FastWoman

Well, I seem to have stirred a hornet's nest. Sorry about that! I knew there was controversy about Goertz but indicated that he influenced the design, not that he designed the car. In other words, it was my understanding that he was consulted, not that he put pen to paper. Perhaps that's myth too, but a letter from Nissan to Goertz seemed to indicate he did SOMETHING in their employ. Perhaps it was just sculpting 101. Dunno. I don't really care, although I can certainly understand why some people do. All I was really interested in teasing out was the influences -- the evolutionary lineage, as it were. I see the styling of the S30 as very European and American. Typical Japanese styling of the day would have been more along the lines of the B210. I'm also interested for some weird reason in the long hood and slung back cabin look, which flies in the face of most of most of modern design (with exceptions in cars like the BMW roadsters and the Corvette). I'm especially thinking about Chrysler's emphasis over the past several years about their "cab forward" design. Seems strange to me. Also hoods are shorter, transverse-mount engines are crammed practically under the dash, and so forth. Many kids nowadays want short, rounded, "cute" styles, rather than the elongated-hood styles that to them sometimes look "dorky." (Just quoting from my stepson -- although he's warmed considerably to my lovely Z.) Anyway, no offense was intended. My apologies to everyone. Happy to let this thread die. Backing away now... :paranoid: Peace, Sarah

You go, girl! I'm glad your Z is running better now! It's a great feeling, isn't it!

Steve, you're right. (My bad.) I must be slipping, because you'd think I'd notice that my volt meter is always on. I usually notice those things. The FSM schematic does show both IGN and BAT lines feeding to the combination gauge, and they describe the thermal switch. Unfortunately their schematic is somewhat unclear. I had assumed the IGN switched power input from the BAT circuit to the volt meter. I'm uncertain what the little thermal switch is all about. I'll need to look back at the FSM to figure that out. How much current does the little gauge draw? Anyone know? I'm guessing maybe 50 mA??

Hi all, I was chatting with a Triumph Spitfire owner yesterday. He commented that my 280 was a knock-off of a Ferrari. I grimaced and insisted, "No, it's its own automobile." I had previously chatted with a family member about my car, and he said he remembered it being criticized after its release on the grounds that it was a rip-off of a Jaguar E-type. I admitted that there were some similarities but insisted, as yesterday, that the Z was its own style. Reflecting on the lines of the car, it occurs to me that there are several cars from that general era that shared the 2-seater design with long hood, slung-back cabin, fastback, and sleek curves: 240/260/280Z (Japanese) Toyota 2000GT (Japanese) Jaguar E-type (British) Triumph GT-6 (British) Opel GT (German/American) various Ferraris (don't know them very well) (Italian) Corvette Stingray (American) But thinking about the issue further, the whole long-hood and slung-back cabin 2-seater thing really goes back much further -- to the late 20's and early 30's. For instance: Auburn speedsters (American) Stutz Bearcats (American) Morgans (British - with the same lines preserved today) Some Duesenbergs (American) Cord Speedsters (American) In fact if you include 4-seaters in this general design category, this era was characterized by long hoods, beautiful sweeping lines, and slung-back cabins. The customized Lincolns, Packards, Pierces and Caddies were especially fetching. So to me it is too simplistic to say this style or that is a rip-off of some other style. The S30's styling elements evolved over a very long time, picking up traditions from various parts of the world, perhaps primarily American, but also European. How does all this fit in with what we know of the S30's history? The car was really designed primarily for an American market, so wouldn't it make sense to hit on American styling traditions? We all know that Albrecht Goertz (German, immigrated to the US in 1936) greatly influenced the design of the S30, hired by Nissan as a sports car consultant. He also played a role in the design of the sexy Toyota 2000GT, which was carried from Nissan to Toyota via a mutual collaborator Yamaha. Perhaps we'll never know how big a role he played in either. However, the similarities between the lines of the 2000GT and the S30 are undeniable. Goertz would have certainly sung the praises of American and European styling, drawing upon styling elements of Ferraris, Jaguars E-types, and Corvette Sting Rays. Obviously other manufacturers were moving in the same directions with their own releases. The general design of the S30 seemed to have been part of a strong evolutionary wave, perhaps seeded by the 50's Ferraris, the 1961 E-type, and the 1963 Sting Ray. I'm also struck by the coincidence of Goertz' immigration in 1936, when he would have surely been awe-struck by the sexy styling of the forementioned American automobiles, particularly as glorified by Hollywood. I'm certain the long lines of the engine compartment and slung-back cab would have been very important to the man. He certainly introduced some of these elements into BMW sportscar styling that are preserved today in the Z3, Z4, and Z8. So if anything, I would say that all of these more modern styles similar to the S30 are really modernizations of mostly American styles from the late 1920's and early 1930's in the early years of the Art Deco movement. But where did those styles come from? Perhaps it's just me, but I do see quite a lot of similarity between the automobiles of that day and the horse-drawn chariots of various ancient civilizations -- lots of (literally) horsepower in front, importantly drawing a small cab with the driver behind. Not surprisingly, neoclassicism was a major, major element of the Art Deco movement. Just look at any of the artwork from the day. These are all just semi-educated opinions on my part. I'd love to know what others thing about the origins of the S30 styling. Anyway, the next time I'm challenged that the S30 is somehow a rip-off of another car from the same era, I think I'll respond that they're both rip-offs, so to speak, of the ancient chariots.

