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At last.. after this post i got revalued.... to grandmaster Z !

It's the feedback from the O2 sensors that make the EFI systems cleaner (cleaner burning, leaner) and more fuel efficient (indirectly, overall, cleaner). Plus, the fuel trimming done by the O2 sensor controlled system allows the use of catalytic converters. Which makes the overall system even cleaner. It's just science and logic. The early EFI systems without O2 sensors and/or converters could be just as dirty as a carb'ed engine though.

I try to be safe but sometimes just mess up. Lots of foreshadowing, Same as when I commented about the pikes peak cliffs. Anyway I got off easy and will try to do better in the future. Progress is slow on the turbo engine but steady. Got the AFM mounted to a perch and a good location for the Coil, Should be working on the wiring harness soon. This time of year is my busy season so fun tends to take a bit of a back seat.

Thank Alan! That is what I am feeling about for racing cars. Kats

Color is always tough. Is your car stock, lightly modified, or flaired and highly modified? A '77 280Z with stocl bumpers, 14" wheels and factory hubcaps will look very different than a lowered small bumper car with wide wheels and tires and a spoiler. If you have ZG flairs, then you might want to go with a different color on the flairs than the body. IMO, stock colors look better on stock cars, while modified cars tend to accept different colors very well. I don't particularly like black unless you have an original '78 Black Pearl.

Patcon is right, heat won't work. The resin is a thermoset, like a 2K paint. Once it sets, it's done. Your best bet might be more FRP underneath. Fixture is so that it is where you want it and lay on some fiberglass strips with resin. They will be under tension after curing so should work well. The hardest, most important, part will be getting good adhesion to the material that has already cured. A boat builder/repairer should have the materials and know how. Or >>> hood pins.

Wanted to share my experience with getting my front end aligned. So I took the car to a local shop with a great reputation, had them do other work before on my other vehicles. Anyway dropped it off yesterday morning and it sat there all day and they didn’t finish it until this morning (had a sick mechanic). I really wanted it done yesterday because the East coast got hammered today with a big storm today and I didn’t want to drive in the pouring rain. Once they finished the work they parked it outside in the downpour.😞 So the alignment was was out of whack, which I expected since I rebuilt the entire front end and reconditioned the steering rack. Here are the before and after, you can see the camber numbers.. Of note for those using lowering springs that your camber will be off. He said I was in the limit but said it would be fine. Attributed it to my lowered springs. Drove it home in the rain like so stole it. Driving so nicely, but nos she’s all dirty. 😩

Hi , I tested fittings of a replica Z432-R bonnet which was duplicated from an original Z432-R bonnet. The fiberglass was selected to much the original one, I simply love to see the fiberglass cloth material and the way of structure inside. I did some adjustments but still in a half way of proper looking. A big issue is bending upwards at the left corner end. Maybe I heat it up and push it down? I am feeling it will not work for FRP. Maybe a garden stone on the corner to sit down little bit but how long will it need? A month? Or a year? Kats

You might be right. If you had the lines open the odds are good that an air bubble got in. But, since all of the work was at the top you could probably just leave the lines cracked and slowly press the pedal to move the bubbles out of the loose fitting. It could be messy. You won't really know until you try the brakes. It's possible that the system gravity bled while you were putting it back together.

That's why a lot of older guys here, who lived through the 70/80s in their 20/30's confuse the 280ZX with the 280Z 😅

As lots of americans don't realise, the 260z was made till 1979 when the 280zx came out.. so there are a lot more 260z and 260z 2+2's ... In america there was the 280z and the rest of the world got the 260z's.. I don't know for the rest of the world but we overhere in the Netherlands could not GET a 280z! (only grey imports.)

Exactly.. the further in the past you get, you get less hp but more cubic inches 😀 These days a 1.0 turbo does the same as the L24

Thanks Patcon and Zed Head, I will follow your advices. So I will do like this, #1 Patcon, try adjustments #2 Alan, enjoy authentic-feeling #3 Zed Head, if I have budget and repair man is willing to do. Hood pin is a good idea too,it also links to authentic-feeling Kats

Thanks for the information Kats. I am looking further into what my situation is with locks and keys. When I acquired the car, it came with one key for the ignition (R type). The original hatch lock was missing. And there was no key for the left and right door locks and glove box lock (but I can tell they are R type as well). With no key, I cannot confirm so far that the glove box lock matches the left and right door locks. However, I can confirm that the 1 letter 4 number combination on the left and right door locks match. I see a 4 digit number on the glove box lock that does not match. Does the glove box lock have key code information on it? A spare hatch lock with a key came with the car, but it is the L type. So, I won't be able to use it if I want to only have one key to work all locks, which is what I desire. @DutchZCarGuy sent me information about how to modify the wafers in the key lock to match an existing key, but I'd like to attempt to get a working lock set without modifying them first, if I can. I am thinking of finding a locksmith who can make a key blank to match the code on my door locks. I hope that will work the glove box lock also. Then, I would need to have a locksmith modify the ignition lock and a hatch lock that uses an R type key. I have a spare hatch lock from a previous car which uses the R type key. The only downside is that the stainless parts of it are in poor condition. So, I am having to mix and modify to get a matching lock set that can use one key. And I want two original keys to go with it.

Kats Heat is probably not going to work on FRP. It's likely to only break it down. Weight is unlikely to work either. I would set the bump stops at the correct height and figure out a way to make the latch tighter using the bump stops to hold the hood at the correct level.

Beginning December first each year I only play Christmas music. I have a couple thousand Christmas songs on my iPod, mirrored on my iPhone and now, my iPad. Here is one from the Ramonas, Santa’s Got A GTO

This afternoon i'm gonna kick myself... i could buy one for 60 grand about 20 years ago? and now estimate: is 1,8-2,2 million... pfff.. I think it's one of the most beautiful cars ever. well done Count Albrecht Graf von Goertz! (for the aluminum body) It has a V8 but as strong as a L24.. 150 horse.. But yeah.. it's a 1959 car..

Gents, I’ve been off the net that past month or so. Life, family, work and other issues have kept me away from my time in the garage with the Z. Currently sitting in the Paris airport waiting to return to the US. It’s been an 11 day trip and I’m ready to be home with the family and back to work in the garage. Here’s where I left off last time with the car. Working on the stereo speaker install, the work it a bit tedious because of my OCD. I bought some 6x9 speakers to build a box below the deck to improve the sound quality. I have a couple more days of work to do there. This is my extra deck, so I can always go back to OE look. My headers came in about a month ago from ZStory. They look great, very happy with the stuff he puts out. I had been waiting a long time for this last part of his system so that’s in the works too. Im taking it this week to get ceramic coated, for heat transfer mitigation. The car has been driving great, the more miles I put on it the more the kinks seems to be getting worked out. I have a couple issues to address. I also finished the from carbon fiber lip install. I like this much better that the xenon valance. I’ll post a few pics. 1. High Idle - car idles fine on start but after driving it around and coming to a stop the idle will hover around 1000-1100 RPM. In order to get it back down I have to pump the accelerator one time and then it returns to 800. Let me know if anyone has a clue why it does this but it’s pretty consistent. 2. I have a rattle on my right rear strut. I think I have the spacer loose from the shocks bouncing around there.. I’m not motivated right not to pull it out .and address it. 3. A small oil leak. Getting about 10 ml of fluid that appears to come from near the passenger side closer to transmission. I think it’s coming from the reverse switch but haven’t confirmed it. Got a new gaskets waiting to be installed.