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I got my 280ZX driving this past Friday, first time in somewhere from 10 to 20 years for that car. Taking it slow and steady no more than 3000 RPM's or 60 MPH for the first 100 miles. I'm on older tires that have no cracking, hold air and appear very new, no wear. But I'm thinking I'll just change them out. Question is what is the best tire size for the car? I do want to drive the car and corner it, I don't really want the luxury touring car feel, prefer more of a sports car type of ride. The picture is after just a garden hose wash, no waxing yet.

So today I decided to add some weight in a more permanent way... First of all... Anyone ever wonder what's inside the float? How is the mounting tab anchored? Well, it looks like this: So armed with the knowledge that the mounting tab does not extend very far down into the float... I drilled hole in the float: And made a brass slug to press into the hole: Rinsed and repeated for the other float and now I have these: In case anyone wonders... The little threaded hole is so I can run a small screw into the brass ballast slug as a removal handle. I figure that until I'm sure about the amount of weight, I might want to pull it back out. And since the hole is blind (I didn't drill all the way through), there's no way to grab it. Works like this: Here's the results in the front carb (long ear). Level is a little high, but that's easily fixable with a little tab bending: Long ear float tilt looks like this: And the rear (short ear results): With it's corresponding float tilt: Again, it's fantastic when the theory lines up with realty. The plan now is to spackle over the ballast plugs with JB Weld since it's fuel resistant and then do the final adjustments. I still have no answer to "Am I the only one that has this problem", but at least I have a solution.

just took it out for a test drive. The 4-speed worked great. Thanks all for the help.

Yeah, you definitely have the monkey on your back. I did this back about 20 years ago, but mixed in a few Beetles. But then a really nice 240z driver was $3000, and my 1.0 didnt have much tolerance for it, but 2.0 told me to go get the 1970. I think I'll keep her. I still keep and drive old VW's as well as the Zcars, but just Oval window mid 50s cars. The cool part is, after collecting parts for the last almost 30 years I can support restoring them without having to hunt down $100 gas caps and $900 deck lids. I knew there was a method to my madness (sickness).

Just acquired HLS30-960 restoration already in progress. The car has been sitting for about 10 years after paint and body and is really nice shape. All the original parts are with the car. Original 904 white was applied, and due to many extra interior parts that came with the project, it was either blue or black interior. My plan it to put the blue interior in it. Dash has two small cracks that will have to be dealt with.

Finally going to redo my exhaust to gain clearance - remove resonators , add performance cat , and all new pipe from to back to front Besides the awkward and painful positions to do exhausts without a 6ft lift , I kind of enjoy crafting an exhaust system . I just buy and bunch of mandrel bends and pie cut what I need . Dual 2” gets tight :-0 Starting the first leg getting to the cat . Might challenge myself to TIG it

The only thing the shape of the float submerged matters much. I would theorize that you want the tapered nose because it would more gradually slope the pressure on the valve up and also not allow any trapped bubbles stuck under the float. But other than stuff like that, I can't see it mattering much. The problem is, as you mentioned, denser fuel will cause the float to sit higher. A higher float causes the valve to close sooner, and a valve that closes sooner results in a lower level in the bowl. And the issue is that I've had troubles getting the level high enough without the float actually hitting the underside of the lid. You remember this discussion you and I had almost ten years ago? I think this was all related to this same issue: https://www.classiczcars.com/forums/topic/43889-fuel-bowl-level-and-bending-tab-not-working/

Spackle is curing. We'll see how it all turns out! So in the meantime, I had a pair of old round tops here. History is I rebuilt these a number of years ago (in 2011... My how time flies) and ran them on my car for a little while before swapping them out for a pair of flat tops. The point is... I had the float levels on these in spec ten years ago and they've been sitting dry in a box since. In theory, they should still be in spec. Well guess what... Here's the front: and here's the rear: The floats have a neutral tilt when the valves close, but the level is way low. The bottom line is that the only thing that could have changed is the fuel. So I guess that brings up a new question... "OK, so it looks like fuel has changed over the last ten years. Is it going to be like that from here on moving forward, or is it going to switch back at some point in the future?"

Been slow progress but I wanted to send an update. Oil pressure seems good. Its around 20psi during idle. I also fixed the down pipe exhaust leak (noise is still the same). Next I am going to do a compressions test and then check timing. Again thank you all for your help

I don't think the shape of the float that is submerged is an issue unless part of it binds. It is all about height of fuel below the bridge in the throat of the carb. Is there a problem with binding that needs the weights? Denser fuel will cause the float to sit higher.

Your willingness to destroy an old float 'to see what's inside' has led to an important discovery: they're not hollow. If someone ever proves that the specific density of modern fuel has changed relative to that of 1970's-era fuel, then this process of ballasting the floats might become a standard part of rebuilding Hitachi-SU's. I'd be curious to know what Z Therapy have to say about this, though. One assumes that they've successfully set the floats on hundreds of H-SU's by now and I don't think I recall any discussion on their part of special tricks being used to cope with modern gas.

Been running two Lamba’s . The cat is for smell, convenient packaging for two pipes .

