Tall John

found some locally on a parts car. also scored a nice cowl, wiper arms, under hood light, full set of badges, a mystery vacuum canister my car doesnt' have, and the invitation to come back any time to pick parts for free.

Bump...still looking from some reservoirs, '76 280 z. thanks.

I'm no expert, but it looks like they are different in the Black Dragon catalog for the 70-71 and 72-78. thanks for the offer though!

hi, long story short...the reservoirs got thrown away by mistake in the middle of the brake job. does anyone have an old set of master cylinder reservoirs, clamps, and caps for a '76 280z? I don't care if they are old/rusty as long as they are intact and will hold brake fluid! I'd like to avoid the price of news ones so if anyone has some they'd like to sell let me know a price, thanks!!

I found that on the driver side I have '77-'78 style shoes and wheel cylinder. and on the passenger side i have the stock '76 shoes and wheel cylinder! I don't know why anyone would ever do this. I can't tell any difference in the half axles and u-joints, can i just get a backing plate for a '77-'78 for the passenger side and complete the mod? I like having the cheaper wheel cyinders! but having half and half is just too weird.

I got the drums off today (not nearly as hard to do as I was expecting!) and found that they are way past the max OD spec. SO, looking at ebay and other sources online the cheapest I have found a drum and shoe set is about $200 after shipping. Then I'd like to atleast rebuild the wheel cylinders, replace the grungy corroded hardware, etc. So this is quickly adding up and I notice that the rear disk conversion is $420 but I'd need calipers. Anyone have any advice on which way I should go? Would I really get a lot of imporvement out of the disks? Would the benefit be worth the extra $200-$250? BTW, I got it running too and took it around teh block, what a hoot!

The valve cover is metal and painted the same color as the car. I looked through the service manual and I think this part is the vacuum switching valve. It shows that the vacuum line from the distributor attaches on one end and then the other connects to somewhere on the throttle valve. I'm confused because right now the distributor is connected to a Tee that also connects the evaporative emissions cannister with some other part (that i haven't figured out what it is yet :nervous: ) Does anyone have any pictures of the proper vacuum hose routing for a 280z? That would help clear this up! thanks

sorry, forgot to add it's a '76 280z.

Hi, I went through the engine bay tonight figuring out what was what and found an interesting "mod" on my throttle linkage. See a pic: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v465/vlxer/DSC00179.jpg Why is the linkage slotted here? Should the washer be on the outside of the clevis? And why would someone feel inclined to stick a screw in the slot!? Second...can someone tell me what this component with a vacuum fitting is: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v465/vlxer/DSC00182.jpg As of now, it doesn't have a vacuum line running to it and I don't know what it is! Sorry for the beginner questions...thanks adam

hi guys, first question here... i have a '76 280z that the previous owner screwed with the interior wiring. he put what he claims is a 300zx fuse box and harness in it?? i really wouldn't know if this is ture or not b/c i am totally new to the z's. I have the old harness and would like to put it back since nothing in the cab works now! wonderful wiring job! my question is, would it be easier to put the old harness back in by taking the dash off? i've seen a couple pictures of dash's for sale and the wiring harness is still attached to them. would this save time, or is it not necessary? thanks adam

yeah, that's the one. the interior is OK. The dash has a couple cracks and people have pulled the carpet up to look at the floor pans. The carpet is good, I think I can just glue it all back down. The seats could use some freshening up, the foam and upholstery is bad at the corners. someone decided to rewire the interior to a 300zx harness so the steering column cover won't fit anymore and the wiring looks like a mess. I haven't gotten in to look at what teh guy did, but I don't see how any of the gauges could work unless the 300zx uses the same gauge connectors on teh harness?? The old harness came with the car so one of the first things I'm going to do is put the wiring back right. Thanks a bunch for the manual link. I just finished downloading it! The next step is some brake work. Pretty sure I'll need to go through the whole system from the pedal to the wheels. one of the drums is stuck so i've been reading a few old posts about that. I've also been reading up on the electrical system and installing distributors. I'd still like to learn some more before I start turning any wrenches on the engine! I'm sure I'll have a ton of newb questions!

hi everyone, i just picked up a '76 280Z. I don't know anything about the old Z's except that I always thought they looked really cool when I was growing up. I've been messing around with old Suzuki motorcycles for about three years now and now I decided to try my hand at an old car. I'm sure I'll have a lot of questions! The car doesn't run yet. I have the receipt from a mechanic that did some diagnosis for the previous owner that says the distributor is bad. I picked one up but I'm waiting for the service manual before I try and tear anything apart! The body is in pretty good shape. I think it's been a Texas car all its life because there is basically no rust anywhere. Only a bit on the rear fender. here's a pic: