New Z, Enter if you dare to help 8D

[bertio]

Heya, just thought I would cross post this from another forum as you guys have been reccomended...a LOT...Thanks!!!

 

Long time tinkerer, First time Z owner...

 

Here is my official hi

 

 

So down to the nitty gritty that I am sure people here are going to know how to help me (I have done some searches but my issues seem pretty specific)

 

1st:

I am having some issues with the spacers that PO had on the car, looks like a mechanic made them and they are hubcentric (I think thats the right word). They do not have a second set of studs they are basically just a large washer that the long studs go through then the rim mates up against the spacer and then bolts up to the longer studs, the problem is this is causing my rear wheels to not be centered when mounted. Which gives me an awful thump, thump, thump when driving. After I had a brake bleed professionaly done they had a pain getting the wheel back on straight, they ended up having to get some needle nose vice grips to hold the stud in place while mounting the wheel then hand threading the nut to get it started.. After a proper inspection the studs are completely loose as if they have never even been pressed or tightened into the hub, so you have 4 loose bolts sitting from behind the hub, with a spacer, then your trying to fit the rim on and it is pushing the bolts back out of the hub. I am sure that was a ghetto job from the PO and I am going to have to have new Studs installed so I do not have that issue. I am pretty sure the studs should not be loose when installed right. I just need to figure out the sizing and get new studs.

 

Any recommendation for studs? I have heard the names ARP but I am unsure if my hub size is or if the hub maybe has been stripped, or.....idk. I will try and take some pics to show you what I am talking about.

 

2nd:

Brakes. Looks like the PO had Rx7 discs and calipers (hubs?) installed on the front, 240SX single pot calipers and discs (and hubs?) in the back. brand new MC and brand new Booster, I am able to push the brake pedal while the car is running clear to the floor, but I have hard stopping power about half way down and no firmness which makes for some blind braking. When the car is off and the brake pedal is pumped it is hard and firm and seems like the MC is holding pressure. I am leaning towards the front or rears locking before the others and thus not having a firm pedal. But I could be wrong. I have googled through here that I may need to install a separate prop valve just to the rear so that I can get the braking pressures to an equal amount (want the fronts to lock first then the back) Anyone else have these issues when doing a rear disc conversion?

 

3rd:

Heater. The PO pulled the AC (who cares real men sweat) pulled the Power steering pump (real men use muscles to steer) and the heater core and possibly piping (real men wipe the window when it fogs....no way) How hard would it be to reinstall the heater and get the parts to do so? I have heard that certain parts for these Z's are stupid expensive due to the availability of such parts and the popularity of restoring these cars. Junk Yard? Anyone ever tinkered with their heater? I have my Haynes Manual and it doesnt seem like there is a whole lot to it I just need to figure out what was ripped out and what wasnt. Any links to DIY threads with pics from other cars would be awesome that I could not find.

 

4th:

Weather Stripping. I have also heard that these pieces can be an expensive hassle to find. Are there any neat tricks that work specifically with the Weather stripping for the hatch on my 74 260z I thought I found a search that said stripping from an Acura Integra but it was more of a question that never got answered. (I swear I searched )

 

5th:

My eyes really lit up when I opened the hood and saw how much space was in there. Then after some searching I noticed the plethora of motors that people are putting in this car with what seems like very little hassle (space wise) and not to mention it being Smog Exempt you dont have to worry about the man shutting down your fun. Would someone recommend a DIY for swapping an SR20DET? or perhaps even some of their favorite shops that they have had the best luck with ( I live in Nor, Nor CAL so Sacramento farthest San Fran area)

 

6th:

Thank you for everyone who has made it this far and willing to help me out. I am humbled by this new community that I feel apart of and am excited to see where this Car takes me.

 

-Bertio

[BluDestiny]

Just put some stock rims on and get rid of those spacers. This is a safety concern. You can figure out what rims you like later.

 

As for an sr20 swap, mckinny motorsports and vildini(spelled right?)motorsports both make kits to make it a drop in affair. If you mean the electrical then you should look into a shop or do it yourself.

 

The most important pieces of weather stripping( windows and door seals) can still be bought from vendors like MSA and Black dragon auto.

[bertio]

Just put some stock rims on and get rid of those spacers. This is a safety concern. You can figure out what rims you like later.

 

As for an sr20 swap, mckinny motorsports and vildini(spelled right?)motorsports both make kits to make it a drop in affair. If you mean the electrical then you should look into a shop or do it yourself.

 

The most important pieces of weather stripping( windows and door seals) can still be bought from vendors like MSA and Black dragon auto.

