2ManyZs

Dunno as this is really worth 1K... First, it only lift the car enough to roll under it with a creeper, second, it takes up a lot of space, third, you have to work around it while trying to work on the car... I'd be more tempted to buy two air powered frame lifts(jacks) from someone like Northern Tool for 369 each(now on sale) and be able to lift the car over 30 inches, and have the entire underside of the car free to work on it. I've been tempted to buy a pair like this and then make a rotisserie section to attach to the jack, so that you could bolt them to the car, then lift it to whatever hieght you want, then if you want to roll the chassis over, you can just jack it a little higher... Here's what I'm talking about... http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=4006970&storeId=6970&productId=7856&langId=-1 Unless, of course, you have a high enough ceiling in your garage that you could install a regular auto lift.. of course, those are going to be in the $2500 and up category...:disappoin

Do a search in the forum for hood release cable, it should bring up more than a few threads from people who had the same thing happen.

I don't think anyone doubted you had the car, it's the statement that the car was built for Nissan that is highly suspect. It may have been built for a Nissan dealer or one of the Nissan specialty shops of the time, such as Jim Cook Racing was at one time, but I don't recall Nissan sponsoring any "one-off" show cars such as this back in the 70's. Today is a different story, with all the makers spending millions on "concept" cars that very seldom make it into production. I'd like to see the documents to prove this was built FOR Nissan before I'll believe it myself. Sorry, but without positive proof, we're all going to be a bit skeptical of the origins of the car. I remember the body kit and the car that Jim Cook had on the cover of all his catalogs well, and that car was painted in the exact same paint scheme as this one is, the only difference was JC's car had the square headlights and (I'm guessing here) had some really nice wheels on it, think they were called Gamblers, made by Centerline at one time? Hot Rod magazine also had a hand in another Z car in the 70's or 80's, which was a 240 or 260 with a built SBC, 9 inch Ford rear with a custon built 4 link suspension and some really nice body modifications. Homemade taillight panel, Corvette taillights, cow induction hood, hand made front valence that closed up half the front grill area and a lot other stuff. So, HR had some interest in Z cars, but this one was done all for HR magazine. Might this one been built by and for Jim Cook Racing as a promo for his upcoming body kits? Guess the documentation you have will soon tell us... Whatever the story, it's a good find... and if those fenders and flares are made of steel and not fiberglass, it's definately worth keeping and fixing up..might take a while, but as long as it's in one piece... I say go for it, and good luck.

I can't offer an opinion on the Classic Tube pieces, but if it were a choice left to me, I'd try MidwestZ before buying anything from VB... I'd imagine Chloe can get anything that VB can and probably a lot more and match or beat their prices....and anything that is still available such as the "T" block or mounting bolt, you aren't going to get from Classic Tube, ar at least I doubt they will have it...

The gland nut being loose won't affect anything as far as camber or front end alignment. What it will do is allow the strut insert to move up and down in the strut tube and cause some noise and possibly damage to the strut insert. Some insert lenghts are not all the same, as long as the gland nut is tight on the top of the insert, you shouldn't have any problem. The washer on the T/C rod might cause a slight difference in the caster from side to side. The difference in the camber from side to side could be due to bad control arm bushings if you haven't replaced them, or in the worst case, either a bent strut or bent control arm. Even worse, it could be due to the chassis being tweaked a bit and the difference lies in the strut towers themselves.....

Wide? Those things are huge... what are they 10" wide? Definately would need the over fenders for those eh? Brandon, they would fit, if you could actually ever get your hands on a set....:disappoin And if you could afford them...:cross-eye

Are you going to offer a prize to the person who's been an SCCA member the longest??? :devious:

It's interesting that the photo Kats posted is most likely a US spec car that was undergoing the crash tests to be certified for sale here in the US...it's a LHD model with a full interior whereas the pic Alan first posted it looks to be more of just a rolling bare chassis the factory used. At the top of the pic that Kats posted is the MVSS or Motor Vehicle Safety Standard acronym. At that time the car would have had to have been a showroom model that was diverted from the dealer to undergo the crash tests and not a factory mule. The factory would have used "mules" or bare chassis during their testing, but for the car to be certified in the US it has to be "off the showroom floor" or what is available to the general public, to qualify for it's Federal safety standards testing(or FMVSS certification)...Of course today, they still do this testing the same way, and the Insurance Safety Institute also uses normal production cars in all their tests as well. Thank you Kats for the clear pic of the 432 magnesium wheel, in most pics the wheels are hard to make out as the photographers usually are focusing more on the car than the wheels. It's interesting how the pressed steel "mag" wheel design is so close to the design of the 432 wheel, it makes you wonder if the magnesium wheel was designed after the steel wheel was denied a chance to be on all the S30 cars, since they do bear some resemblance to one another. And, there are also some other odd things on Alan's second picture, like no mirrors, no emblems.

