SteveJ

One of the constraints would be to find enough bodies that were in good enough shape for the program that wouldn't cost an arm and a leg to procure. While the program was never designed to make money, reducing the available pool of cars would drive up the program costs significantly.

Brad, feel free to remove the chip from your shoulder. You asked some vague questions that require some clarification to give meaningful answers. The key to your cooling will be how much air you can get through the evaporator and out through the registers. Carl Beck posted his experiences getting adequate A/C in Florida. Search the word evaporator. Also, I got a lot out of the book "How to Air Condition Your Car". If you want to read that book, buy a used copy. Amazon lists it for $50 new. It's not worth that much. There is another A/C book for hot rods listed for about $20. That would be much more reasonable.

I'm not sure what you mean by a "factory" kit since there was never factory air for the 73. I'm not sure what you've read here, either, since there are threads that talk about what you're asking with regards to Vintage Air. As far as the Honda blower what questions do you have that haven't been answered in the long thread?

Did you notice that you commented on a thread that is almost 8 years old? Welcome, and I hope you're enjoying your vintage Z.

Play in the differential - Check U-joints. Check all of the bolts for the U-joints. If the play is inside, drain the oil and search for metal.

Did you have your emergency brake lever pulled up? If so, the shoes are stuck to the drum. Search for that to find solutions.

Another thing that makes me nervous about the listing is the zero feedback of the seller.

IMHO if the dealer wants to charge you an extra $1000 because he wants to do so, it isn't gouging, especially on a sports car. A sports car is a want and not a need. If you are willing to pay extra, then you can buy the car. If not, wait until it is used and make someone else pay the extra profit AND depreciation. Do you insist upon paying MSRP on a car, even when the dealer is willing to reduce the price? My guess is that you take the discount and walk away happy about the deal you got. That's why for most of the cars I have purchased new, I look for the slow selling cars. I'm more than happy to let the "I've got to get that car NOW!" crowd furnish the dealer with the extra profit. To get back on topic, I think the mats were well bought. Something tells me that it would be difficult to find a set of mats like those for $20.

Actually, depending upon the year, holes for the door lock stems won't line up. If you got the 77/78 door panels modification won't be easy.

Ed, Who is nhspeedometer? Where are they located? Do they have a website?

You could try contacting your local Z Car Club. One of the members might do appraisals. Be prepared to pay for a good quality appraisal. If you are too frugal (*cheap*) to pay, describe your car here, posts tons of pictures, and be prepared to get a wide range of values.

If you want to adjust your valves, look on Blue's tech tips for Kammy's procedure. I found it rather easy to follow.

IMHO more highways should be patrolled like this.

Download the FSM.

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?38232-78-280z-heater-valve-needed!&highlight=heater+valve

If you hadn't posted your rant, I would have. To continue along with the rant... Yes, I bought second hand belts before I found sources for new seatbelts. Since then, I have replaced the seatbelts in both of my Z cars, and I'm glad I did. For those who are curious I have a couple of threads on replacement seat belts. I don't consider myself an expert, but I did have two really good experiences with the company I bought the belts from. Consider it this way. If you saw that your tires were cracking, would you just paint them black and keep driving? The S30 isn't nearly as rigid as any car built in the last 25 or so years. Do you REALLY want to risk your life with old seatbelts?

Yes, you'll need inline fuses. Fuse each power wire separately. A 10 AMP fuse will work for each circuit. I replaced the plug and the relay. Before you know it, it won't be much less than Dave's upgrade...

Yeah, I tried to warn you... For protecting the wires, I suggest 3 steps. 1. Heat shrink around the wires 2. Grommet at the hole (Find an any home improvement or auto parts place) 3. Liquid electrical tape applied liberally after getting it wired to seal between the heat shrink and the grommet.

That looks about pig rich to me.

Don't try to diagnose a lot when you're in the middle of another project. You can get confused easily. Get the car painted. Clean off the grounding areas well, and get everything connected. After that, let's see what you have.

I bought the BD relay kit. I replaced most of it before installing it. The relays are non standard. You should at least replace those with more typical relays and bases. (found on Amazon for pretty cheap) You'll also need to install your own fuses because the kit doesn't have any.

You found about as cheap as you're going to find them. They are also as rare as hen's teeth.

You should have no problems bleeding the brakes with the motor off.

I have to admit that my philosophy is to go cheap on the car stereo since it is exposed and vulnerable. I'm not such an audiophile that I have to have a top notch system in my car. Plus, it creates less of a worry that someone is going to break into my car, causing me to have to spend money to repair it.

Find the part numbers in the link below. There were threads on here about some being available in Canada about a year or two ago, but I doubt they are available here.