veritech-z

I got a pair of new outside door handles! Looking at them, they are the shiniest thing on the car, so I almost feel like they need some flat black overspray or some scuffing in order to look right on the car...also I got my megasquirt up and running just before new years, so that's good too!

My 77 doesn't hold pressure either, but I've got a fuel cell and an aftermarket rail, so I'm not so sure that whatever the mechanism is for keeping the pressure up with the pump turned off is working in the same way. I don't have the charcoal canister anymore, but I am still using a stock pump with the damper still in place. I always thought the damper acted as a sort of anti-drainback mechanism, but evidently that's not the case. When I turn off the pump, the fuel pressure gauge on my rail goes from 45 psi down to about 10, then if left long enough, to 0. I just put my fuel pump on a switch and let it run for a few seconds before I start the car.

It looks like I'll be finding myself in London in August (my wife has family getting married there, and evidently we rated an invite), if I see you driving around I'll be sure and give you a wave!

I just slapped some round tops that I got from a buddy for $50 on my 77 280z, and it ran fine, considering I opted not to keep the choke system (Doh!)...I got tired of the cold start problems though, and just finished converting it to a Megasquirt standalone with an aftermarket fuel rail but otherwise stock injection. I prefer fuel injection, but carbs definitely have character, and a distinctive sound. So to answer your question, it's not too hard to do, the throttle linkage doesn't even need to be modified, you just have to put on a low pressure pump ( I got the puralator $20 "red" pump that does 4-6 psi and it worked fine) or a bypass regulator and you're good to go.

Alan, looks like you're going drag racing with the wheels set up like that! I wish I'd paid more attention when I tried to take Japanese in college...I bet that's a very interesting magazine, I just don't seem to have knack for languages.

We got them in the states as the 240sx, that's the chassis designation for the 89-92 generation.

I've seen this topic come up a lot here and there, and I'll throw my 2.5 cents in on it here too: I personally think the S13 sylvia had more S30 Z in it than any subsequent Z model ever did. I would be more likely to buy something like that if it were released than a $35-40k pig masquerading as a Z. I love my 280, but only because it's cheap and fun to work on. Keeps me off the streets, so to speak (get it? it's always broken...). Carl, I think you did a great job conceptually with your pitch, I'm really not fond of the actual car design you had, but that's neither here nor there because I doubt they would have just taken the car as is anyway. If I were designing a new Z, I'd look really hard at both the styling and execution of the S13: Long hood, USABLE hatchback styling (though I like the notch-back better on the S13), affordable price tag. In a car that size, you don't need to offer much in the way of base power, 200hp or there-abouts is enough to get out of your own way. I wouldn't cry if it had a rear wheel drive version of the QR25DE 4 cylinder in it instead of a 6, since it's a nice torque-y motor (and is in production currently). I like to look at this issue from a perspective of "What is likely to happen, and could I live with that?" instead of just saying I want a 500hp car with super brakes that weighs less than a Vette, but I will NOT be paying more than $25k for it! That just isn't going to happen. Anyway, That's what I think. The long hood, overall shape, and reasonable price point with decent (but upgradeable performance) is what I think the new Z should have.

They were on Hybridz, and it's locked out here at my job (guess they like you guys better ), so it will have to wait till later. I don't mean to come of as combative, by the way, that was just contrary to what I thought I knew (and I have been known to think a lot of things that may or may not be accurate) and thought I'd get some clarification.

I thought we were talking short block, not just empty block. But it was my understanding that the N/A F54 blocks didn't have the webbing cast into them-though it's possible I was confusing the earlier non-turbo N42 castings with the later ones. I know there was some sonic testing done on some of the blocks to see what it actually looked like, I'll have to try and dig up the threads and post them over here.

