mentalite

My Z has found the new home it needed. Thanks for all of the interest. A young man near Philly came and fell in love with it. I am confident that he is going to be a good caretaker. Maybe he'll show up here soon looking for advice.

All very well said. I also think you probably summed up the Z buyer categories perfectly. I'm starting to get interest at 6K with a couple buyers scheduled to look at it. I received nothing buy spam at 8K, so I guess I've learned where the marked is for a '77 280, at least in this area. I expected more, but the market will usually be a reality check. If it doesn't sell this weekend, I'll employ some of your advice, Captain.

That is where the Ziebart was injected. You can see it in the ad photo of the inner frame rails. I'm convinced that this car owes it's life to the Ziebart. The frame rails, floors and rockers are in great shape. The wheel wells are what got rusty on this one. I agree with everyone that says this car is a steal at 6K, but nobody wants so show up with money. I only received two calls on it for 8K. It's not pristine and needs some work but it's a solid foundation.

I do have one of them. It is quite a hack job.

Chuck this is the one I FB messaged you about. If it doesn't go at this price, I'll get to work on it. I saw that you have a new project, so you may not have the time that you initially thought!

It was painted in the mid 90s allegedly. This is according to the guy I bought it from who bought it from the guy that painted it. It needs work but doesn't need to be blown apart.

I hate to move this car, but I really need to. My wife can't ride in it due to her back for one thing. The other is that I have the urge to spend some money on it with a Datsun Spirit engine and a rear suspension rebuild. Sounds great, but I'd rather spend the money elsewhere right now. I believe 6K to be a bargain price in an effort to move it quickly. Car is in central PA. Fuller details and photos in the Craigslist ad: https://harrisburg.craigslist.org/cto/d/1977-datsun-280z-price-drop/6620690663.html

Great info as always, gents. Thanks. The photo documentation is particularly helpful, Blue.

Datsun sure didn't feel the need to go into much detail into these mechanisms, now did they? I think I may have figured out my problem, but am asking for input from our community experts before I start putting force on things that shouldn't be forced. I believe my adjuster mechanism is rusted together where it should pivot. So. should the adjuster fork pivot on the arm which is attached to the parking cable? On mine, the end of the fork which contains the adjusting wheel does not move freely on the shaft. That being the case, the lever arm which spins the adjuster wheel isn't able to return to it's starting position. Conversely, I can't see that the parking brake will work since the lever won't move with the adjuster fork holding it in place. Secondly, any helpful tips in freeing these up other than penetrating oil and patience? Thanks for the helpful input, guys.

Thanks for the 3M vote, Charlie.

I'm simply trying to re-attach about 10" of the bottom edge of my cover which has come loose from the back and hangs down. I haven't found a consensus on the best adhesive to use on the vinyl panel cover. The current discussion on headliner adhesive is interesting and it seems like the 3M stuff would work. I've tried a generic contact cement which didn't work and a general glue that my wife uses for crafty type things. I'm trying to be careful because I don't want something too powerful where removal would destroy the hardboard on some future day when the cover needs replaced. It'd also be nice to not need to buy a tub of the stuff when I'm only dealing with a small section. Thanks for your input.

Here's what the 280 has: http://www.ebay.com/itm/74-78-DATSUN-280Z-280ZX-FRONT-SPINDLE-CASTLE-NUTS-WITH-WASHERS-NICE-OEM-PARTS-/222423964707?hash=item33c9805c23:g:rscAAOSwxg5XybHE&vxp=mtr Thanks for pointing me to the ebay source. I'll have to get in the habit of checking there. $25 for one nut is a tough pill to swallow. Oh well, clumsy, stupid people that lose important parts deserve what they get I suppose.

Thanks for the replies, men. This one isn't a castle nut, but a standard nut which is thinner than usual. Then a cap fits over the top of it and the cotter pin engages the cap. Apparently this was only on the 280. Although you do have me wondering why the 240 castle nut wouldn't work in it's place.

I don't know what to call it. You know, the one that threads onto the spindle after the outer bearing and the washer, and before the retaining cap and cotter pin. I'm mystified how I lost it and have never looked for a thing more thoroughly in my life. I've now thrown in the towel and find that this happens to be an item that can't be found anywhere. So I'm now to the point of asking the Z community if anyone has one or knows where to get one. Please PM me if you have one available. I will be eternally grateful. Thanks,

That's why this somewhat puzzles me, Chuck. Reversing the threading counter to the spin as in the left side pedal spindle makes sense. I see no reason for it here.

A quality Far Side reference is always welcomed.

Sorry, guys. The search didn't work but a simple scroll down the page did. I see that it is reverse threaded.

How does a search for "tie rod" in the suspension and steering section turn up 0 hits? The server may be having a bad day. My tie rods and other components need replacing but I can NOT back off the locking nut of the outer tie rod end on the driver side. I snapped a wrench on this thing and this after hours of soaking with liquid wrench. Is it possible that the driver side is reverse threaded? Thanks, guys.

The new one closes all the way, the old one didn't. The car idles and runs good after it warms up.

I'm with you, Captain. Unfortunately your theory turns what I thought to be a fairly simple problem into a complex one.

Thanks, CO. Well....it must require more openness than my photo shows. Installing with it open to the degree shown doesn't provide the additional RPM for a cold start. In fact, no additional RPM than I can detect. It'll choke and sputter at around 400. If I loosen the hose clamp and manually introduce additional air by pulling the hose off the AAR a little, then the RPM rise allowing a cold idle. I pulled all the hoses and the T to check for obstructions and everything is clear. I'm back to believing that the door isn't opening far enough.

I was sure that I had it nailed down that my Aux Air Regulator was bad. I bought another one which exhibits the same characteristics as the original so I thought I'd better check with you guys to make sure my diagnosis is correct. My understanding is that in cold conditions the AAR should be in the open position to allow additional air into the throttle body. As it warms the valve closes, stopping the additional air flow. My test for these has been to put them into the refrigerator and then the freezer to see if the valve is in the open position. In both cases the valve only opens slightly. Less than 0 degrees F in the freezer: And this is the extent of the opening: I'm expecting this to be fully open at this temperature. Is my expectation valid?

Like you, I have been fiddling in that area and wasn't able to find it in the manual. My guess is that it circulates coolant under the AAR to assist in closing it as the engine warms.

I think that there was likely funny business, Captain. Then again, the manual states that there is supposed to be a retaining spring of some sort on the bolt which is missing. Maybe engine vibration slowly backed out the nut (correct adjustment was tightening the nut)? If it goes back out of adjustment I guess I'll know that's the case.

Yay! Finally got on top of the BCDD issue by following the advice to adjust it. It took a while because it way WAY out of adjustment and I was patiently making a quarter turn at a time, then driving it. Rinse. Repeat. I was to the point of believing I had adjusted so far that it just had to be broken, then Blammo! I hit the sweet spot. It feels good to make progress no matter how slight. So I now have all connectors polished up. All vacuum lines inspected, PO fuel pump bypass corrected, lash pad replaced, and a band-aid on the AFM issue by applying a light film of grease to prevent the flap from scraping the sides too badly. It's running pretty good now. I just need to get a new AAR sourced and installed. I have to manually introduce additional air on cold starts but that ain't so bad. Now I can focus on the suspension. This car rides like crap.