Hello.

I'm new to this list but not to Zs. However, I've been gone for quite a long time (family stuff). Now I'm back and my son and I are getting my old 240Z autocrosser out of mothballs to go have some fun. I bought this '73 in '79. It has about 65,000 miles on it and is very solid. I also have an early 260Z 2+2 that I picked up in the early 90s that's now undergoing restoration.

I last raced the 240 in '91 and did quite well with it. The engine internals are basically stock but that's about all that is. It's got Webers, header, 3" exhaust, electronic ignition, 5-speed and Centerforce II. The body is a JCR California Z kit with modifications to the nose and hood. The suspension has performance springs, struts, and bushings all around. For street use it runs on 245/45/16 tires front and rear mounted on custom made Compomotive 3-piece wheels (8.5" front 9.5" rear). For racing I currently have an old set of Goodyear race tires mounted on custom steel wheels.

So.....

Here's the problem:

When I parked this car about 10 years ago, it had suddenly developed a wierd rear-end wiggle that just about took me off the road. It felt like a badly busted rear tire. At that time we jacked up the rear of the car and detected what appeared to be a busted cord on the right rear. Fast forward 10 years and we're looking at these old street tires and can't find anything wrong with them. No signs of bulge, put them on the car and spun them and they look fine. Wheels look straight, everything is good. Took her out for a test drive and WATCH OUT! The back end is twiching all over the place on a smooth road even at low speeds. Yikes!

I brought the car back in and got it back up in the air. Poked and prodded around the rear suspension and couldn't find anything amiss. Decided to put the race tires on to see if I could elliminate the problem. Nope! Even more pronounced with the race rubber. Spooky.

So, anybody got any ideas? I'm really scratching my head on this one. I guess I'll get it back up in the air tonight and start poking and prodding again. It sure feels like something is broke in the right rear.

By the way, anybody got a set of R160 4-bolt stub axles. I need them for a Subaru LSD I just picked up on eBay.

Thanks.

Jeff Warner
Galloway, OH
'73 California Z
'74 260Z 2+2

 

Bad bushings, maybe spindle pin bushings. Take the strut housing loose and see if you can move the housing to indicate the spindle pin bushings being bad. That would cause the tyoe of problem you are describing. It may be impossible for you to get enough leverage to move them with the strut still attached to the car. A 1500 lb car will make them move though. I would suspec tit is in one of the pin bushings... Good luck.

 

Hey, thanks for the good parts. I've bought several things from you guys already. eBay ID Bengal383.

You were right about the bushings. I'm sure the spindle bushings are original but I could detect no play. Of course, like you said, it probabaly wasn't possible without at least unbolting the strut. However, I found the slightest amount of play in the inner control arm bushings. On a whim I tried tightening the mounting brackets and low and behold I was able to get several turns with a ratchet out of each one and found one on the right side particularly loose. I'm pretty sure I replaced these bushings when I rebuilt the suspension prior to racing. But age and racing have probably softened them up and possibly loosened the brackets. Anyway, the problem is gone! I'll be going over the entire suspension before I hit the track.

Thanks for the input.

Jeff

 

Thanks.

Actually, the Scarab used the back half of the Jim Cook Racing California Z kit. The rear quarter lay-ups and the wing on my car are the same ones used on the Scarab. The Scarab used a different front fender that did not have the IMSA style flair. The JCR California Z "kit" included the rear quarters, wing, front fenders and if I remember right, a special chin piece. When we built my car back in the early 80's, it was the first 240 JCR had built a kit for. Prior to my car they had only made a kit for the late 260/280. We modified my kit to include the fiberglass hood and a front air dam that we had to widen by about 6".

Good luck with your project.

Jeff

 

OMG! That's a California Z! I'd buy those headlights in a heatbeat and I'm very serious. I would have bought the left front fender as well if I hadn't just repaired mine. Please pmail me about this ASAP! jwarner6@columbus.rr.com or jeff.warner@dla.mil

I AM FREAKING OUT!!!!!