OR-JO

So it's apparent I may be relocating from Portland, OR to Boston, MA. I haven't worked out the exact details of the move, but it's possible the current 280z project will not be making the trip. I don't have too much money into it at this point, and the shipping costs don't seem to make sense. I figured, for the money it would cost to ship I could come out ahead by "starting over" with a new project on the East Coast. Accept for the fact I'm not finding much of any Datsun, Z, ZX, 280z, 240z, or 260z listing on East Coast area Craigslist. My question to you East Coasters: Are there any remaining S30 projects to be had...or have they all succumb to rust? Can I assume Z's East of the 'ssippi to fetch mo'dough from out of their perceived rarity? Where's a good spot to find these rides? Thanks.

Holy yikes, Batman. Soo.....In Portland, Oregon, considering a move...somewhere. Got the invite out to the East Coast for a few interviews in and around Boston...looking into housing prices and completely scared out of my mind. Probably not going to buy... Seeing lots of $1,500/$2,000/$2,500 for 2 BEDROOM APARTMENTS... What about some garage space for the Z? Anyone have any housing find tips or know any specific areas in Boston I should be looking at affordable housing? Job to get us there would be paying in the 50-60k region, not sure what our dual income would look like after that, but we'd have to be fairly conservative to start. I really want to fly out for the interviews but I feel like there's no way I could swing it unless offered $80-100K/year - which is unlikely. Then of course there is the Z transport from Portland to Boston...and at that point it might make more sense to sell my project here and start over... Anyway, Boston locals. Hit me up with some info. Thanks.

I'm currently in Portland, Oregon and looking for a move. Time for some new scenery. Moved to the NW site unseen two years ago - ready to do it again. Any web/marketing/advertising/entertainment pros out there? I'd like to talk shop and do a bit of networking, see if I could turn over some rocks. Specifically, any East Coast'ers working at agencies or design firms wanna' raise their hands? PM me for a link to my portfolio. Lets chat. Thanks.

Woah Veritech, that is W I D E!

wow that looks nice.

Thanks, you guys. I definitely brought out the cameras with the HBZ board in mind. I've been wanting to edit some sort of driving footage to that ZZ top song for a while... Here's a few more shots: And here it is all cleaned back up after the shenanigans. MOPAR69 SAID: " I have to say, Or-Jo your car is one of the best looking unrestored/different colored cars. Love the colors/stance." - I know, isn't their something odd about the randomness of the paintwork that just screams "character" from the car? I've even had some people go so far as to tell me to not repaint the car - just kill the rust. Yeah, the paint is pretty cool, I think! I guess the car was actually vandalized many years ago b/c I didn't even read the title until we got home and found out it was branded (salvaged). The stance I have to say is benefiting from my lack of funds at this point. If I had the money I'd probably already messed with the wheels or tires setup. DEFINITELY the car needs some suspension work - man that thing handles gushy. Lot's 'O' roll. I'm glad you commented on the stance b/c I look at it sometimes and think, "You know, those 14" rims really aren't that bad - maybe if I just get some new tires?" And then I drive it and also really think I need to go a lot wider with the wheels (but I don't want to run flares), and I also think the car needs to be dropped an 1" or 1.5". I don't know really what to do at this point. It sure is fun! MJL SAID: "It looks like your Z has a really nice body, try not to mess that up" - Every panel is straight, too. Little rusty on the nose and 2 spots on the rockers, but yeah, really not too bad. I lucked out, mostly. I don't plan on doing too much more home-rallying (if at all), so the car should stay pretty straight. REDEVIL SAID: "now i know it says your car is stock, but your engine sounded pretty badass....is that from an exhaust leak? when i got mine finally running, it sounded like that but it was leaking from like 3 spots on the exhaust..." - Precisely. Stock setup all around, original L28 with stock manifold dumping right after the bend into the transmission tunnel. PO had installed a...long ass cherry bomb "muffler" that I recently removed (sounded stupid) and leaked horribly. I agree, the open exhaust sounds pretty cool especially at open throttle. It's not deafening inside the cabin, but it would get very old if the car was a DD. Currently the car is parked until further notice because I have to get the exhaust fixed. The fumes are too bad, really. It was fun but I came out of the rallying with a decent headache - car needs a tuneup too, it runs very rich (as you can smell). Mechanically it's pretty untouched since I bought it from the PO save for some interior work I've done and addition body work. All the black is POR-15.

Yeah, that's my car and video. Resto in progress.

So I was digging around the NASA website and noticed this banner atop their rally section: Clearly that's an S30 on the left. From what I've seen, there's little talk on this board about Z Rally setups, probably for good reason. But, knowing somebody out there is Rally Racing their Z, I thought I'd try my hand as well. < v i d e o l i n k > Dirt is fun.

can you provide a link to the dealer of that camera mount?

