TomoHawk

If you have some hubs or knock-offs you want to put on your Zed wheels, can you get them engraved? Is there anything special you need to do or a certain kind of place to look for?

Photos will take 4- 6 weeks or whenever Spring gets here.

The 2WD 1979 pickup had 2-piston calipers, and it looks like the 4WD pickup has 4 piston calipers.

1979 Toyota pickup calipers. That was one of the 'upgrade' options for the calipers. IFAIK, the Datsun pickup calipers were not an upgrade option.

The vehicle has the stock rotors but someone put on the '79 pickup calipers. Recently I noticed the braking problem in heavy rain, so I think some shields should go back on if they aren't on, which is not easy, or some different brake pads would help, which is easy. I have some 4-pot calipers, but that would not be easy to install, and probably not even needed. I haven't looked at the front brakes for several years, so I don't know what condition they are in, but the pads are definitely not worn out. The rear brakes are the stock drum brakes. And yes, I'm considering a lot of different things you could do. The stock calipers are not too expensive to buy and would be easiest to put on to get back to a know point of operation, and go from there. I don't see a real reason to keep the pickup calipers, because they don't seem any better, and aren't the same units as the stock calipers, and probably use different pads too, so you just can't go to a brake shop to ask for pads because they'll turn you down for not have a factory/stock vehicle (if you modify your vehicle, you are totally on y our own except for oil changes.) I haven't used the 4Runner calipers because they need to be rebuilt and you also need the larger master cylinder, which is more-or-less NLA, so the whole 4-pot thing isn't even necessary at all, because the stock calipers should be adequate anyway. So now I am back to the idea of putting on some kind of dust/water shield and/or different pads with stock calipers..

The 79 pickup calipers are already on the vehicle.

I think the brake pads are the Duralast ones (semi-metallic maybe)? While I'm at it, I could put on the 4-pot calipers too, huh? Has anyone tried adding some kind of squeegee to the pad or caliper? It probably wouldn't have to touch the rotor; just be close enough to direct or deflect some water away, or get a bit of vacuum action to suck out some water (or warm air when it's dry.)

I forget for sure, but the brake shields may still be on the car. I would borrow them to make some patterns for some nice made of an alloy. From the looks of it, you could hammer some out in a day, or weld together some bits. Too bad you can't just hook up a hose for cooling air (if you do track driving.) Otherwise, I think my pads could use a change-out, and I was looking around at what's available, so that would be the easiest thing to try- some semi-metallic pads.

Just in case, can you get some replacement or bigger brake shields? OTOH- do you need a special shop to drill or slot the rotor?

My brakes on the 280Z are fine with the stock discs and normal pads, but in a heavy rain, on the highway, it was sort of scary when I wanted to brake for slow traffic- it felt like the brakes weren't grabbing at all. For a second or two, it feels like there are no brakes, then they grab some, and get better.. So is there anything that you can do that isn't too involved to improve the wet-weather braking, like a certain kind of pads? I though of adding a shield over the disc.

I would start with a very light-colored Hawaiian-style shirt, like yellow or light gray, then order some bold-colored iron-ons of cars and such and add it to the shirt yourself. That way you can control exactly what cars or symbols are on the shirt. You could even add pictures of your own or the other guy's car if he has one. Embroidered stuff needs a stiff substrate, like leather or a strong backing pad, so embroidery doesn't work well wit the flexible silk or synthetic cloth.

I'll do that. I didn't think a leasure suit would work- can you fire-proof those? lol. Probably not, as they are made from petroleum byproducts... The decent turtlenecks are gone, because they are in-style again, and even Macy's is out of those.

Can you get a pipe that fires 45 cal? lol. (Just kidding.) Tweed jackets with patches are twice as much as the plain ones, but a nice comfortable cotton windbreaker isn't. I'd still like to find a plain jumpsuit.

I tend to go with just the turtleneck, gloves, and cap, as the scarf blocks the tailgunners view! A tweed jacket would do well on the cooler days.. BTW- you can't get stringback gloves any more. The only options lately are elasric cuffs with snap or velcro straps..So my goal is to get a light off-white turleneck, some deerskin drivong gloves. And light cotton slacks with elastic gloves, a body belt, and maybe a retro racer's jumpsuit (good for Hallowe'en.) I already have a couple berets and the helmet.

