mikewags

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2009/0327092sham1.html MARCH 27--Meet Vince Shlomi. He's probably better known to you as the ShamWow Guy, the ubiquitous television pitchman who has been phenomenally successful peddling absorbent towels and food choppers. btw - this IS thread related!

Looks like a decent 71 for parts. Would have to see more pics though. http://daytona.craigslist.org/cto/1093010662.html

Yes - For the dogs' sake.

You sure have gotten a lot done in so little time. Great news that the core of the car is in good condition. Looks like the car has 3 colors on it (green/red/blue) - (Green being the original?)

I will also be buying an inversion table really soon. They are good for circulation (getting the blood flowing the other way) as well as stretching out your spine. FiveDime - Check out Kmart (they have one for $129.99) Ice on the back helps too, i'm suffering with lower back pain right now and I've been icing my back and stretching the lower back muscles. Hopefully I will recover in a few more days.

I think the economy is def. playing a role - people are selling their 'toys' to supplement incoming for lost jobs, savings, or mortgages.

Maybe you can check for Insurance or Tag records. If you know a cop, he/she will have better luck accessing old DMV records than you will.

A friend of mine was telling me that he knows of a shop that uses computers to check your alignment : they then "pull" the car/suspension to correct where it is off. I'm not quite sure what he meant by "pulling it correct", but it sounds like bending it back correct. In this instance, I guess they would pull the right rear wheel hub outwards and correct the toe issue. It sounds rather shady, and not the proper way of fixing this issue - then again, I just might be explaining it wrong. He says it's quite common and his alignment guy recommended it. Just wanted to throw it out there (not considering it at this point...)

Wouldn't this angled bore mean that this problem would of existed for as long as I had the car? I don't see what would could progressively get worse if that was the problem. Where can I find these 'G Machine Camber Adjust Bushings' and can you give me any more information about them? Thanks J,

Funny you mention this, i could barely get out of bed this morning. I'm 6' 3 so i'm plagued with lower back pain. I'm suffering at work now with it.

I am open to any and all suggestions that might help diagnose this. I am pretty sure the left tire is fine though. It looks to be very straight. I am fairly confident that whatever the problem is - it's affecting the right rear tire only/mostly.

Update: Got the car jacked up and off the ground. I took a look at the plates, they didn't seem bent or out of whack, although it's hard to tell while they are attached to the car. One thought might be that if the right plate was bent outwards (right) and that might cause the tire to be angled inwards. Question - Posted earlier said the transverse link mounting plates can be unbolted and removed without touching the rest of the suspension. Will I have to support anything with a jack by removing these? I'd like to lay them flat and examine them up close before I do anything else. The 4th photo is the suspect transverse link plate (right rear). If this plate were slightly angled left or right as opposed to DIRECTLY forward - would this effect the toe in? Ideally I can just take these off and compare them.

That dashboard and interior console is like a gem in what appears to be a pretty dirty Z.

I'll be working on a level cement garage floor, so I think the front wheels on ramps with the 2 jack stands in the rear should do it. I might place an elevated (by cinder blocks) 4x4 in the front and rear as a fail safe. Welding plates to the bottom of jack stands sounds like a pretty easy and cheap way to make jack stands a lot more stable. I have a friend that owns a sheet metal shop, i'm sure he'd be able to weld some steel square sheets to the bottom of the jack stands for me. Smart idea. Thanks for the suggestions.

I've been seeing quite a few Z's popping up on FL Craigslist lately, so you might want to take a look there first. I would check the classifieds on this site as well, as there are quite a few Z's for sale under $1000. If you DO find a 240 for around that price, it will likely be a rolling chassy, non-running, or need loads of work. You might have better luck looking for 280z for that amount of money, although that amount is still very low for any model S30. http://www.hybridz.org/ is a good Z performance modification forums.

Appreciate the advice guys. I think the front ramps, a pair of jack stands, along with a pair of 4x4's and cinder blocks should mix well to give me the support I need. Thanks again!

There is no doubt in my mind that this Job is over my head, but unless I happen to come across some money walking down the street; i doubt I will be able to have my guy do this. I have loads of hand tools; and can borrow air tools & compressor if needed. I am just trying to prevent any unnecessary frustration by having everything readily accessible. Once again, thanks for all the advice guys.

By all means, i'm no expert - But i think the best you can hope for 25mpg (highway). Even if you are getting 20, you are doing pretty well. I get about 18 - 20 MPG in my 280 - and it's EFI. I'm due to have a valve adjustment, but other than that - i'm not sure what I can do to improve the MPG. On a side note, I find it very hard to get an accurate MPG reading when I drive the Z since my foot becomes very heavy when i'm in it!

Would you guys says air tools are a necessity for this job? (Removal of the rear suspension). I would imagine there will be some really tight bolts back there.

Is there anything wrong with jacking up just the rear of the car? I just wanted to take a look around at the work area, although if doing this is detrimental - I can hold out until I am lent the ramps for the front of the vehicle.

I'm going to get my car jacked up and the tires off so I can begin my attempt at replacing my rear bushings these upcoming weeks. I was using my neighbors' jack anytime I needed to work on the car, I figured I might as well go out and buy one myself. I found a sale on a set at sears which included a 3 ton jack, 2 jack stands, and a creeper : all for $119.99 - I figured it was a pretty good deal and investment. http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00950188000P?keyword=car+jack My plan is to pull my car up onto two car ramps on the front then jack up the rear of the car at the differential, and place the two jack stands in the rear under the frame rails. Afterwards, I will have the jack free to assist me in lowering the suspension once unbolted. Does this sound about right, or is there a better way to go about this? Any tips on jacking up a Z, keeping it safe, or anything else I should keep in mind? Thanks in advance.

Didn't mean to post on a subject already covered, but I found it amazing that he had multiple bids on that blue Z organizer.

I suspect you mean 280zx (being that it's a '79) ?

You better act fast, that's a "RARE organizer!" I'm tempted to start selling limited-edition Z-toothbrushes!

I know we've covered this before, but I just wanted to throw this out there. Came across it just now, looking for Z stuff on ebay. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/DATSUN-Z-240z-280z-280zx-300ZX-350z-RARE-ORGANIZER-CASE_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ66Q3a2Q7c65Q3a15Q7c39Q3a1Q7c240Q3a1318QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem400037124980QQitemZ400037124980QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories