Zvoiture

Got a couple around here...let me know if you're interested... steve77

The lightest I have ever seen is 11. 13 is pretty common. Be prepared to spend somewhere North of $350 for one. A machinist can get the stock one down to 17 or so, but the safety of that is contested. steve77

So how do you tell the difference between a 180 and a 200? Is there a bolt pattern or something? steve77(200) steve79(180) steve 71(Alleged 200)

I jacked up the rear to get the diffy out and put the stands under the rear rails and when I took the jack off, the front tires came off the gorund! I threw the hood on and both rear tires and both seats and a battery on the hood to bring it back down! NOW this thing really looks gorgeous. My wife is about to murder me. OH, YES, and then one of my good Z friends (YES TIM, YOU!!!) came over and while I was out of the room told my wife "...it is probably full of black widows." THANKS A MILLION! steve77 (it IS full of black widows)

Took these off my '79 parts car last night for a possible adition to my '71 project. I can't believe how wimpy these calipers are! The pads are, like, 2 square inches!!! and the caliper 'housing' is a big stamped piece of sheet metal! I know this is a hotly debated topic, but I can't help but wondering how this could possibly be an upgrade over the stock drums with decent shoes. Is the raw physics of a disc brake that much better that this little thing would stop better than drums? steve77

"Also, it suggests that if your 280ZX is equiped with a 5-spd it would have the earlier "280Z 5-spd" ratios. Sorry if that brings bad news! " No bad news here...I am not a drag racer. I much prefer to cruise at 90 on the freeway quietly and efficiently. I was actually kinda hoping it was a 'tall' one. Now, I have a question for you about the 280ZX diff! I am just curious but do the half shafts attach to stub axles at the diff by 4 bolts (at the diff end) or is the axle attached to a yolk which is held to the diff by one bolt? Sorry, if that is confusing, it will make more sense if you are looking at it! There is one 14mm head bolt (probably 3-4" long) in each shaft whose head is nesting in the center of the yoke closest to the diffy. I took a box wrench to it and as you loosen it, the splined stub begins to move out of the diffy. Removing it completely and the stub comes completely out of the diffy. steve77 (steve79 gets lighter every day...)

I don't want to scare anyone away from buying the full dash cap. That was not my intention. It looks wonderful. Fits very well. There are just a couple places where it is a bit snug. That is all. And I think these areas could be solved by some judicial shaving of the swollen cracks. It will improve you car 100% and looks a hell opf a lot better than those carpet things. steve77

Just removed the diffy from my free '79 parts car last night. Tried the Royce method and got 16.75 turns of the input for 10 turns of the axle. So this is a 3.365? I was told it was a R-180 by the person who gave me the car. Does this make sense to all you diffy pros out there in regards to year/ratio/model??? I guess I need to go back and try and find all the available specs... steve77

I bought the full cover from VB and had some of the same issues. It fits really well under that Japanese Ninja-weapon thingy the defrost blows through, and it fits pretty well down the heater and radio columns, but is almost a 1/4 off at the edges, near the dash dimmer and opposite. Also doesn't go all the way down into the gauges. I THINK it is because of swelling of the old dash in the sun. The numerous cracks are visibly raised and need to be ground off. I have never attempted to cut the dash down and I have never glued mine on. It fits really snug and when you screw that Ninja thing down, it's not going anywhere. My original plan was for a hot day, parked in the sun, windows up...get that thing good and hot and see if it would 'mold' a little better. Doesn't work. The dash cover is too good of material. So for now, mine just sits on the dash. It fits well enough that nobody notices it--even Z people. Run into someone who has fought a dash cover, though, and they see it immediately! It is definitely not a concours fit, but it looks 5 billion times better than the original. steve77

"Zvoiture, you are looking a little pensive in your new avatar. Is there something troubling you, or is it just the moody lighting?!" "Sports Bersion".................... Yes, its that old Japanese pronunciation gremlin again - mixing up B with V......... " The new avatar is a pic I smapped of 'My Little Ball of Hate', ala my 18 month old daughter... One of my favorite screen names is 'Yerrow Dog'.... Have you seen the History Channel's Z documentary? When they are showing various design predesessors of the Z, I think they show a very close version of your HS for a split secone....I will check again. steve77

Hey! You've got a ton of Z people up there! CLUB Z is in San Jose and is 4G only, but they are all great Z people nontheless, and if you contacted them, I'm sure they could put you in touch with local 1G people...Here's their site (and this is the coolest home page I have ever seen. Takes a minute to 'catch on', then it's fun)... Club Z Also, Z Owners of Northern CA are based in Sacto, but have a Bay Area 'branch'. They can put you in touch with lots of Bay area Z people. ZONC Last but not least.....If you are in the South Bay, we are not too far. 2-3 hours....We like to go to the NASA Auto-X in Monterey, too, which is easy for you. We are about 2:15 from Monterey at a fairly legal speed.... Central Coast Z Car Club On our site in the 'bookmarks' area there is a link to NASA-X so you can see the schedule...there are always Z's and 510's there... See you at Blackhawk on June 23rd? Mr. K will be there....should be a great show... steve77

I was very tempted to try the cartriges NAPA sells (Monroe) just to see how they compare to the Tokico non's. Again, only $30 bucks or so. Haven't done it yet though.... steve77 (1 1/2" of travel)

"a limited-volume Homologation Special" ...at least now we know what HS stand for.... steve77

I'm not normally a fan of headlight covers on Z's OR off-colour flares, but I really like h30's car. It just works. Is that an original colour? Another question H-30: I was surfing ZCLUB.net today and in the classifieds there were some strange combinations of numbers. Over here, when somebody puts an ad in the paper saying they have a "1983 280z" we know it's a typo, but I know there were other things available internationally. On the first page there is listed a '75 260 and a '74 240. Is that for real? steve77

