Pennyman

I can just picture the exhaust shop guy saying, "Add $250 if you plan on running at Laguna Seca, and we'll include a muffler." I'll post pics of the new hangers once their welded on. Here's the ugly hanger the guy welded on last time. Notice how visible and...ugly it would be... I had to cut it off.

SO TRUE!! It's like the guy thinks you don't trust him, and then when you let him do his thing, the job he turns out is worse than something you could have put together in your own garage! While I was telling this meathead what I wanted, he interupted me and said, "my time is worth 2 bucks a minute, so if you want to stand here and talk to me about everything while we wizz time away, you can go somewhere else." And I was thinking: I don't want to get pushed around by this guy, maybe he feels like I don't trust his quality of work. So I let him be, and it turns out, his work was unsatisfactory, and I should have taken it somewhere else.

Any Ideas how to fabricate muffler hangers? I guess I could use the metal rod type and weld them where I need them. My plan is to allign the muffler EXACTLY where I want it, then try and get the tube to work. If it does, great. If not, I'll get one more tube bent (at yet another shop) and I'll be sure to tell them NOT to move the muffler. I don't suppose it's too much to ask to tell a shop to bend a muffler between an already hung muffler and the catalytic converter? I mean, how could they screw that one up?? hahaha!

Haha!! I was SOOO tempted to do that, but the other part of me wasn't going to give in to this guy's BS or get pushed around by him. He chucked my OEM muffler hangers, which weren't in bad condition, and replaced them with massive ugly ones that don't work as well. I think it would be funny to go back there and ask him for my OEM hangers back, just to mess with him. He'd probably be like, "What's wrong with the hangers I gave you?" Haha, I can be too juvenille sometimes... Yeah, my neighbor (a former mechanic) said that exhaust shop guys are often just monkeys who can't handle real mechanical work, or have even been fired from mechanic jobs in the past, and that a lot of them do hack jobs. Luckily my friend has a welder and just spent 9 months at Wyotech, and he's willing to help me get this system to where I'm satisfied. He looked at the welds on my system and said, "If this dude was at Wyotech, he'd have to take the welding course again!" I'll try to get a picture of the muffler before I cut the other hanger off (from the muffler tip!) to show you guys...

Hey everyone. I put on my header as seen in the thread "Installing Header As We Speak!!" and I took it to a muffler shop to have the rest done. Well, the pipe hung too low, and the muffler hit the underside of the rear valence, causing an occational buzzing. This did not please me. Not to mention the U-bolt holding the muffler on was defective, causing a huge exhaust leak. I attempted to fix the problems myself, and ended up making it worse. So I brought it to different shop today. The guy seemed nice at first, but then started to get progressively more aggitated as I told him what I wanted. He even threatened me saying he wouldn't do the work if I kept talking to him. Also seemed like he felt I didn't trust him. Truth is, I don't trust anyone with my Z. He said to leave and come back at 2pm so I could help him allign the muffler, so I left, took a bath and came back at 2. By then it was done, and the muffler was crooked as hell, welded on (usually they clamp them on so you can replace the muffler if need be) and the main tube was just as low as the last one. Not to mention he welded the muffler hanger to the exhaust tip in plain view!! I didn't want to deal with this meathead any longer, so I signed the check ($163.31) and drove home, parked my Z and tore the system out. I cut the welds and removed the muffler, and tomorrow I'll do the rest. I'll also cut off the hangers and have my buddy weld them in the right places. I swear, no one has any idea how to hang a muffler in this town! ARGH!! If you want something done right you have to do it yourself!!

Judging by the front end, it should be post-'76, but the amp meter in the dash tells me it should be pre-'76. The redline on the tach is 240z spec, but the rest of the interior says 280z, except for the inner door panels. I'm convinced it's a 240z. Notice the intentations in the rear quarter pannels for the rear bumper. The 280Z didn't have those indents, the panels were just smooth. Those indentations cannot be created unless the entire quarter is cut off and replaced. The car would often total before that occurs though.

Thanks, I'll let the shop know tomorrow and I'll see what I come up with. I didn't need this problem now, hehe.... In the words of Jeremey Clarkson from Top Gear: "See the joys of classic car motoring!"

Just found big leaks in my heater core, want to get a new one ASAP. I wanted to know what years had the same design heater core as a 1976 model (can be removed through the side of the heater block). Sometimes shops list a core for one year, but it will work on several, please, the shops close at 9pm!

So here's some updates: Overall, I'm not impressed with the quality of the job. The guy is pretty old, but super nice, so I can't be too critical, but I just thought over the course of 40 years of tubing bending, doing a Z would be a no-brainer. The tubing hangs a little low for my taste around the differential, and the muffler is mounted so close to the rear of the car that it occationally rubs on the inside of the rear valence support. He welded the entire system up by eye, meaning that nothing was plumb to begin with, so when it came time to make a "test pipe," it threw the entire system out of allignment. Now I've gotta figure out how to make this project LOOK finished, because the trained Z enthusiast will be able to tell that something's up with this system. Ehh...Time to crawl back under my car and ponder...

