pete280z

I just finished sorting out some horn troubles in my car. My problem was that the horn had been re-wired using the brakelight circuit. Horn worked fine, but brakelights were a different story... You didn't mention what year your Z is, so I'm not sure if anything I did would apply. Sounds like it's time to grab a wiring schematic and a multitester. Work from where you know it works (relay) toward the horn button. Keep your fingers crossed that you don't have to pull the dash out to repair the broken circuit. If it's just a matter of passing inspection in a hurry, why not run a button directly off the relay? Sure, it won't be done "right", but it should get you a pass while you figure out what broke.

New Titan owner here. A quick search on titantalk.com came up with this article about the VK56: http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3012/is_7_183/ai_105659479 That article has bore, stroke, and CR numbers. I haven't found anything about the cam profiles yet. I think you mean 4 cams As far as aftermarket parts go, the most I've seen is headers and intakes, which probably won't be very useful in a swap. The QX56 is rated at an extra 10hp/11lb-ft, so there might be something there worth investigating. Some VK45 parts might swap over to your benefit.

The tour is an addiction. I've followed the television coverage since 2000 when I discovered OLN. In 1999 I followed as much as I could online. letour.com streams the audio portion of the OLN coverage live. I follow along with that at work, and turn on the TV here to catch the end some stages. After work I go home and watch all of the coverage TiVo'd from the morning. By far my favorite sporting event, followed closely by the Giro .

In my experience, making this argument that plainly gets me dismissed as a paranoid, conspiracy theorist, sleeping-in-my-BDUs gun-nut (*far* from reality, BTW). It's probably important to point out that the essence of this argument is more philosophical than practical in modern USA. The second amendment is about maintaining a balance. As long as the potential, however remote, for a tyrannical government to rise exists, the need to defend ourselves from that possibility survives. In the USA, I don't believe that total gun control could ever work. Technology, once in the hands of the public, is almost impossible to take away via ligitation or legislation. If you need evidence for this, just check out the popularity of file sharing networks and the free distribution of copyrighted music as mp3.

Yup - That VIN is for a '71 according to this page: http://datsunzclub.com/zcarserialnumbers.html

One more here. No idea about my annual mileage. I got tired of tracking statistics and now I just ride as much as possible. I'm currently training to ride my first century at the Hotter Than Hell Hundred this August in Wichita Falls, TX. A HybridZ jersey sounds cool. If you haven't looked into them yet, Voler is a very popular clothing with the local clubs. http://www.voler.com

Agreed 100%. Finding the mis-matched chassis numbers on the car really threw a wrench in my plans. My attitude about it changes daily. But you asked today, so I gave you today's attitude. I'll PM you for details about Sunday. I've misplaced the info.

1. Roll bar and harnesses 2. New carpet to replace current ghetto/jigsaw fronts 3. Sticky tires 4. Learn to drive it FAST 5. Sell to finance 280zt project

I searched through a couple of Kanji tutorials thinking I might get lucky, but couldn't find a match. Maybe this will just have to be added to the mysteries behind this dash. I pulled the dash to try to fix the brake lights. The previous owner said that he added a new horn and button to pass inspection. The problem is that he clipped out the brake light wire to power the new horns... So far the mystery pile is about this deep: So he thought that this would be just the perfect wire to clip out? And the inspection station didn't notice that he had no brake lights? How have I not noticed that I don't have brake lights in the last 10 months (that one's kinda scary)? And there's more than a couple "loose end" wires floating around back there. I'm sure they don't do anything important anyway

When I pulled my dash last night I found this on the part that the steering column bolts through... Any clue what this marking is or means?

Sumo - thanks for the info. "Theft recovery" certainly isn't an better, but if it was stolen at some point, I guess that's how it crumbles. I'll keep my fingers crossed that everything comes out well and I only wind up with the extra tag on my car.

That was my first guess too, but when VTR ran the VIN, it came back with a clean, non-salvage title. I'm guessing that one owner lost the title and sold the car without it. The new owner likely did the swaparoo. I struck out with both of the names the previous owner gave me. I got a disconnected phone number for the most recent and no records for the earlier owner. I think the odds are good that I'll get a re-issued VIN and be done with this mess. Anyone know if that means I'll also wind up with a salvage/rebuilt title?

