Miles

AZGUY I used the MSA kit to install a 350 sbc and 89 Camaro T5 trans in a 72 240Z. Very easy to install. There have been a number of posts in the forum recently on the MSA and JTR mounts. Click on my photo site below to see installation pics. Miles

Ross I was about to purchase metal master pads for the 240z, but the KVR pads sound better. Do you have to heat up the KVR pads before they become effective? I am using stock pads now and they suck. Miles

Lone I'll try the Elk Grove Chevy dealer when I have the bucks. Did the dealer deliver the engine? Thanks Miles

I was having the same problem with my son's 72 240Z V8. So I replaced the master cylinder, rear wheel cylinders, rear shoes etc with new original Nissan parts. I have bled the brakes, including a power beed, five or six times and finally got all of the air out this morning. Proper shoe adjustment helped stiffen up the pedal. If you replace the MC be sure to bench bleed it. Check for leaks at all of the hard line unions including the connections to the MC. I sprayed brake cleaner on all of the unions I could reach and wiped them clean. Pumped the brakes a few times and sure enough there were some unions leaking brake fluid. Hit the leaking unions with a 10mm tubing wrench and all is well. Miles

Mike On Ford and Chevy brakes I used to adjust the shoes until the wheel would not spin and then back off the adjusters a few clicks until the wheel would just turn with some slight resistance. I'll try that approach. Thanks Miles

Just rebuilt my 72 240z rear brakes with original Nissan parts: cylinders, shoes, springs retainers etc. I also replced the old master cylinder with a new Nissan master cylinder which I bench bled before installing in the car. I am going to rebuild the front brakes next week with all new parts. The existing pads are almost new. I had the system power flushed and bled after I did the rear brakes with silicone DOT 5 brake fluid. The rear brakes now have about 150 miles on them, but they are still spongy. Pumping the new master cylinder does not firm up the pedal and bleeding reveals no air bubbles. A hard emergency stop will lock the rear wheels and requires almost full pedal travel. It feels like there is still air in the system. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks Miles

Highrpm Thanks. I'll add this to my do list. Miles

Mike How does your car ride with the 225 front and 250 rear set up? On a scale of 1 (soft) to 10 (skate board) how would rate the ride for city driving and occasional hammering the pedal out of the hole? Thanks for all the info Miles

Mike For street use would 200lb/in front and 225lb/in rear be about right for a V8 Z? Do you have a source for springs and shocks? Thanks for the warning Miles

Jonathan There are three kits JTR, Motor Sports Auto (MSA) and John's Cars discussed here in the forum. I looked at all three and went with the MSA kit because it did not require any modifications to the car other than drilling a few holes. Most of the hybrid folks use the JTR kit. I was not impressed with John's kit. Johns sells a manual for about $25.00. There is not much useful information in John's manual. Start with a car in good condition where most things still work. Beware of a car modified by previous owners. A poorly modified car is APITA. I spent a lot of time correcting the previous owners hack jobs on the electrical and suspension systems. Here is the MSA no. 800-633-6331 MSA web site: www.zcarparts.com Read the JTR manual at least five times. It is a guideline for the conversion. If you have a basic road worthy 240Z and don't get to fancy the V8 conversion is fairly easy. You'll need basic mechanics tools, engine hoist, floor jack and some jack stands. All of my tools had been stolen so I had to spend about $600.00 to set up for the project. When we are done with our car we will have about $5,000 invested not including the tools. See my picture site below for current project status. If you decide to buy a converted V8Z post a car wanted add here on the forum. Good luck Miles

Has anyone used Eibach Progressive springs on their V8 Z? How well do they perform? Our V8 Z will be a street car. I Think the Eibach progressive springs are 69/150lb/in front and 86/303lb/in rear, and I am concerned the fronts may bottom out with the V8. As an alternative I was thinking 200lb/in front and 250lb/in rear. I want the ride firm. but not like a skate board. Seems like JTR suggested 175 spring rates all the way around. Any input would be appreciated. Also, what is a good cheap reliable source for springs and shocks? Thanks Miles

MACH5: I used the MSA V8 mounting kit on my son's 72 240Z V8 conversion. You can see photos of the installation on my picture site below. The advantage of the JTR kit is that it sets the engine in lower and further back in the engine bay. The advantage of the MSA kit is that it bolts in the car with no modifications except for drilling a few holes. The JTR trans mount requires pounding the floorboard flat and I have gotten the impression that some of the JTR installs have problems with driveline phasing i.e. getting the driveline and differential properly aligned. The MSA trans mount slips up in the tunnel. I put an angle finder on the output shaft of the trans and moved the trans up/down with a floor jack until I got the desired angle and then drilled and bolted the trans mount into position. I have zero driveline vibration problems with this set up. The engine mounts are easy to install with only one hole to drill on each side. By the way, the MSA trans mount is designed for a 700r4 auto trans, but I used it to install an 89 Camaro T5 five speed trans. The MSA mount bolted to the T5 like it was made to order-no mods. If you use the T5 trans be sure to hammer the trans tunnel (corner of floorboard just under the gas pedal area) to provide clearance for the throwout arm movement. I plan on using the MSA kit when I convert my 72 240Z to a V8 this summer. If you are going to run a lot of HP and want the engine in as low and far back as possible go with the JTR mount. The JTR engine and trans mounts are well designed and will probably take more abuse. The MSA printed instructions/pictures are unreadable, but the MSA phone techs helped clear things up. If you decide to go with the MSA mounts email me and I can give you some tips on the install. As an incentive for starting your project, driving a V8 Z is the second best feeling in the world. Miles

