Jeff G 78

Classic detonation failure. If it wasn't boosted or on the spray, then the CR was too high for the fuel grade. An F54 block and N47 head combo will give you about 10:1 CR but only if the head has not been shaved. Either the head has been milled and/or the PO ran too much spark and not the right fuel. I have the flat top/N47 combo and have zero problems with detonation. My head has not been milled and I run a Nissan head gasket which gives me just under 10:1 CR. I use only 93 octane gas and made sure I had enough fuel based on spark plug readings. I ran the car at various engine speeds and shut it down, coasted to a stop and pulled each plug to check the color. I fine tuned it with a potentiometer in the water temp circuit (see Blue's site). Someday I will put it on the dyno and tune it right, but for now it looks pretty close. As far as flat top pistons go, buy them for an '81 ZX non turbo. The F54/N47 is a good choice and should be kept. No reason to go back to 8.3:1

Looks Fantastic Arne!

I'd be dying to get it back together, yet afraid of starting too early before the paint is cured. I can't wait to see the end results Arne!

That's about what I would have guessed. It's just too bad that *most* of these cars aren't really worth painting. I have around $7500 in my '78 and it still looks like a junker. If I ever buy another Z, it will be one that has a great body and perfect paint. The mechanicals can be done over time, but the $5000 hit all at once for paint hurts. I see so many beautiful Z cars list for $8000-$12000 and read as forum members complain about the outrageous asking prices. Most of those owners are losing their shirts at those prices. I applaud you for bringing one more Z back to its original glory. The sunroof HAD to go. Personally, I would never even consider a Z with a sunroof no matter how nice the rest of the car is.

The craftsmanship does look pretty good. I'm not sure how long the front tires would last with the camber and toe out he's sporting though. Adjustable ride height on a Bronco II chassis is NOT a good idea. Twin I Beam front suspension is known for huge camber change like that. Not my thing, but I've seen worse things done to Z cars.

Looks awesome Arne! From what I can see, your car is receiving great care. I can't wait to see the finished product. I know prices vary a great deal, but what is he charging you for the job? Someday I will get around to painting mine. All I need to do is find a huge oil deposit in my back yard and I will be able to afford it.

I don't think the interior panel will come off with the door shut. If it won't, roll the window down and pop off the stainless trim at the top of the door panel (bottom of the window opening). This will give you a much better view of the release rods. I don't remember off-hand which way they need to be moved, but it should be easy to figure out.

It's been a while, but I'm thinking that there will be a gap between the two halves once you install them in position.

Very nice!

Yep, that's the only way mine would come out. It took every bit of force the 50 ton press at work could muster. When it finally did move, it sounded like a gunshot. It was very scary! I thought about doing the zerk fitting install, but at the time I was doing my suspension I was in a rush and didn't want to take the extra time. I might pull it all back apart and do it right. :stupid:

I ordered every bushing from MSA and got ONE small tube. How many did they give you? The rear appears to be the main culprit, but I can't say which bushing are making all the noise.

Lots of good parts on the 280. I wouldn't try to save it, but there are lots of parts worth saving. The hood, headlight buckets, hatch, emblems, etc all look to be in very nice shape. The hood is even the right color for mine. I am currently sporting a green and primer hood on my Z. The bumpers both look pretty good as well.

I used the supplied grease as well and have lots of squeeks, but at the time it didn't seem like they gave me enough to really coat them well. What should I use to recoat everything? Can I buy the stuff they supply with the bushings, or is there something else that works that I can buy easily? Do they tend to squeek between the bushing and sleeve, or bushing and outer ring?

Looks great Arne. No offense to those that have and like them, but I really hate sunroofed Z cars. I love sunroofs in other cars, but I have passed up many Zs due to the ugly hole in the head. Has anyone sold aluminum wheels for scrap? With the price of AL, they should be worth quite a bit. You might consider that rather than letting them go with the shell. I have a few sets that aren't good enough to bother selling. I haven't tried to sell them for scrap yet.

That might work, but at the time, I didn't yet have the CD. When they showed no interest, I took my business elsewhere. Their loss...

That's awesome Arne. My local dealers will not even sell me Z parts. They say it's not worth having a microfische machine or slides. At least we have Courtesy.

