gnosez

The day before Christmas Liberty Mutual agreed to pay us all but $500. of our appraised value. The check has beed cashed, we bought the wrecked Z w/3.0L Rebello engine, coil-overs, etc., etc. for salvage value ($47.50). Have purchased 2 other 240s (one for parts and one as a shell). Shell is now stripped and will go to be sandblasted next week prior to the bodywork. Got triple 40 DCOEs and T5 tranny with shell car. Will update more next week

Thanks!! I have seen their ads and had thought about contacting them but was under the (wrong)impression that there was a mileage limit. The car is garaged year round and is our third car. I would gladly list the mods for them. Thanks again. And as to the status of my plight; my insurance company hasn't responded to our latest detailed rebuttal. Maybe by 2003. In the meanwhile, my AZ shell will be here later this week, and a spare parts car has been stripped to the suspension. Have the tool kit that never came out of the plastic bag, plus a lot of other unused stuff. It was like opening a time capsule. I'll post some pics in the New year...

Well, to answer more than one post... first, I did ask for and get actual cash value ($11,000. and that's without the Rebello 3.0 installed so not to worry before the car leaves for the junkyard it will have the L24 it came with sitting in the hatch area if they won't let me buy it back),now this year they changed my policy to market value (page 7 in small print and without explaining or giving us any reason for their action). We missed that but then they missed the fact that the market value policy is $150 a yr lower, so I've been paying for the actual all along. I called today to Liberty Mutual and asked an agent to quote me a price to insure all three of our cars (they're in my wife's name now and it's different than mine). I asked for actual value on the Z ($11,000.) and she gave me a price within $10 of what we're paying now. I asked what would the price be if the company won't do actual value. She had to work on that and call me back, so when she did I didn't answer and let her call go to voice mail. I now have her telling me that it would be $150. lower. Got Ya...There's a way to take them to court under a law called 93A. I will be talking to attornies tomorrow and reporting them again to the Division of Insurance here in MA. Now as to the restoration, I'm going to have the paint prepped and primed (interior and exterior), paint the engine bay, then take it back to go the engine, drivetrain, and suspension swap, have it reprimed if needed, then painted. Then add new front glass and all around moulding/emblems, etc. Will report back later next week. But not to worry every part over $11k will not be going to them.

Wow, a question I can answer. I used Coolflex metal hoses, expense ($250.) but they should last for 10 years and look great. Search under their name for dealers or in the back of most car mags. Email me and I'll send you some pics...

well, Scott you have a point, but I have never let any corporate entity get away with anything before without a fight or a good fraggin...I paid for the appraised value as part of my coverage and I intend on getting it or a piece of their ass with it. I'm not asking for more than the coverage I paid for ($11,000.) regardless of how much more I put into the car.

Oh, I think it's worth more than $10K based on the following parts: Rebello 3.0L L28 w/comp 5-spd and 3:90 LSD rear, all new bushings, ground control coil-overs, tokico adjustables, camber plates, all new u-joints, bearings, seals, H-4 head/fog lights, Holley fuel pump&regulator, K&N filters (gas, oil, air),Howe radiator, 6.5 qt comp oil pan, all new chrome bumpers, BBS chrome 16X8 wheels w/Bridgestone-03s, ST sway bars front and rear,new brakes w/Porterfield pads, Cobra seats, rollbar, all new interior except dash (door skins, arm rests, handles,carpets, all plastic trim), 5-pt cam safety harnesses, no rust anywhere. As to the insurance company, I sent them all the reciepts (over $18,000.) and they upped their offer $500. to $6,700. I had it appraised 2 yrs ago for $11,000. before redoing the suspension, brakes and wheels. I did what they asked (appraisal) and now they say they don't have to pay that amount. They reached their value by going to AutoTrader.com and just picking a few cars in the $5 to 8k range and saying their comparable. I took the same cars and added a list of all the parts they didn't have and what they cost (using my reciepts and no labor). If you took a $6k car and added everything I have it comes out in the $14-16k range. No response whatsoever on this from them. My autobody shop will stand by me, I'm having the car appraised again next week and we have reported the company (Liberty Mutual) to the State for switching our policy to "stated value" and have requested an internal audit by their oversight group. We will be cancelling our 3 cars, house and cottage polices with them as soon as this is settled. They paid out nearly $3,000. for a minor hit and run 2 years ago and now want to give me double that for a total (their estimate was $10,650.). My wife is now angry at me just because this is taking so much of her time (if I was the family contact person, it would be down to fists at this point). I suppose they think that it costs them nothing to say no to our request for the whole amount.

