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Hi all, After seeing some of the commentary on tweaks to this site over the years, I figure this crowd is pretty decent about identifying the Good, Bad, and Ugly on websites. I may regret this, but I'm hoping I can solicit some user feedback on two automotive-based sites I've recently finished/ nearing completion on: 1) London Auto Services, Ltd. (almost done) BLUF: Northern VA-based shop focusing on all order of classics. Details: Really old-school place. Owner wanted the site to (a) tell his story [still building], ( provide a place for him to sell cars [i'd say we're at 95% there], and © provide a place for him to sell parts, if desired. Looking for feedback on the layout, graphics, and overall "oompfh" - that is to say, if you were expecting a website for a vintage car shop (40+ years experience), what was/wasn't there that you'd want to see, especially if researching shops for potentially getting work done (bonus points if you're in the 40-70 age bracket). 2) TZCCVA ? Tidewater Z Car Club of Virginia | Your Home for Z-Cars in the Tidewater VA Area BLUF: Tidewater VA Z-Car Club Webstite Details: Pretty straight forward. Looking to build a site for a Z-Car club. Just launched, so the details you might expect to see (Read: Content) are yet to come as they actually use the site. Looking for help on layout, typical car-club site content, and graphics/ readability. Their demographic trends younger due to the local naval bases, but definitely incorporates "more seasoned" Z-Owners as well. Cheers and thanks in advance for the feedback. Bill

Totally non-value added comment: I used to have a photo of my Paragon 29er stuffed in the back of my 240z. Wish I could find it to add here for context, but I can't. Sorry. Some Yakima Q-clips may do the trick. There may be other threads out there that contain some information for you too. I need a Bike Rack for my 280z - Non Tech Board - HybridZ

Thanks Peter, Sorry, no, I meant the brake setup he installed for you. I believe you made note that I might want to revert to stock, and was unsure whether you were happy with the 'new' brake setup you'd installed as mentioned.

Thanks Peter, Does the setup he built for you work well? Aside from the Rotors and Pads, I'm running the same gear. Curious if you're pleased, or consider the 'upgrades' inadequate as well. Leon/Guy/Carl/Sean, thanks (as always) for the help.

Also, Leon: I purchased the "wrong" 15/16" master cylinder, the 82-83 model. I of course had to trim it to get it to work, but afterwards it bolted on fine. Other than the fitment issues, are there other reasons this was "wrong" as an upgrade? Does the reservoir layout negatively impact performance somehow?

Man I wish this thread would break into multiple pages like every other thread on this site... Guy - That's a thought. I wouldn't mind experiencing the 3.54/ ZX combo prior to dropping it back in. Is there a fall ZCCNV show you'll be attending? Leon - Thanks. Irritating, but that's my fault for not researching enough. I'd like more braking than stock - I'll either read up on proportioning or look at "real" upgrades. Blue - Thanks. My Japanese is poor, but does that read to be a 4.625? You're running the other way! I'll top out at 45 at that rate

Thanks Guaro, Leon, long stopping distance, yep. I was hoping these 4-pots would grab more, but with such a hodgepodge of parts, its hard to say which element I goofed with.

Hi Leon, Front and Rears are both 225/50/15. Fronts rub at full lock, but that's rarely an issue. The rears are maybe a 1/2" from the spring perch, and have rubbed on occasion, though there's no rhyme or reason to when they do. 4.11 Rear end was fun for a while. Keeping eyes peeled for a 3.90 R180 though: I feel like an 18 wheeler shifting gears at red lights. Upgraded brakes (4-pot Toyota Calipers up front, 15/16 MC, new 240z booster [RockAuto], and totally redone everything else) are absolute s$#@. Can't figure it out. Thought maybe I had the hard-lines at the MC swapped (Series-1 placement vs. 280zx placement) but swapping them just blew an O-Ring in a rear cylinder. I mean they are bad - the stock brakes on my '70 are better. Any thoughts on why these brakes might blow? The only components of the brake system I didn't replace were the hard lines in the trans tunnel and the proportioning valves. Everything else is new.

That guy has had parts posted on the Annapolis CL for years now. His definition of 'mint' is different from yours, and his outlandish prices are no joke.

Thanks for Posting, Sean. Your put my cars to shame, I heard one guy make a comment about the shoddy paint on the White/Green cars, and we ought to take a page out of your book.

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Thanks Sean. I'd be grateful to use the sync meter. Chance of rain Sat. kept some of the exotics away; we'll catch a better show with you soon.

You have a keen eye, and there's a story there. Halfway home from Cars & Coffee, Jason says "lets switch cars." Sure. Why not. With Jason driving my white car in front, we roll into the City of Falls Church, and sure enough, a motorcycle cop flips his lights on. I figured I'd rolled through a yellow or something. I turned into the first parking lot, Jason takes his next left. He gets in enough time to yell "the registration!" before the cop orders him to get back into his car. I got a ticket for expired registration & inspection in Jason's 75, while Jason cruised home in my 71, which happened to be missing it's front plate and probably violated every noise statute the City of Falls Church has on the books.

