BobbyZ

Hey I like that cigar idea!!! Wont work but I would get a cigar out of the deal... I poked my head under the car and couldnt find any missing studs or obviously loose bolts. This leak appears to be hiding.

Sounds familiar but I stuck my hand in there and didnt feel anything. I will try to poke my head in there and see if the stud is broken off.

That guy is located just a few minutes from where I live. Apparently my uncle (another car nut) has met him. His showroom is mind blowing, I may have to stop by and see if he has that 240z on display.

I have a 81 280zx turbo that I have just aquired a couple of weeks ago. When it is cold it sounds like it has an exhaust or intake leak somewhere. It seems like it only happens when the engine is under load, making it hard to pinpoint when the car is sitting in the driveway. Once the car has warmed up the sound goes away and it feels like the car gains a few horsepower. I crawled around underneath it looking for any sign of an exhaust leak and I couldnt find anything. I am thinking it is either an intake leak or a leak at the wastegate. Anyone have any tips for finding this leak? I have inspected the engine bay and there is nothing obvious.

That stupid game is so addicting

That looks great, I love how the interior looks with no center console. I was planning on doing the same thing.

If they are red I would probably take both of them. I dont think it would be easy to switch the belts, but I could try dying them. I think it would be hard for me to get up there soon so shipping (depending on the cost) would probably be the best idea. I have a baby on the way (due in 2 days) so I dont really want to drive up to SF right now.

I guess I will just wait on the seats. I would like to get some uber comfortable seats from some kind of sport sedan, make my drive a little more pleasant. My carpet is actually in really good condition and I can leave that alone. Ya all of the plastic is peeling off of my panels too. I would definately be interested in those seatbelts though. What color are they, if they are blue then I only need one. What kind of price are you thinking and is there any way you could ship them to me. I might be able to find some time to drive up there but after the gas cost I could probably have payed for the shipping several times over. If shipping them is going to be a pain, dont bother I will try and figure something out.

Well I could easily recolor whatever you have. Only problem would be fit, mine is a 2 seater. What panels are going to be different between the two? If any of the stuff will fit I could probably use everything you just mentioned. The interior could use a lot of work and I would probably just use some vinyl dye to make it all black. What kind of condition are the seats in?

I love that red! That would look great with some black wheels.

I pulled the seat belt apart and found that the spring had broken. I pulled out the broken section and rewound the spring but the fix did not last long. I think the spring was too short after I fixed it and it must have unwound itself. I was planning on hitting up a junkyard to find a replacement. I also still have to fix the leaky windshield. I was planning on putting some silicon sealer into the gap between the windshield and the roof. It wont fix the rust that I know is in there but it should keep me dry.

I like that idea. Would probably be easier than converting to a manual.

I can tell that the body has some rust but I am not too worried about it. I am not going to do a real restoration. Just want something fun to drive to work. It definately needs some work but it should be fun. The drivers side seat belt does not retract anymore so I had to tie a knot in it to drive it home. I can't drive without a seatbelt I feel naked.

Working pretty well so far! (Other than the leak at the windshield I just found this morning...)

Thanks for the compliment. I will try to keep an eye out for some cheapo 300zx seats.

I would like to keep it Automatic for now because the drive is horrible (traffic in the mountains) but it seems like the tranny might have a few issues so there is a good chance I will just look for a 5 speed to replace it with. I like that it can be a "running project" my other z ('77 280z) is completely dismantled at this point so it can be hard to find the motivation to work on it. I would like to make a few easy modifications to this to make it into a comfortable cruiser. Lots of little projects on it, should be fun.

Well I got myself a commuter. I found a 280zx turbo for $1500 in good running condition. I plan on driving this car over 2 hours every day so the first modifications are going to be new seats. Overall I am pretty happy with my new purchase. http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/car/577436957.html

I heard spraying armorall over the entire engine (plug and orifices first) and then pressure washing it off does a pretty good job.

Ya I would love to dd my z but as of now it is in project mode. I have been thinking that a 280zx turbo would be my best bet so I will keep an eye out for one. I will also keep an eye out for a good deal on a honda.

How about a 300zx. I know I cant fit into the Z32 (I am about 6' 3") but what about the Z31? Those seem to be cheap all over. http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/car/564049179.html

That is beautiful, gonna be a cool unique addition to your car!

I have been casually looking around for a car that I can drive to work every day. My commute currently runs a little over an hour each way so I need a car that is going to be comfortable but it would be nice if I could have a little fun too (nice windy roads on the way to work). I was kind of hoping I could get something for around $2000 probably a little more. I dont mind if I have to put a little work into it but I want it to be something that wont require constant and expensive maintenance. One idea I had was to wait for a good deal on a 280zx turbo with high miles. Hoping I could get one for cheap and then put in a few hundred dollars making it more reliable. Browsing around on CL I found another possibility that I really dont have a lot of experience with. The porsche 944 N/A gets fairly good gas mileage and can be had for fairly cheap. I dont really know much about them though, heard a lot of praise though. Here is one that I saw on CL for pretty cheap. It has some body damage but as long as the damage is purely cosmetic it seems like it would still be a pretty good deal. http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/car/564178759.html

I noticed something strange with my truck when driving in the rain with my bald tires. It has a normal open rear end which means that as soon as one wheel loses traction, the torque to the other wheel drops to near zero. This means that in a tight turn if I hit the gas a little too hard, only one wheel will spin. The other wheel has no torque running through it anymore and so rolls along fine. The result is that I dont spin, the one wheel with no power continues to roll and keeps me on track through the turn. I dont know if this would translate to a car with more power but it kind of makes sense to me. If I had an LSD, then in the rain I would lose traction on both wheels no matter what, causing me to spin out. Questionable conclusion = LSD bad for wet roads????

I like stupid people... they're funny