nthiogen

Hey there, my current gas cap doesn't seal hardly at all on my car, and I'm tired of losing tons of precious gasoline to inertia. If anyone has a clean, perfectly sealing gas cap lying around, I'd love to take it off your hands! I also may need fuel tank filler neck and vent hoses, so if you have those as well I'd be interested in them too. I am in San Francisco, CA 94132. E-mail is the best way to reach me (n.theorygen@gmail.com), or my cell which is 818 667 5399. Thanks! Kyle

Sorry for the extremely late reply y'all. I appreciate the info and links. For now I'll have to focus on the essentials, as my ignition system is in need of an overhaul. I'm planning on doing a write-up for it as well, so hopefully I'll have a little something useful to contribute to the forum. I think that about 80-90amps should be plenty for me. I'm planning on putting LEDs in the interior and side markers to help relieve some strain on the electrical system, and I am staying carbureted and fan clutch'd so I won't have to worry about high current draw. Thanks for the tip on the Red Tops, Six. I'll definitely be keeping that in mind when I start redoing the charging system. And good look on the link, wrcbonk.

He's right, when it comes to Halos, CCFL is the way to go. I personally prefer the look of the stock gauges, but if you're happy with it, keep it. If not, try to find a gauge that fits a little better. It looks sorta... crooked.

Thanks for the advice Tony D, sorry for not responding earlier. My car's been getting 14 MPG highway and 10 or so in the city, so electronics are on the back burner for now. Just ordered some Z-therapy SU's. Nice dent in the wallet, but I figure they should be more than worth it. What's this about capacitors and relays? I know nothing about electronics/ignition in a car. It's the one arcane field of car stuff that I have absolutely no insight in. I probably know as much or less than the layman. I have to be honest, even though JeffP's setup was built from expensive trial and error, buying a 200amp alternator seems... unnecessarily expensive powerful. My I35 most definitely did not have a 200amp alternator, and it powered a 10-inch sub as well as all the other power options it came with (of which there were plenty, which I'm sure you already know). I leaning more towards rebuilding a junkyard alternator off a modern car and adapting that. I see cars with subs hanging from the headliner that definitely haven't had their alternators replaced and they do just fine. I don't want to sound like I'm blowing off your advice, especially because you clearly know what you're talking about. I was just hoping for a solution that was less pricey and fancy.

As it stands, my car's got two 6x9" speakers in the rear. It will be receiving two more 3.5" speakers and a 12" subwoofer powered by a 400W mono amp. The headlights dim and the turn signal hangs when when I let off the gas already, so I'm assuming I'll need significantly more power to drive a beefed up audio system. My question is, how many more amps of power should I be shooting for? Getting a direct bolt in alternator is not as easy as it seems when looking for lots of amps. I don't really know what to expect, and I'd think that a 280ZX-T alternator SHOULD be sufficient as it's designed to power far more electronic equipment than mine, but I'm not sure how a massive sub system will affect things (especially since I like my music loud). I want to keep costs down as much as possible, but I need the setup to be reliable. I can't see myself adding any more electronics than that, so my concern is primarily to ensure adequate power for that setup at a reasonable price. Will the 280ZX turbo alternator suffice? If not, how many amps should I seek?

Very nice! What kind of rubber are you running?

