2ManyZs

They have some really nice looking parts and kits. A little on the pricey side, but if the quality is good they are probably worth it. I've been considering their convertible kit for years, just don't have a car to do it to yet.

Actually, from all I've read the air horns on the stock backing plate of the air cleaner flow as well as most any air horns. Perhaps an easy way to try it would be to use the stock air cleaner with a K&N filter in it. Then use light gauge tubing to run up to the radiator support where you already have a large round hole, then connect it to the stock air cleaner intake. Or take off the "snout" on the stock air cleaner and connect a larger one to the air cleaner housing and then plumb that into the tubing. If you can find an extra air cleaner and a little bit of tubing and a piece of hose to connect them, it would be a cheap mod and might actually help increase the hp, maybe not enough to feel in the "seat-of-the-pants" but every little bit helps.

I wouldn't drill any extra holes in the drum unless you are planning to replace it. You will certainly weaken it to the point of it being unuseable. If you have unhooked the emergency brake cable and backed off the brake adjuster as far as it will go and it still won't move, there is one other thing to try first before you destroy the drum. Try using a narrow flat file along the edge of the hub in the center of the drum. Sometimes this will get swaged to the point that it will be very difficult to mount or dismount the drum. There should be a very small lip there you could run the file around if the drum is completely seated against the hub. This will get rid of any lip the drum could be hanging up on and may possibly let the penetrating oil get in behind the drum to loosen it. Also, you can use a wire brush or one on a drill to remove any rust from around the wheel studs on the front side of the drum. Sometimes the studs will have a large amount of rust build up at their base where they meet the drum. Getting this off will allow the penetrating oil to get in around the studs and will aid in removing the drum. Good luck.

Sounds like there is a wire not connected somewhere if the injectors are not firing. Perhaps somewhere near the distributor or coil, the injectors get their signal from there so that would be the first place to look. I don't have any experience with an EFI installation in an early car, so the only thing I can think of would be to thoroughly retrace all the wiring connections between the computer and the fueil injection itself. Also might want to double check your ground connections while you are at it. BTW, at least the Buick is a classic musclecar. Some of us still have a fondness for old Detroit iron even if we don't like what they put out on the street now!:sick:

Ram air was something everyone wanted to do in ITS years ago, so they wouldn't be using the hot underhood air. Too bad it's not a legal modification huh?:devious:

A Ram Air system uses a hood scoop or just an extension of the air cleaner that gathers outside air and forces it into the intake. It can work with the SU air cleaner if you extended it ahead of the radiator support to gather as much cool, outside air as possible. The premise is, the faster the car is traveling, the more air is being forced into the intake. It might increase hp a bit. How much depends on the engine itself and if the air is being taken from a high pressure area and being forced into the air cleaner. It wouldn't hurt to try, just to see how much could be gained. Just take a length of tubing from ahead of the radiator support to the air cleaner, but you will need to remember to use a high flow air filter like a K&N or you will be trying to cram air through a filter that will restrict the air flow. I think the Firebird and Camaro's with the Ram Air system typically are rated at 15-25hp more than without, of course they usually had other mods so the actual gain would likely be less. You would also need to address the exhaust at the same time, more air in needs a better way out.

If you are going to put a header on, I would suggest a 2 1/2 inch exhaust and a turbo muffler. I had the twice pipes on a stock manifold and they did get a bit too loud. I think with a header they would even be louder. You shouldn't have to do anything to the engine with just a header and better exhaust. Only thing might be to put a K&N air filter in it, so that it will breathe a bit easier. You'll be "passing gas" better with the header and exhaust, so it stands to reason you should try to increase the amount of air into the engine. The FI should compensate for the mods on it's own, better than carbs at least where you might have to change the mixture to compensate for the leaner combustion caused by a larger volume of air passing through the engine. More air with the same amount of fuel would lean it out, so with the FI you should have "No worries, Mate"

Well, if the rust is only on the inside you might try to have it re-sealed before you go to the trouble of putting another tank on it. There is a company that does this, or you could try a kit from Eastwoods and do it yourself. I think the web-site is www.gastankrenu.com. There is no guarantee another tank from a car a couple years younger than yours is going to be in any better shape inside to be truthful. As long as yours is in good shape on the outside with no bad case of rust or dents, you might want to try repairing yours. Not sure what they charge to do it, but the kit from Eastwoods is not too expensive. And of course, while you have the tank off for repairs or replacement, don't forget to replace the vent hoses while you have it off if they haven't been done already.

Yes, the glass tends to not last very long in the twice pipes. When they burn out, it is loud. Too loud for me, I had to take mine off since the neighbors called the cops on me, plus got pulled over two or three times, and after a while I couldn't stand the noise. Funny, how these Harley riders can run a straight pipe and no one seems to care. Let a car have a burned out set of glass packs on it and you would think even though it is perfectly legal, you ought to be able to run them. NOT! Sounds great if you get on it, but after a while it is very tiresome. BTW, the twice pipes use a 1 3/4 inch or so diameter pipe, so the small diameter of the pipes adds to the "scream" of the L in "anger".

Hmm, or to keep him in till he is properly "punished"! That is a very nice courtyard, too bad it's an "excercise yard" for Steve.:cheeky: Bet if he used a wide angle lens you would see a gun tower off to one side, I notice there is a spotlight in the background!:stupid:

Only one question pops into my mind. Why do you live behind "bars"? Are they to keep you in or out?:devious:

I do know the 280 tanks are larger by almost a full gallon. Not sure about the 260 tanks, the late 260 may have had the same tank as the 280 and the early 260 may be the same as the 240. When they went to FI they may have substituted the larger tank. Any tank from 73 or before should fit your 71 with no problem. Early tanks are 16 gallons, and I believe the 280 tanks are 16.8.

