m1ghtymaxXx

I too would like to buy a set. Any word on availability?

Curious to see how this comes along and what you do for injector ports, but more importantly, does the intake in your Avatar have an L6 valve cover for a plenum?

Rather than start a new topic, could anyone tell me the thread size and pitch of the L-series transmission bolts? (my car/engine is stored out of town, and I'm going up with a engine stand and need to bring some bolts to mount it.)

I'll be building a 3" exhaust shortly and need some bends. He has nothing for sale currently. hopefully not out of business...

I'm in for more info as well. I was going to swap my L28ET into my 77 over winter, but I decided against it to keep the car in E-stock for next autocross season. This means anything I can do to squeeze a bit of power of out the stock motor withouth spending too much money on anything that can't be used on the 83 L28et. A wide band is on my shopping list. Besides advancing ignition timing, I'm not too sure what my options are. skirkland, is BRAAP's sticky in a different forum, or is it no longer stickied?

A lot of talk here about street and drag strip, anyone have any insight on this combo for autocross? I'll be swapping an L28ET into my 77 this winter, and I planning on swapping in my 3.90 and trans from my old (now parts car) 83 280ZX NA. The 83 got a lot of autocross use, and I found my 2nd gear near perfect for autocross speeds (~30-110 km/h). However I'm also now running shorter wheels (currently 205/45 lightly stretched on 16x8's vs the old 225/60 stretched the other way on the stock 14x6's)

My new-to-me 77 280z came with a good knock from the right rear. I finally got it up in the air and found that there's a fair bit of play (~2 degrees or so). I presume this is the typical spider pin failure, but does this typical only effect one side? I haven't checked for shavings in the oil, but the car does have a noticeable gear one, though I haven't been able to narrow it down to the diff, as the trans also makes a noise (best described as "clackity, noticeable when driving next to park cars/barriers/walls etc. in any gear and neutral, goes away when clutching in). Anyways, my concern is whether or not this is likely to end catastrophically at autocross tomorrow. I have a spare 3.54 and 3.90 kicking around, so it will be replaced this winter. Just wondering if it would be wise to make the most of the remaining few weeks of decent weather, or if this is a ticking time bomb! Thanks!

I too have a set (83 2+2 in tan) I'm looking to sell.

Looks very promising, but hard to see the final product in those pictures. Though I've traded my S130 for an S30, I'm quite interested in seeing how that all worked out.

I did this last spring and was astounded at how easy it is. At first I spent an hour or so chiseling away and maybe scraped a square foot off and it still left quite a mess. Then I went back at it and maybe used a pound a dry ice total (muuuuuuuch less than you have in your pics) and it took a couple good smacks of a hammer and it all lifted in dinner plate size pieces. There really is no other way.

Well it looks like you have a 280ZX alternator installed and you ordered a 280Z unit. Return the one you bought and get a 81-83 280ZX alternator and install the reverse of removal. You should check to make sure the car was properly converted to an internal voltage regulator as shown here: http://atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/alternatorswap/index.html

I recently bought a 77 280Z and it's just about ready to hit the road. I just noticed last night that it won't route air to the defrost vents. The fan blows fine, but switching to the defrost setting doesn't seem to do anything. I have yet to take a closer look or go through FSM, but I figured I'd start gathering some advice. My guess it a linkage is broken, but that's only a guess. In the mean time I've got some Rain-X antifog, but I'm not sure how effective it is.

Delete

Delete

It was the rear line coming out of the master cylinder to the pressure switch. I pulled it out and the flares looked fine to me, so I put it back in hoping maybe it wasn't seated properly. Sure enough it went from a gushing leak to a very slight drip at full brake pressure with the engine(booster) running. At this point I think the car would be fine to move, but I'd be weary about driving it great distances. I measured the old line at 12-3/4", and went out and got a 12" length of line (next up was 20"). I think I can make up the extra 3/4" with less bends, but I was also thinking of adding an extra compression fitting to the master cylinder to make up a bit of length. Another issue I forgot to mention; The booster push rod seemed seized to it's shaft. There's no rust or anything, but for the life of me I could not turn it using vice grips on the splines (I can't remove the rod from the booster can I?). To the best of my ability I measure the rod to be about 1mm short of the master cylinder piston, which is pretty dame close to perfect isn't it? Despite the leak and only 3 corners bled, the pedal felt fairly firm, and I did not notice any dragging.

So bled the Wilwood as shown in Miles' picture, and it seemed to work just fine, with a few additional details. Simply pumping the piston only pushed bubbles back and forth in the tube, so I closed the bleeder valve when releasing the piston, as you would bleeding a brake system. For a laugh I tried reversing the flow (closing the bleeder when pushing the piston in) to ensure no air came through the other way. Also I after all the air was out, I tilted, shook, and tapped the cylinder to try and free any air. I did this twice. Unfortunately bleeding the system didn't go quite so smooth. After the rears bled astonishingly easy (the old fashion way), I found there was a massive leak somewhere beneath the master cylinder, on the rear circuit. At this point it was late at night and I was working on my driveway with a flashlight and called it a night. My suspicion is that leak is coming from the "pressure differential sensor". I would guess most likely a worn fitting or flare, but it is there any harm in bypassing the sensor all together if it makes for an easier repair? No brake light was coming on on the dash. Just as a background, I bought the car recently and have yet to drive it. I was told by the previous owner that it had a leak at the right front wheel (which I noticed briefly on my lunch brake today), but to my suprise it has a much more serious leak on the left somewhere near the m/c. It seems that has been leaking for a while as all the paint has been eaten from the inside of the frame rail and t/c bucket. Thankfully the factory primer seems quite resistant to brake fluid, as the paint is gone, but the white primer beneath seems perfectly intact, and no rust! To finish on a question, there were shockingly few to no bubbles when bleeding the system after installing the master cylinder. Is this normal, or could one of the leaks actually be releasing all the air without drawing any in?

I finally got my Wilwood MC, and went to install it last night before realizing I didn't have the barbed fittings to bench bleed it. I've never bench bled a master cylinder before, and found conflicting reports on the procedure. Most tutorials I encountered simply said to run a length tube from the outlets to into the reservoir, fill the reservoir and pump the piston until no more bubbles are seen. I assume the open end of hose should not be submerged in the fluid in the reservoir? Some tutorials said not to run the tubes back into the reservoir, but into a container to expel any debris, and some reports said to to pinch off the lines when releasing the cylinder. I also picked up a cheap vacuum bleeder, is this any use for bleeding master cylinders, or does the piston need to be pumping for this to work? Lastly, I was thinking I would vacuum bleed the lines before installing the master cylinder. Am I correct in thinking this is a useful step, or is this just a waste of time and brake fluid? Could anyone clarify what the proper procedure to bench bleed a master cylinder is, and answers to the other 2 questions would be greatly appreciated!

Spectacular build! Might I ask where you got the coilover "adapters"? I recently bought a 77 to replace my 83 S130 that succumbed to rust. The 83 was on Megan S13 coilovers which I intend to adapt to the the S30. I assume you used 240Z struts, or do those threaded tubes allow for the larger 280Z strut tubes?

Well the 82-83 cylinder certainly uses the horizontal bolt pattern as opposed to the vertical in S30s. I think an adapter could be made fairly easily that rather than being a "+" shape like factory, would be be "I" shape with holes to fit the booster and studs "inside" the holes to mount the master (hopefully you can visualize that). Of course someone would need to confirm it also uses the 15/16" piston or bigger. Anyways I've already got the Wilwood unit on order, but since I have the 83 cylinder, I think I'll take it apart and see for myself when I have time. If someone has the necessary machining equipment, or hookups, I suppose a run of adapters could be cut to open up the possibilities for master cylinder upgrades. Especially with everyone hunting for 83 turbo donor cars. Not sure I fully understand, but you've mounted the the master cylinder to the same studs that mount the booster (servo = brake booster?) to the firewall, and cut down the booster pushrod to compensate for the missing "+" shaped adapter?

^ I just came to post a similar question. I have one on order just as a stock replacement for now. I planned on doing the Toyota brake upgrade right away, but I don't think funds will allow for it until winter, so it will be pumping the stock front disks and rear drums on my 77. I assume it will make for a pretty stiff pedal, but I was just confirming that I should remove the front check valve and leave the rear.

Good story. I took much of the same route 2 years ago bringing somebody else's 1 Chevy dually from San Francisco to Winnipeg. The Beartooth pass is definitely a must-drive road, made even better since I had no idea what I was in for when I chose the logical exit out of the Yellowstone. Even driving the damn diesel locomotive was a fun. To its merit it has gobs of torque, stiff springs, lots of tire on the ground and a hell of a track width However driving the switchbacks involved putting the outside front wheel on the shoulder while the inside rear encroaches nervously into the oncoming lane. Anyways, good luck with your project!

For what car?

I've read up on the early ZX and Willwood m/c's, it's just that I have a good 83 cylinder. Even if it wasn't an upgrade it would knock one thing off the to-do list. If it's a pattern issue, could it be resolved by slotting the holes like the Wilwood, or is it a horizontal vs. vertical bolt pattern issue? I should be able to get the 83 next week to actually compare. Of course there's always the issue of whether or not the one in the car is bad or not. I'm only assuming it is based off a few posts on this forum saying the sludge in the reservoir is what's left of the seals. I suppose it couldn't hurt to pull it off and take it apart and find out for certain. If it needs to be replaced I'll go for one of the upgrade options.

I picked up my first S30 yesterday, a very nice condition all original 77, however it sat for a while and has a few issues, primarily the brakes. The previous owner warned of a brake leak, but wasn't sure where, until he moved it and there was a puddle of fluid by the front passenger wheel. When I got it home, the brakes went straight to the floor, as expected the reservoir was dry...sort of, there was a fair amount of dark rusty coloured sludge. A search here seems to indicated that is good sign the seals in the m/c have been eaten, so that brings me to my main question; I've been reading up the Silvermine/Toyota brake upgrade. It recommends using the the 79-81 15/16" master cylinder, or modifying the 1" Wilwood. I never heard any mention of the using the 82-83, one of which I have in good condition as I only bought the 77 because I pulled the plug midway through an extensive restoration/turbo swap of my 83 due to rot. Anyways, is the 82-83 not used because it's too small? or does it just not come close to fitting? Even if it's not big enough to pressurize the Toyota brakes, it would be nice to have a known good cylinder to build some pressure in the lines to flush out any more sludge and further diagnose issues with the stock brakes. With that said, should I be using anything other than brake fluid to flush the brake lines? Is there something a little more aggressive for clearing them out? Currently I was thinking I'd just blast the lines with compressed air and run a jug of fluid through them.

I think he means to the back side/inside of the cardboard