SU Carb Spacers?

[OustedFairlady]

Hey, guys. I'm not terribly familiar with the L24's SU carbs, and carburetion in general, and I was wondering:

 

Are the two black carburetor spacers between the L24/L26 intake manifold and carburetors necessary, and if so, does anyone know where I might find a set? I've checked several online parts sources with no luck, and I'm just about ready to chop a couple out of some steel or aluminum. I'm prepping a Toyota 7MGTE for my car, and this is really just a way to get the car serviceable until I get ready to actually drop the engine in, so if anyone has an alternative, a zero dollar thing would be great.

Just for the record, we have no appreciable emissions requirements in MS, nor do I think (and correct me if I'm wrong) that my Z would be required to pass if there WERE emissions. But you guys already know that.

 

Any help would be great!

 

Cheers

[OustedFairlady]

Does nobody know?

[19762802+2]

Edit: Nevermind Tony D explained, Thanks tony.

Edited September 12, 2010 by 19752802+2

[Tony D]

Argh, please edit the previous comment about 'thinking' SU's didn't have spacers!

For god's sake IF YOU DON'T KNOW DON'T GUESS!

 

 

They DO have spacers, ALL of them do. Some are thin, later ones are thicker. It's the reason there are different linkages on 73/74 cars than on earlier cars.

 

I run TWO (per carb) of the thick spacers on my 260 with EGR studs as the carb attachment method. I used a throttle pedal 'through the firewall' linkage as my downlink as it's adjustable so I can set it properly for over-center prevention. This setup gives a dyno-proven bump in torque.

 

There are two spacers, thin and thick. 8-10mm or 15-17mm thick dependent on year and carb style. They are the relatively the same dimensions if you aren't running manifold water. If you are, then you need the right spacer for your manifold/carburettor combination to allow for sealing of the water passages.

 

If you install them on the manifold, beware of the linkage angles, and of the heat transfer that will be happening.

 

They all should still be available from MSA. I've re-used them after shaving off the old torn integral gaskets and replacing them with standard grey gasket material from someplace like Kragen...etc...

[Tony D]

Thinking on this and seeing your signature...where did you buy your Fairlady? Up in Jackson from someone named "Steve" by any chance?

[OustedFairlady]

I bought mine from a guy in Pearl named Joseph, and I think the Fairlady came from a guy named "Steven", though I could be mistaken. For the record, it's not really a Fairlady, per se. The car's a USDM 240Z, '71 model, with Shelby slotted mags. The original Fairlady was a '74 or so, if memory serves, and was extremely badly rusted. It was a 2+2. Anyway, the long and short of it is that I used everything from the Fairlady on my 240Z shell. I'm unsatisfied with the fact that I have a series 2 dash in a series 1 car, and a few other things but I can't complain too much, I suppose.

 

Back to carbs, my engine is an L24, uses the SUs with four screws (flat tops?), and doesn't appear to have coolant running through or near the carb mounting pads. I'll check again, but I dont recall seeing anything like that. Will the pads be year specific, or will I need to match them to the linkages on my engine?

 

Thanks for the help.

Cheers

[Tony D]

I have the valve cover off that car! Bought it off Steven (yes, in Pearl... that's like telling someone I live in L.A. right? Perris, where the hell is THAT? )

 

At one time that car had a "Nissan 2000OHC" valve cover on it... and I told Steven if he ever wanted to sell it. Well, one day I got a call while laying about in a FEMA Trailer in St. Bernard's Parrish and VOOM! I was ON THAT THING!

 

Good too see someone got some use out of the 2/2 (FYI, they didn't have 2+2's in Japan, they were 2/2's...as the grille emblem should say!)

 

Someone can chime in on four screw years... I think there were three spacers early (pre 71), 71/72, and 73/74.

 

The difference in the first two is the bottom shape, they will 'work' and seal vaccum wise as long as no water is attached to the manifold. The later thick ones are the ones where the linkage is longer (73-74).

 

These are US Spec Carbs with four mounting studs, right? Not the two-stud 38mm jobs from the Fairlady correct?

Edited September 14, 2010 by Tony D

[OustedFairlady]

Oh, so you know Johnny, right? He had that Fairlady for a good while before finally selling it...you remember the Green Goblin? Bucket of laughs, that car.

 

Yeah, the carbs are 4 stud USDM models. I'm not sure what car they came from. The Z didn't have carbs, but had an air cleaner, so I'm suspecting Joseph removed the carbs and tossed the spacers...

 

I've found a nearly complete 280ZX Turbo for 200 dollars locally, and I'm considering a swap. Recommendations?

[DCZ]

I've found a nearly complete 280ZX Turbo for 200 dollars locally, and I'm considering a swap. Recommendations?

 

DO IT! Do not pass go, do not collect $200. Go directly to turbo swap city. You will not regret it.

[OustedFairlady]

So it seems. The engine was running at one point, but the guy that owns it is notoriously bad on his cars, so I'm almost certain that the engine will need to be rebuilt. The turbo has likely had it as well.

 

Are there any top-feed injector rails out there for L28ETs? I have a set of 440cc injectors from my Supra that I'm not using, and the car is missing both the injectors, ECM, and airflow meter.

 

*EDIT*

Sorry, just remembered to add this. I have a Toyota Supra as well, and I have enough parts to build five engines (7MGTE), as well as wiring harnesses, coilpacks, blah blah, all the stuff to build a pile of working engines. So my question is thus: 7MGTE or L28ET? Both will cost around the same.

 

*EDIT #2*

 

Forgot to mention, I have an L24 w/ E31 head...not sure of the block, but it shows good compression across the board. That said, new/revised recommendations?

Edited September 15, 2010 by OustedFairlady

[DCZ]

Well that brings us back to your original post, getting the car running/driving while you prep the 7MGTE. Sounds like you have lots of parts and a comfort level with that engine so I see no reason to start off on the L28ET route. Get ahold of some of the thicker spacers, try posting in the WTB forum(s) and they shouldn't be very expensive. I have seen posts in the past of people making their own out of wood or acrylic even. Get the ZTherapy JustSU video and get the car running. SUs have to be REEEEAAALY trashed for your car not to run at all so you should be able to get the car going with some cleaning and adjusting. Then you can drive the car while getting ready for the engine swap.

 

I drove around for a year with the dreaded flat top carbs, then switched to some round-tops for another year before I was ready for my L28ET swap and it worked out great.

[OustedFairlady]

I'm just going to go that route, I think. I'll get the L24 running and just go with it for a while. The car's down for a while for some minor restoration work, rust repair, yadda yadda, so I'm not in a huge hurry. Thanks for the info!