EScanlon

Ten questions????????

I think this is going to be your biggest obstacle. (Young Male (under 25), Single) + Sports Car (280Z) = BIG PAYOUTS That's the way the insurance companies look at it. You may argue that you're the choir boy of safe driving, but the insurance companies will still look at their actuarial tables and quote you according to those figures. Those figures are there because for the most part, young males tend to be more daring than older ones, more aggressive and more subject to over-extending their driving abilities. Translated into everyday terms, the insurance companies KNOW that young males will get more tickets and into more accidents than older drivers. They charge accordingly. Do yourself a favor. Have your parents check how much it would cost to add you to their policy driving THEIR cars. Then ask them to check the cost if you were driving the Z. Then check how much it would cost you ALONE to be insured. I think you'll quickly come to realize that paying an extra 75 or more a month may be the biggest deterrent to owning the Z. Don't get us wrong. We would love it if you would buy the Z. You've found us, and you would bring another Z back "into the fold" so to speak. But the reality of the costs involved still apply. Add to the insurance costs, the need for maintenance and repairs. Before long, I think that the total package may be a bit overwhelming to your budget. Now if money is NOT an issue, then go buy it. Take it to a good mechanic and have him fix all of the safety items first (brakes, steering, suspension, engine) then address the bodywork. I think you'll then find that the Z can be VERY reliable, but like a thoroughbred horse, you can't ignore the "little" things. 2¢ Enrique

Sean: You just lived through what we've been posting here for the past few years. Enrique

Tomo, you ALWAYS imply that others should try your ideas. You post your idea as if it were a complete concept that's been thoroughly debugged when in fact you're just spitting out whatever you just regurgitated. Every single time you chime in with one of your new Goldberg ideas, you suggest that they try it to fix their problem. You're right as far as anybody being welcome to try, that's just personal choice. The biggest problem however, is that your solutions sometimes are not only NOT thought out, but defy physics, gravity and all known methods of production. When people entertain your thought with serious discussion, it becomes apparent that YOU have no idea on how to get it to work. That's not being helpful. Sometimes the best help you can be is to simply NOT get involved. As far as asking what has been done, that's not what you ask. You ask: That does not say: "Has anybody relocated their temp sensor from the AFM? And if so, where did you put it and why?" When people DO answer, you then denigrate what they did because it isn't what you would have done, regardless of the fact that you have yet to do it. So, back to the original post, go try it. Don't bother asking what others have done, you seem to know all the answers before the questions are posed. Share with us your successes and not your pipe dreams. Maybe like your solution for the Hatch Release mechanism we could all learn how to totally re-engineer the car. Enrique P.S. I've YET to see anything about any item that you've posted here, that was successful. If you invented a new type of tiddly-wink, I don't know about it, but then again it's not something I would have done research on.

Unfortunately, that is the part of the Z that is the MOST prone for twisting off bolts. The Headlight Buckets (aka Sugar Scoops) have the screw part of the stud exposed to the grime and moisture in the wheel well area. Supposedly originally there were thread caps (little plastic / rubber caps), but I've never seen one still on the car and unfortunately the threads are rusted. Additionally, they're really small nuts and bolts in the headlight area. Bet you also had a hard time on the lower fender bolts just in front of the doors. When I've been really worried about twisting off a screw or bolt, I've used a penetrating oil, and then instead of trying to unscrew it in one sitting, I'll loosen by one degree or two, then tighten, keeping this cycle up, so that the oil can work it's way in. It doesn't always work, and sometimes the loosening and tightening is just the twisting in small scale. You can use heat, but be EXTREMELY careful. Especially if you've used penetrating oil. You do NOT want a fire in there. Wish I had better news for you. Enrique

