gretchen/jason

So i posted a thread about the brakes acting up in certain sitiuaitions . I was going to buy a proporition valve but i have a vacuum canister laying around so i hooked it up . Started the car and let it run then shut it down and heard this buzzing sound coming from the check valve on the booster . Well the canister was holding a vacuum but kept sucking air from the booster . So i tested the check valve it worked took a hand vacuum pump and trried to apply vacuum to the booster well no luck no vacuum . Funny that the pedal effort never changed when it started to leak . Ok after all that ive looked around at the auto stores checker napa etc etc they claim they can get a booster but when the try to order one it tells them its no longer avaiable . Any ideas where to pick one up ? Jason

Thanks for the info on the wiring . Id assume a 10 gauge wire would do it . Now my only problem is to find a place that can get me a new rear glass with good defroster lines in it . So far no luck with the auto glass people . Jason

Sorry i didnt state if the problem existed before hand . But no it didnt stock 280z mastercylinder and toyota calipers didnt give me such a hassel . In fact i didnt care for the way it stoped and wanted some more stoping power . So from another z web site " before i found this one " i asked other members and they said to switch mastercylinders . So that is what i did where as this problem arised . So i put the stock calipers on propblem went away but car stoped like crap . Havent retried stock mastercylinder as i dont have it anymore . I will try a inline adjuster to see what happens as a cheap alternative first , ive adjust the rear brakes at work a few times just to be sure " i work for mitsubishi " so i take advantage of the lifts . But ive always wondered when i bleed the rears i even tried the foot bleed method when i open the bleeder screw and someone pushes down on the pedal the fluid just sorta trickles out . I figured it should come out with more pressure but barley anything comes out . Ive checked for bent lines and found none but who knows could be rust someplace i guess . The people i bought the z from are the kind who " drive it till something breaks " and dont worry untill something does it was in bad shape brake fluid looked like thick mud when i bought the thing . Jason

Well the rebello racing numbers were off some web site that i ran across . i tried to copy what the person said he did but i couldnt get close to the numbers he "said " he produced . jason

All in all id like the fronts to be a little less responsive on any slipery surface rain sand what be it . Ive looked at proportining valve but not sure what to use or if i should redo the entire brake system "lines" . Is weight in the rear a issue ? I had a custom speaker enclosure that all in all added roughly 200 pounds to the rear give or take a few pounds Well ive never owned a car with ABS 31 years old and every car i owned is built befroe 1971 except for my z . My first car was a 69 dodge charger no ABS second car was a 71 dodge charger again NO abs . Never had a car with A/C nor my 3 years of owning a z car in colorado ive never had heat in my ride so its not like i have no experience without ABS .Dont care for it doesnt stop as good to me . Third car is my z . No abs Well ive had a buddy follow me to see what my tires actually do in a very wet road condition i hit the brakes he said the fronts stop but the rears keep turning . I let him drive it slap the brakes on as if to stop quickly rears kept turning fronts locked up as is the opisite on a dry road i hit the brakes to stop hard and wham the rears lock up first untill the rear end lifts up enough to make te fronts skid the fronts do lock up on a dry road but not as quickly as the rears but they do lock up . Ive got a buddy with a 240 z same problem same setup if he turns a corner while braking the front tires skid and the front end goes where it wants . Im trying to see if there is a way to get more bracking to the rears then to the fronts and what should i change in the brake line setup or what bad parts should i look for . I put the stock calipers back on and the problem goes away takes longer to stop but goes away .Should i try a different pad in the front or shoe in the rear . Im using plain stock shoes and ceramic in the front .Been driving my z for 3 years with this problem didnt really bug me till i scratched my rim on a curb a week ago as for snow well thats a common thing i just put studded tires on the front to help hell i can even turn a corner in the snow without studded tires i turn and the wheels turn but car goes straight . But thats another problem i solved . Jason

