Zvoiture

Wow! Congrats on the trophy! There's a big car show here on Father's day, but not on Mother's...You 've been having too much fun for Mother's day...I just finished cooking for brunch and have a few minutes to check the mail...a nice bacon quiche, some fresh berries and melons (from Mexico) a hazelnut tart and a raspberry cheescake...now I just have to decide which bubbly to open...I have a Mumm cordon Rouge (a gift bottle which I despise, but my mother-in-law loves) or a '97 J. Damn, I guess I will have to open both! Kiss the one you're with! steve77

I sent you som pix of a smog-exempt Z with a FI engine. Basically everything on the rear half of the intake/air rail has been removed, filled and ground off. Just start tracing things. If it goes to somewhere that is clearly canister related or gas ventilation realted or exhaust ventilation related, take it off. If in doubt, take it ooff with it running and plug it to see if the motor will still run. My 77 has a teensy bit more complicated smod junk than a 75, so I can't give you a list. And even within the years, there are variations (not even considering modifications over time). Blow up the pix I sent you. That is actually a '75 head (n42) and a ZX intake with the webbing ground off. steve77

I don't read any car mags, so maybe this info is really old...but I just read about the Infinity G35. Now, when Nissan told me they "would never build a 350Z in a 2+2", I believed them. Now it seems like it was kinda a 'white lie'. On one hand, I am somwewhat happy that they did it under a different label and therefore have not 'watered down' the Z line. But the other half of me screams that it is all a marketing ploy and there will be a bunch of 2+2 Z clones running around. Its almost as though they have stooped to the level of American auto makers with their diversified 'houses'. In the past, I admired Infinity and Lexus for keeping the lines very pronounced between their cars and the 'factory vehicles'. Then the J30 went away and the Q was the only RWD vehicle in the Infinity line-up. And the Camry became last-year's ES300. As the lines between Buicks and Pontiacs and Olsmobiles and Fords and Mercury's got blurred many years ago, now the Japanese automakers are making their loyalists make a tough decision between 'flagships'. steve77

"As far as moms day... We don't have kids, so, I don't have to get anything for my wife." And you get away with that? Man, that would never fly here. It doesn't matter if you have kids or NOT. You have to do something for your wife regardless. steve77

I'm not sure what numbers you are talking about...Quarter mile?....20ish?....Bone stock a Z ought to do a hellof a lot better than that! Maybe you mean 20ish more horsepower? steve77

That's not FAIR! Why can't they have cool things like that here for Mother's day? Too lucky. steve77

That would be alot easier, but '75-76 are not smog exempt here. It stops at 73. steve77

I have not got anything for my wife yet...blew it off all week, I usually shop fairly early, but not this time...Sent my mother a card and my mother-in-law, and will go get something for my wife tomorrow whikle she is gone. Am thinking lingerie this year. Have not done that in a while. I also get to cook brunch for parents-in-law on Sunday morning. What have the rest of you got planned? steve77

For the longest time, I was confounded by the process I had been reading about of cutting the 'strut' to allow more travel on lewered Z's. I had always thought your 'struts' went bad just like your 'shocks' and you had them changed. I couldn't fugure out how you cut a section out of your 'struts'. Aren't they filled with oil and are under pressure and stuff??? Then one day in a bolt of bright light, I managed to determine the difference between a 'strut' and the CARTRIDGE. The 'cartridge' is the part that wears out and you change (like your shocks). Likewise, the strut (TUBE) is shortened and a shorter 'cartridge' is installed. Since this marvelous suspensions system started appearing on our cars 30 years ago, we have all just gotten into a bad habit of refering to them as 'shocks and struts'. steve77

Zme, reading this I am partly motivated and partly feeling this dreadful feeling come up in my gut. I just looked at what will most likely be my new Z project today, a '71 HLS30 40XXX. I am guessing it used to be silver, but it is all oxidized to nothing and peeling. Spider webs and crap everywhere. 4 flat tires. couple rust bubbles here and there, and just surface rust and dirt EVERYWHERE. Hopefully soon it will be in my garage and I will be sharing your activities. Just get it up on jacks and start stripping stuff! Have you tried the Rust Treatment from Napa? It comes in an areosol can so is much easier to use than POR-15 and TONS cheaper. It really works great. Just hit it with a wire brush and spray a couple coats and the rust turns gun-metal black and is sealed under a hard finish. steve77

Behind a Chevron Station a few miles from here... Turns out the guy in the garage is a bit of an unsung Z guy...MY NEW BEST FRIEND! steve77

