Jeff G 78

I was 19 and bought 2 'field' Z's. After trying to work through the rust for a year, I gave up and went south for a clean car. I have owned a total of 9 S30's over the last 22 years.

Those are really cool looking rims KenshinX. I've never seen another Z with them.

Sorry to hear that. Good luck!

Wow, MouseZ! That's really bad. Have you talked to them yet about the quality?

Here is my '78 with three different wheels. First are the "Dukes of Hazzard" wheels, then some old Enkei wheels, and finally, my new Panasports.

I've owned many of each and I agree with TomoHawk. While the 240 is fantastically light, there is something to be said for several extra years of development time Nissan had to work with. The body is stiffer and safer, the electronics are better, the interior is nicer with retractable seatbelts, carpet, etc. It is easy enough to make a 280 track-worthy via the removal of non-essential creature comforts and the F.I. makes it a great daily driver. For me, it all boils down to buying the best S30 available at the time. If I narrow my search down to a few cars in the condition and price range I want, I pick the best S30, not specifically a 240 or a 280. I love them both for different reasons. I don't like the extra weight of the 280, but with a bumper swap, some of that is easy to ditch.

It appears to be an old Enkei wheel which was a copy of a Gotti wheel.

Not true. Web Cam still offers new sticks. They have been around for a long time and have 6 grinds for the L6. They will do internal or external oiling too. http://www.webcamshafts.com/

Yes, it could be called a radial rod. If you look just behind the front tire, you will see where the TC rod attaches to the frame rail. It goes between the frame rail and the lower control arm just inboard of the strut.

That would work. I am leaving Sunday for a three week business trip, but after I get back, I could take them to work and check them. Those are obviously progressive in front, while my 280Z 5022 springs are not. Mine have equally spaced coils F&R. They look the same on and off the car, unlike the pictures of 240Z's with 5020 springs I've seen. The pic I have on Photobucket is small, but here are mine.

Ron, keep in mind that Tokico does NOT make these springs. They simply put their name on H&R springs. Tokico makes many products, but springs are not among them. Of course, that doesn't mean they shouldn't better express exactly what it is they are selling. At some point this spring, I will make it a point to remove them and do a rate check.

Darrel, my guess is that the rates Blue quotes are for the 280Z Tokicos, not the 240 ones that you have. I also think that this is the source of the progressive / single rate debate. My 280Z Tokicos are not progressive and I *think* the rates are close to what MSA and Blue list. Sometime when I'm doing other suspension work, I'll remove mine and rate check them, but they feel much stiffer than the production springs. Remember that the 280 is around 500 lbs heavier than a 240, so the rates have to be higher.

How about No Man's Land? It was from 1987 and starred Charlie Sheen. He was a car thief that stole only Porsches. It had some good chase scenes. Another car movie was Duel with Dennis Weaver from 1971 and was directed by Steven Spielberg. It was a made for TV movie, but was done very well and had some good suspence.

Sorry to hear that you couldn't wiggle it back on. While you have the cover off, you can fine tune your wedge design. Try it out before you put the cover back on so you know exactly how to wedge it next time. Removing the cover really isn't that bad to do. It's annoying that you have to do extra work, but it's a pretty straight forward job. Don't forget to install new gaskets and a new front main seal while you're in there.

If it's that short, your chain wasn't wedged properly. The tensioner might not have popped all the way out though, so if you are lucky, you might be able to re-align the tensioner. Shine a flashlight down next to the wedge and see if you can tell if the tensioner is slightly out of place. A small mirror on a handle might help see what's going on down there. The tensioner has to be fully seated before the sprocket will slide on. You can reposition it with a long skinny screwdriver and a lot of patience. Good luck and don't feel bad. We've ALL been in your shoes at one time or another. The good news is that it probably won't happen to you again once you learn exactly how it all works.

I just have a problem with raising the ~40 lb battery up an inch in the car. I try to keep the CG as low as possible.

No, it will not fit an Optima. If you search the site using my login name and Optima, you will find a thread on this and see a bracket that I designed to work with a red top Optima. My Z is away for the winter, so I haven't actually fabricated the part yet, but I made one from cardboard and it should work very well. You might get a universal bracket similar to the one you have to work, but I think it will take something similar to my design before the Optima is properly secured. The bracket will require a bit of welding and fabrication skills, but you might find someone to make it for you. It's a very simple bracket.

If you do go the wheelskins route, make sure you get the single seam model. They make a three seam model that is not nearly as thick and isn't worth using IMHO. The single seam version is actually very nice and has a good feel. Make sure you wear VERY heavy leather gloves when installing it, as the lacing will tear up your hands.

Damn, that's really an ugly hood bump. It doesn't flow at all with the rest of the car.

As an auto engineer, I drive a lot of different vehicles. We did a drive a while back with a C6 Corvette, CTS-V, older M5, 350Z, GTO, and Shelby GT500. This was the first time I had any real time in a 350Z and I really didn't have any idea what to expect. If anything, I thought it would feel heavy and bulky. Wow, was I surprised! The 350Z was by far the most nimble car of the group and felt WAY lighter and more connected to the road than any of the other cars. The C6 was a nice car, but felt cumbersome and big compared to the Z. Of the cars on the drive, the Z was by far the best driver's car and was the most playfull of the group. I always read on the Z sites about how the 350Z isn't a real Z and how it should have a ZX badge, etc. etc. IMHO, if those people would drive the Z and it's MODERN competitors back to back, they would change their minds about the Z. Modern cars are not and will never be 240Z's!!! The amount of saferty, emissions, and creature comforts that buyers demand, add huge amounts of weight to even the best designs. The C6 Z06 is the only car I can think of that defies the trend. Yes, the 350Z is the same as the G35, M, and FX vehicles, but that's what it took to bring Nissan out of the red and re-establish themselves. I think they did a hell of a job. The biggest problem I have with the 350Z is the ricer image it's getting. There is no way to predict or prevent this though, so we'll just have to co-exist with the new Z crowd.

I got down to 46.7

62877 here

Since my car is far from done, but I have shiny new wheels, my choice was easy.

Okay, I made a cardboard prototype and it looked too skinny. I widened the whole bracket and fine tuned the dimensions. I also found out that there is a feature in the firewall that requires the part to have an offset vertical component. I also plan on using thin-wall square tubing to cut the angle brackets from. Angle iron is no good since the inside of the angle is tapered and has a large radius. NOTE: I have not made this yet out of steel, so some additional fine tuning might be required. The top of the J-bolt needs to be cut down some, but it appears to have just enough threads in my case. My dimensions are based on a Red Top sitting in the factory plastic tray. Here is the latest screen dump as well as the dimensioned drawing.

Will do, John.