280ZXtreme

ok here is some other cool stuff: you can get a 4.11 R200 from the 85-86 200sx turbo. it is a cv shaft but thats not a big prob. i have an 82 na 5 speed with the 3.90 and the excelleration is great. 70 mph is about 2900 rpm in 5th. the 280z 5 speed from 77-78 has a first gear of like 3.3 so as to keep excelleration from having the 3.54, and second gear is also higher than the later zx tranny, but 3rd and 4th are the exact same, and 5th is just a tad lower gear (higher number) than the later zx. the borg warner T5 used in the turbos has a first gear of around 3.5 and second gear is a bit higher too, i believe this was done to help with turbo lag even if there wasn't much of it with the little t3. the turbo 280zx also got the 3.54 like the 77-78 cars but had cv shafts like the 200sx turbo. the 4.11s are getting hard to find and the 4.38s almost impossible so i would just go with a 3.90 and keep a little top end, my 280zx tops out around 130-132 with the 3.90, but the 77 we are trying to get has the 4 speed with the 3.54 and the owner says he had it topped out at 138, thats with no motor modifications that i can see. does that sound realistic, i guess being that it has the higher rear end but my car is pushing around 165 HP and i know that 77 only goes for about 135-140 hp so i think that would be enough to turn some more rpms to go a little faster. anyway, i love all z's from 70-83, you can swap almost anything and they last forever!

there is a red one in the first back to the future movie, i think its the first one anyway, not to mention i'm biased to thinking a silver 280zx would have made a better time traveller, and it would've gotten to 88 mph quicker

hey dude, i know your pain in the gasket situation, i tried lining up that felpro for hours wondering if my head was horribly warped or something and i had an even worse prob with the exhaust lining up, after 2 gaskets with no luck, i called motorsport and asked about their $17 gasket, they said its made in japan and you can tell its really high quality, fit perfect, very worth the pretty pennies. by the way, mine was for my p79 on my 82 zx. its worked like a champ for 6 months now, only leak is at the back side where i have a broken exhaust stud, but that'll have to wait till the p79 gets the new cam i got from northern for $50 plus shipping, now i just need rocker arms and a valve job! at that point i'll be porting a little bit on the intake , probably use a small ball hone with a drill on the runners and a larger one on the openning ( furthering what i started when i port matched the 240sx throttle body).

sounds good stephen, i'll definitely give it a shot, especially because i think its only like $10 or somewhere close to that stephen

hey stephen, thanks for the suggestion, are you talking about the water temp sensor? or cylinder head temp sensor? i did change the fuel filter and put new gas in it, and a fuel system cleaner. my boss said to pour a bottle of rubbing alcohol in the tank to evaporate any water out but i'm not sure if its the best idea although i don't see why it would hurt. i had this same prob with an 81 that i never figured out and it had sat for about 4 or so years, but it wasn't needed any longer to be driven once we could not get a title for it,, but its just a parts car so disassembly started, at least i get a good 5 speed and 3.90 out of it with an F54 block and P79 head. anyway, any more suggestions are greatly appreciated, and thanks again stephen

hey guys, i'm normally a S130 guy but we getting a 77 4 speed coupe to add to the garage and i need some help. its been sitting for exactly one year. its viper yellow, with black interior and a 2 seater with 157K on it. the guy said it ran good and he had trouble with the alternator he had put on it keeping the battery charged but no probs cranking it. well, when it's cranked up, it will usually die withing a few seconds, and sometimes it runs longer but its like its on maybe three cylinders, backfiring through the intake and exhaust. i've downloaded the injection manual by cardinal zen and verified that the fuel pump is working fine, the fuel injection relay is clicking twice when it should, the AFM resistance tests are good also. oh yeah, i also downloaded the 77 colorcoated wiring diagram, extremely helpful! ( much better than the haynes version) the injector circuits also test fine, there are only two things i'm having probs with...on some of the tests in the manual, it refers to an ignition lead wire and even using the pics i cannot seem to find a one wire connector in that spot, i do see a two wire connector that is green but it seems to be up higher in the dash, and the second prob is two of the tests are coming back bad but i don't know how to remedy them. they are tests #3-1 and #3-2. or one of them may have been #3-3, but i think it was the other two, at any rate they were both supposed to read battery voltage, and with one i got somewhat over 9 volts and with the other test i got a little over 11. i'm assuming that the solenoid lead wire on the started is the spade connector. anyway, we really want to get the car but not if we can't drive it because we honestly need to get rid of the fiero asap and get this z in the driveway. I talked the guy down to $1000 with very minimal rust and near perfect interior with new paint, i know it must be something simple such as corrosion in some a particular wire or something but some insight so as where to start would be greatly appreciated, thanks Stephen