JoeinCA

Yep. The driveshaft bolts. Went to go find my box of them in my garage. And failed. So I went to fastenal again, and bought 50 of them, because thats the the smallest pack they had of them. Again. And said "At least I wont have to buy these ever again", again. Amazing. anyone need some driveshaft bolts? I hate losing stuff. And I have been avoiding the garage, because I know I will find them the moment I walk in there, and feel dumber. Joe

A very good childhood friend of mine is starting to get some recognition in the california music scene. He's a very talented musician. Let me know what you guys think. Joe

I sold my "luxury" car a couple of months ago and bought a 75 280z. Apparently my life was not stressful enough for me. A lightly damaged 1998 buick riviera. This car had great leather seats, plenty of power, an awesome stereo system of my own design, and the best a/c system i have ever experienced (ICE cold in half a block). Yeah it had 130k on it and needed new tires and various little fixes... but i sold it on a whim. And I miss it. Especially now with a Z sitting in my garage on jackstands, over a month into a 2-3 week engine swap and mechanical refresh. These two months have allowed me to return to the first car I ever missed, the 1968 chevelle. My 7 year sitting, bone stock, beater of a 68 chevelle. Which is a wonderful car to drive, as long as you dont have to stop, turn, accellerate at a reasonably unreasonable rate, or drive on a freeway in 103* weather. The thing i missed about it most, was getting the looks from people. I know its vain. But I think it is hilarious to have people gawk at a car that has clearcoat peeling off of it. A car with bad brakes, a list to the right, a blown differential, and a hopelessly durable powerglide that hasn't shifted correctly in 15 years, but just wont give up. Oh yeah, and a stereo... with no speakers.There's a picture of it... from 7 years ago. So, Any of you guys have those moments when you hop in your car, and just cant help but miss one of your old, sold, stored, or forgotten cars? Joe.

Wow. Extremely dangerous. But I'm certain they had a LOT of fun making it. Its also a testament to the durability of the subaru. That car was at its limit almost the whole time. I'm not even going to lie. The video was irresponsible, dangerous, illegal, but i enjoyed the hell out of it. Living vicariously is fun. It looks like they originally intended to make an action movie. Joe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELyTBXzfQJ8&feature=related My stomach hurts.

Wierd. The relay is kind of a pain to remove. I know it was there on my 75 280, and it was there on my 77 280. It is behind the hood release handle mount. held in with 2 phillips bolts. Below is what it looks like.. I have to go digging around today anyway, if I find a computer or the resistors, and you need one, both, or all three components, they will be very cheap. Strange that you dont see the wires there. Joe

What happens when you have been doing too much parts research? You start thinking about cutting corners... Occasionally you take photos that are humorous only to sleep deprived, vodka red bulled people. I think I need to mount it a bit lower> great i just filterkeymessedup my computer>> and no< i didnt take this today>

I was cleaning up the rear suspension for paint when I found some funny wear on the rear A arm brace. The outer rear edge of the suface where the bushing sits has been worn deeply in 2 places on both sides. I'm putting new bushings in, and i'm not terribly worried about the wear, It just struck me as odd.. Ive torn down 3 z cars completely, and have never seen this. Sorry for the crappy photos. Joe

Let me look through my parts to see if i cant find an efi relay or dropping resistors... IF Its nice to be able to test directly to the battery ground, a good way to help find bad grounds and gives you consistency that allows you to find more inconspicous electrical problems. What relay was buzzing? Ok, I found an extra efi relay. And the FSM... Pull the EFI relay out, (from above the ecu). Put 7-12 volts to terminals 86c and negative terminal 85. You need to have continuity between 88z and terminals 88 a and b. Terminal 88b provides voltage to the dropping resistors. If that checks out, then pull the dropping resistors and check for about 6 ohms. If that all checks out, bash your head in with the meter. Joe

AH. No fire in the injectors. Did you verify with a light? I'd check the ground circuit for the injector harness, and make sure that the flap inside the afm moves freely. 1/2 tank of gas... 2 year old gas? Joe

Ok... Obvious questions. Did you check the fuel filter and check for adequate fuel pressure at the rail? Have you tried purchasing(or swapping) a relay and wiring the fuel pump back up as originally intended? Are you getting spark? Have you checked for voltage leaks?(I just run my hand along the wires) Are you sure you arent playing with the wrong circuits? Have you moved the flap inside of the AFM across its entire range and checked for ohm holes? There are still some pretty easy things that could be happening. I had a no start because the afm had a pebble stuck in it. (how the pebbles got there... I'll never know, ended up with one holding the egr open too). Good luck with it, Don't let electrons beat you. Joe

Thanks guys. I feel better now. I measured the center to center on the shock towers and am within 1/16th or so. Havent done height yet, since Ive been out in san diego for the past few days. I will definetly be taking it to a frame shop when it goes back together. Thanks again for your thoughts, Joe

As you can tell the car is no longer a roller. Even though i was a mercedes tech, and did chassis and body fabrication, I have never seen a vehicle without wheels on a frame puller. (Ive done some straightening on a frame bench with a bare frame, but never a unibody.) I hesitate to try to straighten it myself. I have a very very bad back, so my entire project is being done at my direction, and not with my own hands. But, frame measurement is not terribly easy on the back, and when it comes to something so critical, I want to be the only one to blame. and I dont have a frame bench... Its great to be spoiled and have every tool you could ever want at your immediate disposal... Until it ends... Ok now I'm just rambling. Have any of you guys had your Z straightened? Any cost ideas? Thanks.

