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seattlejester

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Everything posted by seattlejester

  1. I agree, although I might be a little concerned about it pulling or twisting or something. On a few eBay headers I had like that the gap area thinned out and wore down and broke/cracked over time. I'm not sure how it is held on the back/outer side, but I would be a bit concerned unless the manufacturer can tell you otherwise.
  2. Looks quite good, haven't seen that interpretation on a Z car before. Bummer about the exhaust fumes, seems like you have a turn down and everything.
  3. Agreed, would love to see more detail, and if it is with an iPhone the quality should be there. Maybe an alternative hosting site?
  4. Thanks for that Miles, I think I had my head up my ass quite a ways kind of built up to a really stupid climax, just want to reiterate, not pointed at you OP. Just pushed some of my underlying buttons unintentionally, I think the advice is still there though, so I'll keep the post up and put on my dunce cap for the day.
  5. That's pride that is making you want to show me that list, pride isn't a bad thing, and I don't expect you to come in with your head bowed and hat in hand or anything, lord knows I didn't when I came in here. I don't want your list, and your list won't really prove anything unless it has several early Z cars on it, at which point you wouldn't be here. You have experience with some cars, you might indeed even know some cars, you don't know cars. I have a problem with that statement, that isn't your fault, you didn't cause my problem with it, but I have a real problem with that statement. It is the same vein as "I know what I'm doing," someone I knew used to use that phrase as he sped around town, he ended up killing two people while driving in the oncoming lane because he "knew what he was doing." Sorry that should have been an aside, and this doesn't merit this much enthusiasm from my part. Like you know the little intricacies of those cars you mentioned, someone else is going to know all the little things about the car you are planning to go see. I can sit here and list out all the parts, but I think I am getting more involved then necessary at this point for something quite minor in the scheme of things. Just be safe, don't take the seller at his word, check over everything, take lots and lots of pictures, get on the ground, get dirty, feel around where you can't see. Then sleep on it and if you want, share the pictures to get more opinions. Good luck.
  6. The statement "I know cars" is what is throwing me off. If you did you wouldn't need someone to point out quirks or problem areas, you would kind of inherently know based off knowing cars. Keep in mind, not trying to belittle you, just want you to be prepared. Friends are fine to take with you, but what you want isn't a group of friends that can see a rusty patch and say "oh we can fix that, don't worry about that," (that is what you want for when you work on it) what you want is a guy that can say "oh that is rusted out which means it is caused by x and means x, y, and z also need to be looked at" much better for negotiating, someone who can tell you "walk away" and that you would value their opinion and listen. I've taken a look and I'm not sure why, but in your area it seems like the TV bug has hit and people think they are sitting on gold. You need to find a more grounded realistic market. Keep an eye out on surrounding areas.
  7. Older cars is different from old cars. Don't let your pride block you from finding help, and not just any help, the right help. Older cars you start looking at wear parts like struts, brakes, bushings, engine health, etc. On properly old cars you look at structure, chassis, impact, former repairs, crumple zones etc. If you really want to avoid the metal work you are going to need to find someone that can tell the difference between a bent frame rail or a sagging rail from misused jackstands, you are going to want to find someone who can tell the difference between the natural wrinkles in the hatch area between the shock towers vs a tweaked one. Someone who knows the difference between a factory bead or a reinforcing bead vs soldering. Someone who can hop under the car and take a look at the backside of the area where the side skirts and the rear valence were grafted and identify any bumps and bruises. There are a lot of knowledgeable individuals who really know these cars, and in person they are going to be able to tear it apart mentally and do a cost analysis for you. Basically you want to find a car that they would want to make an offer on, one they would take home if you declined. Trust me, I've seen people start projects that are too big for them, all it would have taken was one word of advice to walk away or to really take a second look at something. I know others that have gotten amazing deals and made lasting friendships with the previous owners. We don't know based off of the pictures provided, I would say to stack the deck in your favor though. You would be surprised, someone local might even know the car or the seller and have way more insight, we've caught our fair share of shoddy workmanship on here. Plus they are an immense help in negotiations, anything they spot you can pitch to the seller to work on. If beyond that you still really want to do it yourself, make a list, and check over every part, find reference photos for what is good and what is bad and bring a clip board and pen and make good notes and take pictures and sleep on it. The consensus is that it isn't a screaming deal from what I can see, as I said, maybe depending on the axles and such a 4k car unless something really blew you out of the water, but the car does have rust, the paint prep is done poorly, and that body kit personally is pretty horrendous.