At some point it becomes an obsession. I have 14 Z cars, 13 S30s covering all three series from 70 to 78, and a 79 280ZX. It started with the race car. Then the brown 72 for Mrs. Racer 1.0. Then someone offered a non running Z for cheap, I offered to haul it off for free if they had a title. Before I know it, the area behind the shop is littered with these things. Mrs. Racer 2.0 is tolerant but secretly wants most of them gone, especially since the values have gone up so much. I’ve decided it is time to thin the herd.

The strap is visible in the picture. It looks like a strap. The noise is caused by the nose of the differential lifting up and bumping the stuff in the transmission tunnel and/or the diff nose dropping down and banging off of the crossmember after it lifts up. p.s. don't mess around under there unless you have some good jack stands supporting the car. It's a lightweight car but still heavy enough to crush.

I have a 73 I'm a third through currently on a rotisserie, I never intended to get this project, but the price was right, I had to do it. I'm up to my armpits in ZCars and parts. I building a shed next to my shop to create an annex.

It’s a Magna flow I think - not many choices 2” 2 in&out .

Didn't even see this one go by. Very nice. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1974-datsun-260z-44/

I just donated because there was too much blood in my alcohol system.

Nice. Probably adhesion failure, for sure. If it was painted in Florida the humidity during the refinishing process would impact that. Still looks like a nice start, and you got a steal at $4k in today's market. Looking forward to seeing your progress.

I think that you could use this 5 pin relay to open when powered through the pressure switch but close when oil pressure is present (removing the ground path), supplying fuel pump power. There would be a delay until oil pressure built up. Might have to wire in a branch from the starter solenoid so that the pump gets power during Start. You're probably done already but I felt like exercising (hurting) my brain a little bit more. There is some neat stuff on that web site. http://www.texasindustrialelectric.com/relays_0332209150.asp

LOL, @siteunseenhas it right. I was shooting video at Randy Jaffe's shop today.

4000

No, it was in the Florida panhandle. Been eyeing this car for a few years, really didnt have room for it, but where theres a will theres a way. Maybe I need the one in N. Alabama........like a new hole in the head.

1/70 Car was painted really well, BUT, the body of the car has a few areas of bubbling and a little funkyness to it on the roof, sides, and rear valance, going to have to strip it down. I'm guessing where the body work was done wasnt prepped correctly. Doors, hood and all the other parts have no issues. So it will take some time.

Can't they put an M on the bag? I guess that's sexual discrimination at it's worst. They probably throw mine away after testing. They should charge more for it though, it's expensive what I do to keep this machine running.

From 1987 to ???? donating blood was my "wellness check". I did it a couple times a year just to make sure I didn't have some kind of horrible disease.

I used pop-rivets to install new squeegee strips as well as fuzzy strips to the door panels. They were 1/8" dia. X 1/8" grip depth steel rivets, spaced about 4" apart. Worked perfectly. Aluminum rivets can pop "prematurely" leaving a longer shank on the inside. This will interfere with reinstalling the door moldings.

My Dad maxed out at 13 gallons I think. Had those little gold blood drops in a frame. We put it in his casket. He did it to get off work early and still get paid and cookies, juice.

Station wagon? https://www.autoevolution.com/news/nissan-fairlady-400z-hatchback-rendering-looks-like-a-more-practical-z-car-163013.html

August 17, 2021 debut: 2022 Nissan 400Z Will Debut August 17 in Production Form (caranddriver.com)

So, I leave for Basel on Monday afternoon after a stop in Liege. I already did a 2 day layover in Maastricht. The city is quite amazing. Super clean, people were very friendly. Went for a nice run along the river, the views were incredible. Probably won’t work now because we land in Liege at 12:11 AM (17 June) and then get driven to Brussels where I’m staying at the Airport Crown Plaza until my flight my back to the US at 11:00am The good news is I’ll be doing this exact trip again several times until December, I’m senior enough to win the bid regularly. We normally don’t fly our Memphis based pilots here to do these trips we have a base in Colon, Germany and we have pilots we move there for 4 yrs at a time to fly the Europe cargo. With Covid, Germany has stopped allowing the company to move pilots there, and German law requires the ones living there now to move back to the US before they hit the 4 yr mark. So we have slashed our pilots by 50% in Europe this year. Right now if you land in German from the UK you must quarantine for like 10 days. The UK requires a Covid test every time you remain here more that 36 hrs. I have to self-test and send the results to the Health Services...pain in the butt and I’m fully vaccinated?? The bottom line is Covid has disrupted our operations in Europe and so the company is getting around it by bringing pilots out here for a week or two at a time. I will give you a two week notice before I do this again. It would be great to meet you! Won’t be working too much in July and Aug due to vacation and my recurrent training. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm out. I'm hoping 2022 will be closer to me.

I really wish that I could donate often, as I have blood type A- and it's unusual. I would like to help others with this blood type. But one of the prostate meds I have taken for years is an absolute prohibition for women, so I can't donate since I started taking it.

A little story... I had a 95 suburban that went in for an oil change. Well they forgot to refill the oil but I really couldn't prove it. It had a rod nock after that. A local racer told me to run 20w-50 in it. Quiet as a mouse. We ran it that way for a long time