dogma420

A lead to get.... Yes, Get it at MSA! Honestly, if you can't find a good body kit there, it probably doesn't exist. I'm going with the BRE style front spook and rear spoiler...the Z doesn't need ground effects, it naturally looks great! Even a 280 looks good! Peace out,

At the very least go to an auto parts store and get one of the haynes manuals for basic information....what you're asking is basic information, and its easy to find on one of those cheap manuals. Good Luck!

good...keep up posted on install/how it feels...I'm getting a 280zx dist in May, and I'll let you all know how it goes...unless I find a Mally uni for $300 or so.

SMs make a big difference! Why a Chevy V6? T5 would be nice but what style of V6 would you go with that would make you wanna change from the Nissan motor? Just curious I have the 3 bolt Sus, and the water tubes have been disconnected for a while. I thought that was the only diff between the 2 types....

Just curious guys, sorry for off topic, I was wondering why the time is always off on the posts, what is it based on? I'm posting this 7:26 am on West Coast (PST).

I second that Stephen....he says its a 75 280z and the badges on the side of the rig confirm that. The 74.5 260 and this version of the 280 look identical other than the badging and the displacement and FI. Does the 75 280z have that fun 'interlock' safety feature, with the red light on the dash, and sensor in the seat? Just curious, cause when I had my 74.5 260 it had this annoying buzzer feature. I have lots of parts for my 74.5 by the way (it was wrecked about 10 years ago) if anyone is interested. It was carbureted however.

sorry man don't know anything about lancias, but if you ask a Z question, I'd totally help out! Sincerely,

The round tops have a couple of differences 3 and 4 bolt for the piston housing, and the tab at the bottom of the intake....go to www.ztherapy.com to see the differences. They are basically identical however other than those few differences.

Tomohawk, If you have 'implemented' any of your ideas, and probably just because you're always coming up with some interesting idea to 'improve' your car, maybe you should remove the (stock) part out of your avatar description. It's pretty obvious you are not satisfied with your 280 being stock, but putting the (stock) in the description implies you are satisified and proud it's stock. I don't think that's the case at all viewing all your previous posts. Implement some of your ideas, or explain what you've done, and quit wasting everyones time implying you don't have time and someone else should do them and share their findings with the group. Just my .02 dollars (is this the correct way to say it?) Sincerely,

The cheap upgrade, at least to 'try out' 4 piston to see if this is the route to go, is go to an auto parts store and purchase early 80s Toyota 4x4 front calipers...these bolt right onto the stock S30 Zed...go get some cores at a junk yard if you don't want to pay that...total cost is somewhere under $200...these calipers are 4 piston, and much much cheaper than a 'kit' from a rice shop. If you like the performance, then go for a vented setup. Rear discs are mainly for looks....the drums work just fine...in fact, my Z didn't have the rear brakes even hooked up for a year, and it braked just about the same...(not to say to do that, but the rear brakes are maybe 10-15% of your braking at the max, kinda like a motorcycle). I wouldn't waste your money on rear discs unless the 'look' was important to you in conjunction with big nice looking wheels. Just my .02 dollars.

From my perspective and opinion, the Z is a very very reliable car. I never have problems that aren't easily fixed. This is not to say I don't have a 'modern' car that is my daily driver however. But I drove my '72 15K a year from 97-02 (5 years) and because of my 'anal' maintenance schedule and habit of doing more than necessary (if my radiator was done, I replaced the fan/water pump/all belts).... ...never had any problems whatsoever...was never stranded except once I got vapor lock on a real hot day (but this isn't a surprise or anything)....these cars, if they are maintained (and I'm talking about my 72 240z) are very reliable. I've driven 100k on this car, it has close to 200k and no problems whatsoever. Maybe I'm lucky...Maybe its my anal maintenance schedule and having the ability to fix just about anything minor that's wrong, and making the car better in the process than before that item broke. Just my .02 dollars (is this right Tomahawk?)

Well, for one thing, go ahead and get the SU tuning video from Z Therapy...www.ztherapy.com Another thing is, SUs will backfire through the carbs a lot...this is very common...don't be alarmed. They do that basically by design even if tuned perfectly. Sounds like your compression isn't very even through the cylinders...add some oil to the cylinders (turn over a couple of times, then do another compression test) to see if your rings or your valves are losing compression. If your compression is higher for each cylinder after adding oil, the rings are bad...if compression is the same, your valves have some kind of issue. You should be able to lift the piston on either carb at idle and it should continue to run. You should be able to block the air inlet one at a time during idle for each carb, and the car should continue to run if the carbs/valves/engine timing are all in synch.

If money / looking 100% stock are not issues, go ahead and replace the water pump, get brand new belts, and consider removing mechanical fan and putting in an electric puller fan while you're at it. Or...you could probably leave your water pump and use the old belts...depends upon if you like 'peace of mind' like myself when it comes to replacing stuff if it should be. I'd think a 82,000 water pump should probably be replaced since you're in that area anyways. Just my .02 dollars

Z car guy, PM me...my 72 is a 10/71 production Zed, and has 160k on it, original 100% motor (2.4L original SUs, Good E88 head)...I'm looking into rebuilding as my rings are shot (smokes)..runs but compression is compromised...I'm looking into a couple of different options, depending upon price...Either just rebuilding the lower end 2.4 and putting a good cam with header/exhaust with the dist I've been talking about....or doing a 2.8 block with a 280 head or with my E88...or doing a 3.1 with my E88 head or 280 block...consistently, I want to keep SUs, my 78 5 speed, and the electronic ignition I am about to get. By the way...if I can get the mallory distributor unilite for ~$300, wow, I would get that. But I'm pretty clueless on the other items (like Vicky said)...can you guys/gals give me a little education? THANKS! :-)

YES! I would like the mallory information, as if it's the same price, I'd rather get the mallory!

Zcar guy: I just scanned the page in the Motorsport Auto's catalog that has the 280zx distributor listed...it's in my gallery, click here as of 9:30 am on Tues it's pending approval. 79-81 Distributor $259.95 plus $60 core ....$319.95 part # 12-4025 82-83 N/A Distributor $259.95 plus $60 core ....$319.95 part # 12-4026 I wonder which one would be better? or even the turbo? (below) 82-83 Turbo Distributor $298.00 plus $60 core ....358.00 part # 12-4027T I personally don't understand the jargon, but this page Jason's Dizzy page has specs for all of the Z distributors...maybe someone can interpret these numbers to see which of the 3 dist's from above would be best to get. I would think you already have a catalog with all the goodies on your cars, but if you don't, their website is www.zcarparts.com . If you buy anything, request they send you a catalog at the same time. Lots of good stuff in the magazine, although its best to ask in this forum before purchasing any high price stuff; they sometimes don't have the best price on the same exact parts (see Victoria British). A great site that introduced me to the idea of using a 280ZX distributor is http://www.jrdemers.com/280ZX/distributor/distributor.html. The information on this site isn't large in length, but I feel its a great read if you own a Zed. Hope this information helps, also another idea is to sell your mallory dist in the classifieds on this webpage once you replace it...My hunch is the racers would appreciate getting one at a good price. Sorry to ramble, but I'm between jobs this week and don't have much of anything else better to do! Have a Zedful day guys,

I was thinking of getting a used ZX dist from a u pull it or a junk yard, but heck, I think its great peace of mind to know that everything in my dist is new, for $300...I feel that my old 72's performance is based on how good a spark this old girl gets...so the 300 investment is not bad; I probably won't have to replace it again, so why not? I mean if I spent $250 on sway bars, why not 300 on one of the most important electrical accessories on my car? Escalon--- What is happening at Blue Lake? I am a Portland Native, currently living in Sherwood (Between Newberg and Tigard)...let me know when you and Beandip are going to be there... Also, PM me on who your mechanic is...I am interested in some engine work, and was asking Beandip for a reference and he never got back to me. Thanks Escalon (sp?)...

forgot to say, they sell the new ZX electronic dist for $300 approx (at MSA), so its a pretty good deal IMO to go from my crappy worn out dist to a nice electronic...i'm going to do this in May, I have a worn out dist shaft, so its going to make a big diff in my Z. The unilite electronic dist is over $600, I wonder how much better is it than the ZX distributor? Anyone know post please! Peace out, have a zed-ful day

forgot to say, they sell the new ZX electronic dist for $300 approx (at MSA), so its a pretty good deal IMO to go from my crappy worn out dist to a nice electronic...i'm going to do this in May, I have a worn out dist shaft, so its going to make a big diff in my Z. The unilite electronic dist is over $600, I wonder how much better is it than the ZX distributor? Anyone know post please! Peace out, have a zed-ful day

Anyways, seriously, I would consider a 1980-81 280zx stock distributor, you can get a new one from MSA with the electronic box on the side of it (its built in) (I think they're new, maybe reman)...anyways, I'm going to be getting one, its a simple bolt on, get a better coil, and you have the reliability of the nissan distributor to boot! Just my $.02 dollars.

Mr. Camoflage, What I was saying about power is that if the cars are dyno'd, you'd find the 240 should have more power than a stock 280 at the rear tires. I know the figures under the hood and those reported by Nissan are higher for the 280...they had to be to help compensate for big bumpers and US smog restrictions....US regulations had a lot to do with making the 280 look/behave the way it does...without the regulations, we'd be talking about 77 and 78 240z's (or 77 or 78 260z like in Australia)... BTW the 260z's the aussies have look like a 240z with small bumpers, even in later years, pretty cool. Here's what I would do on considering 240 vs 280...If you like the 'solid feel' of a modern car, in terms of chassis, steering, etc. get a 280...if you want a possible classic, that is much 'rawer' than a 280, cause it doesn't necessarily have that 'solid feel' cause it weighs so much less, get a 240. The 280 is comparable to the label 'GT' and the 240 is comparable to 'sporty'. The big bumper 260z I had was much more comfortable to drive 100 miles to the beach with the girlfriend back in the day...less wind noise, smoother ride, very predictable turning, etc. In comparison, the 240 is noisier and feels sometimes almost too light, and so someone like myself who loves to drive and do turns and really feel the road, and ignores my girlfriend complaining that she doesn't necessarily like going for a long drive in it, LOVES the 240. For what I like, it's my favorite of the S30s. But I also have a modern vehicle for when I need it...If I only had one car, and I was going to only have a Z, I would definitely get a 280 FI...I think a 5 speed with AC from 77 or 78 would be perfect if I only had one car....and I would keep it stock....many years from now, the 280s are going to be worth something, but they have to be stock (or have the bumper caps from MSA at the most)...the cool thing about the 77/78 280z's is they don't rust as much as the 240s...so possibly they will have less rust.... I'll stop rambling now! You all have a Grateful week!!!!!!! I think its a win win situation, you can't go wrong with either one...after all, they are both S30s!

Interesting, didn't know the mount for the early z was like that...it is much simpler in design....I have the VB picture type...which is what it must be on most 72s through 78, cause the 78 5 speed I purchased had the same mount. My Z is a 10/71 so it must've just been converted around that time. Thanks Carl!

On the transmission mounts, I have a 10/71 72 Carl, I put a 5 speed in, refresh my memory, I believe that the sides of the mount that attach to the body have bushings (the round ones)...but the middle mount is kinda fused to the bracket....if just the outer bushings were replaced, would the shifter 'vibrate' more, like at idle, so you would want to use plain ol' rubber for the tranny mounts? Just wondering cause I didn't replace any of those bushings when I put my 5 speed in...my original mount had much better rubber so I used that instead of the one that came with the 5 speed. I was thinking I'm going to put the camber adjusters in (at the lower arms attach to body) and use poly bushings on those and the torsion bars... already have the susp. techniques front and rear sway bar--which make my 240 handle like a go cart!

As long as the L24 isn't a 73 model year, the head is worth something...the rest isn't. The E88 head is pretty good head because they're in limited supply and still used in a good motor at times.