You're forgetting the original timeline. The relays were arrived at after several other methods of re-routing the flow THROUGH the combination switch were tried and failed. The Relays were a logical choice, but the problem was in how to install and actuate them without major changes to the electrical system in the car. Most cars manufactured now use the relay method, but it is an integral part of their circuitry. What Dave did was to formulate an idea : Incorporate the Relay System so that it plugs right into the existing wire harness. Then he did his research : checked what value of relay and fuses and connectors would be required. And lastly, made it available. I bought two for my cars. You keep asking other people to attempt your ideas, but haven't yet posted a single one that YOU have tried and succeeded at. Maybe it's because you haven't been able to communicate the idea well. So, like my prior post.....go do it. Polish your idea, do your research and then experiment until you succeed. Until you do that, expect others to be not only skeptical but downright incredulous at your ideas. Too often it seems that you propose an outlandish idea without any supporting THOUGHT let alone facts. Then when everyone ballyhoo's it, you claim to be too busy to try it yourself. Maybe if you didn't try to reach so far with your ideas you might actually come up with one that would be credible to others and maybe even work well. Stop trying to re-invent the wheel. It really doesn't get more round, nor will changing it's shape make it better. 2¢ Enrique

Don't see why not. Give it a try and then let the rest of us know how it worked or didn't. The best way to find out if your ideas hold water is to go try them out, especially when your ideas seem to go against the grain of common thought. E

This is a portion of the Northwest Z Club's e-mail announcement regarding the Blue Lake meet: Blue Lake Event will be at Clackamas County Fairgrounds in Canby. The new location is 4 times the size of Blue Lake. It will be a 2-day event. The name of this event will be changed to NW All Datsun/Nissan Meet. It will be a Peoples Choice awards again this year. The dates for the event are June 11 and 12, 2005. Like last year, there will be no alcohol or pets at the event. Saturday a swamp meet and cruise through Silver Creek Falls is planned. There will be a picnic lunch at the falls or the fairgrounds. The fairgrounds will be locked at 10pm. They are still working out all the logistics with the fairgrounds. If you want to camp, there is a $10 charge; there are limited hookups. The fairgrounds will be locked at 10 p.m. nightly. Vendors Area â€â€œ Northwest Z is interested in a booth. There will be small charge, $10/day or $20/weekend.

That's the color it originally was. Ideally it should still be there and gloss up after the clear poly gets applied, but in some cases, due to friction wear and sunlight it fades. After sanding the old varnish off, those people applied a stain to revive the color. Don't know how well it works but their comments have been favorable, so I presume the "wood" takes a stain properly. 2¢ Enrique

Blue Lake is the Annual Northwest Nissan/Datsun Owners Club get together / show at Blue Lake,Oregon. Last year it was so big that they didn't have room for all the cars. So, this year they are moving it, I'll have to get back to you with the details. Suffice it to say that people from as far south as Klamath Falls and as far East as Spokane and north Seattle come there for the day. This year it's going to be a 2 day event to allow more people to come. 2 years ago, I won 2nd Best L Engine which is an excellent testament to my mechanic. Matt Anderson of M.B. Anderson, is my mechanic. He's on 99th Street just a couple of blocks East of Highway 99 in Vancouver. He's not the cheapest, but he is the recognized BEST in the Vancouver and Portland area as far as Datsun / Nissan. Even the dealers send him problematic cases. He works by appointment only. Call him at 360-573-7314 to speak to him and determine when he can work with you. Note: He works on STOCK Datsun / Nissan. I'm not sure of the extent of "allowable" modifications he will work with, I do know that Weber Carbs are not part of his warranty. When I first bought my car, it had Webers. Matt said he'd tune them, but that he wouldn't stand behind them due to their problems. He recommended I return to the SU's. I did so about 3 years ago and haven't had a single problem since. 2¢ Enrique

Be aware that the original color was a very hard match. That's why Les is able to sell the duplicated color spray cans. Additionally, due to it's rather "coarse" finish, it was a bugger to keep clean AND it was impossible to clean if you got wax on it. So if you go original, be very careful when waxing the back part as any wax on the OEM is very difficult to clean off and shiny spots on those panels don't look good. In the past, many owners would paint it flat black, with the same problems with waxing. Others used SEMI-Gloss with better luck with the wax, but unfortunately the beginnings of shine which wasn't the original look. Carl's suggestion of SATIN Black is better. It will have a smoother finish and allow the wax without shining up too much, and it still has that dullish look. 2¢ Enrique

