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dschock

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Posts posted by dschock

  1. I've got a '71 z with the type A 4 speed badly in need of replacement or rebuild. I would like to either rebuild it, or upgrade to a 5 speed. I know that the type A is an inch farther forward than the newer ones, so I would have to modify the shifter. Would I need a different drive shaft? What generation 5 speed would you guys suggest for a swap in terms of gearing and compatibility?

     

    My other option would be to rebuild my 4 speed. I have found rebuild kits at drivetrain.com and zcarsource.com. The kit at drivetrain.com seems to be for a type B, but says 1970-73. Has anyone used drivetrain.com and know how legit they are? The kit is definitely cheaper there than z car source. Thanks for any advice!

  2. Hey everyone, I've been on HybridZ for a while now and never got around to sharing my own project. I bought my 1971 240z exactly a year ago for $1200 and towed it home. It wasn't drivable because the slave cylinder was shot, the front differential mount was missing (the differential was hanging from the rear mount and drive shafts) floors were rusted out (as expected), old rubber bushings were almost gone, interior was in poor shape, and there were a lot of minor problems here and there. Other than that the body was perfectly straight and the engine ran strong with 156k original miles. It also came with brand new Tokico shocks and springs.

     

    Last summer I got it in good daily driver shape. I bought a cheap welder and welded in new floor pans and patched some holes. I replaced all the bushings with new poly ones, rebuilt the carbs, replaced all the intake/exhaust gaskets, and installed all new interior.

     

    I am very happy with the progress I made last summer. I've been using it as a daily driver since then. I haven't been able to any serious work during the year because of college and breaking my leg (that's another story...). But now that school is out and my leg is healed, I'd like to get back to work on it. I'll try to keep posting any more progress I make. It is still a work in progress. Here are some pictures of before and after. I'd love any advice or comments.

     

    Before:

    img0178l.th.jpg2240zinterior.th.jpgimg0177a.th.jpg

    img0184rwy.th.jpgimg0182d.th.jpgimg0386mnd.th.jpg

     

    After:

    img0390v.th.jpgimg0380b.th.jpgimg0385a.th.jpg

    img0382r.th.jpgimg0387s.th.jpgimg0388ath.th.jpg

     

    Cheers,

    Dylan

  3. I pulled the plugs and they had carbon and a little bit of oil around the number 3 cylinder. also looking at the oil dipstick it looks really runny. If gas is leaking down into the crank how could i test and what does that mean repair wise?

     

    Do a regular compression test, then repeat it with a spoonful of oil in each cylinder. If the compression is higher, rings are bad.

  4. Well, I guess that's good and bad news. The search continues for the source of the knock. The knock only comes from the passenger side. I have replaced all the rear end bushings and torqued everything down and I cant seem to pinpoint it.

     

    I have Tokico gas shocks and springs that lower the car about 1.5 inches. I'm thinking there might be an angled gap at the interface between the inside of the shock tower and the top of the shock.

  5. Hey guys,

    While upgrading to poly bushings in the rear of my '71 240z, I noticed something odd about the bolts that attach the differential rear member to the underside of the car (the bolts right next the the rear shock towers). They seem to be tapered and look like they have been machined. The bushing is able to move around and I get a knocking sound from the rear during hard braking. Are the bolts supposed to be tapered? The kid I bought the car from didn't seem to know much about it. Has anyone needed to replace these before? Since I don't have my camera handy, I drew a picture and included a diagram of which bushings I'm talking about. It is at number 3 in the diagram.

    bushing-full;init:.jpg

    diagram-full;init:.jpg

  6. Hey guys, I just did a compression test on my 1971 240z. My results were 170 psi in five of the cylinders and 150 in one of them (cylinder 4). Is this anything to worry about? Also, what sort of results should I expect from my car? My engine has 156k original miles, and as far as I know it hasn't been rebuilt. Thanks!