Maybe he shouldn't post them on one of those "other" sites eh?:devious:

I didn't want to say anything about the "nut" parking a Roadster half out in the street....

Yup, it's custom... usually they use the old Corvette or Camaro round taillights.. but then, you have to make a while new taillight panel by hand..

If what you wanted done is in print on your copy of the work order and you have it in your hands, take the car back and tell them the work was not done the way they agreed to do it. If they don't agree to do it correctly, then I'd tell them you are going to call the Better Business Bureau, or the state's office of that type. Might not hurt to try to give them the chance to do it right before you spend any money to fix it yourself....

I would re-torque when cold. It's one of those "either/or" choices. The aluminum head will expand and contract with temp changes differently than the iron block, so by torquing cold, you will be doing it when the aluminum is contracted the most.

I would definately re-torque the head before you do anything else. It almost sounds as if it may be a cold water leak, which could come from the head not being re-torqued. When the engine cools, the block and head will contract just enought to allow standing water in the water jacket to leak out between the head and block mating surface. If after re-torquing, you still notice dampness, then you may end up having to replace the gasket.

Errr, nope. It's 1-5-3-6-2-4 too young, too old, just right....

The best thing about a Z is the fact you can make it handle any way you prefer. There's plenty of aftermarket suspension systems and parts that are available today and they aren't as expensive as suspension parts for other cars. Probably the best comparison for the Z in the Porsche line is the 944, which the Z can equal in performance with a little bit of work. You won't have the straighline speed of the later 994 or 968 Turbo's, but the Z can stay with it when comparing handling. Actually, the Z is probably a lot better handling car than a lot of the 911's, especially the earlier models. 911's have a lot of peculiar handling quirks due to the rear engine design, and only a select few can really use the 911 to its utmost abilities. Later 911's, starting in the mid to late 80's have less of these "scary" tendencies than the earlier models thanks to a lot of factory upgrades to addres the trailing throttle oversteer. For 90% of the drivers, a Z will be the easiest car to go fast in right off the bat, especially those who want to do it on a reasonable budget.

Unfortunately, I won't be able to make it even though I've been looking forward to it since last year....:disappoin I guess there's always TN in 2005...

Since you seem to have checked almost everything already on the fuel side... maybe it's time to step back and look in a slightly different direction. Have you checked the air gap on the ignition? Have you replaced the plug wires recently? Then there is always the slight possibility that the charging system is not charging at it's full capacity and the ignition is performing 100%... Kyle might have hit on a key here as well, it could just be tired, weakened valve springs..... I'm still somewhat baffled by the way it acts with the air filter housing in place....

No matter what they put for light on the front of it, it still doesn't look any better.....:cross-eye Like it better in the night shot....:devious:

Open the bleeder on the slave cylinder a 1/4 turn or less and then pump the pedal a couple times. Opening it just slightly leaves a little resistance in the system and will help force any trapped air out of the slave. Once you have that done that, you can then open the bleeder on the slave a little more and if the air is gone, the system should bleed the the rest of the way by gravity.

You can also try Dave Turner Motorpsorts at www.daveturner.com I'd be willing to guess the C8's in 16x7 will be well over 300 each..... The regular Panasports in this size are in the 250 each neighborhood.... :cross-eye

Yup, guess mine is for a 280 as well... mine has the snaps on the elastic bands that attach to the hatch as well...oh, well, it's better than nuttin... just wish my box had a part number on it...alll I can read is the shipping address where it went to the parts distribution center in Portsmouth, Va.

Bambi, since your's are for a 280, do your's look like the pic that Carl posted or do your's stop at the top of the strut tower like mine does? I'm just curious what year mine might be for, cuz it definately isn't like the 240 cover. Mine only goes as far as the bar that crosses the strut towers and that's it. Just curious....:cross-eye