Jonas240z

Thanks for all the help guys. I'll check to see if there's any leaks near the firewall....but i do think that the fork might have been displaced from the pivot. I'm also gonna go ahead an replace the hose and master cyl. Thanks again....oh and by the way "2slo4u" the weather down here is pretty crappy right now, too much rain.

Hello guys; I need some help please, my car (73 240z) does not want to engage into any gear (280zx 5spd) anymore. This all started when i went away from home on a business trip for 5 days, came back and the car ran and everything but it was really hard to shift into any gear, specially when shifting into first gear to get the car going. Anyhow, a day or two later i checked the oil level on the tranny and it was fine, fluid level on the clutch master cyl. was fine too. But here it's where i think i made a mistake. I pushed on the slave cyl. to see if there was any leaks but at the same time i think i pushed on the clutch fork. So i don't know if i disengaged it from the inside....cuz when i tried to put the car in gear after that, the clutch pedal was super soft, and it didn't want to engage into any gear. From there i got a new slave cyl. and hooked it up bleed the line and no luck. Clutch pedal still felt soft. Then i hooked up the old slave cyl. and same results....actually it felt better (harder) with the old slave cyl. So i don't really know what i should do from here. Any help, please!! This is my only car ....and i need to get it running!

I still can't figure out what is wrong with the car. I checked and tuned the carbs again and nothing, i advanced the timing and nothing!! I just don't know what else could be wrong...maybe something internally....what if the cam is advanced a little bit, or the valve lash is wrong, could that be the problem?? The thing is that when i go for a test drive... and step on the gas WOT...once it reaches 4000rpm to 4500rpm it first gear!! it does not want to go any further, as if it ran out of gas or power!! It feels like it's missing or there's something blocking or restricting the car from going any faster. I really don't wanna take it to a specialist cuz i'm broke at the moment....but i just don't know what else to do ...I need some help really bad!

The Bosch +4's that i'm using on my L28 were also on the L24 ( so they're used) and i had no problem getting to 7000rpm redline on this old tired L24 engine. Before this i had NGK's "V power", that were gapped to .44, and they actually worked worse than the Bosch! So i was just going to adjust the gap back down...but i accidentally dropped a plug on the ground and it broke the insulator (UPS!!)...that's why i'm using the Bosch, which did make a little difference. Other than that i'm still clue less...but thanks for all the help!

I'm running the same dizzy that was on the L24 but i retarted it a little bit...cuz it was advanced all the way when it was on the L24 (ran without a problem), so i'm going to advance it all the way to see if it makes a difference. The carbs are balanced, same amount of oil on dampers, same mixture setting. Datsunlover you say you experienced something similar, so i'll try advancing it tomorrow! Anyone else experienced something similar??? Thanks for the help!

Hello there, here's the problem: I recently did an engine swap on my 240z. I put a rebuilt L28 with some mild cam, flat top pistons, header and 71' SU's that where recently rebuilt. The problem stated one day when i steppted on the gas (to see how the new engine felt) and once i reached about 3500 RPM it started misfiring, then i reached 4000RPM and it didn't want to go any further. So i checked the air filter (K&N) and it was like new, fuel filter on engine bay (clear) didn't show any debris or anything else, electric fuel pump works well, carbs are tuned, coil is almost new (PS60), spark plug wires are fairly new ( 1 yr. old or less [ TAYLOR 8mm]), spark plugs are bosch +4's (used on the L24 for a few months without a problem), Dizzy is the 240z one but with electronic ignition conversion (Pertronix or similar). What i did notice was that sparkplugs 5 & 6 were covered with carbon deposits, No. 4 was slightly covered with carbon and the other three were perfect. So i tuned my carbs, check the float levels, and still have the problem!! Every time i step on the gas i try to go past 3500-4000RPM it starts hesitating and it doesn't go past 4000 RPM under load. It does however go past 4000...if the car is parked or cruising in neutral! I'm now clue less...and don't know what's wrong. Please help me! any help will be appreciated! Thanks!

