Pomorza

I've actually got a number of newer Z's to acknowledge my 280z. It most likely has to do with age. All the people the have acknowledged me were older individuals, and most likely own or have owned z's in the past. I think a lot of it has to do with age. I use to drive a jeep and there is the jeep wave. (I can go into detail but it would take up to much space.) Anyhow only a few individuals knew and/or acknowledged the wave. Young people in my opinion (I'm 22 so I would have an idea I guess) just don't respect or know the history of the car they drive. All they care is that they have 250 hps under the hood and can blow my little Z out of the water. Ive met people that drive 350z's that didn't know what the history of the Z car was. They thought my car was some kit car I built on the side. (no joke). Jan

I'm going to try to get the car in the air this weekend and see if the diffy has oil. I'm positive I pour enough in (I poured until it came out of the fill plug) and unless I have a mysterious leak I don't see it going anyplace. I took it for a fairly length drive today (30 miles or so) and the sound only seems to occur upon acceleration from a stop. Say up to about 5 mph. After that the sound disappears and doesn't return until I again come to stand still and have to accelerate again. I've done some research online and for what I'm seeing it could possibly be a u-joint. I know that these don't "squeak" but some people have said that it is possible. I just don't see the diffy just randomly starting to squeak. Wouldn't it also make some kind of noise at higher speeds. (or all speeds at that). I'm not doubting your guys knowledge but could a diffy go bad in 300 miles? I mean it wasn't making any sounds when I bought the car in August. I've only driven maybe a 1k or less with the car. And only 300 with the new Redline 75W90 I poured in to the rear end. Sorry about the length but your advise is very useful Jan

Thanks guys for the help. Could a brake related noise be load related? The noise never occurs when I release the gas pedal or press in the clutch. It really annoys me right now. Thanks Jan

Ok here is a bit of an update. This past weekend I was changing the oil in my Z. While doing that I lifted the rear of the Z up and rotated both wheels very slowly. The right rear drum brake is rubbing quite a bit. The right one not as much. Would sticking breaks make a solid squeaking noise? Could it be one of the half-shaft u joints dying? Thanks Jan

I would do what Z Tyler Z recommends. First off make sure that the pressure is good at the rail. Secondly make sure that you are indeed getting the fuel from the rail to the pistons (make sure the injectors work). Let us know what you find. Jan

Mine is plainly called Z. Jan

Fuel pressure regulator maybe. I'm almost positive that you have one. If you have pressure to the rail there should be fuel entering the cylinders unless the injectors aren't working. So I would check that the injectors all work. Did you change out the fuel? 10 year old gasoline isn't very good to run on. Hope that helps Jan

Hello all Ever since I bought my Z in August I've had issues with my volt gauge. When the car is off it shows ~12 volts. When I start the car the gauge will hover around 13 but the second I rev the engine it will max out. I had two (2) independent shops test my electrical system and both said that its the gauge. So this past weekend I went to a junkyard and yanked a volt/fuel gauge out of a 77 280z 2+2 and put it in. The volt gauge worked great but the fuel gauge didn't :mad:. So I ended up placing the old one back in the car. Does anyone have any idea what could be wrong. I inspected the volt gauge when I pulled it from my car and everything seemed ok. Any ideas? Jan

Hello all I need both wheel cylinders for my rear drums. I was at MSA and found that there are a number a wheel cylinders that they sell. Is there a difference between the 75-76 280z wheel cylinder and 77-78 ones? There is a huge difference in price and I would like to know before I buy. Thanks Jan

Hello all Can someone help me. My washer fluid motor was unplugged when I bought the car. I took it out and could not for the life of me find the other connection for it. Mine looks like the picture below and the only connector in the area looks exactly like it. Can anyone post the wires that are there please. Thanks Jan

Hey guys Took my car to the mechanic today. Found out that both (yes both) of my rear drums brake cylinders are leaking and have contaminated the brakes themselves. Would that explain the sqeaking noise? I would think it would but I've never had a car with drums before so please advise. Jan

Skid plate Work Hello all This past weekend I finished up the skid plate on my car. Ended up painting it a nice flat black color. Sprayed it with two coats of flat black. May put down one more coat before I reinstall it. Next project on the list is the interior. Plan on getting the clock working and replacing the volt/fuel gauge. I picked up the two gauges at the local u pull yard in Tucson. Was amazed that they were still there. Jan

Dave I took your advise, kind of and took the car for a short drive and did some investigating. This is what I found. The squeek noise I'm talking about is coming from the rear of the car (behind my head when I'm driving) and occurs at slow speeds. Once I reach about 10 to 15 mph the sound "goes away" but there is a sound of sorts still there. (What I mean is the loud squeek goes away and is replaced by another sound due to high revolutions). The noise does not occur (NOT) in reverse. I drove nearly 100 yards in reverse at all speeds and not a single sound. When I press the clutch pedal the sound goes away. So I'm leaning on saying that it is load related. (as with load its there but without its not). Here are things to keep in mind. My u-joints are toast (according to my mechanic) and the transmission mount is in pretty bad shape last time I looked at it. Thanks Jan

Whoa Dave. There was no ill wishes in those remarks. I didn't mean for it to sound smartassish* if it did. I'm sorry. I'm just a bit confused on how low fluid could cause a squeeking sound. I'll look into the low fluid later this weekend. Jan

lack of oil? Really I poured in gear oil until it started pouring out of the pour hole. Maybe I need to add more?