It's definitely easy to look at things like the rear drum brakes and wonder why they didn't come with discs, but in the early 70's, what cars DID have rear discs standard? With a follow up question being what price range were those cars in compared to a Z? You can still buy cars NOW with drums in the rear. Also, the drums work, so I hardly think that counts as a poorly designed part. I would agree with Jmortensen that the front dif mount was a bad design even when new, but saying things like hatch seals and thin sheet metal (rust) were poorly designed after 30 years doesn't really count (with the exception of the cowl drainage, that maybe could have been a little better). These things worked when new, and work when replaced, so I argue that the design was sound, but the maintenance left something to be desired. The spindle pins work, they are just a PIA to remove (but were they when new? I don't really know). Maybe I'm reading the question differently, but I thought it was supposed to set the car in the context of the 1970's when rating the merits of a particular component? And that one about the crank pulley, how else would you fasten a crank pulley down? That's the same way as every car I've ever worked on: a large bolt with a keyway.

I thought the N/A engines had flat top pistons, while the turbo blocks had a dish piston...is that not the case? The rods have the same part number from turbo to N/A according to carfiche, but the turbo oil pump is different. Also, the block had webbing cast between the cylinder bores on the turbo to promote cooling, while the N/A block was siamesed bore on 123 and 456-this is what the seller is describing as the "thicker casting and reinforced water jackets", but from what I have read, that webbing was for cooling, not strength, and may or may not actually make the block stronger. The concensus over at Hybridz is that the early N42 blocks are great for turbo, since they have a higher nickle content and already have the dished pistons with no webbing. If you get this engine, and would like to modify it, Garrett76zt (the hybridz pinks driver) has his mostly stock internal L28et over 400hp now. He's got a thread about it over there, I'm sure he would be helpful if you wanted to ask him about it.

The trick there is getting a hold of the guy. Nobody even knows where this car really is, or who owns it. There are just some mystery pictures circulating on the web that nobody knows anything about. That is an interesting theory, but without the real story, its about as good as anybody else's I'm afraid...

The front fenders would be the easiest to do, it's just the rear that would make it hard to replicate this car. It doesn't look completely finished as it sits in these photos, so I really wonder how it finally came out. I really think that a car of that quality would have gotten a feature in a magazine somewhere, somewhen, but without an owner name, or even a real location to go on, I don't know if we'll ever know more than we do now.

thanks for clearing that up

I've seen that car, he lived somewhere in New Tampa (I was behind him in traffic). I heard it was totalled...I've also seen a Sunny Pulsar GTi-R dead on the side of Dale Mabry once...I was talking about your silver Z though. I see Mishelly3's pink-ish 280z all the time, and there are several other early Z's around here (besides mine) I know of, but I haven't seen anything like yours around.

That makes me a little sad...I just saw the one supercharger, where is the other one? Is that thing sticking up on the intake side part of it? I was sitting here thinking that you'd be hard pressed to get that under the hood of an S30 like it sits in that photo...

c-david, is that car on the road? I've never seen it around in Tampa, but it sure looks like one heck of an engine! Twin turbo AND supercharged? They MUST be giving out the good stuff around here...

You really want a recording of exhaust noise to play when you hit the accelerator? Would it play inside the car for your benifit, or outside for everybody else? The reason exhaust sounds good is because it has become associated with the sound of high performance in internal combustion engines. A hot rod electric car would sound like a drill or maybe a supercharger (or a normal gas car in reverse?), so eventually that would give people the same response as a contemporary car with exhaust does now (assuming that really does become the technology of the future car). I would cry if my car was equipped with an audio track...would it have fake blow off valve noises and stuff too? I think I'd change mine to a laugh track from a sitcom...that way every time I hit the gas it would be like a live studio audience laughing at Bob Sagat's jokes.

The fiberglass 5-piece nose kit looks pretty sweet. I'm curious what it will end up selling for once it's available. I also dig those reproduction competition seats!

It makes me happier that tastelessness is a global phenomenon, and not restricted to my own corner of the universe...

I think I need to stop taking internet breaks while painting my wheels...

I was looking at this one. Sure enough, second wiper...Oh well. guess I'll just go back to my cave...

..... And so it does...that's what I get for skimming!

Anybody actually read the thread? they say those are mikuni's, but those are ITB's, not carbs at all. All the posters on that thread are like "those mikuni's are sexy! I need some for my Z" but there are clearly no carbs on that engine...Great looking car, but I could live without the single "euro wiper" he's got going there.

What color are you going to paint the car?