280z

Looks fun: Do you guys do any east bay rides?

Today I took my Z to a gathering here in the Bay Area and put together this short video of the event:

installed new set of tires! whoo hoo!

huh?

Yes it is a full-size spare. Here it is: So no one knows if a tubeless tire will work on that rim without a tube?

Sorry I meant to ask, can you run a tubeless tire without a tube in a stock rim meant for tube type tires. it's the original spare tire for my '75 280z. it's never been replaced.

Will it work? I guess the only reason it wouldn't work would be if the bead on the rim was not standard and if the valve stem hole did not accommodate modern plug-in valve stems. Can anyone confirm that it works? This is for a spare btw...

Thanks, you make a good point. My suspension is totally stock. Anyways I ended up going with the Nexen 215/60r14 tires.

Hi Jerz, I've sent you a PM.

Could I get away with using a taller sidewall? I found a good deal for a set of Federal SS-657 215/65R14 tires, and I have even more options with a 215/70R14. How tall can I go with a 215 tire before it starts rubbing?

the 215 is a Nexen CP641 All-Season Tire. the 205 is an Antares Ingens A1. I've used nexens on my civic and liked them, never heard of Antares Ingens. the extra $200 does sound outrageous, but I'm afraid I'll regret going cheap if I go with the 205. Is there a performance benefit with the wider tire?

I'm way overdue for new tires for my '75. I currently have on a set of Cooper 215/60r14 tires. My rims are 7 inches wide if I remember correctly. A new set of tires in that size will cost me about $94 a pop. However I can get a set of 205/60r14 tires for $50 each. I love how the 215s look, but are they worth paying nearly double for?? What do you guys think??

Is this what you guys are talking about? It gives good clues to fabricate one, but it's for a 240 and doesn't provide the exact blueprint or product link I was hoping for.

I recently got a dirt bike and I'm considering installing a tow ball or some kind of hitch on my '75 to be able to take the bike out to the trails. All the threads on this topic are very old, and the U-haul website which apparently makes one for the Z is down. I'm looking for something non-permanent that bolts up without welding or cutting. My Z is too nice to be defiling.

i was so excited about putting my car in the show, but it broke down on the bay bridge yesterday morning on the way! :[ the alternator belt had dried up and cracked after not having been driven in three years, then broke at some point and battery died...

i think theres a lot of info about this in the archives. i looked into it myself a few years ago, i think it requires some modifcations

thanks fifth horseman, the tires definitely need air. in fact they need to be replaced altogether since they have dried up somewhat, they have been on the car for 8 years... okay so oil and gas... ill lube the hinges too... any other suggestions are welcome, i think ill try to bring it by the zonc contest next weekend in brisbane...

hey guys, its been a while since i last posted... ive been travelling a lot over the past few years during and after college and unfortunately have been away from my 280 for long periods of time. over the last three years or so, ive been living abroad. my dad for the first two of those years would take the z around the block once every few months, but he hasnt driven it at all in the last year except for once about a week ago. its had the same full tank of gas for the last three years. im back in town now for a few weeks and want to of course drive it as much as possible! i know i should drain the old fuel and fill it with some fresh fuel. other than that, what should i do? change the motor oil too? i did a search and found at least once it was suggested to remove the head and clean the cylinders... though im reluctant to mess with that. btw how do u dispose of the old fuel?

is that the original color? fix the paint!! the car looks amazing. great rims, i havent been keeping up with zs but i remember those are some of the most sought after rims