If it isn't electrical in nature, the only other thing it could be is that the float has loosened on the shaft and slid. This would be the only other thing that would give a false reading. Clean the electrical contacts, and if it doesn't help, pulling the sending unit might be the only other alternative. BTW, all the tanks I have seen have had a lot of rust, or the tank was sprayed with undercoating. Either way, it would be a major culprit in the electrical problems if there are any.

In addition to the bolts in the front, there are bolts on either side near the ends. Finding them can be tough if there is a lot of built up dirt and debris built up over the years. They are below the marker light, close to the seam where the headlight bucket attaches to the fender. If you have a 240, you can unbolt the bumper mount itself from the inner body under the hood hinges, or you can unbolt the mount from the bumper itself. It's a bit easier to take the bolts from the mounting bracket on the frame, the ones behind the bumper can be a pain if they are rusted badly.

Thought I had your answer in my parts car. I knew it was all stock, perhaps too original. The coil is so rusted, can't read anything on it. Only got a tag on the bottom that says Made in Japan. Maybe with a little scotch brite I can see if anything is imprinted on the housing. I'll try, but no guarantees.:cross-eye

Sorry, only thing to make it sound like a V-8 would be to put a V-8 in it. Firing order, number of cylinders, and the exhaust pulses of a V-8 only happen in a V-8. A lower, deeper, tone can be had by large diameter pipe, and a turbo muffler. Not the "tinny" or high pitched wail like you would get from small diameter pipe(or pipes) and a glass pack or straight thru muffler. Headers will help more than hurt. Once on, checking the mixture is always a good idea as it may lean out the cylinders since they(the header) are scavenging the exhaust better.

Darn, did ya have to warn him? I thought we would leave that as a surprise. Now all he has to do is get the other 999! Sorry Michael, I have the pics you want,and you can't have them!:tapemouth :cheeky:

Actually, I don't need them. I just thought a better description might help to sell them. I might be interested in the hand brake boot if you don't sell them as a set. Already have the shift boots. :cross-eye

Well, can't answer the CG question unless I find the diagram. As far as whether or not to cut the upper bump stops, that depends on how you plan to use the car. If it's a street only car, I wouldn't bother. If you plan on the occasional autoX I would go ahead and trim off 1/2 to 3/4 inch, especially if you are using the Eibach progressive springs. The progressives get stiffer the more they are compressed, so by increasing the travel available you will get to use the springs the way they are designed. If they are the single rate it might not be as important, since they will be the same rate through the whole travel.

Inner or outer shift boot? Is it the original equipment type or the ZX style shift boot? How much you need to get for them?

You haven't been talking to yourself, or have you? Must be you have because you have "rooted" out the problem on your own. :classic: Been so busy lately, I haven't been able to answer much. Have been reading your posts, but you so far have found the answer before anyone had a chance to reply. That's good. I'd try re-splicing the wire with a slightly heavier gauge than what is there, or if possible replace it from one end to the other. If that doesn't completely cure the problem, then the coil itself would be the next on my "suspect" list. See, you don't need us as much as you thought.

Jim Cook racing used to have them, but since he is no longer Z specific in his business that may be a long shot. I believe you can get them through Ground Control. MSA has adjustable end links available for the stock type bars with two different settings, and they are quite cheap if you already have a set of bars you like but want to try a little adjustability. They are about 40 something a pair so compared to probably 200+ for a true adjustable sway bar they might be just the ticket. BTW, most adjustable bars merely have an adjustable end link, just a different end on the bar where it connects to the end link.

Cutting the bump stop on the top insulator only does one thing. It increases the amount of suspension travel available. When you put on lowering springs such as these, you only reduce the distance between the spring perches with a shorter spring, therefore you have less available travel. By cutting a small amount of the bump stop on the top, you increase the distance the strut cartridge can compress before the strut housing hits the bump stop. It has nothing to do with the amount of lowering you get, that is all dependant on the type of spring you choose. The only other way to increase the amount of wheel travel is to shorten the strut housing and use a shorter strut insert and move the lower spring perch upwards or use coil-overs. The bottom bump steer spacer may not be as critical with a small 1 inch lowering as it is with a large amount of lowering such as you would get from other lowering springs or coil-overs. I believe since the tie rods and rack are in front of the control arm it affects the Z more than cars where the tie rods or rack are behind the control arm. hmsports is correct in his assessment of why you need to use the bump steer spacers. You could try a one inch lowering without them to see if the handling is affected in such a way as to make the car a handful. The understeer problem will be exxagerated by the sway bars you choose also, so with or without the bump steer spacers is likely to need two totally different sway bar set ups. Unfortunately after an hour of searching I still can't find the drawing of the suspension geometry and how it is affected by lowering. I think it may have been in an old parts catalog, perhaps one of MSA's old catalogs.

You have a good start on what you need to do to as far as solving the problem. Couple other things to check would be the wheel bearings, are they tightened correctly? You could also have a warped rotor or dragging caliper that is exaggerating a slight looseness in the wheel bearing. The inner tie rod ends could be suspect. Or the amount of play in the rack itself. The T/C rod bushings shouldn't be doing this during cornering since the forces of cornering are being put on the new bushings (ie. the control arm is pushed back towards the mount) so if the bushings are tightened correctly this probably isn't the problem. If you have the same tire and wheel combo front and rear you could try swapping them front to back just to see if there is any difference. If the steering wheel doesn't shake under braking, it isn't the caliper rotor problem. During braking is when you would also see the T/C rod bushing question answered. Most likely it is either wheel bearing torque or possibly condition if they are not new, or it's in the steering rack inner tie rod ends or rack itself.

I had a set many years ago, so if my memory serves me I believe it's 1 3/4 pipe.