Zvoiture

Have seen a couple 240's that allegedly started "coming apart at the seams" after years of sustained autoXing. Then again, have met a few people who claim this is complete BS. Frame plates/ gussets...and a roll cage....preferably frame plates gussetted TO a roll cage. steve77

I just spent $6000 in 6 months to turn a clean--but boring--77 into a clean-running, easy-driving, comfortable but aggressive cruisemobile for road tripping and autoX that my originally gung-ho wife now finds excuses not to ride in. My next Z will be a pre-74 240 and will be MUCH more aggressive but much lower-budget. Everything on it will be begged, borrowed, bartered or stolen. It will not have lush interiors or operating lights and guages. It will have undercoating for carpet. It will not have a change compartment in the console. If you choose to ride along on the milk crate on the passenger side, I will provide you with a roll-bar to hang on to instead of a door pull. The wheels will be gun-metal grey spray painted 15" whatevers instead of polished alloy. Lowering springs? CUT springs, baby. The headers will be a rusty, dented set I get free on-line. I will re-model a bathroom for the head work. Hood? What's a hood for? You know that color of dark, flat, splotchy, hand-applied charcoal paint that you see on '30's and '40's Ford bucket rods and roadsters? I'm learning to really like it. Priorities have definitely changed.... steve(maybe it's for sale?)77

True, you can identify many cars by sound. But Mustangs sound REALLY different! What's different about the engine? Ford trucks don't sound like them...or T-birds or Marquis...etc.etc.etc... A chevy SB sounds the same in a Silverado or a Caprice Classic or a F-body. It can't be just the exaust, because Mustangs have that same 'tone' whether the exhaust is stock or modified. steve77

Berry fuddy....BERRY fuddy

Not knowing too much abour Ford powerplants, I have always wondered about this. You can hear a 'stang coming a mile away. The motor sounds unlike anything else. It doesn't matter if they have Flowmasters or Dynomax or anything else, they just sound different (although the aformentioned really accentuate them). I'm talking about the Fox mustang and onwards (early 80's or so)....Is it the intake? Lately I have heard a few really late model F-body's that sound somewhat like the mustang. Close, but not exactly. steve77

what would it take for the 280Z to beat the 300ZX A miracle. steve77

I would think the #1 cause of restriction in the exhaust of a '77 would be the cat. Mine was ALL plugged up. But then, maybe where you are you don't have one??? If you don't have smog inspection, replace the cat with a short 'bullet' style straight-thru muffler (Cherry Bomb, etc...). Then install a good muffler in the rear. A decent 'non-name-brand' turbo muffler with at least 2.25 ports will probably flow just fine, and be the quietest....a Dynomax or Flowmaster will supposedly flow a bit better and be a bit more 'throaty'. The aforementioned bullet muffler will take care of a bunch of the noise--especially the really annoying resonance. A straight-thru muffler combined witht he bullet will be somewhat louder. steve(none of the above)77

Have you seen the 'clear' license plate covers? They look clear, but have this prism or hologram type thing built into them. From straight on, they look normal, but at the angle of the cameras, they are totally blank. Pretty trick, but I wouldn't want to have one on my car if I got pulled over by an actual cop... steve77

In CA we have cameras at crucial/large/frequently run/on the list of top accident area intersections to catch left-turn-lane runners. Your front bumper trips a beam that is activated as the light turns RED. As the beam is broken, several high-tech cameras with flashes take pix of your car from several angles, including one with a very good telephoto lense of your face through the glass. You get a little letter in the mail and it costs you $270 a pop. Most major cities in CA are doing it now. steve77

Ok, my attorney is on the phone.....he says you are going to drive to your local KRAGEN and ask for the Bosch VXC35dq-783 in the yellow box and when they don't find them and laugh at you, you will sue me. (imadeitupsorry) steve77

"and in bosch line?" That would be the VXC35dq-783, but make sure it is in the yellow box. If you use the one that comes in the black box, you will have troubles. NGK NGK NGK NGK NGK NGK You will sleep now, and when I snap my fingers, you will not remember anything happening here, but you will motor to your local NAPA and purchase NGK BPR6ES. Six of 'em for your trusty Datto. It deserves them! Gap them to 40 but make sure your coil and wires are less than 30,000 miles old and your cap and rotor have less than 10,000. If you live in an area that gets in the 80's or 90's, you might try BPR7ES and if you are in the sunbelt (90-100+) you might try BPR8ES. NGK NGK NGK NGK NGK "snap" steve77

