280z1975

Out in west Texas a friend was at his mom's ranch that is WAY out in the middle of no where and is a rocky climb up to the place. He punched a hole in his oil pan of his golf and had a nice little 'knife cut' in it. We jacked it up and plugged the hole with bubblegum and then JB welded over it. It's been on there for about 7 years and around 80,000 miles from what I hear. Overall, it's good stuff, but not to be used in lue of 'real welding'

At the moment I am going to take this one step at a time. So it will be for the ENGINE BAY HARNESS which goes from the lights, turn signals etc. back to the connection box inside the car near the fuse box. After I get that one sorted out I will move on to other projects I am sure. I have a feeling this is going to be a 1 year timeline or so for the Engine bay harness to be ready to a quality standard which we all expect out of our Z parts.

Check out this article/slideshow from Businessweek.com http://images.businessweek.com/ss/07/04/0412_cheapcars/index_01.htm?technology+slideshows&popupWidth=770&popupHeight=600 So when do you think Habor Freight will start importing the cheapest car known to the US?

As I was looking at the photos i was saying it was a shame it doesn't have any bumpers (looking for the good parts) and as I scrolled down I saw the photo of them ... man those are messed up ... I don't think I could get a drunk and angry ape to make a set more banged up! Also, ... is that tow-hitch mounted to anything structural? or just the back end which IIRC is just sheet metal ... hard to tell from the photos where it ties in ...

To further comment on Arne's points (this point was brought up by another member, but the name eludes me at the moment) it's a good ideal to DRIVE your cars ... when you drive it helps heat up the brake fluid which intern helps evaporate the moisture in the lines. The member had his brake cylinders go bad cause he was 'babying' his car. The same goes for the electrics (at least I have been told) that using them is good cause the heat generated from the electricity helps keep moisture from forming. Enjoy the car and enjoy the road, cause these were meant to be driven ...

550? :eek: ... I'll be making a definite effort to source and build these harnesses! It may take me a year to source everything and get my quality good enough to put out something I would sell. After Rust I would put the electrics as the biggest problem for 90% of our cars. Rust still being the reason behind the electrical problems ...

I really want a set of these for my car, but I worried about the tires hitting and the need for wheel flares or rolling the fender (which I want to avoid) ... these in gloss black with that fat old school chrome lip look awesome and would be killer on my Pearl Black 280z.

Opps, that is what I get for posting quickly before bed ... sorry about the mistake.

Matt, My suggestion ... work on the body first ... get the kinks and underlying problems of the car worked out. You can follow the link in my signature to see a lot of pictures of my car during it's breakdown and rebuild. Also, read up on Por-15 ... great stuff ... Then after your car is all solid and there are no structural problems drive it for a year and during that year save up the money for the engine and parts. First I would do a suspension upgrade, then the rest ... you need to be able to handle all the power you add. Carry a pad and pencil (or pen) and write down all the problems you run into during a month of driving it, then go to work ... There is plenty of help here to be found.

Mohamed, I've seen the videos and photos of your car, it's really nice and something to be cherished. The idea of selling the car ... I feel your pain. I recently jumped ship from the US for a move to Belgium. One of the big choices I had to make was do I or don't I sell my 280z. In the end I made the choice to keep it and I can say I am quite happy I did. I put a lot of work into my car and to sell it just didn't seem right. The 2000 BMW sounds great and all, but there are PLENTY of them in this world, but few 280z (S30 body Datsun's) ... especially in Kuwait. As far as the annual inspection ... get together with other classic car people and get the government to change the rules to make them easier to own. They will be happy to change the rules to keep the people they elect happy. No one here can make the choice for you. If you really want a BMW, then get it, but if you love Z cars, keep the 280z. It's much harder to replace .... Hope this helps.

When I was still living in the States I always used the free USPS boxes, they save you a lot of money when your dealing with small items, plus USPS is the fastest and cheapest way to ship (domestic or international). I to am guilty of using a Priority Mail box to send stuff international, but then again I only use USPS so I don't feel guilty as I give them PLENTY of business. I also re-cycle and reship in boxes that are in good shape. Saves you money, time and effort. I don't think I have had to pay for ANY packing material in the last three years, just kept and reused from when I bought things via mail. I bought some stuff from Reddat about a year ago. I asked to pick it up locally to save me the wait and the cost of shipping, he said no (I think he lives less than 5 miles from where I use to live). I wasn't thrilled about that one, but then again he did discount me as I ordered a good bit of rubber from him. My shipping cost was more than the actual cost (I think 7 bucks for a 2.55 shipment) but I wasn't to concerned as I bought about 85 bucks worth of small rubber parts. All were ok quality, which I was fine with. The box the rubber was shipped in was re-used (which I like as it saves trees, money, costs). It's sometimes hard when selling on Ebay to gauge what the cost is when shipping. I usually overprice my shipping cost by 2 dollars so that 1) If there is a problem at the post office and it comes out more I am covered and 2) If I got it right I cover my Paypal cost and some of the auction cost. When I sold things on ebay it was always small stuff for some extra cash. In the end I think I broke even on my shipping costs most times. Reddat could be a little more honest about his shipping costs. A lot of sellers will sell you an item for 8.99 that costs 24.99 but then charge you 23.99 for shipping. They do this because they are only charged a Final Value Fee on the 8.99, not the shipping cost. It's stupid, but that is what a lot of them do.

