wheelman

Karl, Welcome to the forum. All the information you're asking for can be found in the posts on this site so do some searching on given subjects such as brakes, electrical, drive-train, etc... and simply read the posts as they come up. Most of your questions will be answered if you do some research and be curious about Z cars. Can they be safe? Yes they can be safe but alot of it depends on what you start with. A pre-73 240 will probably need quite a bit of work depending on how it's been taken care of but with the correct brake, suspension, body/frame reinforcements and engine package they can be as safe as a modern car. The biggest safety factor is what's between your ears. Any car can be safe when not pushed beyond it's limits and thats where you need to concentrate the most right now. Gain some driving experience and remember the streets are not a race track. What to look out for when looking at 240s. RUST. They are all prone to rust and the older they are the more likely they will have it. If you find a truelly rust free 240 then snag it, but it's going to cost you, that is unless you get very lucky. Check the floor boards, rocker panels, under the battery tray and the frame rails. If you find it in visible places then it's guaranteed to be where you can't look. Other than rust if you're planning on doing a V8 conversion the rest is not a big concern assuming you don't plan on driving it while collecting parts for the conversion. Look for accident damage also but that goes for any used car you purchase. You might consider a 280. Thay were built stronger so need less structural work and come with the stronger R200 differential assuming the car has a manual transmission. In the mean time volunteer to help your dad to develop your mechanical skills and listen to what he says even if you think he's wrong. If he is you'll both learn something and if he's not you will, but either way you'll avoid fights and it will be enjoyable for both of you. Wheelman

I like those, in fact I might buy a pair myself. Nah, I have many other things to spend money on before I get to that point, but they should look good on a first gen Z. Wheelman

To ricey!

80LT1, The Subaru has a horizontally opposed 4 cylinder or boxer engine so it is in fact a dual SOHC. 1 for bank of pistons just like a V8. 2slo4u, Unfortunately I don't know any mods to pep it up, but I'm not a Subaru expert either. Maybe a cold air intake or advancing the spark timing. I know how you feel though, I had a mid 80s Subaru wagon and it was even worse than yours for power but I sure liked the 4 wheel drive in the winter. Wheelman

Mike, I to can relate to what you're going through. I didn't loose my dad until I was in my late twenties but he had his first of 3 heart attacks when I was 14 and he changed so much it seemed like he died. It's hard and came as a big shock to me because we were on the outs at the time. I look back and think "Damn, there were so many opportunites to set things right that I never took, now I never can." Since my dad passed away (July 2nd 1992) my younger brother was killed in car accident and my older sister found out she had breast cancer. My sister has since then made a full recovery but when she was dealing with that and then my brother is killed it makes you wonder. Anyway what I'ver learned from the things I've been through is that life is precious and fragile but meant to be lived. It's tough when we loose someone close but the best we can do for them is mourn them and then continue on with our lives keeping their memories as part of us. I don't know if this helps but based on what you've said about your uncle he wouldn't want you all to let his death ruin you. Try to remind your mother and grandmother of that and you remember it as well. Yeah you're all hurting right now but that will heal and life goes on. Wheelman P.S. If you want to talk about things privately off line let me know and I'll give you my contact information. I've been through what you're going through and more and sometimes the best thing is just someone to listen.

I wasn't commenting on your spelling, I'm not sure if mine was right. The ones I had on my 260 were aluminum. Wheelman

Before you get louvres take it to a shop and have the hatch tinted. I had louvres on a 260 back in the 80s and they sucked. They were always rattling, blocked my vision and in the winter filled up with snow. Exhaust all other alternatives before getting louvres. BTW: Is it louvres or louvers? Wheelman Hows the 302 project coming?

