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Gents, while surprised at this article when you look at all the forces at play it begins to paint a clear picture. Classic cars are really hot right now and it’s been going on for awhile and it’s moving through various models and makes. The price of Supra’s, RX-7s and so many other cars are in the ludicrous levels. First it was the 240 then 280 and now the ZX. So here’s what I think is happening, because this is happening more than just classic cars. He’s my break down of all the forces at play. 1. COVID made people sitting at home get the desire to start a new hobby….classic cars is a popular one. 2. The massive expansion of the money supply, the Federal Reserve has been on a printing spree. The machines are running 24/7. The US and printed 25% of the dollars in existence in the past 12 months. More dollars chasing less supply. 3. Inflation (partly due to the above). Prices in May climbed to record levels, and the fed has made it clear…printing will continue at rate of 120 billion a month for the foreseeable future and no rise or interest rates until maybe 2023. 4. Classic cars are the number 2 best investment next to rare Whiskey. People want a place to put their money where is will be worth more next year than this year. So people are buying classics. Why leave month in the bank where it gets no interest and is worth much less the next year. I bought my 280z in Dec 2017 for $3700. Had I done nothing to the car I believe I could sell it today within a week for 2x what I paid. 5. New and used cars are crazy expensive right now due to serious supply issues. I bought a new 2021 Suburban last Nov and paid 7k under sticker. When I went to sell in my 2017 Outback then I was offered $17,200 by Carmax. Last week Carmax offered me 22k Two days ago I received and email from the dealership I bought the Suburban from. They said they wanted to buy back my Suburban. I called and they offered me MSRP, unseen . That’s a 7k gain with 8,000 miles and 6 months old, but I’m not selling, In what world we’ve ever seen has that happened, I went online to see what’s happened and read that dealerships ware selling above MSRP. For the Suburban it’s 4K-8k above MSRP. Everything we buy is going up and that’s impacting everything from furniture to classic cars. Gas prices have almost doubled since the election and food and lumber prices are way up Has anyone tried to buy appliances, furniture or a boat recently. Don’t….you won’t find many. I’ve been waiting since Jan for outdoor furniture. So you have to look at it from what the dollars purchasing power is not the actual number. That’s part of the problem, but here’s the really reason……. Class Z’s are awesome cars and the world is finally recognizing it….something we all already knew. So 20% is rising prices all around and 80% but the Z is a beautiful, fantastic car.

You may as well drop the motor to change the plugs plus 13 quarts of high dollar Kendall oil in an '81 SC. It's a road you have to drive before you realize the bumps it has. Kind of like boats. There fun but like they say you can just stand in the shower and rip up hundred dollar bills.

Before the DEA sweeps down on me…that is a CHOKE lever handle I am looking for.

I despise conducting business over Facebook!!

According to the 74 FSM (page EF-9), the electric fuel pump should deliver 1400 cc (85 cu in) in one minute or less. And also on the same page, it lists the pressure spec at 4.6 psi. No idea if that's what they actually did, but that's the spec.

That's an excellent piece of work. The shape of the OE lower rear valence is interesting. It's not uniform and when I first looked at the one on my 70 Z, I thought it had been tweaked from collision damage. The proprietor of APS is a gifted metal shaper. His inventory of offerings seems guided as much by the challenge of creating a new piece vs. the marketabilty of that piece once done. Apparently he compensates in his pricing (which is probably quite fair). Perhaps you should ask him if he's interested in recreating the entire rear panel. BTW, APS is based in the east Yorkshire market town of Thirsk -- the centre of the world of the well-known BBC TV series, 'All Creatures Great and Small', and its lead character, animal veterinarian 'James Herriott' (real name, James Alf Wight). It's a beautiful area and well worth a visit if you're in England. I passed through a couple of years ago as part of a combined Goodwood Revival/Yorkshire Dales vacation.

