Gollum

True story - It's 11pm friday night. I'm heading to my friends house for a quick chat before heading home for then night. I'm traveling I-80 at 80mph or so. In the distance I see some tail lights... Hmm??? What's that? It's still a good mile off or so. Once I got a little closer, less than a half mile or so I knew for sure what it was. Supra. Instict and stupidity kicks in, I mash the throttle to take a closer look. As I get closer I can tell it's purple, has a pearl paint job, and definately has some turbo whine. As I get within that 1/8 mile of him or so I start slowing down a bit so I don't just fly past him. As I roll up next to his car his hand fly's out the window with a huge "Thumbs Up" and smiles. As I roll past I give him a thumbs up and a "rock on" metal fist and change over 4 lanes since my exit was coming up. Of all people to ever give ME a thumbs up... Shesh. And I was in a S130 at that. For the most part it seems most people I run into have positive outlooks on the Z cars. The most harsh critic I have is my brother though. He doesn't like 90% of S30 cars I show him, and has a hard time picturing any S130 car as "timeless" and to him they'll always be 80's, and crappy 80's at that. I personally don't find any Zcar to be the most beautiful car of it's era, but I certainly find them to be one of the best balances out there. Price, looks, performance, potential. These are things that ALL Z cars have above many other cars out there, and i think that overal package has been what's made these cars so well remembered.

Like crap. haha Just got it running finally. Still got some kinks to work out. I'm not getting water temp, and oil temp on the dash, probably due to sensor issues sitting out in the rain for so long. I also don't get any boost signal, but that's because the hose going to the sensor is cracked. It was running super rich, adjusted the AFM, doesn't blow black smoke now. PO had it running super super rich, and also knew his injectors weren't in the greatest of shape (car wouldn't run on low gas), and had it super rich for "safety". With your injectors it's running great. I've had some spark issues, so I'm gonna have to go and get a set of plugs, wires, and makes a cap and rotor while I'm at it. I really need to get some money together and buy all new hoses for the entire engine. Rid myself of the coolant in the throttle, replace the oil lines, coolant lines, etc. I should also clean all my electrical connections. Most of my driving is highway, so I don't see 25mpg as impossible on a stock L28et. Hard part will be getting it lean enough and still not pinging on cheap gas.

Yea, sounds about right. I'm gonna see how good of a highway tune I can get on my L28et before thinkning about megasquirt. If I DO end up even keeping my car then I'll go megasquirt eventually, and if the stock ECU can't get over 25mpg then I'll be saving money in the long run.

I've run into the same problem, and I think it's due to a poor seal between the glass and the outer rubber. There IS a drain, but it sucks horribly. Nissan saw fit to put a little rubber plug in there that's "supposed" to let it all drain out. We it basically creates a really nice PLUG and just gets in the way, so I just removed mine. It's drained fine since. But I've only had this problem in 2 S130 cars, and this car has quite a gap at the base of the window. It's the only way I could see that much water getting in. (i've had what seemed like a gallon at times)

My car runs now. HA! Beat ya... Could it be a bad connection at the ECU? Just a thought...

There's also another possability I just thought of... ...if the tire has been sitting a long time it's possible that it's surroundings have taken their toll on the rubber. Are you sure the inside isn't just as eaten up? If a car is sitting in dirt the first thing to show wear from the soil is the edges of the tire. I know this from experience.

Latest update: I'll be applying for a job at a company my uncle works for. The job would be programming related, Access more specifically. I have a bit of programming experience, and I'm sure I can quickly get to a sufficiant level of skill for their requirements. Me and my uncle will be working over the next few weeks getting me up to speed in access programming, working on a project that will be a large part of my resume. They design/sell software for hospitals. Not all what they sell is their own stuff, but they're moving more and more into that market. The upside is that if I DO get the job, then it'll most likely pay a healthy starting $18/h or so, and be a work from anywhere type of job. The main office is located in concord, so even if I do have to commute, it's not bad and reverse commute still for me. Would actually be a shorter commute. The hard part will be convincing the man in charge that I'm up to the job. I interviewed before and apparently I spoke too much about my main passion, music, and that's what stuck in his mind. The other partners in the company love me already, and love my computer hardware background. So if this works out I guess i'll be staying in CA for a while Oh yea, and with this new job prospect, there's the flexability for me to possibly go to school at the same time. One of the owners sons works for the company and is also going to school full time, since he can work from anywhere (it's a virtual company for the most part).

