jhm

Here's my setup (recently completed). Bottom and side pieces fabbed from aluminum sheeting, and top piece from thin-gauge galvanized steel sheet. Directs nearly all airflow through the radiator and blocks all other air passage into the engine compartment. May even give a tiny "pressurization" effect to the cold air intake, if it results in a higher static pressure in the vicinity of the air filter.

The switch is located underneath the dash, either directly behind or directly in front of, the pivot point on which the brake pedal is mounted. As Rolling Parts indicated, it's a simple spring-loaded on-off switch. It can be adjusted by moving it closer or further from the brake pedal.

My understanding is that this is intentional. Mounting the engine just slightly to the passenger side is an attempt to "equalize" the weight distribution between driver and passenger sides. (The theory being that the car will be driven without a passenger the majority of the time.) If I recall correctly, Datsun did similar thing when engineering the mounting location of the factory motor as well. And yes, this mounting position gives more clearance with the steering shaft....a win-win situation!

Yes, a poor ground will def affect your overall voltage potential and starter performance. You can check the quality of your connections with a voltmeter/ammmeter. Check to make sure all your connections are clean and tight -- amazing what an impact dirty or corroded terminals can have. You might want to conduct a simple test by removing the disconnect switch -- maybe it's causing part of your problem. A battery grounding strap like these can also help ensure a good ground: http://www.summitracing.com/search/?keyword=battery%20grounding%20strap&dds=1 What are you using for the hot lead? Usually, 2-gauge wire should suffice, especially for a short run (between hatch and engine compartment) like we've got with the Z. Good luck and let us know how it goes!

Jasper- Agree completely with your recommendations. But still have one nagging question....how's your car going to run if you disconnect the battery ground?? jhm

No, the battery is an integral part of your electrical system. Remove it and the system fails.

Like jt1 suggested, quickest route to solving problem is to narrow down location of noise source. If you don't have access to a stethoscope, any long steel bar will work as an alternative (e.g. long screwdrive, extension drive for ratchet wrench, etc) -- place one end of the bar on the engine and your ear on the other end. It's amazing how well it works! Move the bar around until you've located the source of your noise. Just as a crazy thought, have you recently hit anything that might have dented your oil pan? If it's dinged sufficiently hard, it will impinge inward and interfere with the normal rotation of the crank/rods, causing a very disturbing (but easily fixed) knocking noise. Good luck and let us know how it goes!

For anyone that's interested, here's an update.... Rather than attempting to bend/reshape the header, I decided to shorten the collector and move the collector flange a little higher up (away from the steering shaft). With that done, it was a simple matter to route the downtube between the block and the steering shaft. Final result works and fits pretty well -- two 2.5" tubes into a single 3" tube. Thx to all that provided info and advice. jhm

Is the choke opening fully upon warm-up? If not, that could be the cause of your problem. If you've got an electric choke, a loose connection in your hot lead or ground could prevent proper operation of the choke (and thereby cause stumbling on acceleration once the engine is warmed up). Good luck with the trouble-shooting, and be sure to let us know what the problem and solution were once solved!

I have always been a sucker for a g-nose and fat flares -- love the look of your car! Good luck with the resto and keep the updates coming. jhm

suzook86- For what it's worth, I installed 280Z door panels on my 260Z. I'm guessing that you would have similar experience as I did. Mine is a late '74 model, so I was hoping that the panels would pop right on. No such luck -- I had to relocate the door locks (further forward on the panel) and cut new window crank holes in the panels. I also had to drill a couple new holes in the door to match up with the plastic attachment rivets on the new door panels. Fortunately, it was no big deal.....a little cutting and grinding on the door's sheetmetal to move the door lock post forward and a little matching material to patch the old window crank holes was all it took. It was an afternoon's work, and the final result looks and works great! Good luck and happy motoring! jhm

SysAdmin & Mods- Not sure if this is a stupid question, but here goes... Do we need a new sub-forum in "Engine Components" titled 'Cooling' (or 'Cooling/Heating')? Seems like these types of questions get spread about in other, more general forums (e.g. "V8 Z Forums", "Misc Tech", and "Troubleshooting/General Engine"). Y'all may have already considered previously, but I'm just a dumb newcomer to HybridZ so I thought I'd ask the question. Thx! jhm

turbojohnny- Prelude seats work great in the S30. In fact, I think you'll find that Honda seats in general are well made, nicely designed, readily available at affordable prices, and have kind of a racey look (especially 90's era Hondas). I've got seats from a mid-90's Prelude in my '74 260 -- I paid $60 for them (including extra rails and brackets) and I love 'em. You can check out the pix in my post in the "Seat Swap" thread. The late-80's/early-90's Prelude seats look alot like Recaros, but they're hard to find in decent condition. Del Sol seats are really nice -- they look like Corbeau knock-offs, and are really narrow (a plus when installing in 260's or 280's with the catalytic converter hump in the trans tunnel). And believe it or not, but alot of Civics were equipped with comfortable and stylish seats. Good luck. HB280ZT- If you haven't already, check out tec280ZX's Celica seats in the "Seat Swap" thread. They were my second choice when putting in new seats, but couldn't find any in decent condition. They should work well with 5/6 point harness. r/jhm

