rturbo 930

I think the article would benefit from some better pictures of the finished product.

Take care of those rust spots and do a little touching up and you'll have a really nice car. Congrats! I like that color too. I have to say though, I'm surprised to hear that big bumpered 280Zs are going for so much money though, but it's nice that they're getting some love. What do you intend to do with the car? Any modifications planned, or just keep it factory original?

Did you even read his post? It would appear that it went straight over your head.

Yeah, it's not period at all, really. And those have to be the ugliest Watanabe 8 spokes you can buy, nevermind the massive fender gap. Upholstery on the seats looks amateurish. It's a nice car though, and the issues with it could be fixed easily. As for the journalist, I doubt he has any clue about vintage cars. Seems like anyone can become a journalist these days, and this is no exception.

Anyone who gets offended at someone politely offering a correction needs thicker skin. Are we not here to weed out the BS from the facts? I've spent a good amount of time with the search function on here and HybridZ, and there's a LOT of BS in older threads that goes unchecked. I will admit that in the past, Alan's so-called nitpicking has not always been appreciated (although I do generally appreciate the knowledge he shares, and the accuracy of it), but having read the original correction, and the response from the thread starter, I don't see the problem. I was surprised he took it so poorly, like it was an attack on him. Too much pride to accept criticism. That attitude isn't going to get you very far. I haven't really read past the first page, but I think JSM's post quoted in post #76 touches on a good point. There comes a time where you've made your point and driving it in further doesn't make you look good, especially on something that is so minor. Pick your battles, and know when to simply bow out.

I think it just protects the ball joint so the threads don't get damaged in the box/while being handled.

Am I the only one who thinks that car is too nice to modify? If your end goal is anything like the red car, get something that's a bit more beat up. Original, complete Zs are a finite quantity and gradually dwindling.

I've never seen a rotor that bad. The 30 year old rotors I took off my Jetta looked 100 times better than that. Incredible.

If that's the extent of the damage, I'd just repair it. Cut out the rust, hammer the bent up sides roughly back into shape, and then weld in your patch. Should be a pretty simple piece to make.

You sure? That's a '72 dash. It has the indent for the on/off label for the hazard switch, the switch is a toggle switch vs a push/pull knob, and the cig lighter is in the dash vs just a blank spot. The dash pad could be non-original. If you can get a pic of the gas door, if it doesn't have the chrome latch knob, it's a '72. Or just get the VIN/build date.

Looks like it's a '72. Good year to have.

Probably an RB head.

Not a series one, just fyi.

Won't do much good. I daily drove a 90hp Jetta until recently. Just takes a little longer to get into trouble. I would still highly recommend sending him to a driving school.

Just FYI, the address you posted in post #12 is public. You may want to edit your post and remove it.

Weird. From what I've heard about those transmissions, they are smooth shifters. Of course, they say the same about the shifting feel of the trans in my E30, and although my trans has a lot of miles on it, and may be worn, I really don't much care for the shifter feel, so ya never know.

Ah, yeah, I didn't read the ad, and I see now that it explicitly says the dash has no cracks. Either the owner is an idiot that thinks no one will notice the VERY obvious dash cap, or he is an idiot that didn't notice the VERY obvious dash cap. That's my take, anyway.

Well yeah - why else would you put a dash cap on?

I think the owner likely imported them to Japan from the US.

I see an indent for the 'On/Off' indicator next to the hazard switch, so I'd say it's the later style.

What all is wrong with the front end? If it's just the frame rails and core support, I'd consider replacing only those pieces.

waaaaay over doing it 500whp would be probably 600 at the crank. At 2500lbs or so (with necessary driveline upgrades) you'd be looking at a power to weight ratio of a little over 4. Think about that for a second. 10lbs/hp is a decent sports car. 8lbs/hp is pretty quick. And you'd be at 4. You would also need some decent chassis reinforcement - definitely more than just subframe connectors and strut bars. Add in driveline upgrades, you'd have to do just about the entire thing front to back. Stub axles, CVs, diff output shafts. All of that won't be in any way cheap. And of course your trans will need to be up to the task. I don't know if the stock driveshaft will be an issue. Now consider that you will need brakes to stop the car, and an appropriate amount of tire to put the power down. This could mean cutting the fenders for flares, but 275s can be stuffed under stock fenders with some effort. With all that in mind, consider that a major strength of the Z is its light weight, and that you would be adding a lot of weight to the car, between rear end upgrades, larger wheels and tires, a larger trans, the heavier RB with turbo, and intercooler, piping, etc. IMO the Z is not worth turning into a high HP monster. There is so much that needs upgrading, and I think there is a risk of ruining what makes the car great. It should go without saying, that if you still want to go this route, you are free to do so, but you might find the finished product to be more enjoyable if you instead concentrate on maintaining the Z's low weight, while also giving it a much more manageable power level (lets say 300hp). Much less focus will be needed on tire and driveline/chassis upgrades, which will keep weight down (allowing that 300hp to be more effective in propelling the car) and also saving money. If you want something with serious power, I think there are better platforms to start with. Cars that have strong drivelines from the factory, and a chassis that can handle the power without significant reinforcement, if any. Of course, these cars will mostly be newer.

Okay, I'm just curious, what kind of experience do you have with high powered cars? 550whp is a monumental amount of power in a lightweight car like a Z. I think you might be overestimating how much power you really need. 300whp in a Z is pretty damn quick. Unless you're drag racing, I just don't see the point in having much more than that since you aren't likely to be able to really use it.

What kind of power are you looking for?

Wonder if that belonged to a member? Patcon, I was trying to figure out what that was. I thought maybe it was a splash pan, but that didn't seem right. Unbelievable to think that that was the head.