Unless the car has been modified I'd say it's safe to bet something is wrong with that much abnormal tire wear. I'd look into what it could be first, and finding the PROBLEM, before thinking about going with an aftermarket part. To me that seems like saying "hmm, my injectors aren't firing, guess I'll install megasquirt". I'm not trying to be rude, sorry if it seems like that. I just know that a 280ZX in good condition shouldn't have abnormal tire wear.

There isn't really anybody selling turbo manifolds on a large scale basis. Most in the past have been very limited runs at best. The stock manifold will support a decent amount of HP, but limits your turbo options. If you've got time and your power goals aren't insane I'd just wait to find one via ebay or junkyard. Took me over 6 months to find a local driveshaft for my turbo car. Sourcing parts can prove difficult sometimes.

IT RUNS!!!!!!!!!!!!! Do I need to say it again? It RUNS!!!! Ok, so after me and rudypoochris fiddled with the starter for a couple of hours we got the starter working and the engine started nearly right away, no hesitation at all. Though it was running rough, on 3 cylinder. So I Changed the plugs out for my older NA ones in decent shape (they were brand new when I started all this, but they'd been left out for a while so they're probably not in the greatest shape now). After that we fired it up and noe 5 cylinders were working. We're getting signal to the plug, as it's arching just fine when the cable is unplugged, and we changed the spark plug, though i'm not sure the one I put in was in the greatest shape. Tonight I'm gonna double check all the wires to make sure they're hooked up right, and all firing. Then I'll check to see if the injector is working via 9V battery. If all checks out ok I'll be making a run to the store to get a set of new plugs. If it's the injector I'm not gonna be thrilled as they all worked fine before... grrr. Hopefully it's just water shorting the connection or something. It has been outside for the last year... At any rate IT RUNS!!! If I have time tonight I'll hook up the driveshaft and get it moved out of the backyard.

Those ZX rims seem to look a lot better on a S30 than a S130... not fair. Great to see step out and help a fellow HZ member. Brings a tear to my eye/

What he said! ^ I've had several close friends serve in iraq and other various places in the middle east. I'll never let them forget how thankful I am to them, as much as I hated saying good bye when they left.

Wow, what a STEAL!!!! Diff in that is worth half the price. Geez. Some people sure get lucky... Congrats though. I'm not sure what the missing part it, but I'll check my PDF Z31 FSM once I get a chance. Might be a while though. So what are the plans? Drive the car as a dd? Mod it? Parts car/donor car?

Stupid question... but fuel pump turning on? You really need to find someone with a pressure guage and check that fuel pressure... Too low fuel pressure is extremely common in these cars due to bad fuel pressure regulators.

Does the car have t tops? If so it's most likely NOT a 79'. If it was imported there's a good chance the years got screwed up. I'd definately check the pistons via pulling a plug. If it's got flat tops don't worry too much about it. If that's the case then the running rich is EFI related. Check fuel pressure, AFM, and vacuume lines (make sure they're connected right and not blocked).

+1 I've heard several stories of successful racecar drivers who loved the rain when they were young because of the super low tire wear, saving them money. I'm not very experienced with snow, but it seems you've got some good advice.

The girlfriend is currently talking about making the move with me if I do move. :S There will be a long talk involved about that one... Anyways, about the school advice - Yes I agree an education is good, but certainly not needed to make a good living. In the bay area especially experience is much better than anything else, and I've run and managed my own company doing IT repairs and such. I could make much more money in that field, but finding work lately has been tough and tiring. I've known plenty of YOUNG people able to make well over 70k here in CA with nothing more than a high school diploma, it's about finding the right company to hire you, and working your way up. Hence why I'm considering this move. Yes i'm making $12 and hour now. But if I'm still with this company in 10 years I should be making very good money. If things don't work out I'm thinking I'm gonna try to find an entry level position in marketing for one of the norcal pharmaceutical companies. Hardest part there is getting the interview, after that I'm sure I'd be fine. Right now I'm about 80-90% sure I'll be making the move. Been looking into the fernley which is outside the county, so no smog. My calculated commute is about 35 minutes on google, since I'll be working in sparks, near the city center I believe. I believe that the experience will be good for me, and I have much I can learn from my boss which will be more important than what I can learn in school. (he is a harvard business school graduate after all) I hope to make a trip up there in the near future to check out the area. Maybe I'll drive the Z up there if I get it running soon.

