Phantom

Isn't NO primarily controlled by the catalytic converter? With 215K on the engine the converter could be all cruded up and non-functional. That would certaily be an easy fix.

I'm running Kumhos on both my Z's. Both are W speed rated and both cost less than $400 out the door for a full set, I'm running 16", however, which are a bit more expensive than the 14/15's.

Actually - I really like the Chevy V-8 flags on the hood. Some subtle advertising there?

Went to a men's breakfast at church Saturday morning and then out skeet shooting with them with my century old double-barrel 28 gauge shotgun. The next day, fathers day, my wife gave me a new Remington model 870 20 gauge pump action shotgun. The muskrats in the pond are in real trouble now!

14" wheels stock, 15" available from the 280ZX will work also. Either one will give you decent performance at very affordable prices. You can spend some cash and upgrade to 16" or 17" wheels & tires but then you start complicating things and the cost of the tires starts going up. many tires available. Kumhos are probably the least expensive all 'round tire that gives decent performance & treadlife. It all depends on what you are planning to do with the car. If you want to compete it regularly then you need to go with a street legal competition tire. Several companies make those. I'd suggest getting on www.tirerack.com and looking at options. Also search this site for threads on tires.

Not only do you need to ensure it warms all the way up but i'd also watch to see how long it takes. If it takes very only - more than a couple miles of driving, I would replace the thermostat.

Had the same problem with my LS1. Thermostat was stuck partly open so the car didn't fully warm up driving it back & forth a short distance to work in cold weather. Just got hot enough to evaporate the moisture in the block and have it condense in the fill tube. Once I changed the thermostat the problem went away.

Yes, it has the 4.2 V8. No good idea on mileage yet as we're still on the first tank of gas and I won't get a true reading until I fill up and set a baseline that I can use to figure it on the second tank. I'm out so far on the MMI. I see some pros in it but it still appears overly complicated. I'm taking it to the dealer I bought it from tomorrow to get some training in the system. Not sure when I'll get to the pics. My schedule is a bit overwhelming right now.

Yeah - I had a similar experience with my wife with me with a guy in a Stage 3 neon. I will admit he had an excellent sense of humor about having it handed to him by an old couple in an old Z.

Yeah but ride would be a little rough with those tie downs on the tires.

I was on my way to work this morning working my way through traffic at a very legal 60 mph when a young guy in a Scion TC decided to cut it loose and smoke the old Z. After all, he had a really pretty fart can that gave him a lot more power. Had to ease it up to 2,000 in 6th to come along side him. 'Course by then I was in 4th turning about 4,000. Amazing how much response an LS1 has at 4,000 RPM Needless to say a Scion driver has a little more respect for the old Z. Sure glad the local gendarmes weren't staked out this morning.

Good balance is the key and is why I went for the LS1. It's running 390 totally stock HP with a torque curve that makes 90%+ of full torque from 1,700 to 5,500 RPM. It has the classic V8 rumble at idle and up to about 3,000 RPM. Once it passes 4,500 to the 6,200 redline (remember-totally stock) it lets out a scream that drowns out the local turbo cars. But then true balance also includes braking and handling. The aluminum block V8 is lighter than the L28 and sits lower and further back. Except for the accessories the engine is behind the front axle. Top that off with upgraded springs, struts, strut tower braces, and upgraded front and rear disk brakes and we're talking true balance.

Finally got the A8L home Saturday, May 31st. It is a beauty. Absolutely immaculate. Folks think it's a brand new one when they first see it. Wife refers to it as a space shuttle because of all the electronics and the red back-lighting on the dash. The car has a 410 page owners manual that frequently refers to the 240 page MMI (computer) manual. It is a bit daunting. I need to get it out without her to test out the functionality of the paddle shifters. Always wanted paddle shifters although I thought they might be in a car that weighs less than 4,200 lbs - and that's with an aluminum body AND an aluminum frame. Still haven't taken any pictures of it - been too busy with estate projects. One thing I know for sure - I'm amazed that there aren't more of these cars out there. Mercedes & BMW have nothing on this car and I personally like the styling better than the S class of the 7 series.

Pete - me good guy - me no swear at all! Can I stay around?

Cars can be bought and sold to make money. It's all in what you start/end with and the perceived value to buyers. I know a guy who buys & sells Z cars all the time for profit. He doesn't, however, build them. I have around $35k in mine. If I purchased a new car the way mine is equipped in 1992 for $35k it would be worth less than mine is worth now. I bought and built the car not to resell but to be my daily driver. It has done that admirably and that is how I have gotten my money's worth out of it.

If you want tempestuous you probalby want Irish - How about Maureen as in Maureen O'Hara?

Check my photo album. Car has a full Katzkin leather interior - seats, A pillars, head liner, rear strut towers and a high end house carpet with sound deadening throughout. Stereo is all Alpine - head unit, 6 1/2" speakers in the doors complimented by 1" soft dome tweeters in the A pillars, 5 1/4" speakers in the stock speaker locations, and a 10" subwoofer in a custom enclosure in the back. 500 watt RMS amplifier, 6 disc CD changer, and a full 1 farad capacitor.

See signature - my daily driver.

Original prototype car ('77 280Z) for JCI LSX conversion. You want it? - $30K PM or email if you're really interested and I can give you additional details on the suspension, brakes, interior, sound system, etc. This car has a one-off modified torque tube design rather than a rear transmission mount.

JSM, Having gone through the initial driving phase of two sons I'd really recommend against letting your son drive a 280Z for his first car. It has no side impact, no air bags, the structure is not designed to force the engine to go underneath the driver in a frontal impact. Bottom line - It's not safe enough for a novice driver. I learned from my first son who was in a 10 car pile-up (not his fault - he was in the middle of the pack and got stopped in time only to get rear-ended and driven into the car in from of him). He was in an '83 Sentra and it was accordianed. The only spot in the car that wasn't crushed was the drivers seat area but he was still buggered up. I put the younger son in a Bronco II which he totalled at 30 mph on a rain slick street. In that one, though, no one was hurt. Buy him an old truck or SUV until he gets some experience and use the 280Z as a father-son project as he's learning to survive on the streets. He'll have a better understanding of the car and more survival instincts to keep him on planet earth if he gets it a year or two after he starts driving.

The key here would be to identify how much "I don't have the most money in the world,..." really equates out to. All these options cost and it only goes up depending how much of the work you can do yourself. The problem with an HP upgrade is then you need to look at chassis strengthening, suspension, brakes, etc., to keep a balanced car. If you can put a range on what you can spend then you'll get much better advice.

T-56 with .50/1 OD, 3.70 LSD and 215/55-16 tires. Car is geared for 240 MPH at 6,000 RPM. Top speed limited by driver courage to 130. MSA Aero II kit had it solid to road at that speed. As they say in aviation - "There are old pilots & there are bold pilots but there are no old, bold pilots".

Working on my sprinkler system in my yard - multiple heads need to be replaced out of the 100 or so installed. Also need to be making runs hauling away trash the PO accumulated. Beautiful place and he turned a couple areas of it into dumps that I now have to reclaim.

If I remember right this was one of the considerations discussed when JCI was using my car to prototype their components. I did not want to sacrifice daily drivability so we stuck with the shorty style headers. The long tubes would have ended up under the car and significantly reducing ground clearance. If you're planning a track only car you can probably pull it off.

Basic requirements is power from your battery to run the little motor in the CableX box, input from the electronic pickup in the transmission, and a ground. Don't understand the coil requirement unless somehow the hook-up instructions for the speedometer have been confused with the tachometer.