Well... Ive already dropped the front and rear suspension. I guess i will just have to take it to a collision shop for the alignment when its done. Hopefully it wont be too expensive. Palos. The hood is off of it already, the gaps were pretty good. The gaps on the hatch are also good. I checked all the gaps when I bought it and it was acceptable. I dont know exatly what picture you wanted to see. so here are a couple more. I guess its time to bust out the tape and the FSM. fun fun fun.... Joe

some pics.

Hey guys. I have missed all of you. Ive been semi-lurking for a couple weeks. I sold my daily driver (98 buick riviera) about 3 weeks ago. Anuhow, I went out and bought a 1975 280z the next day. I test drove it, noted that it pulled to the right, looked for rust, and found no major issues.. It is amazingly rust free. Even the notorious spots are pretty damn good. Rust wise, it only looks 10 years old, and the parts have all come apart relatively easily. But it seems to have some frame damage. The previous owner of 12 years neglected to mention any major accidents. Even with the damage, I hope it will be ok with just a toe adjustment and a return to a more reasonable ride height. ( car was lowered by cutting stock springs by about 3 inches.) Please see my post about the damage here: http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?p=1037694#post1037694 SO, anyhow, I guess I am welcoming myself back into the fold now. Iv'e missed you guys. ( I'll try not to tear up here). For a little project information, I am waiting on some more funds to do everything right, I have already purchased and/or have on hand the following parts for this build: 1988 355 chevy engine, TBI GM performance heads, performance cam(it's been 5-6 years since i selected the cam for my k2500 towhorse, i remember selecting something that was supposed to work well with TBI injection, It did NOT... I remember the number 225 for some reason.) I bought a weiand manifold to switch over to my holley 750 vac secondary, and my hei distributor setup. I previously built a 327 powered 280Z with a 3.54 rear end, and a t5wc from a 89 trans am. Anyhow I have a Tokico ILK kit on the way, have yet to finish my brake setup, Have all new steering rack, tie rod ends, ball joints, poly master kit, wheel bearings (all the way around), new master cylinder(15/16) will be here soon, new vac booster, and either all new stock brakes, or nearly new toyota non-vented front conversion and 240sx/300zx rear disc conversion. The 355 should tune in at less than 400 hp. The previous 327 came in at over 420 hp (at the crank) I'm about halfway through the project, But with the frame damage i found, i may still be about $1,000-2,000 away from completion. IF I have to purchase adjustable T/C arms and adjustable front LCAs. So take a look at the linked thread and tell me what you think i should do. Even though the body is obviously bent, the lack of rust is ridiculous... SO SO SO very little. Anyways, Hello again guys, Joe

By the way, I think I am trying to marginalize the evident frame damage in my head. I know it looks bad, but i want to believe that everything will be ok.....

picture, driver side headlight bucket to bumper relation.

Hey guys. After a 5 year Hybridz hiatus, fate(and a hankering for some V8 power) has thrown me back into the Hybridz world. Anyhow, I bought a 75 280z about 2 weeks ago. It drove down the road pretty well, it definetly pulled to the right, but not so badly that it wandered around on the highway, the pull only required a very light hold on the wheel, but was sufficient to change lanes in a normal distance on the freeway by just letting go of the wheel at 70mph. I notice that there was definite impact on the passenger side front. The bumper is higher by a half inch or more on the passenger side. Not only that, but the swaybar bolt was bent to about 30* from straight (violently and with a very certain fulcrum). Also, the *right* side valamce panel is gone, and the passenger fender is bent upwards from the bottom. I have some photos of the damage below. The body has very very very little rust. It looks like the stock springs were cut, for about a 3" drop. The tires are all badly worn on the inside, indicating an excessive drop leaving camber uncompensated. ANYHOW, I have a full poly kit for the suspension. I have the tokico ILK suspension kit on the way(should be here monday!). I plan to put new rims and tires, big brakes, rear disk conversion, my built(by my own hands) 355, T5WC. I already have a brand new 280z steering rack and tie rod ends and wheel bearins all around. I am purchasing new ball joints, which will be here soon. Now to the question... I am going to show you guys the pictures that best emphasize the frame damage that is present on the vehicle. I want your opinions, and reccomendations. I am goiung to use your reccomendations and suggestions to guide me in my project timeline. If you feel that i should take the body to a body shop with a frame puller, let me know. If you think that with the new parts, it will be fine with an alignment, let me know. If you think I would be best off buying adjustable tc rods or adjustable front LCAs, let me know. I think that the below damage occured during an accident related to severe understeer. Causing the vehicle to leave the road/ contacting a 7-10" high object on the passenger side front tire. the object would have severely damaged the RF valance(which isw missing) Bent the sway bar bolt, and then would have gone on to bend the passenger side fender upwards. With this impact, the load would have shifted the frame rails towards the driver side, causing the passenger side rails to stretch slighty on one axis, and compress on another axis (separated by mere degrees). this behavior would cause the GAP that you can see on the driver side. Based upon this assumption, I would estimate the speed of the accident to be about 25 mph at the instance of contact (meaning the brakes were fully applied/ locked) So what do you guys think? Start over with a new chassis? Get it straightened? Get parts to adjust for it? Or just see if i can align the toe to compensate for the bend, and pray that the 2" closer to stock ride height will keep everything straight enough? What would you do? Thanks guys. Joe

