Jeff G 78

I am out of spit and I only have a few days to figure out and fix the problem with my 260Z 24 Hours of LeMons car or I will have a very long, frustrating race next weekend. I'm asking for and suggestions you have. The biggest issue we have is that it's a track-only car and we cannot prove out anything we try until we are in the race next weekend. Here's the story: Car setup: '74 260Z with 3 screw SUs on a 260 intake and stock exhaust manifold Fuel tank was cleaned and POR15 treated and has two fuel filters that stay clean Engine has good compression SUs were cleaned/rebuilt and SM needles installed. Floats set to spec and they synched at idle and 1500 RPM Pistons drop at same rate and needles move smoothly up and down in choke seats New mechanical fuel pump - electric pump removed New fuel hoses and vent lines All hard lines flushed and checked for blockages Stock magnetic pickup distributor with working vac and mechanical advance Extra heat shielding between exhaust and intake and fuel rail well insulated Performance coil running at full 12+V (no ballast resistor) No EGR or water lines to intake manifolds New MSA radiator with gutted thermostat The sympoms: Car starts immediately and idles perfect as low as 700 rpm Free revs smoothly to 5k+ rpm Runs great on roadcourses for 10-20 minutes with zero issues After 10-20 minutes (depending on air temp), car begins to stumble at 4k rpm. Within a few turns, the car hits a brick wall at 4k and will not rev higher Backfires through exhaust 2-3 times on decel after a stumble Runs worse and worse and within a few turns, car will not accelerate at all Continues to free-rev to 5k+ without missing Sometimes after car cools for 30 minutes or more, it will run well again for 10-20 minutes and other times, it continues to have issue Car always free-revs fine and always restarts immediately and idles smoothly What we've tried: Checked fuel inlets at carbs, checked/replaced filters, floats, etc Symptoms did not change with/without SM needles Plugs are all the same and rather black after a stumble incident Replaced Transistor Ignition Unit immediately following stumble Removed gas cap to rule out tank vent issue Ran car without hood to aid airflow to fuel lines in case of vapor lock Replaced coil, spark plugs, plug wires Our thoughts: We are fairly certain the problem is heat related as is is worse when ambient temp is higher and only happens after car gets fully up to temp We *think* the problem is fuel related since it's only under load. If ignition, would the car free rev OK? We think the problem is in fuel delivery and not in the carbs since the plugs all look alike Our next steps: Install an electric fuel pump in addition to mechanical pump Add fuel pressure gage so we can monitor pressure Recheck mechanical advance in distributor Like I said earlier, the car free-revs fine and it only happens under load, so we have no way of knowing if a fix works or not until we are on a track for 10-20 minutes. Our next opportunity will be DURING our race next weekend. We plan on trying anything and everything we can do in one week, so I'm open to suggestions! Thanks in advance.

I am a HybridZ reader, but I don't post much here. I spend most of my time on zcar.com and classiczcars.com. I just wanted to let everybody here know that a long time hybridz and zcar member that went by Cyind died earlier today after a terminal illness. His younger brother posted the news on zcar.com. Please follow this link if you'd like to give your condolences or help out. According to his brother, the family doesn't have the money needed for his funeral, so they are selling his Z cars and parts to help raise money. I didn't know Robert personally, but he always came across as a good guy and a positive contributor to zcar.com.

+4 on the Hankook RS-2. They have lots of grip and are wearing great. The best part is that they are very true and quiet. Can't beat the price either.

After giving up on the big hammer, I cut the pins on each side of the knuckle and took the knuckles to work. Even with the LCA's removed, the pins laughed at our 25 ton hydraulic press. After a lot of heat and much penetrating oil, the pins started to move. Every time they would move some, they let out a hell of a bang. People from other parts of the shop came running over thinking a big piece of machinery fell over or broke. It was louder than a shotgun! It did this over and over as the pins slid out. I couldn't just keep going because the shock was so violent that the pressing pin would move out of position. We were holding scatter shields (thick rubber mats) up in front of us during the process since we weren't sure what would happen next. I finally got them out, but I had to laugh at myself for trying to get them out first with a big hammer. The spindle pin tool wasn't available yet at the time, but I seriously doubt it would have done anything more than strip the threads off the pins. I thought for sure that my rust-free Z from Atlanta would be easier than most to get the pins out. WRONG! The pins didn't look too corroded, mushroomed, or bent. I guess they just didn't want to come out.

Yep, I think you qualify Wagz!

ROFLMAO! That is the funniest thing I've read today Billz260.

No no, look again - They are MINNIE Mouse sheets. This kid it going to have a fun life after his video circles the web a few million times. Do you suppose the video made it to the girl and SHE posted it? That would be the ultimate rejection.

This ranks right up there with the Star Wars kid video. Maybe those two could do a singing and dancing video together. Did his mom teach him how to dance?

I bought my '78 Z in 1991. Since then it has been driven less than 20 miles, the engine has been out at least twice and has had three different heads. It isn't on jackstands right now, but it isn't on the road yet either. It has seen over a thousand of miles of road over the last twelve years, but almost all from atop a trailer. Hopefully this spring I will get it on the road as it is finally close. Racin_Jason said: "Mines been on jackstands for well over a year now. I may be "King Jackstand", although I doubt it." I think I have you beat. So, what's my number?