  8. As mentioned, if you are not familiar with old cars, find someone local who is, there are quite a lot of z cars rolling around and shops that specialize in old cars or better yet z cars probably have mechanics that wouldn't mind making a bit of money on the side for a relatively simple task of looking a car over with you. If you can't identify good metal vs bad metal then really find someone who can. Every person I have talked to likes to use the word rust free or "surface rust" and I have seen holes in such cars. Welding isn't too hard to learn, but it really is an investment and a hassle to do and learn especially if you don't need to. You are also in a good area as in lots of sun and little moisture so finding a rust free car should be easier so don't feel obligated to purchase right away. I would be wary of a car with grafted on panels like that. A lot of people once they get the fiberglass touch see it as a fix all and like to think of it as a solution to a lot of serious problems. Depends on what upgraded rear stub axle means. That could mean junkyard 280z stub axles bought for about $50 or it could mean a modern motorsport billet stub axle worth over $700. Wilwood brakes are nice, and a rear disc brake conversion is also nice, but it also probably means no parking brake. Is this going to be a street car or a track car? Street car without a parking brake is really inconvenient. Master cylinder looks new, hopefully the 1 inch wilwood master. That battery tray, that looks like bad metal at least to one side it is really going to need to be looked at, probably wire brushed to find out the extent of the pitting. "Paint prep" is also a bit concerning, you can see right under the cowl how it is still grey/white. That means a really poor job prepping which probably means spray cans. Once again if it is a track car or a rat, then little concern, but if you plan on making it nice and presentable, that means a lot of sanding or at least respraying to really cover the surfaces. I've honestly seen better cars for less, and I have seen worse cars for more, I would say this is more on the overpriced depending really on the condition of the body and exactly what parts were changed out. Is it worth the money, well it really depends. If you like the color and the grafted panels and plan on just finishing it and driving as is, then potentially. For me it looks like a 1000-2000$ car with 2-3000$ worth of parts with about $1500 in work I would have to undo. Maybe 4k without more information would be as high as I go. Honestly I'm with miles, I would walk away unless there is a real beaming chassis underneath. Even if there was I would still be tempted to look around. 1uzfe at stock levels and especially with a w58 behind it is going to limit the power pretty nicely so not too concerned with differentials and axles.
  9. The internal search function on the forum is quite poor. Use google and search restricting to hybrid will yield better results. http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/103318-looking-to-buy-240z-or-280z-what-to-look-for/page-2 http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/103577-considering-buying-a-260z/ http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/118459-280z-good-buy/ http://www.zcar.com/forum/13-car-talk-forum/245562-most-common-rust-spots.html http://zhome.com <go to what to look for tab on side Basically rust. The important areas are in the threads above. If the owner is that sure there is no rust show up with a screw driver. Poke any bubbly spot you see and if it crumbles then walk away. Being in california it probably won't be too bad. If you don't know what to look for, take someone who does. If you don't have a friend that really knows Old cars (note not your new cars, or stats, actually knows and works on old cars), hire a mechanic to come out with you on their day off, or offer someone on a local z car club lunch or what not to help you look at the car. A hundred or two spent now can really save you from spending lots later. Set a budget for yourself, the "planning on a swap anyway" can really be a death trap for yourself and your project unless you budget and realize what it will take till completion. I've seen replacement engines pulled from junkyards and slotted in for $200. I've seen engine swaps running $30-40,000.
  10. How is the trans mounted? Where does the shifter sit? That seems like the front is jacked up quite a bit. Question would be is it because the trans is hanging low or if you have one side higher up then the other etc etc. How much room do you have between the crossmember and the oil pan? Do you have more room on one side then another? A picture of the shifter and how much it comes out of the trans tunnel would help paint a picture. To be honest, I can't say I have seen too many RB20det with the cross over manifold, it seems everyone swaps to the front facing, not sure if it is out of necessity vs want though.
  11. 12 isn't all that rich. I was thinking like 10 or something. My car starts and hits about 12-13 then idles around 14 or so. It dips down more when in use, but idle can be on the leaner side generally unless you are boosted or need the extra fuel. I would take a log and examine that before changing anything by too much. Also remember not to change values too drastically, take it slow.
