Ed

Does anyone use strut tower braces and would you recommend them for "aggressive street driving". No autocross (yet).

Look through a "Hot Rod" magazine and you will find several advertisements for header coatings. Jet Hot is just one.:classic:

If I remember correctly the 240Z was made from 1970-1973 and came with skinny bumbers. The 260Z was only made in 1974. The 260Z came with both skinny bumbers and the fat crash bumbers. Then from 1975-78 came the 280Z only available with the fat crash bumpers. The 1973&74 models came out with more emission stuff on the engines. And starting in 1975 they were all fuel injected. In 1979 is when the "ZX" was born. Hope that helps.

The paint on the headers is burning off. And will soon be gone on about the first 15+ inches. Which will slowly start to rust. If you do get a second chance at those pipes get some Jet Hot coating. :classic:

You said that you are hurting for money. From personal experiance whenever you buy a used car no matter what kind you allways end up paying for repairs here and there. The Z is no exception. Most parts for the Z are still available and if you do the work yourself it shouldn't hurt your wallet too bad. Once you get all the bugs worked out then your Z will take you a long way!

Does anyone have a shop manual for a 81 280z? And can you look up the proper piston ring gap for all three rings. I appreciate it.

Sounds like you have all your ducks in a row. Enjoy!

Rick, I like them both. To me style 1 looks more rally/road racing. Style 2 looks more like it belongs on a drag strip. Ed

New-be, where are you? Maybe someone can give you a hand.

Start from the front of the distruibutor and go counter clockwise 1 5 3 6 2 4:classic:

Another thing to look at is the flange thickness of the header. On mine the intake manifold flange was thicker than the header and I had to modify the washers to get equal torque on both.

Looks like it has some serious rubber meeting the ground.

Nice!

I installed my header without any type of sealer. The gasket sealed good but after about 10k miles the "performance header gasket" developed small "cracks or pin holes" creating small leaks. I have seen people use some kind of copper based sealant that is for the high temps. When I replace my gasket I am planning to use this copper based sealant to see if it makes the gasket stronger.

Thanks for looking. My search continues.....

Man, that sucks! Well there is always tomorrow. Is it really that hard to find one in your area?

I must agree with the previous posts. Don't buy one just to have one. Wait for that special one. It took me about a year before I found her. Interior perfect, engine smooth & clean. No bondo patches or primer. The kind of car you can take for a drive and not have people saying "what a piece of junk" but have them saying "Sweet!". Spend those extra bucks on "Sweet!"

MSA catalog lists the same ones for $312.00. Crazy.

Sounds like a really sweet set-up. I think you put-in more money to the engine than what you would probably end up getting. I kind of have the same set up as you and I wouldn't let mine go for anything less than 1k. Personally I think that is what it's worth. But what you get might be different. Good luck!

A G-nose is a nose conversion where you replace the hood and install headlight extensions. You also have to replace the lower panel and the hood hinges. It costs about $750 U.S. to do the conversion (Parts only in the MSA catalog). Don' t know of any url's but if you look at "Alfadogs" avatar you will know what I mean.

Boy, you guys are brutal. ()LOL I went and checked the oil level and it was still full. So I guess it WAS overfilled. This time I made sure the car was level. And replaced the old with some new synthetic.:classic:

L28, N42 head with 71 carbs, 6-1 headers & 2 1/2 exhaust. I do have another L28 with flattops that is on an engine stand in my garage currently being built up.:classic:

My rear end is leaking (differential,third member, R-180). I noticed that it is coming out of the vent doo-hickey. When I filled it I made sure not to over fill. Is this a common problem? Any suggestions on how to make it stop?

Ouch!!! Hope you walked away from it.