saridout

i've found a guy locally who says he has a head off of a running '83 ZX, and i'm guessing it's a P90. if i went with a P90, what kind of mods am i going to be looking at? would my compression lessen dramatically? would i need to buy flat-top pistons?

thankyou ggarrard!

they're straight up and down

as some of yall know, i overheated my 76 280 recently, and my machine shop tells me that the head is shot. now i'm shopping around for a new one, and i'm a little confused. my head is an N42. i've been led to believe that an N47 will fit my year and model too. what is the significance of these codes? what heads will fit my car? i'm also a little concerned about my block. the cylinders have some striation in them, and though my nail doesn't catch on them when i run my finger around a cylinder, it doesn't feel too smooth. i can't really afford to get them bored, but i don't want to get everything back together again to find out that the block needs service. should i be concerned about these striations, or are they typical?

Mine's warped beyond repair, says the machine shop. I have a spending limit of $400, max. edit: does anyone know if a P90 head will fit a stock '76 280? what is the significance of this number?

ok, the bushing kit finally got here, and it's really nice. i can recommend energy suspensions, the factory, for making quality bushings. energysuspensionparts.com, the distributor, kept an open line of conversation going with me, but they never told me that it would take a month for my purchases to get to me. if you buy from them, beware, a typical wait is 3 weeks.

ok, i pulled off the head and manifolds yesterday. the cylinders were full of antifreeze, and there was a small chewed up spot on the gasket that corresponds with the leak pattern, though it seems kind of small to have caused that kind of leak. i'm gonna post a new thread asking about local machine shops if no one recs one here pretty soon. i am in dallas/ft. worth. i did manage to get the head off without removing the manifolds, which may make things easier in the long run. it's been a pleasure to remove them from the head while it's sitting on my coffee table as opposed to leaning over the fender for an hour. i will check my oil before reassembling everything. check out my flickr set for photos of the job.

i was on the long drive back from my z car club yesterday, and my z started overheating and i didn't notice until it was too late. long story short, she'll start up but there's water in the exhaust now, and a steady leak coming from between the head and the block, right in the center. i'm hoping it's just a blown head gasket, but i may have warped the head. does it sound like anything else to yall? can i unbolt the head and look at the surface of it without removing the manifolds? if i end up needing to replace the head, what can i expect to pay for one for a '76 280? i still don't know why she overheated in the first place. i just checked my coolant a few days ago, and i've never had any problems with it before. suggestions?

hey rickl750, how long did it take for your bushings to get to you after you ordered them? i went with energy suspensions, and it's been about 3 weeks now since i placed my order

tell me this: was there a big spring between your horn pad and the contactor ring? i'm thinking that the reason my horn pad is so jiggly is because it's missing a spring to hold it taught away from the wheel.

my steering wheel grip looks like it's made out of black cottage cheese. has anyone restored one of these successfully?

firstly: the 3 rubber spacers that keep the horn bracket from making contact have pretty much worn away. anyone know where i can get replacements for those? i've tried a couple of different rubber washers... i can't find anything soft enough. i'm about to try to make some out of plumbing snake. secondly, the pad itself is loose and jiggly. is it supposed to be like this?

oh good. did you alter the lever on the control panel like i did?

i'm not completely certain what the valve was for originally. i've heard that it was for an international harvester scout, but don't quote me on that. the part number is FACTORY AIR 74628. i got the valve at o'reilly's, but when i search for the part number on their website, it pulls up this: http://www.oreillyauto.com/EW3/ProductDetail.do?id=1342645606&line=MRY&itemNumber=74628&exactItemNumberIndex=0&didSearchFor=74628&bid=1240583250038&cycleCount=1226&currentPage=0 did you ever fix your valve problem?

before i go into the details, i'd like to add this disclaimer: i have not reinstalled the blower yet, so i don't have a definitive answer as to whether this works or not. some people will probably balk at the use of a non-stock part, but i'd rather scrimp on parts that no one will ever see and spend the savings on more cosmetic needs (butterscotch color change!). as long as it works, i'm fine with it. as far as i can tell, the copper capillary serves no essential purpose, so i'm doing without. i don't need minute temperature adjustments. if you think that the capillary is absolutely integral to the system, please tell me how and why. so! please visit the link below to see all that i've done. explanations are in the captions. the thumbnails are not in order, sorry about that. new valve photos i didn't take a photo of it, but i did hook up the cable and it works beautifully. please, don't do anything as stupid as i did and cut down the wrong cable because it seemed too long. however, if you do, i can recommend a decent replacement >__<

i got mine working, finally. if i were you, i'd inspect the connector for the hazard switch. try plugging it in and disconnecting it a few times. oh, and actually start the car before testing the signals. they don't come on with the rest of the lights unless the car is on.

i've been taking out my center console, AC controls and center vent finisher, prior to which my turn signals were fully functional. i forgot that my Z club meets tomorrow, and i need to get the turn signals working again so i can drive it over. i thought that plugging the hazard lights switch back in would do it, but it only makes it so i can turn on the hazards. what else do the signals run through that i should plug back in? the only peripherals that i unplugged were the hazard switch, defogger switch, heater fan control, AC control lamp, blower motor, and radio.

i'm going to take my heater valve out and rebuild it, but even loosening the hoses on it releases a torrent of antifreeze. any tips on how to avoid getting antifreeze all over everything?

wow, that one's even less expensive. did it come in black, or red like the photo?

i'm trying to decide which front suspension bushing kit i should buy for my '76. the BDA kit is 30 bucks more, but is it worth it? are there many additional bushings, and/or is the kit better quality? is there a better kit from a different online source? i'd love to hear from some folks who have bought a kit. http://www.blackdragonauto.com/icatalog/z/full.aspx?page=43 http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/PSDC06A/23-4100AZ

i'm 23, and this is my first Z. bought in january.

no pun intended. i put in a fresh fuse and after working for a few days it blows out again. any ideas as to the likely cause? i'm rotten with electrical stuff.

aaaaaaand, it's stopped loping. thanks for yall's help!

thanks! bought one. in the meantime, i repaired the old one: http://www.flickr.com/photos/26373558@N08/3345251467/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/26373558@N08/3346085660/in/set-72157614845473644/

this may only be part of the problem, but i've discovered a serious vacuum leak on the bottom of the air duct that goes between the AFM and the throttle body. this one isn't mine, but you can see which duct it is. i've been looking through black dragon and i can't find a replacement. have any of yall replaced one of these? if so, where did you buy yours from? also: my dead car problem turned out to be a short in the battery. it was only one month old!