Rolling Parts

Good point. That's more prevalent at big flight schools that have fuel services, planes are inspected every 100hrs, and every plane has a "squawk sheet" with the keys. It's almost like a rental car fleet mentality where drivers just jump in the car & go because of all the support infrastructure is in place to service and inspect for them.

Sure. Tell the instructor that you already know how to fly (and then go on to point out that the right pedal is the accelerator and the left one is the brake, LOL).

I think that there is a list on most other Z sites. Classic plates (YOM) are nice too.

The power is switched ON from the key (just like the coil). Control of those devices is by ground interrupt.

No, it was an assessment of a high rust, used, 35 year old car that sat for years. It's realistically the only way to go since all the rubber is shot and all systems will need a thorough inspection/disassemble anyway. Good luck with the project! Now all you have to do is pick a color since you'll be in so deep that a color change is easy.

Honestly, removing stuff will not help the ZX's performance nor drivability nor mileage. If it's running well enough then leave it alone. Seriously.

What you do with a car like that is STOP. Take it completely apart. Do the body work and paint the shell. Then don't put anything on the shell that has not been reworked or is new. You'll need an engine stand, a compressor and paint gun, torque wrench, and roughly $7,000 for parts. It will take you about a year of serious work if this is your first time (2-3 years if you're not committed to getting it done). Good luck.

WOW! Thanks!

And if you want to drive anywhere, also get something else As time passes it's harder and harder to keep antique cars safe and reliable. What worked for someone 15, 10, or even 5 years ago is fun information (but less applicable in 2010). Nothing is worse than having a Z that you can't drive because you can't afford parts or needs a lot of work.

These are now fragile cars and a nearly 40 year old car will take more money/time than you think. I'd pass on the idea on getting one as a primary DD if you need to get a job & show up every day. They make a great 3rd cars to tinker on.

Has Japanese craftsmanship actually dropped down to this (poor) level?

Since the car did not change, I wonder if either the Class changed or if the competition changed.

Ah, thanks. I always forget that since the ZX did not take SSA in it's first 3 years of production that it did actually win it in the last few years. You're right. Thanks!

The ZX suspension has a nasty habit of a huge rear end "squat" during hard acceleration. Changing to a less cushy rear shock help minimize it.

I finished a 200mi bicycle road trip this weekend and so the first thing to do when back at home to celebrate was to try a Tullamore Dew blended Irish whiskey that I'd bought a few weeks earlier. Not sure if it was thinking about it all weekend or the actual taste but one glass over ice was perfect last night. Being a blend it was only something like $20 a pint. It's definitely a good one to have around to take the edge off the aches and pains of sitting on a stiff Cannondale for 13 hours.

My sentiments exactly, your corpulence. Contact them and wait and see what they will do. If they send it back, great; if they don't then the full weight of small claims court is warranted.

Man, After seeing pictures #4 and #5... I can say that my pants would be a lot more than just wet, they'd have been a lot darker too! That is one insane coaster.

That was my take. It looked like a poorer family that just may have bought it at a flea market, eBay, or just off the back of a truck down in Centerville. Honestly they just don't look the type to take vacations in Colorado. Maybe contact them and ask for it back w/ a finders fee?

Precisely. I'd hate to have a trend in movies where Z's are portrayed merely as cars that it's OK to be keyed or to use as targets to take your anger out on. I hope that they have a more "valued" portrayal in store for this Z car.

As long as they don't pull a "Bruce Almighty" and trash it then it should be an interesting movie. I guess if it was delivered like that then it will be in the movie without repair?

Great info! Though I have gotten some less-than-stellar "equivalent" parts for the L28 turbo engine from those sources (i.e. exhaust/intake gasket). Standard L28 stuff seemed OK from Rock Auto the last few times around for all N/A stuff.

Creating steam (changing the phase of water from liquid to gas) requires a LOT of energy. That energy will be heat loss in the combustion chamber. That heat loss is fine if you're running the engine beyond it's design limits but anything less and all you're doing is squelching out the fire in the internal combustion engine...

Just a visual and then a compression check will tell most of the story. Claims of low mileage mean little compared with the actual state of the engine. Most interesting would be dropping the oil pan and doing an inspection (and then cleaning out the gunk)before starting it up...

The simple answer is no, you don't need to do any welding or filling on the head. Test fit the gasket if you have any doubt. I'd suggest a simple search since there is ample info on adapting stock 240Z SU's to a much larger displacement engine. Since the P90 was a turbo head with a turbo cam, the bigger question would be to select a matching cam to work better with the NA application...

Maybe the leak is not the head gasket? I've had oil there before and the leak was the valve cover. Oil would drip down the front of the engine and then stream back along the seam of the head gasket... If it's not the valve cover, I'd still do a compression and coolant pressure test before yanking teh head again.