Since the thread is revived ... I recently stumbled across a business that is selling the ZZZap decal set. It's a bit pricey, but it looks like they did a good job. I wish I could provide a link, but honestly I can't remember where I saw it.

Polecat, I meant to stitch your own diamonds. It's probably not all that hard, as long as you're doing it on small pieces. You could mark the diamond patterns in soap crayons (the kind that you give kids to play with in the bathtub), and rinse the marks away when you're finished stitching over the marks. If you wanted to be a bit different, you could even add a thin layer of quilting material and some fabric backing, to give the diamonds just a touch of 3-D appearance. I think that would look pretty cool.

dcruz, the voltmeter has a weird design. It's actuated off of the ignition circuit. Power from that circuit heats a small coil, which causes a bimetal strip to flex and a contact to close (inside the volt/fuel gauge). With that switch closure, the gauge is connected into the battery circuit. In short, when you turn off the ignition, the coil should cool, the contact should open, and your gauge should read zero. At least that's what mine does. The circuit is probably overly complex. If your bimetal strip assembly isn't switching correctly, you might just power the gauge off of the ignition circuit. The wire already runs to the gauge. All you'd have to do is to route it to a different pin. If you wanted to get fancier, you could recreate the circuit by using a simple 12VDC relay from Radio Shack in place of the bimetal switch. I wouldn't put it inside the gauge housing, though, as stray magnetic fields might make the gauges inaccurate.

A single layer of vinyl isn't all THAT heavy. A heavy-ish sewing machine with a big needle and some large thread could probably stitch it. Why not make your own from regular vinyl?

Thanks, guys! I will at least have confidence in Weber carbs going forward. It turns out the Spitfire was a bit of a heap. The deal breaker for me was that it had a performance cam and that this mod couldn't be easily undone -- not an OHC engine. I had asked the guy whether it idled smoothly, and he said it sounds like a sewing machine. The truth is that it lopes and will die below maybe 1000 RPM. It seems to like to idle (poorly) at 1200 RPM. AFR smells about right. It's just that dumb cam. Other than that, the "new" brakes leaked out all of his brake fluid in the driveway. (There's your leak, Bruce!) Moreover the car wouldn't roll because the front right caliper was inexplicably locked down on the rotor like a vice. I could spin a rear wheel, and the car wouldn't move. At least we got to see a Spit up close and personal and know what to look for the next time around. Cute car and infinitely easier to service than just about any other car I've seen. Looks like a great little weekend car. But hey, the Spit was the perfect excuse to take a very long drive through the country in my Z, which ran flawlessly. (Perfect read on the plugs, BTW.) The 280 is the best road car I've ever driven -- both this one and the '75 before it. Happy, happy!

Thanks, Dave. I know a carburetor specialist just down the road who can probably set it up for me. (Even better, he's a British sportscar hobbyist.) Then after he sets it up, I suppose all I have to do is keep it clean. Right? I can live with that.

Hi everyone, OK, we must be nuts, but there's a little 1976 Triumph Spitfire 1500 that we're considering buying. It's a resto project that had caused a major fight between the owner and his wife. (Must go, sacrifice, etc.) We used to have our BMW Z3 roadster, and my partner sorely misses having a convertable. Anyway this would fill that niche. To my question: The original Zenith-Stromberg carb was ditched and replaced with a Weber. I don't know what kind of Weber. It appears to be a down-draft (perhaps 32/36 DGEV) from the poorly detailed photo, but it could almost as easily be a side draft. I assume whether this car runs well or not will depend mostly on the carburetor. A lot of you guys run Webers, so I'm hoping you can tell me a bit about them. Is there anything I should know about Weber carburetors in the consideration of this purchase? Are any models dogs? Are they a pain to rebuild? Finicky? Hard to tune? Any problems to be aware of? Is there an convenient way to drain these carburetors before letting the car sit? BTW, my apologies for asking this question on a Z forum, but I already know you guys. I don't know any Triumph guys. I promise if we buy this car that I'll pose future questions on a Spitfire forum!

