TomoHawk

The problem with the 280Z is that you can't use the 240Z relay harness! You would first have to cut off the headlamp plug on the main wiring bundle, which is permanent. And, AFAIK, there is not an earlier style plug available, to convert it to something compatible with the available relay upgrades (which are ALL designed and built for 240Zs.) Is it possible to modify something like the 83 ZX headlamp housing to fit the S30?

Higuys- I took a look at the headlamps while the car was up for the winter and the splash guards were out, and I took them completely out! YUK. They were pretty dirty and much oxidized, and all the rubber parts are dried up and brittle. I thought that it would be nice to put in new headlamps with removable bulbs, and new rubber seals. I consulted with John at H4Lights who has a very nice headlamp with the XB3 bulb. I will consider adding the (relay upgrade) but I think the wiring is working well enough for the moment. I suppose I could clean up my old housings, but some parts don't look up to the rigors of DIY cleaing, especially the brittle wires. This time I'd like to completely replace the headlamp assemblies to something new that incorporates the new replaceable bulbs for easier changing in the future. thxZ

Would someone please summarize all the Kia weatherstrips used as replacements on the S30? AFAICT, you need two Sportage door seals for the S30 doors and one hatch seal for the S30 hatch?

It is fun, and you might not think so, but it takes a LOT of skill and a very good memory! Unlike long road tracks, where you get so many seconds to prepare for the next turn, you get little or no time to think of the next turn. So you slow down a lot, "perfect" your skill for that particular course, and after a few runs you get that "fun" feeling.

Thanks for the detailed photos. You did everything but make a few dozen examples (you don't need that many, so you end up selling them, at a profit...)

Ti wehar That is probably why Ferrari went after the people making the kits- because they are really just cheap knock-offs, and somebody might want to pass one off as real.

Thanks for the tip for the hatch seal. It'll save a LOT of people a bucket-load of money Is that the Sportage door seal or the hatch seal? What about the pinch moulding around the door opening? Would you get that?

That car sold for $90,000 It's titled as a 1962 Ferrari??

I don't use my cold-start injector or the AAR lately, and my car will eventually start in the winter weather. I drove it once last December, the day before it started snowing, in freezing temperatures. Mr. Johnson- Be aware that the 280Zed doesn't have modern, microprocessor-controlled fuel injection. It is still fuel-injection, but simpler. Don't let people convince you that they can "chip" the "computer" for more horsepower or performance, since there is no "computer" or "chip" on the car unless you have a satellite receiver installed. The last "expert" that looked at my engine told me I swapped-out the computer, the idle-air motor, and removed the Oxygen sensors! IMO, if you have a heated garage, and want to work on the car over the winter, that is fine. Please don't drive it on the Great-Lakes winter streets, or until it it rains a couple of times in the Spring. In the meantime, you should get a copy of the correct service manual and the "280Z Fuel Injection Guide" to pass the winter months http://xenons30.com/reference.html

Hey Len, I'm still keeping up with this. When it's right for me, I'll send you my ECU, a case of your favourite, and a blank check? We are chatting here now, instead of HybridZ, so if you like, I usually hang out here for a while between 6-9 eastern. Spread the word about CZC chat, because Mike is a great guy to chat with, but aren't there hundreds of registered/regular users lately?

Has anyone thought of a good way to tighten up the ball-joints on the ends?

Please remember the autocross is NOT RACING. You don't even go that fast. You compete against the clock, thereby competing against the others. I have even made a run where I never got past 15 MPH, as I did the entire course without using the brakes. The same thing goes for Road Rally, but that's an entirely different kind of competition. SCCA and NASA are the bigger organizations that run autocross events.

Did the Kia Sportage door seals fit any year? I will be removing all the rubber stuff from the doors before the car goes to the paint shop. The hatch seals seem to be the most expensive or complex to duplicate & replace.

I got one of those Nissan dingers from a 280ZX, and I tried testing it with 12V power, and it didn't do anything besides just one ding. When you disconnect the power it dings again. That tells me you need an electronic driver or controller to make it ding, and you just can't hook it up like a light bulb or a buzzer. But the Ford F-150 has a nice dinger behind the speedometer, if you can get it out, and it works by just adding 12Volts DC. These are junk-yard-only items- not available in any store.

If you can, weld on a heavy plate with the correct threaded hole in the same place as the original one. That way you can protect it with rustoleum and copper antisieze, in case you need to remove the fender some time in the future. You may also consider the cowl drain upgrade, so there is less stagnant water on that area of potential rust.

That looks nice, but will it protect the body? You realize that even a 5MPH tap from the back will render the car totalled, unless you have a body man that can hammer it back into shape. But, that's the risk you get with a custom or antique car, even though you say you may be driving yours almost daily.

There aren't any "cold air intakes" that you can buy. People have tried making them with different kinds of tubes, support brackets, and a cone filter. No one has mentioned if there is any kind of improvement. As with most things on the L28 engine, there isn't any such thing as an "upgrade."

I've been using a chunk of wood sawn into a wedge shape for a few years, an I started thinking lately about making a few of the 1-pice design. Can anyone measure theirs and post the details (metal thickness, width, and overall length?

Another model they should've included is the Ford Escort. They were winning rallies since the mid-60s, and were some very cool-looking cars, albeit were a little small for a "family" 4-seater, so it went bye-bye too, for the bigger cars to take over until the gas crunch. IMO, the reason that the Zed and some similar others, like the Ford EXP (I almost bought one), are "forgotten" is because the younger crowd thinks that sportscars come from Honduh, or have a turbo, so anything with carbs is "old" because you can't 'tune' it, and anything that can't get a 'screen' doesn't merit distinction. In short, kids want bling and tuners lately.

I have PC board that is just plain epoxy resin. I will try to bend a sliver of it. I prefer to use a printed-circuit board because it is faster, neater, and more repeatable than point-to-point connections.

I think I will try to build a high-mount brake lamp with LEDs on a printed circuit board, but I want the circuit board to be curved to fit inside the lamp housing, which has a curved, chrome reflector for the bulb that was there before. Is it possible to bend the epoxy circuit board into a permanent curve? After etching the circuit on the back, I would use the heat gun to warm it until it will bend, then let it cool in that shape, then solder the parts to it, add some aluminum foil to reflectorize, and glue it into the housing.

I really think that if the domestic manufacturing of parts for things was really in a good pace, then the prices would be reasonable, if not competitive (the large supply=low price relationship)

I"Ll look into it. Duh- I have a spare festoon bulb in the drawer...

Please don't use the sandpaper in the way it says on the atlanticZ website. You make make a shiny metal surface that conducts well, but it will corrode that much sooner. Use the sandpaper and knife only to get the bulk of corrosion off the part, then use DEOXIT, and the dielectric grease appropriately and sparingly.