Only if you cn get a shirt with a clip a clip-on tie.

I've been checking tbe local second-hand stores for lightweight turlenecks with no luck, unless you would have more luck looking in the women's section, but my chest just isn't that "big". Does anyone have a source of lightweight light-coloured wool turtlenecks?

I tried the matching colour LED and it was not to my liking, beacause it was a deep colour, but not as bright as regular bulbs. I am using white LEDs for everything. You only need coloured LEDs if the lense is clear, which is usually jest the front turn signals.

I thought stringback gloves had laces? The gloves in the video aren't exactly flame-proof, but how many well-maintained streetcars let the flames loose? If they send me some, I'll try them, but I have several pairs of leather cycling gloves I can use in the meantime. $125 for some gloves. How many people really wear that stuff?

I saw a photo of Moss with a little golf cap on- it was kinda cool- I already have a nice polyester beret for the summer, and I use a wool one in the winter. I really liked the look Steve McQueen had in Bullet, with the cardigan, for a cool day. Real racing shoes are extremely expensive, but they used to wear boxer shoes back in the ol' grand-Prix days. The closest thing today is wrestling shoes. I have a pair of work gloves that I like for driving. They are made of a neoprene-like material, with a rubber-coated palm. BTW, Aviator glasses are out-of-style lately, unless you are in an F-14 pretending to be Tom Cruise. Even if you are in a 1970s sportscar.

The book is called Sports Clothes for Sports Cars, by the famous Men's fashion expert John Weitz. He was a sports car owner and racer in the1950s, so he focuses on all that kind of fashion. He discussed the kinds of things worn by Nuvolari, Moss, Sterling, and even Shelby. Then he had a chapter with fashion recommendations for all the major racetracks, like Sebring, Watkins Glen, Bridgehampton, V IR, etc. Yeah, you probably need a variety of clothes for where you are and what you'll be doing, from breakfast to e beach to dinner. So we can discuss it all and get to the second-hand stores to stock up for next year's cruising season. Personally, I'd start with a lightweight colour-coordinated turtleneck with a plain cotton/poplin windbreaker or sportcoat/tweed, depending on the weather.

I just read a book about the fashions of the sports car owner/driver of the 1940s and 50s, and it made me wonder about the stuff I wear today. People used to dress for just about any time they leave the house: for school, for a party, for Church, for travel, etc., and it was never the same thing. Remember that ladies had all those fancy hats? The only time you saw a person wearing a T-shirt tat wasn't covered was for cutting the grass or some other mundane or dirty task. Even at my last evening visit to a nice restaurant I saw guys in T-shirts, one with a jacket over that. People have lost the skill of dressing well or appropriately for wherever they were going. So I would like to ask what you'd put together (that doesn't include a T-shirt) for a trip to anywhere in a Zed as a proud sports car owner & driver. What would you wear to a dinner at Applebees, or a race as a guest of Nissan? I remember photos of guys at the races wearing turtleneck sweaters, jackets, slacks, cool colored berets and golf caps, and just lots of great fashions. Jaguar owners wore slightly different stuff. Even the race drivers had cool fashions.

It's the same 6mm screw that is all oover the engine and the car.

Is that a whole new brake handle, or just the plastic part?

Really, when NVZ mentioned Interior Innovations, I thought he wanted to discuss new things to do wit the interior of the Zed, like a padded or leather dash cover, or a redesigned centre console.

Well, besides an occasional "moisturizing" treatment, real leather is just as easy to care for, but OTOH, cloth is just as practical, period-looking, and comfortable as leather. I like my Eclipse cloth seats, even if some 'experts' comment about how crappy they are (because it's not leather, nor a racing seat.) The only reason I would consider reupholstering my seats is because the seams are starting to pull apart, and you lose points in a judged show, and if the seat-guys can add a little foam to the sides you would be a bit better-kept when going through the twisties.