Ok, so I have an update. I spent last weekend in Concord working on the car with Dave Premo. Turns out the previous owner was an idiot, and did a lot of things wrong. Even his "SCCA Champion" cousin who apparently rebuilt the head f***ed things up. The valves were adjusted backwards (exhaust lash adjusted to intake specs and vice versa), the interior was thrown together haphazardly, Stevie Wonder could have wired it better, the gas filler neck leaks, it came with 3 different locks, the air cleaner was totally absent, the rear driveshaft U-joint was toast, and some "trick adjustable camber control arm bushings" turned out to be the cause of my rear end clunk -- they didn't fit right at all. Rear sway bar is off because it wouldn't fit with the lowered suspension, which, judging by the driver rear corner, is KYB struts on Suspension Technique springs. However, considering all the other stuff that's been done wrong, I wouldn't be surprised if it was a mix n match. I replaced the rear control arm bushings with my Energy poly units, swapped the rear U-joint with a Precision unit at the local auto parts store, did a valve job, got the air cleaner back on, and got a new right rear tire. Here are some pics taken before I got the new tire. If you look closely, you can see absurd amounts of camber wear on the driver side rear tire. Poly butchings "Trick camber butchings" Adjustin the valves: Left side -- straight as an arrow: Other pics: Fresh interior! Stupid Grant wheel and stupid shift knob for sale ;D Unforgivably restrictive 1 5/8" exhaust with dual "Nikamari" or whatever exhausts. Sounds terrible. Lookin sexy on the 5 just north of Visalia: In spite of all of this, the car got me safely from Concord to Calabasas. She's rough around the edges, but doesn't seem like she'll fail on me anytime soon. Works for me! If anyone wants a video, I can take one with my phone. It's got the HD videeya capabilities!

True that, the Z's are very lightweight so 4-piston calipers with massive rotors on all fours are just not necessary unless you're building a tube-framed all-out racing car. I was told that the Toyota brake swap is a good and cheap way to go, but seeing as the components are made for a work truck... wouldn't they add a lot of unnecessary unsprung weight? I'm getting invaluable oversight from Dave Premo on my car, and he recommended the 300ZX aluminum calipers for the fronts because they're lightweight and designed to stop a 3500lb 300hp car. I haven't found anyone else who has done that swap, so I'm sorta hoping I can be the first to document it and such. But I'm sure you can Megasquirt the car and beef up your brakes with $1500 bucks, especially if you can tune it yourself. If you haven't already, slap on some pricey brake pads and get some very sticky tires. That may get you more bang for your buck than you'd expected.

I'd say go with the EFI swap. L28ET's can be had for very cheap, but if your car can't stop and handle with all the extra power you're going to throw into it, I don't see much point in giving it loads of horsepower. 200whp can be had with an NA L28 and EFI, and according to the opinions of many HBZers who have achieved that level and surpassed it, this was the power level at which they most enjoyed driving their Z. Still bulletproof reliable, simple enough, and cheap enough. Plus, being able to tune your car on the fly with your laptop is really nice. It's like having the open'er-up-and-tune flexibility of a carburetor with bonus of more hp/$. But it really all comes down to what you're going to use the car for. Which is my next question -- what is this car being used for, and what does it currently have in the way of mods?

Wow! That's an insane build! Can't wait to see it done.

If none of that works out, I'll have an R180 out of a 73 4spd. Most likely 3.364. I'll trade plus some cash on my end. I'll also be in LA at the end of this month, so no shipping hassle either!

Wow! 0.7 miles!! Haha, that's impressive. Cool, I'll look into those. Ok, if I can make it I most definitely will.

Thanks for the tip 310z! Might I add that I've saved nearly all the pics you posted in your build thread? That thing is pure beastery, no two ways about it. I especially liked the nifty kick-panel speaker boxes -- very nice touch! Being an audiophile, you're liable to see me steal that design idea from ya Yeah, Premo's roadster is one clean machine. He regularly attends Solvang. He went there last week, actually. He attends a bunch of Roadster shows, and it's likely he's been to Shasta a few times. He used to own a dime back in the day too. Riv-nut? What's that? A type of double-sided tape/adhesive? As much as I'd like to keep the buckets clean, they're cheap parts and I don't want to risk losing something more expensive for not wanting to damage something less expensive. But I guess with paint the buckets would amount to more. And I'll make sure to place a call with Pettersen if some HybridZers can't help me out. I'll have to ship the stuff since Chico is a pretty long drive unless I'm picking up enough parts at once for it to be worth it. When's the Shasta Roadster show? I'm returning to LA for the summer around May 20th, but I'll be back up here to locate a house in July. The zed will have to be up for a trip to Shasta if it's gonna take me to LA in a few weeks.

