waynekarnes

that should say pre 74 z. i was thinking of the new bill, that has passed and is held in the budget commitee to see if the state has the money to implement it. it says that all pre 76 cars need to be smog tested. right now,in california, pre 74 z's are exempt from smog testing at time of registration. exempt from testing, not from having smog eq. smog equipment is still required. wayne.

for some reason, people seem to think, that all pre 76 cars in california are exempt from having functional smog equipment on their cars intended to be driven on california roadways. this is not true. all vehicles used on california roadways that operate on gasoline, built after 1955 are required to have smog control equipment. be it as simple as positive crankcase ventilation or cats and smog pumps. if a vehicle is stopped by the CHP or local police, and it is suspected the vehicle is modified, they may at that time, take a look for obvious violations of the smog laws in that county. drunk driving road blocks, did you know that the state of california kicks in money to the counties that put them up, that's what makes em so popular. did you also know that if the cops, also set up a roadside smog inspection station, right along side the drunk inspection, that they got more money ??? well, as the state doesn't have as much money in the coffers as they did, when that bill was passed, the state has withdrawn that offer FOR NOW. so, you most likely, will not see road side smog checks, until CARB convinces the state officials that they can make it a money maker. so, no ... your pre 1976 z is NOT exempt from having smog equipment. it is AT THIS TIME, only exempt from a smog inspection at time of registration, whether renewal to the same owner, or at the time of transfer of title. the CARB has bought a legistrator, who has introduced a bill to repeal that exemption, and require a smog inspection on all post 1955 cars, same as it was before the exemption. yes, a return to the smog testing at time of registration. you don't like that ? i sure don't !!! i wrote to my reps !!! if you haven't ,you better. let em know that you vote and you care about your hobby !!! wayne

i really don't want to drop my exhaust, pull all the smog stuff off (t is a california smog legal swap ), remove the exhaust manifolds to retorque my heads. i used the fel pro 2600 gasket kit, am getting mixed messages locally, about whether i need to retorque. i think that i do. friends tell me, no need. when i bought the z ( appears to be a scarab, home grown, V8 dropped in back around 76, 77, corvette 4 speed, scarab modified hurst comp plus shifter ), had been dead for 10 years. found out it had a cracked head. replaced head, valve job on both heads. all back together,torqued to specs. now, has about 5 to 8 hours run time on it ( had thought was around 10 to 15 but rethunk it ), most of it short test rides around the block. one recent 8 to 10 mile ride. am i correct in my old way of thinking, that i need to retorque those heads ???? any chance that i may have caused any harm ? i know, i used to change gaskets, warm it, and retorque right then, never driving the car, without retorquing. thanks, wayne

Pete sent me those instructions a while back, i was thinking that you used the same method, wasn't sure. thanks for the hint. wayne

dan, how'd you mount those mirrors ? i want mirrors that i can see what's behind and along side me. i should have gotten a better look at them at rio ! wayne

dr doctor evil, i want to see that rust repair. want to see pixs !!! i am locked out ... was it something i said, or maybe my breath ?? how do i go about linking and unlocking ? ohhhhh, man i think my peach pie is burning .... gotta go ...

Dan, you got enough miles on it now, so that most of the bugs are worked out and i can take it for a spin ??? thanks for letting me crawl all over it and answering my hundreds of questions. for a famous celebrity, you are real down to earth guy. seriously, i would have been dropping bricks, with people being that close to my machine, if it was as much a work of art as yours is. everyone, Dan was welcoming and inviting everyone to get a closer look and answering every question with great detail and full attention. he's really quite down to earth, head isn't swollen and in the clouds. no leather jacket, cigar and gold chains on him. sandals, aloha shirt and shorts. thanks, Dan !!

thanks for the pix ! you have any showing that big blocks nestling in the engine bay ? lot of work getting a BBC in there. can appreciate that !

