thedarkie

My wife hates driving in the Z. She likes the car, but the smell is too much for her. It doesn't affect me too much, and I dont think its THAT bad, but she hates it. And although it doesn't affect me physically, clothes and hair reeking of exhaust fumes doesn't bode well for every day life. The unfortunate part is that mine smells 5x worse with the windows down.. I think that will be the focus of my attention come spring. Gotta get rid of that smell!

I'd be buying 5-lugs and putting those Rota's up for sale.. Im sure someone will snatch them up! At 650lbs-ft of torque it's kind of pointless to compromise on the axles just to keep your wheels.

Adjustable camber plates were welded in.

My measurements show the two struts are damn near identical. The tube lengths, threaded areas, and overall lengths are the same between the sides. It does not look like a sloppy sectioning job. If the consenus is that I should just adjust the collars until the car sits level, I'll do that. It just seems odd, I don't wanna be missing something crucial here. The car sits noticeably crooked at the back, other folks have noticed too. Thanks for the suggestions.

A little more info as I scratch my head in the garage.. The car was built several years ago and the owner stated that they're Arizona Z Car coilovers, however, they look nothing like the new ones. They only have a single adjustable perch and collar and its the one the spring sits on. In pictures of current AZC offerings, there are adjustments for the spring perch as well as the actual strut tube, with collars for each. Should my setup even be used to adjust height, since in order to overcome this difference I wouldn't just be raising the car, I'd effectively (I believe?) also be altering the preload on the spring? Confused.

Hey everyone, hoping to get some input on a suspension issue I've been bothered by since I bought the car. Car is a 74 260Z with AZC coilovers. The right rear of the car sits a good 5/8-3/4" lower than the driver's side rear with the coilovers adjusted to the same height (2 threads showing under both collars, almost at the lowest level).With the car jacked up by the diff, the right rear also seems to hang lower than the left. I've measured everything I could think of. The springs are the same length, the threaded sections of the tubes are the same length, the overall lengths of the strut tubes are identical, as well as the overall length of the complete assemblies from top of the spring down to the bottom of the strut tube (when hanging). The gap between the fender and tire on the right side is about 3/4" smaller than the left with the car back on the ground. Could this be a body issue (something twisted) or am I overlooking something simple? I'd love to hear suggestions. I had the right rear completely apart to check on the gland nut, which needed tightening. But this height problem was present before, and is still present after. Thoughts? Thanks

Previous owner of my 260 converted to AZC rear brake setup and installed a line lock on the rear brakes for temporary e-brake. I use it when the car is warming up or for tempoporary stops with the car running, but have never left it locked with the engine off. I've been searching for a cable solution but Im coming up with nothing. I desperately want a proper cable brake, I hate relying on the engine and transmission to keep the car in place while parked.

I drove across an international border to buy my Z, sight unseen. I talked with the seller over the phone and he provided enough details and photos that I was confident about what I was purchasing. Then again, mine was a restored Z that had been on a rotisserie already so its a tad different from buying an original car. Of course, if there had been any serious flaws upon my arrival I would've turned back to go home and simply swallowed the cost of the trip... but if you're having a car shipped to you, you're kinda SOL if you don't like what comes on the trailer. However, regarding your particular situation, it doesn't exactly sound like an old project car is a financially sound decision. If you deliver pizzas for a living you probably shouldn't be buying a 40 year-old Datsun to fart around in. Whatever you think its gonna cost, double it.

Very cool, thanks for sharing.

^ thats the thing about old cars... those things you listed just aren't THAT important any more If the body is good and the hard bits are where they're supposed to be, its a good purchase. I think 4-5k is completely reasonable for a Z with a good body and not requiring MAJOR service to be a driver. Chances are if you fix it up nice and keep it long enough, you won't lose a penny.

If the pickins are slim, you don't have many options and you can't be too picky. Its worth whatever you're willing to pay for it. The guy says he's testing the waters... personally I wouldn't take $3.6k for a car I listed at 5, but whatever. I'd pay 4-5k for that and toss another 3-4 into cleaning it up. If it doesn't have rust (the pics look good) it's a good buy regardless. Someone looking for a clean project would easily pay $5k for that.

