Jeff G 78

If I had any lawn mowers, or other small engines, I would drain the tank, but I have nothing to burn it in these days. When I moved to AZ, I sold off all of my gas powered equipment. As for debris in the tank, I have a '78, so I was able to pull the sender and see inside the tank. It looks perfectly clean, so I don't think I have anything to worry about there. The sender looked like new with no signs of varnish. I did clean and seal the tank about 15 years ago and it looks just like it did after I finished. I will replace the fuel filter once all the old fuel has been run through. The underbody hoses are all original, but I'm guessing most people on here are in the same boat. I did replace all of the underhood hoses and injector hoses about 20 years ago when I replaced the injectors.

The hydraulics are good. Before I woke it up in 2021, I flushed the brake fluid, but I forgot to do the clutch. After a few miles of driving in AZ, the clutch slave puked. I replaced the clutch slave and flushed a bunch of fluid through the system. I did buy a new clutch master just in case, but it will sit on the shelf for now. The brakes feel great, so for now, I will just monitor. I'll probably flush the brake fluid again when I get a chance. I will probably go ahead and fill the tank with fresh gas.

I got the Z's title changed over to AZ and plated it today, so I gave it a maiden voyage of sorts. Before I went, I pulled the fuel sender to see if the tank was clean or a disaster and get a good sense of how the 13 year old fuel smelled. The fuel has just a whiff of old smell, but it's surprisingly mild and still smell like gasoline and not varnish. The sender came out spotless and the tank is clean as well. Sta-Bil is amazing stuff! The fuel gauge reads about 1/4 tank and there is about 4" of fuel in the tank. I've only put 61 miles on it since I filled it 13 years ago, so I'm not sure if some evaporated. The car ran amazingly well tonight for very old gas. The oil pressure is perfect, temp is right where it should be, the alternator is charging, the fuel gauge seems to work and the clock still keeps time. Just to be safe, I did take a fire extinguisher which I will keep in the car for a while. It has no leaks now and the exhaust sounds pretty decent. It isn't too loud, but has a nice tone. So far, I haven't heard any drone, but I didn't get over about 50 mph on the surface streets. I did a 20 minute drive and tucked it away for the night. I'm torn between filling the tank now, or running the old fuel down via short drives before I put fresh gas in it. I'm not as worried about the old fuel based on how well it runs. It idles smoothly at 700 rpm and accelerates cleanly. It doesn't have the higher RPM power it should, but I'll accept that.

I think you meant to say +25.4 offset. I can tell by looking at your wheels that they are not negative offset. GLWS.

My Z is off the jackstands after I installed a new MSA exhaust and replaced the RMS, trans output seal and the speedo cable O ring. For anybody struggling to fit the MSA exhaust, after I cut 1" out of the Z bend pipe, and played with the rest for a while, I got it to fit very well. The front OE hanger that hangs the exhaust from the trans needs to be modified to fit the larger pipe and larger U bolt. 10 minutes with a die grinder and it fit great. I modified the bracket so that the top of the pipe was in the same spot so it didn't move up closer to the crossmember. The short straight pipe they give you goes behind the long pipe. If you try to put it behind the header, the angles are all wrong. Finally, the rear hanger is way too short for a 280Z. I had to add another strap. This week, I will put collector car insurance on it, change the title over from AZ to MI, and get collector car plates. In AZ, they are made of copper. I can actually start driving it again!

Yes, but the drivetrain was from a Toranado. 455 CID. My dad had one about five years ago.

I installed the missing U bolt clamps and changed the engine oil before I fired it up to see if it had any leaks or groundouts. It's still on jack stands and there is no oil in the trans, so I kept the clutch disengaged. I think it sounds really good at idle and throttle blips. Time will tell if I have any drone, but maybe the heat and beat I had to do will break up the sound waves enough to keep the drone away. 🙂

I got my 2-1/2" collector from Jegs, so I got the exhaust on today. The AZ Z Car header is terrible. The outlet points right at the trans cross member, so I had to heat and beat the MSA pipe a lot to get it to fit. I modified the OE exhaust hanger to fit the 2-1/2" pipe and, of course, I had shortened the Z pipe between the axle and the muffler. Overall, the system now fits great everywhere except right behind the header, where it is still too tight to the trans crossmember. I just need to go buy two more exhaust clamps. I ordered MT90 (or so I thought) from Amazon and it arrived this morning. I opened the box and saw MTL. Somehow, I put the wrong one in the cart, so back it goes. My MT90 will be here tomorrow, so I can't get it off the jackstands and hear the exhaust yet.

I've read that the VR1 10W30 doesn't have as much ZDDP as 10W40. I also read somewhere that they quit making 10W40. I think 20W50 is too heavy for our upcoming temps. I guess 10W30 it is...

I always used VR1 in my race car with great results. When it was super hot out, I'd run 20W50, but I'd usually run 10W40. I am trying to buy some now for my street Z and I cannot find it anywhere. They still sell 10W30 and 20W50 on Amazon, but the 10W40 seems to be gone. Valvoline's website still shows 10W40 VR1, so it's not discontinued. When I lived in MI, my local Napa store always carried all viscosities of VR1, but in AZ, I can't find anybody that stocks it at all. Amazon only has 20W50 and 10W30. Here in AZ, the Fall/Winter temps range from lows of 30F to highs in the 80's, so I think 10W40 is still the best viscosity. Should I keep looking, or switch to something else that's easier to find?