Thanks...I got the car last week and haven't gotten around to sending any emails to people letting them know I have one. The holidays and my mom's medical condition have me going in several directions at once. The insurance company just and I mean just reviewed a 43 page package in under an hour and stated they will give us $100. more than the first offer (1/2 of what we had it appraised for and 1/3 the price of the parts). Court here we come....

So I wrecked my nice 240 (over $10,000 in damages) and while I can put it all back together again, I'm a little concerned due to some frame twist in the rear. I purchased a shell out of Arizona as a vehicle to swap over my engine, suspension, and interior and wanted to know what comes first? Do I have the body work done, including engine bay and then do the swap? What about the undercarriage? I plan on replacing the front glass and all the moulding, plus adding that rear spoiler I got for my birthday last year and never got around to.

I'm running 1" front 3/4 rear sway bars, 200# front/225# rear, camber is -2 front and -1 rear, caster is +4, ride is set at 5 3/4 front and 6 rear (street) 5 1/4 all around track, and shocks are set at 3 front and 2 rear. How user friendly is an Ackerman steering set-up? I might go to 250# rear and move the 225s up front for the NHIS and Limerock locations (big dips-oh, my).

What type of driving/racing at you doing w/sway bar removed?

No doubt it would. I have added front and rear strut tower bars and a roll bar. There is also an "L" bracket plate welded to the frame where the front sway bar is located as it was beginning to crack the spot welds. I'm still interested in finding out what the next suspension tweek should be and what it will give me in return.

Just the person I hoped would reply...I think the only thing I haven't done to the suspension is make the caster adjustable, installed quick steering knuckles, or put in the tubular control arms that Ross and others sell. I use the car for three things: 1) as a spirited road car that sees 10,000 miles a summer, 2) an AX car, and, 3) 3-4 track events a season (NHIS, Limerock, Summit Point, etc.). What I'm interested in is two-fold: what changes can I make and what will I gain if I do so. At this point money is not being considered, the quality of the ride and it's responsiveness is.

I have driven my 240 with 3 different suspension set-ups (stock, progressive, coilovers). I drove it 3000 miles home after I bought it with stock and I what could be considered worn out shocks and springs. Then I did the poly, larger sway bar (frt and rear), new shock and progressive springs change-over. That lasted a year and t he car now has coil-overs, adjustable shocks, T/C kit, camber plates, adjustable delrin control arm bushings. Each time the ride got better (IMHO). So where can I go from here and what should I expect for that effort and expense?

I know exactly what you're going thru w/spotty plugs and A/F mixtures on those ZTherapy SUs. I have the 2" bored out version on my Rebello 3.0L and have been driven crazy by the amount of tuning time and mental abuse I've suffered thru. Yeah, I know, get a turbo or go EFI, but that's not why I got a 240Z. Here's what I did and where I'm at as of today...I installed two O2 sensors in the "Y" collector of my exhaust and have LED units on a velcro board located on the passenger kick panel. I have a small box w/velcro for when I want to see the readings either during driving or tune-up (the wire for the LEDs is that long. I tune the car to spec (w/BP7ES plugs - normal usage and 8s for the track)and check the LEDs at 45/55/65/75/85 and 105 mph. I have found that the readings are perfect for speeds over 70 but under the car runs too lean. It's all in the needles. A 1/8 turn of the adjustment screw too lean is enough to completely f$%&*k-up my car. I run mine 1/8 to 1/4 turn rich to cover all the bases. If you can document the AFM at different speeds on the same day, you should be able to get ZTherapy to grind a set of needles to your requirements. Or you can just give up a little power and run them a bit rich. Good Luck...

I seem to remember an email I got from Andy Flagg (I hope that's his name), who set a new land speed record in his 78 280 at the Salt Flats last year. He stated that they had to remove the full body pan because of the air foil effect at speeds over 140 mph. Hope this helps...

with a mild cam and 2"SUs, my 3L does 210 at the rwhs. Dan Baldwin's 3.1L w/3 Jag 2" carbs and a modifed head got 235, so 250 is not out of the question...and I like the looks w/o all the plumbing

IMHO, it's not the size it's the compression that matters. If you never hit a dip at speed, those 16 or 17" wheels with 245sor 235s will be just fine without flares...

