Phantom

Here is what I am beginning to see. With the original proportionoing valve removed - both halves of the master cylinder would be providing fluid to both ends of the car equally. True? If that is the case then putting an APR in the rear line would then allow adjusting out any excessive rear bias. If the car is majorly front biased at that point then the sloution isn't an APR in the front line but a caliper upgrade on the rear? Thoughts?

1977 280Z with 1981 280Zx master cylinder, !2.2" rotors with Willwood forged Superlights in the front and 300ZX rotors with 240SX calipers in the rear. Car currently does not have an adjustable proportioning valve installed and braking is siginificantly front biased. I purchased a valve which I assumed needs to go into the front brake line but where exactly? With the 280ZX master cylinder it is like having two piistons -right? - the rear one supplies fluid to the front brakes and the front one to the rear brakes? Since they are mounted on the same shaft will the propotioning vavle installed in the front brake line squeezing down on the oil supplied to it also reduce the oil going to the rear because it will limit the movement of the piston? - or does it cause a pressure increase that backfeeds the rear brakes and allows less oil (pressure) on the fronts for a higher given oil pressure on the rear? I'm being told that I need two valves and I just don't buy that. Need some input from the braking guru's here. In reading some threads on the subject I've seen that most of the valves have been installed in the rear line - with the stock valve gutted? since the existing front brakes are significaltly stronger than the rear is still the case? by gutting the stock proportioning valve does that allow both cylinders to provide oil to both front & rear and then you use the rear mounted adjustable vavle to dial the rear down a bit? I'm really in unfamiliar territory here and need some guidance. Thanks guys!

Been a while since I posted anything on the car. It's been back in the shop for several items. 1) Passenger side exhaust pipe and header came apart - bolts worked loose and nuts fell off. Got kind of loud. 2) Had gas tank repaired - interior guy ran some sheet metal screws through it in three places. The bad news is that the custom formed vent hoses are no longer available.The good news is that the original 28 year old hoses are still in good shape - no cracks and still flexible. Other good news is that the repair went fine - no explosions - and the inside of the tank looked like it was brand new. 3) THe AC unit now holds easily to 95+ degrees. All the insulation that went in with the new interior has had a significant impact. Guess the 280Z AC's are good enough - it's just that the car isn't insulated well enough. 4) Adjustable proportioning valve going in - hopefully that will be done this week. Really need the brakes working right if I'm going to the track. 5) KYB's have blown in the rear - both are leaking oil after about 60,000 miles of service. Is that normal? I thought they'd last longer than that. Thinking about replacing them with Tokico Illuminas but there is a huge price difference. Not sure if it will be worth it to me.

David, I understand your decision. I had to make the same one. Difference was I was told 6-8 weeks and it took 11 months! Bill

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Depends on the springs. A coil over set-up will allow that to work fine with maybe a larger positive offset. Wheel will clear the assembly. If you are at stock diameter springs you may be limited on tire width. 7" wide wheels with +5-8mm offset will work fine for up to 225 width but not lowered. Lowered, that extra 1/2" of wheel will probably limit you to a 215 because it moves the tire centerline back out 6+ mm.

I did a lot of the same research. YOu will have to have one-off custom headers made. The big negative to long-tube headers is road clearance. The way the LS-1 fits into the Z the collector ends up being under the car and reduces road clearance significantly.

Well - at least his wife is! He and his wife have been working at expanding their family for some time now and have had to go to extreme measure for it to happen. Their perserverance and faith have paid off in TWINS!! Congratulations guys - hope you don't mind me stealing your thunder a bit and sharing the wonderful news with this group.

Dave, When will it hit my mailbox!!?? I always look forward to the issues. I know it wasn't there yesterday. Will I find it there when I get home today? Is it there yet? Is it there yet?

Looks much like my mounting. Two pics in my photo album. It should work well for you.

I saw used (about 45K miles) Japanese Z32TT engines & transmissions for sale for around $3,500 total the other day. That would have to hold the conversion cost down a bit. Should have some local Japanese engine retailer in the area - we have them here in the DFW area - and he might have install capability too.

Did anyone point out the the things under the little white covers on the passenger side are called fusible links? They are "funny little wire things" that melt through when the current is too high - just like a fuse. Sounds like you have a short somewhere.

Dudes! - it's California - it's $1,200 for the car and $11,000 for the chunk of land it's parked on! Based on this information though I now know my 280Z has to be worht at least $75,000. Too bad about you 240 & ZX guys.

Pick up a copy of Sport Z Magazine. there is a Canadian outfit that advertises subframes and floor pans for the S30's in there.

