Oiluj

Kinda like my morning drive to work. . . . NOT! That's a cool video. I actually felt my heart rate increase in some of the corners!

It's two coats of spray-on sound deadener with a final coat of satin black paint. The first coat of sound deadener was done (poorly) by the previous owner. I added the second coat to improve the appearence. The seat covers are from MSA, the center panels replaced with a black & grey tweed uhpolstry fabric. They are identical to what I did on my previous 240Z in the late 1980's. The cloth inserts make the seats more comfortable on hot days or longer drives. They cloth is almost a perfect match with the carpet. The carpet is indoor-outdoor from Home Depot.

Good idea Bruce. I have two blocks of six LEDs in series and could do that by making one of them a "flashing" LED. I'll have to give that a try.

Cause some guys prefer a posterior view, some guys like a profile, and some like to see whats under-the-hood... Thanks guys for expressing your appreciation. As always, the pictures hide all the warts I see, but I'm pleased with how she came out. The paint job really glows in the sun. Yes, the Rebello engine does provide spirited performance, but forget listening to the radio when at speed. Quite alright by me. Prior to leaving on our unsanctioned rally to Danville, I let a guy who tracks his 300+ HP Evo & Miatas drive the car. He later decribed the car to another guy there as "responsive, light and eager".

Very pretty counrty and a nice ride.

I really like your approach, (better than mine). Now I have to re-think my design! Without a housing do you get any visible glare in your rear view mirror at night?

Day off work today, so I went out and took a few pics of the Z. Still need to finish installing the under-hood AC components and the 5-speed, but she's almost done. Hope you like the pics!

Attached are some pics of my 1st prototype 3rd brake light. I figure trucks and SUV's won't easily see my brake lights below their hood line. The housing is polycarbonate made on a 3D printer. I tried to mimic a vinyl surface finish by dabbing the wet paint with a paper towel. It uses 12 red, high intensity LED's, (3300 mcd, 25 degree). To limit current and save the LED's I used a 150 ohm resistor for each block of six LED's. In the pics I show the light temporarily mounted using double sided tape. It appears to be bright enough in daylight powered w/ a 12 VDC battery charger. The housing shape is a bit crude / "blocky", so I've decided to design a new housing with angled sides. Also I plan to make it a about 1/4" shallower, so it's not visible to the driver in the rear view mirror. One of the pics shows the driver's view though the rear view mirror and you can see it's just visible.

Sounds like you may have multiple problems. I agree with the post above. First, fix the starter issue so you can move forward to diagnose the rough idle, etc. Start by verifing that you have current going to the solenoid when you turn the key. If that's good, then check that the starter solenoid is working properly. Many parts stores have a tester to check the condition of starters. (you have to remove the starter from the car).

That is one lovely orange Z Steve. It's so shiney! Do you have to wear sunglasses to protect your eyes from the glare? Truely a car to be proud of...

No need to lie about HP when you've got a dyno chart... Besides, most of us rarely, if ever, use all the HP our engines are capable of producing. I agree with you regarding torque. It's torque that makes a difference in everyday driveability and low end performance.

OK guys, I tried the search function, but did not find a definitive answer. Will the shifter from my 1972, 240Z 4-speed work in a 1977 280Z 5-speed? From what I read it sounds like it will fit. I was planning to use a MSA short-shift kit, but found out today that they are back-ordered for 3+ months. If my 4-speed shifter won't fit, I may have to design & fabricate a custom part, but I really don't want to do that.

Pretty!

I'll second what Travelin Man said. My Rebello 2.7 L upgrade dyno'd at 212 HP and about 200 ft-lb of torque. Think my compression is closer to 10:1 with a stage 3 cam. Only downside is slightly rough idle. Not bad, but no longer silky-smooth. But if you want performance, it's the way to go.

I did the same as Arne. It works great!

I wipe the dash with a mixture of water & baby oil. It's what I used for many years on my previous Z with no problems. On my 1st Z I used "original" Armor All on a consistent basis with no issue. My car is garaged and I have a windshield reflector in whenever it's parked outside. I plan to sew a Dash cover before next summer, similar to what I made for my previous Z. I used "black-out" curtain material on the bottom and a tight-weave black cloth on top. Might try using a light weight vinyl on top this time to better match the interior.

NIce work, but why not just go to an RT mount? They are proven to work great are are not difficult to install. Just my 2 cents, and proably not worth that much...

OK. I did the "web chat" thing with Hagarty this morning. The operator said it was OK to use the car on a weekend pleasure trip. Also no problem to drive into work occasionally to show the car to co-workers, just that it should not be used as a daily driver. Both are very different responses than I got previously, (and represent what I was hoping to hear the first time). I don't understand why the first contact was so different, but I now plan to call them to get a quote for insurance and road service later this week.

Carl & Others, It's not a myth and I'm not making this up guys... I called Hagarty directly from the contact information on their website. I too was very surprised at the response I got, as it didn't match the verbage on the website. Like I said, maybe I got a bad operator/agent who was having a bad day, but that's exactly what I was told... Perhaps I'll give them another try.

Hagarty is great if you don't want to actually use your car as you want... When I talked to them recently, the agent said they would not cover the car for a once/year trip to Reno with my buddy or last weekend's non-sponsored sports car run to the Blackhawk museum. And forget even *thinking* about taking the car to work "once-per-month" to work to show it to co-workers... The agent told me the only allowed/covered usage was driving to organized car shows or club events. To quote her: "It's a collector car and should be treated as such to preserve its value". Maybe I got a retentive agent on a bad day, but given these restrictions, I may as well build a trailer queen. This seems unrealistically restrictive. After all, I restored the car so I could occasionally drive it! And yes, I have a clean driving record... Guess I'll stick w/ CSAA with the understanding that that they will only go as high as high bluebook, providing I have receipts & photos showing the cost of the car.

Great Shots!

Nice looking machine. I've been told AllState may write agreed value policies, but have not confirmed this.

I don't see the Porsche. The Blackhawk museum displays about 90 cars, but they rotate thier stock. Attached is a pic with a bubble canopy and the car on the elevated platform has a varnished wood body and all exterior metal is copper plate.

Bunch of us from work got together and drove from Foster City to the Blackhawk Auto Museum in Danville. Took a bunch of pics but not that many came out well. Taking pics wasn't easy, because it was dark with lots of hi-intensity spotslights. Long exposures and no tripods allowed inside... This particular car really caught my attention. Talk about some wild fins! Not much rear-side visibility, but who cares! It was a one-off design study and they had several different verions.

My tranny was rebuilt by Hillsbourgh Transmission in San Mateo.