RPMS

Here's a thought: Go to the junkyard or wheel shop and buy four stock steel honda rims to put your snow tires on. Something else to think about: Wheels larger than 16" are usually vanity items that degrade your handling, not improve it. They usually (not always) are heavier than their smaller diameter counterparts, and they usually cost more, and the tires cost more. Skinny sidewalls are rougher riding and more easily damaged, but they do allow better handling on a pool-table-smooth skidpad. Unless you do a lot of skidpad driving, I think you'd be happier with 16 inch rims. Just my opinion, I could be wrong.

Those are VERY nice looking and would make a great addition to my car. But they're not really 8" rims. At most they're 7 1/2, probably 7". He's measuring from the outside of the rim, not the inside. I wonder how high the bidding will go? I'd bid on them myself if I had any spare money...

You're correct, MC. (what's your name, anyway?) The 240's and early 260's had the turn signals under the bumpers, and the late 260's and 280's had them in the grilles. Another way to tell is to look at the bumpers themselves. If they're big thick bumpers, it's a late 260. If it's a thin bumper, it's an early one. And like Nic, I believe some of the weight penalty on the later cars was caused by structural stiffening. It might not be a bad idea to have that. You can always duplicate the cosmetics of an early Z on a later car. Whichever 260 it is, it has its advantages. They're less desireable than either the 240 or the 280 in stock form, so don't let them tell you it's a "rare car" and worth more money. For tips on buying an early Z, do a little searching and you'll find bushel baskets of info. Generally it all says the same thing - look for rust, especially in the floorboards, on the frame rails, on the shock towers, and under the battery tray. Poke the areas with a screwdriver to make sure there isn't hidden rust. They're great cars - I hope this one works out for you.

Your best bet is to call Courtesy Nissan and have them open the box and check! (972) 231-2600.

It sounds like what you're talking about is handling feel, not ultimate grip. I was watching an episode of Top Gear, and they mentioned that the engineers made the new Lotus Elise understeer (plow) like crazy to keep it tractable for the masses, and in doing so they pretty much neutered the car. When the driver asked the suspension engineer how they would have to do to restore neutral handling, the engineer said to put on larger front tires. It makes sense, for both the front and the rear. If you're looking to have a car that's steerable with the accelerator, I guess you'd need to be able to exceed the traction limits of your rear wheels by limiting your rear wheel grip. And I think the wider the tires you have on the car, the more suddenly it will break loose. I've driven Z's with tires skinny (stock 170 width) and wide (current 220). The skinny tires gave much more notice about when they were going to break loose, and were much easier to get into a 4 wheel drift. Wide tires hold the road better, but as a rule are noisier. don't do as well in the rain, and aren't as predictable when they finally let go. Just my observations - I could be wrong.

Oh, to answer the original question about a cure for bad bodywork. Yes, there is a cure. It's called a Sanding Board. Grab your roll of 200 grit and a can of Bondo and go to town. There is no substitute for elbow grease when doing bodywork.

But doesn't it defeat the purpose of the list if all the members can't access it? If I'm in trouble in a foreign city, I won't be able to root around in my e-mail program to find my username and password. Surely there must be some way to integrate this and make it a bit more user friendly.

Eric, I appreciate the effort you put into it, but I have to say (since you asked for opinions) that I don't really care for it. I had to move the mouse all over the picture just to be sure I didn't miss something interesting. IMHO, information shouldn't be hidden, but placed in a manner that's easy to find. Otherwise - why bother writing it in the first place? I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for all the hard work you've put into your site. It has answered numerous questions I've had in the past, and saved me immeasureable time. And the work you've done in documenting things like tail lens treatments has been a springboard for dozens of people's creativity. Thanks again!

Although it's not necessary to bleed the brakes after a brake job, please remember to suction some of the brake fluid out of the resevoir before you push the pads back into the caliper. I forgot to do this once and blew brake fluid all over the engine compartment!

Now that's an eye-popping red! Is it just me, or does it look more orange then red? Maybe my monitor needs adjusting... In any case, it looks spectacular. You should be proud of the work you've done!

If you're looking for a style with lots of spoilers and scoops in it (ala Fast and Furious) you're out of luck. Most of the stuff folks customize Z's with is actually pretty tasteful and low key. If you're interested in a custom look, you can always 'glass up your own creation. Buy an AeroII kit and modify it to your hearts content. That way you get Exactly what you want.

