TomoHawk

I got a 0 for the engine compartment. It confused me at first, and then I remembered I was in the DD class, so that part is skipped, and then there's no score entered into the the computer program for judging, so it ends up as a 0. So I guess I did OK for a 200 point class. I think the judges did do a fair job of judging, and I'd commend them forit, even though I could not be there to hear what they suggested for next time. OTOH, at any other car show, I would've gotten -5 on every category, because those "judges" are judging "show cars" instead of antique sportscars. thxZ

I was pretty much the same as you zhead, mostly dirty stuff. But I got a zero for underhood. :surprised Like I had enough time (15 minutes) for detailing after photographing all the cars coming in for two hours... I doubt I could do anything about knicks in the rims, and underbody dirt (after driving in the rain) anyways. And I'm not sure that some of the interior things remarked could even be cleaned... I might get the inside clean (er) and maybe I can afford to fix up the underbody one day. The car is no where close to what I would call finished, although it is driveable and reliable- the two most important things. Anything more is just bling.

With all the fart cans and bazooka tubes out there, I'm not sure the cops will care, but it might be different in your area. They used to come down on loud stereos (back in the 80s) so maybe they will take into thought the kind of car that the noise is coming from and cut some slack.

Most states have laws that prohibit tailpipe parts that increase the loudness of the sound, like megaphone tailpipes.

Did the glovebox on the 1978 280Z have a big notch in the back? I mean the right side is deeper than the left, so the owner's manual doesn't lay flat- you have to curl it up. I think it's notched for the defroster hose to have room back there. I'm just used to a glove box with a regular square shape, or is that right with the notch? thxZ

Bryan does really good work. I sent my sunvisors to him and he recovered those. they came out very nice! BTW, wasn't the top of the shift boots tied with a shoelace thingy? Or was that some other model? thxZ

I used to be IN a rock band, so this "game" doesn't do anything for me. Pressing the yellow button and flipping a lever to bouncing coloured blobs on a screen doesn't take much skill besides that which the average video game player has. You can't even improvise beyond what the program allows. No thumbs up from me. thxZ

You can blame Nintendo, XBox, cable TV, DVDs, RPG games, cell phones, the Internet, online shopping & PayPal, etc. for those kinds of people, if you like. Maybe blame their yuppie parents too. They probably don't even go to church, even once a year, let alone weekly... fwiw... JMO.... thxZ

Some guys gotta learn the hard way, sir, especially those youngins that are coming up after us. The biggest lessons they need to learn is humility, honesty and patience (in that order! ) and how to LISTEN gEE... Only 5F in Ohio...

Once, at the Nissan dealer, the guy at the eervice desk wrote down 350Z on the work order ( I just wanted a vale job.) Later I got a call from the mechanic because he couldn't find my GREEN 350Z! The dumb checkin guy wrote down 98 green 350Z instead of 78 green 280Z, then told me on the phone that Nissan never made a 280Z, and I gave HIM the wrong information.

Where are you in Ohio? There's a great club in Cleveland, and they hosted the national convention last fall. :laugh:

What exactly ARE the requirements to work at an auto parts store!??? :ogre:

I started college with a cheap $15 manual typewriter, then got a Commodore 64, and wrote my own software to do word-processing. That was real luxury! You still had to re-type your papers to make it look type-written. Yeah, the ECU on my car is analog, but I think of it as more like a transistor radio than a computer...

And a Frazier is where you buy ice cream & hotdogs

YOu gotta get a digital recorder so you can upload the fun! Dave- I think they might recognize "Pinto..." Do you think "Delahaye" is an old sctress or a singer?

Would do you think these "import experts" would you say if you wanted parts for a '70 Dart?

I have had a few 'kids' ask me if they could "rechip" my engine computer after noticing the engine has fuel injection. They look at you like you're crazy when you tell them "there's no engine computer. No computers at all." on the car. The same thing has happened when I was looking around town for a place that can service MY 280Z EFI system. Of course, every place you call says "they know fuel injection" and when your get there, they tell you they can't find the plug to connect the scanner! :mad::ogre:

On my car, I had a car accessories store install the radio. They didn't do much better than your PO. The radio's memory wire (constant, low-current 12V) was hooked up to the hazard switch, and the main power was hooked up to the cigarette lighter. And that was after I told them to use the oem radio wiring and even provided the diagram! :mad: So I took out the whole mess last winter and reinstalled it properly, and even hooked up the wire for the backlight dimmer It's nice not getting blinded at night by your radio. I should go back in and redo the speaker wires to run along the door, like the oem one (I think.) thxZ

Beandip or Arne probably know these by heart, I'll bet.

What's your goal for rewiring, to install an oem radio. something modern, what? the heavy black coax-type wire should have a 1-pin connector on the end; That's the antenna wire.

I will assume that the factory shifter will wear out sometime, so I am wondering if there are any aftermarket shifters ( like Hurst or B&M) that would work properly with the Jatco 3N71B? thxZ

I printed that book and had it bound at a copy center, so I could read it in the car. Don't forget you need to get the other electrical stuff, like the fuel pump, to run too.

There's no reason why you couldn't use the oem fuel injection controller ( it's not a computer BTW, it's more like a transistor radio than a computer ) Get yourself a copy of the 280z "fuel injection bible" (http://www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/efisystem/280zfuelinjectionbook.pdf) and it should help you figure out how to get the ECU to fire up your engine.

Did something happen to make the engine quit working? More information about the current circumstances would help.

What do you guys mean by "full restoration?" Do you mean the way Kats is doing his, down to the last nut, bolt, hose, and paint speck? Or do you mean something like just getting most, if not all the body back to VGC and a general overhaul of the engine, driveline, undercarriage, and making the interior more liveable.