serx93

I agree with what everyone has said about finding a Z with as little rust as possible. Here are a few more ideas: 1. Join a local car/hot rod club. Most of these guys have been doing this for years and already have solution to problems you might be looking at. Just like being here, there is no replacement for a network of friends with knowledge. 2. Sometimes it is cheaper (and easier) to wait another month to buy a known good part than it is to buy one you found a good deal on but needs some work to make it right. If you are a master fabricator (and we do seem to have some of those around here) you will be ok, but if you are like a lot of us in the end you will spend more than if you had just bought a new part to start with. If you have to buy a part twice it really wasnt a deal. 3. Buy the book "How to restore your Datsun Z-car". I did before I ever turned the first screw on my car. It has pretty good writing and pictures for you to follow along with. If you arent sure how to take something apart and tear up something in the process it will only cost you more. 4. I just ordered the "Jaguars that Run" V8 conversion book. A lot of people say there is a ton of good info in it even if you arent going to do the V8 swap. I can neither confirm or deny this, but I am giving it a shot. 5. Do as much of the work as you can yourself. Several of my friends have taken body classes at a local community college. Even if you just do the prep work before taking the car to get it painted you can save yourself a ton of money. 6. HybridZ search function. I know it gets preached a lot here, but this place has such a huge storage of knowledge it is unreal. Of 3 Z websites I frequent this one is the top notch when it comes to knowledge. This is just my .02 cents, your mileage may vary.

This is a question for those of you that did install the EZ wiring brand harness. How do you feel about the overall quality of the product? Have you had any issues since you installed it? Thanks for your help.

I couldnt agree more. Rice to me is a poorly put together car or truck with ill fitting accessories. Or something that is just completely over the top in terms of poor taste.

Why oh why couldnt this be "LS280Z" ? Oh well I guess I cant have everything.

I have been thinking the same thing. But I am 6'4" and need all the room I can get. Plus I have a 350 sitting next to me 280 to steal them from. Give me an excuse to get new ones for the 350Z.

Hey Sticky, yeah I haven't been on DFWnissan for a while now. I personally do like the wheels I am looking at. Where are you going to buy Volks at for a little over $350 each. Unlike the Panasports and Rota's but I can get them in the size and offset I want. Wheels and tires are a personal preference and I still to this day regret not going the route I really wanted with my 350Z, so to do it over again would be money wasted. I want this car to be exactly the way I want it from the beginning and am willing to take as much time as needed to see it happen. Do I need them that Big? In a word no, but thats what I want and I don't want to compromise on this build.

Since the 78 is in no shape to be on a cover of anything other than "MoneyPit Monthly" or "Rust Bucket Rods" I will post up my 350Z 2005 350Z Canton,Ms Bill Ellenburg

here are a few of my favorites

There is a really good reflash setup for the 350Z VQ from Uprev tuning in Austin,Texas. It is nice for the fact that you get the software and load it on your laptop. Then you drive the car and datalog it. Now you email the datalog to Uprev and they will do a tune for you from it and email it back. Then you can just load it yourself. If you change something just do it over and send it to them again for a new tune. Its only $700 for the tune which is pretty good considering what a standalone would cost.

The exhaust note of the VQ is awesome. I always know when I hear one crank up. As for the rasp, unfortunately the exhaust you described will probably have it. I am running stock cats and a 3" Fujitsubo Exhaust on my 350Z and it can be raspy at times. Its something most 350Z owners fight like help and usually compromise to get rid of.

I appreciate the pics Jay28. It does help a lot. Thats the best looking 2+2 I have ever seen. It gives me some hope now and helped finalize my decision to black out all of the window trim. I wasn't sure but after seeing your car I know now. I just have two questions for you. 1. Where did you get the rear spoiler? It is awesome 2. Can you post a few more pictures of your car? Thanks for everything.

In the US we had the Hyundai Tiburon and the front end is very close to whats pictured, might be worth a look

Thats awesome....thanks for the link. I am going to be watching this closely

So when can we expect production to start on these? Just kidding. It does look great, very nice job

Hopefully it will stay the way it is for you right now. I cant imagine living close to the coast

I am glad to be further in off of the coast...hopefully this thing will weaken and not be as bad as we are expecting.