  12. Happy new year everybody! Started cleaning up a bit. Also bought a label maker so I can label what exactly is in each bin so I don't go around opening every bin every single time I can't find something. Freed up two more shelves and planning on getting rid of three more large boxes to replace with 6 smaller boxes. Should be able to get most everything off the floor at that point as well as free up a couple square feet on each side to make the suspension overhaul much more pleasant. 1 light bulb in the corner and a small task light really wasn't going to cut it for me, so I decided to step up the light game. Much much much more light, and the wattage is actually about the same as the 1 incandescent bulb, I imagine the electrical usage is much less as well. Advertised as lifetime products and for 40$ each, really hard to complain. Planning on messing around with some additional lighting options for underneath the car that I'm pretty excited about. Didn't get much done due to the random snow that started falling. Probably one more day of good cleaning and organizing and a dump run and we should be getting close to the full overhaul. I plan to stop by the powder coaters this week as well so hopefully some pretty parts soon to come. Also spent quite a bit on getting some more capture gear so I can get more picture and video. A couple tripods, a gimbal, finding some more cameras etc etc. So hopefully some better quality progress tracking to come.
  13. The short nose in those cars are going to have a different crown gear if I remember correctly. You would have to swap the crown gear out of the long nose R200 onto the short nose, the problem then becomes the hole diameter mismatch on the center vs the crown gear. You can either drill out the crown gear to run the larger bolts, or you can shim the center down to the smaller diameter bolt size. You can restore some lost wear by shimming the center, but that will eventually wear out as well. You would also have to purchase the suspension upright since you would essentially be removing the whole upright from the 280z. That would mean not only the backing plate, but the strut/coilover as well. At that point I really would be tempted to just convert to the short nose given the cost. Usually people either cobble together a solution keeping the factory upright, or ditch it altogether for another solution, what you are proposing is to ditch the upright, but to keep the differential. Kind of only a half benefit.
  14. Mine is much less aggressive and starts quite a bit lower. What is your AFR when it catches? I would run a log and see if it is running too lean or rich when it catches and then look at the events afterwards if you really want to solve it. For priming pw: -40 14 ~60 5 170 2 ^That is a bit irrelevant. I was told that the value is basically to purge the injectors of any air, not really an attempt to get fuel into the cylinders. ASE: -40 60 -20 52 0 45 20 40 38.4 45 57.2 28 79.1 21 106.6 15 137.9 8 170 5 ^Yours looks to be about double mine. WUE: -40 190 -20 180 0 160 20 150 40 139 60 133 80 126 100 120 140 109 170 100 ^Seems like yours is also a bit higher here as well. I started my car to move it earlier today, it said it was 1* C in the car and it fired up after about 20 seconds of cranking or so, keep in mind my car is a 3 liter toyota motor with low compression. I think you are putting quite a bit of fuel in there and potentially washing out the cylinders and lowering some compression. Might be helpful to run a compression test and see how it is. A data log of the start will also tell you when the motor catches and why it dies, whether it ran to rich and choked itself out, or the catch was just a detonation from running extremely lean. I would bet it is the former and that when it catches and then subsequently dies it is running quite rich.
  15. Honestly, I just sit there and crank while keeping my foot on the gas maybe about 10%, it catches as you say a couple times, but I just stay on the starter until it really catches and the RPM's climb. I'll go look up my settings to see if they differ from yours.
  16. Thanks to the mods for all the work they do! Regarding the discussion of the forum, I think it is the unfortunate change of the times. Specific forums seem to be on the decline (across the world according to some aussie and new zealand friends, and across the board based off new posts on other forums of many different hobbies). I am not sure there is much that can be done. Forums are not as visited as frequently across the board. People can find what they want spoon fed to them step by step via videos on youtube, and if they have questions they can pepper the original writer at anytime via instant messages on snap chat/instagram, or poll from a massive user base or a very specific one via reddit. And as the traffic is hidden from others (pm's not visible on instagram/snapchat/facebook) global traffic just diminishes. I take great joy in that whenever I have any ideas or need some technical specs, even the broadest search engines bring me back here, and even those that have parted ways from what this forum is begrudgingly, but readily forward users with technical aspects to query this forum. It is nice that this forum. I'm not sure how we can generate a more social atmosphere to a fairly outdated social environment. I believe we are indeed having this discussion in such a place no? The non-tech section has always been a place to post things of interest and unrelated topics, at least to my mind. I have seen some off topic sections really go haywire and found that certain forums unbeknownst to some members had very radical views on very controversial topics, while I agree it might be nice to kick the shoes off and chat, I'm not sure if I would be happy if I had to wade through filth to kick them off. It would be an interesting topic of discussion I imagine, I would be curious as to suggested solutions, I fear there really isn't an answer.