There is a sign on a busy street in Dearborn Michigan that reads "HORIZON THERAPEUTIC MASSAGE - ENTER IN REAR".

Okay, we just did this with wheels. Let's do it again for front air dams. Please state brand and material (ie urethane or fiberglass). Also show off non-stock bumpers like 240 bumpers on a 280 etc.

Roush isn't backed by Ford either. They are simply a performance company that does a lot of work for Ford as well as uses Ford products from which to base their cars.

Be very careful about 'too good to be true' online prices. Ask them if they are an authorized dealer. If they are not, you might get no warranty, possibly no manual, battery, etc. I ran into this when I was buying my G2. I placed the order through a place and then felt uneasy so I started checking into the deal. I found out that many online places are very shady. I quickly cancelled my order and reodered the camera from another place. Better to be safe than stuck with a deal from an unreputable store.

You can't go wrong with the Canon. I have a G2 4.0 and love it. It takes better pictures than any other camera I've owned. I'm sure the other Canons are equally impressive, but will just give smaller pictures. I have about $1700 in mine with all the accessories. I bought a 1Gb microdrive and multiple lenses etc. Poster-sized pictures are no problem and the colors are incredible.

I agree that narrower is better for handling, but the 215 size is at least in the ballpark for diameter. I have run 215s on 14x6 with pretty good results. Anything smaller and the ground clearance gets very low on a lowered car. Fine for the track, but tough on the streets.

a 215/60 works best with a 14x6 rim. A 225/60 can be squeezed on, but will not be as good for handling feel. A 225 might give a bit more overall grip, but the car will handle better with the 215. It is a bit shorter that stock, however.

The other thing to keep in mind is storage for the parts you remove. Not only does a fully disassembled car take up a ton of room, many parts are tough to protect. Once you remove a fender for example, it is easily damaged. Make sure you have a good rack system and plenty of places to hang parts. The floor is a terrible place for many Z parts as they will surely get kicked, stepped on, or dirty/wet.

The load rating for a 215/40R17 should be 915 lbs at 32psi. With a standard factor of safety they still have plenty of reserve at GVW. If I remember correctly, the cargo capacity for a Z is 450lbs. Add that to the ~2350lb curb weight and you get 2800. Divide by 4 for a Z's 50/50 weight distribution, and you have only 700 lbs per tire. This is well within the load rating for that tire.

Mike and others, I didn't mean that he shouldn't ask the question, but that he shouldn't, in this particular case, take answers as gospel either. I'd hate for him to buy calipers, rotors and linings to have them not work on his particular car. I have owned several Z cars with the slotted mags and they are all slightly different. All I was suggesting was that he do a trial fit before spending big bucks. That said, this is the one site that I would trust to get accurate info. Heck, I asked exactly the same question a while back, but about the vented rotor swap and Panasport wheels. In my case I didn't want to buy wheels that won't package over the brakes.

I wouldn't go by what anybody here tells you for specific fitment. Each wheel is slightly different in shape and might or might not fit. Since there is no such thing as a factory optional wheel, we can't say for sure either way. All the alloy wheels on the early cars were dealer installed and were simply aftermarket wheels, so there were many brands and styles. I would suggest going to an Autozone and buying one '85 Toy caliper and trying it on for size before you get the rest of the parts. Take off the dust shield, but don't bother hooking up the brake line. Bolt the wheel back on and check for clearance/interference. I did this with a '89 Toy caliper for the vented rotor behind a set of 14x6 Enkei wheels and they cleared with room to spare, but that doesn't mean yours will. How much clearance do you have now between the backside of the wheel and the front face of the stock caliper? The Toy caliper will stick out farther in this direction.

Tap the pin out. It is wedge shaped and will come out the other side. Be sure to put the nut back on half way before you tap on it and be careful not to damage the threads. If you do, it will just be one more part to buy.

Ah yes, you have come to the single hardest thing you will ever tackle on a Z. I have not personally used the pin removal tool, but I am 99% sure it would not have done jack for me. Each and every Z will have a different level of pin removal difficulty, but mine was a bear. I pounded and soaked and pounded and soaked with no luck. I then cut the pin on each side of the cast iron knuckle so that I could make pressing the pin out easier. Once the pin is cut, the two ends in the control arm will come out easily and you have just the strong iron knuckle to press against. In my case, I used a 25 ton air/hydraulic press at work and maxed it out. When the pin would move a bit, it sounded like a shotgun blast. People actually came running from another part of the loud shop to see what happened. Eventually I got them out, but there is no way I could have done it without cutting first and then using the press. I did try heat on one and it didn't make any difference. Once you do accomplish this feat, however, you will feel like there is nothing you can't conquer. Good luck and feel free to e-mail me if you get stuck and need advise.

Thanks guys. Yes, if you don't mind, I would like to get a few pics of the wheel/brake package. My car is tucked away for the winter, so I will be buying the wheels and brakes with no way of trial fitting them until I retrieve the car in the Spring. What tire size are you running? I haven't decided between 205/55R16 and 215/50R16. My car is lowered about an inch with Tokico springs and Illuminas. Jeff

Before I buy hardware, I am looking for someone who has upgraded their 1st gen Z with the vented Z31 rotor/Toyota 4x4 caliper combination under 16x7 Panasport rims. Do these brakes fit behind the spokes? I am also planning on the 240sx/280ZX rear swap as well. Thanks.