EricB

I agree with you. Perhaps you gathered from the list of cars that she's looking for something a bit out of the ordinary. Her two older siblings when their time came got a 74 Karmann Ghia and a 73 Bronco (granted this was 10 years ago). I don't think she's dead set on a Z. What else might you suggest as possible other cars for her to look at? -e

Hi guys and gals, Question for you this evening. So the in-laws to be are looking for a first car for their youngest (16) daughter who's just passed her driver's license. First she was looking at early 80s Mercedes 560SL: too expensive Then she was looking at early to mid 70s BMW 2002s: I said bad idea in case it breaks down and you have to pay $$$ for BMW parts Then she was enamored with a mid 60s Ford Falcon sedan: I said sure (easy mechanicals, cheap parts, etc) Now apparently they are looking at an '83 280ZX The catch is she only wants an automatic car. The budget is not to exceed $3500.- She refuses the sensible choice: a Honda - we tried, it was my first car after all. So what do you all think? -e

Hey guys, I sent you an email I think a week ago or something saying they were in the process of clearing customs in Long Beach and I needed added funds to cover the COD return freight charge. Well now I've just got a message that they will be delivered at my place tomorrow & I have to come up with a $1417 check upon delivery... I don't know about you guys but my savings have never been that hot and this is just about going to clean me out until the next paycheck. I guess I am just venting some frustration at not having heard back from you guys yet or having anything show up in the mail... Please send those $$ out ASAP. I am sure the dashes look awesome but boy has this been a stressful and time itensive piece of volunteer work. I can't say that I am too eager to repeat the process in the future. -e

well i can't even begin to tell you how happy this makes me... that and the fact that one of the enginneers brought his replica 65 GT350 to work this afternoon and just gave me a ride around some abandonned business parks near here... it was riverside revisited all over again. well i guess my week is now complete. i am re-dropping the tranny after work, grabbing the throwout collar and having it pressed tomorrow AM so we can put it all back together tomorrow afternoon... now if I can just get the cylinder head back from the machine shop I'll be all good. thanks again keith. -e

you know what keith...... i think you found the problem!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the throwout collar I used is one I had laying around and the more I think about it the more I believe it came with the Z when I bought it which means it could very well be a 73 4spd one... When I had the new throwout bearing pressed on it I hadn't yet pulled the engine/tranny out of the Z which is why I didn't use (couldn't access) the collar on my 78 5spd.... That's probably exactly the problem... wow and I bet the 4spd collar is probably longer than the 5spd collar by the 1/2" - 3/4" we've been fighting over for three days.... I think if this really is it - then this needs to be posted in the Tech Articles for safe keeping for future such situations.... -e

ok so i'm frustrated... another night after work, another 3hours wasted away... instead of only being 3/4" out from success we made it down to 1/2", maybe even 1/4" then it fell back out yes the splines were engaged for that brief second so we dropped tranny again - reinserted nissan alignement tool, loosened pressure plate to ensure the friction disk was correctly lined up and re-tightened it again ran my finger over the pilot bushing and it still feels smooth, i noticed no burrs or mushrooming from all these attempts in vain... anyone have any objection to me inserting four longer than normal tranny bolts and next time we get close simply and evenly tightening the bellhousing until it goes all the way in? I am only wary of doing this because i've seen a front wheel drive tranny casing break doing the exact same thing because it was being forced in at the slightest angle away from dead on... it's just so hard to get a good strong grip under there to give it the forward motion it needs to pop in place... are the tolerances really always that tight between input shaft and new pilot bushing on a Z? I've done plenty of tranny installs before (on Hondas) but this is the first time on a Z and the first time it is giving me so much trouble... -e

1h30 tranny on the floor engine bolted to front mounts and with a jack supporting the back part hoist disassembled and returned back at work... thanks guys...

well i'll just see if i can't drop the tranny, bolt the engine up, disassemble the hoist & return it all in one hour... then i don't need a hoist anymore... wish me luck t-minus 45min and counting until I run out the door to do this -e

yes i greased up both the input shaft and the splines inside the friction disk and the inside of the pilot bushing yes i test fit the pilot bushing on the end of the input shaft before putting it into the crank and BTW checking part numbers and such at Nissan yesterday they are identical from 74-83 - there's only one part number so since the tranny is a 5spd out of a 77-8 280Z and the engine is out of an 81ZX then that settles that. I realize we need perfect alignement - I understand how close I am and trust me I've been wiggling and rotating and pushing and hoisting up and down with no results.... do you guys try to line it up with the engine dangling on the hoist by first removing the engine mounts altogether so as to give you more clearance - but then it's a bit of a tight fit to get all the motor mounts bolt back on once in the engine bay.... or do you always drop the tranny. bolt up the engine then reinstall the tranny as if you were just doing a clutch job or equivalent... thanks, -e

The splines on the clutch alignement tool match the input shaft splines and the friction disk splines - yes. we've tried with the tranny both in and out of gear, switching gears, rolling the car slightly forward or backward in gear to move the input shaft, etc.... it's just being stubborn victor i'd love to take you up on your offer but the hoist place closes at 5pm and i get off work at 5pm... i'd have to go to dave's garage over lunch, balance the engine on something in the engine bay or take it out entirely, drop it on the ground, disassemble the hoist, return it etc.... I guess all of that is possible... it's just that we're so freaking close - maybe 3/4" from getting that puppy in there - it just won't go... $#%^ &*&^@%*#)%%... I guess before i return the hoist I should ask is yours the kind that disassembles cause I'd have to put it in the back of a 96 civic coupe to get it to Thousand Oaks (that's my loaner car) also courtesy of "team slidesquad garage".... let me know... -e

...seriously... two hours... lots of cussing and zip zero nothing. we raised we lowered we rotated the tranny all to no avail. F54 block w/new 81ZX non-turbo coupe friction disk & pressure plate correctly installed & lined up with Nissan clutch alignement tool trying to mate with a 77-8Z 5spd. 3 days of renting a cherry picker/engine hoist is getting expensive, so i guess i will drop the tranny after work (i REALLY didn't want to), put the engine in, bolt it up, return engine hoist and later try to reinstall tranny... Any local Z guy who always happens to get it on the first try care to give me a hand? The car is in Thousand Oaks (CA) off of the 101 west of the San Fernando Valley. If you are that person give me a call at work so we can arrange where/when to meet. My direct line is 805 376 6425 I know it's dirty annoying work but I'll get you a six pack? dinner? I am willing to give you some $$ for the help if needs be... -e

absolutely, of course i agree... it's just that it's o.o8... damn that's small.... -e

http://www.socal240sx.org/events.html Promises to be a big deal...So if you can manage after ingesting all that turkey two days before.... -e

is it M18x1.5 or M20x1.5? -e

hmmm i see... well we'll see what the quote from the machine shop is like... i was looking at dimensions on the e88 vs n42 valves and while i did see a noticeable size difference on the intake side (almost 0.25"), the exhaust side difference is listed as being 0.08" That's SO small... is it even worth it to do the EX side? -e

That flat black S30 wasn't wearing panasports, it had Japanese watanabes and he's here on this board. Slide Squad Dave is his name - look for him in the gallery where his screen name is sennavsprost -e

Do you have to change the seats out when replacing stock valves on an E88 with new ones from an N42? -e

I did get an 81 clutch and pressure plate to go with the 81 flywheel but it seems (seems being the key word) that the pilot bearing I was given is slightly too big to fit inside of the crank... I'll have to look at that again in the AM.... -e