TomoHawk

I like to brag about the Z as the "most popular sportscar in the U.S.A., but someone will then say, "What about the Corvette..." or, "what about the Mustang..." or the BMW Z3 or 318, and so forth. The Z is a sportscar, the Corvette is (the only American ) sportscar, a Mustang is a Pony car, the Z3 is a roadster, and the 318 is an executive/touring car. Then the same person will say, "What about the Infinity...., or Acura......, etc" which are performance sedans. Sportscars have exceptional handling due to light weight, "2 seats," a well-engineered, balanced chassis, and modern suspension. A powerful engine alone doesn't make a sportscar. It goes without saying the 240Z, 260Z, and 280Z were the only real sportscars sold in the U.S.A. in their day, after MG, Triumph, and others had left the market, but things seem less defined lately, with most every car looking like a aero-something with 4-wheel disc, ABS, turbo-EFI-"VTEC" engines, and all the other stuff. Except those new box cars, which should say SF&TokyoRR on them thxZ

Chris- Could you repost the link to the article? The one just posted wasn't complete (the dots). thxZ

There was talk of updating the judging rules for this year's convention. Has it been done or available? thxZ

I tried out my handheld CB radio for a club outing next week, and I'm getting loud buzzing from the engine. It has stock ignition, resistor plugs (I think) and I plug the CB into the cigarette lighter plug. I was thinking of adding an extra cigarette lighter jack on the riser hehind the seats. There is no buzzing on the stereo system. Any ideas? thxZ

A short while after I got my car, (2003) I went to the Nissan dealer to get to know the Z tech guy, and one of the salesmen told me that they don't make Zs any more! There's no way I can have a 280Z, because they stopped making them.

there was talk about revising the judging rules for this year's ZCON. It ought to be in print by now, is it available somewhere?

When you get that big of a difference between judges it can only mean two things: 1- the judges don't have the same way of judging. 2- You car isn't so perfect that two different judges can give the same results. So you get to keep working on whatever the deductions were, to get it all to perfection or correctness.

The 240Z had bumpers? I thout it was the old Merc 'led sleds' with the 2,000 bumpers.... Even though my windscreen sunshade has in BIG letters on it, "1978 280Z," people still say, "nice 240" or "nice "ZX"

That's a cool setup, Wayne.

That red, white, and blue ZCON logo hurts my eyes. :paranoid: . :sick:

That applies to any car, not just a vintage Z. I see reports of 'disabled' vehicles on the freeway every morning. Some people just don't put enough attention into maintaining their cars. If something isn't supposed to be reliable or safe enough for street use, why would you want to put it on a vehicle use off-road? The Baja race trucks come to mind...

Of course. Any modification, or even a repair, should be carefully investigated, planned, and executed; especially on an old car like a Z. You wouldn't want the car to quit while driving on a crowded highway...

One more upgrade option you might want to look into: http://www.zcarcreations.com/howto/maxifuse.htm

Just push your foot down to the floor and keep it there!

The third photo looks like the endcap from a condenser, and the rest of the condenser is missing ( it fell apart.)

On a 78 The dome light grounds through the door switch, but it also has its own ground connection. The voltmeter has a separate plug (a 3 pin pconnector) just for the volts part of the gauge, and its own ground connection. If the gauge indicates zero, then either the gauge has failed or the plug/connection/wire has broken the circuit. You should be able to measure the volts directly at that plug.

1- Check all the vacuum connections and vacuum hoses to ensure there are no leaks. 2- Check and clean the electrical connections to the air flow meter and coolant temperture sensors.

My 11/78 had the entire rear floor on one plane, and it was flat, which was nice.

The wiring was the important thing. The OE ignition module was not needed after the swap, which is the goal. The odd thing is the the author keeps referring to the ballast resistor. The first graphic is the OE setup, and the second is after the swap.

Is this of any help: http://atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/distributor/index.html It's for the ZX distributor swap with the E12-80 ignition "matchbox" circuit integrated.

I remembered where I saw a good write-up of the fusile link upgrade: http://atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/fusiblelinks/index.html

I think the best part of the swap would be the 'shortening' of about 6 feet from the wiring between the distributor to the ignition module inside the car, and all those old connectors.

The raised floor is to hide the spare tire underneath. You could probably make a cover to fit over the tub, but IMO you'll never get a carpet to lay flat and be smooth because of the frame rails along the sides and all the little brackets sticking up.

Would it be possible to swap that into the L28E engine, replacing the OE module? It might be good to have a better sytem with the cheaper parts. thxZ

The best option seems to be the Maxifuse system http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18312 http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17317 IMO, fuses are better to use, because they force you to investigate the cause, and curcuit breakers are better for things that may cause a momentary high-current situation, but not a serious fault. There is a chart somewhere here showing the current ratings to subsitute fuse for the fusible links. There's nothing wrong with the OE fusible links, a long as you keep it all in good condition, of course.