Got a good amount of driving in this weekend. Did the Great Falls Cars & Coffee on Saturday with Jason, who brought up his '75 as well. That thing will be an absolute monster when he's finished, and will no doubt blow this thing out of the water. Had some nice crowds the whole morning, but only due to the Shelby clone parked next to me. Hey - I'll take what I can get. Finally logged some miles with Todd's custom shift lever as well. It feels incredibly natural, and the motion is great. It's low slung and easy to get used to. I'm half-tempted to order a few more just in case - well, who knows? Lastly, Jason did some tuning/timing after Cars & Coffee. We don't have a flow/sync meter, so he is, once again, doing this by ear and feel. He's a fantastically talented mechanic. His alignment, with 2 boards and a measuring tape, was only a hair off what the shop was able to do. After his tuning, I fired the car up Monday night around 8pm and took to the backroads of McLean via 495, and ended up on the GW Parkway. An hour later I rumbled home after one of the best drives of my life. There's still some work to do, but everything seems to really be coming together. The car pulls hard, even in 5th. I'm through with 1st gear before I clear an intersection, but there's enough life in 2nd-4th to keep it all together. And the tires - holy mother of pearl - they grab the road like nothing else. My neck will give out before they do. Speaking of which, it's time to fix the driver's seat. Or replace it. The seat sags, and there's a small tear in the vinyl. It wouldn't hurt to sit up a little higher. It's a mean sight in the rear view (as seen from the '75), and here's Jason doing some builder's trials

Got the alignment done. I failed to tighten one of the bolts on the TC arm at the wheel, so after they did the alignment... they had to do it again. They were at least nice enough to hand me a wrench and let me fix my own mistake, rather than giving me the boot - or worse - not telling me, and letting me suffer the consequences. Curry's Automotive in Falls Church. Great group of guys there.

Bobs is looking a lot more attractive. Anyone have a spare 71 tach I can send up there?

It very well might, Zed Head. I wonder if the ballast resistor would change the same issues. Thanks for the input. Looking forward - well, kinda - to getting back in the garage to play with this.

Finally got it on the road this weekend. A few rattles and other noises I'll need to sort out, but the major bits are good. Some additional tuning is needed, in addition to getting that damn tach figured out. Might need to roadtrip down to Tidewater Z. Also, I'm suprised that the brakes weren't all that impressive. Or, impressive at all. Lumpy cam, vacuum being drawn from three carbs... would those combine to make my brakes less, say... grabby? I've got the stock 240z booster, a 280zx MC, 4-Pot Calipers up front, and the stock drums in the rear. What do I need to tweak to make this puppy actually grab. I saw a thread on here about this before. Time to go digging. Stopped at London Auto up the road on the drive. That track-prepped Fiat in back looked pretty mean.

Thanks All. Speaking with MSD, they're response to my 200-RPM Idle, and minimally responsive Tach was "Did you remember to cut a loop on the MSD box for a 6 cyl car?" (I did, yes). I've heard of a few folks removing the E12-80, but I get the sense most people leave it on. Did anyone follow the Chrysler instructions for this install? Someone told me that would work on our cars, but I haven't the foggiest idea what that would entail. He mentioned it uses the ballast resistor, etc.

Tried this, no luck. In fact, the car wouldn't start when I did that (un-doing it remedied that quickly). Does anything in that diagram (besides my poor ability to diagram) stand out as incorrect?

One ended up on a 280z locally. He's restoring the horn-pad as well to match.

Ooopfh. Another couple hours with no luck. Wiring is not my forte

Thanks all. Was hoping to get away without rebuilding the tach as it worked fine before. If it comes to that though, any recommendations?

Thanks much, I've got 2 tach adapters sitting around... I'm going to hopefully run one of those, but failing that, I appreciate the lead!

So after reading for a couple hours now (including some threads just like this one), I'm exasperated. I can't get my stock '71 Tach to work with the MSD setup. Setup: '71 240z. 280ZX Electronic Distributor w/ E80-12 Module. MSD 6A (Digital). Blaster 2 Coil. I found this thread that talked about the 8920 Install: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/articles-our-members/13085-msd-6a-installation-280zx-distributor-240z-tach.html That didn't seem to work. The tach would jump when the engine turned over, but then nothing. Then I found this one, which exuded so much confidence I figured, 'that must be it' and purchased the 8910. Getting your early 240Z tachometer working with an MSD 6 Series ignition. - Ignition and Electrical - HybridZ My tach now works, but only reads about 100-200 RPMs. Someone else there mentions a similar problem, but posts no resolution (I've reached out, nothing yet). Any advice would be much appreciated. Note: - The rest of my install works fine, and (apologies for the crude drawing) is as follows: