yuppie69

HI..yeah, maybe I should have "updated" but I don't want to blow another $1000 bucks..the thing worked reasonably well with my Ipod and 12 disc changer on FM frequencies. Funny thing is, the thing still lights up with the dashboard lights...as if to tease me for being a walking anachronism! FWIW, I guess its a Clarion OEM unit...doesn't anybody remember this unit?!!!!? It seems pretty cool for 1980+! Thanks anyway, John Bonus question: if I buy one on ebay which has another color vinyl trim (mine's red)...is anyone alive long enough on this earth to tell me if I can swap the electronics (radio and tape) easily from another color trim/mounting housing(!?) that I buy with it as used (red seems somewhat rare!)? John

Hi but this is a stock ZX RADIO TAPE UNIT..I'll call the dealer that used rca plugs to line out to the amps, but I have checked left and right of the radio (without removing the damn harness!) and haven't found what you're talking about...though I was hoping on finding something like that. I assume, by your mentioning "aftermarket" that you don't think the STOCK Nissan (Clarion, I believe) automatic tuner/cassette unit has this extra fuse block, do you? I have a feeling it would be on the service manual wiring diagram, but could you or someone point out more specifically WHERE on the harness it'd be....there are a lot of extra goodies underdash, in my not-so classic ZX! Thanks John

Hi...I've an 83 280ZXT, and when I turned the key to acc position 1, the point at which the radio/subwoofers/antenna go on, the radio played/displayed a few secs then went out/no display, and I've not been able to get it going since! I checked the radio fuse, as well as the other fuse the self powered sub amps run off of and no burnt fuses. The subs powered up along with all other acc position 1 devices, so I am pretty sure there's nothing wrong with ignition power relay, and I am pretty sure no aftermarket fuses were wired into the radio, only underhood relays for the amp-which are ok too! The antenna doesn't go up, though, which is to be expected, I guess (assume there's no other fuse/relay for that, right?). I checked the Nissan service manual, and they don't show any other fuses at the point of the radio, so I'm reluctant to pull it out for that. Can anyone tell me if there's another fuse or relay that could affect the radio alone? If not, which connector do I pull off the radio once I pull it out and check what pins on it for 12V operation. When/if I get that far, can you tell me if its usually cheaper to send these out somewhere to fix if it's a power supply/amp issue within the radio, and WHO DOES THAT? If not, any leads for an identical replacement at low cost, other than waiting on Ebay? Thanks John-Natick, MA..was going to use the "rear" ash tray cut out for my 60GB iPod

When I heard from him last summer, he stated that they were looking for high twenties, but seemed to have some "downward flexibility"..guess low-mid 20's! John-83 ZXT

Okay, so a lot of you Japanese wat-na-be's like the wheels....since you promised you won't post, let me just tell you that, being from the wrong end of Z history (just bought my first, an 83 280ZXT), the first thing I saw, and very nearly the only thing in 16" for my car in stock (read=NO spacers!) is the Panasport. I nearly died, as I thought, jeesh, now a Z car can look like a Mini Cooper classic, a car I talked myself out of for the Z! So what? Well, if so many of the folks on this list wanted to do justice to the "old school Japan" wheels, why isn't there a trademark backlash against Panasport? In fact, you can go to any East Coast Z car show and see all the Panasports all lined up! Maybe that's out of love for their styling, but I say it's disappointing. I'd buy a set of Star Sharks, SSR reverse mesh, Cherry Blossoms or even classic American aluminum oval five hole rims in a minute if they came in 16's, but alas, they're all 14, which is really tire-ing! Cheers John-probably going with Compomotive 16's..either mesh or HB's with spinners (as seen on UK Cobras).

I don't care what colour you paint them, they look like radiator feet with rims attached! As a matter of fact, wasn't Kazumi Watanabe a 60's singer with the hit "Sukiyaki", who later died in a ANA 747 crash? Later John-280ZXT=can't mess with mesh 16's!

Hi, my 83 280ZXT has been stumbling on hot restarts, whenever I let it sit for ten minutes or so. My mechanic saw it happening..stumbling, intake popping for air, poor idle stability, but he told me it is a "running too lean" problem, and suggested I buy a cylinder head temp sensor, an air temp sensor, a new AFM and god knows what else! I was surprised when I heard him tell me that "there are no simple adjustments on a fuel injected car for rich/lean". Is that so? Is there anything I can do with a screwdriver short of throwing it at him to compensate for this lean restart stumbling? The fuel pressure's ok, there is one slightly leaky injector I'll have to replace, but I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO DO NEXT, HELP!!! John-Intercooled 280ZXT

TT, that link which you've posted twice is not in an acceptable standard for any internet explorer application to open (5.2.3). Perhaps you'd like to convert it for at least some of the rest of us, ok?:stupid: John