 

 

I actually think it has brand new weather stripping for the windows and door seals (I say brand new because they are in no way old) However I have 0 weather stripping around where the hatch seals and it causes the hatch to make a little noise at speed. I guess I need to google where I read that Acura Integra swap over to see if it will work.

Edited June 17, 2011 by bertio

[itzgoten]

Just put some stock rims on and get rid of those spacers. This is a safety concern. You can figure out what rims you like later.

 

As for an sr20 swap, mckinny motorsports and vildini(spelled right?)motorsports both make kits to make it a drop in affair. If you mean the electrical then you should look into a shop or do it yourself.

 

The most important pieces of weather stripping( windows and door seals) can still be bought from vendors like MSA and Black dragon auto.

 

If you want to do an SR I would say try the Vildini kit. The McKinny was OK. I am running it now and I would rate the quality a C average at best. The hockey puck poly bushings are ok but they didn't "sandwich" properly. The kit was slightly off.. I moved the kit as far back as possible and still had to notch my front crossmember.

 

As for weatherstripping GO MSA ALL THE WAY. I bought the BlackDragon Auto kit and the quality sucked. Their door weatherstripping was THE WORST. I had to use their glue and tape it up and it still didn't hold. I bought the MSA stripping for the doors and it clipped right in. no issues at all. MSA cost a bit more but you get what you pay for.. and from the pictures.. YOUR CAR DESERVES IT.

 

Don't go cheap on such a beautiful ride. Trust me and learn from my mistakes.

 

Why pay less TWICE when you can pay regular price ONCE.

[m4xwellmurd3r]

wow that front end is wild. looks like a mix between an mgb, spitfire, and rover mgf.

looks really good.

[suparman]

I want that nose, its beautiful.

I hate spacers I think they are dangerous I ran some 1/2" units on a stock car and with 3/4" longer 5/8" studs and still stress snapped the studs.

I am not very fond of black dragon auto so I will not buy from them I think they are poor quality.

 

[richracing]

Im not feelin the front end, but its your car

[suparman]

As far as your brakes go I had drum rears and got the same symptoms so I put a new master cylinder on there and it solved the problem. I had measured out an after market jeep heater unit once and was/is convinced i will fit under the dash well.

[bertio]

Yeah the nose is a love it or hate it affair. To me its functional and it takes about 9 inches off the front and makes it to where I don't have to deal with that horrible front bumper.

 

As for the spacers im still on the fence after a lot of reading. The spacers I have are hubcentric and 26mm (about an inch) they are not the spacers that have their own set of studs they require longer studs from the back of the hubs so from my research makes them safer as the rim mates flush and is attached to the original studs that have been pressed in. As long as your studs are in good shape you shouldn't see any shearing because the spacers are hubcentric.

 

The brake issue seems that since I have larger 4 pots in the front my mc might now be up to snuff. I have found some 15/16 bmc locally for 35 to 50 bucks (rebuilt) otherwise they are 130 to 200 new hopefully that fixes my issue.

[itzgoten]

The brake issue seems that since I have larger 4 pots in the front my mc might now be up to snuff. I have found some 15/16 bmc locally for 35 to 50 bucks (rebuilt) otherwise they are 130 to 200 new hopefully that fixes my issue.

 

 

Having the stock 240z BMC sucked. I noticed a huge difference with my Toyota 4x4 4pot brakes after going 15/16.. and even a bigger difference when I went to the AZC Brakes.

[bertio]

Itzgoten I have been looking everywhere for someone that is going with the same front end I want. I was stalking through your posts and pics.

 

Front bumper is just MSA with ducting???

 

CF hood obviously.

 

Any reccomendations for fender mirrors to make them functional?

 

ZG Flares, any reccomendation of a place to buy them?

 

What type of headlights are you using? like Sylvania? etc etc

 

Grill is just the stock grill correct?

 

Thanks!

[itzgoten]

Dood.. I never even saw this post.. glad you PMed me.. Hope that helps..

[bertio]

Twas why I did

 

Now I just need to find someone that wants to swap bumpers, Fenders, and hood and I will be set

 

Might just need to buy the panels from a part car and sell the front end when I can find a local buyer.

Edited June 22, 2011 by bertio

[Nigel]

1st:

I am having some issues with the spacers that PO had on the car, looks like a mechanic made them and they are hubcentric (I think thats the right word).

Wheel adapters are much better. The adapter bolts to the hub, and then the wheel bolts to the adapter. Longer studs with spacers are fine if the spacers are thin (1/4"?), but if you need an inch or more, adapters are the way to go. I've never seen proof of one failing.

 

2nd:

Brakes. Looks like the PO had Rx7 discs and calipers (hubs?) installed on the front, 240SX single pot calipers and discs (and hubs?) in the back. brand new MC and brand new Booster, I am able to push the brake pedal while the car is running clear to the floor, but I have hard stopping power about half way down and no firmness which makes for some blind braking. When the car is off and the brake pedal is pumped it is hard and firm and seems like the MC is holding pressure.

