Miles

Would 180 lb/in. front and 200lb/in. rear spring rates be too stiff for a street 72 240Z V8? Arizona Z sells these springs for $89 per pair. I'd like to hear from anyone running close to 180 front and 200 rear spring rates in a V8 Z. Hows the ride? This is very subjective, but on a bone jarring scale of 1-10 (1-soft to 10-skate board) what is your ride like? Thanks Miles

Pete Would it be possible to get those last remaining bubbles of air out of the MC using a vacume type bleeder?

Anyone out there experienced with replacing a window regulator in a 72 240Z? My manuals do not explain the steps clearly. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks Miles

Once the strut is out of the car and the spring is removed using a spring compresser, how do you get the old strut cartrage out of the strut? The nut has three holes on top. Do I need to buy a special tool to unscrew the nut? Thanks Miles

We have two 72 240Zs. One is stock and the other has a 350 sbc. Both cars have stiff steering. Is stiff steering typical for the 240Z? Thanks Miles

I was just looking at the Arizona Z Car website. they sell a set of 240Z springs 180 LB/in. front and 200 LB/in. rear for abot $160.00. Has anybody tried Arizona Z Car for parts or bought their spring kits? Thanks Miles

Mike What spring rates are you using front and back? Thanks Miles

How do you remove the old shocks in a 72 240Z? Do they screw out with a pipe wrench? Do the struts have to be completely removed from the car? Also, what is a good source for springs? We are looking for 150 lb spring rate front and 175 lb spring rate rear and not more than a one inch drop. The car has a 350 sbc. Thanks Miles

Do I have to pull the trans to replace the rear seal? Thanks Miles

We used a W.c. Camaro T5 five speed trans for our V8 conversion. There seems to be a lot of trans fluid coming out of the tail stock of the trans when the car is parked on a slope. Do I need to replace a seal or did I just put too much fluid in the trans? Thanks Miles

We used a 82 Camaro radiator with a Black Magic electric fan for our V8 Install. The radiator is the one shown in the JTR book. Now that summer is here we are finding that most of the water in the radiator is venting out of the radiator cap which is rated at 15 psi. Can I safely go to a 20 psi cap with the Camaro radiator and not risk blowing a seem? Thanks Miles

Brakes are working. Put some city miles on them and they stiffened up. Bled them one more time and got a few bubbles out of the right front and right rear. Now that the brakes are done we were finally able to open it up and experience the full potential of a V8 Z. What a ride! Thanks again for your help. Miles

I bled the brakes on our72 V8 240Z using the above procedures, but the pedal is still spongy. Adjusting the rear brakes manually helped bring the pedal up, but I am having trouble getting the right and left sides adjusted evenly such that one wheel will lock up. I am going to back the adjusters out and readjust the shoes again. Hard stops from 25-30 mph will not lock up the fronts only the rears. I assume this is partly due to the new pads or the proportioning valve. My Haynes manual says that if you can't lock the front brakes at 30 mph the proportioning valve should be replaced. I note on my other stock 72 240z daily driver that I can not lock the fronts either. Is this normal for 240Zs? I am considering replacing the proportioning valve in the V8 Z with an adjustable unit from MSA or Summit, but don't have a clue how to connect it to the stock hard pipes. If someone has installed an adjustable proportioning valve in a 240Z I could use your input. Thanks for all of your input. I'll just keep grinding away at this til I get it right. Hope to have the brakes resolved soon so we can make it to the next northern California (Rio Vista?) Hybrid meet in July. Miles

Just finished complete 100% rebuild of front and rear brakes on a 72 240Z including a new master cylinder using all stock parts. Noted that brake pedal was soft with original old brake parts. The pedal is still soft with all new parts. I know the pads and shoes will have a springy feel for a few hundred miles. I bench bled the MC. I have checked all connections for leaks and found none. The pedal is still soft and pumping does not stiffen the pedal up. Perhaps I did not bench bleed the MC correctly. What is the procedure to bench bleed the MC? Thanks Miles

Lone How does the Ford starter solinoid help? Do you install it in series with the B+ cable to the starter? We have a lot of advance dialed in a sbc 350 and when the engine is hot it takes a bit more cranking to start. I was thinking of going to a gear reduction starter some day. Thanks 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