TomoHawk

OK..... I was stupid and bought a cold air intake off eBay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=38634&item=2432307050 But, I waws a little slow sending the money to the guy (late pay check) but the guy sent me the thing any way and I got it. THEN, a few days ago, the same guy made a complaint that I didn't send him the payment, and wants a credit for the auction! Of course I send the idiot an email message asking for confirmation of the receipt of payment, and an explanation of why he's doing what he did. No reply sfter 3-4 days, and since then I have completed another auction for some Talbot-type mirrors. I tyhink this idiot is justr trying to make trouble for my delay, wants double payments, or wants to cheat eBay out of the $2 for the auction. Ebay sends you plenty of info on appealling and such, but since I received the item, I tossed the receipt for the money order, and probably can't prove I sent one now Any one had a similar experience?

Does "Hi-Rev Tuners" have a website? Somebody (from here) should go over there and see ifd they know what the real truth is for why ricers have CAIs. I'm tired of seeing them showcase some "Award winner" when it's got something that doesn't add to power, and only takes up space. I wonder if those guys will argue the point. Maybe I will call them "Award Wieners" instead

First- You can get a large-diameter exhaust on a vehicle, but you pay for it. The smaller-diameter ones are cheaper and quieter. Also help in decreasing the emissions. But you can still have the big exhaust pipes & muffler, etc., to make more horsepower, but at the expense of money, emmisions and loudness. Fiortunately, for us Z-guys, the before the radiator shouldn't be as hot as the air that has gone through, and the large opening on the nose of a Z-car should let an ample amount of air through , keeping the air in front of the radiator relatively cool and pressurized even. I bought one of those things, not because it's supposed to add power, but because it uses more common filters, because I'm having trouble finding the rectangular ones ar the local stores. I like the idea of the K&N filter. The large-diameter pipe should let more air through the AFM, too. The stock one seems a little small. I don't think that all the ricer mods make power. I think that more mods are used just for looks, like LED mirrors. DVDs or subwoofers add nothing to performance, or safety, or fuel ecomony, etc. Why not just a carbon cold air pipe? Or fiberglass/plastic?

For as simple as the things are, and if it was making more horsepower, wouldn't you thing that the Auto Manufacturers would be putting them on all the cars? No! because they're already on there, like I stated in the original post. It's just made of plastic with a plastic hose and the cold air comes from the fenderwell. More evidence that all that junk on a ricer is just..... junk. If they pointed the kicker/subwoofer out the back, they'd be getting an extra 5 mph!

I adjuted the TPS (throttle Position Switch according to the tips at: http://www.zcarcreations.com/HOWTO/tpsadjust.htm Now, it seems like maybe the open switch isn't right, because with the pedal all the way down, the trans doesn't kick-down from 3rd while driving down the street. Same thing on the highway- I think. Thx.

I see a LOT of the cold air intakes with the filter BEHIND the radiator ( the hot-air side.) what makes people think this is COLD air?? I think I would rather go back to the way my Escort gets it's COLD air- from inside the front fender. This might get some eyebrowse to rise....

Pete- For what I'm getting paid to do this, it'll be kinda hard to keep the links up to date (). But, if I find one that's broken or whatever, I'll try to fix it. Otherwise, I'm just going to collect them for now.

I keep track of all the Z-related web sites I come across, Instead of browsing all over to see what's what or where. The kind of sites that have how-to info or parts/equipment. I'd prefer NOT to have any personal sites unless they have major how-to stuff. Maybe somebody else can collect all the photo gallery web pages. If you have one, could you send the link to me via email? Maybe the admins here would like to participate? I'd be happy to collect them all and pass them on to the admins or post it somewhere. I'd just like the link with a short title/description for each: mailto: magnum@nacs.net thx.

I know it was painted. the inside was dark brown, now black. Inside job was (bad). It looks like they basically masked off the guages and windows and sprayed everything black- except the seats and carpet of course. Outside job was almost as cheap. Overspray everywhere. Again, just masked off the windows & chrome and sprayed. I'm surprised that the door jambs and undersides of the hood & hatch were painted. Underside -- I would like to go someplace and have them spray it down & clean it for me. I have no place to do that (got a new driveway.) Nice idea tho. Engine -- I clean any obvious gunk, and I'm replacing certain things (coil, plug wires, belts, hoses, etc.) that look old and might be worn out. There's a lot of bare aluminium there and it's all oxidezed, so I'm not sure if I should clean it, polish it , paint it, or what? I'm not much on how to show off your (old) car).