Oh and about the BS power numbers i must say when it was engine dynoed at 7,000 ft above sea level so minus 25-30% of the horses for the thin air ...So at sea level were looking at oh 285 horses at the crank . I had the money so i did it it was as datsunlover says "kinda useless" and it was i rarely had it over 7 ran it to about 8,500 once what a ride that was 4.11 gears doing well over 120 mph maybe 125 but the car started to float so i never ran it that high again . Saw a thread someplace about a stroker engine built by rebello racing putting out 310 -320 horses at 11 thou rpms way more work then what was done with mine . Yep 10 k was my redline i had so much machine work done it wasnt funy each piston only fit 1 sleve as each space was bored to fit the exact measurment of the piston crank balanced to within 1 gram of centerline . I had a nasty cam that was made by the engine builder rpm power range was 3,500 rpm to 9 grand . . had a company make a stall converter wit a 4,000 rpm stall speed as i used the 3 speed auto and 4.11 rear diff gears . Also ran a 500 cfm 4 bbl carb and Arizona z car intake manifold i could run 100 iles non stop at 4,500 rpm at 80 mph and stop and idle just as smooth as could be . i guess i went overboard with that one same goes for my V8 swap i have a V8 in my z now but one on a stand im building to get a 8 thou rpm red line maybe 9 if i can get it done . Jason

A softer suspension in the front i could try that ive got tokico non adjustable struts and progressive rate springs very stiff in the front almost no nose dive when i try to stop the car stays "flat " when stoping . Ive thought of getting new springs that are a bit taller as i lowered my z 2 1/2 inches and its a bit low sometimes . Jason

Where would the bias valve be on a 78 280z ? I know there is a valve on the firewall drivers side . i guess it could be the rears arent getting the proper pressure due to some in line problem . And when i bled the brakes by pressure bleeding it was very hard to get rears to bleed very hard . well the fronts lock up very very easy with sand on the road or some watter when it rains so i feather the pedal . Now on a dry road if i slam the pedal to the floor the rears lock up just before the fronts do stops realy good on a nice day . Are there any other valves or such between the master cylinder and the rears ? I need to figure this out but i must say when it snows i use the parking brake to slow down as its eaiser then trying to keep the front end fom sliding . Thanks for the advice Jason

Yep its costly . i did a stroker kit on my 78 280 engine and all in all parts labor for machine work valve springs center line bore complete balance etc etc I wanted to make sure it was done rite the first time i spent about 5 grand yes 5 gs man ended up with 230 at the crank with a 10 thou rpm red line nice on the open roads but costly . Id try to get a turbo zx engine half as much money can be spent with more power or so ive heard . Jason

Well i upgraded to the zx master cylinder because the stock unit even when i bought a new one for the 78 280z would not stop my car with the toyota calipers . The stock calipers were much worse a couple of times i didnt think id ever stop no matter how hard i slamed the brakes on . so far this is the best except when i hit sand water snow gravel dirt etc anything but dry pavement . heck they grab so good in the front that with 310 ft lbs of torque to the tires actually pushes the ront tires along the ground without them ever turning . kinda like stoping . Jason

Ive tried and tried but i sign in and keep being told i can post a new thread or reply because im not signed in even though it says i just signed in like 1 or 3 minutes ago why is this . jason

I have a all fiberglass hood with cowl scoop from a guy in california . Thing is i need the scoop to be about 1 1/2 inches taller and the scoop itself 3 inches wider .Scoop i have now is 4 inches tall and i think the width is 25-30 inches wide i need one that is at least 5 3/4 of a inch tall . Question is this . If i take a large piece of styrofoam and shap it to the shape of the cowl scoop itself but to my dimensions then overlay the foam with some sort of wax paper could i lay fiberglass on top of that to get the scoop i need . In doing this i may get rid of te fiberglass hood and find a stock non vented hood to rivet the new scoop to or if im lucky attach it to my fiberglass hood then flip it over to cut out the smaller scoop . jason

