Pomorza

You guys are awesome! Thanks a lot now I can actually have 16 lug nuts that all match and not 12 that do and 4 that don't. Jan

Hello again So at the moment both my rear drums need to be rebuilt as the wheel cylinders are leaking fluid quite badly. For just parts at the moment I'm looking at spending roughly $300 or so. So I'm wondering one thing. I've been told by a number of Z people I know (and have seen some posts here) that rear disks off later model ZX's fit 280z. How much would converting the rear drums into ZX disk brakes run me? I'm just looking for options as $75+ for a wheel cylinder is just a tad bit high in my opinion. Any advise or information would be wonderful. Jan

Oh, well thanks for the very good information. I have what I guess you would call "spiderweb" rims.(look at picture). I cannot for the life of me find lug nuts for them and I'm attempting to get rid of them as they weight a ton. Jan

Hello all I'm attempting to find some rims for my Z. The current ones I have are just not exactly the best. Would anyone know where I could find a set? They look like these http://media.photobucket.com/image/280z%20wheels/oinojo/DSC01386.jpg. I believe these are stock rims? Jan

Have you ever done a flush of the block and or the heater core? I had the same kind of issue with my friends ford. The previous owner used "something" to fix the radiator and it got stuck in the block. Took us literally hours to get it out and get it back working. Anyhow from what your saying the coolant hose from the top of the thermostat is cold. I'm nearly positive it should be at least warm to the touch. I don't see how the waterpump or something can cause water to bypass the thermostat. From every image of the cooling system on Z's that I've seen water goes from the thermostat to the top of the radiator down to the opening around block and back up after going through the coolant lines.(I'm sure this is right...right?). So I just don't see that happening that your coolant goes around your thermostat unless there are so voids or something there. Where did you get your thermostats from? It is possible that both are bad and stuck open I would test them in hot water. I'm with fastwoman on this one as I'm running out of ideas. Unless your 280z is completely different than my 76' I can't see how it runs this cold. Do you have a working temp sensor(s)? It is possible that they are telling the computer that it warm when its not causing it to lean out the mixture. (just throwing ideas out there now). Hope this at least gives you some ideas. Jan

Update This past week I replaced the driveshaft and the transmission mount. Both were in pretty pitiful shape really. I plan on taking the car out for a nice drive this weekend in the south of Tucson. Will post some pictures. Jan

These are the things I was planning on doing. 1. Disconnect battery. (I might remove it all together) 2. Remove the plug wire that goes to the coil. (I may remove the coil all together) I'm parking it at a friend house who has a gate and a fenced in lot. My car will be under the watchful eyes of his family so I think it'll be safe there. Jan

Hello all Two weeks from now I'm going on vacation down to Florida. As I am not yet convinced that my 76' 280z can make the journey I'm leaving it here in Tucson while I spend three weeks with the family. So I'm wondering are there any things I should do before I go and leave my Z for three weeks? The car will most just sit in a friends yard while I am away. Any ideas will be great. Jan

As mentioned above make sure that your cables are in good shape and that your battery is, in fact, "good". Secondly check your car for things that could drain your battery with the car off. I've had this same issue on my Z where one of the lights would stay on even with the door closed. (The light was hidden so it took me a while to find it). It drained the battery to the point where I could not get the starter to turn at all. Jan

For future reference, if the engine is original (never rebuilt) I won't recommend that you don't red line it. The engine is old and the tolerances that it can handle have probably gone down a bit in that time. Not to sound over cautious here but it may lead to some pretty unwanted damage. That being said, take your car for a drive with someone driving behind you. Try to drive as normally as possible and have person behind you observe your exhaust. Color, smell and the amount (density) is what your looking for. Secondly I would look at the fuel and carbs. Make sure that your getting enough fuel to the carbs and enough fuel into the engine. When you say the oil looks dirty does it look anything like a milkshake in color? Jan

(*I'm assuming we're talking about the 240z if not please let me know) Now when you said you pushed your car exactly what did you do? I mean were you going 55 in first gear? Did you red-line the motor? Now were the plugs oily or were they wet? If they are wet and smell of gasoline then your car is running fairly rich. When was the last time the carb was adjusted? Fuel pressure checked? When you did the plugs did you also change the cap and wires? Check both your oil and the coolant and see what they look like. Make sure all the vac lines are connected to where they're supposed to go. Could you be a bit more specific on how your car struggles? What exactly does it do when you give it gas? Does it just plain die, not want to go over a certain RPM, miss fires, back fires? Jan

I would have to join Frank here and say that I'm a car enthusiast. Not just Z's really but any car. I owned a Jeep before I decided to buy the Z I own now. The car has 270K on it now and its a 1996. I ended up giving it to my brother as he needed it more than I did. It was by far one of the hardest things I've ever done. But then I bought the car of my dreams you can say. Its not in perfect shape, which means I can get my hands dirty once in a while fixing this and tinkering with that. She drives like a champ which is exactly what I wanted. I try to keep cars as stock as possible. I updated the lights as the ones that come with Z's are just not powerful enough for my liking. Other than lights I haven't touched anything. I like it the way it is. 150 horse power is plenty for me to have fun on the hills here in Arizona. I'm a bit nuts about cars as my Z has no radio. I see no reasoning to get one. I rather listen to the roar of the engine at 5k climbing a banked turn in the mountains than listen to music. As for body kits. Yes I have a front dam and rear spoiler and a wing and some side skirts. But those are just there to replace the heavy bumpers and to add to the already sexy lines that old Z's have. The added air resistance and down force is just added tidbit. Jan

I didn't think of that. Yes check the catalytic converter. I had one on my Jeep get clogged and that refused to run at all. It would start and idle for all of about two minutes and then caput. Jan

Make sure that the timing is on and that everything, EVERYTHING, in that used dizzy is in good shape. Don't just assume that because it looks better that it IS better. Looks can fool even the best mechanically inclined person. Jan

Sadly Leonard someone claimed them this morning. I'll have another set available pretty soon as I want to get rid of the ones I have in my car and replace them with something better

www.xenons30.com is where you get it for free. Download and place somewhere. Print off the pages you need and tada. Jan

work This past weekend I went to the local junkyard and found, to my amazement, a 76 280z 2+2. Wasn't at all in very good shape but it did have a rear "Datsun" badge that I desperately needed. I pulled that off along with a number of other odds and ends. Brought the badge home and mounted it on my rear "wing". I think it looks pretty awesome. Jan

If its the one that came with the car its 3.90

Gotcha thanks

Hello all So this past weekend I was working on the Z once again putting the washer reservoir back in and running. In the process I started reading things that were written on intake manifold. Come to find that it says N42 on it. Confused I walk to the other end of the car and find that the cylinder head is an N47. So I'm wondering one thing. I'm new to Z's and have done some research but isn't the head and manifold supposed to have the same ID on them or can you mix and match them? Thanks Jan

Hey this is a great idea. I have a set of after market h-4 headlight assemblies that I have been try to get out of my closet. If anyone is interest let me know. The housing has a small blue light inserted on the bottom...I guess its for shows or something. Jan

Thanks everyone. I finally got the motor all wired up with some connectors that can be removed if needed. Pressed the button to find that most of the tubing that moves the water to the spray nozzles is fairly gone. Did get the driver's side to work which is a plus. Thanks for all the help Jan

Hello guys. I did download the color diagram, great help. After making sure using the diagram that this was indeed the proper connector I pulled out my multimeter. With it connected it reads 0.04V when cold and 11.45 when the spray button is pressed. So this IS the connector. Could I just cut the connector off and splice the two wires together or is that not a good idea? Anyone have this problem before with the wrong connectors being there? Jan

As a matter of fact I'm going to a pick n pull place tomorrow. There was a 1978 280z 2+2 there about a weeks ago when I last went. I'm hoping it is still there. Does anyone need any parts? When I was there most of the drive train was gone but there were still some odds and ends on it. Let me know Jan

A number of things you can get at local parts stores. Most belts, hoses and other "very often used" parts can be found at parts stores. But if you need specific parts the sites above are fairly good. What exactly are you looking for? It is indeed hard to find some uncommon parts even in the above sites but if you know the right people to talk to (such as members on this very site) parts can be found. And please don't fear asking about anything. I'm one of those people, that no matter how often it has been discussed I will happily tell you where to find what your looking for. I don't like the whole "its been discussed millions of times" thing. Yes it has been asked millions of times and yes we've answered it hundreds of times but it won't hurt writing it down again. (or at least that's my point of view). I rather that you ask it then have to sit there for weeks trying to figure out what goes where and why something isn't working. Just ask. Jan