TomoHawk

I don't see why you can't drive whatever you have to the car show and look around, visit, and have a bite. I'm not sure about what to say about the t-shirts and souvenirs, but you can go to the convention website and there's an email link for information. just click on the link in my signature.

Anyone can go to the car show.

My car isn't what you'd call a 'track star' either, but I'm going to Mid-Ohio. I've never even done a road course before, except in cycling. I'll be in the autocross, and the poker run too. If you'd like any information, there an email link on the clevelandrockZ.com website. BTW- Cleveland is only ' 3 1/2 beers' from Detroit thxZ

I'm still not any closer to the solution to the question: How do you get a paint place to mix up paint according to the Datsun colour #?

A 280Z doesn't have a toolbox lid.

the original colour probably ought to be close, and would be a good place to start, IMO. Why not just paint the whole car again in the original color, instead of matching the faded colour?

Yeah, we have a Hooters here. It's one of the hottest or busiest places downtown, located on the flats by the river. Chris- Cleveland (Ohio) is a great place for a convention. We have lots of places with hotels or lodging, the city isn't so big it takes you an hour in heavy traffic to get to the suburbs, (the convention hotel is only 20 minutes from the Rock'n' Roll Hall of fame or the lake) and getting around town is very easy or even convenient. Don't forget the weather is always nice here, even in late summer. I haven't used the a/c or furnace all summer! thxZ

IMO, it doesn't matter if you-know-who is going. If YOU go, is what is important and is what makes the convention great. Aside from the car show, there will be seminars & tech talks, hot-lapping at a real race track (where it doesn't matter if you're not experienced) and autocross (for all skill-levels.) You will most likely meet people that you will get to know, and make new friends that maY NOT even be a member of any car-related website. Do some arm-twisting and get everyone you know to go! The party will only get bigger & better! ythxZ

There are areas that are protected from fading, like under the bonnet, or inside the car. from my experience, they can't match the colour anyway. Even paint from the PO that's only a couple years old. thxZ

I don't use a sunshade per se, but I do have two lexan panels that snap into the windscreen. They are painted gray on the back, and on the front I stuck on dash plaques from all the car show I went to. The panels store behind the seat, and the car is noticeably cooler. Is there a sun shade for the hatch glass?

If you just want to add a strip of tinting along the top, you can get a roll of tinted stuff that you just cut to length and press in place. I put one on my other car, and it's been there for 10 years so far. I put ut in line with the rear-view mirror, leaving a gap at the top so you can see the traffic light if you too close. I've never needed to use the sunvisor that way. I think that if you wanted something with a logo on it, a sign shop might be able to put some graphics on tinted vinyl for you. Either that or a ricer shop. thxZ

If you wanted to get some paint, say #240- green metallic, what would you tell the guy at the paint store or body shop? Every time I talk to one of those guys they just tell you, "We can colour-match any colour." I don't want to get the colour matched; just order up a quart or so of #240 ( for example.) thxZ

Great. We'll look forward to meeting you there. There are a number of people from MI (and Chicago- windy-city Z club) going to the convention. I think one MI guy goes by the name ZMAX. thxZ

I'm boycotting the Olypics until they stop outsourcing that to other countries!

I like to make or keep things simple, so if I modded my 280Z it might be to simplify on the inside. The cheap plastic center console could go.

The whole downtown area has had a big renewal thing going. there are bunch of renovated "old" houses (mansions) on Euclid Ave that are said to be close to the million $ mark. On top of that, on the old flats (not the one on the river by the lake) where the steel mills were is getting some new interest to turn it back to park land and some kind of amusement area possibly with a race track. Don't forget we have the Mid-Ohio sportscar course reserved, plus a great place for autocross. Then there's the Rock 'N' Roll hall of fame, a dinner cruise on the lake in a reallly cool boat and there will be daily busses going downtown for sightseeing. there are over a dozen restaurants ranging from gourmet burgers to authentic Mexican to Asian and even a few microbreweries. We're signing on some live bands so there will be music just about every night. The more people that attend, the better this event will be. You don't even need to bring a Z car! You can just attend and hang out with other Z owners. I've even talked to some regular people whp want to fly in and rent 350Zs or Acuras just to go to Mid-Ohio! Don't forget the weather uring the convention will still be fairly warm. You Canucks might think it's still summer, and the southern chaps would probably enjoy the break from the summer heat. I haven't used my a/c in weeks and I can still spend the day ( and evening!) in shorts & a T-shirt. I just leave the windows open all day. thxZ

There are many people signed up to go to the 2008 ZCCA Convention, but out of the thousands of Z car owners in the U.S.A, there are some that aren't going? What's keeping you from going??? thxZ

Carfax is useless on an S30. They only go back to around 1982 or so, and when I tried it (online) on my car, it asked for the 17- character VIN. The same with those online car insurance places. thxZ

The pool question is fairly vague. Is it about what you did to your car, what you like, or want to do or what? It's not possible to answer things unless you know the question. thxZ

The distributor cap was marked before I swapped the wires. Changing one wire at a time was not the thing to do because none of the new wires were numbered, nor were any of them the same length as the old ones, which weren't the right lengths to begin with. I took all the wires off because I had to see which of the new ones was the right length.

Well, I think I'll get my dizzy gear & rotor checked when I get the chance, and correct it, if need be. In the meantime, I still have an engine that runs. I thxZ

I think you gotta be right on the ocean with the wind blowing your way a lot for the salt air to have any effect on the car.

On a 1978 280Z. I just had a professional mechanic service my car because I tried to put on a new set of ignition wires ( spark plug wires) and I couldn't get the bloody thing to start! I got out my Haynes book, and looked up the firing order and the picture of the dizzy cap, and hooked it all up according to that information. It didn't start. Then I took it all off and did it again with the same results. I even put a dab of paint on the #1 tower. After a few attempts I got out my FSM, and looked up the dizzy stuff. It had the exeact same picture of the dizzy cap, and the firing order. It still didn't start. Finally I decided to get the pro guy to look at it. It turned out that the picture of the dizzy in both manuals had the #1 spark plug tower on the opposite side of the cap! In the pictures, the #1 tower is at about the 3- o'clock position, and the tech guy said it was supposed to be at the 9- o'clock position. I'm getting a new cap & rotor, and a coil, so I'll transfer the corrected positions of things to the new parts. I'm also going to draw pictures into my Haynes book and the FSM. You'd think that the FSM would at least have things right. thxZ

I heard something similar about the Florida cars, that they are supposed to rust out faster because they are close to the ocean; the salt air will get into the metal.

Does anybody know what the replacement procedure is? Can somebody synopsize? Mine could either use a replacement or patching ( depending what's under those two blobs of rubber 'patch' I see there.) :paranoid: thxZ