JCan

Now that I think about it, could it be the spindle or the drive gear..... Hum.... Next stop, remove the spindle!

It is time for an update! I disassembled the distributor and I have to say that Advanced Distributor did a great job restoring it. The only issue I found was the vacuum advance plate had some dirt or the oil got hard and it seemed a little bit sticky. However when I removed the distributor I tried turning the spindle (connected to the gear) and it has about 12-15 degrees of slop. I think this is my problem. I will source another spindle and key it as suggested above and see if that fixes our problem. Thanks to all for your input.. - jim

NewZed. Thanks for the tip! I'll pull it apart this week. - Jim

NewZed. To answer your questions the timing varies, we set it at 15btdc and check it after a day and it reads 0 btdc as an example. we use our vacuum advance more as a switch. when throttle is full open it retards, at idle it is full advance. To describe our problem a bit better. okay. When I pull off the distributor cap and turn the rotor to full advance (clockwise) (stretch the springs) and let go the rotor does not stop at zero, it stops somewhere before zero, For the sake of clarity, i will call this location 15 deg. if I rotate counter clockwise from this 15 degree mark it will move there, but it almost feels lkike the shaft is hitting something very slightly. this could be an issue in the distributor or with the gear, maybe the gear slop in the Z axis is allowing the gear to move, maybe the gear is not attached to the spindle? or maybe I actually have a screw that is hampering the return of the advance. We have not yet pulled the distributor offf to try to rotate the spindle to determine if the problem is with the spindle or the distributor. Once we do, I will comment here. Thanks for your help... Jim

Hey guys. Do you mind if I restart this thread? We have a 280z motor running a 280z distributor and electronic ignition. We are also seeing the timing retard 15 degrees. The distributor was rebuilt prior to installation, berings were replaced, advance curve was modified, it was designed to be run with a vacuum advance connected directly to the intake manifold. We are also experiencing a static change. I noticed that with the car off, I can move rotate the distributor shaft with my hand to expand the centrifugal advance but when I return the rotor it stops pre-maturely, I can force it to go back to zero. Are you suggesting that this slop is caused by the distributor drive shaft? Who knew! Over the weekend, I plan to remove the distributor and try to see if the gear has slop. If not then I guess I should focus on the distributor. Any comments are welcomed. Jim

For the back, you can purchase some large diameter washers and drill them out so that they fit in-between the car body and the top of the strut mount. The nice thing about using this type of spacer is that they are inexpensive and allow you roughly 1/8 inch steps up to the height of the screws which stick above the bolts right now. In summary, to get the car stance right I am suggesting you take a little off the front and add a little on the back of the car. It is what we did and the car (almost) sits perfect. Good Luck! By the way, your '73 looks just great! Keep up the good work!

You know, Every time I set up a Z ( we have had 3 so far) we have had to cut the springs in the front and add spacers in the back. The car pictured is using Eibach springs and I believe we cut 1 turn off the front spring. In general, I have learned that the stock Z ride height is rather high and when you install lowering springs the spring constant must be increased because the travel to the stop is reduced by that same amount. Moving forward, I am planning to install coilovers in the front in an attempt to get more travel and install bilstein shocks to provide a better ride. Regarding the rear, I have not bought into the need for coilovers there.

Hi! I wanted to drop you a note to give you some resources I use and to make some suggestions. Flywheel, clutch assembly - install the flywheel/clutch/pressure plate from a 1983 280zx turbo. The stock setup works much better than the 240z stock clutches due to the increased pressure plate force that comes stock and the increased disc radius (went from 225mm (240z) to 240mm. This additional 0.6" radius helps tremendously do to leverage. For more info, check out http://datsunzgarage.com/engine/index.htm For our car, we went to an ACT pressure plate and chose ACT N013X HD. IF your engine is not extremely hopped up, I bet (but do not have experience) that you can get away with purchasing a new flywheel and a stock rebuild kit from rock auto and save lots of cash. I strongly suggest you do not purchase a centerforce design in my opinion the weights are a gimmick. Transmission - This weekend we pulled the 5 speed transmission from our 240z and had it rebuilt (2nd gear synchro died). For this, I went to www.drivetrain.com and purchased DTS-BK104WS which is a rebuild kit for our transmission which includes synchros. The complete rebuild kit cost $135 plus shipping, what a deal! The link I gave you above also has information about the transmission and rear end gear ratios. That's all I have for now. Back I 1987, my brother and I did the swap. It was relatively straight forward. Be sure you take out the speedometer gear from the old transmission and put it into the new transmission or your speedometer may be off. Jim

Leon. Sounds fantastic! I really like the way you are going about setting up your car.... When I first started our build, I figured the stock configuration was good enough based on my experience driving the car 25 years ago. Today, I drive a car which has a multi link suspension with electronic shock leveling and when I take a corner, the car eats it up. My problem is that I want our Z to have the same handling performance. ( I know it won't but I want to match the suspension to the car to the best of my ability) If you do decide to dyno your car and shocks, and you think the shop wouldn't mind a spectator, I would enjoy dropping bye to watch the process (if you'll have me). Eventually I foresee us modifying our existing suspension to include new shocks and coil over springs (for adjustability) machined onto the stock setup (because I want to keep the stock rubber bushings). Either way, take pictures!

LEon. you found bilstein shocks! WOW! What springs are you going to use with them (specifically the spring constant and the expected spring compression you are designing for) On Brian's car, we are on our second suspension setup. We got rid of the tokico springs as they are two stiff and moved to the eibach springs. I'm not sure I like the different spring constants of the Eibach springs (required because the car is lowered and the shock is close to bottoming out at nominal riding height). I did some research on the bilsteins you chose and because they are shorter, it would allow the suspension designer the ability to lower the car AND center the shock travel AND keep the stock shock housings! ( Idea is to tap the shock housing an additional x" then cut the top of the housing by that same x") I cant wait to hear how your car setup is and your comments on your new shocks!

