EverRude

Sorry in advance...I'm long winded.. fingered... handed...whatever. I Like T.M.I. Ok. About 2 maybe 3 years ago I came across what appeared to be a good enough deal. Bought both a 1978 280z with bad motor and a 1982 280zx turbo with a good motor from same guy for $700. Spent about $150 in parts and such swapping motors. Had a Bad time with the wiring. Smoke, melted plastic, etc... Made the mistake of thinking the big fat red wire at the battery went to the positive post. Not so... nope. Next time I may actually use the pictures I take come reassembly time. There was more to it, ECU wiring issues, injector firing problems, fuel pump issues...etc. I did finally get the Z running though. Forgot that tiny ground wire to the intake manifold that allows the injectors to fire. Anyways, ended up breaking even selling the 280z with the swapped in zx turbo motor...turbo and all for $750 and the zx went to scrap yard for $100, it was in very very bad shape and rusty to boot. So all the experience "cost" was a lot of time, buying a valuable lesson. Injection sucks So back to my usual playing with fords and computers hoping to come across and workable Carburated 240Z project within my budget. Last week I sold my 1966 Tbird drivable project car to someone that wanted it more than me. Now with cash burning a hole in my pocket I put out word around work that I was looking for a new old 240Z. Basic story is the guy that had her for the last 5 years was setting her up to race SCCA locally. Which around here is a bunch of cones on a helicopter airfield. Anyways he had an accident 3 years ago that rendered him unable to use one arm for like a year. So the car has sat since that time because he bought a Porshe GT3 to play with that doesn't require work. He didn't put car up for sale but had heard I was looking so offered it to me. Here's the thing. He and the former owner kept all reciepts. He provided me with about $800 worth of brand new parts to install that were for engine upgrades not repairs. Schneider Perfomance cam kit, new springs, valves, arms...everything to rebuild head for performance still in box. All new Spicer universal joints. A ton of stuff. Plus manuals and books he had collected. All said and done I drove away with about $800 in parts, about $200 in books and a buttload of reciepts. I sure hope that Centerforce Stage 2 clutch and aluminum flywheel are really in there...heh Oh and I did it for less than he paid for the parts I was leaving with. She has rust. She isn't running. She aint all there. She sure aint all stock. She is cool though... Alot more pics in my garage and more to future albums. Now I pray and pray I pull this one off. Gonna be in help section asking for some advice soon. Wanted to post this first to reintroduce myself

I've got a bunch of parts I would love to sell to finance my Z car. But I've always been hesitant to sell things I'd have to ship. Seems like a lot of hassle and like it would force me to keep the price low to get the items sold. And the lower the price the more likely it's simply not cost effective. Examples are the 3 piece spoiler my 81 ZX parts car has. Kinda cool and certainly worth something to someone but is it worth the hassle of trying to box it. Or the Gold 14" Enkei 92's my 75 Z had. No center caps so I wouldn't be asking alot but I'd have to get the slightly dryrotted tires off and then box up 4 wheels. Not sure I could make enough to warrant the effort. Then the numerous parts I have from the ZX or even my 70 Mustang parts car. I know I have a chunk of money in items sitting on shelves or scattered around the garage that I cannot use or probably won't use anytime soon. But shipping seems like such a pain. Is it? I'd really like to have some extra money for the Z. Oppinions? Advice?

To answer my own question. The ZX booster is pretty much identical to the 75 Z booster. However there is a aluminum spacer bonded to the firewall side of the booster. The studs are located in the spacer and they are slightly lower on the booster than the Z. They are the same patern but because the the offset the pushrod boot is located higher and thus it won't fit. I'll just be painting my rusty booster and using the ZX master cylinder. I may do some distrustive testing to see if the original stud holes are still in the ZX booster making it possible to convert it to use in a Z.

Just how much stuff can I remove from my Z's engine bay? I'd like to strip out the all of the emissions stuff. EGR, vapor canistor(?), any and all vacuum lines and fuel lines that support that stuff. My Z's original engine had a blockoff plate where the EGR was. I could use that but it also had crimped hardlines off the exhuast. I'd rather cap those holes properly. I'd also like to remove that cooling fan that wraps over the engine and blows on the intake. I assume that thing isn't as effective as it looks. Any tips would be appreciated. Oh btw. 1975 280z with 5 speed manual and L28ET motor from 81 ZX. Thanks

Will the booster and master from an 81 ZX swap to a 75 Z? My Z has rust in the master and the booster is very rusty as well. But my ZX parts car has a decent looking master and booster. I'd like to swap them if possible. Thanks