Ok, so 99% of the people I talk to say I am out of my friggin mind, but I really want to do this. I really like the dependablility and smooth operation of FI engines and want to see what I can get out of one without the constraints of smog (I live in CA). So let me know what you think. My recipe: '70-'73 240 chassis (smog exempt here) L28 block (F54 if I decide to bore it out, but probably not) ZX Flat-tops N42 head (probably do a light port job, probably have to change the guides) ZX FI intake with everything uneccessary filled and ground off, bored for larger TB Turbo TB Turbo AFM with ZX guts adjusted ZX harness and 'puter Of course a good induction and header and 'straight back' at least 2.25 From the research I have done, should have a little better than 10:1 and flow pretty good. OK, let's hear it from the Venturi Bros. steve77

Paeco lists somewhere in the 200 range for their 'Stage II' re-build. That is with head P&P and engine B&B and with a 'Stage II' cam--which sounds like what you are shooting for. DISCLAIMER: Go ahead and flame, because I would really like to hear some opinions of Paeco. BUT, don't kill the messenger--I am just reading out of a catalogue! I am not preaching the word of God! This is probably gross, and OF COURSE, this is their dyno! They also do not make very much distinction between L24-L28. steve77

Question: What is the difference between the webbed ZX FI intake and the unwebbed 280 intake? Is the webbed one square port because the P90 is? If this is true, is the intake that came off 75-76 N42's also square? I have not seen a webbed intake on 75-76's, so does that mean there are three different N/A FI intake mani's? or 4? (square for n42, then round for n47, still round for P79 and then square again for P90?) steve77

This one... steve77

This one... steve77

From Fairlady.org... MSA Z 2002 steve77

Hey, those are great. Especially the ones you took of MY car! steve77

Please tell me it was the $28,000 black one with EVERY SINGLE engine, turbo, and suspension part re-done.... steve77

So here's what bothered me the most about the 2002 MSA West Coast Z Nationals: Too many cars with crappy suspension. It was everywhere. I can't believe people sometimes. There were HUNDREDS of beautiful and well-thought-out cars, many of them with hundreds of hours of time involved...Beautiful cars, unbelievable paimt jobs, screaming engines, hybrid engines with custom fabbed parts and machined billet stuff and crazy turbos and intercoolers and carbon-fibre stuff and polished EVERYTHING and wild body kits and sensible body accessories unbelievable exhaust systems and stereos and on and on and on......AND YET: Get down and look under the car and what do you suppost you found on about 85% of them? Nasty, worn, stock-rubber ORIGINAL bushings. Mustache bushings with huge chunks out of them; diffy mounts with rubber pieces falling out; Disgusting oxidized and off-center control arm bushings; Sway bar end link bushings with giant cracks and squished to the point of being loose in the washers. Dirty, cracked strut boots(telling me the struts are not new); cars riding very low over standard-sized tires on obviously stock springs (Sagging springs. I asked several people where I noticed this, "Have you cut your springs?" "No.") Unbelievable to me. How could you do everything in a car and 'forget' this? How can you drive around in something like this? How could you honestly call a car like this 'improved'? I saw this on cars with stock suspensions, lowering springs, and even on a few cars with coil-over systems. I'm not talking about the cars that were stock. You know the "1974 260z with 56,000 original miles, always garaged"--and there were plenty of them there. I'm only looking modified stuff. It was just appalling to me. I just can't imagine driving around in a 'performance' car with 25 year old bushings. Am I being unreasonable? steve77

As I was leaving the MSA show, I heard a very disturbing rumour concerning our fearless leader, Mike. Let's just say the whisper started with 'Z' and ended with '32' and included a sum of money exchanging hands. What a traitor... steve77

Ahhh, back home after an INCREDIBLE day of looking at great Z cars. Met Mike, Gholson, our fearless administrator, and a bunch of other great members of our 'community'. Took a few pix...Mike like, videotaped the whole thing, so he will have a bunch to post too, but in the interim, here is the link to our club site, where I posted them..... MSA 2002 steve77

Had P7 195 50 15's which handles OK, but were too skinny for the power of the car. It was WAY too easy to lose the rear in a corner. Just put a set of 225 50 15 Euro T/A's last week and have not driven too much on them, but it is definitely harder to spin the tires. I really didn't want a tire this hard (340 wear rating!!!!!!!), and since I only put maybe 500 miles per year on this car, they should last for about 200 years. They were factory 'blems' which I got a pretty good deal on. ($300 mounted, balanced, tax and everything) BTW, the new tires raised the car almost an inch. Oh, and the P7's areavailable REALLY cheap if someone around here wants them. Tread is about 80%, but they have some weather checks. steve77

Currently we are down to 4 Z's for CCZCC. Four members have bailed at the last minute. So: I have TWO club spaces INSIDE that are free for the asking. If you have remotely considered attending the show, now is the time. E-mail me directly if you are interested ASAP. I must make arrangements with MSA very soon. Also you must be able to enter the compound early, like 8-ish. steve77 ZVOITURE@aol.com

This is as childish as I get: (spoken very loud) "I HATE MUSTANGS!!!!!!!!" steve77