Well, I just heard back from the previous owner. He denied knowing anything about the tag swap. I pushed the subject a little bit but he didn't slip. He called me back a few minutes later with the names of the two previous owners in case that was any help. An officer is supposed to call me Monday about doing a physical investigation of the car. I'd like to sell this car eventually, so getting a legitimate VIN assigned to it would really help. But I can't help thinking that I'm about to lose my Z. Maybe I shouldn't answer the phone on Monday

I called Vehicle Titles and Registration and Stolen Vehicles this morning. They ran both VINs and they both came back clean (non-stolen and non-salvage), although my car is apparently a 1971, not a 1972 like the title says. An officer will need to inspect the car and if everything comes back OK, they will re-issue a VIN. Phantom - The VIN on the all three swapped tags (dash, door pillar, strut tower) all match what's on my title. I'm going to try to get some answers from the previous owner. :fmad:

In going over my 240Z I bought a few months ago, I made a startling discovery. All of the VIN tags are held in with SCREWS! After I found out about the number on the firewall and block, I checked them out. They're both different from the three body tags. I'm going to try to contact the previous owner to see if he has the original tags that were on this car. I figure that might help get this car back into a more legal status. Any Texas residents out there have any experience with this? Is my car doomed to be confiscated when I take it for inspection this month?

I'm not sure what I'll do about turbo and EFI at this point. I'm just starting to put together the plans for this project. I'd like to skip straight to a well-matched turbo and a standalone if I've got the budget once the longblock comes together. D'oh! I hadn't even thought about head gaskets. More research... Good point about the pistons. "Forged" is about as far as I've planned that. Corky Bell warns against thinking you always need forged pistons, but I'd rather get them now and spend once. I'll look into manufacturers this evening. Any suggestions to get me started?

Hi everybody! I've been a hybridZ lurker for a long time and an infrequent poster. The people on this board impress me as probably the most knowledgeable about l28et swaps. I'm planning to build a l28et for a new Z project. First, I want to put together a stout longblock. My eventual goal will be to try to squeeze out 400 rwhp. I realize that this is not done easily, so I'd like to build a strong engine and hopefully avoid internal part failures. Here's my general plan: P90 head f54 block bored to 88mm 9mm L24 rods L28 crank 8:1 forged pistons arp bolts/studs Please help me make sure I'm not missing anything. Will this build work? What preparations should I have done to these parts before I assemble it? Any advice is greatly appreciated. [/b]

I've been lurking here trying to learn as much as I can for years. Just last week I finally bought my Z. Before now, it never really seemed right posting. I didn't have anything productive to add to any of the technical topics. Hopefully that will change as my project progresses...

I almost called on that car, since it's in my area. I decided to hold off since I'm not big fan of that body kit. I wound up buying a 73 240 instead. If his description in the ad is accurate, that car should be a pretty good deal. If I can be any help, let me know. -p

I thought this video was hilarious the first few times I watched.... Then I noticed, right at the end of the video, his burning shoe in the street Does anyone know the story behind this video? Was this kid seriously burned?

According to snopes.com, the cigar story is also an urban legend... http://www.snopes.com/crime/clever/cigarson.asp

I _love_ this quote about the Porsche 911 GT2: :flamedevil:

Hey Guys, Sounds like this repair isn't as bad as I had imagined it would be. But I think I've decided to pass on this car. I was really excited to find a rust-free and fairly straight body, but the car is just too well set up (and expensive) for me to tear apart as a project. I think I'm going to keep shopping around until I find a more suitable platform. -p

I've been lurking around HybridZ for a couple of years soaking up as much info as I can before I start my Z project. I've always been very impressed with the wealth of knowledge available here. Well, the time has finally come for me to get started - I'm shopping for a Z! I have found a 1972 240 that seems to be in pretty good shape overall (very little to no rust). The owner pointed out that there was some body filler on the roof where he repaired a dent. It was repaired pretty well, but a "wave" in the roof is still detectable. It looks like the underlying dent was pretty large, as the wave seems to be about 24" long from front to back. The car is newly painted, so I'd probably leave it as-is for a while, but I would eventually want to fix it. I've got no experience with body work, so I'm pretty clueless as to what can be done. Can a dent in the roof like this be repaired back to straight without cutting the roof off and grafting a straight one on? What are my options?