2ManyZs

jcdozier, what springs have you got on your car?? My 280 ITS car is only an inch lower (24 inches) on 225/60 14's. Now I know why you have a urethane air dam.

I believe it was Alphadog who started a thread about speaker locations but I'll be darned if I can find it now. There were some pics of speaker mounting so if you have the patience you might want to search for the thread and take a look at the mounting for the front speakers. I believe the thread was titled sound, not sure which forum though, maybe open forums or Help Me. Only bad thing about putting a new stereo into a Z-car is the small number of choices in the old style post mountings, everything now is a DIN mount so you may have to do a bit of cutting on your console to mount one.

I see no reason it couldn't be done, might be a little time consuming but it probably would be worth the effort as long as the chrome plating is in good shape. The chrome plating usually peels off before the paint so that is possibly the reason most people just replace them. Just find a good automotive aerosol paint, or you might try one with a brush to see how it looks. I would imagine it would be quite difficult to mask off some of the areas that you don't want to paint on some of the emblems. You might try a liquid mask, put it on with a small brush and then you could spray the background, or if you have an airbrush you could try it that way. Let us know how it works, if you decide to do it and if possible post a before and after pic. Then perhaps a few more of us might get off our duffs and try it ourselves.

I'm not offended, I just took the opportunity to be a wise a-- myself. Now, if I could just find a good corner to put these unruly pupils into............... Oh, say HI to kmack when you pass the principals office will you? I had to send him there the other day and he hasn't been seen since.

I've got another idea, why not take an old hood, get one of the Chevy style cowl induction scoops and bond it on to the hood? But before you bond it on the hood open up a good sized opening under the scoop? Since the cowl induction scoop faces the cowl, the amount of water being sucked into the engine bay would be reduced to a very small amount. Might get some while sitting in the rain or when you wash the car, but some already gets in there anyway. There are fiberglass hoods you can buy with the cowl induction raised center but I don't know if there would be a way to make it functional. BTW, they do look good on a Z. There are a couple places you can get just the hood scoop in fiberglass and you could go from there. Just another thought from a tired mind.......:sleep:

Your question needs a little clarification. You say the pressure of the new strut in the front, did you replace the rear struts too? If not, then that could be a small part of the rear sagging a little lower than the front. About the only thing I can think of to lower your front to the height of the rear is to cut maybe 1/2 coil off the front springs, but then you might end up being nose low. The lowering springs in the front would do the trick but then you would have a bit stiffer springs in the front compared to the back. That's the way it should be anyways, so if you could find a pair of just the front springs it might be worth a try. However, before you consider this just as a warning. Not all lowering springs have the same amount of drop, in fact it has been my experience that some lowering springs will leave you in the same position (rear end low) when putting the lowering springs on all four corners. Perhaps the best alternative would be a set of rear lowering springs on the front, that way the spring rates would end up close to the stock variation. BTW, I have a 72 sitting on my trailer, with stock springs, and stock size tires and wheels and I measure 26 1/2 inches front and rear.

It's possible that your linkage may be the problem. Check to make sure it is returning to the stops. Might be the springs are stretched a little bit too. You might want to invest in the ZTherapy video for tuning your carbs, much simpler than trying to read it in a book. Another slight possibility is that your timing might be set a degree or two too far advanced. If you have not checked it you might want to see what it is, and check your vacuum advance at the same time.

ATTENTION CLASS!! I did not put the 240 into the embankment. The only time I put the 280 off the track I did hit the bank in a slow speed loop. Notice, I said my 280, with the big armored bumpers! Bangin second gear on a wet track in the rain,plus a spot of oil on the track made for a quick, harmless spin. I have never even driven the 240 as yet, since it was already crunched when I bought it. Thank you class, you may now resume your studies.

It is possibly the voltage regulator that needs to replaced. The alternator should put out pretty close to the same voltage all the time, it's the voltage regulator that controls the output to the battery and various systems. They can be adjusted but most people just replace them as they are not expensive. You can probably pick one up at Pep Boys etc. for under 20 dollars. Try that and see if that helps.

Doug, it is possible to put the hood vents into an earlier hood. Yes, you have to cut holes in your hood and then drill holes for the mounting bolts(4). Like Daniel said though, it will allow water to enter the engine compartment, but it will also let hot air escape after you turn the engine off. It's a trade off. You should be able to find a set of hood vents without much problem if you decide you want them, in fact somewhere in all my parts boxes I have a pair. I got them years ago to put on a car then decided I didn't want to cut the holes in the hood. Or you could just find a later hood if that is possible. And to answer a leter question, a "pull fan is a little more efficient as it will circulate the underhood air better than a "push" fan. It may not draw the air as well thru radiator as a pusher, but a pusher won't circulate air under the hood as well as the pull fan. It's a toss up, but any fan will draw much more air if it is in a shroud.