Oh, yes, Olzed! Ethanol gas is evil. The atmospheric moisture gets drawn into the alcohol (through the fuel tank vent and the carb float chember vents), causing the gas to separate. Then it corrodes the metals mercilessly. I just finished rebuilding our boat's Holley carburetor. We live in a coastal region, and humidity is always high, hence a larger problem. We left our boat in perfectly running condition, with its fairly new carb, while we went away for a 4 month vacation. When we returned, the boat wouldn't run. The carb was STUFFED with corrosion. After I was finished cleaning the thing out, I had liberated it from literally a small handful of gray, powdery corrosion. Unbelievable. If you don't have ethanol gas in NZ, you're very lucky. Don't let your government introduce it!

I never saw a pic of the flame arrestor before. Mine didn't come with one. The PO had replaced the hose, and the part was undoubtedly discarded. I just made a new one out of numerous layers of bronze screen material soldered together. I think mine is probably better than the OEM thingie. In case you're interested, the flame arrestor keeps any backfire flames from traveling up the hose, into the valve cover, down the timing chain tunnel, and into the crankcase. The result *could* be an explosion. It's probably not a likely event, or else they would have made a more serious one. It does sound like your thermostat is stuck open or has become inaccurate. If in doubt, you could always just pull the thing out and check it in a pot of water on the stove. It should open at around 180F. You'll need to blow a buck or two on a new thermostat cover gasket. I think it doesn't hurt to unbolt those things occasionally anyway. The alternative is that they seize up. You'll need to drain a bit of fluid from your radiator before taking the thing loose. There's a drain plug on the bottom lefthand side of the radiator. Clean up the bolts before putting them back in. Also get yourself a metric tap and die set, and clean out the aluminum threads with a tap. (Lubricate with oil. Go forward two or three twists, then back one. Forward two or three, back one. Take the tap all the way out and clean the tap every time resistance builds up, or you could jam the thing in the hole.) Use antisieze lubricant to put the bolt back in. CAUTION: The long, forward-most bolt on the thermostat housing (that bolts the housing to the cylinder head) goes through to the timing chain area, right underneath the guide. Don't use a tap to clean out that hole, as you could bend the timing chain guide, with horrible consequences. You don't need to take the thermostat housing off of the side of the engine to get to the thermostat, but I mention this just in case. Thankfully someone warned me before I made that mistake. Jenny, you didn't mention whether your engine runs better with that enormous vacuum leak closed up. I presume yes??? Don't forget to replace all the little vacuum lines. They can have splits and cracks too. I'd replace every mm of vacuum line if I were you. It's cheap, it's easy, and you'll probably find at least 3 or 4 leaks you didn't know about.

I don't know if it's common for early Z owners to install electric pumps, but I think *I* would do that on any carbureted vehicle that periodically sits (e.g. during the winter), and I would have the pump on its own switch, perhaps on the IGN circuit, so that it can be shut off: When you're finished driving and will leave the car sitting for a week, you can kill the engine by starving it. Just kill the fuel pump, and let the engine run until the gas in the carbs is gone. No varnish problems, and no ethanol-gas corrosion. When you're ready to use the car again, turn the key to energize the ignition, switch on the pump, and start the car only after you hear the pump sounds "firm up." BTW, an electric pump can double as a fuel transfer switch and, with the proper valving, can give you an easy way to drain your tank in the winter. I have an electric pump on our powerboat, in series with the mechanical one. I use it for priming the carb. However, this ethanol gas has utterly ruined the carb by sitting in it and soaking up atmospheric moisture through the vent tubes. The ethanol reacts and turns to formic acid, which corrodes the metal parts. I found the float chambers on my carb literally stuffed with aluminum corrosion. You couldn't even see the floats for all the gray flakes. VERY sobering. I'm rebuilding the carb this weekend, and when I reinstall, I'm removing the mechanical fuel pump. From now on, whenever we return to dock, I'll be killing the engine by starving the carb. I'm even considering whether we should install a stopcock to seal our tank vent during non-use. (Opinions are varied.) Anyway, ethanol gas is EVIL! Anything you can do to keep it out of your carbs during down-time would be a very good idea.

[[My thought is that the ancient ignition relay is sticking and causing the fuse to heat up until it finally clicks]] I'd be very skeptical if it were to happen that way. On the other hand, corroded contacts in the relay might result in arcing. You can probably open up the suspect relay and clean the contacts. You might have to bend a metal tab or two, but no biggie. I'd still be surprised if it were the relay, though. Relays are pretty robust. The only relays I've seen killed switch things like heavy electric motors (with huge start-up currents). Also don't forget the rare fuse that will look good, test OK, and still be bad. Sometimes the strip running through the glass will break contact with the end, due to metal fatigue (from the thermal cycling). Since you've identified the fuse, try swapping with another fuse of the same value. Better still, see if you can replicate the problem, and then test both ends of the fuse with a multimeter. If they're at different voltages, the fuse is bad.

