Zvoiture

"BTW_ I like your Valve cover" It's not mine. It is 'Mad' Mike Taylor's. It is my motivation for my new engine project. Everyone said I was crazy to want to build a hot FI motor. I couldn't find anyone that thought it was a good idea. Then I go to the MSA show and BAM! here's Mad Mike's car. It is a bored-out, AFM-adjusted, Turbo TB, high pressure FI L28 that just happens to have a really cool valve cover. I took lots of notes. Now you understand my fascination with this Japanese Co? They have not responded, BTW. I have not seen anything else like theirs anywhere in many thousands of hours of surfing. I think it is a great theory. steve77

And the zx is another couple hundreds. The ZX is probably stouter, and the engine bay is at least as big..I have a ZX shell sitting in my garage and it is put together really beefy...Parts? I don't know. The ZX ws not made for as many years as the 1st gen, but there were a ton of them but they are not collectable and they are really cheap, and everything is different body and susp-wise, but it changed again completely in '83......so you see there are arguments either way as far as parts availability. Smog requirements on a '79-83 model year would be something to check out... steve77

125

So....whadaya sayin'? Z car forums are not good places to pick up chicks? steve77

I have this '79 I got for free which I am stripping of any remaining parts useable on a 1st gen....What about the steering rack? Someone told me it has fewer turns lock-to-lock and is a straight bolt-in on a 1st gen. It LOOKS the same as my '77, although it is mounted behind the front crossmember, of course. Comments, please. steve77 (and steve79, although I am not proud of it!)

I had my stock '78 into the 120's numerous times for extended periods of time whilst commuting the lonely 505 in Norcal. Usually cruising with something else that wanted to go fast. Not racing, just cruising fast. Totally rock-solid, totally stock. My current 280 has never seen much over 95--not because it did not want to, but because I have a wonderful wife and a beautiful house and two gorgeous girls and I just don't flaunt the law like that anymore. In a controlled enviroment, I feel my current Z with its great tires and complete suspension overhaul would do 120+ pretty safely. With it's 5-speed, I'm turning a nice, comfortable 4200 at this speed. I would love to see 5500 in this car. Side-note...I have a CHP friend who speaks of various Mustangs and Camaros and Corvettes who have tried the sustained high-speed thing...His motto: Just stay on 'em, and bad things will start happening to the motors. steve77

It totally depends on your underwriter. I suppose if you are trying to get comp and collision on a 'salvage' title or if you are going for 'full' replacement coverage on a vehicle you are calling 'restored', your underwriter could require an inspection. It is not State mandated, at least here in CA. Other states have vehicle inspections required for registration, but not for insurance. $130 a month for legal liability minimums???? DUDE! you are either VERY young or have a bad driving record or both! The CA State minumum is 15/30 (or has it gone up to 15/50?) for which I pay $135 FOR 6 MONTHS! That's $22.50 a month. And that's with a 'premium' insurance Co. (Farmers, Allstate, State Farm, etc...) steve77

Interesting...I think I will try it on my new 'project'. I have considered installing a single 12" straight-thru 'bullet' style muffler in each circuit. Funny, I always thought the English loved their 'side-by-sides' better than those dreadful 'over-unders'!!!!!! steve77

Welcome! This place is GREAT! You will find a lot of 'company' here from your part of the world. You're drifting over from ZCAR, right? I seem to recall DAVIDU from over there. There are several of us here. What a cool first job. steve77 (errrr...winoman)

I am not a professional on such matters, but I always thought to use carbs and a turbo, you had to blow INTO the carb and 'box in' the carb to equalize pressure, etc..blah, blah, blah.... I did not think you were supposed to turbocharge the mixture. I guess it works? Any comments from the pros? steve77

Looks good, Fred. You have the wheels we were talking about on a thread last week.... Hey HS-30h, Stupid question: When you say 'twin-pipes' do you mean just twin outlets (tips) from the muffler (silencer), OR do you mean twin pipes all the way from the manifold--like the 'twice-pipes' system MSA and others sell? steve77 (just a boring old HSL-30)

4 X 4.5, 0 offset

Hey Royce, CAN'T YOU READ???? He said L24 or L28. He doesn't want your L26!!!!! JUST KIDDING! Greg, what is "cheap"? I am a few hours South of you...if you don't find what you want, there are a few laying around here for $50 and up...Whether they require "just a tune-up" or not will have quite a bit to do with the price, of course. Most of them have been sitting for a few years. Good Luck steve77

One of our club members in Santa Barbara has Delorto's. Seems to like them... steve77

Well, its empty for starters. No drivetrain. Interior is stripped. Some rust here and there. A few dents here and there, but no bondo. The car does not appear to have ever been wrecked, but it is a bit banged up. Original paint (609). It's pretty bad. It's going to the crusher as soon as I get anything else valuable off it. I got it for free just for the master and clutch cylinders and steering rack. But it rolls. That's about all it does. steve77

