Jeff G 78

My DD is an '89 Toyota 4x4 pickup and next to it is my wife's '97 Toyota 4Runner. Then of course, there is my Z.

The car looks fine, but why would you want to use a Ford Modular engine? It is HUGE and heavy. There are plenty of better choices for motor swaps than that one. A simple SBC would be far easier and come out better. To answer your question, YES the L24 is an interference engine.

Hee, hee. Yes, otherwise it would be a short journey.

Yep, it only runs in the start position in a '78.

I did the POR 15 treatment on my Z's tank almost three years ago and it is holding up fine so far. It was a lot of work to do it, but the results are worth it. My Z was stored for years with very little fuel in the tank and it had surface rust on the entire inside of the tank. What was below the fuel level was all varnish and nasty flaky crud. I used muriatic acid first with several lengths of chain in the tank to get the majority of the rust and gunk out. I then did the POR 15 kit EXACTLY per the directions. It was a long, backbreaking process, but I would make the same decision again. Highly recommended.

Are you asking me srbigbutt? If so, they are Panasports. I really wanted +6mm offset like MSA sold, but they kept raising the prices and then discontinued the gunmetal color. I found a set of zero offset wheels from a Panasport distributor that was closing up shop. This was the last set he had. I still paid a lot, but much less than MSA was getting. The springs are Tokicos and the shocks are Tokico Illuminas. I haven't measured my ride height lately, but shortly after the spring/damper swap, each corner was exactly 1" lower than it was with the stock springs. I now have about 4000 miles on it since the swap and it looks just a hair lower. As far as the ride, it would be fine in any state other than Michigan. Our roads really suck here and so the ride is really poor at times. It really hates frost heaves. We have monster sized heaves here and they really jolt the car. Even the best riding cars have a tough time here, but my Z is the worst thing I've driven on Michigan "roads". As soon as the road smooths out to something that does not resemble the moon, the ride is very tollerable. I think the poly bushings do more to hurt the impact harshness than the springs or shocks. I am considering going back to rubber on the TC rods to help it absorb the rough stuff.

Your Z looks a lot better when lowered! I run 225/50R16 Hankooks on 16x7 zero offset wheels and they rub even with the lips rolled. I need to trim the lip back and roll what's left even further. It doesn't rub during normal daily driving, but hard cornering and large dips will make it rub. I can't take it on a track until I completely eliminate the rub. Here are some pics that I took today. The rear isn't really as low as it looks. The car was sitting on uneven gravel so the left rear is compressed more than the right.

I got a confirmation that we do not have to register if we are attending ONLY the car show. Of course you should buy lots of souveniers to help them pay for the event.

BTW, the tool bin cutouts are still in the floor with the wood false floor, they just don't have the doors bolted on to them.

I have had all years from '75 thru '78. The earlier 280's have a different fuel tank shape which allow the spare to fit under a hardboard circle that spans the tire well. The later 280's have a collapsable spare which sticks up well above the sheet metal. They added stanchions which are about 3" tall to support a full wooden floor to cover the tire as well as hide the tools and jack. The wood is very heavy, but does a great job of hiding stereo equipment. If not for that, I would ditch the wood and spare tire and go with an inflator kit only.

I sent an email and will post the answers when they reply. Like I said, I don't mind supporting the cause, but $85 is a lot to spend for attending only the show.

For a follow-up question, do we even need to register if we are only going to view the car show? I don't mind supporting the event, but if it turns out that I can only make it for the show, I'd rather not pay the registration fee for the opening and closing ceremonies. I'll buy a few shirts and such while I'm there. If it turns out I can make it on Monday, I will gladly register.

