Pharaohabq

Nice, Glad to see it on the ground. Are those the same wheels you had on it before?

Kinda nifty, but the flares w/o wider tires just looks funny to me. The Police Squad Car 57 siren light is classic tho. Why the interrests in this version if I may ask? Did you spend time in one?

I'm glad you decided to keep your Z project. As for being too much, well try working on smaller sections first. slow and steady, you know...

Have you heard of anyone else swapping in the VG engines? It's a lot nicer and cheaper when the trail has been blazed. The Stag is an interresting looking car. If you've fit a L28 in there you shouldn't have too much trouble with the VG, or even one of the other L6's like the 2zj or even an RB. in this econ tho, you might look at the KA24DETT, It's a big 4 cyl. If the VQ wouldn't pose so many challenges with that sump, I would really recommend it. 280+hp stock for 600LB's is realy nice. In the end it is your car and ulitmately your decision. I hope you'll keep us posted on your project.

Probably need to build a heat shield for your manifold. it shouldn't be heating things up that much, you're lucky you didn't have a fire.

what Engine were you planning on using? You'd said you wanted to mount it low but didn't identify it. (Or I missed it) As for the arms, Check out the Power steering threads. They talk about what racks you can use, (subi, Volvo, Miata etc) where is stands to reason you could concievably swap those other ends as well. Outters and inners. You'll have to play with it to see what you come up with. Another possibility is to swap in S13 suspension like in the Karotta VQ S30... flipped RHD S13 rack for front mounting. here's the link

Sorry Can't answer that for certain, I haven't ever played with a KA24.

it'll be hard to get 2K out of a non-running car. you'd be better off just sitting on it and working on your cobra in the meantime. it's sad to see another project not get finished though. Of course you can put it up on Craigs for 2500 and see if anyone bites. couldn't hurt... if the body is decent you could also post it in NY and LA as a clean shell. people with more $ than brains might buy it.

why do you have the AFM upsidedown? I think there's some stuff you're not telling us about. I would start by returning it to the stock position and installed direction. Then do the resistance checks again. it's good the flapper moves well. You might be able to find another AFM and test it with that. Is there a yard around there, or do you have a buddy who's got a car you can borrow one from?

This compared to swapping in a VQ35 (which are now very common) for almost 300HP w/ NO turbo, NO retune, NO intercooler. + its also Nissan, + 6sp tranny are easilly availible. The swap isn't that different. Turbo kits are availible for $$$$ as are superchargers.

Very pretty, a twin turbo VR38 would rock, but these are sans a lot of the extras you'd still need to run it, in addition to the motor, you'd need the dash harness/ecu the BCU the engine harness, the power dist, the KEY programmed, the fuse boxes. Not to mention most of the accessories. by this point you'll still be in the range of buying a wrecked GTR and swapping from that. My point is that yes you can get an engine, and maybe cheaper than this, but it's always going to need more than JUST the ECU and engine harness. Getting a whole Donor is highly recommended. Now I would LOVE to see a VR38 in an S30, that would rock, and Yes the R200 can handle the power. If you were going to use the VR38 gauges, it's a whole additional set of parts on top of that.

Okay, one of my friends keeps saying I should lead in the seams on my Z before going to paint. I'm not sure it's worth the extra work. I've never done lead before, is there really any advantage to using lead over poly bondo/fiberglass?

pitted isn't so bad, so long as it's not all the way through the panel. (look at the other side to make sure) once you're certain of that, por15 and a high build primer should be fine.

Drill. Drill a hold for the bold in the bracket not the valence. a bent strip of steel could also make up the difference. That is if it's where I think you're talking in the center of the valence.

Sounds like a good way to warp your panels and set your car on fire. I wouldn't really recommend using an acetyline torch for body work. it's pretty messy, too much heat and not enough control, not to mention you can soften all the metal. There's a reason they total fire vehicles.

That would be nice to know, but it's different for VQDE and VQHR. It also depends on how you decide to run your belt w/ or w/o the extra idler pully. The easiest way to find the size is just to get some string, tie a slip knot and put it on in the pattern you're wanting to run, then head to the shop to find the closest size. The VQ's have a tensioner to keep it tight so within an inch or so won't be a big deal. Oh and How're things coming Milo?? Any new picts?

I've used a large C clamp and a deep impact socket over the threads to seat studs before on my Jeep. Not sure if it would fit between the backer plate on a Z though. Didn't take much to seat the stud though. might be able to clamp it through a hole in the plate like that other thread. Just using the lug nut should work I would expect, so long as you visually ensured it was fully seated. Perhaps that's not recommended since you can strip out the knurls on the Stud head if the torque of turning the lug is higher than the force to strip the knurls, if you're careful it shouldn't be a problem, but the C clamp worked for me (on my jeep).

I really thought Tony's input on the door padding made really good sense. The Moral was Limiting body accelleration inside the vehicle. External intrusion of an impacting vehicle is still trouble, but any changes to the S30 stucture are likely to be more dangerous than stock in an accident.

VG30DE should bolt up with the Z31 tranny if you're using a VG30DE bellhousing. I would imagine the VG30DE clutch should work fine with that setup.. The Z32 tranny isn't that much different sized than the Z31 tranny, so why not stick with the whole package? perhaps I'm misunderstanding your question... Edit: OH! duh, in a S13.. Still the VG30DE clutch should fit if you're using the VG bellhousing. You may need to move the motor mounts a bit if you're trying not to move the tranny. Nothing ever lines up perfectly.

a little ticking noise is normal on these engines. you can check the springs with a visual inspection, the rockers checked visually and adjusted warm with a feeler gauge. I doubt it's those. If it's not a injector sticking then next I would certainly suspect the Thermotime. If not that I would suspect the AFM. the flapper in that often gets gummed up after sitting around not moving enough thus causing a rich running state. As Tony-D said, get the FSM and run through the troubleshooting. There's not that much that can make it run that rich, just gotta eliminate them.

