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I had the opportunity to get up close and personal with one at a car meet in San Luis Obispo a few years ago. The original (and current) owner purchased it new when he was in the US Navy stationed in Hawaii.

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.

@Zed Head i meant it more like a brand name.. Here a example of DEXRON 75W90 oil.. of the brand ac delco. it has nothing to do with the ATF.. yes ATF can be dexron but oil can also be dexron.. Also when you look for the word DEXRON on wiki it says: Originally the DEXRON name was associated exclusively with automatic transmission fluids, later GM released DEXRON gear oils and other lubricants under the DEXRON brand.

Heater control panel rebuild complete. Control mechanism was disassembled, plated, and rebuilt. New vent, freshened blower switch, and a new panel and decals to finish it off.

The money from selling the 510 was burning a hole in my pocket so I thought why not buy something that was not only lots of fun to drive but might actually appreciate in value. I haven't registered in my name yet but I took it for a little drive and I know I will never find the limits of this car, it does everything right. I will be doing some serious cleaning tomorrow.

With the measurement at the fuse box, you need to do things a little differently. While you took out the 4th fuse down, you are measuring on the common feed for fuses 3, 4, and 5. You need to pull all three fuses (circuit isolation). Also make sure the headlight switch is in the OFF position. Also you may want to unplug the inspection lamp under the hood. Also test the fuse box with your doors closed. As @Captain Obvioussaid, you want to make sure you don't have a switch on, and that includes the switches for the dome light. With the fuses pulled (and the switches off and inspection light disconnected) take measurements to ground at the points indicated by arrows in the photo. Just for a reference, 2.6 ohms will drain your battery quickly, but it should not burn up your fusible link. That's a little less than 5A draw. That could be a couple of light bulbs you're reading. As I said in a previous post, reconnect things in the engine bay one at a time and re-measure. If you do have a short, I'm more willing to believe its around the alternator. (When I have problems with my own cars, my first thought is, "What did I f*** with last?")

We're talking about the 280ZX Turbo transmissions. 1981 - 1983. Not brand name changes decades later. Not what AC Delco did in 2016. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DEXRON Here's the 1983 FSM info again. That is what the conversation is about. 1983. The stuff about 2016 is interesting but not really relevant.

Yes, there is a fuel tank drain on all the S30's. I would definitely use it.

If it's only a couple of gallons, use the drain plug at the bottom. Just make sure you have a good sealing washer to replace the old one. I'm about to drain/replace the tank in my 240Z. It has well over 5 gallons in it, so I have to siphon first. After I get most of it out, then it will be the drain plug.

Lol Yes. I like the point about finding an original car. I agree $$$.

I was able to get those clips out, with the diff in (drive shaft was out) on my 1970 using vise grips and a pry bar, with the car on jack stands. The pry bar was actually an old heavy flat bladed screw driver. Like yours they had never been out and were very difficult to remove. Here is a picture marked up showing what I did. I held the edges of the clips (marked red) with vise grips and used the pry bar under the clip flange (where the blue arrow is) and applied force against the top of the mounting bracket. While applying force with the pry bar I was attempting to rock the clip back and forth in the direction of the arrow and eventually I was able to get it to move and pull out. The rust on the surfaces causes a lot of resistance but if you can break past that and the clip starts to move it will come out. Good luck

I think you are understanding the testing concept now. Now imagine a 3 inch bundle of wires, all of them are grey. One of those wires was not run correctly, and you have to find out which one it is. That really helps improve diagnostic skills. I find wiring diagrams and wiring harnesses with color codes to be SO much nicer.

It will be interesting to see where this one ends up. John may have stuck his foot in his mouth saying it wasn't a "Concours" restoration early on, I feel those who are after the lower VIN S1 Zs want just that. Seems like most of the cleanup work done on the Z was quality all the way up to the final details. Overspray on the rear hatch striker, the tail light trim needs some attention, floor mounted seat brackets need to be painted black, and correcting all of the saggy diamond vinyl to name some of the big hitters. He got picked apart early on for panel misalignments and minor corrections that should have been caught prior to taking photos. Hopefully this didn't degrade bidder confidence in the Z.