Well, my racing experience with a Z is racing in a class that didn't allow any type of rear spoilers. In my opinion you will never get a Z up to the type of speeds that you really will notice any effect from a rear spoiler as far as downforce. Too big and you increase the drag, so the big question is what do you like the looks of? Dan is right. The single biggest aero add on you can put on a Z is the front airdam. If you have ever driven a Z with the stock valence on the interstate you will notice a bit of lift in the front and the car will tend to wander. The front airdam will not only look a little better, but they actually do work. You would need to get the car up over 125mph to see any benefit at all from a rear spoiler, but you will notice the difference a front spoiler makes at speeds as low as 50mph. I've had my 280Z somewhere between 110 and 120 on the main straight at the track without a rear spoiler with no problem, but I know it would have been scary at that speed without a front airdam.:eek:

The simplest way to tell a 240 door from a 280 door is to look for the side guard door beam. Open the door (or look near the latch), on the outside seam where the outer door skin is crimped around you will see a raised portion about 4 or 5 inches wide. If it has the raised portion you are looking at a 280 door. No raise, it's a 240 or early 260. The latch differences are so slight you may not notice.

Well, I looked through two factory manuals before I found it. 6 ft/lbs for the camshaft locating plate bolts. Since the only other bolts on the camshaft is the sprocket bolt I guess that these must be the cam tower mounting bolts (why they didn't call them that to make it easier?).

I guess they didn't have a Pinto body laying around, or perhaps the Gremlin was a little too "tame". :tapemouth

Most everything you will need you will be able to purchase thru MSA, VB or one of the other Z parts suppliers. However, at times you may find that some items aren't available (weatherstriping, and emblems are just a couple) from time to time. In time you should be able to find everything. Good luck with your project. It may take time to do the job right, but with a little patience you should be able bring your car back to its old glory.

Welcome ranz. Hope you enjoy the site and the people that "live" here. 240znz, at least we here in North America can spell aluminium correctly!! Got Ya. Gee, I always thought we did drive on the right side of the road, don't you guys drive on the left???

Hey, it could be worse, you could have put a set of those el cheapo twice pipes on like I did on my first Z. You should have heard it two weeks later when the glass burned out of the "mufflers". I think you will get used to it, I did very quickly, now I won't have a Z without at least 2 1/4 or 2 1/2 pipe and a turbo muffler. BTW, if you want to hear something pretty loud, come and listen to my 280 with a straight 2 1/2 pipe with no muffler. Sounded oh so sweet at about 6500 rpm's under the bridge at Summit Point.

There is an article in the old Z CAR magazine where the author built up a short stroke motor and had a custom intake built for triple SU's. Nov 1997 issue. Of course it didn't hurt that his father-in-law owned a foundry so he made up wooden patterns and had a custom intake manifold built for the center carb.

On US models there is a round hood badge, a Datsun emblem on each front fender, a badge behind each 1/4 window and on the hatch it should have 2 badges. One says Datsun and one for the model. Some of the later 280's had a 5 speed emblem on the hatch instead of the model badge I believe. Not sure about cars other than the US spec cars, hope this is an answer to your question.

I don't think I've ever heard of anyone even wanting a 3:15 diff until now. I kinda doubt you could even get this one new anymore, most if not all r&p kits sold were lower and not higher. Sorry, but this one might be like trying to find the last surving member of an endangered species in the Amazon.:tapemouth

Well Dan, the quickest, easiest, and cheapest solution in your HP quest will be to unbolt your head from the L-24 and bolt it on to an L-28 short block.

I agree with Royce. If you have invested the money in the ZTherapy SU's you already have all the carb you will need. Triples would be just more money and then you would have to spend even more on engine mods to make them work as well as what you have. Just a second opinion.........

Well, I won't go into the Quaiffe issue. Got to www.zhome.com and look for a technical article there that goes into great detail on the Quaiffe diff. Their web-site I believe is www.quaiffeusa.com Yes, the R-200 is heavier since it has a larger ring and pinion hence the larger heavier case. Is an R-200 needed in an early Z-car? IMO, no, unless you are planning a V-8 swap in which case it will be a necessity since the R-180 won't hold up to the torque for long. An R-200 is not hard to put into a 240. You need the 280 moustache bar and lower transverse link. The bolt pattern is a little different on the moustache bar and the transverse link is curved to clear the larger diff. You will also need a front mount for an R-200, plus the flanges will have to be changed to mount up to the 240 halfshafts and driveshaft as I believe the flanges are not compatible. The early 280 5 speed has slightly different ratios than the later 280zx 5 speeds. Most people will agree that the later ratios are better. These are the non turbo 280zx transmissions not the later T-5 transmissions that came in the turbo's. I have the ratios here somewhere so that you can compare them but can't find the list. I believe the overdrive is higher in the zx trans. and there are slight differences in a couple other gears. I believe the zx trans has a lower 1st gear as well.

Only thing I see in March is the SoCal Dyno Day. ?????

Well Mike, I didn't do it. I purchased a friends race car and all his parts from his widow about a year and a half after the accident. He was going to rebuild the white 72 (in my garage pic) with all the stuff from the IT car and have a hot rod for the street. Unfortunately he never had the chance too, so when I saw his wife was selling all his Z's and parts instead of someone who never met Russ buying them I decided I would bring them home with me. That's why my garage got filled up so quick.:eek: And one of the reasons I haven't fixed the IT car and gone back racing is because it just wouldn't be as much fun as it used to be with the old gang there.