Oops... That can happen when you have been on Hybridz for hours on end... especially when you start clicking through the similar threads section on the bottom.. wow.. Whats funny is that early this week I resurrected MY OWN 5 year old thread. At least that time I knew what I was doing. Joe

hmmmm... I dont know. But i think its called a Tool... Something.. yes definetly a TOOL ... oh man i cant think of the word. Oh well. But I would be interested in gaining some links from the gentleman in post #14. Or a link to a link. Oh yeah. SHED! ... SHED.. thats the word. Joe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JevDW11ZrF4 Hilarious. CONTAINS FOUL LANGUAGE- Consider yourself warned.

I second the exaust leak idea. I was running a freshly rebuilt 355 in my k2500, towing and hauling at least double what your supposed to.... From wyoming to california... in December... Anyhow, you can see how this story unfolds. Heard what sounded a lifter tick, and since i was going uphill (on the way to slc) and percieved a slight power loss, and knowing that I am at about my 1000 mile lifter adjustment, I ended up doing a valve adjustment on the side of I-80, at night, in a budding snowstorm... wonderful. Turned out to be a exaust leak from the nice new headers. I also lost the rear seal on my getrag 5 speed, while still in wyoming. Didnt figure it out until I was halfway through nevada. Its fun to have to refill your tranny every time you stop for gas. (The Z would never rust again! it was too coated in oil!) I limped the darn thing with NO synchros all the way in 24 road hours. Sheer brutality mixed with a bunch of little rushed engine install type surprises. Wow.. got way off topic there. as far as the ebrake handle problem... wow, are you sure you have correct driveshaft alignment with that diff mount? I know my clearances were more than acceptable, and i had alignment in the + or - 1.5 degree range. (note, my z-build knowledge base hasnt been used in 5 years) Joe

Hmmm, I sense a bit of a jab there... oh well. The 327 is a great setup, I have 3 of them so I may be a bit biased. But to me, power is power. Andif its a small block chevy only your imagination and the depth of your pockets dictate how much power your engine can yield. And how fast it revs, and every aspect of the power curve, are all "easily" manipulated with parts and tuning. So, good choice on the 327, the t5wc shouldnt give you any problems... I got mine out an 89 firebird. I suggest looking up a parts interchange site, or a site dedicated to the T5. it will tell you exactly what you are looking for in the way of donor cars and gear ratios available. I know that this IS going to sound like a jab, but I forgot to mention it in the first post. So please dont be offended. I would suggest that your research begin by going to the forums you are interested in, and reading through the stickies. And of course, the rules here are VERY important. These forums are well policed, and from what i can see the rules are strictly enforced. Best of luck, always glad to see more hybrid z fans, Joe

Welcom to the Forum Jason. This place is a massive wealth of information and knowledge, with some of the brightest minds i have had the pleasure to encounter. That being said the response that i would expect to your question is going to direct you to the search function. I know that when i first joined, i would spend a solid 4-6 hours a day reading posts, reading about builds, reading about all of the problems that are encountered with various swaps, and reading about the best parts to use. I don't know exactly how much you have your heart set on building a hybridz. I can tell you that it is very much a rollercoaster ride of triumph and defeat, that it will consume much much much more of your time and energy (read as cash as well) than you could ever expect. That being said, you can end up with a vehicle that is fast, handles well, and after a lot of tinkering can be cery reliable. If you are not mechanically or technically inclined before you start the project, you certainly will be by the time you finish (if you finish). Ok, now to try to answer your question. You need to decide what smog restrictions you have in your area, or any areas you may be moving to soon. It is much easier to deal with a smog exempt vehicle. I live in california, so for Hybridz #2, I bought a smog exempt 1975 280Z. As far as the transmission, as far as I know, I have zero actual experience with the richmonds. I dont know how you plan to use your car. If you want a daily driver, you can use something like a t-56, or a t-5wc, and save a great deal of dough ( you're going to need it). I ran a t5 WC, and it is perfect for me, and my little 327 could put out very impressive power. As for the clutches, again i dont know what you plan to use the car for. So i cant possibly answer your question. Anyhow, I hope that I have illustrated the importance of doing your homework, because without precise questions, there can be no precise answers. Best of luck to you Jason, Remember to rest your eyes for about 10 minutes every hour, you'll be able to read for a lot longer that way. Joe