sblake01

Some might call it an upgrade, I call it a change to a new and different model, but in 79 the 280ZX (S130) began. 78 was the last S30.

The sunroof kills it for me. IMO, that makes it's value much less than $12K. It's a factory air car which is a plus. The louvers are okay although they're the 'latch' type that involve drilling holes in the car to mount rather than the key type I have which don't, no louvers were factory. The wheels are non factory but look nice. Never did care for that stainless steel side molding. The mileage is beliveable based on the wear or lack of in some of the areas I'd look. It's a nice car overall but, like I said, not worth $12K or "Barrets Auto Auction" as someone stated on that site.

Being born in 1950, there isn't anything mentioned yet that I wouldn't remember even if you factor in the age factor:) My grandfather owned Nash's and DeSoto's. My greatuncle drove a Hudson. My first car was a Rambler. My 64 Datsun pickup originally had a non synchro first gear. That trans was so bad the I wasn't really sure if it had synchros in any gear. I recall there only being 16 teams in Major League Baseball, 8 in each league, no divisions, no wild card, no interleague play, no designated hitter, no drugs (that we knew of). I was paid $1.00 per hr. on my first job at a Datsun dealership! (well, sort of: they sold Chrysler/Plymouth but had some sort of a Datsun frachise in 1966) They later became Pomona Valley Datsun. My next job was a vast improvememt at $1.72. I kept that one for almost 35 years. (wages did increase)

We established that on the first page of this thread. 78 and up had the wired m/c caps, 77 and down had the switch I pictured in my previous post. He addressed the relay, also on page one. I was just letting him know I have the switch if he ends up needing it.

From what I can tell it is. He mentioned something about the font being slightly different but I couldn't tell unless they were side by side except the replica looks newer than the original one.

I was looking through my stuff this morning and I found this. Don't know where I picked it up. I have amassed quite a few Datsun parts over the years. Don't know if it's good. Can't hook it up and test it since my 78 doesn't use it but if yours turns out to be bad you can give it a try.

I noticed it was a cap when I first saw pictures you posted upon purchasing the car.

Well there's this place but the problem is that for some reason, probably legality, the won't ship into California. And, at $75, they are a little pricey for my tastes. My nephew has a 69 Chevelle and basically had the same situation you're describing. He had it shipped to our cousin in Arizona who in turn mailed it to him. He's had that plate on the front of his car for a couple of years now with no problems. Here's the link: http://www.licenseplates.tv/prod/1969_california_stat_1569.html

I would think that if you had one made and it looked close enough to the original, no one would even notice. Especially if your car is already registered with that plate number.

Though he didn't state the year of his car, according to his profile it's a 78. Carfiche doesn't have a 78 wiring diagram. There are some important differences between the 77 that they do have and the 78. I tried to attach the 78 wiring diagram here but apparently it's too large, about 3.5mb. According to the guidlines it should work but it doesn't. markur, I could try emailing it to you. In fact I can send you the entire 78 FSM in four seperate emails ranging from about 13 to 18 mb each if your email will accept messages that large. Some will, some won't. Send me a pm if you're interested.

In my post I meant to say Finland not Norway.^^

All kidding aside it will still be a difficult search. From what I understand, they were only imported with LHD to the Middle East, and Norway.

30 years ago I wouldn't have had those thoughts. Let's see....that would be 1978: most of my time was spent fixing the things that broke on my modded 1600 roadster or my modded 66 Mustang. I hadn't yet come to the conclusion to have a stock driver along with my modded car(s). I was also 27 at the time so I do understand.......

It that is what you ultimately want from this car, I'd suggest a stock rebuild. You live in California so you'll have to smog it every two years, just like my 78. In my lifetime, I've owned over 50 cars and I can tell you from experience that 'modded out' daily drivers are a pain in the a$$. (Dollar signs used for the express purpose of double entendre). Each high performance modification like headers will work better if other mods are done along with it i.e. better intake, etc. That cam will make a difference but not as much as if you also went with some porting on the head, larger injectors and throttle body, rising rate pressure regulator, etc. And once you've done all of this, what about suspension...other things? The point is it becomes less of a reliable daily driver which has a standard list of troubleshooting algorhythms, to something a bit more difficult to drive in normal traffic situations, difficult if not impossible to pass smog, etc. So what do you end up with? Something well short of a race car in that lots of off the rack production cars can still outrun it, and something well short of the stated goal in that it ceased to be a 'safe reliable daily driver' many mods ago. Not telling you what to do, it's your car but I've been there and done that and it cost me a lot of extra money that I could have more productively used elswhere. No more 'hopped up' cars for me if daily driving is going to be their main purpose. Now if were talking weekend/once in a while driven, fun cars, and not daily drivers, my advice would be quite different.

Original MSRP: $17,299

You told the rep that you have a stock 77 with EFI, right? He said it could be dropped in but did he say how it would run considering that the rest of the components are stock?

That's not the feeling I get reading your post. You've got a lot of mis matched components in that car from what you're saying. A P79 intake on a N42 head, an AFM from a ZX with the stock 78 ECU (I'm assuming), and the later throttle bodies use a TPS that's not compatible with a 78. Couple that with the fact that there are different water temp sensors and the one you use must be matched to your particular application. Now, please don't take this the wrong way, this is just my opinion. I'll have to defer to someone else on this one because with all that extra drama that has been introduced into a car that apparently already had existing problems, I can't even hazzard a guess.

There is no association whatsoever with a check engine light. The electronics in a 78 280Z, or any other year for that matter, are not that sophisticated. The brake warning light on your (and my or any) 78 consists of a warning lamp, a parking brake switch, and a brake fluid level switch. Problems occuring when the light is on in any system other than the brake system is purely coincidental.

DZR's response in the shout box is spot on and prevents me from commenting on that one!

If you have the brake warning switch, there would be no place for the wires from the caps to plug in as they are not used in the 77 system. 78 and later had the fluid level switches in the caps with no brake warning switch. Different systems. My 78 had a bad switch in one of my caps and it caused the same problem you're having so pehaps the problem is in your brake warning switch.

Not sure I'd want to do any performance mods to an engine w/200K+ miles without rebuilding it first. Most likely, all that will do is hasten the need for a rebuild. The only thing I would add to what David said is to check your electrical connections especially the ones that have to do with engine operation. Clean and/or replace as necessary.

I still have one of the Hybrid Z Pinks t shirts somewhere........

Was it a repeat of the one that was on a little less that two years ago? http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22288&highlight=Pinks

Don't know if it's the same but the resistance is 10 to 80 ohms on a 280Z.

Here's the four 280Z pages from the 1978 model line up brochure that I've occasionally used at shows. Like Rick, I use copies for shows and leave the actual literature at home.