JSM- You're absolutely correct. My bad...senior moment on my part. I've got a late '74 260Z, but I'm guessing that all Z's 1970-1978 may share the same (or similar) dust boot for the parking brake cable ends? I've checked all the usual suspects for parts (Z Car Source, MSA, Z Specialties, Datsun Restore, etc), and none carry said dust boots. I'll take new, used, or reman....mine have long since crumbled into dust. Thx again for catching the error in my WTB! r/John

Need the dust boots that cover the parking brake cable ends, where the cable links to the drum brakes at the rear wheels. Need two....one for each side. Thx! jhm "john.meyer12@us.army.mil"

CONGRATS on SNCOA! Make sure to take time out for the fun stuff, like weekends at P-cola.

Stony- Down at SOS, huh? Enjoy the free time and the opportunity to improve your golf handicap. Remember....it's only alot of reading if you do it! r/jhm

Soundmasterg- You may have solved your horn issue by now, but if not, you can easily bend the horn contact tab enough to provide good contact with the copper ring on the the Grant adapter hub. Use some dilithium grease (or any good lube compatible with electrical contacts) to ensure smooth movement between the two contact surfaces. Good luck and happy motoring. jhm

That's what I figured -- thx, Ryan. On a completely different subject, what kind of air dam are you using? Looks nice!

nullbound- Were those Hooker headers you were running with the Scarab setup, and if so, what model? They're obviously not standard block huggers....appear to be more of a shorty J-header. (Perhaps you did some custom fab work on a set of Hooker block huggers?) Thx for the reply! jhm

jt1- Actually, I only need to move the collector flange about a 1/2" inch inboard. I'm thinking that I should be able to do that without messing up the overall header geometry. Relocating the engine/tranny to a more rearward location is a possibility in the future, but for now I'm leaving it where it is. Thx for your reply. Again, open to suggestions on best way to tweak the header to clear the steering shaft. If anyone's had any experience tweaking ceramic-coated headers, I'd love to hear from you. jhm

Dan- Thx for your quick reply, and sorry for not providing sufficient info. The headers are generic SBC block huggers from KMJ: http://www.kmjent.com/cart/product.php?productid=563&cat=4210382&page=1 $164 (with free shipping) for ceramic-coated headers is hard to beat. I really don't think that the headers are the problem. I think my problem stems from the unconventional mounting position chosen by the previous owner that did the conversion -- the motor is actually an inch or two forward of a standard Scarab-type mount. You can see what I'm talking about from the attached pix. The pic that illustrates the clearance issue was taken from the floor looking up, from the rear looking forward. The passenger-side header fits fine. And I think the driver's-side header will also fit fine, provided I'm able to tweak it about 1/2" inboard closer to the block. Again, thx for your reply. jhm

For starters, you can check out "Creation Z" in Sterling. I've heard really good things about them from several guys. Don't know if V8 conversions are a "specialty" of theirs, but they do know Z cars inside and out. Good luck with your project!

Folks- Just bought some block huggers for my SBC 260Z, and I'm having clearance issues with the driver's side header -- there's insufficient clearance between the collector flange and the steering shaft. And yes, I've searched the forums, but could not find a discussion that answered my specific questions. It appears that I could solve my problem by making the header "hug" the block a little tighter. Does anyone have any tips or techniques for tweaking the headers inward (i.e. closer to the block)? Can I just heat 'em up and bend them inward with a big rod, or do I risk breaking the welds at the main flange? I should mention that they're ceramic-coated. I see two potential issues with this: 1) will the coating prevent me from heating them sufficiently to bend the headers tubes? 2) will I damage the ceramic coating if I slightly bend the tubes? Thx in advance for any assistance y'all can offer, and happy motoring. jhm

Even if your bumpers have been replaced, you should be able to determine which bumpers were there originally. The thin (early) bumpers had indentations in the front and rear corners to accommodate bumper mounting; the thick (late) bumpers had no such indentations.