Poindexter
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Posts posted by Poindexter
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Here's a few shots I've taken over the last few months-
Catskill Mountain foggy morning, Asbury Park ocean storm, Sandy Hook, by a Nike missile, and on the Navesink River at sunset.
I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed viewing the scenes in person.
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I also want to add driving lights to my 2/71. I've already added OEM-style fog lights to the stock holes under the bumper. (A steal at $20- Pilot brand from AutoZone) They have almost clear lenses with a yellow bulb. Then I bought another grille to experiment with. I hope to get a pair of 3.5 inch round driving lights and then cut the grille to set them neatly in- flush. at the front.
We have tons of fog and very dark back streets around here, so supplemental lighting is critical. But first I am going to add the H6024ST Sylvania SilverStar sealed beams before I start cutting. I'll let you all know how it turns out.
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There's also an aluminum Z rad on ebay, for $209 + $25 shipping! I know nothing about it, just that it seems very inexpensive.
Anybody know more?
They have the following specs:
For 70-75 240-260Z up to 500hp cooling guaranteed
Specifications:
Core Dimensions: 13-3/4" x 23 3/4" (2 row core)
Upper inlet: 1 5/16" located on drivers side.
Lower outlet: 1 5/16" located on passenger side.
Trans cooler: included
OEM mount system
Drain petcock
Sounds like a steal. But there is no free lunch...
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Thetan 7 -powered.
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Planes *do* have brakes.
How else do they stop on the ground, like on the apron, taxi- or runways?
You usually step on the tops of both of the rudder pedals, and they hinge backwards to actuate the brakes. They are rarely used immediately on landing to slow down though. That might burn them out. That's when air-brakes, or reversible-pitch props are used to sorta "engine brake". Nuff said.
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I'm glad that nobody was seriously injured. Having survived several serious crashes myself, where the car did what was expected of it, I'm also glad to see that your Z did you proud and kept you safe during what must have been a hellacious few moments. Considering the energy involved, that 30+ year old car did represent pretty well.
I'll remember to be extra gentle with my gal during wet conditions now, as I've noticed that even low-hanging fog can affect the handling.
Good luck with the rebuild.
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a .45 stops any jive...
Sorry for your loss. Hopefully you have Hagerty'd it to the hilt so you don't suffer any loss, and then the baddies can wrap it around a pole, and hopefully the NOS goes off, and they die tasting their own blood.
Not that I'm angry at miserable thugs or nuthin'...
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Will cold oil drain completely from a Z engine though?
I've just spent so much time doing research on oils and gear lubes, since I'm positive that they are a major factor on engine life, but I haven't found any definitive answers on this subject- so it appears that I have more reading to do.
It almost seems that this might be measurable, at least on engines that burn very little oil.
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I like the ideas expressed already.
1) Door skins. Perhaps with some allowance for ear-height tweeters and 5-inch speakers lower on the panel?
2) Heater panel, with allowance for modern radio stacks.
3) Perhaps a dash cap with allowance for 4 gauges. My old dash is so ratty I would gouge out a space in it for the back of a fourth gauge to fit- IMO.
4) Hatch-area speaker nodes, replacing any of the other of the stock panels in the aft end.
5) Perhaps even an entire rear panel plastic replacement set.
6) Replacement crossbar with dome light, but allowing for additional speaker install points, or perhaps for separate driver/passenger aimable map lighting, like in aircraft.
I would buy most of these- if not all of them.
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I've discovered that the consequence of my over-revving misadventure is that I either created a small pinhole in my exhaust manifold gasket or enlarged a tiny one into a pinhole.
Now I have a quite audible "pffft...pffft...pffft" occurring at anything more than partial throttle that is incredibly annoying- especially since I finally got rid of my tappet noises!!! Argh.
I'm gonna velcro the living daylights out of the floor mats when I get around to installing them- after first installing some serious multiple Cascade product barrier materials everywhere.
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Be sure to let us know about how well the pieces fit when you get it installed.
Dennis
1971 240Z Original Owner
X2! Me too! I'm almost done with the mechanical phase and I'm heading into cosmetic restoration.
After DynaMatting- or whatever skin I put down first, next comes carpet, and none too soon. My ears are constantly being assaulted by the admittedly wonderful noises, but I need to deal with being inside a stripped bare metal shell with an engine inches in front of me spinning away at 6,00 RPM.
After months of research I'm still not sold on any one vendor, but this looks great so far. Please- how's it going?
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I know exactly how you feel, Austin240Z. And you not only made perfect sense, but again I learned something new from these forums- and I really appreciate that. I also stay up for an extra day or more, now and again, just so in case an emergency or other critical situation presents itself and requires that I maintain peak alertness for an extended period of time, I've been there before, and know exactly what to expect from myself. My Dad, who was a Navy officer, taught me this, as I have inherited his love of the sea, and often sail offshore where any nightmare you might imagine can occur, and if you wait long enough- it will. Sweat more in practice so you will be less likely to bleed in reality.
