Zvoiture

What's the process? I'll play around with it.... steve77

I need to do something about my mirrors....Just bought some from MSA and they are ABSOLUTE JUNK!!! The mounts did not accept the set screws right and now--just a few miles later, they are all loose and crappy. Very disappointing. And I specifically asked them on the phone if the mirrors were junk. "Oh no, these are very high quality." steve77

What is the Hasegawa Power Services injection system all about? Of course, I can't read a damn thing on their web site...I am a FI fan and have often wondered about an 'unmetered' air flow and it's possibilities. I clicked on the link and said, "OMG! here it is!" What do you know about it? What regulates the injectors? Are there individual butterflies? They have a black box pictured...does it replace or add on to an existing CPU? I would think the existing brain would be worthless in this system. Is it RPM based? Is it vaccuum based? Oh, yeah.....and......(what does it cost?) steve77 soon to start a 240 FI project

Those are the strangest slotted mags I have ever seen. They look really good. Any idea where they came from? steve77

"I think we're going to keep them way too numerous for the high-end of the collector car bracket for much longer than five years." You're right. How many Austins do you see at the junk yard? How many MG's? How many XKE 'project cars' do you see in the classifieds? steve77

The Z car is at a strange place in the value system of 'collectable cars'. I think they are just at the cusp of desirable. There are still too many of them. They are pretty easy to find. They are cheap. They are still somewhat young--25 years is a pretty international number for collectability. I think a large portion of the collectable car 'economy' is generated in the US, and 99% of car collectors in the US have a sick 'American iron' mentality. They are cheap little trashy econocars from Japan, after all--they're not REAL sports cars. Yeah, and the Mustang is a REAL sports car. Give it another 5 years for the 240's and another 10 or 15 for the 280's. There are just too many sub-$1000 cars out there. But I think 240's are starting to climb a wee bit. There is a BUNCH of crap out there for $1000-2000, which is GOOD! 280's are still a dime a dozen. The really funny part is how running Z's are worth more to the casual driver than they are to the Z enthusiast. How many times have you seen a running Z sell for $1500 that you or I wouldn't give $500 for? Just a bunch of random thoughts. steve77

Yeah, suddenly I'm a 'professional' too. steve77

Ever sold a Z and made money? Is it possible? steve77

Thanks a lot. steve77

Royce, How does one go about becoming a 'professional' Z car nut? Does this mean you get paid for it? What a charmed life! I keep trying to figure out ways to get income from a Z car obssession, but so far the numbers are always bigger on the other side.... steve77

Can sombody explain the difference to me? I don't understand. steve77

Hey! While we're on this topic...Anybody know the difference in weight between an F54 and a 'regular' L28 block (n47?). Is there any difference? steve77

Talk to ZONC. They are a huge, old club and ought to be able to put something together regularly. There is a big thing in Mt Shasta thi summer put on by the 510 folks. The Hale's told me about it. Probably on their site. http://www.dimequarterly.tierranet.com/ Where do you live? Too far from us? steve77 Central Coast Z Car Club

Just got the JCWhitney Sport Compact catalogue in the mail today. They have never sent me this one...OMG. I am speechless. My eyes are worn out from alternating between staring incredulously, laughing to tears, and reading the fine 'descriptions'. There is so much unbelievable crap in this book...I had no idea rice was this bad. Despite all the incredibly cheesy, low-rent stuff designed "for the look of speed", I'm kinda jealous.....I'm glad there is not a following with a catalogue like this for Z's but at the same time, haveing all these parts in one place and readily available and this cheap would be nice...There actually is some pretty cool stuff but 99% of it is for Honda/acura with smatterings of Eclipse, Focus and Neon. A few things for 240SX and I counted 5 items for 4th-gen 300zx. One part in entire catalogue for "75-83 Z, ZX"...a set of Susp. Tech. springs. (good price too). I laughed until I cried over the "Neon shift knobs" and Air filters designed to look like BOV's and 16" double carbonfibre rear wings "Aerodynamically adjustable to your driving style". They sell Asian character decals AND DON'T SAY WHAT THEY MEAN!!!!: "Bold Red Asian lettering: No matter if you drive Asian, European or American, these heavy-duty grafics will look terrific on your spoiler..." Hood Pins that "...adhere with super strong adhesive..." THEY SELL FAKE ROLL CAGES!!! for the inside of your car: "Something radically different to remove your car from the lookalike crowd....some drilling required." And the cool stuff? Several brands of adjustable fuel pressure regulators...all kinds of billet pulleys, adjustable cam sprockets...billet intake mani's, fuel rails...70mm TB's...billet oil pans...Do 2 1/16" guages fit Z's? There are three different face styles...7 different brands of springs, including a set of threaded sleeves, perch collars and springs starting at $149! (wonder if any of them would fit over a Z strut?)...ALL KINDS of sway bars, camber/caster adjustment kits, frame braces, short throws, CARB compliant headers (now I'm REALLY jealous).....A butterfly valve for your exhaust! Maybe that's what we need to solve the free-flow vs. back-pressure debate! Oh, and something else I saw a troubling number of at the MSA show last week: Skyline GTR emblems. I gotta go...I need to order my air-cleaner-shaped-like-an-intercooler, a billet fire extinguisher and my clear distributer cover. steve77

What a great colour car!...and I love the Avitar...saved it to my growing Z picture screensaver, but it was pretty pixelated. Nice to see some Frenchies here...I ws beginning to wonder if there were any. Does your group have a web site? steve77

