started locking up so I pulled the drums and discovered a small amount of grease from the backing plate got onto the right set of shoes. I sanded both left and right shoes and there is no sign of grease. I readjusted the rears and got even braking for awhile, but now the left rear is starting to lock before the right side again. I am thinking that I may just replace the shoes, but wanted to know if there is a better performing shoe for street use available. Most people have suggested just staying with the OEM shoes. Also, how important is bench bleeding the master cylinder? After installing a new MC the pedal travels a bit far before it firms up. Does bench bleeding the MC make much difference in pedal firmness? Thanks Miles

Perry I'll check out Napa. Thanks Miles

After many frustrating hours spent on my stock 72 240Z brakes I am going to the Toyota 4x4 conversion with the big ventilated rotors. I think SCCA sells the kit I want. Which year 280 Z or ZX 15/16 master cylinder bolts in with minimum modification to the brake pipes? Thanks Miles

Jaime I am having the exact same problem with my 72 Z driver's side door. I traced the problem to a spring shaped like a safety pin located in the lock plunger mechanism. The choices I have looked at are removing the door mechanism and finding a spring that will work like the original spring or buy a whole new door mechanism. The spring provides tension to keep the plunger in the up or down position. With the spring missing there is nothing to keep the plunger up and when you slam the door the plunger will (usually) drop into the locked position. Take the door panel off the side that still works and examine the plunger mechanism with a flashlight. Move the plunger up and down and you will see the spring moving. If anybody knows of a replacement spring let us know. It has to be cheeper than a new door mechanism. Miles

I am still running drums on my 72 240Z. Who makes the best shoes for street use? MSA sells Ferodo green stuff shoes. Are they an improvement over stock shoes for street Zs? Thanks Miles

Does anyone know what the tubing and fitting sizes are for the brake pipes that connect to the stock 72 240Z proportioning valve? My PV is located behind the storage compartment behind the passenger seat. Thanks Miles

Scottie Do you have photos of how you made the connections to the stock lines attached to the stock PV? Also, what tubing size and fittings were required to tie into the brake lines and the PV? Thanks Miles

72 240Z with sbc 350: After fitting all new front and rear brake parts and putting about 300 miles on the pads (KVR) and shoes (OEM) I am having a problem with rear wheel lock up on heavy braking. Either the left or right wheel will lock up. The fronts will not lock up at all. Originally I adjusted the rears to where the drums just dragged on the shoes, but either the left or right wheel would lockup on hard braking. So I then backed off both sides, but either the left or right wheel will still lock up under hard braking. Slackening the adjustment further compounds the problem by increasing pedal travel. I am considering that I may need to install an adjustable proportioning valve to balance the front and rear braking in an effort to prevent the rear wheel lock up problem. What is the best approach for adding an adjustable PV? How do you get the rear brakes adjusted evenly? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks Miles

I am considering installing an adjustable Proportioning valve (APV) in my 72 240Z. The stock PV is located in the rear on the passenger side near the diff and connects to a three way connector that connects to the rear brakes. I would like to install the APV on the left front fender near the MC and tap into the rear brake line that goes from the distibution block to the rear section of the MC. Or should I tap into the hard line that leaves the distribution block routed back to the rear brakes? Has anyone done this? What fittings were required? Thanks Miles

Thanks for all of your input. The company I bought the coupler from has provided conflicting stories about the bushing ID being too large. Based on the input from you folks I am going to go with an ABS plastic coupler from Energy Suspension. Miles

I recently bought a urethane steering coupler. The dealer I bought it from has informed me that the manufacturer included metal bushings with IDs that are too large. Sure enough comparing the ID of the metal bushings to the bolts that hold the coupler together shows that the ID of the bushing is way bigger than the bolt diameter. Has anyone else run into this? Or is this normal? I don't want to install the bushing only to have it slop around due to the large bushing ID. Thanks Miles

