Pomorza

Did you use just some spare sheet metal or did you actually buy a floor pan and cut it. If you did use metal what gauge is it? Jan

I'm saying this just for arguments sake. Power and displacement are never truly linear. Why this may look like it is, it has to do more with the amount of air and fuel being pushed into the "bigger" parts then the size of the actual bore. Example. I have an L28. If I was to stroke that out but leave everything else stock (cylinder head and fuel curve) I find it highly unlikely that I would get nearly as much power if I did what Z train did and added a better cam (which I assume would increase air influx) changed the fuel curve (in his case a better carb) and increased out flow (header). We can argue about this day and night but what he says is true. If your going to update your motor you UPDATE your motor not just the block. That is pointless and a waste of time and money. As you guys pointed out earlier a motor build is purely personal. If find having more than 250 hp in a Z unnecessary as they have plenty of it stock. But then again I know a friend of mine that had a 1000hp blown V8 his car. Its all preference. Jan

This was what it looked liked when I bought the car. Back then it was still sturdy enough to hold the water away. Now the middle of the rust is pretty much non existent and water just pours straight in. Jan

Well it finally happened. To make a long story short, when I bought my Z I was informed that it was rust free. Well come to find that was not exactly true. (go figure). Under my battery tray, I'm guessing right at the top of the floor board there was a large chunk of rust. It wasn't bad at first, well it is now. Today in Tucson we had a bit of a downpour. Making my way to school I sadly had to drive the Z through a rather length ankle deep puddle. (by long I mean oh, a eight of a mile or so). Well when I got to school I checked my floor board for moisture. Well come to find, tada its wet. (Oh no:disappoin). When I arrived home I went straight for the rust spot. And come to find, I felt the bottom part of the carpet through a nickle or so sized hole. So two questions. What is the best line of action here? I'm meeting with friends tomorrow to get their opinion on the situation but I would like your guys too. Should I replace the whole dam floorboard or should I just patch the hole that is there? Which is easier? I personally can't weld at all (never done it) but I know people who know people... Thanks Jan

Bit of an update here from my end. My old motor in my 280z decided that it would quit working the other day. I pulled it out and found that it had basically frozen. I got it working again but it barely moves any air. So I proceeded to my local parts store and asked for a blower motor out of an 89 Civic. $39.57 later I was home ready to work. To my dismay (and idiocy as its written in the review above) I forgot that these motors don't come with the plastic fan thingy. Well I zoomed off to the local pull-a-part yard and found (surprise) a 91' Honda civic with the SAME (literally the same one) motor. But before I could even get to work on said motor the yard man advise me that the yard was closing. (rats) I did though test both motors when they were out of the box. It seems that the Honda motor has a greater pushing force then the old OE one I have. It could be because the OE one is from 76'. Jan

As I said I'm not sure if they are the same. I'm not missing any vacuum lines but I am indeed missing A/C and the heater core is not yet connected. Jan

You said preferably 77-78 but here's pics of my 76. I'm not positive but I don't think there is a big difference in the two. I could be wrong so don't take my word at it.

I'm not looking for "performance" as much as something that'll last a bit longer than normal paper filters. I have one in my brothers jeep that has been there for nearly six years now with no issues. Do k&n filters filter the air as well as say normal ones would?

Hello all Earlier today I drove my Z up to the school for a meeting. (~2miles). As I sit at the light I see a distinct trail of grayish smoke coming from my exhaust. I've had this before, but now it seems to be a bit more prevalent. When I rev the engine the smoke disipates but will return a few seconds later at idle. When I returned home I took a close look at everything in the engine bay with the car off/on. The coolant level is at the "full" mark. The oil is right on the money on the H mark. All fluids are where they should be. I restarted the car and examined to exhaust. It smells (I put my hand in it for a moment or two) like regular car exhaust. Does not smell like oil (which would increase with RPM would it not?) and does not smell like radiator fluid (sweet). Here's what I've noticed in the past couple of days. 1. My timing was advanced by me to about 17 degrees. No real reason for it just seeing how it'll act. 2. When I release the gas pedal occasionally the RPM will drop to ~600 and then pop back up. The car in general "feels" like sometimes it struggles but most of the time it runs like it did the day I bought it. Thanks for all the help Jan.

Hey guys. Last night I did a basic run down on my engine. I do it every week to make sure that all the fluids are where they should be and there isn't anything interesting happening that I'm not aware of. Well I come to find that my air filter is rather filthy. I was thinking of switching over to a K&N filter (the one that goes in the stock box). I came across this earlier this morning. Anyone have any issue using the K&N filters? Any drawbacks to using them? Secondly. Can someone explain to me what a BCCD does? For what I remember from reading my FSM (which I can't find now) is that it helps keep idle up when you release the accelerator. Is this true? My Z's idle will randomly drop to 600 sometimes when I let off the gas when I come to a stop. Does it more at night then in the day. Thanks Jan

That's was what I am thinking will happen. Would you happen to have any measurements of the before vs. after ride height? Jan

Hey guys. In the near future (sometime in October) I'm planning on replacing my dilapidated suspension with new parts. I'm planning on replacing the spring as, well to be honest, if they are in the same condition that the struts are in I'm pretty sure they're not doing the job they were intended to do. Getting straight to the point. Is anyone aware of a place to get stock ride springs? MSA sells springs but they all lower the ride height. (which I'm not really looking to do). Thanks Jan