  7. Well, I checked for shorts and grounding problems, and thought I had solved it because I was able to drive for a few days. Then, as soon as I turned on my headlights it died again. I am about to do the zx alternator upgrade, but how do I know the internal regulator won't do the same thing? The worst part is I can't tell if it is working unless I try it and see if it burns out again, and that's costing me a lot of money.

  8. Check out www.atlanticz.ca for the conversion. I have one ready to install (had it in my '77). If interested, PM me. You may want to check your ground and power primary cables they could have worn through to each other and you regulator is playing hell trying to keep them ~14V apart. Look up their fusible link upgrade and consider replacing your primary power and ground wires.

     

    EDIT: I saw your other thread where you battery won't hold a charge. That only reinforces the worn shielding theory. Your juice is literally bleeding straight from power to ground and discharging your battery.

     

    The ground and power primary cables, are they the ones on the regulator? Or battery or what? I also just drove 250 miles and the car held up, but it was during the day. I grounded the voltage regulator housing before I left. I wonder if it fixed the problem, or if I can't tell until night time when I use headlights.

  9. I posted about this in another thread, but I have narrowed the problem down further. I am having a problem with my voltage regulator in my '71 240z. I have gone through 2 of them in the last month because they melt inside after i drive for a bit with the headlights on. I don't want to install yet another because it will most likely burn out as well. Has anyone else had this problem and know of a quick way to fix it? I have checked all the grounding spots I could find and cleaned them up already.

    Thanks

  10. A few things:

     

    Is the battery "not holding a charge" due to a failed battery or is the charging system just not recharging it? The other day I saw a post where it was suggested that parts stores like autozone and checker can load test a battery. You might want to do that to make sure it's still good.

     

    How did you determine that the regulator is "fried"?

     

    What else have you done recently to the car? Any other work that might have had some impact on wiring?

     

    Given the alternator is a rebuilt, you might want to test it at the parts store as well. It's not uncommon for a rebuilt to fail shortly after being installed.

     

    As for where to look for a ground problem, as nismopick said, it's really not possible to give you a specific list. More than likely one of the 3 devices (battery, regulator, alternator) was the cause of the failure. Even though the wiring on our early Zs isn't all that robust, unless something is done to it (such as a wire is crushed/damaged/shorted to ground/etc) it rarely just "fails".

     

    The battery and alternator are both good, I had them tested at the parts store. I know the voltage regulator is fried because I opened it up and one of the coils is literally melted through. So the reason it isn't charging properly is that the burned out voltage regulator isn't letting enough voltage through to charge the battery while the headlights were on. I bought another one to put in, but I am hesitant to install it because it will probably happen again. Other than the charging system, I haven't done any work related to the electrical system, just rebuilt the carbs and some replaced some gaskets. Has anyone else had a problem with voltage regulators that keep going bad?

  11. It turns out that my voltage regulator was fried (the one i just bought) which leads me to believe its a grounding issue maybe. I don't want to go out and buy a new voltage regulator yet if its just going burn out too. Where should I check for grounding or other wiring problems?

  12. My battery isn't holding a charge. The battery is only a few months old, and I have replaced the alternator (NAPA remanufactured) and voltage regulator, but it still dies out at stop signs and won't start up again. What do you think the problem is? Is there a way to test each component individually? Is there more to the charging system that I'm missing?

    Thanks

  13. I've found it easiest to refill from above via the engine compartment. Get 2 feet of ~ 1/2" clear tubing at Lowes/HD. From under the car insert one end of the hose into the fill hole on the tranny and route the other up towards the battery. Then just put the nipple of oil container (I'm assuming you're using a 1 quart bottle) into the hose and squeeze. If it's cold you may want to soak the bottle in warm water beforehand to make it flow better.

     

    It's easier and neater than doing it from under the car.

     

    Heh, I did it this morning that same way before even reading your post. Except I didn't warm the oil first, I poked a hole in the back of the bottle and used the air compressor to give it some pressure. Thanks!

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