I found an old roll of vacuum hose in my toolbox and it seems like it will work, but the ID feels a tad bigger than the original hose and the OD is much larger. The box is marked 7/64" It will work for now, but it still doesn't seem like the correct match. I only care about the OD where it goes through the firewall grommet. The thick wall hose will never go through.

My vacuum hoses are all cracked. Can somebody tell me what size they are? I'm measuring 7/32" OD, but I can't get a good ID.

The orange is a special edition and they are impossible to find. Dealers think they are made of gold. I can't afford a new Z, and frankly, I'm not sure I'd want one. The GR86 weighs 800 lbs. less than the Z which makes it more playful. The Z is a nice car, but it's just too big for me. I am sad to see the 996 go, but at nearly 150,000 miles, it should be a weekend car now and not a daily driver. I don't have the garage space, or money to keep it and buy another car.

Here is a random pic off the interwebz. I got a red premium manual trans. Dealers in AZ want $10k over sticker, so I found one in Ohio for sticker and I'll have it shipped out to AZ. The new Z and the Supra are $15k - $20k more than the GR86 and they weigh much more.

I made good progress today in my effort to get the 280Z back on the road after a long nap. I pulled the trans and replaced the rear main seal, the trans output shaft seal, clutch release arm boot, replaced the speedo pinion and replaced the O ring, and got the trans back in. Working alone on jack stands sucks. 30 years ago, I could just pull the trans by hand and drop it on my chest, but I'm older and weaker now, so I just used a floor jack to lower the trans. I thought installing it would be much worse, but I made two alignment dowels which worked great. I cut the heads off two long hardware store bolts, cut a slot in the end and rounded the edges. I made one bolt longer than the other and I screwed them into the two lower block holes. I put the longer one in the hole with the dowel. With the two alignments pins in place, I could get the trans started over the long pin and then rotate the trans to match the second pin. Once lined up, I slid the trans right in. It was the easiest trans install I've ever done. I'm taking Monday off work, so I will install the starter, driveshaft, shifter, console, speedo cable, and add MT90. From there I just have to wait for an order to show up from Jegs with the 2-1/2" 3-bolt flange collector so I can finish the exhaust install. My daily driver 911 is sold and ships to Georgia in a few days. I bought a new GR86, but it won't arrive until mid-November. I'll be borrowing cars until the Z is on the road and once it is, it will be my DD for at least 6 weeks. Hopefully, I don't find a bunch of other things that need attention. I briefly considered getting a few year old 370Z, but The GR86 is more like the original 240Z. It weighs about the same as a 280Z and has 228hp, so it should be a fun DD. The 1st gen didn't do anything for me, but the 2nd gen is better in every way.

It looks like I will be busy under the 280Z this weekend. I just got a deposit to sell my daily driver, so I need to get my Z reliable enough to drive to work for a while. I still need to get the new exhaust finished, drop the trans and replace the rear main seal, trans output shaft seal, speedo cable seals, and go through everything else that might need attention. I haven't driven it much at all in the past 13 years. Wish me luck.

Mine clears at both of those places. I think that's why it is closer to the trans crossmember.

My plan is to add a resonator and a stainless steel braided flex pipe. The flex pipe takes some stress off the exhaust manifold studs. The system is okay for now. I need to get a flanged 2-1/2" adapter so I can mate the exhaust to my 6 into 1 header. The old adapter I had was a 2". I did have to give the front pipe some heat and beat to clear the trans mount. The header points right at it, so without a few more bends, it wouldn't have fit.

My welding skills are not great. I am okay where there was no gap, but I keep blowing holes while trying to fill the void. About half the circumference was tight together , but there was a 1/16" gap in parts. I'm getting there, but lots more grinding than I should need. 😆

Much better with 1" cut out. Still not a great fit, but it doesnt hit the body. 1-1/2" might have been better, but I'll live with it. This MSA chrome tip is a POS compared to the rolled version. I will find something better.

Here is the cut plan.

Here are some new pics. With the system installed as directed, the muffler is against the body and will not rotate to the left. I have no choice but to cut an inch out and reweld the pipe.

That sounds exactly like mine. I figured cutting an inch out of the center of the Z pipe would help a lot. The long underbody pipe fits poorly, but I might be able to live with it.

That's about the angle i tried. My outlet is at least an inch to the left compared to that pic. The left side of the muffler is against the body. If I move it to the center of the cutout, the pipe is below the diff and very low at the front diff crossmember.

You have the flanged kit. Mine is a slip fit, so the pipes can only go one direction. I have the pipe right against the trimmed diff and the muffler is too far outboard. As I rotate the pipe up, the top of the muffler is tight to the body, yet still is outboard. The long center pipe is touching the steel NVH damper bolted to the front diff crossmember. I will put the muffler back on and take pics this morning.