Miles

Thank you Grumpyvette: You saved me about $50.00 and several hours under the car. I thought I had a blown timing cover seal or front pan seal due to an pool of oil collecting under the fuel pump blockplate and on the cross member on the passenger side. We really noticed it while driving on the freeway with no hood. Oil was spraying back onto the windshield. I checked for the bolts on the front of the engine block near the the fuel pump and sure enough there were no bolts and the holes go all the way through the block. At high RPM oil would blow out of the empty bolt holes. I installed two bolts in the offending holes and there are no more oil leaks!!! Miles

I agree with the valve seals after doing a vacume gauge check. I am debating taking the heads to a shop for rebuild or buying a set of performance heads. It's always something. Gas take started leaking at the vent line so it will take priority for now. Anyone out there have any problems with the removing/attaching the filler hose when the tank is removed? Thanks Miles

Tim I'll pull the plugs and check for water. I only see the smoke when it first fires up. Thanks Miles

Recently my 350 sbc belches white smoke on start up. Is this caused by a rich carb or oil getting into the cylinders? It doesn't smoke once the car is moving or pulling away from a stop. Thanks Miles

Mike I actually did find that the previous owner had installed a 280 rear strut on the driver's side. To compensate for the difference in strut length he installed spring lifters on the side with the shorter 240 strut. I caught it when I rebuilt the rear brakes last Feb. So I went the bone yard and bought a 240Z rear strut for $75.00. No problems so far. I will measure the front struts to make sure they didn't get mixed up too. I have had to undo just about everything the previous owner did to the car. I was much more careful on the second 240Z I bought for future V8 conversion. Everything on the car still works. thanks Miles

chelle I had a clunk in my stock 72 Z that I finally traced down to the nut on the right stub axle. I took the car to a garage where some serious torque could be applied to the stub axle nut. No more clunk. Good Luck 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