datsunlover

About 'showcars' for those of you not close enough to go there in person; BE CAREFULL!! There was a post a while ago about the overall dissatisfaction/problems with this company. I've been there, and trust me this guy runs a somewhat shody and dissorganised shop/buiseness. I have heard lots of negative things as far as shipping, comunication, and quality of parts goes. Just a FYI.

I was thinking of this too.. IMP, the 7M is probly a better designed engine than the ol' Nissan L28. Dual cams (right?), more power, non -interfearance head, and they love to rev. There is a guy where I live that has had lots over the years, and his only complaint is that the cars rot so bad (hmm... kinda like Zs..) but he swears by the engine/tranny. You should see this guy drive man... stays in first gear till 5000, STOMPS it well into the red, then slams into second, ect. He is abusive and uncaring and he has yet to blow one up! He told me he snapped a timing belt one day, so he pushed the car home, put on a USED belt he had lying around, lined up the dots and away she went! He also said the HG can be a prob, but he doesnt even bother changing it; just tighntens the head bolts up about 10-15 pounds more than whats called for by Toyota. Another friend of mine bought a Supra off this guy once (yah, bad idea) and the thing still went like hell with a mostly burned out clutch (couldnt hit WOT without slipping), leaking slave cyl, and more rot than you can imagine. Only thing I dont like about them is the FI. It used a similar system to the Z (AFM.. ahhh!!!) and they are getting old now as well...

Well, I will agree with drax there. Like I said about my buddys Jeep, a single carb like that is just not ideal for an inline 6, but it works and it is cheep. This guy compleatly rebuild his engine last year. upgradded cam (its a jeep, so he wanted more low end grunt for trail riding, climing ect) had some head work done, ect ect but he was on a budget so he just rebuild the stock carb and thrwe it on. IIRC, there is a 4bbl conversion for the 4.2 Jeep as well, but it is pricey. Anyway, it runs ok, but it refuses to run 'just right' because of the single little carb in the middle of this big engine.

I guess it comes down to the proof that the Z 4bbl intake is BETTER than the OEM twin carbs/stock FI. All other things being equal, I would think that the oem set up was 'the best all around' when it was designed, (The 70-72 anyway..) and the SU's are quite simple/easy to adjust IMO. The FI is also a good system when it's in good order. (yah, right.. lots of those left around! ) Hmm... A question to anyone who has done this 4bbl conversion here; Did you switch to the 390 carb from a perfect original setup? Or was this a swap done to fix failing FI or SU's? (obviously a new 4bbl/intake would be a vast improvement over junk carbs/stock FI) BUT: If you switched from a properly tuned OEM system, did you find a huge diffrence in power, or is it just a little easier to start, slight increase in 'get up n go' , and slightly worse fuel mileage?

Well, I'd be curious as to how this comparisan turns out (if it ever happens) as I am going to be running su's, bu they are.. uh... tired. I Was thinking of a 4bbl intake, but was woried about the 'suposed' problems with them. I have a friend with a Jeep YJ, and he swears up and down that a single carb on an inline 6 is no good, because of the differing lengths of intake runners/, causing lean/rich problems. Not to compare a Jeep and a Z too closely (here comes a flame.. I can feel it.. ) BUT the general layout of a carbed I6 remains the same, regardless of manufacturer. With this in mind, combined with the negative things I heard about the Z 4bbl intakes, I admit that I was not too keen on shelling out big $$$ for an intake/carb/accs, and in the end STILL have a poor running car. (this whole thing came to be, because my FI was shot, and I didnt want to spend $1000+ HOPING it would fix it) FWIW, I paid $100 CAN for my intake and twin SU's, and they DO work, albeit a bit rough/rich. I'm gona keep an eye on this thread now. Hope something works out and this 'issue' gets resolved.

You say 3 'diffrent' starters... were any of them new, or were they just siting around? I know it sounds odd, but if you didnt know for sure the other's were 'known good' then it's at least possible they were all shot too. Heck, if you've got 2 or 3 lying around, try dissasembling them all, and build one out of the best condition parts! I say this because I ended up going through 2 starters that both did the 'zing' thing, got pissed and ripped them both apart, which led to me rebuilding one from 2. Just an idea..

72zcar; My 280zx did EXACTLY the same thing. A temporary fix was to take apart the starter solenoid, clean it up, and spin this little contact ring (proper term?) around a bit. What is happening is this; the starter motor gets power from a little 'arm' that makes a conection by pushing on the ring when the sonenoid is engaged (by the key) , therefore starting the motor and pushing out the gear at esentialy the same time. When the arm/ring gets worn, it kicks out too soon (befor you let off the key), and the motor shaft drops back into the starter. Thats the 'zing' sound you hear. This is hard to describe... but if you take off the starter and take it apart, you'll see what I mean. I eventually changed mine out for a newer one though, as it stsrted doing the same thing about 2 months later. 2fortyz; Yah, it might be that the solenoid is sticking, or has a bad conection internaly.. you could try jumping the two contacts with a screwdriver (make sure the car is in nutral!!!) and if it cranks the engine over, the problem is elsewhere in the wiring....ugh.. Hope this helps guys

I don't know of any, but there is a guy here I see driving one around evry summer. He looks about my age (25) so he might know of a forum or web site maybe.. If I see him, I'll ask for ya.

Check your cables where they conect to the starter, and the battry too. Sounds like a bad/loose/corroded conection somewhere to me..

I was thinking of painting my car satin black... I asked a friend of mine, but hes says I should go with an 'ocean' blue........... Then I can put some white on all the waves. Yah, body work sucks.

