z_scout

Hi all, I am relocating from San Jose, CA to Mission Viejo and need a reference for a transport company. I would drive it but it has been sitting in the garage for about 3 years and I don't have the time to work on it during the move. Does any one know of a good transport company who is reliable and affordable? Thanks. Andre

As I understand it, the CAFE standards as well as the European standards require that a certain percentage of cars sold must meet the targets. That percentage is not 100%. Porsche is trying to address this by making a bid to own the majority of VW. Porsche would then fall under the VW umbrella which would bypass the requirement simply because VW products will meet the mpg requirements and percentage on their own. It is highly unlikely that Porsche and other sports cars will get diluted or cease to be sold. Mostly because they are low volume selling products compared to other product offerings. For example, I bet the Nissan Altima outsells the 350z 10-1. The Honda Accord and Civic probably sells magnitudes more than the S2000. Ferrari, Lambo, and many others will have to be creative to meet the standards, which I'm sure they will. I hear what you are saying though. I really enjoy the way my Z drives but given the choice, I would drive a new 911 everyday and live with the depreciation. My wallet just limits me from doing so. Just my two cents. Andre

I remember seeing 'Good Guys Wear Black' with Chuck Norris when I was a kid and loved his black 911. In high school it was definitely the Ferrari 308 from Magnum PI. But there were three guys (aka 'posers') in the Walnut Creek area in California who liked to dress up like Magnum with the Detroit Tigers hat, hawaiian shirt and red Ferrari which spoiled it for me. Now I'd still love a black 911 - any year.

Found this on my online magazine subscription. Perhaps a few of us can chime in? http://news.windingroad.com/question-of-the-day/question-of-the-day-which-car-did-you-dream-of-when-you-were-a-kid/

Very nice! But $800 per seat is very steep. I'll drop subliminal hints to the CFO (aka my wife) about a nice Christmas present. Thanks for the link! Andre

I found this on imdb: http://imdb.com/title/tt1013753/ "The story of California's first openly gay elected official, Harvey Milk, a San Francisco supervisor who was assassinated along with Mayor George Moscone by San Francisco Supervisor Dan White." I doubt there will be an "Bullit" like car chases in this one.

In the last few years I haven't really driven the car much (which is a shame). Thanks for the replies. I think I'll just keep the stock seats for now. Unless I find a nice set of Miata seats. Thanks again. Andre

I am thinking about replacing my stock restored seats in my '78 280z for the Cobra Clubman. I was wondering if anyone here has them and if so, can you give some feedback? After restoring my stock seats with new foam and new upholstery, I haven't been satisfied with the lack of support and comfort. Any feedback or opinions would be appreciated. Thanks. Andre

I was watching the Barrett Jackson auction today and saw the "last" 1967 Corvette Stingray sell for a few hundred thousand. Does anyone know if the last S30 still exists? If so, who owns it? Andre

I have a set of 15" Rewinds on my 280z. When I brought it to the tire shop the owner suggested that instead of crushing the front grease caps that I should remove them. He said that he did that to his car as well. I took his advice and so far (1 1/2 years later) everthing is fine. I check it periodically and the grease looks about right. The tire shop owner said that the Konig caps basically act like the original grease caps. Andre

I think the '77 and the '78 don't have vent buttons on the seat backs. This is on a '78 280z. Andre

I bought the foam and upholstery kit from MSA and am very happy with how they turned out. I left the upholstery out in the sun for about an hour which made it easier to install. I also used a spray adhesive on the foam as I installed the covers. As you can see from the pictures, there are still a few wrinkles. Keep in mind that the foam made the seat bottoms much higher than the originals. They are also virtually flat so the lateral support isn't as good at the orignal flatter seat cushion. Andre

It will actually start but only if I give it a little gas. Once it starts, it has a really rough idle and if I let go of the gas pedal it will die. I can actually drive it for a while like that but I haven't driven far enough to see if the condition will go away. The only thing that really resolves the issue is if I let it sit for about an hour. As for the fuel pressure, it's getting around 35 to 40 psi which I think is within spec. I also ran the thermotime test from the EFI bible. Basically, while the engine was hot, I unplugged the thermotime switch and it had the same problem. I also measured the resistence on the thermotime and it was within spec. This may be a dumb question but could heavy carbon build up in the fuel rail or in the block or head produce this type of condition? Also, there is an air temp sensor in the AFM but the EFI bible doesn't include this in the hot start tests. Could this be the culprit?

Hi everyone, I've posted once on this site but never properly introduced myself. About four years ago I found a 1978 280z on craigslist for cheap. I was lucky enough to find the ad about 2 hours after it was posted. I called the owner and made an appointment for the next day. The following day I was really surprised by the condition of the car. The body was near perfect with no rust and two small scratches on the hood. The interior was completely original and showed very little signs of its age. It looks like it had been repainted but it still looked fairly new. Unfortunately, the engine wasn't as good. The Z had been sitting in storage for 12 years and was hardly driven. I took her home and started the engine restoration project. While I was at it, I installed a Tokico HP set up with energy bushings, new foam and uphostery, new carpet, etc... The list goes on. It's now in great condition. Except for one thing - which is where the plea for help comes in. I found that I had to replace a lot of different components in the engine in order to get it running right. This included replacing all sensors, injectors, exhaust, fuel pump, and gave it a good tune up. It now runs like new ... except for a nagging hot start condition. (I think someone w/ a ZX just recently posted the same condition). http://classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22613&highlight=hot+start Basically the engine starts right up when cold. But once it warms up to a normal temp, and I shut off the engine, it sputters like it's flooded. The condition returns to normal once the engine cools down. I've followed the EFI bible like it was a ...bible and all tests checked out fine. I thought for sure it would be caused by a faulty water temp sensor, faulty pickup coil, or a leaking cold start valve but they are all brand new and passed the resistence tests. Not only did I run the test from the ECU connector, I also ran them on the actual sensors. If anyone can offer any help, it would be very appreciated. Thanks and sorry for the long post. Andre

Should I be able to measure some resistance on the water temp sensor when I hook up a mutimeter directly to the sensor? I'm trying to diagnose whether the wires are bad or if the sensor is bad. I replaced the sensor about 3 years ago but I am experiencing a hot start problem. I followed the circuit tests from the EFI bible and did not get the desired results when testing the water temp sensor. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks Andre

I replaced a faulty pickup coil yesterday on my 1978 280z. I did so without removing the distributor since it seemed like a simple remove and replace job. But after I started it up, it sputtered and died. I was able to keep the enigne running long enough to attach my timing light and get a reading but the timing marks were no where to be found. Turning the distributor as much as possible didn't fix the problem either. Before I replaced the pickup coil, it was nicely tuned at 10 degrees. Nothing else changed. I also adjusted the air gap within spec - between .2mm and .4mm. Did I miss a step? Should I remove the distributor and start over? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks. Andre BTW, I bought the pickup coil from Kragen. Not sure if a genuine Nissan pickup coil would have been better.