Sounds like a missing reaction disk in the brake booster. There should be a sticky on in it the FAQ section. You may already have the larger master cylinder. The bore should be cast into the side of the master. Check that first before you go and buy a duplicate of what you may already have.

 

3rd:

pulled the Power steering pump (real men use muscles to steer)

There never was power steering in a Z.

 

 

Enjoy!

 

Nigel

'73 240ZT

[bertio]

Quick update.

 

I forgot to check the size of the MC....HA!

 

pulled the booster and shook it, didnt here any reaction disc rattling around (didnt have a vice or tools to open it up)

 

Turned car on plugged in vacuum and pressed brake rod down and booster plunger was smooth all the way out. If reaction disc is off usually as you press the plunger moves very slowly then when you get to a certain point it jams out quickly thus causing the brake issue. My booster did not do that. Although I was also thinking that it would react differently with pressure pushing against the rod and thus still be my reaction disc.

 

Step 1 will be to check the MC and replace with a larger one since I do have larger 4 pots up front AND discs in the rear the OEM MC cannot keep up with that!

 

Also I found out I have discs from an Evo 8 that have been drilled to 114.3 on the front that I need to replace (they are pretty thin and will be prone to warping soon) Anyone know of discs that will mount in without drilling to size and fit 91 RX7 Calipers??? lol geeze

[bertio]

So...

 

Fuel pump died on me because it was cavitating, had a shop replace it for me and mount it much much lower on the car so that it would not have to suck as much since the electric fuel pumps are meant to push not suck.

 

Shop replaced fuel pump did an awesome job but in the process of putting my car on their lift they must have not had the lift points correctly attached as they cracked my exhaust manifold.

 

 

Fought them on it as they didnt want to fix it as they said the issue could have been like that when the car came in. Fast forward a month and a very legally binding demand letter and I got them to write me a check for the cost of repairs as well as parts.

 

Took money and bough 6-1 headers from MSA, installed headers myself (much bigger job than I had anticipated) and found out that I had 2 snapped studs and some missing spacers that hold the intake and exhaust together. Put it all together the best I could and drove back from my parents garage in Red Bluff, CA to Chico, CA with open headers. (my head hurt afterwards)

 

 

 

Went to local muffler shop and had new exhaust and muffler installed on car from Freeses exhaust. Guy was very cool and let me watch him weld and make everything right in front of me.

 

 

Took Z to parents house again to try and fix my dim right (as sitting in the car) headlight and could not figure out if it was a ground issue or what (kept blowing fuse and headlight would leech voltage making it dim) found out original owner was very confused with his wiring and so I just left the right headlight unhooked till I could figure out what I was going to do. Did some research and figured the best course of action was to get a headlight relay upgrade and bypass all my old wiring in order to fix the problem. Put that on the back burner and went on a mini vacation with my wife to my parents cabin.

 

Went driving up to the mountains and kept having this whistling noise that I couldnt quite get rid of. Over the course of 2 hours I had a big 4 point deer run out and front of me and hit the side of my car shattering my mirror and sending glass in my wifes face as well as scaring the **** out of me. I pulled over expecting to see the entire right side of my car destroyed, and all that was there was a broken mirror (just the glass) and two tiny dents on my door (these Z's are frickin bullet proof!)

 

Then I hit a big ass rock that made my car sound like crap afterwards.

 

Went home took my car to muffler guy and he showed me where the impact on one of my header pipes had been dented and the shock must have knocked loose the header as the gasket was now blown and the gasket was leaking.

 

Go online get all new stud kits and washer from MSA as well as new gasket, drive back to parents house and install new gasket and new studs and new washers and find out that my intake gasket also was shot which was causing my whistling noise and a very small leak, fixed that and car fires up cold like its new again.

 

Three days later I get pulled over by Local Police for having one headlight out, recieve fix it ticket. Immediately pull the trigger on headlight upgrade from a local guy that surfs on here I believe. His email is wolfin32z@yahoo.com. Went to parents house, installed harness and didnt think it was going to work at all as I couldnt test the output voltage for some reason on my meter. I was also flying a little blind with the wiring colors and having to google a lot of stuff mid way.

 

After everything was crimped it fired right up and worked, Hi, low, everything I was GLOWING with happiness, I didnt know having working headlight, BRIGHT working headlights could make you so happy.

 

Now I am looking at finishing up my wheel issues by buying some 16x8 rota RB's with a neutral offset so I dont have to use such extreme spacers. I heard Nissan Quest studs were the way to go just in case.