You know, the first time I went to a show I to was kinda worried about the state of my car. The paint is new, but there are some flaws where I had either water or oil get into the spray line and it caused a wrinkle effect (luckily it's only easily seen in one spot). My engine bay is a mess and still the original blue (on the next winter project list). It was far from where I wanted it to be ... Still I went and people were super friendly and no one cared that my paint was messed up, they were all like, "Looks good for your first time painting". I really liked how friendly the Z crowd was. It was a really good time. Oh yea, that is one SUPER nice car ... puts mine to shame (for the moment :lick: ) ... I to am like you, will never enter my car in a show, just drive it and love it and keep it looking good.

Graphite Powder? Is that what you are thinking? Also, I think Teflon-oils works well, plenty of them out there.

Opps ... didn't read your post well enough ... my bad ... :stupid:

Ok, so after I lost an eBay auction the other day for a NOS engine bay harness I was kinda pissed. I HATE the electrical nightmares these cars cause and I've decided it's time to change the one area my car is lacking. So I am in the planning phase of going ahead with a from scratch build-up of an engine harness. I want to start with the engine bay because it's the one area exposed to the harshest conditions (and the one that gives me the most problems ). If anyone else has researched this or has links that would be helpful please do post or PM me. So far for the connectors I have found the following sources: http://www.vintageconnections.com/index.htm (borrowed from GreenZZZ) http://www.crc2onlinecatalog.com/connectors.htm (borrowed from GreenZZZ) http://www.wireconnections.com/index.htm I plan to make one for me personally (a 280z) then move onto making them for other 280z owners and finally on to the 240's and maybe even for you 260z guys (I know, your like the red-headed step child of the group, but we still love ya). No idea on cost at the moment, but I want to make a little bit for my time. With my current job of cycling (which doesn't quite pay the bills like I would want) it would be nice to have a part-time, sit down, job where I can do something I like and make a little scratch to pay the bills (and help save some Z cars). My Z was loaded into the container yesterday, it's making it's two week trip here! I can't wait. I miss driving it sooo much ... the weather has been perfect and all the old timer cars are out here, it's great! Kinda like having a job with some free time ... gives me time to tinker in my pursuits ...

Not sure if this link will help ... but it's a great source for various bolts we need in our S30 cars ... http://www.courtesyparts.com/s30_zcar-creations.html I only came across this AFTER I put my car together ... booo :tapemouth

Anyone else run into the problem with the installation of the front air dam that the handle hits? My jack is low enough, but the first 2 inches I have to angle the handle in the hold so it can get enough travel to lift it. Stupid thing goes like half and inch before it hits the bottom of the air dam.

If you tight on cash, the 280z(s) seem like a great deal ... one to drive and one to strip and sell the parts you don't need and keep the rest ... turn the shell into a weekend racer car.

The car is a canidate for a race car conversion (seeing as it has the IMSA Wide body kit already) ... but that depends on the rust. The hubcaps I hate to say are period ... those wire baskets are similar to the ones that came on my car. For a no reserve auction you might be able to pick up a car quite cheap, but there are sure to be all sorts of problems if you try to restore as is. It's a shell to be blasted and repaired and then salvaged for any usable parts. R.I.P. # HLS30163028 :disappoin

The link is: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=020&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=300098105471 Item # 300098105471 The winner was ur-gelis ... remembered the ebay id as it's the guy offering the really nice looking rebuilt blocks. from the auction ... A new factory Nissan engine harness part number 24012 -N4310 for the Datsun 280Z. ... so there is the part # for when the auction times out and there is no reference later on.

Well guys, I am in the market for a NOS 280z wiring harness ... there was one on e-bay last night, but I was outbid, I guess I didn't set my price high enough with the auction snipper ... My car is great, but the wiring is far from good. This would have been quite an easy and good fix to some serious issues I have had with my car. So I am on the search for another one. Thought I would drop a line here to see if anyone knew of where to start ... I have the auto e-mail search set up on Ebay in case another one decides to show up.

Stupid ?, but what does the Carbon Canister do for the EFI of the 280z? Sometimes I wonder why engines are not made much more simple. I mean, your only driving around with something that is basically using controlled explosions to move you around.

Any opinions on the "club" style anti-theft bars which hold down the brake pad? There seem to be a bunch of them come out a couple of years ago, but haven't heard anything, good or bad, about them.

Another way to add lights that work well is to use el-chepo desk laps. My mother uses them to help light up the displays at her glass shows, so I borrowed them last winter (6 of them, 8 would have been best) and this allowed me to light up the whole car and really get see what I was doing. They attached to the top cross-members in the garage. Fred, the garage is looking great!

"Be a Winner with Casino Gambler" ... I will get him a nice collection of old Z car mags and the latest Nissan Sport