Thanks alot jmortensen. I'll do that and hopefully i'll get rid of the noise! But if not i'l just take it to a shop. Thanks again everyone!

Yes i did turn the engine manualy during assembly ( felt a little resistance tough, every 180* or so, is that normal). I'm pretty sure i adjust the lash with the lobes straight up? I'll triple check today....but now my question is: what should i set them to...Stock or thighter? and cold or hot? And if the noise doesn't go away what else could it be?

First i when i assembled the motor i set them stock cold (.008 intake & .010" exhaust ). Then after firing the engine and letting it run for 20 mins. i took it for a test drive and i nottised the noise coming from the valvetrian. I got back home let it cool for 15-20 mins. took the valvecover off and when ahead and set them to .008 and .010 (hot) ...which is .002 tighter than stock (hot). I did that to get rid of the noise. I ran it again and the noise didn't go away. So i set them .002" tighter to .006 & .008 (hot) and then the noise was still there ( and i believe even louder ). I did all that after running the car to normal temp. and let it cool for 15-20 mins.

I also purchased the nissan motorsports pistons that have a sligthly raised dome...that's why i'm afraid that the valves are hitting the pistons( is there a way to check for that without taking the head off the block), could that be a posibility or is it just the valvetrian that is making the clicking noise? The car actually feels fine... just a little vibration through the steering wheel and that anoying clicking noise!

I set them .002" thighter than stock....i did them hot, so that would be .008" intake, .010" exhaust instead of the stock .010 and .012". But the noise didn't go away so then i set them even't thighter (.006" and .008 hot! )and now it's pretty noisy!! My cam is aftermarket and i lost the spec sheet so i don't really know what to set them to.

Thanks for all the help guys!! yesterday i got it up and running . The problem was that the dizzy was 180* off....and i thought i had it done right during assembly, that's why it's a good idea to triple check! There is another problem now tough....the valvetrian is very noisy! I tried to adjust the valve lash ( tighter ) and it just made it worse. I hope it's not the valves hitting the pistons cuz' it sounds pretty loud. The bad thing is that i'm not mechanic nor i have any prior experience (i barely started working on cars earlier this year)...and i don't know if i did something wrong or how to identify it. I need some help

Today i checked the timing of the cam and this is what i found out: the engine is at TDC with the two front cam lobes pointing up (valves closed, rocker arms loose) , the timing mark on crank pulley pointing to 0*, and the "V" groove and cam trust plate mark aligned with it. What i noticed that the rotor is pointing to about 2:00. The only way that the rotor points to the #1 cyl. is to have the piston at TDC @ the intake stroke ( lobes pointing down). Then i guess the shaft is 180*off...but i remember that when i assembled the engine, i put the shaft on and checked the alignment according to the Tom Monroe book and it was correct...so could i have assambled it with the cam lobes pointing the wrong way?? or does it matter? And can i just fix it by turning the shaft 180*?? Thanks for all the help!

I think i have the dizzy in the right position...one thing that i remember is that i was going to use a 280zx dizzy ( from a junkyard) and when i mounted it to the front cover the rotor was pointing at like 10'o clock, but then i decided to use my 240z dizzy (converted to electronic pick up..pretonix maybe??) because i knew it works, so i mounted it and the rotor was pointing to 07:00...I don't know why. Also i didn't mess with the timing of the dizzy ( wich was set to advance all the way past all the marks, [ the 240z ran fine like that]).

Hello guys; I just got done installing my rebuild engine today. I hooked up and checked everything, all the hoses, connectinons, wires etc. and everything was in place. I tryed to prime the engine by turning it over with the ignition disabled and then i went ahead and tried to start the engine after hooken the ignition again......and the car just went BOOOOOM!! Super loud...like and explosion (backfire??) and black smoke came out of the exhaust pipe! My ears are still ringing...and i don't know what's wrong. I'm afraid of trying to strat it again, and i also can't aford to be making anymore explosion sound because i live in and apartment complex...and people already started to complain! Does anyone know wht could be wrong?? and how can i fix it?? PLEASE GUYS I NEED SOME HELP!! THANKS! Anyone around the Huntington beach CA area willing to help is welcome

I believe you can find one here : http://www.racetep.com/xmasspecials.html it looks like a pretty good deal to me considering i spend more money on buying parts from different sources to get what i wanted. I would've like to buy one of this kits....but i barely found out about them ! Hope this helps!