I am getting close to installing XM in my 280Z. I am using the XM Commander and keeping it lose. I want to put a stock looking radio back into the dash and then have the Xm commander wired from under the seat. The preamps out of the commander will go straight to my crossover and amps. To control Volume I will be adding a small potentiometer knob that the preamps will run through. The stereo shop thats going to do my work has done this on several classic cars and it seems to work very well.

Never have more true words been spoken. Screwdrivers are one of the most abused tools ever. They arent scrapers or prybars or chisels. When the proper tool is used it will make things so much easier. When I was a kid I was using a screwdriver to pry on something and my Grandpa stopped me and handed me a prybar and showed me how to use it. I have 3 sets now in differing styles and sizes. They came from Harbor Freight and didnt cost that much but when they are needed they are invaluable.

I have sent them an email asking if they can make the wheel in a 4 lug or if not if they can leave it blank where I can have a machine shop do it for me. If not it will give me my excuse to do the 5 lug swap I have been thinking about

Thanks for your help...I did searches on wheels and wheel widths and I found a few cars with 10.5 inch wheels, but not 11 inch. Its only a half inch but I know it will matter. I will search on backspacing. Suspension is still up in the air at this point. I want this car as a weekend cruiser...thats why I am staying with the auto when I do my V8 conversion. Might see an autocross track a few times or the drag strip, but I am not focusing on setting the car up for that. I want to be able to go to my car club meets, cruise-ins and rally's and have fun. I have read that I will probably have to run coilovers with this agressive of a wheel tire combo. Tire sizes I am looking at would be 275/40/17 front 315/35/17 rears

I was walking through Walmart tonight and an idea struck me. They have the thrid brake lights that slide into an empty receiver hitch. All you would need to do is add vynil with the shape you want to show cut out and then it lights up it would show through. Not to sure about the hood though. I guess if you found a small round LED light setup you could do what I described. Here is a picture of mine in the daylight not lit. These were made by hollowing out a fender emblem and inserting a platic housing and LED lights inside of it. Here is the non lit front version

It was sold for a short time at Courtesyparts.com . Apparently it was very difficult to make and the supplier (Zignalz) that was producing them stopped. I tried to buy another one a little while back and was out of luck.

Ok I have searched thought 20 pages of threads and havent found what I am looking for. I have a 1978 280Z 2+2. I am looking at wheels for it 17x9.5 front 17x11 rear What would be the suggested offset for these wheels? I am looking at using the BAMF ZG flares to cover these. The wheels I am looking at are Vintage Wheel Works V48. I like the fact that for $30 you can get custom offsets. http://www.vintagewheelworks.com/products/wheels

I have the AEM Wideband in my 350Z and I love it. The price is right and you can datalog with it if you desire. Here is a little info. I got mine off of ebay for like $219 shipped. Hope this helps. AEM’s UEGO Display Gauge allows owners of AEM Wideband UEGO Controllers 30-2300 or 30-2301 to monitor Air/Fuel ratios (AFR) in real time without the use of a laptop. This gauge includes a 0-5 Volt analog output to interface with most data-loggers or aftermarket engine management systems, and includes an RS 232 serial data output port for data logging without an engine management system. AEM’s UEGO Display Gauge is calibrated to work with AEM UEGO sensor controllers ONLY. These units display to 0.1 AFR, feature 24 color-coded LED display lights for immediate reference to engine AFR, and have an integrated three-digit real-time display for AFR. AEM’s UEGO Display Gauge displays one channel only, so users wishing to display two channels simultaneously will need two gauges (V6 to V10 applications). For use with AEM Wideband UEGO Controllers 30-2300 & 30-230124 color-coded LEDs and three-digit center display provide immediate reference to engine AFRRS 232 Serial data output included for data loggers

yeah I am there now. I am trying to wrap the small center ball with rotating balls and use a long tether and swing the object over. Its gotten close.