I did a clutch in a 06ish Mustang not too long ago and was surprised to see thin red fluid coming from the tail when it dropped down. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

What does worn mean? Pictures?? It will not change the temperature in the radiator at all! It will boil at a higher temperature but then you might bust hoses at the higher pressure or have leaks. "If it's not broke; don't break it!!"

Photos would help to show what was disconnected and where you were measuring. Basically, I'm trying to get you to isolate the circuit. Here is a simplified view using the wiring diagram on page BE-5 The red line represents the white/red wire. The blue line represents the white wire. The wires do not intersect directly. The white wire goes from the fusible link through its connector at the junction of the engine harness and dash harness. From there it has two branches. One goes to the fuse box, and the other goes to the ammeter. The white/red wire goes from the alternator through its connector at the junction of the engine harness and dash harness. From there it goes to the fuse box and comes back out where it branches. One branch goes to the ignition switch, and the other goes to the ammeter. The ammeter is the spot where the white and white/red wires intersect. Again, make sure you have BOTH connectors disconnected. Make sure the white/red wire is disconnected from the alternator. Also make sure the sense wire is disconnected from the alternator. If you are going to find the short, isolation is critical. At that point, test for the white wire to ground and white/red to ground. If you get OL readings on the white/red, start reconnecting one at a time and re-test.

Don't know which wheel cylinders you have? If you have the early wheel cylinders ($290.00) you can replace them with the later model ($50.00) with a little rebending of the hard line on the back plate. Early / Late Wheel Cylinders? - Wheels & Brakes - The Classic Zcar Club (classiczcars.com) Motorsport! Drums & Wheel Cylinders - The Z Store, Nissan-Datsun 240Z-260Z-280Z-280ZX-300ZX(Z31/Z32)-350Z-370Z Parts

Wow Cliff, two job changes in one month. Whew! The key is happiness though. I’ve been fortunate that most of the work I have done has always been work I enjoy, and mostly long term. I worked 30 years at an electric utility, maintaining and repairing the fleet. I served a 4 year state indentured apprenticeship to become a journeyman mechanic. It was like auto shop everyday. But after 30 years I grew weary of the management, wasn’t sleeping, and pissed off most of the time. I still enjoyed the work, but disliked the people I worked for. So I “retired”. After bouncing around in the private sector and not liking it much, I put my CDL to work and got a job pulling flatbed trailers loaded with airplane parts all over the US and Canada. Five years and over 800,000 miles later I moved on, to a job as an aerospace machinist. Now after seven and a half years at The Big Shed building 777 300ER/777 freighters, then 767 freighters /KC46 tankers, I am planning my exit to permanent retirement. Then I can spend everyday in my shop, working on my Z collection.

Cliff, you have the right perspective. I’m the same age as you are and I wish I had the wisdom I have now when I was a teen or in my 20’s. It doesn’t matter how you figure it out as long as you do. So many spend their lives chasing things that add no lasting value to their lives. They don’t know the difference between the priceless and the expensive. Your time and happiness is priceless. Give it away with extreme caution. Last night I flew into Liege, Belgium (Nightly milk runs from the UK), met 3 other company pilots there in the lounge. We had 2 hrs to burn and there were 5 of us total shooting the bull at 2am in the morning drinking coffee and cracking jokes. We flew back in there tonight (same guys except one was missing). His name was Peter Souza. Come to find out he died last night after he landed. No idea what happened. Makes you take account for your own life, what’s important. He didn’t think he was going to die within 24 hrs after we met. Married, 2 kids and only 47 yrs old. You have to live a little for today, and more so the older you get. Be kind to others, be a generous and be that someone you want to be remembered for. All we really leave behind are what we do for others, everything else fades away. You’ve figured it out…..that’s winning in the game of life not how many zeros on the check on pay day. Glad to have gotten to know you on the forum. You’ve added value to more people’s lives than you think.

Cliff, you underestimate yourself. Your personality (humor) and the Z knowledge you've shared over the years are a couple of the things that keep me logging into this forum. Sounds like you've found your comfort zone.

Yeah I understand. Good on you, man. The late '80's were my early teens, wish I had learned some decent work ethic instead of how to be a troublemaker. That came later. Congrats on the new job, now is indeed a good time to be in the paint industry.

If you are anything like me that means stealing your dad's car to take you and your skateboarding punk friends to a Bad Religion concert, wrecking it on the way back doing doughnuts trying to impress girls?