Wheelman13

I discovered that it was already marginally jacked up from where I think someone tried getting it out before, so I just took the entire corner off the car so I could line it up and hit it with a hammer a lot. It's out now, new pin is in the mail. 'Not touching the other one for now if I can help it as I suspect the same thing has gone on there. I've got some 200SX offset brackets getting lightly machine (center hole bored, slotted to fit around axle, and bolt pattern redrilled) and then I'll have some brakes ready to go back on. Pictures will follow. While I was ordering stuff, I also got a master bushing kit (poly) so I'll be installing at least some of those before I button everything back up on the rear end. The transmission is back on the car, and I'm just cleaning & painting the support members and installing shifter bushings before finishing that installation and then re-visiting the hydraulic system for the clutch. I'd like to have it running well by 9/22 so I can see how well an open-diff 280 will drift, lol.

Effing Spinde pins......that is all.

Transmission came out with just a bit of fiddling. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it), the clutch disk looks like it's in near-mint condition. I suppose the pressure plate could be bad, but once I got the transmission off I think it's pretty clear, actuating the fork and TOB, that the slave cylinder wasn't actuating the fork enough. Clutch kit will arrive Thursday, so I'll put that on, along with the linkage bushings and revisit the master/slave relationship once everything's back together. In the mean time, I'll be closing on a small loan tomorrow that I'm using to build a detached garage/workshop so I'm not limited by daylight hours later in the year.

After a couple of weekends out playing with the NSX, I finally got to get stuck in on the Z today. My brother has been curious to learn how to work on stuff a little, so I put him to work starting the process of dropping the transmission. I've got a clutch in the mail along with some shifter bushings to get rid of the slop in the gear lever. While the car is up in the air and not going anywhere anyway, I'll also dig into my rear disc conversion and see if I'm anywhere close to having the pieces I need.

Small victories: I believe I have also now evicted the last nest of wasps from the car...there were a few.

Un-fortunately, replacing the master & slave cylinders has not equaled clutch function. The slave does actuate the TOB Lever, but the clutch doesn't release. Here's the most bizarre thing: Clutch pedal up Foot-brake on Hand-brake on Car in-gear The car still starts with no trouble and no burnt-clutch smell. It's almost like an automatic. If I let off the foot brake it'll roll forward in-gear until I put my foot back on the brake. (Before anyone get's smart about it...no it's not an auto, dunno if they even made one)

Ok, so throttle body cleaned, some vacuum hoses replaced,and the throttle linkage adjusted & lubed. It does start 1st time, although it's a bit balky from sitting around in this video:

Thanks guys, hopefully I can do another good deed with this Z. I manage to re-install the freshly-cleaned throttle body today and lubed the throttle linkage. I got the correct clutch slave cylinder in the mail, but the connection between the hard line and flex line is fighting me. It's currently marinating in PB Blaster, so we'll see how that goes tomorrow, I may have to resort to channel-locks to get that un-done. I just need to get that sorted, and throw an air filter in the thing and it should be drive-able...slowly at least, given that only the front brakes would work for the moment.

as I bought it (with half a dozen CEL codes, a dead ABS system, a few dozen electrical faults, blown shocks, and a questionable head gasket): In it's current state and it's natural environment, 237,000 miles and counting on the chassis and bottom-end Honestly I've done more reading and I've got the wrong brackets. I thought the Maxima bracket part number carried forward, but it's apparently only the '81 cars that come with the brackets where the bolt "ears" are offset correctly. I'm now debating either buying some fab'd brackets from one of the vendors, having a friend modify these, or looking at going ahead with a 5-lug swap....although I'd like to drive the car in something close to a stock state before I go changing a bunch of stuff.

The current laundry list is as follows: -Fix hard-start/balky idle -Adjust valves to get rid of lifter tick -Replace Slave cylinder (already replaced clutch master cylinder as a matter of course, and because it was cheap) -Rear disc brake conversion (because I'm just not screwing with stupid drums) The right rear brake is leaking somethin' fierce anyway, so I figure it's as good a time as any. New CMC: Stream of brake fluid: For the idle/starting problem, I've replaced the air filter (which helped) and I've also pulled and cleaned the throttle body because I think part of the idle problem was the return spring not...well, returning. I'll also be going around replacing some crunchy vacuum and PCV hoses while I'm waiting on parts to arrive. I'm going with the cheap solution to rear discs to start with: the Maxima/280ZX route. I've already got the brackets & calipers, and just need to get the rotors and some new lines at this point. I'll get it mocked up and then see how long of a line I need and purchase accordingly. The goal for now is to get the car drivable so I can have some kind of base-line experience from which to build.

The engine fires and, if not for a dead clutch slave cylinder, would be drivable. Save for the AC, Radio, and Fuel gauge, all of the electronics work as far as I can tell so far. Of course, the big question is rust. Well, there's a reason I jumped on this car when I did. There is some, but it's not extensive, and mostly non-structural: There's a spot under the hatch: A Spot in the driver's door jamb: and a spot on the driver's rocker panel: The floor pans are all there:

So.....three years later, and here lies my second-ever post on HybridZ. Let it not be said I don't follow through on what I write on the internet: http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php/topic/81488-future-z-owner-in-knoxville/page__p__772837__hl__wheelman13__fromsearch__1#entry772837 I'd planned to pick up a Z quite a while ago, but got thoroughly distracted restoring an NSX. That done, here I am again, and this time I brought a car with me...and I have no idea what I'm going to do with it. Here we have, as-purchased on 7/18/2012, a well-worn, but reasonably-intact '75 280Z: