MakDiesel

It's mine so I can vouch for it. Would rather it go to someone on this board than anywhere else. Ebay Manual

bump some more

Still for sale, lower price, bump

Go to my gallery for pics: The good: 183K miles, all original, runs awesome F54 Block P90 head new water pump reconditioned fan/clutch manual 5-speed tan interior primer gray exterior new tan carpet throughout 15" Pacer chrome wheels recent tires Clarion CD player new distributor (entire unit) molded MSA spoiler/wing emblems/holes shaved in clear title new 1000/850 CA battery new exhaust gasket valves adjusted recently new belts power windows/steering/mirrors new clutch/plate/bearing new fuel pressure regulator Ractive Cold Air Intake new plug wires All receipts The Bad: Front bumper removed no A/C, but heat works fine decent amount of rust on rails only one rust hole in body, driver's side rear corner front shocks shot Location: Mocksville, NC (near Winston-Salem) PM or e-mail MackDieselZ@aol.com asking $1400 obo. Need to sell, fall semester is coming up.

Yeah I decided that stock is better than dual-blowout on the highway...now jus waiting for the stock springs...la la... anyway thanks guys. Mak

A previous owner apparently cut a coil or two off my 280zx's front springs to drop it down a few inches. While this looks good, it has been wearing the insides of my front tires at 10 times the normal rate of the outside! So I have 3/4 inch of tread on the outside and I'm down to the steel wires on the inside. Any help? I want to keep the ride height like it is but the camber MUST change. I've heard of shims, strut spacers, grinding slots in the strut towers, etc or I can jus revert back to stock and ride with the front jacked higher than the rear. I don't have the $$$ for quality lowering springs. Any suggestions on past experiences guys? Any help would be appreciated. Mack

I know it isn't a Z but my 280zx will be under the wrench for quite a while and I still need a reliable transport to school and I thought maybe you guys could keep your eyes open. I only have about $1500 to work with and all I ask is that there is little/no rust and a sound drivetrain. Thanks, Mak

My tire wear is insane because of bad camber and I desperately seek a replacement pair to correct this before I have a blow-out. (I can see the steel wires). I'm not sure but I think all '79-'83 front springs were the same. (Hanes says for the 2-seater GL the spring color is white and white)

OK, On my daily driver '81 280zx I recently removed just the belt to see what driving w/o power steering was like compared to my 240z. Turns out it turns better than the '72 240! It may be due to the reciculating ball vs. rack n' pinion or the 300lb + I've probably removed from the ZX but it was a pleasant surprise that only when turning sharply or at a standstill was two hands ever really needed. My question is, is the ease of steering due to hydraulic fluid still being churned when I manually turn and will I tell a notciable difference (easier or harder) in steering if I completely removed the pump/brackets/hoses/etc so rid of more excess weight. I dunno who out there has ever done this or would know whether I should leave or rid of the remaining pump attachments but any insight would be appreciated. I thought I might sell the pump/etc to save up for a Lexan windshield. Thanks, Mak

Lightening of my '81 280zx has gone from small things to hard-core stripped race car. I've removed the front bumper, entire A/C system, all carpet, jute, all interior plastic panels, and muffler. Now comes the power sterring. First, has anyone ever done this? Will it have the heavy feel of my old 240z? Is it worth the effort and weight savings, not to mention engine drag? Any insight would help. Thanks

Ok, not a true gut because i still drive this beast every day but I'll keep the dash (with major components within it intact) and both factory seats. Ive already dropped the front bumper and entire A/C components, so I was jus wondering (if anyone has ever weighed this stuff) how much more is dropped from removing all the plastic interior panels and carpet, jute, etc.? this is for a '81 280zx by the way.....a model that needs a diet more than most...

I've decided to quit trying to make my 280zx look pretty on the inside and just gut it except the seats and dash. Upon carpet removal I've noticed that the jute (as stated by most of you who have done this before) acts like a sponge and basically will rot your floorboards from the inside out. Sure enough, mine had very damp jute and rust to boot. My question is how to remove all of the tiny pieces of jute and carpet that seem to be attached to the metal by forces stronger than I. Also, the door panel plastic was held on by some kind of white and yellow sealant that is also as stubborn as cold carbs. Any cheap alternatives to just scrapping it off with a putty knife? Thanks, Mak

would that explain my poor gas mileage (20 tops on highway... and im not a lead foot most days) despite stripping the car of the front bumper, bumper shocks, air conditioning, and adding lightweight wheels?