Very cool, Im excited to see some photos... I was really into DSMs years ago, even did a 6 bolt 2.4L conversion using the shortblock and crank from a Sonata. I love the 4G63, this is an interesting build! They're great motors.

We share the same line of thinking then! Im all for keeping the styling [mostly] stock and modifying the guts.

As far as I know, only the US market got an early jump to the 280... the rest of the world kept the 260 until 1978 (and OP's car is a '78 build) Beautiful car, looks in great condition. I think I'd actually have a bit of a dilemma whether to keep it stock or start tearing into it. Either way, you're gonna enjoy it!

The interior handle (the mechanism behind it, anyway) can indeed be adjusted forward or backwards by loosening the mounting bolts and sliding it. There's a long rod attached to a pivot (actually just a hook and a loop) on the other end of the handle which operates the latch... I suppose after time it either extends, or the mechanism slowly slides back from all the pulling. Sliding it forward (towards the front of the car) will tighten it back up and allow the lever to exert some more leverage and travel on the mechanism.

I haven't test driven it yet!! I'll thank you when I hear the clunk is gone

Old-timers circle-jerk thread! I like it. I asked a stupid question (clunk from the rear suspension) when I first joined, but I also asked for some clarification on certain parts if I remember correctly. Anyways, first time Z owner, and I bought a highly (though thats relative) modified example to boot. Not even knowing what kind of parts you have on your car is a tough place to start, not to mention it renders most of the factory manual useless. Regardless, off my thread went to the dump.. though John decided to grace me with his mighty wisdom by pointing a finger in the direction of the gland nut. I tried to search for more info but decided to just take the rear suspension apart and find the problem myself. The gland nut was indeed merely 'hand tight'... haven't driven yet to see if it fixed the issue... but I digress. There's no doubt that a wealth of info resides at this forum... unfortunately some (most?) of it is buried within threads, and sometimes ones which started in a completely different direction. Using google to find answers on this site is definitely the way to go; but some shit just has to be asked multiple times. You wanted to be master overlord of a forum, deal with it. I don't think I'll ask any more questions for fear of being labeled a nuisance... hopefully it won't cost me money and unnecessary parts. We'll see!

wow some beautiful Z's in here..... Here's my 302-powered 260Z

Is it like this? I was just about to post this same topic, asking if this much play/noise is normal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSCkyHGRsrU I was trying to narrow down a noise coming from the rear suspension but thought maybe it'd the diff. All the mountings seem tight.

Thanks for the info! I'm enjoying the hell out of the car thats for sure... its just that Im still somewhat unfamiliar with the small nuances, so little creaks and pops make me wanna know more. Actually, on sudden acceleration from stop lights Im getting what sounds like a big tensioned spring sliding or popping (expanding) very suddenly. Its like a loud bang when the car squats a bit. Does this sound like anything? I'll be removing the rear wheels and getting a close look at the suspension this weekend. If I can't figure it out I'll have to post a video here...

Thanks Any idea on the coilover? Looks really similar to what AZcar sells, just purple...

Cool, I was wondering how it'd look without the center console there... turned out nice! Im thinking of fabbing up an acrylic plate that will bolt onto the console and sandwich the boot in place.. so that I could just remove that place and boot to get access to the shiter.

My brother-in-law was over earlier and he checked out my car while I was out... he went underneath and said that the nut holding the bushing and rod (sway bar link, I believe- the gold rod and silver nut in photo 1) in place was a few threads away from falling off. I just took the wheel off and applied loctite to the nut before tightening back up. Does anyone know the ballpark torqe specs for these nuts? I wasn't sure how tight to go considering its a poly bushing providing resistance against it. Can someone also confirm that this is the sway bar link? I need to get a better jack or ramps to lift the car higher so I can inspect things more closely Also, can anyone ID my suspension? Its a new car and I wasn't around for the build, so some parts are still a mystery... Thanks

Just wondering if anyone with an engine swap has modified the center console at all? Im using all the stock stuff but so far Ive had to disassemble the console twice to mess around with my shifter stops and adjustments. I'd like to fab up a custom boot and surround that can be removed to access the shifter without removing the entire console...

On both ends??