That out of the way, in my case a bad decision to use ill-fitting floor mats that ended up slipping and interfered with my gas pedal almost blew up my engine, and there are other similar circumstances- like a binding throttle cable- that go beyond the ability of a right foot to deal with.
Much like the saying that the best firearm safety is "between the ears" or in the trigger finger- yet accidents still occur, the best safety for such an irrevocably destructive happening like a terminal over-rev, would still be a well-designed, fail-safe part that works transparently and as close to 100% reliability as is achievable. I agree that not every over-revving event results in an explosion, but I'd bet that *at least* they can break or weaken existing parts, reduce the overall engine's lifespan and hasten the demise of a perfectly fine piece of machinery.
I'd hope that my well-trained foot would always "kick-in" (
) but why not have a cut-off that would always work, better and faster, and more reliably, hanging in the background to prevent these events from happening- regardless of cause, and taking the weaknesses inherent in all people out of the equation? Seems like there should be one, and one that has no negative affects on a running engine, is invisible until needed and deploys in time to prevent a disaster. Then add an espresso machine and it would be PERFECT! -
Well all ignition is "electronic" at least in some sense. Yes, there is such a thing as a rev limiter. Multiple companies make them. Typically they use different chips to limit the max RPM by cutting spark if you exceed it. MSD would be one company that sells such devices.
With my questions and responses, I hope I'm contributing to a fuller understanding and a more thorough discussion of Lotus' original question about rev limits, necessarily including any related control systems- with all of these various elements occurring in this one thread- and that should include all electronic and mechanical means, from line-item options to "standard" electronic ignition "kits" from main-line companies, like MSD and Pertronix, to any stand-alone "black box" mods, on through to perhaps some alterations to stock Datsun electronics, like Lotus might need.
This is a solution that could benefit many Z owners. Anything out there that could keep an engine safe from this type of damage, ruining a potentially quite-rare engine, one that is becoming more rare every day, and in the blink of an eye, is IMO a good thing.
Much of my research seems to show that the simplest, cheapest and therefore probably my best way to integrate EI to my 2/71, to be a Pertronix Ignitor, so I'll contact them on the subject of rev limits- unless someone has any direct experience. The MSD gear looks like it will cost much more for a full system, but it might be easier to implement a true rev limit, complicating matters somewhat. If I end up not liking the result, trashing the Pertronix stuff and returning to an "as delivered" condition won't cost me as much.
I'm also following the original line because I will also certainly need to deal with modifying a "stock" Z electronic dizzy sometime in the near future, because I'm already designing my *next* Z, which will be completely unfettered by any need to be stock- which is the specific mission of my current 2/71 model, so the *next one* will be a start out with a buckets of horsepower engine in a stripped-down, lightweight 240 shell.
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Is there actually such a thing as a rev limiter? A real product not a work-around.
Somehow I would imagine that it might be an easier task if one were running an electronic ignition- which sort of ties in with my next research project- whether to install a Pertronix Ignitor.
I never want to live through another "L24 goes wild" incident again!
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My "new" floor mats, the ones that made my accelerator pedal stick, the same ones that I burned to a crisp in a metal drum a bit earlier today in a fit of retribution, caused my Z to accelerate out of control the other day before I got on the key and switched it off. It pegged the tach above the 8000 mark for about a second. Boy it sounded fantastic, before it just about caused me heart-failure! My mechanic- who has seen and worked on every Japanese car since the mid-60's told me not to worry, that the float would have de-powered the engine enough at the top end to keep it from really revving to infinity. He has seen the same thing happen to another customers' 1970 Z where the owner froze for 30 seconds while the engine screamed. No spun bearings. No blown engine. Exactly like what happened to my car, their existing tappet noise just got a touch louder. Whether or not one could blow the engine if you held the pedal to the floor for a few seconds is open for debate.
Do Z's in fact have pistons that will touch the valves if they get out of time? I forget what that's called- anyone?
My legs were shaking for half an hour afterwards- as I really thought I had blown the engine. So perhaps a healthy Z is kind of like a Laverda or Ducati- no real rev limit? I'd still prefer some kind of cut-of!
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I found a company out of Westminster, CA that specializes in plastic metalizing. I called them and the guy said it would run around $75 each. That is a very loose figure since he would need to see the part to get an accurate quote. If there is interest enough, I could see if we could do a group deal to get the strips chromed, and reflectors refinished, the whole nine yards.
How about creating a package deal for a bunch of HybridZ'ers, to include the infamous inner door decorative strips- the "usually blue" ones, the circular and flat air vents, all of the badges and emblems, and a bunch of other plastic parts too? I'd like to replate almost *all* of my plastic-chrome, and I bet a lot of others would too! I've found around 5 different vendors that do this service, and if there is any interest, and since I have more time than is good for me (!) I would also volunteer to make the calls- but there would have to be significant interest.