Well it sounds like it'd be a cool project.. but I think Im with Aux on this one... that is a wide motor.. Heck, a member here squezed in a Jag V12, but it's TIGHT. You might try him for some info/details on this kind of project. (Member goes by the name Dot, he's got plenty of posts here) And I agree that a sbc or sbf could be built to the same specs for less $$$. And really, if you just dropped $4000 for an engine, it sounds like you've got some cash on your side... I'd say you could pick up a Z with next to no damage to the frame/unibody for less than the cost of your engine.. IMO.

Well, I feel safe telling of this here..(ANY other auto forum will ussually flame me pretty good) I just got my old car back; 85 RX7 with a V8 chev. I get the rotary ppl teling me Im a butcher/idiot, and the domestic V8 guys say I wasted a good engine. Bah... I don't care anymore. I was thinking of building a rotary for my rx originally.. (actualy thinking of making a twin turbo 4 rotor engine), but I'll take 3 times the torque/HP and reliability thanks! Im not trying to insult anyone who may have a rotery in a Z/other vehicle though, I just like the V8 grunt. Plus, I build/converted my car for $3000.. which wouldnt have got me too far when you start to consider the cost of fuel managment, turbos, ect. Maybe someday (after I win the lottery or something..) I'll build a rotary. Im actually trying to convince a friend of mine to convert her RX (88/auto) to V8, as her son toasted the motor last summer and the rest of the car is mint.

I will second that thought. I got my z running a few months ago, and all was well. About two week later, it stsrted but ran pretty bad. Then the next day, it started but sputtered and died right away. I was going "WTF?!?" So I lok over evrything, and... forgot to tighten the dizzy down and it had turned itself WAY out of proper timing.

That is damn cool... I must build one... heh heh.. after I finish the Z.. and after I finich my RX7.. crap...

Hmm.. well, I am just debating changing mine out for a mint shape dash from a 72... or fixing the ONE crack in the middle of mine somehow.. Thanks for the info man.

OMFG!!!! That is AWSOME! Looks evil... I like!

Some of you might remember a post I made a few months back about me wanting to buy back a car I build a few years ago. ..well... I just got off the phone with the guy who has my old RX and wow... I just got my car back for $300! For those that dont know, this is an 85 RX7 that I 'hybridized' a few years back by stuffing a small block chev into. The Z is almost done (a few more weeks of body work, then a quick spray of white paint) and I hope to be driving it by July sometime. I love my Z, but it would just be too much time/money (for me anyway) involved in doing a V8 conv, especially when my RX7 has already been converted, and is practicaly RUST FREE! The ownership is still in my name, and I still have the plates for it! So now I have to find a way to get it here tomorrow (it's 45mins away) either towing with a tow bar on my truck, or a towing co. Anyway, it'll give me something else to tinker with this summer, and I can do it right this time. (the original build was quite ...rushed... and not completed properly) I'll try to get some pics up when I get it.... hmm.. got to get some pics of my Z too!

A little off the topic here, and a bit of post hyjacking... sorry.. But, what's involved in taking out the dash? Are there a lot of hidden/hard to get to nut's/bolts, or is it relativly easy to get out?

Makes me wonder what mine is going to put down to the wheels.. Here's a rundown on my car: 75 280 (L28 re-built about 10 years ago... ) with 72 SU carbs, opened up air cleaner (stock one, cut up a bit), a straight open exhast (no mufler) and a 280zx dizzy. Any guesses?

Wow.. go GEO!!!! My buddy's a Geo guy.. loves his stinkin geos... he's gona love this one.. lol

Throttle valve switch maybe? (thing that looks like a TPS on the side of the throttle body) Could have a bad contact, or be out of adjustment. Or... You say 'new engine temp sensor' but there are actually two. One for the guage, and another that is called the 'thermotime' switch (I think) that tells the computer the engine temp. Mayby it's starting to fail/mis-read... hmm.. you sure the vac-advance is good on the dizzy? The line might be fine, but the internal diafriagm might be torn/corroded... I dono.. I guess it also might be an AFM problem.. but I would think it would do the stumble/sputer thing a lot more than you say...

Try adjusting the TVS/TPS maybe? Or adjust the AFM (open it up and turn the wheel a bit, to give more tension) Dont know what else it could be..

Umm... from what I'v heard, weren't the early 5-speeds a somewhat week tranny? Mind you.. my 81 280zx did the same thing you describe... I took it to a trany shop, and after a short ride, the guys told me either the 2nd+3rd syncros were chewed/worn, or there was a thrust(?) bearing gone...

When I got my Z (280) the floor pans had already been instaled. BUT: not completed properly. I had to finish the front areas in both foot wells/rocker panel (actually, most of these spots were GONE.. ), a few spots where the floors join the rockers, and a few spots at the back. Just that took me about a week. Then another week or so to weld in the frame conectors. (I just cut the bottom off of the stock 'rail' and slid 2X2 sq. tube up in there) IMHO evrything is fixxable.. but I don't agree with driving while doing this kind of fix.. I had mine on 6 stands, and I was woried about it just SITTING like that.. it actually did flex the car a bit, but now its good again, thanks to the subframe.

Well I'll see what I can do for ya Tim. Im finishing school this week (3 hour drive north.. ugh...) so Im gone till friday afternoon but when I get back, I'll try to get out to my friends parents place. I saw the car driving around last weekend, so if I have to, I'll just hunt the guy down at the local car show/cruise night we have here on Sunday nights. I'm sure he'll be there. I'm working on a deal to get a digi. camera to, so I'll try to get some pics for ya if I can.