Alex, you are thinking of the twit from modesto, that was 6 months ago. this is a new assault ... AB2683 i think maybe 2863 ??? here it is ... Issue: Emissions/ Inspections Bill: AB 2683 Status: Amended Location: In Committee Description: Amends current regulations to repeal current rolling emissions exemptions standards and would instead exempt any vehicle manufactured prior to the 1976 model year Author: Assembly member Liber Intro Date: 20-Feb-04 Bill Type: Two year bill from 2004 some woman this time. note this was introduced on feb 20th and is headed for a vote ... we have to start the letter writing all over again !!! wayne

you should pick up that magazine, grassroots motorsports. that article on brake biasing is a worthwhile read. the purpose of a brake pressure regulator is to prevent the rear wheels from locking in advance of the front. the regulator, brake regulator, biases the percentage of braking to the rear versus what goes to the front. it attempts to balance the braking. in other words, as the car stops, it wants to keep moving forward. inertia. the ass end of the car lifts slightly, makes the rear end lighter, the front presses down, makes the front end heavier. your front brakes do the majority of your work to stop the car, so biasing puts more brake pressure to the front brakes, they start stopping the car before the rears do. once the fronts have slowed the car, pressure is high enough ( from driver pushing harder on the pedal ), the pressure regulator in the rear is over come by pressure, the rear brakes now start working. should the rears come on too soon, they cause the rear to slip and slide, remember, under braking, the rear is lighter than the front, the tires loose traction, rear slides, skips, driver gets excited. that's the main purpose of a brake pressure regulator. sometimes, they also maintain a bit of residual pressure, on the wheel cylinders on drum brakes, so that the shoes don't have as far to travel. the z car comes from the factory with the brake pressure regulators, set by engineers, to match the original specified bores of the rear wheel cylinders and the bore of the front calipers working in unison with the master cylinder. for the most part, it will work fine when converting to 4 wheel disc brakes. it seems to maintain the proper balance. to test this ... in a safe area ... get car up to 31 mph, in a straight line, brake hard. cause the tires to skid. the skid marks for the front wheels should be longer than the marks from the rears. there is no adjusment on the regulator and it is recommended, that it be replaced every 30k miles. engine running, pull and plug the hose to the booster, any difference ? if so, then most likely not the booster. if no difference, engine running, check the hose for sucking ( vacuum ). if none ... find out why. if so, and you already checked the the calipers, ect. and they all appear to be correct. i'd suspect the master, the way the plunger goes into the master, the length of the rod into the master, or the booster. if you had no problems before the swap, work your way backwards. normally, a regulator will not cause the issues you are having, a bad one will most likey, either cause the rear brakes not to release ( once the pedal is pressed ), or not work at all, causing the rear of the car, to dance around under hard braking. pull the front hoses off, bolt em to the original calipers, bleed em, stuff the old rotors in place. see if the pedal works now. if so ... it's the new calipers. if no change ... leave the old stuff hooked up. go to the rear ... hook up the rear hoses to the brake drum rear wheel cylinder. put a rope or string around the business end of the RWC so the pistons don't shoot out. bleed the rear. if all is well and you have pedal travel, the issue is in the rear. if not, check the regulator and the master. but 1st, i'd check that rod that goes into the master, is it centered, did it fall free, is it too long, ect. then i'd check the booster . then the front calipers ... pull em off the rotors, slowly press the pedal ... if goes down ... you have the wrong pads, wrong rotors. if don't move ... then start swapping parts out ... . too much work ? sorry ... i can't think of an easy way to do this with out standing there looking at it with my hands on it. wayne how's the space between the new calipers, pads and the new rotors ... is there any room for them to move ??? if no room to move, no pedal travel.