  17. I agree, very excited to see what this is going to do to the torque which has been traditionally pretty sad with the K-series motors. With that said given the low amount of torque, choking the 4 cylinder engine via a lazy profile does shift the torque curve down low (less then 3k rpm. It does help with getting started on steeper grades etc). I think the torque curve with the vtec killer is about 30 or 40ft lb around 3k where it is 70 or 80 at the same rpm without.
  18. Running A3 exhaust rockers on the intake side and an A2 cams has been done quite a bit in the base community to get a factory parts v-tec killer setup. Not new in the sense that it has been done, but in this form with 6 inline cylinders on this engine definitely and undeniably the first, unless some small shop somewhere has done it all in secret before.
  19. Propane torch good enough? Or is this more reserved for like a grill/oven?
  20. Well I figure I can use the one hand tool with one hand where needed like in the trans tunnel or under the dash, and I can really clamp down hard with the two-hander on the outside where if I went flares I would be running quite a few of these. Guess I'm just a sucker for getting more tools .
  21. "Search until your eyes bleed" ^That man speaks the truth. $1000 is really tight, I know you said just parts, but are you factoring in the labor involved? Machine/inspection work: Deglazing the cylinders Hot tanking the block Decking the block Decking the head Shimming the head after deck Removing stuck studs/bolts Testing/balancing/checking crank, piston, rods Surfacing flywheel Then the parts: Rings Rod bearings Crank bearings Engine bolts Timing kit Water pump Freeze plugs Oil pump New studs for intake/exhaust manifold Assembly lube Micrometer or the torque tape width thingy Break in engine oil Quality filters Engine oil Coolant Thermostat Engine seal kit (valve cover, head gasket, oil pan seal, water pump seal, timing cover seal, crank seal, rear main seal, etc etc) Potentially new pistons and rods Not to mention it would be a bit silly not to do the clutch and do a transmission flush and fill while the engine is out. Not sure if that is really possible. I would be concerned with flat tops as with the rise in compression, the factory carbs are not going to look like quite as good a solution, you would either need the carbs rebuilt with new needles or would need to look at either a 4 barrel conversion or a triple webber/mikuni setup and that would blow your budget right from the start.
  22. Not quite as bad as I recall. Maybe a 1/16 on the edges coming to about 1/8 in the middle Once again the caveat is that this is a valley style gasket, the gasket itself has a bit of protrusion. I think it really will seal, I was just hoping for some kind of input into maybe relaxing it a bit. The story is that it was bolted to a jig when it was made and then a coilpack mount was welded in after the fact to connect them. I'm guessing it warped when that was done. I think I'll just go with newzed's solution. Maybe I can find a spare head to bolt it onto without the gasket to kind of gauge how far the center will go down. Bought on craigslist, and I quite like these, they don't really make this kind of stuff for my engine, so I would like to make it work.
  23. I would really suggest more reading, there really is a lot of information out there as well as a lot of misleading information. Feal did a pretty good write up on what to expect regarding the typical coilover brands and where they fall short and what to expect over time with them. You have to try and get away from anecdotal, I know people who swear by the ride comforts of certain brands, but it really is arbitrary to tolerance, condition, and other modifications. To someone it may be nice and stiff, to others it may be intolerable. TTT is really a nicely matched strut and spring combo with adjustable height. Can't say you can do much better then that. The easy install version comes with the housing shortened and everything installed, the only hiccup you may run into is getting your rear control arms free of the spindle on your stock setup, which would also be a concern with all the other brands as well. They will still have droop if that is a factor, and you will probably have to modify your strut towers to accept them either a weld in camber plate or a drill/cut/bolt in camber plate. Good luck, and if you have any more questions, try to narrow it down, hard to help at square one.
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