Hello there; I need some urgent help please! I have a 280zx 5spd tranny and I recently purchased a centerforce clutch II, because i'm going to use a 13.5 pound flywheel. My question is: do i have to use a clutch collar (2 1/16" length )from a 280z in order for this set up to work? I have the collar from the 240z ( 1 3/4" length )wich worked with the current clutch (stock) and the 280zx tranny, would i be able to use it with the centerforce clutch???

Thank you all for the help. I was thinking about running them tighter too...like you said jmortensen, but i wasn't sure. Thanks again!

Hello there: I'm currently rebuilding my first engine (I'm really exited about it ) and i got a question about the cylinder head. Ok, i purchased a cam kit from Arizona Z car with specs: .480 lift/ 270 duration, and i went ahead and sent my head to the machine shop to get it reconditioned and also get the cam installed. I got it back but i don't have an idea on how to set the valve lash (cold) because i don't have the spec sheet for the cam. Should i just set it the same as the stock cam (intake .008"/ ex .010")? Or does anyone have an idea on what the settings should be? Thank You!

Hello everyone: Today I started up my 240z for the first time after 3 weeks of not being driven. The problem is that after i started the car up and let it warm up, i closed the door and....it died on me. I have no clue what caused this.I tryed to start it vack up and no luck . The engine turns over fine but it doesn't start. Before this the car did something similar when i ran over a small bump on the road like a month ago, it just died. The differance is that that time it did start back up right away. The battery is brand new and I know it's charged fully. So can anyone help me out here???? Thanks!

Thanks!!! you're my hero...JK

Hello everyone I got a quick question: I have a pair of DGV's (manual choke) that i just hooked up to my '73 240z and i have no clue where to hook up the vacuum advance hose from my distributor??? It was previously conected to my old SU's...but i don't see any place that i ca hook it up to the DGV's except for a small line opening that has no purpose as far as i know( the golden one on the bottom of the carb, on the right side of the pic ); any ideas???

Hey jmortensen i don't know about the piano... You say that a narrow body will be better for high speed stability?? I thought it was the other way around.... Ok, i'll do some research, thanks 8) .

Again, thanks a lot for the advice. I'll do research and read a lot on aerodynamics since it's the biggest barrier to surpass. In my head everything is possible...the problem is that you just don't know how to get where you wanna get. If you really wanted you could walk on water...humans do not know their actual limits, if we did we would've already achieved them! That's just my opinion. I'll do all i can to get to my goal and i hope all of you guys are there (hybrid z website) when i need some help. Thanks again!

Yeah, just don't plan on doing it on your first run. Set yourself some slightly more "reasonable" goals and step your way up. Shoot for say 160 your first weekend at the flats, then maybe 180 the next year, 200 after that, 230, then finally 240. That's exactly what i had in mind...and actually i was gonna try to build a 180 mph 240z first within the next 5 years just to get some experience and see what improvements must be made. I know i don't have millions of dollars to do all that technical (technologycal) research but if you think about it the Wright brothers didn't have all those technological advancements to get the first airplane in the air. They only had their brains and lots of motivations to accomplish their dream. Thanks a lot for the advise. This is for the guy that is laughing like crazy....I want to BUILD a 240 mph 240z just for the challenge and for the heck of it! I know i wont be driving at 240mph down 405...as well as nobody else will be doing 200 mph on the 405 either. So the point is that it does not matter if you have a Lambo or a Ferrari or a Zonda, Mclaren F1, Porsche, or whatever because most of the time you wont be able to test their top speed! John C thanks for your support...I know there is some people that have faith! Thanks for the help.