Leave it as a hardtop and do a second one with the convertible setup. Wheelman

Try Victoria British http://www.victoriabritish.com They list them in their catalog at $349.95 with a $75.00 core charge. Seems a bit spendy but it will be new. Have you considered rebuilding yours or getting a junk yard one and rebuilding it? Wheelman

Joe, When you get the tranny you can go to http://www.5speeds.com to look up whether it's a WC or not. At least you got the bell housing and a flywheel, I had to find those separate from the tranny and ended up spending another $250.00. Hopefully that flywheel can be resurfaced and used. Let us know what you find out about it. Wheelman

I had the same experience. I looked for 2 months last year before finally finding one on ebay. It turned out the guy I bought mine from had pulled it from an 83 Camaro and thought it was a Non-WC T5. I had him get the number off the ID tag and did a search online and found it came from an 89 Trans-AM GTA. It had already been converted to run a cable driven speedo so I really lucked out. I actually got it for $225.00 shipped to my house. Good luck and don't get to frustrated. Have you thought about a Tremec TKO or 1350? What a T56? They're more expensive but at least you can get one fairly easily and they're stronger than the T5. Wheelman

You don't necessarily want the tail shaft point directly at the diff input flange. What you're interested in is making sure the angles of the diff input flange and trans output shaft are within 3 degrees total of each other. The way to measure them in the vertical plane is using an angle finder, I made one from a protractor. What this means is that you want the same angle on the end of the tail shaft that you have on the diff flange. Example: The original Datsun tranny tail shaft was lower than the front of the tranny, it pointed down at the back. The front of the diff points up at approximately the same angle. You want the same type of situation with your new install when you're finished with it. It might mean that you'll need to raise or lower either the tail of the tranny or the back of the diff to get the angles correct. As far as side to side, I don't know how to measure those and think that if you get the vertical component very close the total angle should be within tolerances. I hope this makes sense if not do a search about drive shaft angles and you'll find alot of information. Wheelman

280z400, The JTR or MSA mounts will work with the 400. It uses the same mounts as all the other first and second generation small block chevys (non LS1 or Vortec). I would recommend getting the JTR manual if you don't already have it. The TPI manifold should be fine if your car is intended as a low RPM daily driver. The TPI manifolds don't breath well above 4000-4500 rpm but make lots of torque which you'll already have in abundance with the 400. As for the cam, you'll want a mild cam as the TPI amanifold won't let a more agressive cam breath well at the higher RPMS. Unfortunately I can't recommend one as choosing a cam is sort a black art. Give Crane Cams or Lunatti a call and talk to an expert about your application, they'll help you out. Wheelman

You might check out the following web-site. http://zcar.netdojo.com Al Silveria put the site together to document his 302 swap into a 240Z. His engine is higher and further forward than yours but there's tons of information there. He also makes a crosmember mount for swapping a SBF into a Z. The last I heard it was $125.00 shipped to you and very high quality. Here are some pictures of what I did with the Datsun transmission mount. I'm installing an LT1 but you might be able to use the same method to relocate the mount for your swap. I'm installing a T5 not an auto. I have since trimmed the "ears" off the hangers which makes it look better and provides more clearance for exhuast. Good luck and keep us informed on your progress. Wheelman

I use spray on stuff that does the same thing. Really helps to reduce the amount that sticks to the tip. Wheelman

It's not that it's bad I just don't like the way it mounts to the floor of the car. They put a lot of engineering and testing into the design so I'm sure it works just fine. I looked at the mount point on my T5 and compared it to the tranny mount from my 240Z and they were close enough that I decided to see if I could make the Datsun crossmember work instead of using the JTR setup. Because of the way I did it I should have more clearance for exhaust and I think it looks cleaner, not that anyone will see it but I know it's there. Wheelman

How long did you charge the battery? Was it on trickle charge or fast charge? How old is the battery? It's definitely not bad plugs or dist. cap causing it not to crank although they might be bad. If you hear the clicking that's the solenoid engaging but you don't have enough juice to actually crank the engine over. Probably a bad battery. I would try a different battery and if that doesn't work then have that starter tested. If the starter is fine then you might have a corrosion problem but that would be unlikely if it sat for only a year. Before starting it you should at least change the oil and filter and think real hard about pre-lubing it. To prelube you remove the distributor and put an oil pump drive shaft down the hole and then run it for a few minutes with an electric drill. Do this after changing the oil. Let us know what you finally determine. Wheelman