I'm running 225X50X16 Bridgestone -03s on my 16X8 wheels (front and rear)I had to roll the back lip on my 72, to stop them from hitting in a dip in the road. I have GC coil-overs and a ride height of 5" front and 5 1/4 rear (measured at the rocker lip)Springs are 200 front/225 rear. On a real hard compression (transition from NHIS NASCAR oval to road course) the rears hit with the 16X8s. Either I go to 7", flares, or bigger springs.

I'm running the 50mmSUs in there now. I've got them down leaner (12.5-12.8 WOT) and the car runs strong. However, notice I said in there now. Last night I was going to adjust the valves and dam if the rocker arms are scored (8 out of 12). I've been using Mobil 1 but now Dave saids he hasn't heard anything good about it and L28 cams. Nice to find out at this point. I changed the oil sprayer, put 20-50w synthetic blend oil in, and am about to order new rocker arms. Nissan or MSA?? The price is about $130. different. Dave seems to think my cam will be find even if I run it for a month or two until I get the rockers in. maybe yes, maybe no. So, if I go in and start changing things do I go with a hotter cam (have 270 now), a new lifter set-up, and FI from say EFI (Pro-Series)??? Hey, it's only money at this point and I don't keep track of the total anyway. Any ideas/suggestions??

John, have you seen the EFI FI intake set-up? Any comments? Not interested in a turbo. As to cam selection I have the 480/260 in there now and was considering the 460/270 as a possible replacement. Replaced half-shaft as I found a clip starting to go on a u-joint as I changed tires for AXing this Sunday. Glad to find it before it found me. Had heard a clunk as I drove my son home and was thinking, "man I thought the rear issue was solved". I took some extra time to inspect the diff, etc. when the tires were off.

Yes, that's right. I've got it down just about right now, but last night I took off the valve cover and now have a new problem. Seems my rocker arms are getting scored. I'll order a new oiler today and see if I have a few good used rockers from my old L24 motor.

Okay, I got the sensors in, got input from Dave Rebello, drove the car about 140 miles on a leisurely road rallye thru New Hampshire and it started to bog down and back-fire. Changed fuel filters and while it didn't do much to improve the ride it got better after the 60 mile hwy run back. As I cleaned the car that night I noticed a thin black line on the back intake manifold. Of course it was exhaust residue and the manifold was cracked. Off it came, and down to the welders on Monday, Tuesday I'm off to Chicago and get back just in time to get the fixed intake on Friday. In it goes Friday night and I finally get a chance to read JohnC's response about O2 readings at 1/2 and WOT. I reset the SUs (leaner)and took it for a brief run to the store Saturday morning. No problems, so now I'm off for a 120 run later that afternoon and another run on Sunday for 200 miles after I had once again leaned out the SUs. It's running great and my readings are very similar from carb to carb. When I get a chance in july, I'll get it Dynoed again. The first time I got 209 rwp HP, so maybe with the right A/R mixture I'll get a few more. Thanks everyone...

I believe I now understand the difference and why with a SU driven car don't need to overly worry about complete lack of accuracy a cheap O2 sensor will give me. "Get it close enough to race" approach seems to be about right. Right now the intakes are out of the car as I noticed a slight crack in the back unit just below the bolt hole. Hey, I wanted to replace all those little water hoses anyway. Out it came this morning and into the shop. Just got a call form the shop saying that cracking isn't 1 inch long it's 4"!! Since Nissan only has front intakes, it gets welded up and I'll polish it next weekend. Then I'll re-adjust my SUs with my inaccurate O2 sensors. Thanks again...

System overload!!! Hey, the only chip I got in my 72 is the one in the MSD box, so datalogging is way too much on the modern side for me. I've got one wire Toyota O2 sensors in there now, with one per SU bank. Can you talk me thru what it is your suggesting..thanks

I just not in a good mood at the moment..maybe cause it snowed today here in Boston!@$#% Its' hard not to think that someone has an O2 sensor installed and took readings, but here's what I have from Dave Rebello: 13.5:1 @ 1/2 throttle and 12.5:1 @WOT. My A/F meter gives me a reading in mv and I can see that one carb is slightly richer than the other (or is it that one is slightly leaner?). Anyway, I couldn't get to WOT as there was traffic out last night so I had to settle for readings at 110mph which were @12.7:1. Half throttle seems to be more or less on track. I have velcroed the small meters to the passenger side kick panel for normal usage (I don't need to look down when I should be looking ahead)and they come with about 6' of cable so I can take them off the panel and see them when needed (like during a tune-up or a dyno run). I made up a small box with velcro for this situation.