Drake. We purchased a 280zx distributor and had it rebuilt by Advanced Distributors (http://advanceddistributors.com/). They modified the centrifugal advance and the vacuum advance (we use manifold vacuum). The nice thing about this distributor is that is is period correct and the electronics are designed for high RPMs. The down side, is that you may have to replace your tachometer electronics with modern internals ($157 at redline gauge works). Regarding whether your coil works at high RPMs: All a coil is is one long wire with a tap wrapped around an iron core. Your ignitions ability to supply spark at 8k rpms is related to the ignigiton module, wires, capacitor and spark plug gap (if you have a high spark, should be gaped somewhere between .040 and 0.050" mine is at 0.045"). Notice I mentioned capacitor. Do you have one connected? If you don't, it is very important you connect one up. The capacitor acts like a small local battery to supply energy to the coil and becomes more important as RPMs increase. IF you dont have one, get one! It goes on the ignition switch side of the coil to ground. So how do you determine if your setup works. I suggest you use the coil and electronic ignition you already have, and for ~$150.00 take your car to a dynomometer and have the attendant monitor your ignition timing, spark advance and exhaust air/fuel mixture. Run the car to 7500 rpms and take a look at the results. It will be apparent that your ignition degrades at high RPMs by looking at the air fuel ratio (too much fuel) (or the tach on the dyno will start to bounce when your ignigion degrades significantly). The great thing about this? You can have your webbers air fuel mixture adjusted at the same time! When you are done, your car will run great and you will be sure your spark is hot, timing is correct, and air fuel mixture is also correct. my two cents! Good luck! Jim

Dr Pepper. Yes I am looking for LX-S seats. I am in an auction on ebay, willing to pay up to $700 then will bring back to the US for reupholster. Thanks everyone for your help!

I have an N42 head that was rebuilt (valves guides) and never used! I swapped it for a P90 head. I live in San Diego and drive to the bay area about once per month. Give me a call if you are interested. 858 204 9422 Jim

Hello. I am looking for a pair of Recaro seats with the leg extension capability. If you have a set, please contact me. Thanks! Jim

Daniel. Did you have the disk and pressureplate balanced prior to installation? Can you provide an update as to what you did about your vibration? I spent a lot of time balancing my L28 also and am in the process of removing my older pressure plate and installing the Centerforce dual friction pressure plate and clutch and am looking to see if anybody has had any issues also. Thanks Jim

Leon. Really nice work! I'll be sure to bookmark your picture for future reference.

Fantastic! Great job.

Leon, I have to warn you, plating old steel is addictive! You start out with one thing then look to the left and add another, and then another, soon all the pieces in your car look new again! I found the clamps to hold the choke hoses in place on my project.... I havnt installed them cause they have not been plated... A terrible disease! Your relay cover looks great!

Leon. Today I received my JCCS pass. How is your progress? Will you be driving the new car?

Tokyo... Back in the 80s.... My brother used to drift his Z in the left hand turn lane in preparation for a left hand turn... during 5pm traffic!!! I used to like to pull rockfords (60MPH on wet pavement, emergency brake, wheel 90 degrees, Release brake, wheel back to 0 degrees, hands on bottom of wheel. look out the rear window, Drive) with a passenger (sometimes 2) in the car... Driving backwards at 50MPH is exhilarating! Sadly, both of our Zs were totaled... They were loads of fun!

Wanted. 240mm wide flywheel from an L28 for my build. My current 225mm clutch slips... not good! call me! Jim 858 204 9422

Leon. What a find! Sounds like everything is going together great (as long as you are using cast pistons). Have fun putting the motor together.

To answer the question, Matt or Spray. The mats are better then the spray. This is because the mats are generally thicker then the sprays, more dense then the sprays, Additionally the mats have an aluminum skin on the top which reflects the heat back to where it came from. Jim

Leon. I believe 0.022" gap is very tight! I Think the minimum gap that I have read that is 0.024" I know we are splitting hairs on this.... having said this, I started up my car and ran it, then removed the head and looked for piston to head wear and found one small place on cylinder 4 where a piece of debris lodged in between the head and piston indented the aluminum on both piston and head. (I have pictures if you are interested), then engine eliminated the debris with the exhaust. Point being, the engine ran at idle and revved up to 4krpm without incident using the felpro gasket I provided to you.! If you really want a 0.022" piston to head clearance, I believe any of the stock gaskets will work. I am using a copper gasket, it is thick though, 0.063" which yields a piston to head clearance of 0.040. Your car will run, I'm worried about it's ability to idle with that super agressive cam you have! I cant wait to see it at JCCS.

Leon. Your build looks great! and it looks like you are paying attention to all the little details. I cant wait to see it run! A couple comments - (Regarding the clay measurement, it might read wrong due to the piston rocking inside the cylinder. I agree you should use your dial indicator measurements.) Regarding piston to head clearance, If during your final torque your new gasket compresses too far, ( I know you have great dial indicators to measure this) you have a choice to purchase a custom copper head gasket with what ever thickness you chose the cost is $135 and you can chose piston diameter and gasket thickness (STANDARD MATERIAL THICKNESS .022, .032, .040, .043, .054, .063, .070, .086, .093, and .125 inches.) A Thickness of 0.054" would give you a fixed ~0.030" of squish. $135 at www.headgasket.com