Lewis Maudlin

I went to O'Reilly auto parts and for $30 or $35 plus tax, I got a univeral two speed fan control unit. It has one of those annoying temp sensors that you insert in between the radiator fins, but other than that, it is great. It is also adjustable.

Agreed. I went with dynamat extreme and the double sided aluminum crap. The dynamat extreme is for the sound deadening and is supposed to block some heat. It also weighs 1/4 what dynamat weighs. The stuff with aluminum on both sides is supposed to block about 99% of radiant heat. Kind of important when driving a Z.

I should have put in more louvers, I think. These look much better than the tack on type. If I would have totally ripped the hood, I could have let all that air out of the engine bay.

Only 858,000 produced worldwide???? Seems like more, especially since you know most have already met the crusher

You must be young. Years ago, Nissan bought up many 240-280's and rebuilt them from the ground up. I think they sold for $15,000 rebuilt by Nissan. They ran an ad campaign with a picture of a yellow 240Z. It said something like, "No power windows, no power steering, no power seats, all sports car." Or something like that. I believe they had no trouble selling all the cars they rebuilt.

click the link. All the details are there. It is this goofy scavenger hunt thing. Some guy is hiding money to get interest in his big scavenger hunt.

http://www.huntforhistory.com/The_Eagle_s_Nest_Treasure.php T/47, O/37, F/25, I/48, Y/14, B/49, J/30, A/5, S/1, S/10, N/4, Y/50, G/20, N/13, O/45, O/8, G/43, C/31, E/111, O/57, W/33, N/125, U/15, R/19, I/9, H/98, T/62, T/26, N/22, U/64, N/83, H/38, U/46, Y/18, S/65, R/12, L/44, T/55, 4/29, I/70, H/6 What does that say? The Hunt for History is located in Washington County, Indiana. If any of you can figure this out, lemme know and I will go pick up the $400 and send you half.

Good idea. In fact, I have seen an AWD Z before. It was about 5' off the ground and was on a monster truck frame. Same idea, you could do that to make an AWD Z...

I could not find the pans on MSA's website anymore.

I intend to do AC someday. I don't believe anyone has done it yet. I will likely try to use the SR20 compressor which I have and the rest of the parts from my 280Z. If that won't work, I will probably go vintage air. Right now, I am still insulating my car to keep heat out before trying to put in air. I am using dynamat extreme and the fiberfil sandwiched b/w two layers of aluminum sheeting. I would really like to block the noise and heat. As far as power steering goes, my question is why? What is your goal for power steering? The engine is behind the front crossmember so there is not much weight on the front end. The steering wheel turns easily. I guess it could turn easier when parallel parking.

Last time I ordered from him, he was unresponsive. That was like 7 years ago. This time, I have e-mailed and called. No response. I left my information. Still no response.

I think saying it is an 8 sec ZX might also say it is already heavily modded.

For cut louvers, check with the local hot rodders. They almost always know a source for louvers.

and an 8 second 280ZX for only $25000

LPG is a lot cleaner burning. I believe that it should pass emissions without a problem. The question would be whether there is a station that pumps propane near your home. I have one within a mile of my house that pumps propane.

Isn't that AWD?

Why would you put on SS louvers??? If you look, you should be able to find someone to put real louvers in your hood for less money.

I get 30 mpg out of my SR20DET 280Z. I suppose I could do a little better if it didn't have close to 400hp and I didn't drive it set on 18psi as my daily driver setup. I drive 70 miles per day round trip. The two best options for fuel efficiency which I have seen are: 1. There is a biodiesel 240z out there. It was on ebay at one time. 2. Switching a good setup to liquid propane. Propane burns almost identically to gas so the changes are minimal. You need to change the tank and the lines and the car should run. Liquid propane cost half as much as gasoline but you need 25% more propane to produce the same power. So where $100 of at $3.20/gallon and 30 mpg will get you 937.5 miles, the same $100 of propane at $1.65/gallon will get you 1454.5 miles. That is over a 50% increase with the same or better performance. The LP will burn cooler so you should be able to crank the boost higher without detonation. So comparing dollars to dollars that would be like having a car that gets 46.5mpg.

No, I went Ol' Skool. 82 louvers cut in my hood by a hot rodder. He charged $1 each. Not bad, a $20 junkyard hood with $82 of mods. I think this hood was an option on original Z's and costs $800 plus shipping from MSA. http://album.hybridz.org/showphoto.php?photo=5859&cat=500&ppuser=8105 Here is the MSA hood. It is the same, just a different angle. http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/7BSA03/50-1440

yeah, the Zedd findings are the best. However, he is difficult. Last time I ordered a set from him, he was difficult. This time, I have attempted to contact him repeatedly through his website and telephone number to no avail. Oh well.

OK, I am going to replace the floorpans in my Z. I have purchased replacement floorpans in the past. As I recall, it was difficult to catch the guy at Zedd Findings. So far, I have been attempting to contact him for a few days with no response. I tried Too Intense Restoration and got an answering machine. Their website looked as though they sold Charlie's (Zedd Findings) floor pans. Does anyone know any other sources to check?

OK, I don't understand the "(if gas prices permit)". My turbo enine gets better gas mileage than most non-turbos. I get 30 mpg with me driving. For comparison, I got 12 mpg out of my 355sbc Z with a 700R4.

OK, here it is again to spoonfeed you: Originally, I spent $2400 for motor and tranny shipped S13 low mileage $200 new ecu $100 another starter $100 water pump $150 oil pump $50 belts $24.99 motor mounts $300 engine cradle Vildini $50 shorten driveshaft $300 FMIC and downpipe and exhaust manifold $100 air cleaner and intake and FMIC piping $100 Taurus fan $200 Aluminum and plastic radiator $150 intake manifold ported and polished $350 ACT HDSS clutch $200 3" mandrel bent exhaust $100 Walbro 255 fuel pump Plus labor The new ecu was a quirk since mine was not working. The new starter was necessary since most have defunct starters. You should replace the oil and water pumps. The FMIC is necessary and the downpipe and exhaust manifold are necessary. The Intake manifold, taurus fan and radiator are not entirely necessary. You also need incidentals like fluids and spark plugs. After I got all this done I have also added: $150 Z32 MAF $489 Nismo 740cc injectors $1100 GT2871R turbo $1000 APEXi Power FC standalone You can add the following which I recently replaced: $150 New wiring harness $450 Power Brute LSD $339 Datalogit I think if you do the math, that is over $5000 for a fairly basic swap and over $8,000 for my setup. There were other incidentals not listed here. Again, this does not include labor. Is your tight budget $5000 or $8000 plus labor?

First learn what car you are wanting to start with to upgrade. The 280ZX and the 280Z are quite different cars. In 1977, Datsun made the 280Z. I agree that you absolutely should not attempt an SR20DET swap on a tight budget. Use the search function. I posted what mine cost. I think that was before the latest ecu change and upgrades.

Let's see, ways of venting hood to diminish air from going under car... http://album.hybridz.org/data/500/280Z-31.png How about 82 holes which measure 3" x 1/2" is that 123 square inches of holes? Almost a square foot hole in the middle of my hood? How do I make the picture show up anyway?