Okay, Sumo - I just gotta ask. What's with the Ratman and Bobbin avatar? Should we start calling you "Boy Wonder"?

I know this isn't quite the advice you were looking for, but if it were ME, I'd just put the seats down (how often do you use them?) and put them up when you needed the extra passenger space. When they're down, you can use weatherproof carpeting (available at boating stores in a wide array of colors) to cover the entire back hatch area so it's not visually obtrusive. Just a thought...

Having a directory of places that do good service is a great idea. As far as the helper list is concerned, I've been on the list since its inception, and I haven't heard a peep from anyone needing help!

I don't think it's a good thing to have them on at night, especially in a small town. Your car draws enough attention that you might get pulled over even if everything's legal on it! One thing you might consider is attaching the covers with a set of those tiny rare-earth magnets you can get at Radio Shack. I've heard they're quite strong, and as long as you don't have fiberglass headlight buckets you may be able to attach them securely, but pull them off when you're driving on the street at night. Yeah it's a pain, but so is getting pulled over by Johnny Law in Texas!

If you're as hamfisted as I am, the screen might also prevent small objects from being dropped into the intake tract. I think y'all are right about the restriction, though. I was thinking about putting a screen in on similar advice, and I experimented by blowing forcefully through a section of screen. Yup, there was significant restriction, so the screen stayed off.

Buddy, it sounds like you did good! Trust me - this is the best way to do it. Drive it stock for a while and get used to it, then you can always modify the fool out of it later! Be prepared to get approached by lots of folks at gas stations, all saying the same thing - "My dad/uncle/girlfriend/etc had a car just like that!" It'll make you feel like the belle of the ball. Scott

Congrats, man! That's a big honor. Your car just got famous!

Hey, that sounds nice! You running the stock Z shifter? One of my BMW friends started a speed parts business a while back, and has been selling lots of "Rob Knobs" made out of aluminum, stainless steel, or titanium. Their titanium knobs run a measly $210. Expensive, but you won't find a nicer or more durable shift knob out there. I'd stack their quality up against anything else on the planet. BMW's have a rubber insert in the shift lever that helps to insulate from heat, and the knobs themselves have an insulating delrin insert for added protection. They've got a lot of neat stuff on their website. It seems pricey at first, but when you consider that it's all no-compromise stuff, it's actually pretty reasonable. UUC Motorwerks.com The UUC stands for "Underground Upgrade Club", something a bunch of us came up with after discussing how best to hide our upgrades from our spouses. "Sure I need a big brake kit - it's a safety upgrade!" or just plain hide the receipts! It's amazing how many guys out there dump cubic money into their cars, and their wives never find out. Anyway, give it a look and see what you think.

I don't know what it is, but I LIKE it!!!! That has the cleanest front end I've EVER seen on a Z. The way the headlight covers blend in with the hood is sheer art. Of course, with no bumpers, the first parking error you made would be a major incident, but it might be worth it! Very sessy. (inside joke - an asian art director I work with occasionally pronounces "sexy" that way.)

I think you could have best stopped the engine by sealing off the tailpipe with a rag or something. Within a few seconds you should have gotten so much backpressure that the engine wouldn't run anymore. Or you could have plugged the air intake, but usually it's tougher to get at than the tailpipe. How on Earth did he get it to run with big holes in the intake and exhaust systems??? Yeah, diesels are wierd. If you get a mechanically injected one it could work with zero power to it. I've even heard of a few Mack diesels that would happily run BACKWARDS if you did something stupid. Not a common occurance, but definitely possible.

I don't see how it could be any SLOWER! I've owned four Z's, and none of them have been very good. The current one runs at 35 wipes/minute unloaded, and that slows down to about 28/minute when it's actually doing work. I've cleaned and lubed the gearbox, the pivots, and the linkages so I know it's not binding there. Maybe I need to run heavier gauge wire straight from the battery to the motor, or something? Perhaps I'll try that this weekend and see if it helps.

Whatever you decide, make sure to get a quality head unit. It's the foundation of your system, and you can get a top quality basic receiver for about the same price (or less) than one of those crappy units that have a bunch of flashy lights on the display. You don't pay much attention to the light show after the first few weeks, but you'll constantly be reminded of it if you cheap out on quality.