The perpendicular branch of that 'T' is plugged with a golf tee (not my doing).....so that got me wondering, what DOES that hose do?

I own an '81 280zx that has been troubling me lately. I've done all the work on this car since the day I saved it from the junk yard but I've finally run into an irritating little thing I don't know how to fix. When it cranks, the tach will jump from 750 to 1200 in little jolts but after around 1500 rpms it's smooth sailing. My problem may be related to a discovery I found yesterday. The hose labled "DIST VC" (the top one) connected to the charcoal (aka carbon) canister isn't connected to anything...and I cannot find the connecting end for the life of me. The hose runs all the way around the valve cover directly behind the fan and radiator and ends approx. near the throttlebody, but I can't find where to plug it up. Any answers fellow Z'ers? I included quite possiblly the crudest 5-minute drawing known to man but it's effective. Thanks in advance

Dunno if this is your problem exactly but I've had similar 'issues' with my '81 280zx coupe. I could have power until i tried to crank her, I'd hear the pump but not even a click of the starter. turns out it was a $1.06 fusable link that was causing me so much frustration. See I was running an Audiotech 1800watt 'mean machine' powering one Audiobahn 12" sub and apparently the nearly 2k of extra eletricity melted the fusable link (closest to the front of the car) and thus disabled the alternator and battery charge delivery. So before you blow cash on a book, start small and check all your fuses, mainly the 'links' (pop the hood and the compartment will be on the passenger side wall of the engine bay, about a foot from the battery and behind the cruise control actuator (if you have one)....its jus a lil black box with a labeled cover....check the one marked "ACC") good luck and if it doesnt work, buy the book

'Bout time I joined the ZAA (Z Addicts Anonymous)...here goes I'm Adam (most ppl just call me Goat, long story) I'm 19, live in a place I don't belong (Mocksville, NC) and love girls, guns, and cars and STRONGLY dislike ricers, dishonesty, and slow, heavy cars (basically most trucks and all SUVs). I was never bestowed a car at 16 like some so by the time I was 17 I had saved enough $$$ to purchase my first vehicle, a '95 Dodge Dakota Sport that served it's purpose (point A to point . By some bizarre twist of fate and stupidity I joined the Marines shortly after High School (and subsequently sold the truck b/c I wouldn't need it at Parris Island). 40 hellish days later (Erroneous enlistment - they screwed up on my vision waiver) I was back home with no hair, double pneumonia, no ride, and a very extensive abusive verbal dictionary to reiterate from. So began the search for the last car I ever wanted to own, a 1972 240z stick (preferably an aftermarket 5-speed). All I came up with in this small town was a $500 '81 280zx that had more wrong than right. Rust, weeping water pump, oxidation galore, etc. After 4 months of getting her reliable and on a diet, our love/hate/why won't you run dammit relationship became tiring and costly so I opted to continue the 240 search. Ebay rocks on occasion. I found a decent '72 only 40 min from me and an emptied bank account later I had her. Now I work 2 jobs (car wash weekends and 3rd shift full-time at a well-known retailer) to support my costly habit of keeping one for transport (the '81) and trying to bring the other back to life to be my new DD for college (the '72). Rent, insurance, attending ECU in the fall to begin a degree (undecided...probably car-related), etc has kept the '72 under a cover and off the road. Basically I'm just a kid with too many dreams and not enough freedom ($$$) to do something with them. But where there's a will, there's a way...Z-man for life, Peace AD

OK. searchin' Ebay for misc. 240 parts as I do every other day in my life when I ran across this freak of nature...I'm sure as much as most of us have looked on sites of Z's we are bound to find some nasty ugly duckling/frankenstein perversion of someone's lost inhibitions time and again. Granted this is a ZX it's STILL WRONG! And the seller mentions it's underpowered...well, yeah, when you downgrade the engine displacement nearly by half...I mean c'mon, I've seen 3rd-gen hondas with more power than this beast. Add triple digits in excess weight to an already hefty vehicle, raise the center of gravity, nastify it beyond recovery...Don't even get me started on the power to weight ratio...take a peek for yourself but this is not for the faint of heart, ZX fan or not. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2420347443&category=46093

I've been looking for the left and right front fenders and a hood to replace cuz someone busted mine up w/ a crowbar trying to jack my '72 and was just wondering how much you'd take each and/or all, assuming they are in good condition. I live in NC but it would still have to be shipped (I'd pay of course) Thanks, peace