What do you mean hi-po? Shops charge a lot for Z susp because they know they can be a PITA. Let's see... Bushing kit.....250 4 Tokiko's......150 Lowering springs...300 Rear spindles....120 So...there's your $800...if you shop well and do your research, you can probably take nearly 200 off that...For coil-overs and adjustable strut cartriges, double it. Labor for yourself? figure a Saturday for the front and a Saturday for the rear, provided you are not scraping and cleaning everything in sight while you are there and you have the tools and a nice work area. What's that? you want the brakes done too? For another 500 you should be able to get 4 new rotors and 4 new calipers and pads, and you might want to figure another day. So....the original quote might have been really good or really bad, depending on what they were going to do. Figure a mechanic can do things in about half the time Joe-Blow can do it in, and figure $65+/hr. I was quoted $873 to put 4 new OEM (Monroe) stut cartriges in my 77 by a tire shop. People who don't do Z's alot just don't like messing with them. Too bad for them! steve77

Minimal rust, '70-'73, No motor, trans and diffy not necessary, but negotiable. Must be South of Sacramento steve77

YES. Pull everything, computer, harness, intake, injectors, AFM, TB and your head(if it's a N42) and put it in a box and send it--postage due--to: Steve McConnell 746 Via Bandolero Arroyo Grande CA 93420 Some of us somewhat like the FI system. steve77

There are plenty of good reasons to go 302 in a Z-8. Lots of speed parts, plenty of cheap parts, light weight, and DISTRIBUTER IN FRONT! And, plenty of people have done it. We, don't want to lose you here, but be sure and check out HYBRIDZ.com. LOTS of 302 info there. steve77

2many speaks heap big wisdom. There could be a plethora of things preventing your engine from running properly--especially while still cold. I would check quite a few other things before changing the injectors. Unless, of course, you are just dying to spend $40 or $50 X 6 on new ones. There is probably nothing wrong with them. Might be a little dirty, but that's nothing that a good hot run with a batch of good gas won't cure. Tell you what, if you change your injectors, wrap up the old ones and send them to ME! I could use another set! J/K. If hoses are bulging, that's good. Yes, actually your system IS 'plugged'. At the injectors! You've got lots of pressure behind them, so when you find whatever it is that is telling the computer not to fire the injectors fixed, you will have plenty of gas. By all means change your FI hoses. I would start where the hard line leaves off at the passenger frame rail and replace everything in the engine bay. BE SURE AND GET FI HOSE. I used 5/16, because I don't like tight hoses. 1/4 will work. It is exensive. NAPA sells it in 10' rolls for about $50. It takes about 8' to so the whole car. It is not a fun job, lots of little screws and tight places and time consuming. The two halves of the rail are a pain in the arse. Save the old pieces for measuring purposes and everything will fit properly, but no matter how you do it, several things have to slip in at once and all be the perfect length. If you don't get everyhting right, your fuel regulator will rub on your throttle linkage. Besure and put a new fuel filter in while you are at it. I left a 'loop' (about anextra foot) of hose between the hard line at the frame rail and the inlet to the filter. It makes changing the filter WAY easier. How old is the gas in the tank? If it even has remnants of gas in it over 6 months old, I would hook a long section of hose to the end of the hard line, put the other end in a 5 gallon bucket and turn the key to 'on' and pump out the entire tank. Have fun. steve77

"Seems like a lot of people remove this stuff." Actually, I think the norm is to remove IT ALL and install carbs. Most people consider the carbs more desireable and if they HAVE FI, they just leave it alone to keep everything happy and all those lovely little expensive parts working as a team! steve77

Wow! Congrats on the trophy! There's a big car show here on Father's day, but not on Mother's...You 've been having too much fun for Mother's day...I just finished cooking for brunch and have a few minutes to check the mail...a nice bacon quiche, some fresh berries and melons (from Mexico) a hazelnut tart and a raspberry cheescake...now I just have to decide which bubbly to open...I have a Mumm cordon Rouge (a gift bottle which I despise, but my mother-in-law loves) or a '97 J. Damn, I guess I will have to open both! Kiss the one you're with! steve77

I sent you som pix of a smog-exempt Z with a FI engine. Basically everything on the rear half of the intake/air rail has been removed, filled and ground off. Just start tracing things. If it goes to somewhere that is clearly canister related or gas ventilation realted or exhaust ventilation related, take it off. If in doubt, take it ooff with it running and plug it to see if the motor will still run. My 77 has a teensy bit more complicated smod junk than a 75, so I can't give you a list. And even within the years, there are variations (not even considering modifications over time). Blow up the pix I sent you. That is actually a '75 head (n42) and a ZX intake with the webbing ground off. steve77

I don't read any car mags, so maybe this info is really old...but I just read about the Infinity G35. Now, when Nissan told me they "would never build a 350Z in a 2+2", I believed them. Now it seems like it was kinda a 'white lie'. On one hand, I am somwewhat happy that they did it under a different label and therefore have not 'watered down' the Z line. But the other half of me screams that it is all a marketing ploy and there will be a bunch of 2+2 Z clones running around. Its almost as though they have stooped to the level of American auto makers with their diversified 'houses'. In the past, I admired Infinity and Lexus for keeping the lines very pronounced between their cars and the 'factory vehicles'. Then the J30 went away and the Q was the only RWD vehicle in the Infinity line-up. And the Camry became last-year's ES300. As the lines between Buicks and Pontiacs and Olsmobiles and Fords and Mercury's got blurred many years ago, now the Japanese automakers are making their loyalists make a tough decision between 'flagships'. steve77

"As far as moms day... We don't have kids, so, I don't have to get anything for my wife." And you get away with that? Man, that would never fly here. It doesn't matter if you have kids or NOT. You have to do something for your wife regardless. steve77