bobs77

I'm reconditioning the rear window louvers on my '77 and was wondering if anyone knows a good source for replacement weatherstripping for it. I don't expect to find the exact weatherstrip for it but something close I can modify to work. Any suggestions?

VERY nice looking 280! Where'd you take the pictures at?

Friend of mine just sent this link for a TV commercial from 1977 for "The New Fuel Injected 280Z": http://jalopnik.com/cars/classic-ad-watch/zap-the-new-fuel+injected-280z-275254.php

51 in wet Washington.

Good thought Will, except he suggested I contact you..... The sideview mirror glass is in good condition, but the silvering is showing it's age. I might have to do what Moonpup suggested--practice on one, and use that info to remove the other in one piece, take that to a glass shop to have 2 new mirrors made.

Bill, Great write up on restoring the rear view mirror--I just pulled mine out to do this. While I was at it I decided to remove the dual racing mirrors from the doors to send them out for refurbishing as well. These mirrors are glued to a metal housing; any suggestions on how to remove the mirrors from this housing? Thanks, Bob

I bought a seat cover set (basket weave centers) and foam for one seat from CD. Les didn't have foam specifically for a 280 so I used foam for a 240; he wasn't sure if there was a difference, and neither was anyone on this site. One surprise was that the new foam did raise the seat bottom up (new, dense foam vs 29 year old foam?); when I sat in the reupholstered seat my head touched the ceiling, even after reclining the seat back more than usual. I ended up using the original foam from the passenger seat for the drivers seat, and the new foam in the passenger seat. The old passenger seat foam was in much better condition that the original drivers seat so I still get better support, and actually have a little space between my head and the ceiling.

"...if its got the stock fitting then you either have to take a grinder and grind through that without damaging the injector or buy a new one.'' I gotta take exception to this part too. What are the chances that using a grinder will not nick the injector body deep enough to cause a leak? The FSM advises using a soldering iron to "cut" a slit in the injector hose, allowing you to pull the hose off the injector tail. I tried this but wasn't successful because of soldering iron issues. I ended upcutting a slit in the hose using a razor blade knife, cutting just deep enough to cut through the rubber and fiber of the hose. Tomohawk has good advice--use this time to take the assembly completely off the car, replace all the hoses and clamps, and send the injectors off for cleaning. I had good luck with the shop at this site: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=33554&item=7999420019&sspagename=rvi%3A1%3A3v_buy Do the job once, not every time a hose springs a leak.

Xray--I know what you mean. I used to have a '72 and used that adjustment to make the seat height fit me. Unfortunately the 280's don't have it. Just switching from the old, sagging 30 year old driver's seat foam to the passenger's seat foam has made a nice improvement. And now both seat bottoms have the "tuck" near the front of the seat--looks and feels much better than what I started with. Bob

Zbane--there was an article in Car and Driver some years ago about radar guns and detectors. They wrote that Geico was buying radar guns and giving them, free of charge, to police departments You can imagine the reasons behind a car insurance company doing this. I won't go near them for this reason.

Sledz is right--the new foam does make you sit up higher. I'm 6', and after installing the new foam I had about 1/8" clearance between my head and the ceiling. I ended up using the foam from the passenger seat in the driver's seat--nice cross between the old driver's seat foam and the new foam--and putting the new foam in the passenger seat.

Didn't the '78 Black Pearl edition come with matching LH and RH mirrors, the same design as the stock LH mirror on non-Black Pearl Z's?

Arne, I live in Washington and have been buying from TireRack.com for 15 years. Even icluding shipping costs their prices are still well below what I'd pay here (before adding in our 8.8% sales tax). Bob

Mark, What was the cost of the Panasports? Bob

Think I'll start this again with a better title..... I need to pull the 4 speed transmission in my '77 to replace the throwout bearing. This will be the first time I've removed a transmission.....I have the FSM, but are there's always things it doesn't cover in much detail. Any helpful hints you guys can pass along? Thanks, Bob

So this will be the first time I've pulled a transmission.....I have the FSM, but are there's always things it doesn't cover in much detail. Any helpful hints you guys can pass along?

Thanks for the info Chris.

Chris, what are the performance tires you changed to? Bob

Chris, why did you go with smaller width tires in front? Bob

Sounds like a good possibility. The PO had the clutch replaced 7 years ago--no idea if the throwout bearing was changed then. I don't ride the clutch but no idea if she did. Or if it was adjusted correctly while she had it (I had it done about 4000 miles ago). Thanks for the feedback.

Good point Arne. I verified the noise last night--with the engine running and the clutch pedal depressed I shifted into each gear. When I shifted into 4th I got the same noise. I tried several times after that but the noise didn't come back. Seems to only occur when everything is cold. I think you're right that the problem is in the clutch assembly, but I'm not getting noise all the time--the clutch is quiet except for this occasional noise. I'll check the clutch adjustment next. Thanks for the help.

I second what hls30.com wrote. I bought the same console 6 months ago from Courtesy Nissan. It looks great. Bob

Guys, Just took my '77Z on it's first long trip (400+ miles) since I bought it 4 years ago, and outside of a little oil pressure fluctuation it ran fine. I started it up this morning, put it into reverse and started to back out of the garage when I heard a loud whine and what sounded like a metal-rubbing-on-metal sound. I shifted into 1st and pulled it back into the garage. The sound ended when I shut the engine off. I went out again a couple of hours later to check it out and see where the noise was coming from. I got the following: --I heard the noise only when the drive train was cold --even when cold it doesn't happen all the time --with the engine idling and clutch depressed, I shifted into 1st and 2nd without any noise. I shifted into 3rd and 4th and the noise came back --when it's making this noise I can feel increased vibration in the shift knob The car has 65000 miles and as far as I know the tranny is original; the only work done was a clutch replacement by the PO a year before I bought it. Does this sound like a tranny bearing failure? Thanks, Bob

That would be a problem, I'm 6'. Never thought of that. I'll check with Les on it tomorrow. Thanks for the warning.