72Z_SanDiego Posted January 1, 2021 Share Posted January 1, 2021 Good morning all, I’m a new member to this forum. I have a beautiful 1972 240Z which is all original and working except for a 280Z long block and the non-functional clock. I have been meeting up with other owners on weekends and having a great time. I am finding a lot of enthusiastic Datsun owners out there around Southern California. I’m encouraged. I have owned several 510’s, a 610, and a original 240Z which I regret selling back in the 90’s. Love these cars. Reliable and EASY to work on! My first 510 was in 1978. I began working on these L-series engines then and I’ve rebuilt several engines over the years. I am formulating a plan to add A/C and a 5 speed transmission. I am also looking at coil over suspension to get adjustability and get the front end lower and a newer, better running engine. My SU carburetors are ok, I know how to work on them but they are just not as good as triple side draft carburetors or fuel injection. I don’t want to do anything which might affect the value of this car but I want more power and a lower RPM at 80 to 90 miles per hour, my usual cruising speed. The 4 speed is ok but my tach runs about 3,500 to 4,000 RPM when I drive. Not good for fuel mileage but at least I’m in the middle of the power band when I need to pass someone. 🤣😂👍🏼🤘🏼 Have a good day ! Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zetsaz Posted January 1, 2021 Share Posted January 1, 2021 Looks great! Do you know what rear end gearing you have now? That'll greatly affect your cruising speed. I have an '82 ZX 5 speed in mine with a 3.9 CLSD out of a z31 turbo and I think 3k cruising RPM at about 70mph is actually a perfect spot. If you go too low on these they really just don't have much go. The torque curve on them is great, you won't have issues getting up hillls, but it won't really have the pep you might want. For my exhaust (before adding a resonator) it was also just above where cabin drone went away which made it very comfortable. I had bad cabin drone issues from ~2.3k-2.8k rpm. Your exhaust will obviously affect that a bit, but even now it tends to be the area with the most noise. I think your goals are very reasonable. Triple side drafts are great, but I'm partial to EFI just because I like driving mine as often as possible and not fiddling with carbs. I'm right in the middle of AC, so you can check my thread for what that looks like, but the brackets will be just slightly different for you since the dash mounting points are a bit different. Look up Pancho's garage for a nice install on an earlier model like yours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72Z_SanDiego Posted February 25, 2021 Author Share Posted February 25, 2021 Hi & Thanks! Your points are well taken. I guess I just want a little lower cruise RPM. That or a higher speed limit! I have seen many videos of “Panchos Garage” and enjoy it very much! I’ll take check your thread. I too am partial to fuel injection. Works great at any altitude! I have a new plan to add a belt driven super charger so I’ll be fine in the torque department. I’ll search for any related posts on that subject before starting a new post but I am pretty sure that my plan is a unique one so stay tuned! I will also check my differential gear ratio. The speedometer reads high by about 10 or 11% so who knows what ratio it is? Take care! Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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