Pennyman

The air flow meter may be out of whack. Check the seal around the plastic cover on the side. It should be a tight seal. If the shop which is smoging your car is an actual mechanic's shop, you might want the head mechanic to take a look at the air flow meter. Speaking from experience, this may be what is causing your car to fail. Bring it to a shop where the guys who know WHY your car is failing are the SAME guys who can fix it for ya.

For the rear, could you also drop the tank and remove the bumper shocks all together? Maybe replace them with the 240Z bumper brackets? Or would you have to fabricate a bracket to put in place of the rear bumper shocks?

I like FI, I just don't like how no one has come out with some performance ECU upgrade for the 280z. I guess it's because of the near-antiqueness of the system and it's simplicity.

Here's my experience: Because the front valence on the 280z hangs lower than that of a 240z, the car will look odd with the larger bumper simply removed. The bumper does help immensely, especially in city traffic and in parking garages where one bump on the front could be disasterous. In order to get it looking better, a front valence with a smaller opening would be ideal, like the "cow catcher" style air dams. Or you could find a junked 240z front valence and weld metal over the turn signal openings. Then just throw on a 240z bumper while you're at it, and boy that'd look HOT! Bottom line, if you don't want to worry about the unknown, leave it on.

It's interesting with regard to old S30 Z's, the older, the more coveted. With something like the Jaguar E-type, the series one was absolutly NOT the most sought after.

I agree. Here in CA I saw the price jump twice in one day, from $2.79 to $2.89, then this morining another jump to $2.99 and most stations are already serving 87 octane for $3.09.

Too far South. Plus school.

Did they tell you WHY though? I don't see why there would be a problem unless someone complained against you, or you broke the law somehow... You could have it towed to a buddy's house and keep it there for a week until the cops cool off. Just a thought.

Out here in Norcal, I see probably 10 280z's for every 240z I see in a junkyard. Not to mention the 280z's I see are sometimes in very good shape (sometimes even road-worthy), while the 240z I'll see will be in very bad shape.

Yeah, I've actually seen a few JDM-styled 280xz's and early 300zx's (like Kei Miyata's 200ZR, GOD!) that look really awesome. Can't deny though, that the 280z has about 80lbs extra bling on each end thanks to U.S. safety regs!

At least we don't have to deal with that ubiquitous "Zoom-Zoom" song. God, somebody please make that song go away...

I live in a residential community called "Monterey Bay Hights" in CA and the hill everyone lives on, used to be a golf course many years ago. Seriously, in this one community, there are five S30 Z cars! There's mine, this other guy's 240z who seriously lives several hundred yards away, another mid-restoration 240z a couple hundred yards up the hill from him, and another rusty daily driver 280z a little farther than that (he may have sold it recently though). Then it gets better. At the top of the hill where all the larger houses are situated, theres a house with a guy who owns three 1st gen 300zx's and another 240z. Interesting....

That's just what I was thinking too. Sorry to hear that your Z got hit, mine was hit about a year ago too. Hehe, lucky you though, seriously, you must know more about bodywork than most shop owners! hehe Anyway, goodluck. I'll stop by your new shop soon.

That's perfectly alright. I realize I kinda made a mistake by bringing up this topic again, when it already had been covered in another thread. I always wondered about marketing some sort of conversion kit to modify the front end of a 280z to turn it into a 240z-by-looks. You know, small bumpers, relocated turn signals, new tails, smaller front valence, etc. That way you'd shed weight AND be left with a "240z-looking" car with an L28 already installed! Just a daydream i had...

It'll say N42 on the passengers side of the head stamped into the metal. 280z's certainly LOOK a little more muscular than 240z's. For some reason, they almost appear wider even though the track is the same. It's also true that when it comes to enthusiasts, more people go for the 240z than the 280z, which means there;s WAY more spare parts for 280z's in the average junkyard.

Yeah, I think it will. 12" is quite a bit. It is a slightly bigger radius too. I'll get it to work I think. Then I'll post the construction specs on another part of the site.

Yes it is a U-bend. I am planning on cutting it to the proper lengths. First in half to create tow L shapes, then trimming the straight section down. For $35, I can't imagine the quality being very high, or the filter being a REAL K&N. As a matter of fact, the picture used for that auction is taken from a cardomain photo, and the intake in that photo is the MSA unit! Second pic down: Here

Just ordered pt.# 289-42323 off of Jegs! it's the best price I could find for a mandrel bent piece of tubing, and I'll let you guys know how it works and stuff too once it's here. Looks like I have 12 inches of length to deal with too! I can make it pretty much as long as I want. We'll see though.

Yeah, it was great fun. Lot's of walking though. I'd LOVE to see a replica BRE 240z run the historics, hehe. More Panteras and Ferarris than I've ever seen in one place before. BTW thanks Mark!

I'll be making a "test pipe" for my Z's exhaust when I get it put on. Not legal, but totally acceptable in my opinion, hehe. BTW, here's the thread we should have continued: 240z vs 280z

Speaking of mods, I thought about the track Z's I've seen in Grassroots Motorsports and at SCCA events, and here's something I've found: For a stock comparison, the 240z edges out the 280z because of its lighter weight, and better suited suspension. Light modification: 280z. Suspension upgrades really help the 280z overcome it's soft suspension, and compensate for its heavier weight, while intake and exhaust allow the fuel injection L28 to work at its full potential with the stock cam. Moderate modification / light race tune: 240z. New camshafts match the L24 well, and when coupled with race-tuned carbs and engine balancing, a 240z becomes very quick. Heavy modification / full race tune: 280z. Thicker overall construction makes for a more stable racecar at very high speed and high G application. Better platform for very high horsepower. (just look at the BRE racing history) I could be wrong about a bit of this, but it's just an interesting comparison I played around with.

Awesome. My mistake, this thread has been covered before actually. Sorry for wasting space, hehe. It's my understanding that the 280z was a better built car, and feels more solid when compared to a 240z, not to mention less rust, and cheaper. I also think it was examined that the the 280z had a slightly better power to weight ratio if you can believe it. I think part of the problem was the fact that the suspension wasn't augmented to hold the extra 500-or-so lbs of 280z and the suspension was mostly carried over from the 240z, probably to save production costs, and as a byproduct, Nissan marketed the car as more "luxurious".

Please explain...

I think if my Z gets totalled or stollen or explodes, I'll get a 240z..but for now, I like my 280z. I would like to see a race between an SCCA prepared 240z and 280z. Hmm..better head out to the track next month! hehe.