rickl750

How about booty calls!!

Hi Guys, Thank you for all your suggestions. Btw, I should have mentioned that I have a 1978 280Z and I think it might be slightly different than older Zs. The pictures in the manuals don't resemble what I have. I was able to remove the driver's side drum and have attached a couple of pictures. The first pic shows the piston but no starwheel and the 2nd pic has a wheel behind the piston (circled in red) and that's for adjusting the hand brake and can't be accessed thru the front, it does have an access hole in the back but very difficult to reach the wheel. Anyway, I worked on the passenger’s side without luck, I guess I'll try again tomorrow I ran out of light. Thanks again, Rick

Hi Guys, My rear brakes are grinding really bad and after ordering all the parts required to do a complete overhaul I ran into a problem. Today I started to take things apart and I can't remove the old drums, it appears there's no starwheel. I have looked at both sides and had a friend take a look and we can't find one. Could the previous owner have left them out? If so how do I remove the drums? Thanks, for your help. Rick

Well, since Yuki Komiya's Z color is not available then it looks like the choice is clear. I vote for Interlagos blue don't you agree?

I love this blue but have never been able to find the name of it. I'm assuming it was custom.

I think I've given up on the blue but still considering the silver and red. My issue is that I see allot of nice reds but can't find the code or name. Here's one that I'm considering. If anybody has any reds I should look at please feel free to show me. Thanks

If you deside to change the lights I'll buy the old ones from you.

Hi guys, I’m about finished with the body work on my 1978 280Z 2+2 and I’m loosing sleep over what color to paint her. Guys, I need your help in choosing a color, I’ve posted three pictures of the colors I’m considering and most likely I will go with racing stripes in a dark gray like graphite except on the silver/gray, I’ll use white or a lighter shade of the same color. Thanks, Rick

Ok, she's now running fairly well. I found a clog in one of the vacuum connections and I replaced the water tempature sensor. She is still moking, not as much as before never the less still smoking. I've adjusted the timming without much improvement. Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks, Rick

Ok, I've replaced every vacuum line and still having the same issue. As for the Auxiliary Air Regulator I'm not sure how to check. I've gone thru a couple of books but no instructions on how to do this. Thanks, Rick

Yes, I mean Air Flow Meter. http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/CTGY/SFC03A Thanks, Rick

Hi Guys, I checked the throttle valve switch and it looks fine. Since I don't have a volt meter I tested it manually as indicated on the atlanticZ website http://www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/tps/index.html Having said that I found something curious, when I start the engine it takes about 15sec before she starts smoking and idleling rough. I took the clamp of the boot between the air flow meter and the throttle body and started the engine, just as it started to run rough I separated the boot from the air flow meter to allow additional air in and the engine smooth out the smoke almost completely disappeared. I checked the connector and it is fine (not coroded/broken). The air flow meter is new, I just replaced it because the old one would act up once in a while. At this point I've done the same test with the old and new air flow meter with the same results. So I'm assuming that there's an issue with air flow, but I'm not to sure how to proceed. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Rick

Hi Guys, I have a 1978 280Z 2+2 L28 stock with automatic transmission. I’m back with more problems. On the last episode I had finished replacing my head gasket and after a few issues (rough idle, gray smoke, etc) she started running fine. Now a few days later I’m having issues again, she’s running rough, can’t really idle on her own, gray smoke out of the tail pipe. So far I’ve replaced the wires, plugs, cap and rotor, checket the vacuum lines and the timing. I’ve done a lot of searches and tried what was suggested without luck. I’m not sure what else to do at this point, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Rick

Roody3, Check your head with a straight edge and once you disassemble take a close look at where the damage on the gasket is. In my case the head was fine the issue was the gasket. I clean both surfaces very well and put it back together. I'll be doing a complete rebuild sometime this year that's why I didn’t do a head rebuilt. Think about you situation and go from there. Hope this helps. Rick

Ok, she smoked allot for about an hour and then cleared up. She’s good now, running a little rough and I’m sure once I tune her up she’ll be fine. Thank you all your help, Rick

Hi Mayolives, Thanks a million for the picture that was the last thigh I needed to confirm. I just put it back together and started the engine. It ran very rough but after 10min it smooth out and she now idles on her own. She’s still smoking allot but it's getting better. I'm going to let it run for a while and hopefully it will continue to improve. I’ll let you guys know how it goes. Thank you all, Rick

Guys, one quick question. On TDC the long part of the lobe (the toe) on the cam for #1 piston should they be pointing up or down? Thanks

I just took it apart and checked the timing chain. The piston at TDC, distributor pointing at #1 wire and the notch on the sprocket aligns with the one on the cam plate, the valves also seem to be closed. The only strange thing is that the bright link on the chain is lined up with the #2 mark on the sprocket (that's the way it was before disassembly). Anyway, I'll crank it over in a little wile and see what happens. Btw, I did go over all the vacuum lines, wires, etc. )I had labeled everything) Thanks,

Hi Guys, I just replaced the head gasket on my 1978 280Z. I started the engine and it's running very rough and it's smoking like crazy. I tried adjusting the timing and it helps a little but not enough. I was very careful with the timing chain and hope that's not the issues. Does anyone have any thoughts? If the concensus is the timing chain, what's the best way to adjust it? Thanks in advance for your help. Rick

Thanks for the info

Hi Guys, I'm sorry for the dumb question. I have a 1978 280Z fuel injected an I'm replacing all the rubber fuel lines on the fuel rail. One of the manuals says I should use high pressure fuel lines instead of standard and I’m not sure if this info is outdated or do I need some type of special lines. I would assume today’s lines are high pressure since most vehicles are fuel injected. Thanks, Rick

Hi Guys, It appears I blew a head gasket. After my engine warms up it starts smoking (white smoke) I've had to refill my coolant a couple of times in the past couple of days. Anyway, since I now have to take the engine apart I was wondering if while I'm replacing the head gasket it's worth replacing the rings, crank bearings, etc (minus the main bearing since it would require more disassembly) and do a partial rebuild for lack of a better word. I would like to do an engine swap in a couple of years and just looking to do give new life to this tired engine. Any suggestions and opinions would be welcome. Thanks, Rick 1978 280Z 2+2 stock engine

Sho-Z I'm also working, I guess someone has to keep thing running. Happy 4th to all.

Hi Guys, I've been looking for a 240Z front bumper for my 78 280Z without much success. These bumpers are either hard to find or very expensive so, I've looked at alternatives like the MSA fiberglass reproduction but I would prefer metal/steel. Anyway, I found that Blackdragonauto.com sells 260Z front bumper for $150.00. Has anybody ever use this bumber? http://www.blackdragonauto.com/icatalog/z/full.asp?page=22 Thanks, Rick

I bought the lead filler/solder, but it takes time to be proficient and that's why I was thinking of using the metal filler. Anyway, I just completed welding my panels and there's so little that needs to be filled I'm just going to make it easy on myself and use 3M body filler.