My car has the right parts to be a track star someday, but I have a bunch of work to do before I would try it. I still have heavy tire rub under hard cornering or full wheel travel, my brake pads and shoes are close to 25 years old :paranoid: and I have a driveline vibration under acceleration that I can't seem to fix. I haven't replaced the rear wheel bearings yet either, so that is another good reason to wait before tracking it. My car sat for five years before I bought it way back in 1990 and I just got it on the road for the first time last year. Even though I have rebuilt or replaced nearly everything on it, there are still weak or unknown parts. For example, I can drive in slow traffic all day and it stays cool, but it runs a bit warm (on the gauge at least) at speeds above 80mph. I'm guessing that I am building up a layer of stale air in front of the radiator. With some close-out panels and proper sealing, the airflow should improve. I wish I had the time and money to fix everything at once, but there are too many other things emptying my wallet. :disappoin

Hey Tomohawk, Is there additional info somewhere about the schedule of events? I can't find any additional info on the poker run other than the start and end times. Also, on the registration form, I'm a bit confused about the car show. Are the fees only required for car registration? I will likely only be able to be there for a few days, unfortunately. I think I can make the opening banquet and car show. I'd love to do Mid-O, but my car isn't quite track worthy yet. I still need to sort a few things.

Since I have not attended any national meets, I always wondered how people figure out who is who. There are certain members with recognizable cars, but most are not and everybody is wandering around anyways rather than hanging around by their car. Is there a nickname/nametag system in place? Between the IZCC, zcar and this site, I have been online for over ten years, but I have never met any of the people I consider my friends. I would hate to attend the meet only to miss meeting everybody. Even at our local club events, it is tough to figure out who is who when many people are only known by an obscure online nickname. :bandit:

I am going to try to make it. I have to make sure the schedule works out, but I think I can do it.

I had a crack in mine about 1-1/2" long that started at the ashtray opening. I scuffed it up and used JB Weld on the backside and it has held well. There is a tiny hairline showing on the top, but you have to be looking for it to see it. You could probably strengthen it more by adding a piece of cloth in the epoxy.

Thanks Ron, that cleared it right up!

Stephen, That might just be the worst picture I've ever seen. Any chance of getting a clearer one? On my '78, I have just enough room to fit an open end wrench on the plug, but with the car on jackstands, I don't have enough height to fit a cheater bar. I think it would be easy with the car on a hoist. I still haven't had the time to apply heat like Tony suggested. One of these days...

Jack the car up and slide under it. With a long screwdriver you can pop the latch. It won't be easy to see, but you can get it that way.

I am in the same boat. I bought new Redline gear oil and tried to remove the fill plug. With the car on jackstands, there was no way I could get enough leverage to remove the plug. The 17mm wrench wasn't long enough to loosen it while laying on my back. I tried to use an adjustable wrench that was longer, but it was too thick to sit completely square on the plug and wanted to slip. Since the wrench had to be pointed downward, I couldn't add a cheater as there wasn't enough clearance to the ground. I posted the question on another forum and Tony D replied that HEAT is the answer. The plug is coated with thread sealer from the factory which bonds it together making it hard to break loose. I haven't had the time to try it yet, but he said to heat it with MAPP gas to break the sealer down. He also suggested to replace the fill plug with another female drive plug like the drain plug for easier removal in the future. Teflon tape should be used to reseal the threads of both plugs. As soon as I get some free time, I will try heat and see if I can get it off. If I still can't get it, I will take it to my friend's house and put the car on his hoist. That will give me the height for a cheater to be used.

It looks like a good deal to me. I bought six new injectors from Marren and they had a heck of a time finding six that flowed the same. They told me that they had to mix and match several sets to get me a matched set. If you buy MSA injectors, I'm not so sure they would be matched. A non-matched set could lead to lean/rich conditions in some cylinders.

Yep, I had to rewind the DVR to confirm, but it was there for sure.

Yes, I think it was an '85+ unit they sold me.

I went with a mid 80's Maxima alternator. It bolts right up other than the pulley. I got it from an alternator/starter rebuilder. They swapped the pulley and gave me the proper Maxima electrical connector. It tested at 105 amps and cost me around $125 with core cost. Once installed, it looks exactly like the stock alternator and works great. The only thing I had to do was splice in the Maxima connector. In my case, my alternator was bad, so I had to buy one anyway. Upgrading was a no-brainer. I have a decent stereo in my car and will upgrade the headlights someday. Of course, my car is a '78 so it already had an internally regulated alternator. You would have to convert from external. Luckily, that is easily done.