Here are some pictures of my modifed 240Z tranny crossmember. I don't like the JTR setup so I moved the Datsun member back and slotted the transmission mount and crossmember so I could align everything to fit the way I wanted. I also slotted the hanger brackets and will weld large washers on them to lock everything in place left to right. I need to trim the ears off the hangers and then paint them. The transmission is a World Class T5. What do you guys think? Wheelman

You guys saying you'll never drive a mini-van. Just wait until you have a couple kids and the wife wants something to haul them and their friends around in! It's tough to beat these things as an appliance to haul around everything under the sun. I have a 1995 GMC Safari with the 4.3 liter Vortec V6 and let me tell you it has some balls, rides nice and has all the creature comforts. Yeah it's not a sports car but try pulling a camper with your Z then you'll think differently about them. I can tow a large tent trailer and have the van loaded with 4 people, 1 dog and 500 pounds of camping stuff and still run with the AC on at 70 MPH. They're not sexy but they are VERY useful and can even be fun to drive, especially when you catch some kid in a "SPORTS" car by surprise at a light and take him for the first block or so. Wheelman

I believe they came with the L18 1800cc inline 4. Don't have any clue what would be compatible but an SR20DE or SR20DET with the appropriate tranny would make a nice ride. A GA16DE would be a nice motor for it also but mating it to a rear-drive tranny might take more work than it's worth. Wheelman

Well I've got good news. The guy I got the cam from is sending me another at no charge. I anticipated a fight about this but it turns out the guy has some integrity and wants to make it right. It sure is refreshing to encounter people like this, unfortunately I was kind of a dick head to him in my email informing him of the problem. I should receive the new cam this Friday so we'll see for sure then if everything is good or not. Wheelman

Labrat, This is going on my son's 305 that is for an 81 Caprice Station wagon. Yeah I know, what's your kid doing with a wagon like that? But he likes it, can haul around all his friends and if he ever gets hit the other guy will sustain more damage than he will. The ProJection unit I have is the 670 CFM 2 barrel as well. I got it free from a friend 12 years ago and have never used it. I'll have to make sure the injectors work and need to replace the gasket on the bottom of the throttle body but other than that it is in great shape. Wheelman

My boss bought a 2004 Subaru WRX STI this last weekend. We've talked about my Z and I encouraged him to get the WRX so when I walked in the door he tossed me the keys. These cars are amazing. They seem rather sedate until the boost comes on but then OMG. The only other car I've driven that has acceleration that compares was a 74 Vega with a 350HP 350 and a powerglide. Not a comparison as far as smooth and polished but both cars feel like it's going to rip the seats right off the floor when you hit it. The boost in the WRX caught me a little off guard but once I got used to it it was a blast and handled great. The all wheel drive can be adjusted to put more power to the rear or front and it comes with racing compound tires. The only thing I would change is the rear spoiler, it needs to be smaller. Oh and I would make the exhaust note more aggressive, reminded me of a hopped up air cooled VW engine. Wheelman

I had to deal with one that was similar a few weeks ago. I can't remember which one it was but it kept pulling in pop-ups. I killed the processes in the task manager but it would return so I booted in safe mode (Win 2K) and deleted the executables and registry entries associated with them. I personally haven't experienced a virus infection from spyware but wouldn't be surprised if it happened. Wheelman

Phailure, Have you ever had an instance where all your scanners were up-to-date and one found a virus the other(s) didn't? I use McAfee at home and InnoculateIt from Computer Associates at work. Both scanners are kept up-to-date and catch the same virii trying to invade. I also have both my home and work networks protected behind Linux based firewalls that are setup in stealth mode and use stateful analysis of packets passing through them so things like slammer can't get through. My wife's computer is the one that always "catches" something but it's spyware brought in with things the kids download for "free". We only allow her computer and mine access to the internet so the kids use hers as nobody is allowed on mine. The spyware is farely innocuous but irritating none-the-less so I always eliminate it when it makes it's presence known. Wheelman