Thanks guys for all the help. It appears that I have some nice work ahead of me here in the future. About how long does the applications and drying take place? I can live without the Z but it is my only means of transportation at this time. Thank again Jan

Hey guys Went to the car wash today to clean the Z. While cleaning the interior on the passenger side I noticed that there is a spot of surface rust behind the passengers seat. (pics below, the stuff on the seat rails is foam material not rust). What is the best way to fix this issue? Does anyone know where I can go (or get) paint that would match the interior? Thanks greatly Jan

Sorry mates was in a hurry this morning. Apparently while I was installing the timing chain my I forgot the most important part of the installation process, tightening down the bolts. The bolt holding the passenger side chain guide had loosened enough so that the guide slipped all the way to the left. This left the slack side of the chain with more slack causing the most hideous noise. Luckily I didn't have to remove the entire front cover AGAIN to tightened and adjust the guide. The noise is now nearly all gone (I would say about 90%). Jan

Problem solved. Thanks guys for all the help Jan

Hey guys. This past weekend I did a spark plug replacement on the Z. It wasn't time but I've used a can of seafoam and a few injector cleaners in the past few months to get the car running better. Upon inspection four of the six injectors had white electrodes. For what I remember white means my Z is running lean. Two questions. 1. Can old (remanned) injectors cause my Z to run lean? My fuel pressure gauge on my fuel line reads 30-40 at all times. My temp sensor has been replaced when I bought the car. When the car is very hot and I go to restart it it seems to run very lean. 2. If the injectors are indeed bad has anyone tired these? Thanks Jan

Sarah. A few things of note I noticed in your post. For what I remember opening the oil filter cap (or dip stick at that) causes the motor to run rough. If I'm not mistaken (I maybe) the oil cap and dip stick are there to prevent a vacuum leak. So it is natural for the engine idle to roughen when you pull these. (Or in my Z it does). Secondly, if you have the EFI book (there's a link on the xenon page) it talks about how the computer uses the temp sensor to figure out how much fuel is needed. If this was bad, hypothetically you would no get the right mixture of fuel when needed. Thirdly, check the little boots that go between the air filter and the AFM and from there to the intake. On my Z both of these had GIANT holes causing a very interesting engine performance. I would find my compression gauge and do the test and see where the engine is at. I'm not a car expert here by any means (I'm 22 so) but I would suspect you may just have a vacuum leak some place as your said you have low vacuum. You can try the smoke test where you introduce smoke into the vacuum system and check for leaks. Hope that helps Jan

For reference how much did you pay for this rebuild. Mine is making noise in 5th gear and would like to know a ball park estimate here. Thanks Jan

Before you do anything I would have the battery checked to make sure that it has enough amps to get the starter going. From the diagnosis it sounds to me that your starter maybe in need of a good look over but test the battery first. Jan

Changed the voltage regulator today. Noticed two things. One the new regulator is roughly half the size of the old one. Secondly, upon opening the old regulator I noticed that one of the coils was burnt out. The little orange paper that surrounded it was all black and brown. So I'm guessing that was the problem. When I restarted the car (after stripping two of the mounting bolts) the voltage gauge sits right under 16 volts. When I turn on the lights it goes down for maybe a second and then returns to where it was. Thanks Jan P.S Pictures below of the old/new regulator for reference.

I'll use it on my next oil change. I did added about a third of a bottle of seafoam into the oil earlier and drove the Z rather harshly. (kept it in 4th on the freeway, shifted at four that type of deal, nothing too extreme). Afterwords I did an oil change using 10W40 and did another seafoam run through the intake. Smoked for a good ten minutes. Sounds seems to still be there but I'll check in the morning. I may use that lucas oil stuff next time I do an oil change. You said you substitute one quart of oil for that stuff? So 4qtrs oil 1qrt Lucas? Thanks for all the help Jan

Thanks for the advise. The oil pressure gauge always shows at least half. I haven't put a different gauge on it but I can't see how it can differ much from what the gauge shows. I can get a hold of a different gauge but I'm pretty sure that pressure is where it should be. As for the belts. I'm only running one belt (wp,alt, engine) so unless my BRAND new put is loud I can't see it being that. I have done a stethoscope the first time it did this and it SOUNDED like it was coming from the flat part of the transmission (right where it meets the engine). I can't envision it being anything clutch/transmission related as the noise is there with the clutch in and out. That and the fact that engine noises like to travel makes me believe its engine related. I was thinking of using that Lucas stuff. What exactly does it do? I have read reviews but again those are REVIEWS. Jan

Took the alternator to the repair place today. Tested perfectly. 60A 13.5V. Did note that the lower mounting bolts were loose. Reinstalled them tightly and made sure all is good. I'm still going to replace the regulator as it's still overcharging at times. Jan

I'm also going to run a bit of Seafoam through the oil before I change it. I can't see it being anything related to the valves. I've check them with you, I've checked them at home. There doesn't seem to be anything loose even when the car is at top dead center. This problem is just leading me to pull my hair out at times. I have alot of it so I guess that's what the idea is I guess. It seems that this car has a mind of its own. It'll do one thing on day and then act completely different the next. Thanks guy Jan P.S Please don't turn this post into a pissing contest about who knows what about whatever. It's not worth your time or energy.