To duplicate a post I made earlier on the UK site, I’ve been having a bit of fun doing back to back tests and learning about making YouTube videos - my kids want their own Minecraft channels, so I’m trying to learn with my version, I call it Zcraft! 😄 Ever wondered what an exhaust system would sound like on your car with different mufflers? I personally found that the internet was full small clips but very little in the way of back to back comparisons on the same car. Well, purely for your benefit, I sacrificed myself!!!! I will splice parts of these together one day when I get more time, so that the same bit is played back to back on one video. 1. Thrush / Dynamax 17715 Turbo Muffler (I had some SERIOUS hay-fever that day so forgive my lifeless voice). 2. Zstory Classic Muffler (forgive the jibe at you left-hookers) [ 3. Zstory JDM Muffler (forgive my boyish squeaking) 4. Zstory Street Muffler (forgive the camera mount that broke halfway through the clip). Let me know what you think and I hope it's helpful / fun. (To be very clear, I have no affiliation with Zstory nor is this commercial in anyway - it's just me having a bit of fun and sharing it with fellow enthusiasts!)

Last time I was on this forum you called me a "troll". Have I been upgraded? Listen, anyone who thinks they Know It All about these cars simply doesn't know how much they don't know. I'm always interested, and willing, to learn. I certainly don't think I Know It All, and nor would I even want to. Where would be the fun in that? There's always something new to learn, as you have so artfully demonstrated of yourself in this thread.

Ahh. Are you looking for one of these? The one on the left is more rounded, softer. The inscription is white but 'off-white' showing some patina. I like the finish of the knob better. The one on the right is more square cut and slightly larger. It still has remnants of the scotch tape that held the screw in (from the parts box) which makes me think it is new. The inscription is really white and bold. I don't like the surface of the black plastic. I would polish it. I believe the screws are intended to screw into the metal post. They don't screw into the handle. I thought these were from '73 models but what the hell do I know! These aren't the style for my cars. PM me if you're interested we'll deal. CW-

This is a 'known' known. Same is true on RHD cars in my experience (both UK and Japanese market variants at least) and is a mirror image of the LHD layout. The passenger seat rails do not allow the same amount of rearward positioning as those on the driver's side. I've read the reason for the difference somewhere in the past, but now can't remember where, or what the reason was...!

Either the calculations were way off or the materials/manufacturing didn't match the engineer's design. Either way, this should never happen. I can't imagine that there wasn't a huge factor of safety built in to the design as well.

A Los Angeles news station showed the chamber this morning - a big metal ball that looked like a pressure cooker on a trailer. The lid blew off and landed in a yard 1/4 mile away. Bad calculation on how powerful the device was that they were destroying.

When I was in college, We had to do a semester-long design project for a bomb retrieval robot and detonation chamber combo machine. It would be interesting to see how their chamber was designed and what failed and then compare the specs to what I designed 30+ years ago. Of course in the late 80's, we had no CAD or CAE. It was all hand calculations and paper drafting.

I agree European cars can be expensive to maintain. The only way I can afford it is to turn the wrenches myself. But Porsche parts seem to be exceptionally expensive. Late 80's 911 would be fun for a while

You know what they say. If if Flies, Floats or Fxxcks...rent it, it’s cheaper Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Dutchzcarguy, I think the 911’s are beautiful and I’d love a mid 80’s air cooled SC. The problem with Porsche is you better have a fat wallet and know a good mechanic because parts are too expensive. No offense but I’ve sworn off European cars. I’ve owned 3 BMWs in my life and all of the were great driving but they are too expensive to fix and the Germans have over-engineered them, honestly this is happening across the board with most manufacturers not just German cars. Cars are needlessly too complex now. I had adaptive headlights on my 330 and when they broke it was $1800 each, electric seat motor went out $2790. And things just started to go on the car at 5 yrs. Once your warranty expires you need to sell. Porsches are the same. It’s a love hate relationship. I’d rather keep my Z than deal with the long term consequences of an older Porsche. Plus, drive a Z and a 911 and see which car attracts more interest by the casual person walking by. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Wow. We were paying $1.63 before and we are at 2.93 now. So not quite double. Gas Buddy tracks fuel by state. Here is the last 12 months for AZ. Looks like $2.20 the first week of Nov and now $3.19 that’s a 50% increase. Of course this is average across the state. Good thing the Z get pretty good mileage. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

For a slightly different take on farming in England, watch the 2020 Amazon Prime series, 'Clarkson's Farm', hosted by the former Top Gear host, Jeremy Clarkson. Really funny.

