TomoHawk

What about the Z cars? You have to look really hard to find a car show thay features Z cars, almost nobody knows what it is, even if you put a sign in the windscreen, and to go to a Z car-related car show, you have to join a Z car club or go to a regional or national convention, which is usually hundreds of miles away. I once tried to enter a car show and wasn't allowed because it was for 'classic cars,' i.e. domestic cars. Justin- I got that stuff from the headline of that Mustang website, which is spelled, "Black*******Club." It's not too obvious what the name is.

It looks like only the main banner has the censored pasties on it. There are pictures of Mustang magazine covers, ads for Mustang parts suppliers, etc. There are plenty of instances of the word 'Mustang' all over. This make me now think that the calendar mentioned had something in it that wasn't very appropriate for most people, and the way the name of the website was spelled or portayed wasn't very flattering or appropriate. As in: a Club for Black Mustangs? Mustangs for black people? Dumb stuff like that. thxZ

Gee... This sounds like software licensing... Now, I'll bet they won't even let you change the oil in your engine, unless you drive it to a factory-approved service station, as you'll be infringing on the license you were given to only DRIVE your car, not to service it or make modifications. You can't: Put different tyres or wheels on. Buy any aftermarket parts modify or change anything on the engine. No tune ups, oil changes or even wiping the dirt off. Change the radio presets? etc. If the manufacturere didsn't put it there, you can't touch it. Maybe you can't even put in 'un-approved' gas (not made by the manufacturer for your car.) Maybe there's some kind of big misunderstanding going on? Maybe that club was actually doing something they shouldn't have done? We will soon see if this spreads. then we will know. thxZ

Those little sleeves wouldn't even fit on the bulbs in my 280Z, because the bulbs don't stick in much- they're almost flush eith the metal case. The hols ie just big enough for the bulb, too. So I think I'd stick to the coloured dyes to coat the bulbs. thxZ

How do you tell what the wattage is? They all just say 6V or12V, but there are some I saw that are 7V.

OK, but what would it mean if the numbers are different?For example, if the chassis number is 433087, and the engine number is 280389, does that mean the engine is older than the chassis? Can you tell something just from the engine number, like if it starts with 280, it was for a 280Z? thxZ

Where do those links take you?

That suggestion could go to anyone. Next fall is the national/international convention, and there should be plenty of opprtunities to get some excellent video shots of Z cars to put together something everybody would like. thxZ

I put in new bearings & bearing plate, new vacuum pod, new inductor and new sensor. Just about everything, but the mechanical weights. I just don't have the electronic thing to adjust the sensor.

When I rebuilt the distributor on my 280Z, I noticed that the vacuum advance didn't move to easily when you put suction to it. It moved very slowly and required a lot of suction to get it to move. Is that correct? I expect it to move more easily, to match engine revving for times when you need more power instantly. thxZ

I have my thermotime connector on the switch itself, but the one wire to it is disconnected at the bullet connector ( under the fuel rail.) There's no need to keep that little heater inside constantly hot. It gets connected for car shows where people might notice an unconnected wire on the engine. So right now I have both disconnected.

Why fdon't you get together with some friends during the next Z convention and put together a more respectable video?

Yes, I have the cold-start injector/valve completely disconnected for now. It looks odd ( if you are familiar with that engine) if you see the plug hanging there, so when I put the new connector on it I will cut one wire so a simple butt connector can complete the circuit if I want to use that injector again. But unless I am at a Z car show, I should disconnect the thermotime switch too; there's no need to have current running through the heater inside constantly.IIRC, it's connected via two bullet connectors to the main sensor harness. thxZ

I thought the dome light covers were supposed to be translucent white plastic. I got a new one for my car from VB and that's how it was. Maybe the 240Z had a transparent one that get cloudy? thxZ

My engine is running well, and starts easily, and I don't even have the cold-start injector (or valve) connected. So I think even if you want to work on something else and just leave it unconnected for now, you should be able to get the engine started & running for whatever time you would need to work things out. The weather in TX should be warm enough that you wouldn't need the use of that injector. In the meantime, I tested the thormotive switch, temperature sensor, and some other stuff, and I replaced the ones that weren't working right. FWIW- I still have the cold-start injector installed, and the connector will be plugged on, once I put a new one on, but I plugged the fuel hose going to it, and I won't worry about it, since I only drive the car when it's warm. thxZ

Did you check the programming on the engine computer? Sometimes it'll get oout of balance and you need to go inside an press the reset button to get it back to the default settings, so it doesn't shut off the fuel pump when the coolant gets too hot. Well, you can't do any of that :cheeky:, because the ECU ( Engine Control Unit) is about as dumb as a transistor radio. It just takes inputs from the coolant temp sensor, the air temp sensor, AFM resistor, etc. and generates pulses to turn the injectors on. It's not anything like a computer or a brain, and if you ever get any work on it by a 'modern-trained' mechanic, you'll know better if he tells you that you need a new engine computer, or you can reprogram ( 'rechip') the engine computer for performance. Remember the L28 engine is of the old-school design, which relies more on the mechanicals to get power. the ECU is there to make sure it gets the fuel it needs for the temperature, RPM, and airflow. You would do well to get yourself a copy of the '280Z EFI bible.' It has diagnosis charts and procedures. Also atlanticz.ca has several tech sections which describe how you can test sensors and other stuff. thxZ

Yeah, Solo II is what I'm primarily interested in, but I might do a hot-lap occasionally. It looks like the Canadian requirements are similar to the U.S. ones. Still, what is the current standard for Snell? Snell is more familiar and available to me than SFI. FYI- Snell has proposed a new standard for 2010, but that shouldn't concern anybody for a while. thxZ

What is the current helmet standard required for SCCA Solo I (for Autocross)? According to the SCCA, these are the current helmet requirements: SA95, M95, K98, SA2000, M2000, SA/K2005, or M2005, SFI 31.1A, 31.2A, 41.1A, and 41.2A (source: http://www.scca.com/documents/Solo%20Rules/SoloHelmetBulletin.pdf) In general, you can use a helmet "meeting the current or two immediately preceding Snell Foundation standards." So I think that means you could use an SA2005 or SA200 helmet? thxZ

Will- What do you think about making some of those plastic covers for the 280Z arm rest/door handle bolts? They would need to be plated, but you could leave that up to the purchaser.

I'd like to see some wiper shaft boots that don't crumble after three months...

My other dad ws born on New Year's eve, so everybody gets to party on his b-Day. I also have friends that were born on Christmas eve, Christmas day, and New Year's day. I think it must be really neat that there are people born every minute of every day. thxZ

What's a Toby Bean?

There is an opening feast Monday, provided by the guys from TX, and a closing banquet on Friday. What do you mean by "painless" ? thxZ

Will, I'm just sharing my opinions on these things. If anyone wants to see changes in the 2008 convention, they need to cantact ZCCA, and/or the people in charge of the 2008 event. These kinds of changes should be put to the people working on the 2009 convention, or the one after that, but IMO, it's too late to reschedule things for next fall. I go to a lot of Saturday or Sunday car shows from spontaneous decisions on Friday night, but it it's not the biggest reason I have.

OK, you compete for bikinis, and I'll be somewhere else.Shouldn't you people be out drinking? Happy New year to all...