Long story short. I've always wanted a Z. 240 was preferable but hard to come by around here not costing alot or too rusted to bother with. I recently sold my "beater" 87 Fiero GT and thought it was time to see about a Z. I got lucky. Just a few miles away a guy had 2 sitting near the road. No for sale sign or anything but I stopped to ask. He said he was selling them and had planned to put out an Ad next week. I took a look. Eh. A bit rusty and beat but not totally shot. Mostly all there and mostly all original. Two Z's. 1975 with a 5 speed from somewhere. And a 1981 Turbo automatic. Both rough but repairable. I ended up buying them both for $650. The 75 has a bottom end knock. But the owner claimed the 81 had a smooth running motor he drove till a full pump shut it down. The engine certainly was clean looking with no oil/water issues I could see. My intention is to swap the 81 motor into the 75. Also I plan to swap wheels and tires from 81 to 75. Rearend maybe too? I posted questions about the swap over in the HybridZ forums since I figured you guys prefer to keep things original. Oh and here's some pics. More to come when I actually get the cars home. It was about to start raining and I needed to get home before the wife caught me

That's the spot. Looks like fun but I'd rather avoid it.

I'll be waiting. Went back the afternoon when it wasn't so hot and I could spend more time looking. Can't believe I missed it before. Battery try has surface rust but looked fine. There's a big hole under the battery try I couldn't see however. That hole leads to on in the front passenger wheelwell that leads to a rusting frame rail. Add to that both doors look solid but looking from underneathe and the bottom rails of each is rusting through. Boy this car looks solid from every other angle tho. heh. I'll skip on it unless he offers to sell for maybe 500 and prolly not then. I'll keep looking. Thanks alot guys.

Dang. One more thing to spend money on. Thanks.

I'm looking to purchase a 260z for a semi-dailey driver. I'm trying to skim the costs down as much as possible. I have a set of virtually new 14in tires I had on my 70 Mustang. Can I use these 215/70R14 on the 14x7 rims on the zcar now? Seems like they might be too tall. Thanks

I can do the floorboards no problem. I'm in the middle of restoring a 1970 Mustang Fastback. Though it was virtually rust free I still had a few patches to do. This car needs to be a driver with little done to it aside from brakes and drivetrain maintenance for atleast a year while the Mustang is priority and takes the space in the workshop. Aftwards the Z would go in. I've kept an eye online for anything available for the last few months. My range is more like 200 miles. The trouble is so many people say "rust free" or very little rust when you ask them but when you see the car it's a whole other ballgame. I don't want to waste my time or money driving 200 miles to find out a local car is just as good or better. Every dime or minute I spend looking at cars is money and time wasted on a local project or my Mustang. There's a guy 200 miles away with 2 240z for $800 but neither run. If he was local I'd jump on it. But how can I afford to haul 2 cars 200 miles and still have no driver car without more money invested. Thanks for y'all advice so far.

Hi all. Been lurking here for awhile. I want to purchase a 70-78 Z. I'm not fond of the ZX's. There are 2 within 20 miles of my place currently for sell. A 260z with rusted floors but everything just about it solid (rails, battery, tirewell, fenders, rockers...etc) Just 2 big holes in the floors. Runs but needs some serious tuning. Haven't driven it yet but would before purchase. It's got it's original L26(?) and the smog carbs have been replaced with 2 weber DGV's. It's an automatic (much rather have the 4 speed) Been repainted atleast once. Originaly blue now a burgandy. I can't find bondo in the usual places. Window channels seem solid but the seals have gaps so it won't be too long for they do rust through. The windshield has a large crack. I haven't seen a windshield for sale as a repro. Are these available? Anyways the guys is asking $1250. The lowest he would go so far is $1k. I'm betting I could take it with $850 to 900 cash if I had it in hand when I spoke to him next. The second car is is a 77/78 280z. Not sure which. It's a 5 speed and I'm assuming all original. Gold with white interior. Rusty is understating it. Rusted floors, rockers, quarters, doors. I mean rusted through not just surface rust. This car has cancer. I haven't spoken with the owner myself but I've been told $1500 is his price. That's nuts. I betting noone would buy the 280z considering it's condition. But the old ball status of the 260 with it's automatic makes me want to look longer and harder. However given my current choices the 260 seems like a steal. I've seen higher prices and non running rusted cars online. I know sometimes guys here find good car for low prices but is this atleast average? I know a salvage yard with several wrecked 280zx's. I'm thinking of transferring the entire driveline (motor, tranny, and rear) into the 260 body. I'm betting I can get one of those cars for $600 or so. So potentially I could have a 260 with patched floors, L28, 5 speed, and r200 for something like $2k roughed out. Sounds ok to me. I want a driver car I can occasionally cone race at local events. Any advice?