TomoHawk

I was referring to SCCA Solo II AutoX, where a stock Z could probably meet the basic requirements for both stock or Prepared class, depending on how you outfit the car. If you go t othe limit the rules allow, then there is lot of difference.

Save me a pint or two for next Sunday, mates!

According to the SCCA list, it has the 280Z if the E stock class even, which is very similar to the production clas, IMO. http://www.moutons.org/sccasolo/Lists/2006/stockc.html#ES

I thought FP was a production class? I usually go in ES

I hada shimmy when I got the car, and it was the old, dried-out, hard steering rack bushings that were loose. New ones fixed it right up.

I was thinking that one of those motocycle trailers would fit well behind a Z, and it's probably possible to make something like that even.

Me? After I get my Z fully fixed and equipped, I plan on taking a few weeks to cruise around. Maybe from Ohio to NYC, then to Miami (US-1) then over to L.A. and back. That's $2500 - $3000 in hotel/motel roomage or probably much less if you can get a spot at a campgrounds. Maybe even free if you want to be a contortionist and sleep in the seat.

I wouldn't call it foolish to take camping gear with you when you travel. A hotel or motel room.can cost up to US$100 a night. and if you can plan a trip to stop at a campground, you'll be saving a lot of money (BTDT.) When you've spent as much time camping in the mountains or backcountry as I have, you learn how to minimize your gear compliment and how to pick & prepare your place where you pitch your tent and sleeping gear to ensure a comfortable rest. I'm not insisting that everyone sleep in the car- I was wondering if anybody had tried or done it in a Zed. I've done it in another car once, and it was comfortable, but slightly cramped. I still prefer to stretch out on the ground, and the camping gear I have would easily fit into the car.

If you're going to spend the money on a fuel cell, why not spend it on making a new gas tank that fits to the car? Maybe there's a fabricator in your area. Like Gary said, you cou'd still have the room for a spare tire, and it would look much nicer for a street car,

In a way, it is a custom switch, since it's not an oem switch; just one I got from the electronics store. I have an automatic mirror too, and I was looking athe controls on it to see how to use the Datsun switch to control it in the same way as the Datsun antenna.

there isn't anything to take pictures of; it's the oem antenna.

I'm done with this one. I got a SPDT rocker switch (center-off, momentary) from my local electronic surplus store, and it fit exactly the square cover that's in the middle on my console (under the radio.) I just cut out the material, a little filing with a square file, and the switch presses in. Then I clipped the pigtail from one of the dead antennas I got from eBay, a little soldering, and it plugs in the hole, the console, and the wiring harness. After chgarging the battery, I tested the antenna, and it works great- goes all the way up & down. Now I just need a little black vinyl paint for the switch, a couple screws for the antenna bracket, and to put the panels back in the car. thx

That's really nice. The first thing I looked at the was the sides (rocker area) and the area under the pedals. My footpad came loose, and the carpet wore some already. How does your footpad attach? thx

The discussion evolved, Stephen. Maybe Victory didn't advocate a certain technique for purging, but he did share his experience that hopefully, was successful for him.

The reason things smell like gasoline after many years is because of some of the components of gasoline that are especially "smelly." They act like a kind of oil, or a sludge. In the lab, they drive the analytical instruments crazy, so you have to dilute the samples to get it to go through. The same components will pretty much soak into the metal and it's really hard to get rid of them, and even in minute amounts, you can still smell them. Albeit, you should be very careful of gasoline vapors; they are what makes you car's engine "fire up" after all. This stuff I've learned after working for years in an EPA lab, analyzing dirt contaminated (or not) with gasoline from storage tanks. thx

You could probably do yourself a big favour, and get your tank cleaned & seled. then you'll find the leak, and have a perfetly rust-free gas tank with all new (and safe!) fuel hoses. The downside of this is that it may be expensive. Eventually, it will need to be done.

NO tie-dye paint job with peace signs and beads strung around the roof? OH- surf board.

I learned to drive in cars that had separate lights & wipers itches, so it's probably nothing new. It just wouldn't look as pretty as stock. Would any other combo switch work maybe?

Don't forget about all the other stuff you'll have to carry with you (helmet, cleaning supplies, food) so anything else you carry should be as eliminated or as small as possible. Sleeping in the car could be comfortable, if you figure out how, so you'll eliminate the need for a tent. It'll also be a little safer from the local wildlife. I've spent over 600 days & nights in theback woods while in Scouting, so I have a very good idea on how to camp with little or no stuff. Using a groundcloth is the best idea besides a tent with a fly top. Otherwise, you get wet if it rains. Also, firewood is getting very scarce, and in most places I've been, it's use is prohibited or at least very controlled. So you're better off using a fueled-stove for heating water. A fire might be pretty or you can warm your hands, but it's the most in-efficient thing for heating anything- unless you've got some of that new self-heating food. thx

In general, on the 280Zs, the red wires ( with a stripe) are for the lights (heavy wires with a white & yellow stripe for the headlamps), and the white (usually heavy gauge with a stripe) are battery voltage wires. Stephen is correct about no headlamp relays on the 280Z. They started using those on the ZXs. The only relays on a 280Z are for the ignition interlocks, E.F.I system & fuel pump, the a/c, and the horn. I was thinking first off, after Venom mentioned the engine being out, is a broken wire, but a loose connection is totally possible. With the headlamp connector unplugged at the front corner of the engine bay, you should get +12V to the red/white wire (with the switch on), the other two are ground legs for the lamp filaments, and you could test the lamps directly if your patch the red/white, and ground one of the other pins. It is also feasible for the headlamp switch to be bad, as the power for the headlamps passes through the switch twice (both battery and ground legs.) The headlamp connectors ( see p. BE-9 in the FSM) involved in the junction block are both white, ocated behind the glove box, but also accessible from underneath.

Is there any feasibility to camping out or sleeping in your Z? I mean as an alternative to renting a cabin- unless you know a friendly lady Z-owner:) I once spent a night fireworks-watching an a hatchback in high school. I think you'd need a way to recline the front seat(s) forward, and put in some kind of board so you could relax without getting a sore back (BTDT in a folding hospital bed- my back was ACHING from sleeping bent! :mad:) Another option would be one of those car-tent things (do they still make those?) that goes on the hatch, or just a plain old tent; the modern lightweight type, which fold up nice & small. And a sleeping bag or blanket maybe. The only thing left after that is your food & cooking, which could be done with a small pump-stove, which only requires a little unleaded gasoline (siphoned from your Z's gas tank!), unless you plan on drinking only beer (Guiness- it's better at room temp or slightly less) and bathing. Ever wash yourself head-to-toe with GoJo? (it's waterless...) But as long as you keep the windows down, and the speed up, who'll notice?:beard: Peace.

Take a look at the Frappr map (http://www.frappr.com/zowners). Type your location in the little box at the top of the map box to see who might be in your area. Maybe look at roadgodz.com, they do serious roadage/mileage.

The wiper controls go through the headlamp combo switch too, what do you think about that?

Just a note for people digging into the 280Z headlight/Wiper combination switch- take care to clean the switch points up on that as the power for the headlamps goes through the headlamp switch TWICE; one for the battery side, and one for the ground side. Usually only the ground leg is switched, so I figure they did it like that for extra safety. thx

I've made it a point to replace all the rubber pieces that I can get. the only rubber piece that vcan't get is the one in the inner fender, behind the headlamps, that the headlamp wires go through. I wil probably get a big grommet and a piece of tubing (bicycle inner tube?) and maybe some zip-ties. thx