SteveJ

Caymans haven't been around as long as the Boxsters, so they are still north of $15K. Boxsters are dipping down below $10K. With the spike in Z car prices, $5K to $10K is likely to be a project involving a fair amount of body work. These cars aren't known for rust resistance.

520/620 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datsun_Truck https://sacramento.craigslist.org/search/sss?query=Datsun+620&sort=rel

What is your budget? Here is my 2¢. Consider starting with a Miata or Porsche Boxster. You can find them relatively affordable, and they have better parts availability than our cars, especially for suspension parts! Horsepower and torque move the car, but the suspension and tires are what will make the car drive fast. Dollar for dollar, either one of those cars will be closer to ready than an early Z. Keep in mind that Miatas and Boxsters are depreciating. Z cars are shooting up (at least until more of us old farts drop out of the market). They also are safer than a stock Z. Consider starting with SCCA Autocrossing. If you find a good instructor (and most local groups have at least one), you learn how to control your car. It's much better to learn how to set up a line in a parking lot than coming down from the bridge at Road Atlanta down toward the concrete wall. The Mitty is coming up in April at Road Atlanta. It is a vintage racing event that draws a fair number of Z cars. I've attended it for a number of years and have made many friends among the participants. I can introduce you to someone who took a former 240Z race car and dropped an LS3 into it for a track day car. I can also introduce you to the guy who resurrected the BRE 240Z. He will have John Morton, the original BRE driver, driving the car again. Greg Ira, a multiple SCCA champ in Z cars may also be there. You can find out about the Mitty at http://www.hsrrace.com. If you insist upon a Z, learn to drive it stock and work on it before you try to do much in the way of modifications. An engine/transmission swap can be a good way of finding the next part to fail (like a half shaft or brakes). Get the suspension, tires and brakes ready first. You'll find a lot of dead, worn-out bushings and other suspension component problems in a lot of Z cars. Replace the seatbelts! Don't rely upon 40++ year old belts to stop your body if you mess up. If you want to install a cage, get recommendations from track guys for the best welders they know. These cars are like beer cans compared to modern cars, and a good cage could make the difference. If you do a cage, get 4 point belts mounted properly at a minimum for track days.

I took my cheap micrometer to the exposed threads of the plug in the large hole. IIRC, it measured 0.818 inches. When I looked up BSP diameters, I found this page:https://www.newmantools.com/taps/bsp.htm, and 5/8 BSP was the closest I found. I did the same to a temperature gauge sender in my parts stash to determine it's 3/8. I'm guessing that the temperature switch would have the same fitting size. However, I couldn't get the micrometer in to measure due to interference by the distributor and radiator hose. Since the chances of you being correct on the size of the large opening are greater than the chances of me being correct, I looked for the 1/2 BPST to 3/8 NPT adapter. McMaster said it's a about a 6-7 week wait. (No-go!) So, since I see you have a 280Z coolant temperature sensor sitting right under the thermostat housing you are holding...Will the 280Z coolant temperature sensor fit in temperature switch location on the thermostat housing?

But the issue remains about what thread types I need to be concerned with.

In anticipation of converting the 260Z to TBI, I realized I needed to find a good location for the coolant temperature sensor. I need to confirm, but I believe the sensor that will come with the Patton Machine system will be 3/8 NPT. On the 260Z, I see two potential candidates. The blue painted bolt is 5/8 BSPP if I understand my threads correctly. The challenge with that is I would have to drill and tap the 3/8 NPT hole into that plug as 5/8 BSPP or BSPT adapters are made by unicorns. A better candidate is the temperature switch that is just above the distributor in the picture. Is the thread pitch 3/8 BSPP or BSPT?

I don't know if any don't have the license plate mounting tabs, but those tabs are a great place to mount a gopro.

It's all one piece. https://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/classic02a01a/50-1504A

Here's a link: https://www.iaai.com/Vehicle?itemID=30200644&RowNumber=0&loadRecent=True The damage doesn't look too bad, but it might have compromised the suspension.

Send me a PM this weekend. I will help you out.

If you need a video editor, Cyberlink makes an older version of their Powerdirector software available as a free download. https://www.cyberlink.com/products/powerdirector-video-editing-software/features_en_US.html I found it fairly easy to use. One of the main limitations is that you can't do 4K video in the free version.