Well We've all been through this when looking for a decens Z to work on. First I will say that a Z or any car is worth what someone will pay for it. As DatsunZMan04 alluded, you can buy a lesser condition car and pay a LOT of cash to return it to a workable condition before any restoration occures. The cost of just sealing the broken windows on that first car may not be quite as high as he said, but it depends on where you are/availibility of parts. The main thing to look for is RUST. When you're finding a Car, find one with as little rust as possible and that will be the best base for you to build on. everything else you can find on Ebay or junk yards or new from MSA BlackDragon, Datsun restore. If you have a rusted out car, it's still worth something in parts since many of the original parts just aren't easilly availible. (not that people aren't parting cars out.) So that $500 car might be worth buying if you have space and time to part it out. But for restoration, you should keep looking. The 240Z, that one doesn't look bad, and if it's in decent shape as far as non rusty, it would certainly be worth the $2500. Some things you need to consider before buying the car aside from Rust condition: You really need to look at what you're planning on doing with the car. If you're planning on heavy modifications, that you should be looking for a later 280Z since it's built a little stronger as far as frame rails and such. If you're just looking at light mods and a daily driver than any year would work even the earlier 240Z's. This is just for the idea that the later 280Z's are generally a lot cheaper to buy than the much rarer 240z's. Now you can spend a ton of $ customizing or even repairing an S30 depending on how handy you are. If you're not afraid of getting dirty, then I'd recommend you doing most of the repairs yourself. Engine work on these is very easy compared to more modern cars. It would also help you know your car. There's nothing like finishing a rebuild and starting it the first time knowing that "YOU did it!" Of course if you go to buy it, Offer lower than asking price, but know that if it's decent it's worth what they're asking. In anycase, if you buy it, it's worth as least what you paid, but not that you could necessarily sell it for that. One set of S30's to consider are the first 6000 S30's, the Series I cars, They're a little different than the rest of the S30's only in a few places, but since they've got that designation, they're sought out a little more thus holding a slightly higher value. But even then it's only worth what someone will pay for it. Once you buy an S30, don't EVER expect to sell it for what you bought it for or especially don't expect to recoup any money that you paid into it for repairs or modifications. You're buying an S30 because YOU LIKE THEM, not because they're reliable or somehow magically going to make you popular. They are sporty, but most are more fickle than a 16 yr old girl. It will be YOUR car, so don't expect anyone to fix it for you. They are 35 years old so 90% of what you'll find will need work. We are here to offer advice and help YOU work through issues. Most of the troubles you find will be age related, bad rubber, corroded wiring, rust etc. But with a bit of TLC they're pretty reliable. MPG is decent since they were built during the 70's gas crunch. Now I know you've read a bit, but read More, read More, Read more! There's tons of information on here and elsewhere about the Z's. Almost anything you can experience on the Z's has been seen before, and likely been documented. I'd recommend that you download and read through the FSM and Haynes manuals. There's a lot of detail that will help you learn to maintain your Z car. Personally I hope you get a Z car, we need to keep these cars on the road. Oh All the S30's qualify for Antique car insurance which is often much cheaper than standard car insurance, so check into that and Agreed upon value insurance. Lastly, when you do get a Z. keep in mind that we LOVE pictures, so be sure to jump on here and post up picts of your new baby and let us know your plans.

I'm not sure it's the carbs. I'm curious about your starter switch. It sounds like there's a short or something in your switch, under ACC/ON on your car should have power to the coil. Now I'm not so certain about the 260Z, but there's the safety interlock system too. You might need to bypass that, or lock the seatbelt behind the seat when trying to start it. When you're revving the engine with the starter, are you pressing the gas pedal down? You may need to pump it a little while starting. Is there oil in the carbs? I don't see anything wrong on your picture... Cept that hose next to "Fuel to rear carb" is that the smog pump that's not hooked up or AC or what?

any exhaust shop should be able to drill out the bolt you broke on the header. as far as getting your money out of it, I wouldn't hold your breath. You can try to sell it as is, and anyone who comes to look at it you can keep them in mind as you upgrade parts. What was it that you bought it for? the Paint? well you should emphasize that in your ad to sell it. Getting it running again is a priority. wether it goes or not could be worth $1000 bucks. but don't spend $1000 bucks fixing it us to sell it for what you paid for it. better to take a the $1000 buck hit and not do anything than to waste $1000 bucks and hope to get your asking price. Best advice I can give you though is CLEAN IT. A clean car will always sell for more than a dirty one. It's Percieved Value.

An easy MAF test is when it is running, How well does it run, Usually there's a 2K limit on the "limp mode" on a bad MAF. It'll run okay kinda crappy, but at 2K RPM it'll bog and die because the fuel flow goes from something like 5% to 100% right at 2K with a bad MAF. you could take it to Nissan and have then hook it up to their Consult II/III and it'll tell exactly what's not working right. $65 buck diag charge tho, not to mention getting it there.

Ahh I guess I was mislead. It's good to know though since I would certainly be interrested in the GTR intake if it fit. I wonder how much those guys will be charging for their adapter? Anyway, back to Mark's thread, How's it going Mark, Got any more picts?