Phantom

Turns out there is an old guy with a clock repair shop in Cle Elum, WA - about 60 miles from here - that does repairs on automobile clocks as well as cuckoo clocks, regulator clocks, etc. Now all I have to do is get it to him and then get it back from him. The issue is that he is only open from 9-4 Tuesday-Friday.

You're definitely taking the right approach. My 280Z has a '98 Camaro LS1 in it. It was the lowest rated HP engine and has different heads/valve covers than the later cars. FWIW though the car makes 325 RWHP and is totally stock except for the JCI Sanderson headers and a K&N intake. TTT makes great stuff. I have some of their suspension stuff and am impressed with the quality. I'm running an R200 LSD which has proven to be plenty for a stock '98 LS1. The R230 with CV's will be a nice upgrade. I thought about an R230 upgrade but I have a torque tube set-up between my T56 and the R200 and I'm concerned the change could become really complicated. Since my car is primarily a daily driver it has endured pretty well over the past 13 years and 34,000 miles.

Got the gauges back to the shop today but ended up keeping the clock to somehow track down someone that can repair. Small town so not a lot of options. I'm hoping for a lead from the technical institute in town. Still 3rd in the que at ZLEDslights. Fired Samuel an email Saturday but have had no reply at this point. At this point I'll be missing the hillclimb at Maryhill Loop this next weekend. Car is still in many pieces and it's just not going to happen. Disappointing. Now I'm beginning to wonder if I'll be back together in time for the NW Datsun meet in Canby, OR in June.

Well, the progress bar at ZLEDslights indicates I'm still #3 in the que but I've gone from purple to blue so i guess that is progress. Spent about 3 hours this weekend on the gauges. Got the white face stickers on them even though one really didn't want to disassemble. Ended up using some needle nosed vice grips to get the screws out as the heads wanted to strip. Went back together a lot easier with the help of a little WD-40. Also used some fluorescent orange fingernail polish on the needles to get the contrast against the white face and some Meguiars plastic headlight restore to clean up the lenses over the gauges. Some of them were pretty nasty but not any more! Thanks to 19762802+2 for his advice over in the interior forum. I think I got my speedo & tach needles back where they belong. The thing that caugt meow guard is the slope of the lenses on the three small gauges. I got them apart and then realized there was a right and wrong way to reassemble to the housing. Fortunately the little locating buttons on the back of the lens rings did a good, and consistent, job of indication the way they should go.

Excellent documentation of bringing a Z back to life. You obviously know your stuff. I'm sure the original owner would be happy to know the car is being so well cared for. After you get everything fixed you'll find the car to be a joy to drive and also be very reliable with a minimum of attention. Enjoy!

I'll second NewZed. I would add to get a 5-spd out of an 82/83 280ZX as it has the best set of gear ratios in it to go with the 3.90:1 R200. The others will work but won't be as optimal. The other thing you might consider is the head and cam out of an 82/83ZX since you already have yours off. They had a broader torque range than what you have in your 280Z. Not sure about the exhaust ports matching though. Been a very long time since I last looked at that.

I'll probably use a small nail puller. Looks like a screwdriver with a split blade that is bent at about 30•.

Thanks for the additional info!

I can only second what LLave has expressed. I've been following Mike Kelly posts for over 12 years now, including that period of time he went dark on us , and have learned a lot. There's that old saying: "If you can't say something good, don't say anything at all." Wise words.

19762802+2 - Thanks for the good description. I'm just getting ready to do this on my '77 280Z and what you said is VERY helpful.

Got a call from the shop today. They are freaking out over the difficulty of installing the white faced conversion on the gauges along with new light bulbs. Concerns about rusted screws and bubbles under the white-faced material. I'll be going there tomorrow to pick up the gauges and do it myself. Kind of thought I should be the one doing it anyway as I'll take the time to be patient and do it right. Oh well. No additional word from ZLEDslights about the LED conversion. He has my money and his status board indicates progress but I'm getting a bit antsy after 3 weeks.

rturbo930 - What makes you think it's a 280Z? The tail lights are 240Z. Hood does not say 280Z. Gas cap cover has a hole in it for the hardware that a 240Z gas cap cover has. Front spoiler has a cut-out in it for a 240Z style turn signal. Not being difficult - I evidently am missing something. Educate me.

I'm using a GM part #15033924

Look at www.zcarparts.com It looks like one of their air dams.

Good to hear Gary. Had to take a poke at you. Been waiting over 10 years to get some behind the wheel feedback on that beauty.

Get on www.Ratsun.net and look around. I've seen a few on there recently for decent prices.

Get on www.Ratsun.net. I've seen several good ones on there recently for less than $1500.

I have one but it would cost you $35K. You can see it in the members section

So the guys in Florida are all Cars & Coffee types? Or do you find a few down there actually willing to thrash their ride a bit? Somehow I don't see that 280Z06 on a track.

Got some good news today. The "auto cosmetologist" was able to repair the cracks i the dash so it's all pretty again and the heater control valve is plumbed back in with the new hoses and hose clamps. The OBDII connector is still AWOL. It just doesn't want to be found. Once it's located the gauges and new dash bulbs can go back into the dash and the dash can be put back into the car. Also hoping to get the clock repaired so it works. That would be nice as it hasn't run in about 18 years. ZLEDslights website is showing my lights in "manufacture" now. That is supposed to be complete in about 10 days and then they should get installed into the lenses and tested prior to shipping back up here. At this point that is the long lead item as everything else is here and ready to install as soon as the shop decides they want to work on the car. Car also still needs the adjustable proportioning valve, the new center console, and the HID headlights done too.

It seems like the technique to employ is to move the car to a new shop as soon as the existing shop slows down on it. You should have a lot of shops down there that you could rotate through. Just need to find them and get them into the rotation.

Check this out: http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/105054-replica-240z/ You can also get Bad dog frame rails, new floor pans, etc and weld it back together. I do like the idea of the full frame and then dropping the body on it. I actually approached the guy in the above referenced link about doing that. I figured that would allow for a lot more flexibility in suspension and drivetrains if you could modify a frame to mount the stuff rather than having to use stock S30 mounting points.

I think your best approach might be to 3-D print them. Then you just need the program and a good sized 3-D printer. Assuming that the flares aren't universal from corner to corner but are individually shaped you would need four injection molds or one VERY large one. Using aluminum which is more cost effective for short runs the tooling would probably cost you around $10K/mold. One large one would maybe be $35K but then you'd need a very large machine to run it. Then you have to figure out which polymer is going to work best. Polyethylene is inexpensive, crack resistant and somewhat flexible but soft so it scratches very easily and also is difficult to paint. ABS is a common application here but not real forgiving. A good injection molding house could probably point you at a good material and also to a good prototype mold maker. Lots of those guys around.

Portland, huh. What kind of racing are you into?

I understand your pain. I'm getting pretty frustrated myself and it's only been about 6 weeks with my car. In the last three weeks they have gotten absolutely nothing done with it. 3 years and I'd be going postal.