thedarkie

You didn't really ask much...

I had 2 clunks, driveshaft bolts on rear end were loose and front strut top nut backed off a few threads. Just a suggestion for further diagnosing your issue.

Update, and confirming a few tips for future reference. You don't have to bench bleed this master cylinder. Wilwood's instructions state that it should be installed and hooked up, and then the bleeders on the cylinder used to do the initial bleeding. I did it this way and it worked just fine. I went on to bleed the brakes and very very little air came out of only one of the 4 calipers. Also, if you're flaring your own lines, or buying a pre-flared one and bending it to suit... make damn sure that the bends are accurate and there's no sideways tension on the brake line, otherwise it won't seal. If you can't get the nut to thread without much effort, there's something wrong and it will leak. 3 lines later and a bunch of brake fluid (and cursing) my setup is finally up and running. Lastly, the BQ50 fitting from brakequip is what you'll want if you don't have an old master cylinder with adapters that fit the wilwood. Cheers

Nice write-up, hopefully whoever reads this in future years will also read post #6 for further information on the necessary modifications to have this work! Car looks AWESOME!

thanks smoorenc and Miles for the replies I've got the master in, the front side works fine, bled fine, and seals fine. The back brake line leaked. I bought a new line with flared ends and bent it to shape, installed...... and it still fuggin leaks at the flare. Has anyone used conical copper washers for the flare seal? I really don't wanna keep buying new brake lines if they're all gonna leak. I used the Brakequip BQ50 fittings on the master to accept 10x1 metric threads... it worked fine for the front brake portion so I know the adapter is good.

Fair suggestion, I'll try to find some before I install it. Another question: has anyone tried installing it and bleeding according to Wilwood instructions? Their documents specifically say to install the cylinder and hook up the lines prior to bleeding, and then to run a hose from the bleeder screws into the reservoirs and bleed the cylinder in that manner. Not sure why the discrepancy between that and a more standard bench bleed procedure..

Yes ^ the spring and the valve gets removed. Mine only had the check valve and spring in the rear cylinder. Doesn't speak too well about Wilwood quality control if some boxes ship without the valves, some are installed in both cylinders and some in only the rear. DUMB QUESTION: how the heck do you guys bench bleed the master cylinder and then install it in the car without getting fluid all over the place? Drip drip drip drip drip

I beg to differ. The LSX is absolutely god's gift to 'hot rodding'...its hard to find a cheaper, lighter, more reliable or simpler motor with that kind of power output capability. There's a reason everyone and their mother uses LSx engines in all kinds of swaps, it's a really good package. It's small and relatively easy to shoehorn into all kinds of engine bays, and you can buy parts anywhere for them. I swear I saw a pair of LSx heads next to the chocolate bars in my local Shell gas station lol

Damn, gorgeous car and beautiful photos. Mine looks very similar, just a darker blue. Love it!!

Beautiful car, I wonder what it actually sold for.... Either way, its good for us!

Beautiful, love S30s in white...

You can spin a properly built 331 to 7500rpm all day, no big deal. Start with a good block and a solid valvetrain, the sky is the limit........ but, ya gotta pay to play $$$$$ lol I'd kill for a high revving SBF in my Z. Might eventually swap in a roller 347 for more grunt, but who knows. I'm still considering tossing my 4bbl carb and getting some quad IDF Webers on top of the 302. If for nothing other than the response and the noise. I think it would suit the car really well from a vintage perspective.

Err, my Z has a V8. Just felt like having some car-guy talk...

To solve the mouse problem you can get snakes. Then get gorillas to solve the snake problem.

That first one hurts so much. Pro-tip: if you have a shiny new 650hp supercar, you may wanna leave TC and ESC on for a while.....

