TomoHawk

I've never even heard of any of those guys they want you to vote for, so how vould they be so good? I'm not talking about popularity, but if they're "the best," wouldn't they mae it to the media or papers? Take Micheal Schumacher- He's a 7-time WORLD CHAMPION, and even had a PERFECT RACING RECORD, taking 5 firsts until the 6th race this year. He didn't make the final list. I'll 'assume' he was considered, but for some unknown reason, he was taken off. I follow NHRA, WRC, F-1 racing, LeMans and other racing, and I've never heard of those guys, even the two NHRA-associated guys (IHRA sucks). I'll assume that they only condsider automobile-racing only, but then how about people like Luigi Conetti (UIM F-1 boat racing champion) He wins just about every race. Or even Lance Armstrong. Sure he won the "Tour," but just to get there you gotta win so many races to work your way up the ranks to "Category 1" which is what you have to be to enter into semi-pro cycling, or the Olympics (been there- tried it). This guy is obviously a champion on a daily basis (he works out 8 hours, EVERY DAY!) -2 sense.

At first, I thought the SpeedChannel was part of the ESPN system, because of all the Bush-league racing & NAStycar stuff. Did you notice the ratio of NAStycar races to ALL the the other ones combined? You could add in all the fishing other car shows(Car Crazy, CCR, tuner transform, etc.) and not get an equal number Who knows somebody at the SpewdChannel? thx

Go to Speedtv.com to vote for "Driver if the year" : http://speedtv.com/features/591/ Even though there are only two are real drivers that know how to turn both left AND right. From the TV commercial, I recognized the names they dropped as NASCAR drivers ( NOT real driving) there's only one IRL, one champ-car (aka nascar), and one outlaw driver. he list is so short, they shouldn't even have bothered to have a vote! Can somebody pass on the complaint for me (somebody with contacts there?) Apparently, you have to vote for on of THEIR picks, which is probably not theone you want to vote for. Their criteria for selection seems a little off to. And they don't give you the opportunity to write-in your own suggestions, so they can adapt their selections for next time. I wanted to vote for Sebastian Loeb, or Colin McRae, or somebody like that. WRC rdiving ( or those guys doing the DAKAR race) ris about the most diffucult stuff I can think of, even though the co-driver tells you what to do... thx

BTW, are you all awaarethat Barrett-Jackson & SPEEDTV are going to have an online interactive contest to see who can guess the closest to all the winning bids? No info yet; it's still too early.

I've got a mate in my yacht club, who drives an MGB, that is always asking me about my 280Z. I think his boy has one, or two? I kid him about catching the oil & putting it back in every time he drives it, but it doesn't bother him- great guy. I'll look for an MG to park next to the next time I go to a car show.

Thanks Chris- That's what I had in mind. I've got a 3-ring binder with all the important documents (title, appraisal, tires receipts, alignment specs, etc.) in plastic sleeves. It would be good to collect all the original sales stuff as possible. I've got another week before my holiday is over. Then, winter will still be around another three months, IMO. thxZ

That's what you get when you watch too many AMERICAN muscle-car shows, who tell you to go to the manufacturer to get your build sheet for your 1963 sportscar. But just for kicks, who do you think I would want to contact to get that information, assuming it does exist? thx

Well, since I'm not in California, those cancer warnings don't apply...

YOu mean $2,000, right?

I think a better question would be to ask how far back do records at Nissan go? thx

You have to have a cool surface for water to condense onto, like on the outside of a glass of icewater. A surface cooler than the dewpoint of the air. The warm exhaust system parts will just cool down, and stay dry. Storing in a closed garage keeps the temperature fairly constant everywhere. Even if you did have a few drops, which is the most you'll get, of water anywhere, it will evaporate quickly. Most of the water comes from the exhaust itself.

If you store inside, there's no condensation, even in an unheated garage.

The dangers of cold-starting your car are more for your daily-driver. 7 times A WEEK, you start the engine after sitting overnight, draining. On the other hand- if you store the car and only start it monthly, that's only 4-6 times over the winter (Nov - April in Northern U.S.) Either way, it doesn't actually drain DRY. There's still a light smear of lube on there. the engine prefers to have more tho. I was planning on adding a quart of oil before I start the engine. It's a shade low as it is now.

Keeping the battery off the cement goes back to the days when you had caps on the 6 cells. Remember how the clamps got the corrosion buildup? for the same reason, some of the acid fumes can get UNDER the battery, and eat up the concrete. So if you put it on a bock of wood, to elevate it, the acid fumes dissapate. Ventilation is a good idea too, but I would assume it's in your garage, which probably has fresh air occasionally. I keep my battery in the basement, on the bottom shelf, near the chargers. Probably doesn't matter at ALL now, with the sealed batteries. I've never experienced flat spots, and I store mine straight from Nov - April. Maybethe flat spots only happened to the old-style bias-ply tyres? thx

I really wish you hadn't said`that.... But it's good you did, before something happens. What do you think was the problem or the fix- just retighten periodically? thx

It's too late to get pictures because I've cleaned the whole area. I can tell you the scratches didn't go all the way through into the metal underneath. It just makes you wonder that if there was so much room, how did the scratches get there in the first place? Possible an occasion slack in the chain? thx

I really hope the timing chain isn't touching the valve cover! thx

I'm still working on it, mate- not an easy thing as it's a fairly 'unnatural' thing to do. there's a mathematical equation for calculating the length of the tube to get a certain tone. Mine is PVC right now, but I know how to get/make one of wood when (if) I'm ready. It would be really cool to park the car at a "cruise-in," then sit next to it with the didj (or harp) and attract fans! Another way for people to come up to you and ask, "what the #^@! is that." But now I put a sign in the windscreen that has 280Z in BIG letters and some details. What else is there to do in the Great White North during the winter? I just close the door, pick up the didj or the mouth-harp (harmonica), and blow. All thanks to the Internet and the frendly folk you find there.

From scientific research, it has been found that the lower octane gasoline gives you more horsepower. Octane boosters are only good for increasing engine ptemp., eliminating detonation and lowering your horsepower factor. I have no evidence about soot. But you are correct by saying thar tyre pressure, air temp & atmospheric pressure, etc., all play a factor in the power of your engine and speed v. RPM.

I had some MEK on the shelp and tried that, which did work with a little time. But on the timing chain end, I noticed some scratches that looked like the timing chain was rubbing. Has anybody else noticedthat on their engine? After removing the varnish, I didn't see any noticeable scratches or grooves on the metal itself. thx

Hmmmm... Datsun 240Zs take a "step BACK in time?" I couldn't read the text in the picture, so would you mind telling us what the point of the article was? thx

My 280Z with 3 spd auto will turn about 3300 at 70 MPH... With the tacho on the fritz, I'm accustomed to the sound of the engine at 60 MPH. We've discused the pros & cons about auto v. manual transmission here before where the biggest difference seems to be the efficiency of the automatic transmission's torque converter compared to the clutch, and it seems evrerybody gets a different result, as everybody car is in different states of mechanical efficiency.

You might not know it, mate, but I've got a Didj in the coprner. I'm pretty sure it'll just fit in the back cross-ways.

The big question for me is which one protects which circuits? I only know of the one that goes to the headlamps. BTW, why don't you have ant BROWN fuse links on your '78. Mine does, and it's in my owners book, Haynes book, and the MSA catalog. Pete- AFAIK, there are only the 5 fuse links on a '78, all under the hood. One goes from the battery (+) to the e.f.i. module, and the other four are on the shocktower, mounted to the relay cover, as in the photo. thx

I was just using simplified numbers in my head for a quick calculation, and got 24mpg, which I assumed would be close enough.