Anybody??
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I just had to comment on just how gorgeous this interior looks, 280ZForce! Well done! As a pilot I just love the all digital readouts, although in many cockpits red is reserved for emergency annunciators only. It looks like it wants to fly though.
This settles it. I will have to keep my 2/71 completely original as a tribute to the stock past of the Z, I can't turn my back on a car I've been in love with since 1973, but I will be forced to build another race-inspired Z car, with nothing but performance and appearance as my only guide, with your interior as inspiration, and the stealth exterior like this one- because as much as I like red, it really infuriates the local cherry-tops. (Bruce reference)
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I plan on attacking nearly every item and area that's been mentioned in this thread, within the next few weeks. There are just so many lines of attack- literally! What I'm going to do today though, is paint that liquid rubber coating on the exposed vent lines at the rear canister in the right rear body panel.
When I finally opened it up for the first time in at least 20 years- before I bought it- the entire free volume of that space was literally packed with plastic shopping bags, and the hoses were wrapped with layers and layers of bags and at least 5 rolls of electrical tape! Bizarre, and I left just enough so that I can take a few photos and post the evidence of this insane procedure!
BTW, I also had a nasty chromed exhaust extension just hanging out there in the slipstream behind the left rear wheel- around 6 inches at least- see pic, instead of coming out the rear bumper as designed. Now I understand it must have been done to prevent exhaust infiltration, which somebody evidently thought was part of the overall "fume" problem, so before I get rid of this ugly, nasty, non-stock appendage, But first I'm going to bring a battery powered CO detector into the car and drive around as it is for a while just to make sure I don't have any exhaust leakage- which I don't think I do. It does smell of raw gas at times, or perhaps excess unburned gas coming from the tailpipe, but I know the symptoms of CO poisoning and I doubt I'm getting much of that.
I have spent 5 hours or more at a stretch, driving around, on several days, and while some of my friends have commented "so, driving that orange thing around again are you?" my lips never turned blue and I had no extraordinary headaches- beyond those everyday ones occurring from mere proximity to massed human life.
PS- Edit- sorry!!! I didn't notice the age of the last post- I just responded to results of a search, but it's got to be an on-going problem.
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What I see in this picture is very typical.
The piece with the broken fitting is a valve which would normally be connected to the air pump (aka smog pump) under the A/C compressor, the other hose off the "T" goes to the anti backfire valve then continues into your balance tube. The other two pieces that are missing vacuum lines are for controlling your throttle when shifting, they are only used on manual transmission cars so you would not see them on an auto tranny Z. If you are not having problems with the car being jerky when you shift I would not worry about those. If the smog pump is removed I would not worry to much about the broken part either BUT if that valve is leaking by it can certainly cause some strange problems mostly with your idle but also potentially your fuel milage and back firing.
Most people remove that entire system thinking it makes the car run better but that is not really the case, most of the time it just makes the car spew higher emissions, so in my opinion you should try to fix it before you try to remove it. If you do remove that whole system make sure you remove all of it and completely seal every hole left from the removal.
Dragonfly
Wow! Thanks for such a comprehensive answer! This car is jerky shifting personified!!! (I do have the 5-speed) Funny, but I didn't remember my shifting technique ever being so bad in the past, as I thought the bucking bronco ride had to be something I was doing to cause it.
So I guess I must replace all of the vacuum lines immediately- which seems easy enough. Is there any way you might know of a link with the schematic for the proper configuration for the vacuum lines for the 2/71? I have searched extensively and have found almost everything I've looked for- *except* for the proper schematic for the vacuum system! And are the vacuum and anti-smog "sub-systems" entirely separate?
As for the smog system, should I try to recreate the whole assemblage- or nothing at all? I guess the temp fix would be to completely seal the whole thing up until I get all of the parts together? I also have the symptoms you relate- like backfiring, so I will try to restore the system. I am all for cleaner air- and I have no desire to eek out every last newton/foot or whatever unit of energy- but I don't want to open myself up to a nightmare either, since I'm not sure if I still have the pump and the anti-backfire valve- I'll get under the car at first light. Are these expensive or tough parts to find- and is it an all or nothing at all deal with respect to the air valve and the other smog parts?
Is it fair to assume that there is a significant horsepower drain with the smog controls in place? I kind of remember the gas craze during the 70's where it was the latest thing to bypass this "stuff", and even though NJ has a waiver for cars of this age- in that I don't have to have any emissions inspection- I do want to do everything I can to (1) make the car run as perfectly as possible, for as long as possible, and also (2) not spew noxious fumes everywhere I go. I live very close to one of the most gorgeous National Seashore Parks- Sandy Hook- and the pristine surroundings and perfectly clean air are major parts of the draw there. But for the few hundred miles I'm gonna drive, I don't want to drop another $500 either!
