[2023] What Did You Do To/with Your Z Today?

[SteveJ]

Third day in a row taking the car out. Only 4 Zs showed up, including mine. That could be from ZNationals happening yesterday.

Then there was this unique vehicle.  I'm not used to taking car photos in portrait mode.

[SteveJ]

18 hours ago, Captain Obvious said:

That's a beautiful EM-50.

@SteveJ It's like going into Wisconsin.

@Captain Obvious Well I got the $#!+ kicked out of me in Wisconsin once. Forget it!

Edited October 1, 2023 by SteveJ

[Jeff G 78]

My Z is off the jackstands after I installed a new MSA exhaust and replaced the RMS, trans output seal and the speedo cable O ring.  

For anybody struggling to fit the MSA exhaust, after I cut 1" out of the Z bend pipe, and played with the rest for a while, I got it to fit very well.  The front OE hanger that hangs the exhaust from the trans needs to be modified to fit the larger pipe and larger U bolt.  10 minutes with a die grinder and it fit great.  I modified the bracket so that the top of the pipe was in the same spot so it didn't move up closer to the crossmember.  The short straight pipe they give you goes behind the long pipe.  If you try to put it behind the header, the angles are all wrong.  Finally, the rear hanger is way too short for a 280Z.  I had to add another strap.

This week, I will put collector car insurance on it, change the title over from AZ to MI, and get collector car plates.  In AZ, they are made of copper.  I can actually start driving it again! 

[AK260]

Third day in a row taking the car out. Only 4 Zs showed up, including mine. That could be from ZNationals happening yesterday.



Then there was this unique vehicle.  I'm not used to taking car photos in portrait mode.

Spot the long shadows!! Winter is in the post!

[AK260]

Duplicated post by crapatalk!

[Jeff G 78]

I got the Z's title changed over to AZ and plated it today, so I gave it a maiden voyage of sorts.  Before I went, I pulled the fuel sender to see if the tank was clean or a disaster and get a good sense of how the 13 year old fuel smelled.  The fuel has just a whiff of old smell, but it's surprisingly mild and still smell like gasoline and not varnish.  The sender came out spotless and the tank is clean as well.  Sta-Bil is amazing stuff!  The fuel gauge reads about 1/4 tank and there is about 4" of fuel in the tank.  I've only put 61 miles on it since I filled it 13 years ago, so I'm not sure if some evaporated.  The car ran amazingly well tonight for very old gas.  The oil pressure is perfect, temp is right where it should be, the alternator is charging, the fuel gauge seems to work and the clock still keeps time.  Just to be safe, I did take a fire extinguisher which I will keep in the car for a while.  It has no leaks now and the exhaust sounds pretty decent.  It isn't too loud, but has a nice tone.  So far, I haven't heard any drone, but I didn't get over about 50 mph on the surface streets.  I did a 20 minute drive and tucked it away for the night.  I'm torn between filling the tank now, or running the old fuel down via short drives before I put fresh gas in it.  I'm not as worried about the old fuel based on how well it runs.  It idles smoothly at 700 rpm and accelerates cleanly.  It doesn't have the higher RPM power it should, but I'll accept that.

[Patcon]

I'm torn on whether to drive the fuel lower or dilute it. I think I would add some premium to what you have. Maybe 1:1 or so. That way maybe you could make some longer trips. How are the hydraulics?

[AK260]

I'm torn on whether to drive the fuel lower or dilute it. I think I would add some premium to what you have. Maybe 1:1 or so. That way maybe you could make some longer trips. How are the hydraulics?

I’m in the drain and fill fresh, or dilute it as much as you can, camp. Old fuel isn’t going to kill it but won’t be great to run it down.

You have no idea how much crud could be settled at the bottom of that tank / around the pick-up and you maybe asking for trouble running it down!

If it was mine, I would pull the tank, flush it through and even drop an endoscope (or point an iPhone camera) in there. You can also check hose conditions etc at the same time.

That’s my 2 cents at least ;)

[jonbill]

Would it work to use a non Apple phone too Ali? @AK260😜

[Jeff G 78]

4 hours ago, Patcon said:

I'm torn on whether to drive the fuel lower or dilute it. I think I would add some premium to what you have. Maybe 1:1 or so. That way maybe you could make some longer trips. How are the hydraulics?

The hydraulics are good.  Before I woke it up in 2021, I flushed the brake fluid, but I forgot to do the clutch.  After a few miles of driving in AZ, the clutch slave puked.  I replaced the clutch slave and flushed a bunch of fluid through the system.  I did buy a new clutch master just in case, but it will sit on the shelf for now.  The brakes feel great, so for now, I will just monitor.  I'll probably flush the brake fluid again when I get a chance.

I will probably go ahead and fill the tank with fresh gas.

[Jeff G 78]

3 hours ago, AK260 said:

I’m in the drain and fill fresh, or dilute it as much as you can, camp. Old fuel isn’t going to kill it but won’t be great to run it down.

You have no idea how much crud could be settled at the bottom of that tank / around the pick-up and you maybe asking for trouble running it down!

If it was mine, I would pull the tank, flush it through and even drop an endoscope (or point an iPhone camera) in there. You can also check hose conditions etc at the same time.

That’s my 2 cents at least 😉

If I had any lawn mowers, or other small engines, I would drain the tank, but I have nothing to burn it in these days.  When I moved to AZ, I sold off all of my gas powered equipment.  As for debris in the tank, I have a '78, so I was able to pull the sender and see inside the tank.  It looks perfectly clean, so I don't think I have anything to worry about there.  The sender looked like new with no signs of varnish.  I did clean and seal the tank about 15 years ago and it looks just like it did after I finished.  I will replace the fuel filter once all the old fuel has been run through.

The underbody hoses are all original, but I'm guessing most people on here are in the same boat.  I did replace all of the underhood hoses and injector hoses about 20 years ago when I replaced the injectors.

[AK260]

Would it work to use a non Apple phone too Ali? [mention=32052]AK260[/mention][emoji12]

Ha! Not sure!? :s

Funny thing is, after emptying mine and leaving it for a couple of days I literally dropped a head torch in there for better light and the lense started to react with the fumes left in there!