=Enigma=

I half-heartedly call mine Betty Brown based on the color. I'm not sure that will stick but that's the name unless she defines herself otherwise once I finally get her back on the road. The 4runner is called Jaderunner, again after the color but there's no gender reference here since it's too burly to be feminine, and the name Jaderunner isn't very manly.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/ctd/1477302157.html It appears to a basic driver in fair condition with new paint. It would be nice to see some pics of the rest of the car to get the whole story.

A very interesting car Arne. Sad that it's getting such as bashing over on BAT. I always like the styling and potential of these cars.

JY rescue, nice! Way to save on from the crusher. Welcome to the site.

ArmorAll for lube? That's a new one.

Absolutely beautiful job on the car Jared! I love everything you've done and would love to do a Z up like this at some point in the future. By the time I get there keeping one completely stock probably won't be an option anyway due to the the shrinking availiabilty of parts so guilt and peer pressure won't deter me from going all out!.....or should I say ALL IN! FYI, you can find the flickr username simply by looking at the props for one of the linked pics. Here it is for your reference in anyone hasen't fingered this out already. http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaredcullop BTW, Flickr is by far the better choice IMHO. . .

Welcome Phil. Always nice to have another original owner on the site. The fact there are still so many original early Z owners says a lot about the cars. I bought mine from the original owner after 32 years.

Umm......BS......Every fastener I've come across on the S30 was plated in one form or another from the factory. Be it the silver cadmium or the yellow chromate. Trust me Tomo, if the parts had not been plated originally, they would be in much worse shape than what you're probably seeing with the majority of your fasteners. And the voice of reason. This is definitely true, but it's better than doing nothing after stripping the final bits of zinc from rusting parts while cleaning them up. Trust me on this one... :stupid: As Geezer pointed out, cad/zinc which is less prone to rust and corrosion, acts as a protective yet sacrificial finish for steel parts. The yellow color is actually one of a few finishes that are available for cadmium or zinc plated parts. This is not a spray-on finish but rather a chemical treatment and dye that becomes part of the plating when applied. I'm not sure how it's done by industrial platers, but in the kits available to DIYers it comes as a die that you dip your freshly plated parts into. The longer you leave it in, the darker the finish. This yellow chomate finish, and perhaps others supposedly harden and help seal the cad/zinc plating so it lasts a bit longer. All in all I have to say that doing the plating yourself if very rewarding, but it's also very time consuming, somewhat frustrating at first, and a bit of an art to get right. Doing so requires accurate measurement of the surface area (yuck...math) of often unusually shaped parts, so that you can then calculate the proper volt/amp settings to achieve the proper adhesion, thickness, and finish desired. This is where the science part meets the art. If done correctly, no polishing should be necessary. However if you miscalculate the surface area and set the amperage too low, or allow the temperature of the plating solution to get out of spec, you may not get an even plate or the plate may not adhere well. Get the voltage too high, and you can burn the plate or just end up with a dull looking plate job. Polishing afterwards is not very effective, but as Dave pointed out, the cleaner and smoother the parts are going in, the better they will look coming out. This is definitely a case where patience, process, and consistency pays off. If you decide to do this for more than a few nuts and bolts, I recommend purchasing a decent plating rectifier. This will make it easier to dial in the proper settings and help achieving more consistent results. Again, money and time spent up front will pay off in the end. I ended up getting a lab quality unit by HP from eBay for $175. That said, if I ever have more than a few small nuts and bolts, I'll definitely be sending it to a professional. It's just too tedious and time consuming otherwise IMHO. I'll post some pics of my mixed results when I get a chance. I did all of the original fasteners for the entire suspension, as well as misc brake parts.

Very cool Dave. I haven't been on in a while so I'm coming in late to this thread but please count me in for one. I'll get the USPS MO out to you Monday or Tuesday.

Very impressive job on the wiring diagram! Hey now, that's hurtful to Betty Brown...

