midgez

I am a new member and looking for some advice...
I have a 260Z with SU carbs, otherwise mostly original. My dad was an old time datsun mechanic and recently passed away, leaving me without a mechanic for my car. I am not a mechanic! I recently have been having hesitation and no power uphill or taking off from a start. This happened once before and my dad adjusted the carbs, put on a new fuel filter and tinkered with who knows what else to get it to stop. So my questions... Is this something I am going to deal with often? If so, what are my options? Should I replace the engine? Have someone rebuild? I need a reliable car as right now this is my daily driver. Thanks in advance, it sure seems that there are lots of smart Z owners out there.

260zturbo

go find some 240 carbs. its carbs so tweaken will be needed. no need to replace an engine if its not broken or if u dont want more power. its a classic car so parts will need to be replaced and taken care off. part of the z world. as for as a dd it can be done but your better off with efi. just my .02 cents. welcome to the z world.

midgez

The carbs are from 240 and were rebuilt about 1 year ago. Maybe they need to be adjusted again. From my short experience, they are very touchy. I would love to have more power! What are my options....

NismoPick

#1... Welcome to ZDriver!

#2... I am sorry to hear about your dad. I hope all is well w/ your family.

#3... Don't go replacing a running motor. It could be a very simple problem. No need to make it big.

Have you checked all the basics? Timing / spark plugs / cap & rotor / carbs in sync?

260zturbo

timing,plugs,cap,rotor and in sync are major things as nismo stated. dont worry about power till u get the baby purring. u have 2 fuel pumps check those as well as lines. check all your vacuum lines. go and get u a Haynes manual. ooo glad to see another 260 is alive.

midgez

Thanks,
I'll have these things checked out. She was running great for several months and then I filled up with gas and almost immediately started having trouble. I thought it was the gas, but since have filled up again. I did just have the manual fuel pump replaced. Spark plugs, etc have not been changed in a while.

SportBikeMike

Which carbs from a 240Z are they? Are they the "belltop" carbs from the '70-'72 Zs, or the dreaded "flattop" carbs from the '73 Zs. I can't imagine why anyone would swap in the flattops from a '73 when thats what a 260 came with.....but if they are I would get them swapped for the '70-'72 carbs.

snwbrderphat540

i got the round tops :P hahahahaha. i need to sell them.

midgez

I am pretty sure they are the "good" carbs from the early 240z. When I bought the car, my dad immediately got rid of the original carbs. I have a friend who will check/replace my spark plugs, rotor etc. We'll see if that works.

midgez

So, a friend did the tune-up stuff. He wasn't sure about syncing the carbs so I have to find someone else to do that. He said he did a compression test and all cylinders are low. Some more than others. He said the valves may need adjusting. Does this sound right? The back carb is definitely running rich because those plugs were burnt. Someone suggested a 280z swap so I can get rid of the troublesome carbs. Hmmmm...

snwbrderphat540

yeah, if you cant tune up your own car and EFI swap isnt up your alley till you educate yourself a little. and carbs oehr than syncing are going to be more reliable than adding in an EFI system. also what were the numbers? and synching the carbbs isnt to hard as long as you have teh tool which you can buy. you can try adjusting the valves, its uber easy just takes a little time. about half hour to an hour. just slow work not hard work. you could also try an american 4 barrell carb (reliable and easy to tune no synching) but you need to modify the throttle linkage and get a new manifold. a bit pricey.

Texizgreat

I know my Z is blowing some black smoke with a smell of gas. What now?

snwbrderphat540

sounds rich. your going to need to learn to tune the carbs or find someone in the area that can do it for you.

Texizgreat

Fuel Injected......

New plugs (yes NGK)
new wires
new Rotor
Distributor..
decent gas (not plus)


Will that sea foam stuff help at all?

snwbrderphat540

my bad, i thought you were the creator of the thread. lol. should probably make your own so we dont thread jack, but seafoam will clean out the injectors you can try it and drive the car hard but the AFM might just need some adjusting.

midgez

I do have the sync tool. My dad bought it before he passed and I watched him use it once. I know the basics of how to check, but I don't know how to adjust them if they are off. Is it easy? If so how do I do it? I can't remember the exact numbers on the compression, but he said they were like 50 and 30. Does that sound right? I know he said that they all weren't the same which is a problem right? I am having a difficult time finding someone who knows the 240 carbs. The guy that works on our other cars says he can look at it. I need to talk to him about how much he knows about z-cars. Right now I am very frustrated because I can't drive my car.

snwbrderphat540

50 and 30... thats like non existant. lol. they dont all have to be the same they just cant very by i think more than 10 i believe. mine were all 180 and one was 190. my dads are all around 130 120 i think and his car runs fine. for now anyways. and i never had the "pleasure" to adjust carbs. i do believe its just a needle you twist pretty simple but yeah, some one might post up here or try to search it/get a book.