That's cause you baked the top layer, but trapped all the solvents underneath the top layer. Since they couldn't evaporate (remember you hardened the top, think of chocolate pudding, the kind that skins over), the primer underneath stayed soft. When you further painted it, you further sealed the solvents requiriing MORE time before you could handle it without marring. 2¢ Enrique

Brian: This is probably the best idea. Not sure why you have the Mallory, but unless there's a specific need, I would swap it out. I was originally going to suggest you talk to Matt up here by me on 99th, but I don't know that he works on non-stock equipment. You'd have to ask him. Hope you get it running in time for Blue Lake. Beandip and I hope to have his there. Enrique

Insert the metal clip at the back of the mirror's base (the side closest to the driver), then with a quick thump of either your palm or a small rubber mallet, smack the front half (the side closest to the windshield). Presto! To remove the mirror, you grasp the mirror body and the stem, then a SHORT jerk down. You CAN break it, but not if it's a short tug. i.e. don't RIP it off the ceiling, just fast tug. Hope this explains it. Enrique

Personally, I like it. If you recall the Vinyl pieces over the transmission, and rear wheel buckets, they also have that somewhat off-black stitching. Aside from the material (diamond embossed naugahyde) and leather, they are similar in intent but not in looks. The main difference is that the dash has a different style of seam than the vinyl. The dash has a type of stitch that has a join stitch, followed by two fold-back stitches, that leaves the point at where the leather pieces meet exposed. The diamond vinyl pieces have a double seam stitch, where the join point is hidden by the material underneath. The amount of work that went into that leather dash! To try to duplicate something like that WITHOUT any stitching, would take a LOT of stretching and shaving during the tanning process just to get it to fit into all those eyebrows on the gauges. And then it would be so fragile in certain areas as to make it a losing proposition. Now I agree with Vicky on that there is TOO MUCH stitching. If the dash had been done with the style of stitching on the original vinyl pieces, then I think it would look sharp and in place. 2¢ Enrique

Hook up the battery charger to the battery in the car, leave it overnight or until the charger reports full charge and forget about it. Just remember the advice for the next time your battery dies, use the charger NOT the alternator. The old method of getting a jump start, then idling the engine for two hours will give you SOME juice, maybe even enough to start the car a couple of times, but it isn't the solution and you're taxing the battery and the alternator as well as the rest of the system. 2¢ Enrique

Brian, check that the vacuum advance system is working ok. Enrique

Your math is off. Early airplanes used to do this easily. Their flying speed was low enough that sometimes by flying INTO a high speed wing, they would actually be moving BACKWARDS over the terrain they were flying over. To any observer, the plane was moving backwards, only if the pilot looked down and saw the ground, would he be aware that he was moving backwards. In the example given by Beandip, standing still on the surface of the earth, you are still traveling the 700mph stated, with respect to a reference point NOT on the earth's surface (any object on the earth's surface would have the same traveling speed to that same reference point). If you moved IN direction of the earth's spin, your speed, relative to the reference point, would be incremented by your speed over the surface of the earth. Simply put, your land speed would be ADDED to the earth's speed with respect tot he reference point. AGAINST the direction of the earth, your speed would be SUBTRACTED from the earth's speed with respect to the reference point. There are no negative figures with respect to speed except with reference to another point of reference. By definition speed is distance related to time, distance is always measured between two points, a negative distance does not exist. Speed is an ABSOLUTE term, i.e. it's value. Time is the same. E E

