deja

2001 Ford Ranger extended cab. Too many hobbies with big pieces, LOL Ya gotta have a truck even if its a pretend truck!

When I bought the bumper and spoiler I was new here and didn't know Showcars built crap, unfortunately I found out the hard way. I think you're right about it being a 240Z spoiler. But Showcars as totally unresponsive when I complained and it just wasn't worth the effort to pursue it further. I know how the spoiler is suppose to fit, this one just wasn't going to work that way. If I modified it the fit and mount correctly it would be less than 4" off the ground. An airdam is in my future but in the mean time I will run this.

When I bought my front fiberglass bumper over a year ago I also got a front spoiler from Show Cars. Again I don't know what these people are doing but this spoiler does not come close to fitting a 280Z. So I added some glass to the sections that wrap around the sides and notched the top so it fits over the bottom of the grill opening. Not the traditional method but I think it looks good and still leaves me six inches of ground clearance. I glassed in four mounting brackets on the bottom which bolt through the valance I also added tabs to the part that wraps around the sides to bolt through the fender extension and drilled four holes in the top to secure it in the grille opening, I don't want this thing moving around in the wind at high speeds. You'll have to imagine what it will look like with the black fiberglass bumper installed. That will have to wait a while, I still have some wrok to do inside the grille opening.

Very cool. I had a friend back in the 60s that wanted one of those so bad. But she never did get it.

Thats a new one for me. I'm not sure I'd risk damaging my fuel pump and fuel injectors, acetone is some nasty stuff. Granted its a very small amount but that could get mighty expensive if it starts to take out seals. BTW does anyone know of a real time MPG indicator that will work on OBD1 systems. The one in the article only works with OBDII on '96 or news cars.

Yeah it always comes down to money. Personally I gave up eating to pay for all this!

Awesome, that color really works. What are your plans for the rear, I see you didn't shave it?

LOL, well at least you'll admit when you screw up. I hate those "stupid, stupid, stupid" moments! Don't feel too bad. When I got ready to pull my Z28 in the garage for the swap it wouldn't start. I ran all those tests and concluded it was the opti. I bought a new one, ripped half the engine apart to change it only to find out that the real problem was the MSD ignition module and of all things the coil wire. No clue what happened to kill them. I didn't put the original MSD opti back on so I don't know if it was bad or not. I really don't like MSD stuff anyway, just heard too many horror stories. I bought all GM parts. If anyone wants that MSD opti I'll sell it cheap, no guarantees but I will refund the money if it turns out to be toast.

I knew that, but this is different because of the reverse flow from what I undertand. Air gets caught in the heads and must be bled off or the coolent won't flow even if the thermostst is open. Once the rad was full is was still over heating until I burped it. No more coolent was needed after that.

Congrats, finding one wire that was cut is a PITA for sure. I noticed the cable going the the tranny was pinched between the engine and the body when I pulled it from on my donor car. I checked it before I intalled in in the Z. The tranny had been replaced by the PO, figured thtas when it happpened.

I just got mine done too. Not a lot of room under there is there?

I discovered a fuel leak at my fuel filter this morning. After I fixed the leak I decided to take a run around the neighborhood, sort of a shake down ride since I really haven't been able to drive it yet. I was watching the gauges pretty close since on my ride home from the exhaust guy last week the temp gauge was really high and suddenly the check gauge light came on. And that was on a 1 mile drive! The gauge kept climbing and as it hit the "red" mark the check gauge light came on, so obviously it was real. I went home and let it cool down for a while before checking the radiator, it was low, about a gallon! Wow, I thought I had filled it completely. I filled it up and started the car and again it climbed over 210. I remembered people here talking about LT1s needing to be burped to get rid of air pockets. I have 2 bleeders, one on the thermostat housing and the one I added to the steam pipe/heater hose connection. I slowly open the one on the steam pipe and sure enough it stated spaying steam and a little water. I closed it and checked the temp gauge, it was down below 180, but stated climbing again. I burped it a total of three time and now the temp sits right at 180 at idle or running. Obviously I should have done this sooner but running the car without an exhaust is not something my neighbors would appreciate.

What year is your engine? You can't use the new vented opti on a 94 or earlier without changing the cam. Maybe MSD or someone makes a vented one that will work on a 94 but the stock GM for a 95 or newer will not fit.

So if that's true with my 280Z LT1 at 300 flywheel HP and guessing at 2900 lbs I should turn 13.08ish. I would be happy with that................for now, .

I know that feeling too. Your car sounds like it will be a terror. Looking forward to hearing about your first track run.

Thanks man. I don't know about skill, I think its more like persistence! You know, make a big block of fiberglass and spend hours sanding it into shape, LOL.

Yes I did I got one from MSA. I also bought some 240Z to 280Z rear bumper mounting brackets from Datsun Spirit. Technically, the brackets are for European 260Z/Japanese A-S30/S31 models. These brackets bolt to the mounting holes in the valance just like a 240Z bumper would. Unfortunately they don't exactly line up with the MSA bumper mounting brackets. I had to make new brackets for the MSA rear bumper. I used a Dremel to cut off the MSA brackets, found some steel at Home Depot in the decking bracket section the same thickness as the MSA ones, bent them in a Z shape at both ends and then glassed them in. The brackets are short enough so the bumper sits only about 1/2" from the rear valance panel. The 240Z mounting tabs on the bumper are too far forward to use unless you drill through the fender on the 280Z. Since the 280Z fender is a double wall fender/inner fender I decided to use the stock 280Z fender mounting nut which is about 8" toward the rear from the 240Z tab. The 280Z mounting nut does sit below the bumper a little but not much. I made new the fender mount side tabs and glassed them in after cutting out the 240Z tabs. I put a piece of 1/8" rubber under the tabs to protect the body. Even though the Datsun Spirit brackets didn't fit perfectly I'm glad I didn't attempt to make them. It could be done but would have been a major effort with the equipment I have.

I wondered if the TPI engine would fit under the hood, looks like it will. Is it just the photo or is there a lot of rust on the body?

There are ET calculators on-line, like http://www.teamenvy.com/battlecalc.htm No clue how accurate they really are. They don't take transmission, rear gear or driver ability into consideration.

Pretty cool. I've made a camera mount for mine. If the rear strut bar ever get here I will shot some video.

Also make sure you do not touch the glass on the bulbs when you install the. Oil from your fingers will burn and cause the glass to crack and result it what CDC#C29300 said.