JoeinCA

I just took a closer look inside of my doors and discovered that i may have to mount the solenoid to the inner metal skin of the door and run the wire to the rod for the inner door handle... which will make my door handle on the inside jump when i activate the solenoid... not a real desireable idea, especially with 35 lb solenoids(i may have been a bit overzealous on my choice for solenoid strength, i hope the door internals can take it). There is also a large support beam in my door that looks like i may be able to mount there without interference with the window operation. But there may be a problem with placement then, because the solenoid and latch would be near parallel. Maybe if i could mount it on the bottom of that support, i have to go take another look... if anyone has knowledge of how to make a nice clean install of one of these setups, your input would be very helpful. Thanks, Joe

Hey guys, i just bought a shaved door handle kit with 35lb solenoids and 2 door poppers. I know that some people on the board have shaved door handles, and i was just wondering where the best place in the door is to mount the solenoid. oh, it's on a 77 280z Thanks for your time, Joe

i think he means rivets...

Ouch... heh, you know what i did after the accident? I bought a new unibody and enough suspension components to completely rebuild it.... and then spent 5 months rebuilding and trying to restore it... i just drove her again a few days ago, I still have a ways to go before i can take her out to a racing instruction course, but i'm working towards it.. The sheer amount of work that less than 2 seconds can cause is enough to steer anyone away from driving like a maniac....if they cant afford to have the work done for them . Joe.

maybe a stock supercharged 3800 v-6? About 240HP and silky smooth power. might be cheaper than a supra or other import engine... just a thought, Joe

No worries. I think that the problem people had with the guy was not that he made a mistake while trying to learn how to handle himself on a track, it was that he was doing it in a viper. If the guy has enough cash to go through 2 vipers, then he certainly has enough to buy himself a lessor car and hone his skills with that. I raced R/C cars for a good portion of my life, and i was (if i may say so myself) pretty talented. But i'm not saying that i had no learning curve, i wrecked and broke and crashed numerous cars by making reckless, or just stupid decisions. Luckily, repairing an r/c car is alot less expensive than real cars... seeya, Joe.

It was the switch.... it's wierd that the problem just started though... the stuff worked great when i pulled it from the car. must have gotten dusty in storage. Thanks for the help once again guys, Joe

That thread made my head hurt... i think my brain was trying to shrink... i guess all you can do in that situation is laugh... haha, Joe

Timz To answer your question, no i wasnt on a track when i got into my accident in my Z. And my 4th to 2nd shift wasn't the reason i lost control of the vehicle. After going from 4th(low RPMs), I applied enough brakes to lock the wheels and throw the car sideways, then i revved to around 4-5 k and dropped the clutch in second to light the tires up a bit, and when i went to shift into third and end the idiocy, my left rear tire touched one of the reflector dots in the center of the road and there wasn't much i could do from there but make sure that i didnt hit the curb with the front and back at the same time... SO, I dont know why i posted that, because i know i screwed up and i'm not trying to justify anything. I think my message is... everyone can be stupid, and learning lessons can be painful. But you should only have to learn respect for cars once, and hopefully you dont hurt yourself or anyone else when you learn this lesson. I can't tell you how many times I've run the memory of my accident through my head and thought how lucky i was that my stupidity didnt hurt me or anyone else, and taught me that the street is not a place to do stupid show-off manuevers. I gotta go buy some suspension busshings, and pay a little more for my accident, lol.... later, Joe

Thanks for the tip Stony, I'll try that as soon as I get up tommorrow... Oh well, it isnt like the car is very driveable right now anyways... (i mean, it does drive, but there are certain points that i need to address before i take it anywhere besides my neighborhood).. Thanks again, Joe

I hacent driven the thing in 4-5 months, and the lights worked the last time i drove it... Also, i replacced every fuse in my fuse block with fresh ones before i started the car... If they are on a separate circuit, does that mean they also have separate relays for low/high beams? thanks again for your help... Joe.