Miles ( one of my younger brother's name is Miles ), you are pulling the axle stubs ??? was thinking i might have to do that. got lucky, backing plate got bent and was rubbing the brake drum. thought i had a bad wheel bearing. if you are going to pull the axles ( you mean half shafts or axles ? ), you don't really need em, as the stock 240z rear brakes work fine, the racers use drum brakes, with up graded shoes, but you could, if you wanted, upgrade to rear disc brakes. half shafts ( nissan calls em drive shafts, most other manufactuers call em half shafts ) are between the rear end and the backing plates. axles go through the backing plate and have the studs to hold the wheels on. this is from brokenbolt here at hybrid. he sent me this when i thought i was gonna have to pull my axle. hope i read your post correctly and you can use this info again, credit Mike aka brokenbolt wayne This is a cut and past from my notes, I've also posted my notes on my cardomain page here: http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/496289 To remove the rear axles take the car to a qualified mechanic with the tools and equipment to do the job right. For the rest of you who want to do this in your garage on the weekend do this. Get your tools together: first get a 36" long 1" I.D. 1 5/16 O.D. sch 40 pipe and then get some flat stock steel 1"X1/2"X36" drill two 12.5mm holes or 1/2" (it doesn't have to be a precision bore) spaced 4 1/2" center to center or 3 1/4". Then buy thread lock, a 3/4" breaker bar and 1 1/16" socket, 1/2" center punch and 40 oz. hand driver. Next a tire bar 21mm or 13/16" and two 14mm combo wrenches. You should have needle nose pliers plus and minus screw sticks and other common tools. Most important, a service manual like Hayes or Chilton for general information. Set the e-brake and jack the car and support it safely then remove the tires. Disengage the e-brake and remove the four half shaft bolts from the hub, removal of the four bolts from the third member is not required but is recommended for ease of accessibility. They are a shoulder bolt 14mm on both ends. Then the axle nut will be visible looking from the third member towards the wheel hub. (It is best to remove the A arm with strut tower and take it to a qualified machinist and have him remove the nut.) Bolt the flat stock to the hub using the wheel huts and brace it against the car or the ground. Put the breaker bar with pipe and socket on the nut. Send the children to the neighbors house, their ears will be the better for it and now rotate the nut, or at least...try. The nut is crimped on so this can be tough sometimes and this is where most possible damage can occur. Once the nut is removed the half shaft flange should slide off, some don't, but don't worry it will. (It is! better to remove the A arm and strut tower, take it to a qualified machinist and press the axle out.) Chilton recommends using a slide hammer and center hub puller. I use the center punch and place it in the dimple of the shaft and with the hand driver strike the punch with firm square blows. *DO NOT DAMAGE THE THREADS!!!* Glancing blows may cause damage here and a lot of hassle. The axle will take a few good blows but it will start to move. There is a whole pile of goodies to loose like two seals, two bearings and a center spacer inside the hub so be careful and don't loose any of it. Now is a good time to replace bearings and seals with new ones, if you decide not to replace old parts now you may be doing this axle removal thing again in a few months. On reassemble it is best to use new nuts, but if you use the old ones run a die or rethread tool through it, and on the axle shaft can't hurt either. Use the red thread lock on the nut to ensure it doesn't back off and make sure you tighten the hell out of it! I torque on the high side of the recommended 181-239 ft. lb.. (actually I go to 250). First clean the shaft off the car with a good 4 inch hand grinder and a wire wheel or abrasive pad wheel to remove any bad areas on the shaft end. Next get a good rethread tool, M 20 X 1.50. I use one from my Snap-on set that I bought on-line RD-20. Next install the nut over the shaft and turn. I like to use tap-magic to help the tool glide over the threads. Unlike a die the rethread tool or thread restore tool will cram the remaining metal back into shape to help revitalize the old threads. If the metal will not conform back to shape the tool will remove it. A die will cut new threads in any metal that is there, their is a difference! . This is only a fix to the issue of removing a nut that had not been properly prepared before de-installation. I am the worst person for not preparing the nut before removal.

some one here and over at list240.org, suggested the magazine grassroots racing. man is that magazine ever chocked full of info. suggest picking it up and reading the article on pressure regulators and proportioning valves. a very good read. written by a engineer that works for delphi. wayne