No proper website, just his Facebook then you have to contact via email. He’s good at answering emails though. Easy to deal with. Apparently he does a excellent reproduction radiator support panel, expensive though due to the number of pieces and work.

F5C71-B was Direct-Drive ('Dogleg' shift pattern) 5-speed competition 'box, but there was no Warner synchro version, hence no F5W71-B.

Here's some Haltech stuff. Describes "Auto-Dwell", AKA current-limiting, and "ECU-Dwell", which is essentially using the module as high speed relay. The module keeps the heat/current out of the ECU. It's a fun topic, very energizing. https://support.haltech.com/portal/en/kb/articles/ignition-modules

So, maybe they are the new 911... in a way, at least. Not too long ago, I heard someone say something to the effect of, "Wow, look at that old Porsche!" about my z. Evidently that guy thought it was a 911!

Some ignition coils have their "dwell" controlled by the computer, like modern GM HEI coils which are almost zero ohms resistance. Other coils use independent modules that have current-limiting circuitry that maximizes "charge" then holds it. I did a Google and found an interesting article about coils and modules, below. There's a bunch out there. My basic point is that you should not even be considering keeping the ballast resistor for a modern ignition system. It is a relic, although a cool (as in neato, but also a pun) one, for keeping current flow controlled through a coil used for points. It only lasted three years after Nissan went electronic in 1974. 1978 did not use a ballast resistor. Each system is different. There should be details in the full installation manual about what you need for the coil; resistance, type of module, how to wire it, etc. My other post was pointing out that the system is designed for independent coils per cylinder. You only show one. Maybe the Haltech 750 can run one coil for six cylinders but it's not clear. That would be inthe manual also. https://www.consulab.com/files/ignitionHandoutV20181.pdf

great video ak260!!! love the test sounds. thanks for all your work , I have been looking at there mufflers sometime now and your video gave me what I was looking for . 1 question are you straight piped or are you using a resonator ?

Nice work! Manual 260z in the UK I believe started out with R200 3.7 and then went to a 3.54 in the last couple of years (77-78). Happy to be corrected. 280zx used R200 3.9 for NA manual and I think 3.7 for turbo. My 3.9 R200 came from an Arizona manual ‘84 280zx.

There were rust bubbles all along the rear valance and they had bogged over the indent that the stock valance has, so I figured it would need replacing, thought I could sell if not needed. yes correct, APS one is only the lower section, but it’s better than others due to it having the stock compound curve and a more accurate exhaust hole shape.

Nice comparison, thanks for taking the time to create the videos, and share it with us. I used a LoBak auger muffler on a setup I made for my race Z. I ran a production based class that required the use of the stock intake and exhaust manifolds, but allowed any exhaust system so long as it exited the car behind the steering wheel hub, and met the sound regs. Since the heat from the exhaust was burning my foot where the pipe ran down the transmission tunnel, I built a headpipe that exited behind the left front tire, and hung the muffler from the rocker panel with a turndown at the outlet. The muffler is a LoBak auger muffler, made for circle track racing. I used 1.75" pipes from the manifold to just before the fender (wing) and fabricated a 2 into 1 collector with a 3" mandrel bend, connected directly to the LoBak. Had a local flamespray shop coat it with aluminium (this was before the ceramic coating thing happened) inside and out. Looks awesome, never blew over 80db at the track, and my feet don't get burned anymore. My cylinder head guy worked over the SU carbs, intake and exhaust manifolds, put it all on his flowbench with the head and exhaust, and made significant gains in airflow into, and out of the head. All to gain an advantage within the rules. A photo of the part that is outside the car.