Arne

Yeah, I doubt there are many people here who have ever worked on the flat-tops, most of them get replaced instead. Can you post a picture of what you see in there? Perhaps we can give ideas then.

That would be me, among others as well. You didn't mention what carbs and manifolds you are swapping to. Knowing this will help us point you in the right direction.

The hood is down?

Z cars are very sensitive to tire balance and roundness. Go back to your tire shop and complain.

On the other hand, the reputation for high parts prices for BMWs is bogus, at least for normal maintenance stuff for the older cars. I drove a graymarket '81 323i as my daily driver for 5 years - maintenance and normal repair parts were actually very affordable. (Trim and such is another story. Hold on to your wallet.) In fact, my current family car is a '96 328i, and for the most part the affordability of parts is good there, too. I overhauled the entire cooling system (new water pump, radiator, hose, belts, t-stat and t-stat housing) for a total of $250. Try doing that on your Z. But then again, neither of the cars you mention will drive like the Z does. The CS is a relaxed touring car, not a sports car. And while I love early 911's, I'm not certain it would be satisfying in the same way as the Z.

Hard to call this off-topic. Godspeed, Carl...

Looks like I may have bad info. It now looks as if it might work.

The car those pictures are from (nwcubsman) is a '73, which came with the electric pump from the factory. My early '71 has the wires and connector, but it is unused and there is no fuse holder or clips on the side of the fusebox.

I'm pretty certain that the connectors for the '71 switch are not the same as for the '73. You may be able to get it to work if you re-wire things a little, though.

The Wheelskins are great, and add a considerable amount to the rim thickness. I've used them on OE wheels with much thinner rims than your 280Z, and like them a lot.

On a 5.5" wide Maxima wheel like those, and desiring to get the height close to stock for proper speedo calibration, go with 195/70-14, or 205/65-14 (if you can find something you like in that size).

Mine (10/70) is similar to the left one. The defrost logo is painted, the parking light emblem is not, and the throttle slot is full length, although if you look closely you can still see the remnants of the adhesive from the black tape that covered it way back when.

How about Arizona Z Car springs? They are definitely not progressive, have that 180 front/200 rear spring rate, and are reasonably priced. http://www.arizonazcar.com/springs.html

The number of turns we all use will vary depending upon the exact float level per carb. For example, my carbs are about a half a turn different from front to rear. No two cars are likely to have the same settings, even if they are identical set-ups. The 2.5 turns out is a convenient starting point, you need to fine tune both carbs independently from there.

There's another possibility as well. What if the addition of the electric pump is pushing the fuel pressure over 5 PSI? Get much over that and the needle jets in the float bowls might not close tightly, pushing the float level up, and richening the mixture.

He's probably too humble to admit to it, so I'll do it for him. That one is EScanlon's.

I believe so, yes.

You're right - I should clarify. My numbers are with my own gauge, engine warm, throttles WFO, and at 200 meters above sea level (600 ft).

Those numbers seem quite low to me. My L28 has flat top pistons and a stock P79 head (stock cam). I get numbers around 165-170 dry, have never done a wet test. The fact that yours increases wet does sound like compression rings or scuffed bores to me.

No fears about killing the pump, he mentions he has power to "both" leads. The washer pump is not grounded to the body. One of the two leads should supply power, and the other ground. (Can't remember which is switched in this case, the power or the ground.) If both are powered, the pump ain't gonna do nuthin'.On further thought, it seems to me that my washer pump has a black ground wire and a second wire that is only hot when I press the button. Can't say for certain though - I'm at work, the Z is at home. (Motorcycle commuting! woo hoo!)

Lower valence is completely different. No turn signals below the bumper on the 280Z, and the valance itself is deeper to cover the larger 280Z radiator.

According to the various Road & Track articles I have, this was normal (to a certain extent) for US 240Zs. The 260Z had changes to level the car more. The Euro Stage 1 springs from the factory were supposed to lower the front about 10 mm (3/8") and the raise the rear about the same amount. So if you have a 240Z this might be normal. It could be exaggerated greatly if the shocks didn't match front and rear. If the fronts have more gas pressure than the rear you could see this as well.

Highly unlikely, since you bought loaded calipers. I still think the problem is between the master cylinder and booster.

Which pushrod are you adjusting? There are two. One from the pedal to the power booster, and another one inside between the booster and the actual master cylinder. I'm betting there is a mis-match or mis-adjustment on the booster to master pushrod.

Sorry, I can't buy that. Done right, an older MG is no less reliable than an old Datsun. I used my '67 MGB as my daily driver for 5 years post-restore. It didn't leak, and experienced zero electrical issues or failures during that period. It's all in how you build and maintain them, just like anything else.Sorry, this is off-topic, but that comment punched one of my buttons.