 

I am going to be snagging up a set of Rota RB-r Flat Black 16x8 in +4 offset. Eventually I will do ZG flares so I am wondering if that is something I should do all at once or if I can do it in 2 parts. The wheels I currently have are OZ F1 17 inch x I dont know. I will have to see how that is going to work out.

 

I need to get a heater core in my car soon as cold is coming, I also need to finish up the weather stripping and get that car water proof.

 

I am also piecing together new Sugar scoops, and hood (I think I can save the fenders) so I can restore the car back to a proper looking Z.

 

 

Oh and I also pulled my first tranny today out of a 98 Honda Accord (I am a butte college Honda PACT student) Hurray for me!

 

 

 

 

TLDR: Bunch of stuff happened, it cost money. Looking for Hood and Sugar scoops let me know if you know of any. Also opinions of rim options based upon my current setup, will 16x8 fit until I can save up to do ZG flares or would it be better to do rims, ZG flares all in one go?

Edited September 10, 2011 by bertio

[BenG]

I was contemplating buying this when I found the Z I ended up purchasing. Glad it found a good home.

[Edward]

this car was for sale for ever on craigslist, what did you end up paying for it ? last time i saw it the price was pretty steep

[clutchdust]

Wheel adapters are much better. The adapter bolts to the hub, and then the wheel bolts to the adapter. Longer studs with spacers are fine if the spacers are thin (1/4"?), but if you need an inch or more, adapters are the way to go. I've never seen proof of one failing.

THIS.

I have been running wheel adapters on my Vette for well over a decade. I have probably in excess of 500 track miles and countless road miles on adapters. You need to get those spacers off the car. They are NOT hub centric, well, at least they don't make the wheel hub centric and dangerous. I might even disagree with Nigel about the 1/4" ones. if your wheel hub doesn't extend beyond the spacer, don't use it.

If I can't find the wheels I want for my Z with the correct fitment, I will have no problems using adapters.

[bertio]

Traded my Motorcycle for it and the PO put $500 on top. Bike was worth 4k so I got it for 3500.

 

Some days when I am working on it I feel like I got screwed.

 

Then somedays I stumble upon something and realise how much time, energy, and money went into it thats why they were selling it for so much. I think they were just trying to break even.

 

Example.

 

THE GOOD

 

Custom coilovers to get it to sit how it does, perfect lowering IMO I havent dragged a speed bump yet.

 

Rims are 17 inch OZ F1 which arent too bad. 17x7.5 or 8. Should make fiting my 17x8.5 RB's pretty easy and getting the ZG flares to fit nicely since the lowering guess work has already been done.

 

Entire underside of the car has been hit with a Rhino line substance.

 

Rust is non existant.

 

Full MSD ignition and timing. Dual weber downdrafts with K&N filters.

 

Electric only full pump.

 

New tank and all hose fittings.

 

Decent seats, hold you well

 

4 point harness, cheap but its nice

 

Harness bar

 

Body is in amazing shape no dings, Shaved the rear end.

 

New clutch Master and Slave, new Clutch and flywheel

 

rear disc conversion

 

RX7 calipers in the front with Rotors from an EVO 8

 

new Brake Booster and Master Cylinder

 

Steel braided lines

 

Momo Steering wheel with momo hub

 

originally a auto was converted to manual with 4 speed, hung pedals.

 

all new glass seals, door cards are imaculate, locks all work

 

Speedo and Tach work

 

Flip switches wired to center console for Acc, Fuel pump, and Voltage.

 

Nice Aluminum radiator

 

All Smog stuff was deleted and blocked off.

 

 

THE BAD

 

 

Needs bigger BMC

 

Needs floor mats

 

needs new seals on hatch and doors

 

needed new U joints

 

Wheel studs were tacked on the backside so they werent pressed in, causing balancing issues everytime you take off a rim, annoying as hell

 

headlight was blowing fuses, had to do Headlight relay upgrade to fix it.

 

Paint was done in a garage with a gravity gun, looks good but can tell it probably was the first time they had done it.

 

Might need to change out joints in rear axles, get a vibration under hard acceleration even after replacing Ujoints on drive shaft

 

Seats are faded from sun, probably because they are cheap.

 

Heater core leaked so they plugged it off, going to have to fix before winter.

 

Temp sensor works when it wants to.

 

Need to seal some of the breather holes in the back because fumes like to suck into the cab when decelerating

 

Thats all I can really think of and I am thinking hard.

 

 

So yeah I think I got a good deal

 

The key things are the motor is great, carbs are great, body is straight, dent free and rust free. I could fix the brakes, fix the rim issue and a few other things and drive it as is and be happy as a clam for a while. I am just personally trying to change it back purely for aesthetics.