This is a very subjective topic. I have only one manual, and I do not like it. It is Haynes. I bought it right before I bought this car, and have basically given up on it. I have never compared it to another, but that doesn't change the fact I just don't like it. There are a bunch of little reasons that I can't remember, but when they happen, they are really annoying. For THIS uncultured Yankee, the King's English can be difficult at times. As an American, I dare you to find the torque requirements of the exhaust mani in a Haynes. The other problem is the year of my car. The FI and the 5-sp and the advanced emmissions are merely a short addendum at the end of the book. FI needs at least a chapter. The best manuals? I don't know. What do I use? Catalogues. The blow-ups in the VB are WAY better than the Haynes. Ditto MSA. steve77

The flip side of the 'interior panels' discussion is if they are all new and tight in an older car, you can get quite a bit of squeaking. I stripped the interior of mine and cleaned and refinished everything and used all new rivets and when I was done, I had a little choir going inside. Much of it has abated now, (500 miles later) thanks to a few well-placed felt 'cabinet bumpers', a little wax paper in a couple places, and general breaking-in. As far as the oroginal question goes, I do not currently own a 240, so I can not testify to the rigidity of the chassis. I don't want to start a war, but I SUSPECT, based on thicker metal used and general improvements to the 'comfort' zones as the Z progressed, the '77 is a bit stiffer than the 240. With that said, my car (very un-rusty and no seams popping) creakes considerably. At speed, it is hard to notice, but driving over curb entrances slowly while parking and whatnot, it is really noticeable--especially while navigating them diagonally. Front and rear strut braces (just the cheap MSA ones) solved 75% of it though. The car is ALOT quieter. The other thing the strut braces improved was hard cornering. With out them, you would pitch the car into a corner or even a hard sweeper, and the rear end was really unpredictable and you felt the rear of the chassis flex and you get the sort of 'wheel hop' as the wheels load and unload unevenly as the frame twists. With the bars, the car is really predictable. You get an even scrub. It seems the car slides out easier (could be I am just driving it harder) with the bars, but it does it evenly and you know exactly when it is going to happen. The rear end drifts as a unit. Throttle pressure is all that is needed to control it. Make sense? I am not a racer and don't know all the technical terms, but this is how it appears to me in the driver's seat. steve77

OK, but Timberwolf's theoretical two samples would provide: the wider, 40sq.in. footprint would have only 16 psi (2500lb car) while the narrower tires would have 21 psi on the road. It seems to me more psi pushing on the pavement would provide more grip. I know there has to be a 'happy medium'. I just wondered--since everything else imaginable has been engineered to within an inch of its life--if there is a graph or sliding scale or formula or something where the 'best of both worlds' could be located. steve77

What gives you more dry grip, narrow tires or wide tires? Why is it universally accepted that wide is best? Does temperature of patch area figure in at higher psi's? (and I don't mean the pressure IN the tire). Lets ignore downforce in this discussion. steve77

The description for the rebuilt engines in MSA (ATK's I believe) states, "Rebuilt on virgin cores." How is this possible??? Can someone explain this to me? steve77

I thought at least 60% of all 280Z's came with these wheels IF NOT ALL!!!! They are everywhere. These wheels REPRESENT the late 70's!!! There seems to be at least as many of these on 280's as there are slotted mags on 240's. They are all lumped under the generic term 'Turbine', no? Some have the vanes closer together (I actually have a set of these laying around) to pretty far apart. Now, the 'Cobra' ones seem to have a little different angle to them. steve77 (really cheap 'turbines' available in Sacto!!!)

Believe me, the car is alot more uglier (now there's some good grammar!) in person than in the photo. It looks realy bad. Where the lower rear corner of the right door meets the rear fender, there is this 1+" gap. It's really nasty. ALMOST as bad as those Terminators or Interceptors or Thunderhawk or WHATEVER the dreadful Z things are called. There were three of them at the MSA show and they are unbelievably horrible. They look like a Cobra with a bad infection. steve77

Ya wanna cheap ZX for a transplant project??? I have just the car for you. It's already all cleaned out. The price? $fr.ee. That's right you read correctly. $0.00. Come'n get it!. steve77 steve79

An L6 HAS needs to have a harmonic balancer. It's good you are shopping for one. Don't fall into the argument of, "the L6 is internally balanced and doesn't need one". All those little bangs have to go somewhere...and a damper is a good place--instead of your bearings. It has nothing to do with balance. I recently found one cheaper than MSA.....Nismoparts.com lists one for $80. HAven't seen or used it. steve77

Does anyone know of any just plain old steel 15's off anything with 4 bolts that fid a Z? steve77