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1976 280Z with Eibach springs and Tokico Blues I've been dissatisfied with the Tokico HP Blues in my car for some time. As many others have noted, these shocks seem to have too much compression valving and not enough rebound. This makes for a very uncomfortable harsh ride. The rear is particularly bad with feeling that the shocks are seized or that the car is riding on the bump stops. That's been checked and both shocks and bump stop clearance is good. The shocks are just plain harsh. I've had Race cars that rode better. Had some Tokico Illumina's ordered from MSA, but it turns out there inventory count was off. 2-3 months to get more. In desperation I ordered some KYB GR2 's from Rock Auto. Shocks were dirt cheap and I needed something in a hurry as I have some long trips planned. Had them installed and really wasn't expecting much in terms of performance. They're a street shock and I was expecting that they might be too soft. I was pleasantly surprised with these shocks. The ride of the car has been transformed. No more pitching and banging about. The shocks just soak up the bumps and the car is very comfortable now. Bloody good for a 39 year old car. Minimal dive under braking and the nose doesn't pitch up under acceleration. Could use a bit more rebound in the front for Auto cross etc, but for the street, the combination of the Eibach springs and KYB GR2's seems to be nearly perfect. I would not hesitate to recommend these shocks to anyone with a stock or mild to medium " Sport " suspension. I might eventually get a set of Koni Yellows for the front if I can find them, Or even some Classic Reds. That way I can increase the front rebound a bit more. But I like the smooth rear valving of the KYB's. It's just perfect.

it's all blue's fault - he posted a link to the megajolt lite a while back and i've been obsessed with the idea ever since. i set up an MSD ignition on one of my bikes a while back, made a little pickup to trigger off the cam layshaft. it works amazing and is so clean and bulletproof, and i was able to dyno tune significant performance gains with the advance curve from a laptop. love it. i've been wanting to get rid of the spaghetti on top of the valve cover, as well as the wobbly dizzy and difficulty of playing w/the advance curve. i have no delusions about getting the kind of perfomance gains as on my bike, but it certainly won't be any worse, and i'm very concerned about dialing out any detonation since i'll often be running cheap gas. gonna go w/the LS2 coil-near-plug setup and a crank-fired ignition. megajolt lite is the current strategy. don't want to use a wasted spark eids system as the coil pack is a little clunky, the dwell is limited to half the time for direct coil and it just puts spaghetti on the other side of the engine. from what i've read, the LS2 coils make a helluva spark and come with ignightors built in so i just need to send a sequential low-volt signal to them which the megajolt should be able to do just fine. will make a bracket to mount up the LS2 coils under the heater hose using the two threaded block bosses that hold the heater hose clamps. was thinking about coil-on-plug, but they get kinda tall & spindly looking, plus in order to have enough pigtail length to pull a single plug you wind up w/more spaghetti... i've got to pick up a crank position sensor and will design an appropriate sized trigger wheel and have it water-jet cut for me at a local shop, then fab up a crank sensor mount on the front cover. then i plan to cut off the top part of the dizzy drive spindle, block off the dizy mount and enjoy the empty space around that side of the engine bay with no more coil, dizzy, etc. on the fender well. crazy, i know, but it's all blue's fault...

The 280 gets no love?! I know I'm a bit different from most people, but I look at a less desired car this way: You buy it for less, don't risk as much when you drive it (meaning less heartburn and more fun), and have every bit the same cool factor. When a car gets too valuable, I don't feel comfortable driving it as much. I had a nearly perfect '66 Mustang that just sat in the garage (= no fun). My very nice, but not perfect, '78 280 is much more fun, because I won't freak out if someone leans against it (well maybe just a bit), and I can drive it to the grocery store without being terrified a shopping cart will bump it. If I need to replace a hose, I don't have to worry about it being an authentic braided one. I just buy a hose from the local parts store -- easy breezy. And what wonderful cars these are to maintain! There's ample space under the hood, and the systems are simple and reliable. A Z is much easier to maintain than a modern car, even with scarcity of parts. My car is not an investment. I own it for fun, not to make money. I'm OK with that. I prefer my fun to be cheap. The day my 280 becomes precious, I will sell it and find another cheap/fun car. That said, I already own it. It's a Miata, and I'll sell that one too when it becomes precious. Yes, the early EFI is quite primitive. But a carb is even more primitive. I'd rather have the EFI any day. Once you get it working right, it's a fairly robust system, with the exception of hot-restart issues (deriving from changes in fuel formulations over the years -- an annoyance more than anything.) Just realize, it is difficult to get ANY of these cars (carb or EFI) to pass emissions. That doesn't mean you can't do it. It just takes a bit of work. Someone recommended a 2+2. I hate the look of the things, but some people really like them. If you're one of those people, it would be great to have a back seat for your kids. (Of course these old cars aren't as crash-worthy as most modern cars.) Also these cars all have accommodations for small/medium dogs, who LOVE to ride in the hatch area if you're not terrified of getting nose prints on the glass. They have a 360 view! Great fun! My bottom-line advice: Forget the investment. Drive what's fun, whatever that might be for you. If you're the average hobbyist, you're not going to make any money from your car anyway. You'll do well to break even and have a "free" car to drive (which is what I usually do). PS I'm not taking your poll. Don't let others decide for you. After gathering everyone's thoughts, YOU decide. YOU'll be the one behind the wheel, hopefully with a big smile on your face.

I ran my SUs a little on the rich side with ATF & a mech. pump. The engine always ran strong with that combo. (everything stock) There were countless 6 grand shifts and a few "lost in the moment" 6 1/2 - 7 grand shifts. I could feel the power peak about 5500, but that wasn't lack of fuel. That said & remembering your goals, I'd just stay with the elec. pump. They are easy to diagnose & fairly reliable unless they are made by Lucas. The orig. with a regulator or a lower pressure quiet pump such as the RX7 pump. It is likely the elec. pump from a 74 260 would be a bolt in too. Mark