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Here's my Z. Pictures from an autocross on Saturday. There is a white Z buried somewhere under all that snow.

I would recommend that the timing be checked and set to the factory recommended setting. If you are looking for some good tips on getting your car running like it should, check out http://atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/reviving/index.html, especially the section about "Tune the car" (toward the bottom of the page).

The plugs are indicating that it is running on the rich side, but are not oil fouled. I would recommend doing a compression test (with the engine warm), but just for information sake.

Post of the month!!!

PM Sent

+1

Love the last picture. That's a good use for a factory GM stereo!

I've got Google in my "car". It works great! My brother is running Search in his pickup. They usually work, but Google is much better IMHO. As far as gauges for a turbo car, it depends on how many gauges you would like to install. I personally would run a speedometer, tachometer, coolant temp gauge, oil pressure gauge, fuel gauge, and a volt gauge. As far as I'm concerned, those gauges are enough to adequately monitor a properly tuned car. As far as turbo monitoring gauges (usually reserved for use while tuning), you could go with a boost gauge (fun to watch), pyrometer (if like to watch your EGT's, for whatever reason), and you could install a drive pressure gauge (monitors your back pressure - warning, it can make you sad if your turbo is improperly sized since your backpressure would be higher than your boost). I do not recommend a permanently mounted AFR. It has always been my opinion that they make a car look like a work in progress instead of a finished masterpiece, but that is only my opinion. Many people like to permanently mount AFRs. I don't remember the gauge sizes off the top of my head. I think that people running speedhut gauges are using 2 5/8" gauges to replace the small ones and something around 4" speedos and tachs.

I went with vinyl for my seats. I got rid of all of the horse hair and went with seat foam topped with a 1.5" layer of aircraft seat memory foam (stiffer than regular memory foam). The seats came out great. The yellow memory foam can be seen in the back of the car.

+1 I have loved following this build. It gave me the motivation for my own project!

Air shouldn't be escaping from your intake manifold, since it is usually at a vacuum relative to atmospheric pressure. What you are most likely hearing is a vacuum leak. My recommendation is to spray various areas with carb cleaner. If the engine accelerates when you spray, you have found a vacuum leak at the location you are spraying.

I'm loving the pictures (I've got your Z with the lake as my background). Keep up the good work!

ZZZAP Decal Kit

So, I figured it is about time that I create a thread about my car. I go to college in New Mexico and the car has been residing at home in California, so I have only been able to work on it over Christmas break and after work during the summer. I bought my 1978 280z from the original owner with 152,000 original miles. He was in the process of restoring it when the economy hit, so I got it for a great price. The PO was kind enough to have $1600 in work done to the car months before he sold it to me. He had a new steering rack installed, new tie rod ends, new brakes all around (from Les Schwab, which means all new brake components including calipers), and new tires. It wasn't running when I bought it, but only needed a fuel pump. I purchased the car in September 2009 through my brother who was local to the car. I didn't get to see it (other than pictures) until I flew out for Thanksgiving. I have been able to accomplish the following in the little time I've had to work on the car: installed MSA swaybars, Tokico suspension(springs, adjustable struts), polyurethane bushings, all new engine gaskets, 16" Konig Rewinds wrapped in 205/55R16 Pirelli tires, new clutch, all new hoses, rebuilt radiator, and new interior upholstery. My plans for the car include a turbo LM7 (5.3L Chevy V8) and a T56. I would go with a turbocharged LS1, but I'm going to have to start paying for grad school coming up next fall, on top of the undergrad expenses that I am currently incurring. The following two images are how the car looked when I first got it running: And after the suspension: New upholstery. I had the stock seats custom built with stiff foam covered with 1 inch of memory foam everywhere except for the side wings. I'm glad to have the horse hair gone and now it is like driving a recliner. I have a new headliner and also had the door panels recovered as well. All that is missing now is the carpet, which I plan on doing myself. You can see the memory foam in the back of the car in the picture below. Here's a shot of the driver's seat. I absolutely hate oil leaks. My engine had one. The key word is had. I pulled the engine and installed all new gaskets and inspected the engine. I also took this opportunity to paint the engine. The L28 is tiny compared to the V8's that I am used to working on! I just finished up a 496 cubic inch boat engine before starting on my Z's engine, so the change was quite drastic. High-temp painted exhaust manifold is on. Here's the Z last week (pictured with my brother at a local car show). Comments are welcome and encouraged.

My car has the same skid pan. I've had it on and off at least a dozen times now... Every time I put it back on, I find something that requires that I take it back off As far as storing the head (I assume you are talking about a L28 head), I would make sure that the deck surface is on something that won't scratch it up, like a piece of cardboard. I personally would plug the intake and exhaust ports to prevent anything from getting in and to help keep moisture out. That, and keep the valve cover on it. I would also recommend coating the cam/rockers/valve springs in a thin film of fogging oil or at least WD-40 to prevent any surface rust from building up. Cheers

I had a little trouble getting my mounts to line up. I ended up sticking a punch through the bolt hole on the engine and then through the motor mounts and wiggling it around until the bolt holes lined up. In my case, the engine stayed in place once I got the holes lines up, so I could just stick the bolt in and tighten it. Best of luck!

I put the engine and transmission in together, but I had two other guys and a great engine hoist when I did it. It slipped in really easily and I had no issues getting the drive shaft to line up (I left it connected to the diff). I won't necessarily recommend this way over any other method since I haven't tried it any other way in a Z.

I just did mine (almost installed them backwards). They slipped in with no problems for me. I have found myself cursing other parts during the bushing installs, though.

I am not a stranger to performance I6's or the fact that I6's have been transplanted into many applications. I have a couple of Ford straight 6 engines (a 240 and a 300) in farm machinery, and previously owned a Dodge Dart GT with the slant 6. It's just not the drivetrain I had expected to find in a hot rod pickup, which is why I thought it was odd.

I was browsing my local craigslist site when I came across this post. It was the last thing I expected to see in a hot rod pickup! I have to say: The Z rearend looks pretty darned good chromed.

I've got mine up on jackstands right now. It would be much nicer to be able to use a lift. Now I just need to get the strut assembly and hub separated from the lower control arm...

I'd be worried about those tires peeling off as you corner. It would be a shame to ruin the new wheels if the bead unseated. I'm sure that some 235's or 245's would fit much better.

Generally, for a street engine if the bore taper is less than 0.005" (i.e. the diameter at the top is within 0.005" of the diameter of the bottom), you are fine running the stock diameter pistons. EDIT: some repeated information removed since Blue72 beat me to it

I have a hidden fuel pump disconnect switch (disguised as a bolt head) and an innovative hood lock to prevent any tampering in that area - my hood release knob broke off so now you need pliers to open the hood Unfortunately there is no surefire way to prevent a car from being stolen - while in China, my Grandpa lost his Jeep to a large group of Chinese men. They slid two poles under the Jeep and carried it off before anybody could do anything.

Here's my dumper (yeah, I know I'm a jerk)