EricB

OMG... I was just forwarded this and spent the better part of the last hour reading through it.... Wow... http://members.aol.com/COUPECHUCK/index.htm -e

can't you also do the following to check for lsd? jack up both rear wheels, grab a hold of one and spin it, if the other wheel spins in the same direction then you've got an LSD in there but if it spins in the opposite direction then it's an open diff... that's what i've always gone by.... -e

they were sold on eBay about a month ago to our fellow Z owner in the UK He even did some before and after comparisons too - cool... 0-60 before 7.2sec 0-60 with triple webers 6.8sec top speed before 125mph top speed after 135mph -e

I agree with you. Perhaps you gathered from the list of cars that she's looking for something a bit out of the ordinary. Her two older siblings when their time came got a 74 Karmann Ghia and a 73 Bronco (granted this was 10 years ago). I don't think she's dead set on a Z. What else might you suggest as possible other cars for her to look at? -e

Hi guys and gals, Question for you this evening. So the in-laws to be are looking for a first car for their youngest (16) daughter who's just passed her driver's license. First she was looking at early 80s Mercedes 560SL: too expensive Then she was looking at early to mid 70s BMW 2002s: I said bad idea in case it breaks down and you have to pay $$$ for BMW parts Then she was enamored with a mid 60s Ford Falcon sedan: I said sure (easy mechanicals, cheap parts, etc) Now apparently they are looking at an '83 280ZX The catch is she only wants an automatic car. The budget is not to exceed $3500.- She refuses the sensible choice: a Honda - we tried, it was my first car after all. So what do you all think? -e

i took several pictures and emailed them to the other 5 guys who's dashes i got back ... now if only i knew what i did with the original .jpg files... might have thrown them out. Maybe Victor or Eric or Garrett or Mike or GatorJ will see this and post the pics I sent them? It's definitely an impressive restoration job. And the vinyl they used is pretty darn similar to OEM. Not exact but we all already knew that since some of us even went to the trouble of getting sample swatches sent beforehand. The packing also was very noteworthy on the return trip. They definitely took great care in making sure they got back to us in one piece. I just can't afford to keep mine around right now... Make me an offer I can't refuse. Otherwise I'll just put it up on eBay in a couple of days. -e

I've decided to sell my 73 dash that Dashboard Restoration just re-did for me. I opted for the black haircell texture which is closest to our Z oem. If you were thinking about going through this restoration process but were antsy about mailing your stuff to Australia well here you go - buy my dash and you'll still get to keep yours intact. The L28 swap cost more than expected and so this thing has got to go. I'll get another dash some other day... I haven't made up my mind on a price yet and am hesitating whether to include the metal frame or not. I do know that I will not include gauges but will include a working heater & tubes, heater control panel, glove box door, & the vents both in the center of the dash and on the ends. -e

Hey guys, I sent you an email I think a week ago or something saying they were in the process of clearing customs in Long Beach and I needed added funds to cover the COD return freight charge. Well now I've just got a message that they will be delivered at my place tomorrow & I have to come up with a $1417 check upon delivery... I don't know about you guys but my savings have never been that hot and this is just about going to clean me out until the next paycheck. I guess I am just venting some frustration at not having heard back from you guys yet or having anything show up in the mail... Please send those $$ out ASAP. I am sure the dashes look awesome but boy has this been a stressful and time itensive piece of volunteer work. I can't say that I am too eager to repeat the process in the future. -e

well i can't even begin to tell you how happy this makes me... that and the fact that one of the enginneers brought his replica 65 GT350 to work this afternoon and just gave me a ride around some abandonned business parks near here... it was riverside revisited all over again. well i guess my week is now complete. i am re-dropping the tranny after work, grabbing the throwout collar and having it pressed tomorrow AM so we can put it all back together tomorrow afternoon... now if I can just get the cylinder head back from the machine shop I'll be all good. thanks again keith. -e

you know what keith...... i think you found the problem!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the throwout collar I used is one I had laying around and the more I think about it the more I believe it came with the Z when I bought it which means it could very well be a 73 4spd one... When I had the new throwout bearing pressed on it I hadn't yet pulled the engine/tranny out of the Z which is why I didn't use (couldn't access) the collar on my 78 5spd.... That's probably exactly the problem... wow and I bet the 4spd collar is probably longer than the 5spd collar by the 1/2" - 3/4" we've been fighting over for three days.... I think if this really is it - then this needs to be posted in the Tech Articles for safe keeping for future such situations.... -e

ok so i'm frustrated... another night after work, another 3hours wasted away... instead of only being 3/4" out from success we made it down to 1/2", maybe even 1/4" then it fell back out yes the splines were engaged for that brief second so we dropped tranny again - reinserted nissan alignement tool, loosened pressure plate to ensure the friction disk was correctly lined up and re-tightened it again ran my finger over the pilot bushing and it still feels smooth, i noticed no burrs or mushrooming from all these attempts in vain... anyone have any objection to me inserting four longer than normal tranny bolts and next time we get close simply and evenly tightening the bellhousing until it goes all the way in? I am only wary of doing this because i've seen a front wheel drive tranny casing break doing the exact same thing because it was being forced in at the slightest angle away from dead on... it's just so hard to get a good strong grip under there to give it the forward motion it needs to pop in place... are the tolerances really always that tight between input shaft and new pilot bushing on a Z? I've done plenty of tranny installs before (on Hondas) but this is the first time on a Z and the first time it is giving me so much trouble... -e

Andrew I will mail them to the UK if you want me to. That's not a problem. Provided airmail doesn't come out to an arm and a leg (I am guessing it might be around the $70 mark) I would be willing to honor my previous post of $450 shipped... Got to clean them, box them up, and weigh them to get a better idea of what the postage might come out to. -e

??? Doesn't it say "Triple Weber 40 DCOE for sale" in the subject line? Or am I misunderstanding your question? -e