The 4-point Autopower roll bar that MSA sells ties into the rear fender wells. Combined with the http://www.racetep.com multi-point strut tower braces fore & aft the 280Z definitely stiffer. I don't think the combo would be stiff enough for a 240Z, though.

Back to the original question which was about a 280Z - but you really have a 240Z? One thing about building what you are building is attention to detail. If you are not exact in what you do with what you are planning to do you'll end up dead - period. A 240Z chassis is not as rigid as a 280Z. I'm running 365 HP in my 280Z with just a 4-point roll bar and strut tower braces. It is proabably good for more but, at around 30 years old, these cars have done a lot of flexing and some of the spot welds have probably given up. A 240Z will require additional reinforcement. It costs $15 to run at an NHRA track in Texas - all night long. It's safe, you get lots of friendly competition - and you get time slips to back up your bragging rights. Why would you want to participate in illegal street racing? Personally, I really don't give a %^*( if you kill yourself but I do care about the innocent driver in another car or a pedestrian that stumbles into it that gets killed or maimed for life. Keep it off the highway and on the track where it belongs.

I just love the funny look I get when I tell someone it's a Datsun. "A what??"

So guys -what did you end up with for ground clearance once you got doe? That has always been my big concern over 2 1/2".

I have been dealing with MSA for about 10 years now and have never had a service problem. They've always shipped exactly what I've ordered and it delivered in a reasonable time. Products I've gotten from them include their S30 Aero II grond effects kit, the window mount Sentra mirror kit, a "turbo" muffler, a complete rubber seal kit, a complete set of urethane bushings for suspension and steering rack, the Nissan european spec springs, a ZX master cylinder, a console cover with double cup holders (got to have cup holders, don't you know!), the outer lower window seals for the door, and probably other things that I can't think of so far. Every time I've callled they've been courteous and knowledgable. If I'm the "exception" then I certainly will be glad to reamin so.

Thermostat housing comes with three sensors on the "standard" NA L28. A single 1-wire sensor for your instrument cluster engine temp gauge plus two 2-wire sensors. One is the "engine temperature" sensor which feeds info back to the ECU to affect duration of fuel pulse (cold = long, rich). Other is the "thermotine switch" which fires the cold start injector in the intake manifold.

Hey Canyon County (2/C) guy - Go to my album and take a look at the custom leather interior I just finished putting in my 280Z28.

I use Meguiars products on my car. They have a leather cleaner & conditioner and a leather conditioner. I won't claim they're the best but they work well for me and the leather looks and smells good afterwards.

Put the car up on ramps this afternoon. So much for my ears being able to tell what is going on. The two bolts holding the exhaust to the header on the drivers side were snug. I gave them a few good pulls to tighten them more and then went to the passenger side. I really wish the problem had been the drivers side - much easier to access. The passenger side has three nut/bolt combinations holding the exhaust to the exhaust. Two of the nuts were completely gone and the third one was starting to loosen. That would explaint the rattling sound I've been hearing for a while - loose bolts. Was able to get a nut on one of the bolts and get it good and tight as well as the one nut that was still there. Unfortunately the third one will require two masters of contortion - one from the top and the other from the bottom to get them in. Guess I'll be driving on two nuts for a while. (Leave that one alone guys!) While I was under the car I also notice that the 02 sensor on the passenger side was loose. That might explain the dark tailpipe color and the slight reduction in fuel economy as it was loose enough to allow leakage..

Well, I've wondered what the first thing would be and it apparently is the drivers side exhaust. Car suddenly got a lot more gutteral today. Well, with the new 500 watt stereo today was the first time I heard it. Left it running when I got back to work and it sounds very much like the header and exhaust are starting to part company. Hopefully will be an easy fix but it will be a trip to the ramps tomorrow after it's well cooled down. Hopefully it's nothing more serious.

Or should I call it a howl? I'm assuming that it is the differential becasue it it's pitch is directly proportional to speed, not engine rpm. Also becasue adding oil affected it some. 1993 300ZX. Stock drivetrain, automatic transmission which was factory rebuilt about 30,000 miles ago. 105,000 miles total on the car. Differential has started to whine - louder & louder - VERY apparent from 40-65 mph. Backed the car up on ramps and pulled the plug. Fluid felt like it was about 1" below the plug so "filled it up". I was pretty focused on the oil thing so didn't try to check driveshaft input or half-shaft outputs for any kind of movement. There were no obvious indications of fluid leakage. Whine is still there but not as loud now. Goes away at above 90 mph but that's not too practical for school zones, etc. Sounds like I may be in the market for a new diferential? Any suggestions?