when you bleed the brakes, do you have pedal travel ? any rough spots where you feel hesitation or drag, push slowly ... you may have a bad master. if you get fluid and easy pedal movement, then i'd look at sticky calipers or a bad pressure regulating valve at the rear of the car. or as was suggested earlier, larger bore master, smaller bore caliper, you lowered your ability to create high pressure at the master and are unable to push fluid through a small hole. imagine this ... think water ... low pressure at the pump, restricted hole at the end of the hose, requiring a high pressure pump. only a trickle comes out and the pump slows down because it can't push the water, eventually it can't move at all, as it's not meant to move water at that pressure. same thing with your master, it's meant to move a certain amount of fluid, through a certain size hole. think leverage, and fluid dynamics. but ... also check your power brake booster, is the hose connected, not collapsing, the check valve in place and working. is your engine producing enough vacuum to make the power booster work ? was a big problem back in the 70's with big cammed engines. are the rear brakes locked against the rotors as if the parking brake were stuck on ? car on jack stands, level ground, wheels off, engine off, have a friend watch all four calipers are they moving, sqeezing and releasing ??? if not a mismatch between the master and calipers, calipers are working properly, you used a vacuum gauge and did a leak down test on the booster, temporaily by pass the check valves in the rear, they might be stuck. it sounds as if the calipers are not letting go. take a look at those rear pressure regulators, if all else checks out. wayne.

when you pull the parking brake on, a lever pushes on the knurled wheel, turning the wheel, shoving the shoes closer to the drum. when it feels tension, the lever should slip by the knurls. when you installed the shoes, you should have tightened the shoes against the drum and adjusted from there. the emergency brake will adjust from there. if you are adjusting every two weeks, there is something wrong. check the shoes, see that they aren't falling apart. even a manual adjustment should last you around 7500 miles. do you have the right wheels on the correct RWC ( rear wheel cylinder ) ? with the drum off, fingers out of the way, car well supported on jack stands, have some one slowly pull the parking brake, see if the lever engages. does it turn the wheel ?? if not figure out why. if so, then check to see if the adjustment wheel is being allowed to go backwards. it should lock in the adjusted position. the RWC should move freely on the backing plate, if not, you will need to remove it ( leave the brake tube connected, knock the locking plates trapping it to the backing plate out, get some high temp grease in there between the RWC and the backing plate... not much as you don't want it getting on your brake shoes. ). not lubing the RWC is the biggest reason that the adjuster doesn't work. the other is, a loose emergency brake cable. the lever doesn't move far enough to engage the knurls on the wheel. me, i have the opposite issue, won't stop adjusting right rear keeps locking up ... at least it was. i got in there, moved a few things. maybe i fixed it. have other issues to deal with and haven't been working on it lately ( project ). pick up a haynes manual, on this issue, it's almost word for word the same as the nissan factory repair manual. also, make sure that you lubed all the parts that the factory says to lube ... very very important that you lube, for that adjuster to work. wayne

you got pixs you can up load or e mail ? i'd like to see this ... wayne

just got back from walking the dog. get that exercise. thought that was you and your zx. would have loved to have gotten another look at your zx before you sold it. Alex was telling me, it was quite possibly the nicest one he had ever seen. modified or otherwise. he seems humbled by your engineering prowess, i know i am beyond impressed. thanks for the link to the 968. i just might use your modeling/fiberglass technique to make a few items for my son's baja bug project. wayne

you have the porshe now ??? yes ? met you at rio vista ? i had the cam corder. that is a sweet 280zx !!! if only i had the money !!!

i have that same sticker, only mine says 1972 datsun 240z. thanks ! more please ! wayne

i'm interested in hearing about ca. smog legal V8 swaps into 280zx. problems/solutions/referee sticker ? pictures. not in position to build or buy just yet ... dreaming, that a luxo barge would be nice to cruise the freeways in. plus it would look sweet in the driveway next to my V8 240z. in 81, i owned a 79 zx GS, i put 22k on it in a little over a year. comfortable ez driving car. completely different car than it's older sister the 240z. thinking a V8 zx might be the e ticket to bring a little of the Z excitement to the zx, and still be able to enjoy the luxo cruising aspect of the car. i like em both. i'm an odd bird, put money down on a crown kit to put a V8 into a corvair. 1974 was 18 at home, parents frowned on me adding another car to my collection. 81, bought 66 corsa ... yee haa ! it could blow the doors off my zx. sold corsa and zx, bought an 70 LT-1/ZR-1 factory modified convertible. never did the swap, it's still on my wish list. wayne