I take issue with the 280ZX being a disco parlour. Granted, it had a digital dash, but so does the Honda S2000. It had a talking warning sound box, but then so does every navigation system sold on modern cars, and I sometimes question if the new ones, lacking live traffic reports, are any more useful! It had washer headlamps, but most cars sold elsewhere in the world had this available, useful feature (the Europeans simply plugged the holes and de-contented US cars, not dropping the price one cent). The one useless feature was the ambient/third "wide" channel effect. Granted, these effects come standard on aftermarket radios these days (Pioneer, et al), but at the time it might have been useful for improving the awful sound of am radio monoraul broadcasts. I can't make much of a case for it, but I do know the 84 300Z was a hell of a lot less of a sports car, with far more trinketry, such as electronic firmness control for suspension (who wants to put that in nowadays?), more weight, and the beginning of the absolutely ugly semi-exposed semi-pop up lights. Yecch, that was THE car for 1984 as bland excess in all areas related to true Z features! John

The other thing I've read of late is that the auto press is almost universally appalled at the cheap centre console door in front of the optional NAV set up, and various monochromatic plastic materials used on the dash bits. Apparently, some of the Z designers tried to harken after German coldness for darkness as somehow becoming a "serious" sports car, and while I appreciate the functionality of the instruments more than surroundings (all the gauges are properly placed and designed), I am beginning to wonder if my 83 280ZXT might also suffer from the cost cutting fray of using cheap interior materials as sucker fodder, as so obviously does the new brethren. Even if the 350Z is a 30 grand plus car, that is not very much money in relative terms (though it is to my wallet). My Z cost about 18 grand in 1983, and given inflationary adjustments, that would amount to well more than 30K in today's bills, I estimate. Even if it's the same, what I am stabbing at is that Nissan, in its financial/design compromises of late-and perhaps of old-definitely put styling issues secondary to overall design performance. I had said earlier that new Z's remind me of new American cars in overall execution of quality and performance, but let me reverse this...it seems like old Z's had the same cheapness of ancillary frills and supplementary materials (anyone looking for a "digital infometer" (my dash center cluster!), or a talking woman's voice telling you "lights are on..door is open"..these days?!!? I mean, cheap novelty is cheap novelty, and when it wears out, you wonder why they spent so much time putting cheap auxilliary devices and trim into such awesome basic structures. The thing that surprises me so is HOW MUCH MORE they put into making CHEAP appear classy in the very earliest models: dashboard model plaques, hood flip doors for checking aux. equip., little button-like things in the seat binding (I don't know what those are called, but they are really cute and warm little appendages to no functional purpose other than fake hand-sewn warmth, like something my 5 year old daughter might do to my car, unsupervised of course!). The only thing I can think of is they were so pressed to be price down from Toyota/Honda, that they then and now cheapen such great blueprints with questionable cost saving do dads that they hope people will over look such corner cutting. To the extent that I see Mercedes and BMW getting uberclassmen to fork out hundreds of thousands for stark design vehicles, I can see that as fair. When I look back at the history of Z's, I find it is hard not to lust after the older ones more than newer, 280, 260, 240 in ascending order. I guess that's like the Miata in spirit (also no frills, but also no PRETENSES of frills). If they'd bring out a stripped Z cabrio, I'd be in the running for it (manual top, plus two config, no a/c, computer, creature comforts), that would kick the shitte out of the Pontiac Solstice/06 Miata. No, chances are better they'll fatten this 350Z to 400 and so on! Sorry to rant, just it seems to me that the Z is the best car on earth for statements like they used to say about corn flakes, that 'the original is best'! Cheers John

Look, if the 350Z turbo/supercharged cabrio (not out yet, just guessing a year or two from now on product development) was pinned against my car, the 83 280ZXT, I would grant that the new car would be way more muscular than current competition, aka Corvette C6, Ford Cobra Mustang, BMW M3 etc, but in a homely body. Those other cars are way more attractive cosmetically than Nissan's best aesthetic attempt, the Z that actually looks worse with the top up! Step back, then, to 1983...jeeesh, what have ya got for looks to compare with the last Z of a Jaguar conspired design..Trans Ams, Ford Mustang/Fairmont platforms, VW Scirrocos and Audis? Moreover, I would bet the farm there are far fewer of those cars as individual running examples on US registration/roads today. As it stands today, the 350Z does have a telltale thread to it, being that it doesn't run in the reliability league with the big uns, aka Toyota and Honda..even though they're not importing current Supra league GT similar performers, there's already some unreliability built into the current Z, or so I've read, in premature wear on tires due to poor suspension design (read Autoweek for more on this). I don't know all the weak spots in my Z yet, but I know it will never be a Lexus or Infiniti..the thing that bugs me is that "prestige" brands from Japan seem to have the reliability built in that my car had when it was new (and there weren't any Lexus or Infinitis,etc!). So, in my book, current Nissan material, though state of the art design, are probably at arms length with..gulp..American car design and quality!!! If only I could turn back time! John

Have a look? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2454061186&category=33555&sspagename=STRK%3AMESSE%3AIT&rd=1