Well, It's been 4-5 long months since i drove my 280Z. Now that I've replaced the unibody, and gotten her.... 90%-95% together, i actually drove it... heh, everything feels mushy, i need to bleed the brakes again, and the clutch, and fix about 100 other little things...but... MY GOD IT'S ALIVE AGAIN!!!! Sorry guys, i just had to tell someone... Even though it isnt perfect i'm still pretty proud of myself, rebuilding a Z from the unibody up, not bad for a 17 year old punk like myself. Anyways, i have to go to work, i'll post some pics of my car a bit later.. Thanks for the help that you guys have provided, even though it isnt a hybrid. Joe.

hey guys, quick question. Have any of you experienced a problem with your headlights, the high beams work, but the low beams don't? it's on a 77 280Z. thanks for any help, Joe

Thanks for the tip... My radiator is a bit low on coolant i am sure though... i dont think i had it running long enough to reac operating temperature. now to top off with oil, fiddle with installing a new side view mirror, and bleed the clutch again...then see if she is road worthy... Oh well at least the stereo works good thanks, Joe

Never mind, I'm an idiot... I went and looked at the design of the idle adjust screw, and realized i had it backwards, i was thinking about the idle adjust system on a completely different engine... CW raised idle, and ccw lowered...excuses excuses excuses yeah... now to get those headlights working... and turn signals... and patch the hole in the floor... and and and.. have a good day everyone, Joe

Hey guys, I just got my 280Z running after about....4-5 months of being in peices. I have a gallon of bad gas, and a gallon of good gas, mixed with a bit of fuel stabilizer and fuel system cleaner. The problem is, is that at start up it seems to be normal for a bit, idleing at 1500 RPM for the cold start, then about 5-7 seconds after starting it jumps to 2000 RPM and wont go below it. ive tried adjusting the idle screw, but it doesnt seem to have any effect.... Would this be caused by the bad gas? i would think that it would idle low and run like crud, but instead it has high idle, and good throttle response. It is probably something simple, But after rebuilding the car, i'm a little fried in the troubleshooting department... thanks for any help or insights you can provide, I'm sure i know what the problem is (somewhere in my head), but i need someone to help me pull the trigger. Joe.

here are the seats i would like to have.... if i had a couple grand to throw away... http://www.cerullo.com/sport_xr.html Joe.

LOL, seat ejector button... It might be useful to install one of those on the passenger seat. Just for those times when you suddenly really wish the person in the car with you, was no longer in the car...

LOL, an auto viper... Yeah... you do kinda have to wonder what the thought process involved was... "Hmm, i'm doing 100 MPH, i am in 4th gear, lets shift down to 2nd gear, which i shifted out of at hmmm...35-40 tops.... yeah, that sounds like a great idea!" What's even more amazing is that morons like this have enough money to buy vipers.... Ive shifted from fourth(at 2000 RPM) to second before in my Z(rev it up and drop the clutch!), But in between that i slammed on the brakes and threw it sideways, fully intending to lose traction in the back end... heh, still ended in an accident though "DOH". I'll tell you what though, i learned my lesson the first time.

Hello again, I solved the problem i posted about not getting power to my fuel pump ( i had a bad fusible link between the battery and the FI harness). The car still seems to not want to start though, i suspect it is because The injectors arent firing, Which in turn i think may be due to the possibility that i dont have the connection between the FI computer and the ignition coil made. I went looking for wires that would connect to the coil from the EFI harness and was unable to find a connection. If anyone knows how the connection is made, and could provide me with a little mental nudge, it would be much appreciated. thanks, Joe

I plan to attend Wyotech and get training for collision/repair, high performance engine, upholstery, high performance chassis building and body panel shaping. I hope to get a job at either a high performance custom shop, or at a high end car dealership in the service dept. I'd like to save/invest money and start my own High performance custom shop. Then build custom cars (from the ground up) for people that can afford it... Joe.

I checked the #3 injector, and when i was turning the engine over the Noid light lit up, very dimly (maybe it is because it is a noid for a GM vehicle?). But the thing still wont start... and i do have good spark from the coil... maybe i should check the plugs and wires... I'm having the time of my life(sarcasm). Joe.

I went and bought a Noid light to see if my injectors were getting power....they aren't ( atleast, not the 1st or the 6th injector...) any ideas? Thanks again, Joe

I went to my local auto parts store and spoke with a guy that owns a 280Z. We went out and looked at his car. So now i know i have the EFI hooked up correctly. But it still isnt engaging the fuel pump, or running the injectors. Are there any safety switches or sensors that need to be hooked up in order for the EFI to operate the fuel pump? ( aside from the ones on the engine itself?) Ive been reading through all of the fuel system section in my FSM but i have yet to find anything that would point to the problem i am experiencing... If anyone has any insights, it would be greatly appreciated. Joe

I hooked it up as stated in my last post, leaving the blue wire unconnected, there is no change, the fuel system still seems to not be functioning...