AB 2683/ calif. they are repealing your smog exemption those of us in california, remember my mentioning about CARB lobbying the state senate, to save their jobs ? well, start the writing campaign again, the CARB a holes have bought another legal beagle. they want to sneak in another repeal of the exemption of smog tests at registration. Issue: Emissions/ Inspections Bill: AB 2683 Status: Amended Location: In Committee Description: Amends current regulations to repeal current rolling emissions exemptions standards and would instead exempt any vehicle manufactured prior to the 1976 model year Author: Assembly member Liber Intro Date: 20-Feb-04 Bill Type: Two year bill from 2004 Bill AB 2683, would repeal the exemption. we had better get busy on this or you can figure on parking your Z. write your assembly member now and write to LIBER as well. she has been bought by the managers at CARB, they know that most pre 1976 cars are rarely driven and getting them smogged will have nil affect on the smog problem. it is pork barrel politics, upper level managers at CARB, just want to keep their state welfare checks coming in. find and write your legislator enter zip code XXXXX-XXXX in that manner. http://www.congressweb.com/cweb4/index.cfm?orgcode=SEMA wayne __________________ it's getting better, so much better, all the time ! can't get much worse ...

AB 2683/ calif. they are repealing your smog exemption those of us in california, remember my mentioning about CARB lobbying the state senate, to save their jobs ? well, start the writing campaign again, the CARB a holes have bought another legal beagle. they want to sneak in another repeal of the exemption of smog tests at registration. Issue: Emissions/ Inspections Bill: AB 2683 Status: Amended Location: In Committee Description: Amends current regulations to repeal current rolling emissions exemptions standards and would instead exempt any vehicle manufactured prior to the 1976 model year Author: Assembly member Liber Intro Date: 20-Feb-04 Bill Type: Two year bill from 2004 Bill AB 2683, would repeal the exemption. we had better get busy on this or you can figure on parking your Z. write your assembly member now and write to LIBER as well. she has been bought by the managers at CARB, they know that most pre 1976 cars are rarely driven and getting them smogged will have nil affect on the smog problem. it is pork barrel politics, upper level managers at CARB, just want to keep their state welfare checks coming in. find and write your legislator enter zipe code XXXXX-XXXX in that manner. http://www.congressweb.com/cweb4/index.cfm?orgcode=SEMA wayne __________________ it's getting better, so much better, all the time ! can't get much worse ...

Carl Beck over at the IZZC has installed the vintage air on one of his z cars. he is in florida and is quite happy with his set up. http://www.zhome.com/ you can also contact him through e mail c/o list@240z.org

i was thinking, if i waited a month before i got to a pro painter for the clear coat, i might be in trouble. not have much base coat left to scuff. still, i would like to try it ... maybe i could splash a bit on my son's baja bug. resale value of the baja, won't really hinge on a mile deep paint job. my 72 z, is another story. if i go to the trouble of proper body work and prep, i want a good paint job.

i had wondered about that myself ... how does the clear hang on the paint. if i have already color sanded the water color, i'm figuring ... it's gonna have to be clear coated the same day. don' expect that there would be much base to work with, if i sand again,before clear coat, should i wait a month or so. never considered that it would run and puddle up like old finger paints. i have shot paint, and spent a good deal of my time cussing and fixing my mistakes, so i am far from being even adequate with a gun. was looking at this as if it were going to be easier to apply, than laquer or acrylic enamel. seems now, that it may actually be a bit more difficult. guess, no substitute for experience and knowing what one is doing. thanks, wayne

in the street rodder article, they were using a heat gun, or hair dryer to flash the paint. the article made it seem ( but don't they all ) seem as if this stuff was very forgiving . that the average talented person could get a decent paint job at home, provided one sanded the bugs out, resprayed and then took the car to maacco or some place for the clear coat. they said to spray it on thin, and several coats. using a heat source to dry the paint between coats. i'm very tempted, to try it ... maybe just the hood to see how i do. thanks, wayne