I have the car described above, and it needs new struts and springs, and I favor OEM engineered suspension bits, but I was wondering if anyone could qualify my assumption that Euro/Jap/Aus suspension bits have firmer damping rates, etc. Any link to sources to buy such parts would be helpful. Thanks John

I've an 83 280ZXT with stock sized Pilot Alpins, 205 60 15. I was thinking of going up to 215/225 50 16's, b/c there's absolutely NOTHING in a 15 that is ultra high performance NON all season. I am wondering if tires like Bridgestone S03 and Pilot Sport are too aggressive for my suspension, which I've been told is floaty and may rub if I don't change the stock shocks/springs (that info from Centerline). Anyways, why is there NOT ONE 15" ultra high performance tire for my car?!! Thanks John

Never used, model 2022 for stock turbo and supercharged applications. Sells for over $200 new, still manufactured, and plenty of parts/product support from Bellengineering.com. Buyer pays shipping, $110! John

A ha! Now that I know what you meant, unfortunately, that's already been done with 1" hosing feeding it back into the turbo. No, my car is in the shop this week with head gasket work and cleaning. I'll have to see how she runs after that, though I've been told that oil leaks don't necessarily cause drivability issues. Thanks John

..hmm, sounds likely the Z owner in DC area ain't gonna part with his wheels. As far as the link not working, send me the e mail..SSR's look better than Enkei, but I'm looking for 16's (I know the JDM Z wheels only come in 14") Thanks John

http://www.hybridz.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=29503&highlight=

Alan, if you're still monitoring posts on this topic: -sorry, I've no interest in those Watanabes, which remind me of a cinder pile in color and the shape of a fireplace log insert. Needless to say, apart from history buffs, I don't see much difference between those and standard Panasports. -Not to be a loony, then (I hope not, anyway!), I am supplying a link to HybridZ, where I put a post out about trying to find JDM Nissan 80's circa "star sport" wheels (or something!). If you could find it in your auspices to get them to the UK, I will pay for you to send a set just about all the way around the world to get them to me, near Boston, MA, a post-colonial peninsula of Massachusetts, USA, an even bigger neo-colonial colossus pushing their way of life onto the EEC and you moreso every day!!! Business is business, though, so please e mail me if you can be of any assistance (jjohart@comcast.net). Thanks John

Hi, I'm trying to find a set of JDM Nissan Z wheels that were sold in the 80's, I guess only in Japan. I'm sending a link to HybridZ. com, a page where the second respondent left a photo of what I'm after, but he ain't replying, so please contact me NOT him. They are fantastic looking, and I don't know if they were made by SSR, but if you know of a seller or importer, please let me know! Thanks John http://www.hybridz.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=29503&highlight=

Sorry, I don't understand what you mean by "plumb" the bov! Is that a fancy way of saying replace the damn thing? Is there a way to check its operation? Is there a way to loosen it's workings, so it doesn't jam up intermittently (should I spray WD-40 in it? I am a novice, and in general, the only thing I am understanding is, if it is broke, I should pull it off and buy another-is that what you meant? John

Hi erstewhile respondent, can you be more specific as to how to check the air filter and fuel supply to be sure it's working at cold? I mean, the car is great at cold starts, almost instantaneous, but what would be a way to check these elements when warm? I have a cold air intake, basically a K and N on a pipe, so we can't get much more "open air" than that, except if there's a restriction I don't understand/know about!! How does one check the fuel supply once the car's warm? Would there be a way of changing the settings so the fuel pump delivers MORE fuel at warm starts..wouldn't that be helpful? Or should I think about putting on the Bosch high pressure pump I had purchased for future mods...can you tell me anything more about fuel vaporization, it sounds very mysterious and complicated to a novice like me! Thanks/Happy ZXmas! John

Hi, I had an I/C, DSM blow off valve, modified pop up valve, and Greddy Profec B boost control and Blitz turbo timer put on my car the past week, and the one thing I've noticed is the car is reluctant to respond to throttle inputs when restarted after a 5-30 min rest after a warm up drive (say 5 mins). I suspect it is the blow off valve, since it has been making pretty poor sounds when the car is cold, like a New Year's Party horn, which isn't the way I think these things sound-but am not sure. Does anyone know what else I or my mechanic should check? I don't think it's the pop off valve, but I don't want to just replace the blow off valve and find it's something else!! Again, this happens after SHORT stops of a few mins after driving the car to slight warm up or better! The throttle has almost no effect, except to possibly starve the car more, while it sputters like chitty chitty bang bang! It eventually revs up to the throttle and then things are ok, but it is definitely a 45sec to 2 min experience of not being able to go anywhere, and the car sounding like it will die out, and sometimes does? Fuel starvation, or stuck blow off valve, or too much air? I have no idea...send your guesses and happy holidays! John-83 280ZXT, 50K miles, tuned, new cap, rotor, wires, car was running well until I/C install...is also a bit rough idle! Help!