Edit: Bob and I posted simultaneously...... Assuming your both (Pomorza and Gary) talking about the front suspension (cross) member, it is in fact removable as delivered from the factory, however I suppose it's possible someone could have welded yours on Gary. That said, dropping the crossmember will not help because the "motor mounts" and hence the motor bolt to the crossmember. Lowering it will lower the motor along with it. I'm betting that it would be possible to drop the pan without completely removing it and weasel the new gasket it, however cleaning the mating surfaces would be tough at best/ Hopefully someone who has actually done this already will chime in.

Welcome to the site. Better beef up that drivetrain if your true to the name. These cars were not designed for drag racing

Welcome to to the forum. Let's see some pics of the restoration!

I can't believe you posted such a crappy pic after all the hard work you put in. jk Nice work

I remember reading somewhere that the early 5 speeds are basically a re-designed 4 speed with 5th gear sharing the same fork as reverse, and that the fork is prone to breakage resulting in the loss of 5th gear, whereas the later 280ZX tranny is a "true" 5 speed. I'm not sure about the truth in any of this though. Perhaps someone "in the know" can respond with more info on this and set the record straight. I have an early 5 speed in the car now, and with the stock 3.36 gearing it was a slow dog. The car now has 3.90 in the rear and there's a 280ZX tranny waiting for a rebuild off to the side. I'm hopeful this will wake the old girl up once it's all back together.

Excellent thread. Thanks for all the pics. Looks like it's coming together nicely. Amazing that a good body shop can do with abused metal.

I finally managed to acquire a set of NOS late style covers but I'm hesitant to install them until replacement lenses are available. They are absolutely beautiful. Almost too much so to mount but what would be the point of that?

Posting misinformation intentionally would also be rude but since that wasn't listed specifically I didn't vote for it.

I bought a Covercraft Evolution (Technalon) cover for my car which was stored outside under a carport that took sun and rain on one side for a couple years and it's still going strong. It does tend to leak some dust through over time but only if you let it accumulate to excess. If you keep it clean (rinse it off in place) and shake it out from time to time this should not be a problem, and it sheds water very nicely. I think I paid $170 for it online with a bag and cable. It came with 2 mirror pockets sans a hole for the antenna. I beleive it even came with a 4 year warranty.

I don't know the answer to your specific question, and I'm not sure that the 280Z struts are the right length. Have you measured the overall length and the position of the spring seat to see if there are any differences? You have me curious now.

For the most part I find the conversations and debates here to be mostly civil, more mature, and certainly a lot more friendly than some of the other boards I visit ocassionally. On those sites I'm simply a consumer of information and rarely post or get involved. I'm not just talking about other Z sites. There's always going to be people who push the limits or just plain go beyond them. Adding to David's comment, life is simply too short to sweat the small stuff. We all (I hope) have bigger concerns than posts by argumentative or rude and bitter individuals. Thankfully, those are few and far between here. Have a laugh at their expense and simply move on.

Hehe, hehe....Arne said diss.... Seriously though, I plan on going with the P79 on my F54 build. As Arne said, it has one of the best combustion chamber designs and the exhaust liners have not been proven to be restrictive. With a little clean up around the valve stem and seat along with port matching these heads are known to achieve some pretty good gains over stock. Diseased has built a few motors using this head. Perhaps he can chime in based on his experience. Note that an N42 taken to the max (mods and $$$) will certainly outperform this head, but unless you're going there the P79 is a very economical route to some nice performance gains.

Congrats Julio! Skyline is a fabulous drive. I can't wait to the get the Z up there. Hopefully I won't cartwheel it like I did my to my bike up there.

Another tip is using loom tape rather than regular electrical tape. http://www.wiringharness.com/harnesstape.htm Here's some cool self-fusing tape I'm considering as well: http://www.intengineering.com/Self-Fusing-Wiring-Harness-p6470996.html

Under what law(s) does the state have a right to hassle/fine you if the vehicle is on private property? This seems a bit invasive to me.