1976 280Z Restoration Project

[Zed Head]

Just read a story about a young guy who got killed when he was ejected from his car while doing doughnuts.  It rolled, he got thrown, the truck landed on him.  It only takes one mistake.  

Forgot to say - he didn't have his seat belt fastened.  The primary safety feature for car crash safety.

Edited August 12, 2021 by Zed Head

[w3wilkes]

I've been a 240z owner for 47 years, kids, grandkids most of that time and I've actually had to use the starter in 1st gear to get going and once going it's easy enough to shift without grinding gears. This was due to a clutch slave failure on each of my 73 and 71 cars (and before that in my 61 Belaire wagon, clutch linkage broke). I also never leave the keys in the car so kids can't "hit" the start button. I guess they could push in the clutch and get it rolling, but isn't that true on current manual shifts?

Edited August 12, 2021 by w3wilkes

[Pilgrim]

18 hours ago, w3wilkes said:

I've been a 240z owner for 47 years, kids, grandkids most of that time and I've actually had to use the starter in 1st gear to get going and once going it's easy enough to shift without grinding gears. This was due to a clutch slave failure on each of my 73 and 71 cars (and before that in my 61 Belaire wagon, clutch linkage broke). I also never leave the keys in the car so kids can't "hit" the start button. I guess they could push in the clutch and get it rolling, but isn't that true on current manual shifts?

I have clear memories of a '66 LeMans with a 389 and a fried clutch. When I started it in gear, the clutch held and it would go, and I could shift without using the clutch. Had to be crafty at stoplights, though. 

[wheee!]

Finally got around to a few things this week. Changed the fuel filter before the pump… only about two hours of driving on it and it was filthy! New lines and a completely sanitized and coated tank meant I must have missed cleaning the inside of the rubber fuel filler neck. Only place for the crud to have come from. 
after that, I drove it around a bit tonight and 5th gear works perfect with new shifter and welded shaft! Yay! 

[DC871F]

On 8/11/2021 at 10:14 PM, wheee! said:

All my modern clutch cars are like that so it is a good “safety” feature for when the wife drives/starts the car.
Plus it is part of the wiring of the push button and I have no issues keeping a safety feature installed. I have five grandkids climbing around in there at times and one of them is bound to push the start button eventually….

Almost sent my mom's MG through a store front because I decided to turn the key from the passenger seat when I was a kid.

[DC871F]

On 8/11/2021 at 11:06 PM, w3wilkes said:

I've been a 240z owner for 47 years, kids, grandkids most of that time and I've actually had to use the starter in 1st gear to get going and once going it's easy enough to shift without grinding gears. This was due to a clutch slave failure on each of my 73 and 71 cars (and before that in my 61 Belaire wagon, clutch linkage broke). I also never leave the keys in the car so kids can't "hit" the start button. I guess they could push in the clutch and get it rolling, but isn't that true on current manual shifts?

Got home a few times that way. 

Edited August 19, 2021 by DC871F

[wheee!]

Here we have the famous Kia Sportage seal on the right and the MSA Z Store door seal on the left.  The first picture is relaxed normal size. The second and third pictures are compressed. Note the difference in the compression rate of the KIA seal… much tighter. This is why they make great replacements for the stock seal!

[wheee!]

Doors and hatch are fitting much better. Still some adjustments to make.

 

[wheee!]

Dyno tune coming up next week… crossing fingers that everything works as it should and I make good numbers!

[wheee!]

Well, dyno day came and the car did quite well. Despite a dead O2 sensor that needed replacing, my tuner Matt did a stellar job clearing up the fuel tables and working his magic making the car run smooth and idle properly. 
 

[wheee!]

The mustang dyno came in at 210 HP and 252 TQ, but the load sensor was flaky and I’m not really sure where we ended up. We spent 8 hours tuning and each better than the last. I feel like a true number would be closer to 250 hp and 290 TQ. With a bit of mechanical advance on the timing chain, it might make a little better power under 4000 rpm. I will redyno in the spring. Overall the car runs great now. 

[Patcon]

Probably lots of fun with power like that!