Am I to assume the smog system and the vacuum system are both a must though for optimum performance?
See, I already have to deal with that lovely "Z gas fumes" issue to deal with yet- probably due to the psychotic design for the gas venting system. I am trying to learn as much as possible about this car!
Thanks again Dragonfly!
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Greetings all. I tried to search for answers in the forums here- without a clear enough answer. I promise to read the "How to Restore Your Z" book, but for now I just noticed a broken fitting on the engine, as well as noting the apparent lack of several vacuum hoses, and I'm freaked that I might be damaging something by driving it- it is my EDD now, so I really could use some advice from that huge well of experience that all of you people possess.
It's a 2/71 vintage, HLS30-23788, under 70K miles, and always garage stored- totally dry and clean- for most of the past 15 years. California car with almost NO rust and totally clean floorboards!
It's all stock except for the 5-speed- with a very short first gear- so probably came from a turbo(?) I put it back on the road 2 weeks ago and did a LOT purely mechanical restoration work like all new clutch master & slave, brake master, ball joints, tie rods, etc...that kind of stuff. It was tuned then too, as well as having everything either cleaned out or replaced- like the gas tank, radiator, all filters and fluids, new braided s.s. brake lines, all new belts and hoses, new battery, etc. Trans oil was dirty but showed NO water or metal filings even on the magnet plug- and the trans gear oil was just replaced with RL MT-90. It only took 2 quarts- so I wonder first if that's a bit too little by a half a quart- or so I've read? Mechanic sure it was filled properly. It did have the carbs rebuilt 4 years ago, but it still sat from then, and wasn't driven at all until recently.
That being said it drives nicely, a bit clunky on bumps, and it shifts a bit rough until warm, but nothing else apparently glaring. It will need all new bushings, no biggie, but nothing stands out except for the rough acceleration on partial throttle only, a long pedal mve until the brakes engage- but then they work ***perfectly*** and a heavy fuel smell from the exhaust, and a touch of oil smoke. NO loss of coolant at ALL. After thorough local slow-speed-driving-only trials, it drove perfectly on the highway, tracking perfectly with only a tiny 50MPH shake. I've still kept it well below 5000RPM, especially when shifting. I'm treating her very carefully.
Other symptoms- It has no pep from idle until apx. 2500RPM unless you really step on it, otherwise it stumbles badly if you don't give it a lot of gas. If you do give it enough throttle, it seems to run just fine, revving smoothly and pulling hard. It also does burble a lot on deceleration, and it does smell like it's running rich from the raw gas smell in the exhaust from outside the car. And the brake pedal travel is too much until it engages- like half-way.
Now for the pictures of the main problem area mentioned above. The broken fitting on the left, for a 1-inch hose, goes right into a "T" and the front half goes forward then drops under the A/C compressor. The other concern are the two unidentified parts- one of which I think is the throttle servo, the other I don't know- which have bare stubs that seem to be looking for hoses to attach to them.
I am primarily trying to find an experienced mechanic with significant experience in Z's near me in NJ, but with no luck. I know enough that I will need a good mechanic to diagnose these problems- just as I know it will take a lot of time and effort until I learn enough to diagnose and then do some of this work myself- as I don't always have to rely on others, not to mention the huge potential expenses involved.
Can anybody *please* help now with some suggestions on these problems? And maybe even come up with a referral to a good mechanic in the NJ area?
I imagine the responses here might include having the carbs rebalanced again, as well as having the mystery vacuum lines re-attached, but I'm hoping it's something I can do myself- and now! I do learn quickly, and I must say, modestly, that I know how to use most tools quite well, and have for many years. My Dad always had a huge tool bench, and taught me how to build, work on and repair almost anything- except for car repairs of course! I do have good hands, having built things like tube radios and audio amps in the past. It's just that I'm lacking the critical experience in this very specialized area.
I realize I'm asking a lot, but I'm in a bit of a pickle now, with this being my only driver- at least until I can find a newer car to use as a DD- like a 1980's vintage MB 300SDL!
link to my photobucket pictures of my car and the areas in question- under the name of Poindexter333-
http://s277.photobucket.com/albums/kk60/Poindexter333/
THANKS!!!
Z pretenders.........ugh
in Non Tech Board
Posted
I go to a lot of local Cruise-Ins, and while I'm amazed at how many young kids love my car- I mean 6-10 year olds, they all think it's a Mustang! I've heard that at least 4 times. Perhaps it's the only "sports car" name they've heard marketed?
Then when I tell them it's a Datsun, you should really see their little eyes roll back into their heads while I'm trying to explain that one. Sometimes even the adults have no idea.
At least they love the car.