Can anyone recommend a manufacture and part number for a bottom radiator hose to fit between the SBC water pump and the Griffin bottom outlet? My 19" x 22" Griffin has the bottom outlet tube angled slightly up so it looks like the hose is going to have to make some compound bends to line up with the outlet tube. Thanks Miles

Ron Any problems fitting the wiring/connectors through the metal canisters that hold the lights? Seems like Blackmagic used a painless kit and had trouble getting the sockets wired through the metal canister behind the light. This kit sounds easier to install then the painles kit. Thanks Miles

The previous owner of my 72 240Z installed Hella H4 headlights. I need to replace one of the bulbs. Do I have to remove the entire assembly from under the fender or is there a way to pull the headlight from the front? Thanks Miles

Doug PV is mounted in the rear. Miles

BTW... what is the procedure for bleeding the MC? Thanks Miles

Doug All parts front and rear except the stock proportioning valve and the connection block located under the MC are new OEM parts. The MC is new OEM also. I have tried to adjust the rear shoes to just short of dragging, then the right or left wheel will lock up under hard braking . Miles

Mike The rear shoes have a leading and trailing shoe. I installed them per my manual and compared them to my other 72 240Z. The install looks ok. Also, the fronts just will not lock up. I don't have the tools or tubing knowledge to install a proportioning valve so I may have a speed shop install one or find someone who could make me up a complete bolt in kit. I was planning on removing the stock PV and attaching the new adjustable PV to the old stock PV lines in the rear and then mounting the new PV in the passenger side tool box. If someone could make me up a kit with PV, flared pre-bent tubing,and adaptor fittings would be preferable to paying a speed shop to do the work. Thanks Miles

Mike Thanks Miles

While testing the yellow and black wires that attach to the fuel tank sending unit I attched a volt meter to the black and yellow wires and turned on the ignition. The volt meter initially went to 12 volts and then started pulsing as if the fuel gauge wiring were attached to a turn signal. The voltage would drop to zero and then pulse to 12 volts. The fuel gauge has never worked so I am pulling the fuel tank to seal the various unused tubes and replace the fuel level sending unit. The pulsing voltage at the yellow and black wires is an unexpected find. Anyone seen this before? Thanks Miles

While testing the yellow and black wires that attach to the fuel tank I attched a volt meter to the black and yellow wires and turned on the ignition. The volt meter initially went to 12 volts and then started pulsing as if the fuel gauge wiring were attached to a turn signal. The voltage would drop to zero and then pulse to 12 volts. The fuel gauge has never worked so I am pulling the fuel tank to seal the various unused tubes and replace the fuel level sending unit. The pulsing voltage at the yellow and black wires is an unexpected find. Anyone seen this before? Thanks Miles

Per JTR I installed the 84 Camaro Radiator (see page 12-6 in the JTR book 7th ed.) with a Black magic model 150 electric fan and 160 deg. thermostat in my 72 240Z. The Camaro radiator is not keeping up with the hot Sacramento days. Water temp is around 250 and fills the overflow tank on a regular basis. I am looking to replace the Camaro radiator. Anyone have a a part number and source for a radiator that fits and keeps the temp down. My shorty headers are cooking every thing under the hood. What are the pros and cons of applying header wrap? Thanks Miles

After installing all new rear brake parts on my 72 240Z I have had a problem with the right rear locking up when making an emergency stop. The OEM shoes have about 200 miles of city driving on them. So I backed out the right side adjuster and now the left rear tends to slightly lock up and pedal travel has increased. I was thinking I should just slacken the adjusters all the way loose and use the hand brake to adjust the shoes and not mess with the adjusters at all. Also, on this car the front brakes,new with about 200 miles on them, will not lock at all. The master cylinder is new OEM. We have put about a gallen of Ford brake fluid through the system and no air bubbles are present. Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks Miles

While I was road testing rear brake adjustment on my 72 240Z with a 350 sbc the engine would just quit when making a hard stop (clutch in). I am guessing that this may have something to do with carb float adjustment. Any ideas? Thanks Miles