For Nissan parts, call/click Courtesy Nissan in TX. They are great to work with! http://www.courtesyparts.com/secondtier_s30.html

There are a ton of things that could affect your mileage. Fuel injector spray pattern, air/fuel adjustment, rolling friction (bearings, trans, axle, brakes, etc), wheel alignment, engine wear, gearing... The list goes on and on. My car would probably do much better if I properly adjusted the air/fuel mixture. Right now I have a potentiometer in the water temp circuit to trick the system. I need to adjust the AFM, but it's running well, so I don't want to screw it up.

I just took a ~400 mile trip in my Z and filled it up this morning. I got 25mpg even. 275 miles of that was highway and 50 was cummuting to and from work in rushhour stop and go. While on the trip I checked my odometer and it was amazingly accurate with my 225/50R16 tires. After 50 miles of watching mile markers, it was within a 1/10 of a mile total! My speedo is another story. It reads over 10% high.

Depending on what you plan to use your Z for, here are a few things to know about rubber vs. poly bushings 1) Rubber is MUCH quieter. Poly will squeek and make your car generally louder over impacts 2) Rubber is softer and will give your car a much better ride over impacts 3) Poly will give your Z a tighter feel and sharpen all of its responses 4) Poly is cheaper than OEM rubber bushings and easier to install 5) If you live in an area with smooth roads, poly might be okay for a DD, but if the roads are bad, you might tire of the sounds and feel of the poly 6) Poly will make the car feel much older than rubber 7) If you plan to track or auto-x, poly will help the handling Once you decide rubber vs. poly, then you can start gathering parts. Here are the bushings and a few notes: 1) Front LCAs - Not too hard to do yourself, but if you do rubber you will need to press the new part in 2) Front T/C rods - Fairly easy to do yourself, but nuts can be tricky to start with poly 3) Steering rack - Easy to do yourself 4) Steering coupler - Easy to do yourself 5) Transmission mount - Simple to do yourself 6) Differential mount - Not too bad, but tough to reach fasteners above diff 7) Differential strap - Haven't done this, but it should be easy with diff lowered a bit 8) Mustache Bar - Requires burning the old bushings out, but otherwise not bad 9) Rear inner control arm - Easy swap 10) Rear outer control arm - The granddaddy of all pains in the arse. This is the Right of Passage job that will make you feel like a REAL Z master should you choose to undertake it. It's not that it requires any special skills, it's just a royal pain in the arse and you will swear that the parts are permanently welded together. The good news is that you can pull it apart and take the whole assembly to a shop to have them remove the pins if you can't get them out. This one is a crap shoot. Some pins come out without too much trouble and some require nothing short of an exorcism to remove. There is a tool that might help, but it didn't exist when I did mine, so I'm not sure if it would have worked on my car. Mine fell into the really bad category. I had to cut the pins off with a sawzall and press the center section out with a HUGE press at work. It was really ugly. Do a search on spindle pins for the methods and puller tool! Order new spindle pins and nuts before you start this procedure. The old ones are rarely salvagable. 11) Bump stops - Easy to replace when doing struts but requires spring compressor Good luck!

I have attached several Z headliners with a 3M contact cement with great results. I don't know if it's the same # as what Beandip listed, but it comes in a large diameter spray can. I'll have to look at the can tonight to see if it's the same stuff. This discussion timing is good, because I have to install my headliner tonight as well. Hopefully my very old can of spray is still good.

Wow, that is the cleanest 280 I've seen in the last 20 years. I'm glad to see it bring good money. Even at huge money for a 280Z, it will still cost somebody less than if they bought a new Civic or Sentra and has way more class and style.

Not sure, but they look like 15". My Z is lowered 1" and has 225/50 on 16" Panasports and they look a bit larger than those. I could be wrong though.

BCDD is the cause of your idle troubles. Search for BCDD and you will find all the info you need. The brake issue could be many things. Old hoses, master cylinder going bad, air in the lines, etc.

It all depends what you use your car for. If you are not worried about low speed crash protection, you could switch to 240 bumpers. You will shed around 80-90 lbs from your car and make it look better. You will lose all parking lot protection and your car will not be as safe overall. It will take some fab work and you will need to find good 240 bumpers, but it will look great. You can sell your bumpers if they are in nice shape. The rubber '76 ends are not cheap, so you will have to spend money either way. Check out 280z-hab's car. His website shows the before and after and what you would have to do. http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2066609