Lone What is a good source for crate engines in Sacto? I plan on using a crate when I convert my 240Z. We weren't able to bring my son's 240z to the meet as I still have to rebuild the front brakes. Hope we can have another Hybrid meet in Rio Vista soon. Miles

Lone Thanks. I'll have the shop check the toe adjustment. I have just installed all new rear brake hardware. They seem to be ok. I am in the planning stage on what spring rates to use when I get around to replacing the old ones. I was considering progressive springs, but they may be too soft for a v8 Z. May go with 200lb/in front and 250 l/b/in rear. The car will be for street use 95% of the time so I don't want to get too stiff with the suspension. Also, I thought I saw your car at the Rio Vista meet. Looks good. Liked your seats. Did you use a crate engine? Thanks Miles

Our 72 240z v8 pulls to the right when you let go of the steering wheel. An old Z guy at the allignment shop says it is most likely the tire that is causing the problem and that there is no adjustment on the Z to correct the pulling problem. He also said that it could be from worn parts, but was not specific about what may be worn. I also noticed that the right front spring sags about 1 inch as compared to the left front spring. What could be causing the pulling problem? Thanks Miles

Fixed the lean surge problem. Changed out the Edelbrock metering rods one step in the rich direction and it accelerates fast and smooth. Although at idle the engine speeds up and slows down slightly now. Thanks Miles

Testing and replacing stock brake proportioning valve in a 72 240Z: I recently tested my proportioning valve per the Haynes manual. Took the car up to about 30 mph and braked hard. The rear wheels locked up, but the fronts did not lock. The Haynes manual says to replace the proportioning valve if the front brakes do not lock first. Also, my 240z owners manual suggests that the proportioning valve should be replaced at about 30,000 miles as preventive maintenance. Has anyone replaced the stock proportioning valve ($86.00)? If so, did it improve braking performance by preventing the rear brakes from locking first? Thanks Miles

I need to replace the window regulator and door mechanism in a 72 240Z. I have located a complete 73 240Z door. Is the the 73 door mechanism and window regulator interchangable with the 72 door? Thanks Miles

Dave Do you know if Nismo makes springs rated at 200lb/in Front and 225lb/in Rear for a 72 240z? What are the prices like for the springs you looked at? Thanks Miles

We were having the same problem with the driveshaft hitting the e brake when mashing the pedel. We replaced the stock rubber front diff mount with a solid mount from MSA. No more clunks or driveshaft hitting the e brake. The solid mount did not increase the noise level in the car except for when in reverse. In reverse you can hear the gears meshing up. Miles

You want to minimize correcting other peoples mistakes. Here are some problems we found with a converted Scarab V8 Z my son bought: Check the wiring: Make sure that wiring modifications were done correctly. We found that most of the engine bay wiring was chopped up and installed wrong. It took many hours tracing schematics to rewire the car. Check the suspension: While rebuilding the rear brakes we discovered that the drivers side rear strut and brakes were from a later model Z and did not match the passenger side strut/brake assembly. We had to replace the driver's side strut and then proceed with rebuilding the rear brakes. Confirm parts installed or work performed on the car: I could not confirm most of the claims the owner made about the car. Look at the craftsmanship of the conversion. If it looks like a chop job you may have problems. If it is a manual trans has the clutch been rigged correctly? We had planned on rebuilding the car when we bought it, but the above items had to be corrected/changed along the way adding to the time and cost to complete the project. The engine was in the scarab position with a four speed trans that had the shifter positioned right up against the dash. We set the engine back and lowered it from its' scarab position and added a Camaro T5 trans and a Datsun R200 differential. The car is a now real joy to drive. For my own conversion project I bought a very clean stock 72 240Z. Everything works on the car so I can focus on the fun stuff. Miles

This raises some other questions for California cars. Do we have to retain the original Datsun fuel evap controls i.e. the evap tank, hoses and purge line that connects to the intake manifold? Also, I noticed from my Chilton manual that in 74 GM added EGR to the sbc engine which means, I assume, that I would need headers with holes for the EGR connections. Seems like I should use a 72-73 SBC engine for my 240z conversion in order to avoid the EGR requirements. Also, is an air pump required on 72-73 sbc engines? Miles

Finally got a photo of the MSA transmission mount while the exhaust was being installed. The MSA mount was designed for a 700r4 trans, but bolted to the 89 Camaro T5 trans without any modification. Click on the photo site below. http://www.netsnapshot.com/pickalbum?IanZ Miles

I agree that in time the mount may loosen up and it does look a bit flimsy. I had considered a doubler plate where the trans mount bolts to the tunnel, but don't have any welding equipment. We're not running much HP and the differential is solid mounted. So far the drive train is tight and there are no clunks or vibrations when banging through the gears. In the meantime I'll add checking the mount to my periodic drive train inspection. Thanks for the feedback Miles

Our 350 sbc surges. It has a new Edlebrock carb. It's not like a hicup. More like it speeds up slightly then slows down so it feels like a pulse. It is most noticable when holding constant speed in first and second, but can be felt in all gears. Initial throttle reponse is slightly slow once the engine is warmed up. Fuel pressure runs about 3psi average. I was thinking it might be fuel pressure related, but when I floor it hard it really takes off without any hesitation. It does not seem to be starving for fuel. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks Miles