TomoHawk

When I tool the old rail off, I just used an X-acto knife to cut the hoses free of the rail, then the hoses off the injectors. Then I removed the injectors from the intake and sent them to www.witchhunter.com to be serviced. BASICALLY: To re-attach the rail (barbed/stock injectors), I first put the hose pieces (8mm or 5/16 hose) on the injectors, and the bottom clamps & tighten those, then slide on the top clamps. The rail has all the barbs on it, so I just lined up all the barbs to the hoses and worked the rail into the hoses, then position & tighten the top clamps. Then attach fuel lines, etc. It's not that hard, but it has to be done right. All 6 hoses are done at once. It sounds like you did them individually, which I consider to be impossdible. Just takes some time. thx For reference on the procedure I used: http://www.automedic.org/smzcc/tech_tips.htm

First of all you can get different rails for the car, depending on what injectors you have. Contact Mr. Allnet for details. It wasn't very hard to put together, but It did take a lot of time preparing the pieces (hoses & fittings) so it was just right and it went together. Remember- trhis is a FUEL distribution system, and it's under HIGH PRESSURE, so it needs to be done right. Pallnet can get you all the fittings that go on the rail, but you might need some others to hook it up to the car, and some pieces you need to get yourself.Mr. Allnet can help you with that. Assembling the rail takes some time to do it right (injector barbs, pressure gauge, in & outlet), then you can mount it to the engine. You get brackets to support the rail. I used short hoses which were stiff enough to support the rail, so I don't have the brackets on (yet). Then you plumb in the fuel supply & return lines, and maybe some fancy pieces. I just had the engine tuned to specs by a Nissan tech, so I'm getting double the MPG of before ( very detuned/less MPG) but I don't feel any more performance, since the limiting factors are the injectors, pistons, valves (rest of the engine). thx

Good thing they switched over, otherwise the 280Z would weigh more tham 3000 Lbs.

I was thinking of having an upholstery shop apply the vinyl. IMO, they don't seem very excited by just a simple (cheap) job like gluing a little vinyl to a piece of cardboard.

I needed to replace my fuel rail, and I got a really nice one from Pallnet. http://www.freewebs.com/pallnet/index.htm

I don't remember what te panels were like. Did the vinyl wrap around the edges or just end flush. Wrapping is harder to do, of course, but doable, with enough time. Will-- I would never use staples since they would show. Even the screws have the decorative washers.

I don't have a kill story per se, but at my last autoX event a guy that was watching from his factory window drove over while I was packing up to check out my car. He was something right out of the 70's, driving a plain white Ford econoline and saying things like: "your car is baaaaad!" "I bet you could be a 5-0 Mustang easy!" "Let me shake your hand" "Baby, that engine is CLEAN!" I guess the cars on his side of the railroad tracks are much different (as in not as nice). thx

You could also polish the intake manifold (hard), or just powder-coat that (easier). You can even powder-coat things yourself at home.

That sounds like your basic injected resin system, but in this case it looks like the resin was poured in. I'm thinking what needs to be done is to remove the emblem, heat it up to sometemperature, then scrape off the oxidized surface layer and add a coating of some protective stuff (UV screen epoxy?) I just hate pulling off the emblems. It seems the PO of my car used double-sided tape to attach the emblems, and I didn't find out until the first one pulled off a few patches of paint. :mad: thx

That's the whole point, George. When you restore an old car, you really should restore what's THERE. Buying new parts isn't my idea of a restoration, assuming the part CAN be restored. If it really is too far gone, or broken, then replacement is the proper thing to do. These old Zs have character because they have aged as a whole car, not just the emblem or the steering wheel or whatever. If restoration was just buying everything new, we'd all be driving 350Zs (yeesh!) Add to that the great feeling of accomplishment that you really did rastore what was there, instead of taking the easy way out.

I haven't seen any thin ply anyware in the car, which is why I was asking. So I bought some heavy card from a place that makes picture frames. They called it "3X board".

It will have to be 0.60 inch (2mm) thick for lightness. I've never seen anything thinner than 1/4 inch (6mm). So I will stop at the art & craft store to see what they have. there.

I have a 280Z, Mike. I'll try to give them a phone call to get some details. At $30, it wouldn't be too bad to buy, even if you could use most of it and change the connectors (if you had to).

While you're at it cleaning & polishing everything under the hood, what about the alternator? It starts out as a rough-cast shell, but what would it look like with some sanding? You probably wouldn't have to polish it to mirrorness, but a smooth sanded shell ( 600 grit, then steel wool) might look nicer. Would it be difficultto extract the alternator to sand it? thoughts? thx

It's on pg. 51 of the VB catalog Z.45 (accessories section) Does anybody know what this is about? It's supposed to connect direct to the battery, has relays for both low- and high-beams, and "OE-style headlight sockets?" no splicing or cutting? Only $30!?? Makes you wonder...

I think the epoxy coating would work, after either scraping the top layer off to get to the layer with good color or just add some more colored epoxy on top. Either way, you'll need to scuff the top to get the epoxy to adhere. thx

OK, now that we're all agreed about the color ( or range of), the original question was about how it can be restored. Not knowing what it looked like new, I am up for ideas from y'all. A friend in the local Z clun told me it was easy to restore. I'm headed to the copy center later to get my Wick book rebound. Maybe there's some help in there. thx

That last one is what we have with the gold.

To be sure, I'm referring to the emblem near the bottom of the fender behind the front wheels. All the 280Zs in my area are chrome letters "280" on black, and on the end, is a Z in a 'box' with a gold background, which is faded or dirty. thx

How can you restore the GOLD part ( around the Z) on the 280Z fender emblem? thx

I l;ike the part where the guy pulls off the rear-view mirror and throws it away, "What is behind me is of no concern."

After that, check the connector under the steering column. Ifyou know which pins to use, you can jumper it to ground to complete the circuit, which is basically what the light switch & dimmer switch do. YOU can test both low and high beams separately that way. If it's not that, it must be something really strange. thx

On my 280Z, I think I'll use the regular size interior rivets for the panel, if they will fit in the hole. thx for the discussion.

I believe those are screws with decorative washer things holding that panel on.

It's that old & still holding? wow... I've been replacing stuff like rubber & plastic parts because the rubber is so dry & crumbles when you touch it, and the plastic stuff cracks if you touch (or bend/push) it. thx