You don't state what TYPE of paints you used, but there are several different types. Not only in Aerosol Cans but also in mix to spray varieties. Without going into a long discourse on types, benefits and problems; you need to check the type of paint you used and the type of primer you used on the metal. From your post and replies it seems that the area that's giving you problems is the metal, that is the spokes. You don't mention whether you've addressed the rim, or the "wood". The POR route is one way of getting a very HARD coating. You can also top coat it with one of the other products they sell that will give you a very satisfactory satin finish. If you use the spray can method, then you must pay attention to the requirements of the paint you put on. Some paints will require a primer, some won't. (Think of Rust-O-Leum and an automotive touch up paint.) For those that require a primer, it is because the paint will NOT adhere to bare metal and you MUST let the primer set long enough to release the solvent in it. Then you must scuff or sand the surface for the paint to adhere. With Rust-O-Leum, and other "Do It Yourself" type of paints, you don't need to prime for the paint to stick to the metal. You CAN prime it though, but you must be sure to use a compatible primer to the paint. Priming with those paints is usually to smooth out imperfections and not for paint adhesion. If you prime, you must scuff that top skin for the next layer of paint to adhere. this also allows the last of the solvent to evaporate which in turn opens up small microscopic orifices in the primer for the paint to soak into. If you don't allow the solvent to evaporate, your primer will BE soft. Encapsulate it with paint and the surface will stay soft for a LONG period of time. Additionally, if you shoot a THICK coat of primer, you must let it sit longer in order to dry out. Here's where putting the item in a "oven" would work, but NOT at the temperatures you've mentioned. To fast cure primer, you wouldn't do more than put it under an infra-red lamp and the temp would stay well below 130-160 degrees Fahrenheit. Anything more than that and you are asking to "boil" out the solvent. Additionally, too much heat and you'll have other problems. In the case of the steering wheel, the rim could not only melt, but at the temperatures that powder coating is baked, might even burn. Tell that to your powder coater and see what he says.....Get out! So, as a quick how to fix post, strip off the paint on the spokes that's too soft, whether by chemical or mechanical means (if chemical avoid the rim at all costs as the stripper will seriously damage it). Using lacquer thinner, wash off any residue left. Then find a can of Rust-O-Leum Satin Black, which is shinier than Flat, but not as shiny as Gloss. Spray a very light coat on both sides and let dry (about 10 minutes). Spray a second coat and ensure you have complete coverage, while still maintaining a light coat, again let dry (this one about 30 mins.). Then spray a third coat, which can be a little thicker but now you're going for a SMOOTH finish. Allow to dry at least 24 hours at temperatures ABOVE 65°F. If you can't be sure that the garage will stay above 65 all night, then bring it inside. Yes it's going to stink, so be prepared for the yelling SWMBO will give you, or wait till she's away (and then air out the house before she gets back). This should fix that problem. As far as the rim, there are different clear coats available. Clean the rim, sanding if necessary to achieve a smooth finish. Stain if desired, can't remember the stain other members have mentioned as the proper color, then after it's dried apply a high gloss poly-urethane. Hope this helps. Enrique

I was told by the guys at the Battery Shop (Sears) that you shouldn't use the engine alternator to recharge a battery. They recommended using a battery charger to bring it back to full potential. E

So you felt that YOUR crap was OK? I seem to recall that the poster hadn't complained. So you felt you had to start an argument? Nah, one of us would do the Indiana Jones equalizer trick. If you feel that a moderator is required, then report the post and post your reason. You might be advised that "Because I said so." does NOT work worth a damn. Neither do threats. Was there an election for KING and you won? Since there wasn't, either join in INTELLIGENTLY or shut up and learn. If you don't want to read more, then DON'T. Not trying to crunch your ego, but do we REALLY need your permission? E

You didn't miss it, the comment as written was perfect for ANY car club. I mean that. The only reason I added the Z was to tie it in to Classic Z Cars and then have Mike post it on the Home Page right at the bottom of the Welcome to the Club picture. I think it's a very succinct statement that emphasizes our "badges of honor" that we sometimes exhibit. If you don't mind, I'm going to PM Mike about posting it. E

Addition/Emphasis mine. Mike: Would you see about putting a nice border on this statement and posting it somewhere on the front page? Enrique

Gav: Excellent points mate! Personally, I think he would have been better served to point that Air Induction Horn towards the BACK of the car and fashioned a hood over it. The general look of the hood would at least match the general look of the car over the road. Enrique

Agreed. That is what defines the true "artiste" in the body man. Enrique