Simply stunning. I love them. Any reason why you prefer all gunmetal w/o the polished lip? I've always debated that myself, but those are sweet. Quite a step up from the wheel covers you had before (even though those were cool too). I've got 14x7 slotted mags on my Z, haha! I keep swinging between wats or rewinds or SSR mesh...argh!....You definitally made a good choice though.

So I've got the system on. The guy insisted I get a new catalytic converter, so I said OK, even though they are $250 installed. I had him flange both ends so I could put a test pipe in though (which is prepared and will go in tomorrow). All together, $350. It's funny to think that minus the cat, it only cost $100 bucks! At least now I'll have a brand-spanking-new cat ready to swap in when smog day comes. Superturbo mufflers are too quiet!! I might have to edit this once I take out the catalytic converter though, hehe.

Which best motoring volume includes the Spirit Garage S30Z? Could it be the same one?

Anyone make 280Z lenses with the bottom one clear? I think it would be awesome to get a set of these. Threw this together real quick. 280tails.bmp

My car was rear ended a year and a half ago, on the passenger's side corner, and the SUV that hit me hit the bumper first, but if the bumper wasn't there, my car would have totalled. Since then, I've established that my "smooth" 280z bumpers (pre-1977) are the way to go. They don't have the nasty grooves in them, or the additional bracing on the front, or the bigger bumper ends, or that ugly painted metal spacer on the rear. I've learned to like them because they look pretty good for how well they work.

I've seen some JDM Z's with projector retrofits. They range from two vertical lenses mounted inside the 7" housing to 6 lenses in a hexagonal shape. I'll try to find the link...

Asked some guys racing 240z's at Laguna Seca this same question. They said for racing applications, the LSD would heat up after a long race and on the final turn the driver would get on the gas, and because the LSD was so hot, it would slip, causing him to potentially lose a position on the last corner. After that, they said they went with a welded diff and they didn't have to worry about it. LSD's are really expensive, and for racing or drifting, I'd reccomend a welded diff because they require little or no maitenence, and they're dirt cheap. For street use, An LSD is good because it gives you the best of both worlds, if you're willing to cough up the cash. I'm still debating whether to get another diff and weld it, or get an LSD unit for a 240sx and swapping it in. But there are pro's and cons for each choice.

I'll be running a 2 1/4" tubing with a Dynomax Superturbo. I suppose it will still sound sweet once it's all put together. I could have sworn there was a thread here where people posted the sounds of their Z's...

I suppose I could drive at low revs, and if I see a cop I can shut off the engine and coast... I'm so tempted to drive it around, hehe :nervous:

All done installing the header. It's SOOO LOUD!! I can't drive it in town, I've gotta get it towed.

I'm astonished at the level of ingenuity and garage expertice I've seen over the course of 13 pages of build up. There are some definite engineering problems which this guy addressed with no fear. I'm utterly amazed at this rennisanse man of the garage. From fiberglass molding to metal work to custom fabrication, this guy looks like a pro. Good luck to him. I'll keep my un-chopped Z.

Well, today I finished cleaning up the header and installed it with the new gasket. Also put the intake manifold back on. Tightened all the bolts. I hope I have no exhaust leaks when I start it up *crosses fingers*. Tomorrow I will put the heat sheild back on, attach the exhaust hanger which mounts to the underside of the tranny, reconnect all the wires and hoses, and I'll be done. Then it's off to the exhaust shop for the rest.

Took off the rest of the exhaust system, then through in the towel for the day (my gf showed up too, hehe). Tomorrow after school I will resume the procedure. Might touch up the header with some "rust-mort" and some high temp paint, start putting it back together tomorrow. BTW, used a stiff putty knife and some engine degreaser to get rid of the majority of the gunk.

Ok, everythings off. There's bits of old gasket still on the manifold and the head. It's really siuck on there, but I don't want to gouge anything by going ape on it. Any advice for loostening these bits up?

Hey, everyone, just took a break for breakfast. It's noon and I've taken off the heat sheild and sprayed all the studs with penetrating oil. Hopefully the process goes well, but we'll find out! Tad bit of surface rust left on parts of the header (found it at junkyard totally thrashed, sanded it and painted it myself w/ header paint). I think the rust mught be the worst part of all this. Wish me luck, I've got a week till I have to go back to work and my girlfriend's birthday's next week, so I've gotta get this done, hehe. BTW, anyone run their car with an open header? Wouldn't the hot gas melt or ignite the undercoating? Just wondering.