Heehee... not around here my friend. It's a very sad day if there aren't any EFI L28 cars in my local junkyard. Vehicles don't last there for very long, so stock changes constantly, and rarely are EFI sensors pulled from L series cars there. But there's usually at least 2-3 Z cars with L28 motors there. Finding a 240Z there is a whole different story...

Yes it's 75' and older that's smog exempt in CA. In my opinion it's better to start with the 240Z. Better to start lighter and add weight where you WANT it, don't you think? If you were willing to sacrifice weight for the sake of OEM rigidity the 280ZX would be a better option than a 280Z, but that's a whole nother ball of wax (has to be smogged, diff suspension problems etc). But as stated before by cozy and others, rust and overal shape are bigger factors than the badge or year of production.

I still wanna find concrete weights on the no-option 79' S130. Something tells me 2700 might not be an unreasonable guess. I'd imagine 2775 max. At any rate thanks for posting the numbers 80LT1!

I think he could have started with a better base (like a CRX HF) but if it's what he had then it's what he had. Do I think it's ugly? Of course. Do I think his efforts were pointless or without meaning? No. What if he's on to something? For all we know we might end up seeing hundreds of college projects of people modifying their vehicle for the sake of science and better mpg. His project should inspire people to show them that it doesn't take time and money to make a difference in their car, it takes WELL THOUGHT OUT EFFORT. He's not really much different than any of us here, just a TOTALLY different goal in mind. If his car ran a 6 second 1/4 mile we wouldn't care what it looked like. You know it's still surprising to me that people here in the bay area continue to buy huge SUVs and trucks when they unquestionably don't NEED them. Who knows what the public will really buy in the future. Overall they're a mass of unpredictable and unintellegent buyers.

I've personally seen a NA VG30 swap in a S30. Very clean, makes tons TONS of sense actually. Light mod for light mod they're comparable or better than the L series and they're a very small engine package. There's also a supercharged version in the xterra, if you could lay your hands on one of those and then megasquirt it you could easily have lots of power and none of the steering clearance issues. As far as the redline most dynos I've seen peak power is around 5.5k, and they stop the dyno at 6k. I don't have enough experience to say if it the motor would rev higher with modification.

The injectors are actually a BATCH injection, not sequential, so no worries. Just go by length to make sure they all plug in and you should be fine. (the wiring comes in between 3 and 4 cylinders and branches out. My project is finally gonna be finished soon (i hope) as I've fixed the fuse issue. I just need to get the engine started again and I'll be good to go.

You're guys comments about religion might be seen as rude, but no worries everyone i'm not offended at all, and it IS a major religion, and I'm sure I can find a church up in reno. But they're FRIENDS, people that I'll have a bond with the rest of my life. The fact that I met them through church is just a side fact. No worries, I'm not part of a cult. Yesterday I got the chance to sit down with several close friends and all of them basically had the same conclusion which was reassuring. They all wished I would stay, but wanted the best for me and were encouraging me to make my own decision regardless of what that might be, and that they'd support my decision. As more time passes by I think the option will be move to reno. I have a great boss and I love my work, and with the kind of environment we have here it should allow me to also pursue other interests which is the whole point of making more money right?

Be careful about preconceptions regarding iron block motors. Yes iron is heavier, but it's significantly stronger, and thus iron blocks can be manufactured with a lot less mass. Aluminium blocks are reinforced quite a bit, and thicker all around, meaning more mass. All in all the block is only a SMALL portion of the weight of an engine. Cyinnder heads, crankshafts, rods, and manifolds can all have a significant impact on weight. All that said the numbers might be way off. There's been lots of discussion on this board about the inaccuracy of weights listed online, and how there's so little comparable data out there.