G9m3c, thanks! That looks like the trick. And grantf, do you mean this stuff? http://www.seenontvproducts.net/bumper-repair-kit/index.html

Cozye, I think the 240 bumpers look fantastic. However, they really have the look of a late 60's car -- shorter, more rounded -- very cute, but not my gig. The 280Z had a very unique style of its own that was defined by that front bumper. I know that we all must have grooved on the style back then (i.e. it wasn't my own quirky tastes), because the wedge formed by that bumper was carried forth to the '79 ZX (not my favorite style, but just saying...). Not many cars had this sort of wedge-shaped nose. Only a few come to mind -- the Pantera, the TR-7, the RX-7. But what makes the Z stand out, IMO, is that cool floating, chrome bumper. Unique!

Oops! Yes, Enrique is right. I had read the original post wrongly. I thought the hazards were working, but that only one side of the TS was working. :stupid:

AJM, a couple of machined pipes might do the trick. I thought of doing fiberglass pieces for the sides, as I've done a lot of fiberglass work on boats. The thing is, though, I'd need to make a mold anyway. Might as well pour polyurethane rubber into them. In fact that would be a lot easier. Steve, I'm thinking I could make molds of my current bumper ends, chop and recombine the molds to shorten them, and then pour them. Cozye, I had forgotten how rounded the '75 bumpers are. That might indeed be a better look. Is the '75 bumper actually shorter, or does it only look that way? I do remember on the '75 how big a pain the rubber bumper ends were. They're more prone to ripping than you'd think. Also do the bumper ends bolt to a flat/smooth quarterpanel, as opposed to a recessed area on the '78? Is that what I'm understanding? (If so, that might be why the '75 bumper rubber was such a headache.)

[[i have a problem with my 78, 280z...]] Yeah, that seems to be going around!! I like to think it's just because there are so many of them. If the turn signal flasher works on one side, it should work for the other. You should check that all of your lights are working on both sides and that the connections are nice and clean. (That is, are any of the lights dim?) If all your lights are bright and working, I'd guess it's actually your turn signal switch at fault. ZsOndabrain (sp?) rebuilds steering column switches on the side, so maybe he could help.

Steve, I wonder whether the struts can be shortened or substituted. Or maybe you can just put them into a press and squish them! ;-) I was contemplating the issue of the rubber. I know this sounds somewhat extreme, but how about making a mold set for shortened end pieces and then casting the rubber parts? Some Model T guys seem to like this product: http://www.jgreer.com/make-concrete-mold.htm Hey, imagine all the other places we could use this stuff! Woohoo! AJM, the 240 rear bumper just looks like it's from a different era -- not matching the front bumper in style. I'm thinking a bumperless style could almost do, but I'd really like to have a bumper behind me. Your idea of going flush with the trim piece over the bumper sounds pretty good. I'll have to look over the situation tomorrow in the daylight.

My Dynomax is tucked up the same way. Looks good.

OK, here's a pic of my stock '78 280: Now, everyone likes to criticize the "cow catcher" or "park bench" bumpers on these machines. However, I'm one of the few people who thinks the front bumper is really sexy, in a late '70's sort of way. It adds length to the front of the car and is visually a leading edge that gives the car the same sort of pointy nose as found on a G-nose (also an incredibly sexy style). It's visually a bit like the pitot tube of a jet fighter or the bullets in the grill of a 50's Buick. My complaint is about the rear bumper, which does look like a park bench and sticks out in a very non-aerodynamic sort of way. So what I'm wondering is this: Has anyone ever shortened the projection of the rear bumper, bringing it closer to the body? Perhaps there's another solution that wouldn't look strange when paired with the current front bumper? (A 240 bumper would look too light, visually.) Any ideas that would look right and still preserve the late 70's styling in the front?

Geesh! Remind me never to go out to lunch with you!

Ah, geesh, Ztrain! I'm waaaay too brunette for that! Besides, if I were a dumb blonde (as opposed to the smarter ones), I'd end up calling 119. Diseazd, I understand the fit depends a bit on the transmission. Apparently the kit fits a lot better on the early models than the later ones. Mine had to be adapted a bit. I haven't heard my exhaust without the midpipe Magnaflow muffler, so I can't tell you how much difference it makes, but I suspect it's quite a lot.