Not speaking from personal experience, there is Z-Car Garage in San Jose. I have been told that they are reputable.

Thanks Pharaohbq. I will absolutely be shooting some more pics this weekend when I return to Concord to start working on it. Yeah, this car's body is just unbelievable. My 2003 Infiniti I35 (which I sold to buy this) had more dents and scratches on it than this car does, haha! It's currently insured with Mercury Insurance. They're going to request photos at some point, and they do have a system which will allow it to be appraised for an agreed upon value. She's not a numbers-matching original or restored car in any way, so the value isn't super high. It will be my daily driver, so collectible insurance isn't viable. This car is going to be driven, there will be no yearly mileage limits in my life. Not with this car. Will do. Dave keeps tearing into her and, being an electrician, I've no doubt that he'll get the car into shape on the electrical side of things before I can even have all the parts necessary to make her road ready. Speaking of which, I desperately need an early SU air cleaner. I pm'd a guy here on the forums but I haven't gotten a response. It's been less than 3 hours but I'm getting itchy... I want to start driving this thing already! It's such a tease having the car of your dreams sit dormant 30 miles away :'(

g.abapo, that's one of the sexiest stock-looking Z's I've ever seen. I beg to differ on the wheels, they complete the oldschool hotrod look. You say you're in LA -- I'll be down there at the end of this month with my Z. We should meet up, and if you really don't want those wheels, well... I do Attached is a photo of my Z, my very first Z. I picked her up May 3.

On Tuesday last week, I picked up my first Z-car. She's a 1973 4spd with a dished N42 2.8 on the open-chamber E88 head. The headlights and speedometer don't work, and the rear end makes a loud clunk when you engage/disengage the clutch. I suspect (and have been almost universally told) that it's the diff mount. The car came with an R200 and a mustache bar to mount it. I've already replaced the factory water temp and oil pressure senders -- oil pressure is high and then engine runs very smoothly. It was missing the air cleaner, so I'm watching a bid on eBay to take care of that. I also ordered an R200 diff mount insulator today from West Covina Nissan for $56 shipped. I'm being guided through the process of refreshing and modifying this Z by Dave Premo, my dad's best friend and a damn good mechanic. He's got a 67.5 2000 he built from the ground up. Search "Premo datsun roadster" in google images and you'll see it My plans are basically to sort out the existing issues, swap the 3.90 R200 and plop in a 5speed. Then discs on all corners; springs (although I suspect it has already been lowered), struts, strut braces, camber plates, urethane bushings; stiffen the chassis, put in a roll bar with harnesses -- and then start on the engine. I'll probably end up taking care of the exhaust somewhere between the beginning and middle of the project, as the current exhaust is absurdly restrictive. I'm trying to keep it competition legal even though racing the car is a secondary interest at this point in time. She needs new tires and rims, and the headlight covers are off for now because they were double-side taped on. I'd rather just drill em in. Calling the paint an Earl Scheib job is a slight understatement. It's cheap, but the body is pristine. It doesn't appear to have rusted anywhere. Dave was under the car, tapping all of the panels, none collapsed or showed signs of corrosion. The rear hatch area is without rust as are the floorboards -- which are original. I haven't checked the doglegs, but I'm hoping they're clean too. All in all, I overpaid a little for it ($6500) because the body is rust-free and straight as an arrow. It does have some nice doohickeys like the JVC radio and MSA speaker box, and that nifty cupholder/armrest addon. I can now say that I'm a proud owner of a Z-car!

Yeah, that'd have violated two of my most important criteria: manual only and smog exempt only. Thanks though. I did, however, purchase a car today. So this thread should be closed. Thank you all for the offers

Bumpity. Still looking.