Remember when you sold candy bars door-to-door for 3rd grade band uniforms and got a few 'slams'? I had run-in with Z31 owner today that made me feel the same way.......Downtown San Luis Obispo...middle of a car show...traffic at gridlock...I have hole-shot at light perpendicular with nice grey Z31. I'm in my 280...Z31 owner is nice-looking young Asian man (maybe mid-40's) with his wife. She kinda points at me and converses with him. I make eye contact with her and gesture a sort of nod/approval/acknowledgment. Z31 owner stares straight ahead. We inch through the intersection and I end up behind him. License plate frame says, "Cal Poly Alumni" (remember, this is downtown San Luis Obispo. It is natural to assume if he doesn't live here, he has strong ties to the area). At the next light I am alongside him and nobody is going anywhere anytime soon....I have a fresh stack of lime-green CCZCC flyers handy and grab one and get out and approach his window. Holding up the flyer (GIANT letters proclaiming: CENTRAL COAST Z CAR CLUB), I say, "Hi. Do you live around here?" Z31 owner never looks at me. Just stares straight ahead and tersely says, "No." His wife is looking at me and him kinda confused. I start to say, "Well, we have pretty nice Z club here......." and he puts it in gear and pulls forward never once looking at me. Steve McPheeters, I love you, Bob Howard, you're the greatest and the club wouldn't be the same without Debbie Swarens...but DAMN! Z31 owner really makes 'Z spirit' a rare commodity. Had to vent steve77

Somebody said in the "Only 240's?????" thread, "If you put a 280 in a 240, doesn't that make it a 280?" Which got me to thinking...... steve77

OK, it is pretty well documented here and elsewhere my preference for the 75-78 body structure. So it weighs a bit more and blah blah blah...weight is easy to lose: plain and simple it is a stronger body.....The problem of course being the complete IMPOSSIBILITY of registering a 75-78 body here in CA with a motor that puts out any sort of pleasant umph. How hard would it be to simply switch numbers? Who is going to know? I always do something radical with the bumpers anyway. How else could anybody tell? without weighing it or having a Master's degree in Nissan manufacturing techniques and history? The 70-73 body is identical to all but the most trained eye. Just build the motor you want and register it with numbers from a rusted out 240 you crushed. I am a completly upstanding, law-abiding, tax-paying citizen who--most importantly--respects the law and the reasons for them. HOWEVER: You all know a finely put-together motor runs well and CLEAN. Much cleaner than scores of the hulks on the road and assuredly cleaner than a poorly maintained 280. Couldn't I just say a couple 'Hail Marys' or something? steve77

I'm sorry, but you are going to find a gigantic LACK of information on extreme tuning for Z's from 1975 - 1990. At least the '75 - '83's share alot of info and specs and parts with the 240. The poor Z31 guys don't share with anyone and speed parts are pretty limited. Good luck! steve77

Hmmmm..That's a toughy...never heard of S130.com! And most Z sites just lumps them in with the First gen's (except this one)... steve77

YEah, I always found that pretty interesting too...."Hey, I just found 8 boxcars full of 3.4 R180's out behind the factory! We gotta use these things up!"..... Maybe they felt they had to go to the heavier diffy because the 280 motor was putting out SO MUCH MORE POWER THAN THE 240!!!!! That'll get'em going! steve77

Yeah, this place is REALLY international...you might be beter off talking about FUTE-BOL... steve77

2manyPosts...The Geocities site and myself must quibble a bit on those years. I have a 77 with a 200 and just dismantled a 79 with a 180. Neither of these were transplant situations. Hey, YOU were the one who sent me that link several months ago! steve77

Ahhhh...I see somebody's found www.boners.com steve77

Yes, inner boot is a good one! Theya rea always all cracked and ripped. My PO had drilled holes in the tunnel behind the radio for mounting or something???? He has also removed the rubber boots from the passenger firewall for wires to pass through...I put a new boot on the throttle too. It had disentigrated. steve77

Anyone catch the streetracing thing on MTV? Been showing it quite a bit lately. Pretty interesting. All about ricers, though. there is a Z in it, though steve77