=Enigma=

Hey Butch, nice to see you're making some progress on it. Sounds like you figured a few things out since your posts almost a year ago. Congrats on your progress. BTW, I love the green color. I'd repaint it the same if I were you.

The compressed length of the 280ZX half shafts are a bit longer, which may have caused binding in the suspension as well as excessive pressure on the inner wheel bearing and/or the carrier bearings in the diff. Swapping in a half shaft with a shorter compressed length may have taken some of the load of the bearings which is probably why things are a bit quieter, but the damage is done. I say drive it until the noise gets unbearable or you have the time/money to replace the damaged parts. See some controversy on the 240, 260, 280 shafts here:http://www.betamotorsports.com/benchracing/R200handling.html

My 4/73 tach worked fine with the simple addition of a 280ZX dizzy. It wasn't until I added the MSD unit that I needed the 8910 Tach adapter. It may just have been the way I wired it, but I tried doing without it a few different ways. In the end I gave in a wired the adapter in. Tach works fine now. Here's a write up I did awhile back. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21256&highlight=msd And another with an image I used as a general reference. See my notes on on this image in the link above. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13085&highlight=msd

Do you have an R180 or R200 differential? The R180 has a vertical rectangular looking diff cover, and the R200 is more rounded.

Not that big of a deal and I'm not much of a chatter anyway. I only use the external antenna when I need to communicate over longer distances. In a caravan, it's not really needed. When I'm in the 4runner, I just use the in-dash CB, and only use the handheld when I'm outside of the vehicle directing traffic, walking around scouting trails, camping areas, or spotting while off-roading. My son uses the handheld CB or FRS to communicate with me back at camp when he goes off exploring.

Hey congrats on your purchase. Let me know if you've got solid door panels without speaker holes and are looking to part with them. Depending on the condition I may be interested.

Welcome to the site Wab. Sound like you're in for some fun. Good luck on your project.

Sorry, I meant FRS. Not sure what I was thinking about. I have a magnet mount antenna from Radio Shack. Buy a better FRS radio. I like the higher quality Motorolas.

Guys, thanks for all the advice, I'm sure it will help somebody, but I made a purchase decision almost a year ago and went with the 30D w/17-85 IS USM lens. I've been very happy with it and took over 1500 picture on my trip to Europe. I hope to post them on my site some day when I have time to go through them. And here's to Jmark for showing off is talents yet again.

Hey now there's an idea...Give it up nwcubsman!!!!! Now here's a helpful post. Perhaps you should take Steve's lead Brian and do something useful one in a while. jk

Do they salt the roads where you live or do you just like driving on the beach? Man that's nasty.

The scanning feature is nice to have, however you are correct that while in a caravan, you will normally be on only one channel. I like the scanning feature which I use when on off-road trips because I can listen in on other groups on the trail, as well as listen to folks in my own group who have moved to another channel for an off topic or more private conversation. That said, I believe that GPRS radios are a more convenient, more economical, and all around better choice for on-road caravans, plus there are often more channels, less interference, and clearer voice quality than with a CB. The big problem is that everyone needs to agree on one or the other. That is why I have both. Actually, I have an in dash CB in my 4runner, as well as a hand held GPRS and a hand held CB radio for when I'm out of the truck or in my car.

Good points, however this is a basic charging system question. While it only took 1.5 hours to charge the battery to the point that it would operate some basic items, it was probably not fully charged at this point, even if it was able to start your car.....once or twice. Or maybe it was. The point it that 1.5 hours charge may be enough, depending on the capacity and settings of the charger itself, what mode it was in, and the condition of the battery . Also, driving 3-6 miles a couple times per week, should be enough to keep your battery charged, assuming that you're driving for 15-20 minutes each time, and not draining the power with some huge overpowered stereo system. Now if this is really only once per week or 1-2 miles, then it may not be enough. To complicate matters this also depends on factors like the condition of the alternator, battery terminals, how many times the battery has been fully discharged, as well as the condition of the rest of the electrical system and what being used while you're driving (lights stereo, wipers, A/C, fan, etc), and especially when you're not driving. It's also possible that you have an electrical short somewhere slowly draining power from the battery when you're not driving it, in which case the 3-6 miles a couple days a week may not be enough time for your alternator (in good condition) to fully recharge the battery (in good condition), and in the end a battery can only be discharged and re-charged so many times before it starts to lose the ability to hold a charge for any length of time. Hence the quote of 80%. Keep in mind that anything electrical in the car runs off the battery, and it's the job of the alternator to keep the battery charged. The alternator only works when the car is running. It should be able to keep the battery charged if regularly driven. Assuming that nothing else is going on that you are not telling us about or are not aware of, 3-4 times per week for 3-6 miles should be enough but I would say that you are probably just on the edge. if anything is not in good working order, this will probably not be enough driving time to keep the battery charged. I hope this provides some clues for you. Adam

Looks like nwcubsman jumped on it. I actually had a question out to the seller on what year this bumper was and whether or not it had the holes for the bumper bars. Nut much details there so I hope it works out for you.

Keep in mind that the rear bearings can easily be damaged when removing them. If they don't come out real easy, odds are that some damage occurred while removing them and they should be replaced. Some people say they should never be re-used but I'm not sure that's entirely true. The OEM manual covers removal/service/replacement of existing bearings so...... That said, this does sound like a bearing problem on the left side, but the suggestion about a bent stub is also a good one, especially if the left rear side was hit, or if the P.O. tried to hammer out the stub with a sledge hammer some time in the past. If it's not obvious by looking at it, you may have to take the stub to a machinist who can throw it on a lathe or some other device and measure the runout.

Looking good man! I wish I had that kind of space to work in.

I thought it was just the 75-78 propshaft u-joints that weren't replaceable. Are we sure this is true of the 80-83 units as well?

Welcome to the site. Good luck with that turbo project. Reaching 380HP with an L6 is going to be challenging and very expensive. I suggest you check out the threads over at www.hybridz.org if you haven't been there already.

Welcome to the site. It's often difficult tell exactly where a noise is coming from while driving in the car. Does it get louder when you are making a turn? If not, is the noise still present when coasting in neutral, or just when you're in gear? If the latter, does it happen when you're accelerating or decelerating? Just trying to narrow the focus.

DAMN HIJACKER!!!!

I believe you mean "dished" rather than "domed". Dished = concave Domed = convex Or innie and outie if you prefer. LOL

So for the record, which years have the short and which the long.

Sounds like heaven to me!

There's a repro on eBay for $75. The quality of the text and diagrams is good, but the photos are over developed by the printer and too dark to really see anything useful in most cases. I bought one to get dirty, and an original if I need to look at pics. I found both on eBay and actually paid less for the original in excellent shape. I believe this is the repro: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110106650875

I turned 40 6mo ago. Hard to believe it. Seems like I was my sons age (15) not too long ago. It's true that the older you get, the faster time goes.