have u guys seen this NYT article? http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/05/automobiles/collectibles/05EGO.html A Trophy That Keeps Moving By RICHARD S. CHANG Published: April 2, 2009 MORTON ASH rarely needs a reason to take his 1975 Datsun 280Z out for a drive, but a recent sunny afternoon provided an extra inducement. “I like to use it at least once a week,” he said. “You can’t let a car like this just sit.” Mr. Ash, a vice president for sales at Gould Paper, was standing inside the parking garage in Chelsea where he has kept the two-door sports car since he bought it new for around $6,300. After three decades of his careful stewardship, the silver 280Z has covered nearly 330,000 miles. Mr. Ash bent his tall frame into the driver seat and started the car. “Seat belts are a good idea,” he said dryly, and both driver and passenger complied. Mr. Ash then settled into the bucket seat and nosed the car forward, craning his neck to look down 10th Avenue. The afternoon’s destination was the Taconic Parkway, or close to it, via the West Side Highway along the Hudson River, to the Saw Mill River Parkway. Mr. Ash grew up in Rockland County and moved to Manhattan 45 years ago, and he still considers himself a country boy. While he could pass for a trim, fit man in his early 60’s, he insists on keeping his age to himself. “I love to look at nature,” he said, pointing his sharp chin in the direction of the glove box, where he used to keep a field guide for birds. In previous journeys up the Taconic, Mr. Ash has spotted deer, hawks, turkeys and sometimes a coyote. Until a couple of years ago, Mr. Ash would drive the 280Z each fall up to Lake Placid in the Adirondacks to hunt deer. “I’d get up at 4 or 5 a.m., hike out along the horse trail, leave the trail and crash the woods, as the heat slowly left my body,” he said. “And I’d wonder, ‘Why is a Jewish guy like me doing this?’” The last time Mr. Ash saw and actually shot a buck, he was just 14, he says. He had the head mounted, and to this day it decorates his modest apartment, also in Chelsea. He has lived there all his years in Manhattan. He noted how his far-west neighborhood had shifted from industrial warehouses to sophisticated art galleries. “I feel ridiculous going hunting in the fall,” he said. “I don’t look like the local scene in my hunting outfit and shotgun in a case.” At the toll booth for the Henry Hudson Bridge, heading toward the Bronx, a toll collector greeted Mr. Ash with a familiar question: “How many miles on this thing?” Nonplussed, Mr. Ash revealed the mileage. “I get this all the time,” he said. He seemed a little weary of the ritual. “Some guy drives along the road, pulls up, toots his horn,” he said a few miles later. “I shoot up into the roof. The driver gives me the thumbs-up. ‘Thanks, buddy, you just scared the hell out of me.’” For Mr. Ash, the silver 280Z is not a relic, a keepsake or a collectible. It is simply his car. He recalled the first time he saw the car. “I was amazed,” he said. “I couldn’t believe it was a Japanese car.” There’s a reason: the 280Z seemed to be patterned on British sports cars like the Jaguar E-Type. (The Datsun brand name was changed to Nissan in the early 1980s.) It had a long hood that housed a 2.8-liter in-line 6-cylinder engine. The rear fenders bulged. Fast for its day, the 280Z came with 149 horsepower. Mr. Ash said that in his younger years he challenged a Porsche 911 on the highway. “Until it got to 100 miles per hour, I thought I was faster,” he said. The Datsun could reach 130, but he said: “I never took it to 130. I’ve taken it to 120. That’s enough. Never force it.” Outside the window, the blur of brick buildings gave way to greenery. Mr. Ash maintained a brisk and steady pace, willing to wind the motor in empty stretches of road. “I like listening to the engine,” he said. He had a good point. Even to an unsophisticated ear, the engine sounded strong and smooth. After all these years and miles, it is one part of the car that has been left untouched, said Mr. Ash, though he has had the timing chain replaced. Rust, on the other hand, is a constant concern; after all, it is a Japanese car from the 1970s. For that, Mr. Ash keeps cans of undercoat in his closet. And when he takes the car in for service, he will probe the undercarriage with a flashlight while it’s on a lift and spray lubricant on the blemishes. Every two to three years, the car requires a more significant amount of work. Two years ago, Mr. Ash replaced the old springs with Nissan performance springs. He also added sway bars to improve the handling. “Through the years, it developed a wiggle,” he said. The sway bars have tightened the chassis and made the car more drivable. “This is a hard-riding car,” he noted. While the 280Z has let him down just once — a faulty wire in the engine bay left him stranded near Tarrytown — he acknowledges a whine emanating from the rear end of the car. “It’s always had a whine, from the first drive from Binghamton,” he said. “It’s part of the character of the car — though it’s gotten louder.”

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a rainbow of z's, wish i coulda made it! thanks for those pictures

is anyone going to this?