mdbrandy

Ok, I recently bought a very nice powder-coated oil pan on-the-cheap that I intend to use on my 280Z (pan gasket needs replaced, so I figured it's as good a time as any!). Powder coating looks very nice. The question that occurred to me, after receiving it, is that the inside of the oil pan is also powder coated. My understanding is that powder coating is impervious to just about anything, but are there any negatives to having this material inside the engine? I gather that people sometimes paint the inside of the block, so I figure powder coat in the oil pan should be as safe as that, right?

I think from that web site and these couple of posts, I have a decent basic idea of what's going on. Much better than before I posted! Seems like a fairly simple system - just complicated linkages to choose the right fork and move the right synchro to the right gear. Seems to me that there has to be a lot of friction to slow the input gear as quickly as needed for fast shifts. Is it really viscous drag of the oil layer between the steel gear cone and the brass synchro cone that slows the gear to match the output shaft speed so that the ring can lock? I can see how steel directly on brass (or brass alloy) without oil would eat up the brass very quickly! And the inside of the tranny can't be too much more of a mess than the last few hours I've spent scraping the grease, grime, and dirt off the front suspension parts of my 280Z that I'm rebuilding right now! All of the ball joint and tie rod boots were pretty much disolved, and sticky, dirty grease was everywhere! That's what soap's for, right :laugh: ? I just don't clean up in my wife's sink! :stupid:

If I was trying to mess with the transmission on my daily driver Z, I would be a lot more cautious. As it is, I have two four-speeds laying about, and I was told that the type A that I'd like to use in my 240 restoration was stuffed (it came as an extra with the car). So at least taking the gear set out of the case would allow me to look it over, even if I didn't actually disassemble it. If, of course, I can learn what needs to be looked over! :laugh:

Nice site! I didn't know about it. The explanation there is very basic, but had more info than I knew. I didn't even know that you aren't really moving the gears! Very interesting. I knew that the synchros had "cones", and so I figured there was friction involved somewhere. This site's explanation at least gives me a good, general picture. If anyone knows of decent books, I'd still like to get reference to one or more. Since the synchros are friction-based, how long a life do they usually have? I assume there isn't really "friction-material" in them (like clutch or brakes) since they are bathed in oil - is it metal-to-metal with oil between?

OK, I admit it. I have never taken a transmission apart, and I don't know how synchronizers in a manual transmission work. :stupid: As a degreed engineer, I feel really silly about that, and want to rectify the situation . It's one of the only parts of our cars that I don't at least have a basic understanding of. I love books, and if anyone has a suggestion for a good book about transmissions in general (manual and auto), I'd love to have the title, author, etc. Otherwise, anyone want to post an explanation? I have several spare trans sitting around, and I'm planning on taking one apart soon, so I'd like to know they actually operate before I dig in :paranoid: . Thanks.

Ah, I expected as much but I couldn't prove it with anything I have available. So thanks for the info, and I'll deal with the different size when I get to it....

Related question: Is the hole in the firewall the same diameter for a late 280Z as it is for an early 240Z (for the main wire harness coming through low near the battery)? The reason I ask is that on my 240Z restoration, that area has been previously "restored" (read: hacked), so I don't trust the hole diameter, and I have a decent battery tray and firewall section from a 280Z to replace it with. But I haven't researched yet what might be different.... Thanks.

I didn't notice the multiple reply possibility. My 280Z will sit in the garage all winter while I drive the Camry :disappoin . Then, the other 8 or 9 months, it will be my daily driver, except on really bad weather days, or when I need to take a couple kids to school on my way to work. So I picked "alternate". However, I should have also picked "still working on it" for my 240Z project, which will undoubtedly not see the road for a couple/few more years....

That's the ticket! I'm doing my 280Z up however I feel like, and trying to keep the 240Z as close to stock as available parts, budget, and time allow.

MSA "280Z" floor mats, billet oil cap and an MSA 2005 Z-car calendar.

We also have to be a little careful with non-Nissan sources (and Nissan sources too, I suppose). Some months back, we had a discussion about automatic transmissions and VIN sequences/build dates. The Humble book had an interesting Service notice listed, but after cross referencing it against the actual notice, it was found that the Humble book had a typo that made the VINs off by 10000, or something like that. So it's good to consult multiple sources when available.

I believe that this is the same notice that 26th-Z posted scans of a few posts back. Humble just went through these same notices and picked out the ones he thought were useful.

#215 has clear hatch glass.

Thanks. I searched for "fiberglass dash" instead of "carbon fiber", so I didn't find the thread.

Where did you get it? (What is PDK?)

I was kind of dissapointed in the show. I had hoped that they would know more about what they were doing. Throwing in a new cam and headers, and then sticking those 4-bbl carbs on, and that's just about it. I was doing something else during the show too, so I missed some details (I did tape it), but overall, other than the retrospective clips (which were pretty cool), I don't think they did a great job on the cars. Limiting themselves to 14 hours of work, and parts that people would give them certainly restricted what they could do...

I get 17 - 19 mpg in my '78 280Z in the city, so we're all pretty consistent there. Haven't done much of any highway driving with it. And here in the cornfields of Central Illinois, 87 octane regular just jumped to $2.09. 91 Octane premium is $2.29.

I'd agree with that, but the spindle pin puller referred to above makes the job almost easy. "Almost".

Racer X You scored -25% Congratulations. You are the real thing. Chances are you could tear down your engine and put it back together in a weekend. You know a decent amount about racing dynamics. The "FATHF" culture has been a bane to your existence since you've been in the game for years before that horrid movie was released. Auto-x, drag racing, track time, you know enough to not sound like an arse while talking about it, and you can probably hold your own on the track too. Race on, good citizen, for you are a true Racer. If only I'd ever actually managed to get on a track...

I was going to bid on those, but forgot. Enjoy!

My '78 280 has blue overspray on the black oil pan. I haven't cleaned the grunge off the '70 240 engine to see it yet

I've bought several things from them through e-bay. The only complaint I have is that their care in packaging could use some improvement. A couple things I've bought were larger metal pieces, and there was no padding used, and a metal corner or two ended up tearing through the boxes. For what they charge to ship, they could do better. But then, the prices on the parts were good...

Anybody know who this guy on e-bay is? He's getting to be a real pain in the bidding. And is also apparently a bottemless pit of money. Sucking up every good NOS 240Z part he can, for premium $$. Never seems to sell anything, though. Just wondering...

The rusty silver silver pic is from my #215 car. Glad it could be of service! Pictures are about all the car is good for right now...and for a while longer

Sometimes it's just luck. I was working with a guy on an NOS center console he had, and he mentioned other items he was going to get rid of too, including 4 NOS D hubcaps, 4 original unused 4.5 inch wheels, and an NOS choke with hand throttle assembly. He sold them to me as a package for "a good price". I feel REALLY lucky now! Given what these have sold for now, no one that has any will sell for less...a year ago good or NOS D sets of 4 were still $400-$500.