Hello all I'm in need of some help with my 1976 280z. I went for a fairly long drive today (~25miles or so) to the local u-pull it junkyard and the store to pick up groceries. When I got in my car all was find but when I put it in gear and started backing up I get a fairly loud squeeking noise that sounds like it is coming from the rear. It grows louder and faster with the speed of the car. As the car nears 50 the rear begins to "roar" is the best way to put it. My u-joints are not in very good shape at all so could it be them? Half-shafts? Advise is welcome Thanks Jan

For what I remember black smoke means that your running rich. Start with the basics. Check the fuel pressure and check the plugs, check the oil. (see if it smells of fuel). Check that your wired the coil right. Hope that helps Jan

Thanks guys for all your help. I did get a new radiator OE replacement and removed the condenser from in front of it. The car runs nice and cool. Jan

Update So a week or two ago I noticed my car having a real hard time idling when it was cold. The suspect, bad air regulator I presumed as it was stuck closed. Ordered a new one from MSA that arrived tonight. Hope to have it in tomorrow afternoon. Skidplate is nearly completely stripped of paint. Still have some spots here and there that need some attention but its getting there. I'll post some pictures up this weekend of the progress. Jan

I couldn't find the post you guys are talking about. Could someone give me a link. Secondly, why would I use such heavy oil? 140 is a bit up there is it not? Is it just because of the heat or is there other reasons? Jan

kjphilippona I would personally start with getting the car running. From your above description it sounds like you have yourself a nice project there to get it running. From there work your way around. Figure out what needs to be fixed and what you can live with for a while. My suspension on my Z is probably in the same boat. It sounds as if the car is going to rattle itself to pieces at some points when the road gets bumpy. But there's still like ten things in front of the suspension that I need to fix. For hints. The best product I've used for corrosion and in general electrical work is Deoxit.n Stuff is great at cleaning the connections and getting them to work great. Jan

It looks as if they wanted to make it into a Corvette. Doesn't look all that bad really. If it was a nice flat black color and had a better hood it would look better. Mate we've had this discussion a couple days ago on another topic. Yes you think it looks like the ugliest z on the planet. (I've seen worse ones). For the guy(s) who spent the time to build it and spent hours and money on it the car is beautiful. For some people putting on a body kit on any classic car "stains" it completely and makes it worthless and ugly. But that's their opinion. As the old saying goes beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I don't mind all these posts about how people ruin Z. Really I like to see what people do with them. It is better that someone did "That" to a Z then to have them sit in a field or junkyard slowly rotting away as time progresses. To me a rusty beaten up completely neglected Datsun is not only the ugliest but the most depressing sight on the planet. (and that goes for any old car really). That all I have to say about that Jan This is ugly: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=24591&d=1218924225

I'm going to agree with IdahoKidd here. I bought my Z all of three months ago and I plan on keeping it as stock as possible. I don't see the point really of having some fancy ignition system on a mainly stock car. I've tried doing all those huge ignition updates to my jeep when I owned it. Really didn't see that much of a difference until I hit the high RPM range (which is like 4k on those;)). Up to that point it really didn't make a noticeable difference really. To me unless you have a built motor or race your car and keep it way in the upper RPM range I don't think a fancy super duper ignition system is required. But IdahoKidd I'm going to have to say no one has to convince you that your wrong. You are right and wrong at the same time. For you a good dizzy and a good coil are the way to go. For someone else every bit of horse power counts and a good coil and good dizzy just don't keep up at 7k. I'm not exactly sure what I have on my car. For what it looks like its whatever came with the car in 1976. It gets my car going, and does what it was designed to do. Would it hold up with running at 7k all day at a track, probably not. Could it be better, of course. It all depends on what you need it for and what you want in the end. Simple as that mate. Jan oh and the cool factor should always be a factor. A double distributor, twelve spark plug dual coil set up looks soo much cooler than any MSD or stock set up. More of a hassle and totally not worth it in the end but man does it look cool.

I have a 180 degree thermostat. There are cooler range ones but I think 180 is the way to go. I live in Tucson and during the summer in 110 heat it never got over the halfway mark on the temp gauge and the fan only turned on when I had to sit in traffic. My 280z did the same thing. I bought it in Phoenix and drove back down 120 miles or so and drove another 400 or so around Tucson and the surrounding areas before the coolant issue happened. It all really depends on how well it was maintained and how old it was. Just take your time on the pump and the flush and don't be surprised if you see things come out such as rust and such. Jan

Hello all Ok so this past weekend I took my Z out for a nice ride. As I live in Tucson and only really drive to school and back on week days I rarely ever really get it going over 35. Well yesterday I had it going a "bit" faster. While cruising back home I noticed that my speedometer bounces at 45mph. Most of my drive was on some nice long and twisty mountain roads so I wasn't really pay attention to the speedometer as much as the road and thus I didn't notice if was occurring at higher speed. Has anyone had this problem? I run REDLINE MT-90 in the transmission and RL 75w90 in the rear. Any help would be great Jan