$80 for (1) gallon of liquid FatMat. Mixed results. Working on my $1,500 280z resto-challenge. Poor finish on dryed liquid FatMat. Able to scratch with fingernail after 30 hours of curing. Probably would be okay with several layers under carpet. Company says it can be used as a "rock chip" proof finish. Was hoping to leave dryed FatMat as interior floor (sans carpet). Ended up going over FatMat with Por15. Application Method - Company says brush, roll, or spray. I would absolutely tell you not to brush it. Might work brushed on wood - say for the interior of a speaker box. Not so great looking on metal, didn't really self-level as I'd hoped. Sound Deadening properties of Liquid FatMat? Not great, more of a "remove tin-canny" feeling from bare metal interior. Some I'd guess would have better luck with FatMat Sheets. Have used Dynamat before in other cars, would heavily recommend it. If I was doing a "proper" resto or wanted a durable interior finish sans carpet, next time I think I'd personally get the interior Line-X

Alright, done and done. Thanks for all the info guys. You were all right, pretty straight forward, just a little muscle needed. For all you newbies like me... Car jacked up in the back, properly supported by quality jack stands and wheel chocks. Those are the bolts you're after, one bolt per strap, two straps holding the tank up. We also unscrewed the (4) screws holding the gas filler-tube hose - easily accessible from the gas door lid. Take off gas tank straps (and yes, very helpful to have jack supporting tank), gas tank drops down, (3) bolts to remove from shock mount and you're done. Easy to re-connect filler tube hose back to gas lid area. Sweet. Thanks again for all the tips, guys.

How is the mounting? How much fab, if any required?

I was thinking of throwing seatbelt pads on my 2003 Honda Civic Hybrid.

OMG that was awesome. I can't believe he it those kickers in a subie. That was unreal - oh, Ken Block. You mastermind.

I think the key to managing the time of life in regards to the net is to always make sure you spend at least as much time doing something worth reading about as you do reading about others doing. That's not supposed to be cryptic.

BTW CygnusX-1 (what, are you an astronomy nerd or what?!), your Z is sweeeeeet, man. I checked out your pix - everybody should check out your pix. You've got a great lil' Z. Congrats on all the hard work.

Thanks gents, will give it a shot.

I am doing the foam-fill method PLUS just ordered a gallon of FatMat liquid sound deadener for the whole interior of the car. If I could afford an interior Line-X job, I would have it sprayed but the FatMat gallon (roll, spray, or brush on) was only $80 shipped. Dynamat makes a spray-on application too but it was like $200 or $300. Will let board know about results.

I'm working on my 78' 280z right now. How in the heck do you drop the fuel tank to get the passenger side rear bumper shock out? I removed the nuts from inside the car, but the mount won't move at all. I guessed the tank would have to be dropped, but was hoping not. Any tips on this specific procedure? Thanks.

thats awesom

There was probably about 20oz of water in the spare tire well. The leak has been fixed for the moment because the Z has now moved into the two car garage for repair. And yeah, I know about standing water. The Z sat outside for 4 days in the Oregon rain but the water in the spare tire well was my first indication that the leaky hatch was REALLY leaky (aside from the fumes I knew were coming in). No mosquito bites here in December.

That's good info gents! Thanks much for your time.

Here are some pics of the header that came with the Z I just bought. The P.O. said he thinks the header came of a 240, which is pretty meaningless I think. So what do you think? Are these things junk or worth putting on? Look like they would fit? Here's my long term NA L28 Exhaust plan: - Headers would be sweet - sweeter if these could work because, well - they're paid for. - Love the sound of the twice pipes (like Mario's settup), just two loud. HAVE TO HAVE TO HAVE TO run a cat with whatever exhaust setup I choose. Car is due for emissions in 10 months and I'm not HARD CORE enough to just throw a cat on for testing. PLUS... - Holy hell the fumes. Exhaust fix is Item #1 on my Z2Do list. Then sealing everything and anything. BUT...I'm not ready to commit to a full exhaust yet, and I'm ready to do some tinkering. I was hoping I could throw these headers on, RUN 'EM OPEN FOR A BIT, then hook up my future exhaust...in the future. This Z is not a DD by any means, I don't want to get pummeled out of the car by noise but right now I'm being pummeled out of the car by fumes (won't drive it) so I thought at least running an open header FOR NOW would possibly eliminate the fumes coming in from the full length exhaust. Here's a pic of the current header termination, if that's pertinent. Also, by fumes, I'm talking f u m e s. Visible at times. Stained rear carpeting from fumes (just yanked that out). I know the hatch leaks like a m-f-er, as also noted by this pond in the empty spare tire bay. I will be sealing the hell out of the entire cabin, I can assure you. -- In related news, can anyone tell me about this other mystery object currently connected to....something. The PO told me upon purchase it can be adjusted to make the engine run smoother/leaner/richer/better...Bueller? Custom install complete with ducktape - now left for me to decipher. And one more thing If I can turn this into a ramble - the grossest part of the engine bay right now is the busted air intake box thing - anything reasonable to be done about that (the plastic and metal junction is broken)? Simple replacement option? -- As you answer these questions, note: - Car is fun street machine for my wife and I. - I'm capping this project at about $1500 for whatever it is I want to do with it. General tune up, exhaust, DIY body work, DIY paint (gun), DIY interior dynamat/rhino lining/, else....? When and if our business blows up AND the current L28 blows up, then I'd like to seriously look at a V8 conversion - just not now, and both those criteria must be met first. - I like this Z and I really like working on stuff I know I can fix, BUT, I'm not supertriple hardcore about cars in general, let alone race cars, hotrods, or money pits sitting in my driveway.

Do you have to take the whole intake off the engine for a header install? I was wondering what the least-painful header install looks like on L6.

Thanks x64v - I gotta say the finished build car looks closest to your blue ride you got there - complete with the louvers (louvers are just too period perfect, ya know?). Where did you get those wheels? I just checked those facts sections, good info on the brakes b/c my car is just a fun, mild street machine. No sense in spending more time or money than I have to on overkill.