A mighty fine offer, but with a pregnant wife at home it's not gonna happen this year I don't particularly romanticize old slow cars, and my Z isn't slow by any margin. It's just not a 500hp beast with a modern V8. I haven't dyno'd it in these years but with the particular build and mods I'd have to estimate it at around 280-300whp. It lights up the tires (205s LOL) readily in the low gears, but isn't unmanagable or out of place in the car. The carb and the flat tappet cam are positively old-school and I feel they contribute to the vintage feel of an old sports coupe. I'm sure your LS is smoother and more refined than my carb'd SBF... do you find it uncharacteristic for the car? Or does it feel right?

I've been pondering this topic lately for no particular reason... maybe its all the Petrolicious-type youtube stuff I consume on a daily basis, who knows. I've had my 260Z for several years now with a Ford 5.0L (carb'd, with flat tappet cam) and T5 trans. Early on I felt like it might be better with a hotter, more modern engine... perhaps an LSx with EFI, maybe 400-500hp, etc. But as this driving season starts up, I'm falling in love with the car again as it sits- I feel the engine, with all its 'vintageness' (Im copyrighting that one!) really suits the S30. The car makes all the right noises and has all the right smells that I would expect of a 70s sports coupe. I'm liking the carb again and all the nuances it brings to the driving and general ownership experience. In my bubble, the car feels as if it could've left the factory this way in 1974. A couple of extra cylinders, but still very mechanical by nature. I've never driven another Z, stock or otherwise, so I have nothing to compare mine to. Those of you with RB/JZ/LSx/whatever swaps, do you find your Z still has that vintage soul? Does it still feel like you're driving something old? Share your feelings with me.

Momo mod.07 on a momo 3503 hub. Excellent depth with the dish.

He has a 71, its totally different from your 280z. The tunnel is narrower and doesn't have the cat hump. The seat mounts are also very much different. Us 260 and 280 guys have it MUUCH harder in the seat department. So much so that I gave up on a set of brand new Sparcos and sourced some reupholstered original seats

I was bored so I wanted to try to help you out, but the dimensions just don't seem to be out there. Closest I've found is this, which would at least tell you that the stock seats must be under 21.5" wide at the shoulders and 19" or less at the legs??? Find a local Subaru gathering and take a tape measure with you, and don't forget to measure the height.. you may not be happy how close some seats come to the roof, or how high up you sit in them compared to stock (which is quite low) What seat dimensions will fit my GDB aka 2002+ Impreza? Shoulder dimension should be 21.5. 22.5 will fit squeezing up against the B-Pillar. Leg dimension should be 19. 20 will fit squeezing up against the center console.

Useless garbage, there's a reason it was 2 bucks. Unless it's a gauge with a wideband sensor and controller hooked up, all you'll get from it is pretty green and red lights. If you want an affordable and ACCURATE measure of your air/fuel ratios this is probably about the cheapest path you'll find: http://www.14point7.com/products/sigma-lambda-controller-diy-2

For what its worth, motorcycle mirrors put up with a lot more wind resistance, vibration and bumps. I did a google search for magical racing mirrors on cars and S2000 guys really took a liking to them. You can also see some mounted on race cars. I'm pretty confident they'll do the job well. Its just a steep price for entry.

I'm gonna leave this link here in case anyone is brave enough to try some very high quality motorcycle mirrors on their Z. I had a set way back when on a bike and they were bloody awesome. I'm tempted..... http://www.moto-works.jp/products/rr-mirrors.html

I went with some blue loc-tite just in case.. but my suspicion was that the rod itself was extending out, not the nut loosening. Regardless, tightening the damned thing got rid of my immediate clunking problem and now its just gonna be a waiting game to see if she moves again.

Thanks guys, but the nut moves smoothly up and down the threads. I'm a self-professed suspension tard, but I know a cross-threaded nut when I see one. Once I tightened it down to the base, it started rotating the shaft and top hat - I inserted a large screwdriver through the top of the camber plate slot and into a hole in the top hat to keep it from moving, and further tightened the top nut. I'll keep an eye on it to make sure it stays snug. Thanks again