Having done what I hope is enough research, I have started down the road on my next off-beat modification. I decided to pull the trigger to go with the Patton Machine fuel injection kit on my 260Z. I still think I'm going a little lean at times at the top end with my current SU setup, and I hope this will remedy that situation. The cost appears to be less than sourcing a non-egr FI intake, AFM, MS setup, etc., and it seems to be nicely sorted out. I'll try to remember to take a lot of photos for posting. I hope to get the setup in March.

From first glance, I would agree that it looks like a 280ZX distributor.

Those are blanket statements and not really accurate. The ammeter is designed to indicate charge/discharge of the battery. The ammeter is situated between the battery and alternator, and most loads are on the alternator side of the ammeter. If the ammeter is on the positive side, the alternator is charging the battery and/or your brake lights/hazard lights are drawing current. Make sure you have a good battery. The specified alternator and the wiring harness are not designed to charge a dead battery. If the ammeter has failed completely, typically the car will not start since current will not flow through the ammeter. For starting the car, power goes from the battery, through the fusible link and ammeter, and to the ignition switch. If the alternator has failed, the electrical system is relying solely upon the battery, and the battery will discharge. If the voltage regulator has failed, typically the battery will reverse power the alternator when the car is off, and the battery will discharge. The FSM describes alternator and voltage regulator testing. See EE-18 for the alternator test and EE-22 for the start of the regulator testing. Of course, you can purchase a clamp DC ammeter to place over the battery cable to simplify testing. (This means you don't need to use the resistor shown in figure EE-55 if you use the clamp DC ammeter.) The voltage reading of 14.5 would be at 2500 RPM, and that is not a go/no-go voltage. A voltage between 14 and 15 VDC at 2500 RPM should be fine. As the FSM states, the alternator should show 12.5 or higher at 1000 RPM when doing the test as described in the manual.

It would have to stay solid at high heat. I would not want the mount to get soft at speed.

Try these two sources: https://zcarsource.com/distributor-mounting-block-280zx-79-83-non-turbo-used http://zspecialties.com/

The weather gave me one more opportunity to drive the Z this year, so I took it to a show at Gateway Classic Cars. This is what parked next to me. The owner is also restoring #30.

Thanks for providing an update. It always helps to hear the resolution for us to calibrate our suggestions.

I took my Z out today to visit a friend's new warehouse. It might be the last night driving day of the year, so I wanted to take advantage of it. As several of us sat around swapping stories, photos and videos, I admired the view in front of me and decided to take a photo.

Before installing it, I suggest testing it with an ohmmeter.

The 260Z ballast resistor is NLA. You might be able to get away with a 240Z ballast resistor. You would have to move the start wire over to the same terminal as the coil wire. The problem with that is that I don't know why they introduced a small amount of resistance in the starting circuit. If you're worried about that, there is a kludge I could describe to you, but it's not very elegant.

Yes, I've had that happen before. Sometimes parts are NLA, but they don't show up in the online searches as such.

Well, if the 1/2 x 20 is correct, this would probably work: https://www.amazon.com/Needa-Parts-652036-Drain-Plug/dp/B000CHL58M Or this: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sdk-d1az-6730-a/overview/

For the last couple of years, I've been playing around with action cameras. Most of the ones I have purchased can double as a dash cam, though without some of the extra features. For instance, you can have it record with a time and date stamp and loop record in 3 or 5 minute intervals. Most of the "4K" action cameras can accept a 64GB mini SD card. You can choose settings to turn on/off when plugged/unplugged into external power, and many have a setting to start recording on a shock sensor. A lot of them have stabilization settings to reduce the effects of vibration. Most of these cameras have wifi connectivity so you can connect it to your smart phone...Oh, never mind, @Captain Obvious? I have two of these and use one as a dash cam in my daily driver: https://www.amazon.com/DBPOWER-DB0923-Underwater-Rechargeable-Accessories/dp/B07314N12V. For that price, you could get two and have cameras front & rear. You would also probably want a windshield mount like this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DW9UBDM to attach it to your windshield

They look to be in good shape. You might be able to get some good coin via ebay. Just make sure if you go that route, that you state in your ad that they are for a 77 or 78 only.