I wonder about going to "shows"... There is a regular sunday cruise-in and they got all the fancy "show cars" there with million-dollar paint jobs, the old classics detailed for concours, and all the brand new Corvettes with the un-oxidized intake manifolds from being stored indoors. I usually park by the old cars weith the original (faded) paint and the painted(but chipped) suspension & little tears in the seats. That way I can open the hood and show off my dirty engine bay Car has 100k miles, but I try to clean the gunk that is real obvious off, and occasionally, I get a guy that says, "I remember those..." You know... Any suggestions about what to do to improve the looks? I also rubbed out the paint & it looks a kittle deeper, less oxidized (Florida car.) How would you clean the underside (real oily/dirty/gunky)? Lookee see here: http://www.angelfire.com/pe2/modeltom/ferrari.html

Did you notice ther are these fancy clips that hold the inner fender to the lip of the wheel well? BTW, whatever I do, I gotta get it done in one day- can't leave the car in the garage at night. Maybe I can fix one inner fender a day, or ifit doesn't rain, leave it outside unprotected (car cover.)

It looks like there are so many screws to remove, then the inner fender should come out. Mine has some cracks which should be fixed, at least temporarily, until I get to do the GTO conversion(many next summer.)

THAT made sense. thanks a LOT. I think it explains why there were 2 headlight fuses, but not why there is a fusible link. Is the fusible link for the entire front? (Maybe I should go look myself.) On the other hand, why have people been suggesting that to make the headlights brighter, you should clean the ground connection. About all there is in the diagram that would degrade the performance if the lights is the wiring. In my case, the R.F. headlight seems to be shining noticeably brighter than the left. All that I can think of is some resistance in the wiring, and/or corroded contacts on the light itself. It won't be easy to get in there, it's got that plastic inner fender in the way, and it looks like a big job to get in there.

Here's an interesting fact about electricity/electrons: Current goes from the (+) pole to the (-) pole and the electrons travel from from the (-) pole to the (+) pole... Electrons are negatively charged, so they get attracted to the (+) pole.

Ok.... So where do the headlights get their ground connection? I assume it's also the ground for all the lights on the front?

Last summer somebody was going to try to hook up a Buick transmission to the L28 block using the midplate & Maxima belhousing, I think.

My JRTR book has a similar idea. slotting the holes across the width of the car to change castor/camber.

They have something specifically for you guys: 90+ 300ZX TT Intercooler & Radiator Piping

Is there a place where you can order custom Intake couplers? I need one that goes from 75mm to 65 mm (3.0 - 2.5 inch) All the local rice shops say you gotta buy the Intake KIT, and they don't make kits for Datsun Z cars. MSA has the only kit (for $130) so if you get a custom one, you're sunk. I saw an article on zgome.com , on making one: http://www.zcarcreations.com/howto/intakepage.htm but the stock intake hose can't be squeezed enough for a good fit. Also, They don't come in BLACK. Thx.

Same with me. I tighten the plugs right, doesn't seem to be burning any oil and the other plugs are the right color. I think I will just assume the (old) plugs may have had looser threads and some oil seeped through. Getting new plugs anyways. Wires, coil (which one?) and whatever other (consumables) it might need for this new owner.

I've been reading in the catalogs that you need a different coil for the EI engines. Can I assume that my 78 280Z with F.I. has EI? I assume there's an EI box behind the kickpanel., but I've never seen it ( too afraid to look in case them old wires break. ) In the case of EI, what would you look for, basically? thx.

I read some of those links I posted ( always heed your own advice) and one mentioned proper tuqueing the plugs. As I remember, the plugs seemed to brake loose easily. Could that mean they could have been loose and the oil was seeping out from cylinder compression? Hopefully so. Otherwise, it would mean worn cylinder walls/rings.

I think it's obvious to US that a Z-car isn't a sport-compact, but I think it's nice to see some recognition that the Z car is still out there and ALIVE. there's more to sports cars than Mustangs, Firebirds, Corvettes, Lexuses and Hondas, etc. To many "imports" to mention here. Though I'm basically a Ford fan, but i think the Z is 'special' enough that you could throw it in with MGs, Jags, and the like- especially because of it's "age." Older import cars don't have the same 'cheapness' that the new ones do- probably because they contributed less to the trade deficit as imports seem to do now. Of course, if my "trusty L28" engine decides it needs to be (recycled), I'll be installing a BOSS 302 in there- probably got 1 or 2 in the basement somewhere, left over from high school days. <G> Anybody remember the Honda CVCC? Now THERE'S a compact car.

Did some research since posting and here are a few interesting links: General info: http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node=spark%20plug More info: http://www.241computers.com/ford/ContentExpress20-80-81.html (check the left pane for links on reading plugs, etc.) This kind of stuff ought to be compiled for the newbies...

I recently checked the plugs on my 78 280Z. Couple had oil on the spark plug threads, other one seemed to have some black gunk on the plug tip. Does that mean anything? Thx.