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I present to you, road weary from about 2000 miles of adventure... The OG:

So I'm home. The bottom line is that the car fared better than I did. Remember in the beginning, I was worried about two things... My radiator and my back? Well the radiator didn't get any worse, but my back did. By halfway through the day at the people's choice show, I was hurting. I'll survive, but it's unpleasant. The radiator... I had talked to a couple people about the troubles I was having and they put it out on the Z network that I was looking for a radiator to get me home. Well as a result of that networking, there was a guy coming to the people's choice show that was going to bring me a radiator. We found eachother at the show, and I snagged a rad. He wasn't sure of the condition, but was optimistic about it. Said it looked good, and as far as he knew, it was in good shape. That night, @madkaw and I swapped radiators after the banquet. Out in the parking lot, draining the fluid, pulling mine out and tossing in the replacement. Now remember that my back is pretty much shot at this point, so when I say "we changed the radiator", I really mean "he changed the radiator". So when he wasn't looking, I snapped a pic of madkaw working on my car: Bottom line? We had to do the job twice, cause the replacement rad I got from the guy at the show leaked horribly and wouldn't hold coolant. Sigh. So, we drained again and put my original back in. It holds coolant fine, but has a couple clogged tubes. I'll just have to watch the temps on the way home and adjust my speeds and load accordingly. My original radiator works fine until I'm going up a long hill on the interstate at 70 on a hot day. Thankfully as I drove north, the ambient temps dropped some and I was much better off. By the time I got to Maryland, the temps had dropped enough that I was able to maintain 70-75 on the interstates without worry. Thanks to everyone along the way that helped with the trip and glad for the chance to meet some of the forum guys!! @madkaw @Ninjaneer11 @zed2 @Parman @inline6

Did you get home ok?

Great meeting in person too. And agreed.. Wish we had figured it out sooner and spent more time together. See what happens when you stop hanging out here? ☺️ I've got a pic of you working on my car. I'll put it in my adventure thread. Haha!!

Phoenix I think it will be in September...not like I have to work that week... :)

I don’t know . Bruce and I left the banquet to work on his car before they announced it .

That's great! Wish I could have made it. Where is zcon 2026?

I went to a local glass place and they had clear windshields for 105$ each . I bought 3 !

😎

Hi folks, I am looking for a new or very clean CLEAR windshield glass (with no dark band at the top). Also looking for drivers and passenger door replacement glass for a 1978 Datsun 280Z. Has anyone found a vendor for replacement glass, or does anyone have some for sale?

Glad to be alive . I’m a lucky guy for sure . It’s fancy but it’s all business too:)

@madkaw That’s pretty damned fancy madkaw……good to see you’re still alive! 🥳

Today I didn’t do anything but drive it !!

Finally figured out what was up with my log ins . Anywho- went to ZCON . Me and a buddy drove down the 4.5 hours from Indiana . The Z drove great with the freshly tuned ITBS. Had most fun in the parking lots talking nuts and bolts . Finally got to meet Captain Obvious . Wish I knew he was there earlier and could have spent more time hanging out .

VR1 10W30 $26.97 5 qt. jug, new filter $8 at Walmart. Cleaned and gapped ngk plugs $0. Adjusted valve lash $0. Idles smooth as glass. Took maybe 2 hours. Satisfaction for myself, PRICELESS! Beer:30 now.

Here is the SU tuning kit mentioned in post above. I just checked on eBay and they are available for $40. The small aluminum fitting laying on top of the gray package is the one I was referring to.

9 times out of 10 the problem on 4-screws is a misaligned nozzle, particularly if the large retaining nut underneath was loosened for some reason. There is a tool to help center the nozzle. If you take the needle out of the piston you insert the tool instead, which centers the nozzle in the casting. While the tool is in the piston and the piston pushed down in the chamber, tighten the large nut in place. Once the nut is tight, remove the piston and remove the tool. Before you re-insert the needle, chuck it in a drill motor and spin it to make sure it is perfectly straight. If it is, reinsert the needle in the piston and screw the dome back on. I'll take a photo of my tool and post it here shortly.

This is for you, not your car.🙂 Something I figured out after getting older and working on these cars. You can help your back when doing all that tedious engine bay stuff by simply running it up on a set of ramps or raising it up and using jack-stands to get the motor up so you're not bending over all day. Another thing I had learn the hard way was resting my elbows on the fenders would cause dents I ended popping out with a suction cup from HarborFreight. Cover the fenders with anything like towels or paint drop cloths using magnetic bowls that hold all the fasteners. I'm about to adjust the valves on mine. I use a set of Rhino ramps to get my lowered 240 up to, looks like about 38". Just a courtesy bit of advice you probably figured out way before I did and it really helps. Have fun!

I agree with @Zed Head. You can count on those being destroyed. You may get lucky with the booster. Look at the bottom of the MC and see if it has been leaking and the paint on the booster in that area will be gone with rust residue. I wouldn’t put any fluid in either. Take them off first.

Your clutch master and slave cylinders are probably corroded and have bad seals. If it's been sitting for ten years. Your brake master cylnder also, along with the rear wheel cylinders and maybe the caliper bores. It's just what happens. I would remove the brake master cylinder before trying to use it, before you squirt brake fluid in to the vacuum booster. If you're lucky the brake booster is dry and still usable. Nickels and dimes...

Very cool! I love my ZCG brake kit. The KW stuff is probably amazing, but I can't stand the purple and yellow:)

Not racing related, but Newman and Redford, back together again… RIP Bob.

ITS ALIVE. i decided to take off every electrical connection off and deep clean each pin. they didnt have bad corrosion but the copper had turned green where it wasnt connected for the last 20 years. I double checked each pin ohms coming through the ECU and finally got each reading within spec. Started it up and boom perfect idle. I appreciate all you're guys help. the resources and information helped a ton. now to bleed the clutch, find out why the break pedel is stuck and see if this thing can move!

You are right! Mechanic should get this engine running with pertronix ignitor module 1761, 1.5 coil and 1.5 ohm ballast.

Maybe this is the point where you decide which you want most - working tach or good running engine... Back when I learned to drive - and for years thereafter - cars didn't come with tachometers. They ran and we drove them all over the place anyway. (but, from the factory that car ran VERY WELL with a stock coil, a stock ballast resistor, a stock distributor, AND a stock tachometer. Just sayin')