All pretty basic stuff. The usual turbo AFM tweaked to work on N/A engine and the larger intake and TB. This is more or less the recipe I will be replicating, at least for now. The only differences will be flattops and a N42 head. I would like to get something North of 10:1. This recipe is attractive to me because it is a good primer for the modified FI method and all the parts are cheap and available and don't take a master's degree to play around with. I spent too much money on my '77, so this car is going to be severely budget! The individual TB's and/or unmetered air flow is intrigueing... steve77 (and a FI 71 very soon)

Congrats on car of the month! Your car is one of my favorites on the site. Everything works well together. Nice package and presentation. steve77

Absolutely. That's where it really matters, so why try to 'butter things up'? Just dyno'd a well-tuned but stock L28 re-build in a 240 with same drivetrain and round-tops. 135. Depressing? Only to people who's self-esteem depends on some sort of wack numeric measuring scale where everything receives a numeric score and is judged accordingly. Make the car happy. Make it breathe and run good. If you are not capable of diagnostics (I am not), spend the money to get air-fuel, timing, and valves in sync. Then drive it. And learn how to drive it. Don't let a number that is 50 or so less than you were expecting dampen your appreciation for this wonderful automobile. So it's not a '72 Nova SS. It never was meant to be. It's smarter than that. That's why we are Z people. We are smarter than that. steve77

"BTW_ I like your Valve cover" It's not mine. It is 'Mad' Mike Taylor's. It is my motivation for my new engine project. Everyone said I was crazy to want to build a hot FI motor. I couldn't find anyone that thought it was a good idea. Then I go to the MSA show and BAM! here's Mad Mike's car. It is a bored-out, AFM-adjusted, Turbo TB, high pressure FI L28 that just happens to have a really cool valve cover. I took lots of notes. Now you understand my fascination with this Japanese Co? They have not responded, BTW. I have not seen anything else like theirs anywhere in many thousands of hours of surfing. I think it is a great theory. steve77

Je vais t'expliquer mon fils... Un riche banquier juif va marier son fils. La veille des noces, il prend le jeune homme à part pour une conversation en tête-à -tête. - Simon, mon fils, je réalise que je ne t'ai jamais parlé de la vie etc.. Dès demain, tu seras avec ta femme, il faut quand même que tu saches certaines choses. Tiens, tu connais les doigts de la main ? - Mais bien sur, papa ! Il y a l'index, le majeur, le... - Non, non! L’interrompt le banquier. Ce n'est pas ça ! Il y a le doigt du voyage, celui de la direction, celui de la jouissance, celui du mariage et enfin celui de la distinction. - Ah bon ? - Je t'explique, Simon, mon fils. Le doigt du voyage, c'est le pouce, parce qu'il te permet de faire du stop. - D'accord papa. - Le doigt de la direction, c'est l'index, parce que c'est celui que tu tends quand tu veux montrer quelque chose. - Ok - Le doigt du mariage, c'est l'annulaire, parce que c'est là que tu vas passer ton alliance, Simon, mon fils. - Oui papa - Et le doigt de la distinction, c'est l'auriculaire, parce qu'il faut le lever quand on boit une tasse de thé. - Compris, papa. - Mais papa tu as oublié le doigt de la jouissance! - Je gardais le Meilleur pour la fin, Simon, mon fils. Le doigt de la jouissance, c'est le majeur. Le plus beau, le plus long. Pour la jouissance, ce doigt, tu le mouilles dans ta bouche, et tu comptes tes billets, mon fils ! Et vous, vous pensiez à quoi ????????

And the zx is another couple hundreds. The ZX is probably stouter, and the engine bay is at least as big..I have a ZX shell sitting in my garage and it is put together really beefy...Parts? I don't know. The ZX ws not made for as many years as the 1st gen, but there were a ton of them but they are not collectable and they are really cheap, and everything is different body and susp-wise, but it changed again completely in '83......so you see there are arguments either way as far as parts availability. Smog requirements on a '79-83 model year would be something to check out... steve77

125

Never had the opportunity to do either the 8 X 10 thing OR the 6 X 8 thing. Got pretty close to each a couple of times, but lucked out. Somebody must be watching out for me...There are times though...middle of January, foggy, windy, &*$%# freezing, numb, miserable....when you think it would be nice to have that office job...then it passes... steve77

So....whadaya sayin'? Z car forums are not good places to pick up chicks? steve77

I have this '79 I got for free which I am stripping of any remaining parts useable on a 1st gen....What about the steering rack? Someone told me it has fewer turns lock-to-lock and is a straight bolt-in on a 1st gen. It LOOKS the same as my '77, although it is mounted behind the front crossmember, of course. Comments, please. steve77 (and steve79, although I am not proud of it!)

I had my stock '78 into the 120's numerous times for extended periods of time whilst commuting the lonely 505 in Norcal. Usually cruising with something else that wanted to go fast. Not racing, just cruising fast. Totally rock-solid, totally stock. My current 280 has never seen much over 95--not because it did not want to, but because I have a wonderful wife and a beautiful house and two gorgeous girls and I just don't flaunt the law like that anymore. In a controlled enviroment, I feel my current Z with its great tires and complete suspension overhaul would do 120+ pretty safely. With it's 5-speed, I'm turning a nice, comfortable 4200 at this speed. I would love to see 5500 in this car. Side-note...I have a CHP friend who speaks of various Mustangs and Camaros and Corvettes who have tried the sustained high-speed thing...His motto: Just stay on 'em, and bad things will start happening to the motors. steve77