Im using the toyota 4x4 calipers brand new everything works great , also using the zx mastercylinder and stock 280z power booster . Car has a sbc 350 conversion using tokico struts and lowering springs all around , non adjustable struts . Deal is if the road is dry no sand no nothing it stops great . Now if i hit anything at all even a slight amount of sand with very very slight brake pedal effort the fronts lock up and wham no way to stop . I go to slow down to turn a corner if there is any sand snow etc i have to basacilly let off the brake and hope i dont break the rear end loose and go for it . Sucks when coming to a stop light almost hit a truck due to some sand on the road and i couldnt stop . The rear brakes are totaly redone new wheel cylinder pads hardware drums etc and evry so often i set the shoes just incase the become to loose . The only thing i didnt replace is the entire brake line setup and proportining valves . Any ideas Jason 78 280z

Very nice man like the ride . Who did ya purchase the rims from . I have some everyday rims 15x9 with 225 -50 -15 on them and just clear the strut where the spring sits barley . Ive been looking for wider rims that i can use at the drag and the ones you have would be great . Oh also what did ya make the front grille out of very nice also . Jason 78 280z with 240 front end

So i read a thread on MSD ignition box failure . Well same here i blew through 3 in one year . I noticed quite a bit of power loss at higher rpms without the MSD box , enough so that when i had the box i would hit second gear and slide sideways now i dont , even though i have a MSD pro billet HEI . I run a supercharger so id like a Ignition box with a boost retard any sugestions on which one to use other then MSD Jason

Ive replaced every gauge i have with autometer phantom gauges as well as a das i made my self out of aluminum and plexi glass . Thing is i dont want to stick my stock fuel gauge in my dash amongst all the nice gauges Ive seen plenty of gauges but none that seem to work with the ohms valuse of a z fuel level sending unit . or is there one i dont know about . And how would i test te ohms on the sending unit i have the 2 wires that send the signal and the one that powers the gauge but not sure how to go about testing it as ive tried different ways and get different readings Jason

So im confused which to use i had a set of cast iron heads ported . With a .490 lift on the exhaust i got 235 cfm of flow with a 1.5 exhaust valve bout the same flow for intake using a 1.9 intake valve . Now im tossed up comp cams nos/blower cam or the cam weiand suggests from lunati as far as the cam $$$$$ is no object at all so as is rocker arms and lifters oh push rods to . but any ideas on cams what does everyone else use Jason

So i dont have a stock wiring harness or any of the componets that came in my 78 280z . I would like the rear defroster to work . I understand there was a timer switch or something at one time under the dash . If i were to hook it up on a switch just a 12 volt feed to the glass then the other side grounded to the frame just like stock will it work or burn something up . Jason

Ive used AZCARS product on a stroked L28 its way better then stock efi set up . Made a bit more power nothing to do back flips over but nice . And the cost was the thing i allready had a 390 cfm holley that was new and the intake price was good . Cheaper then redoing my allready half dead efi setup in my 280z . Made for a clean look ran great on the highway espically at 9 grand in the rpms . Engine was custom built 6 grand to build it not including parts . The AZ car setup is nice but i wanted more power way more so i did a v8 swap . But for those who want something different with out all the ugly wires i hate wires oh and air hoses to . But anyways its a nice setup flows way more air then the stock efi system ever could . Again wasnt looking for " big power " but something different . jason

I had the same air damn on my 280 . I cut out the stock turn signa housings to make room for air filters . Then the underside of the bumper just above the mesh grille towards the outer edges i cut a hole or i should say square hole about 3 inches long 1 inch deep . I then took the stock turn signal housings and added a piece of stiff plexi glass to it as to have the bulb pointing forward and boxed it in except i left the bottom open . I blacked out what i added with paint . Then i got some L brackets from the hardware store and mounted these above the holes i cut as to cast the light downwards into the opening where the mesh grille is . It lit up the entire aera orange at nit but flashed when turning and was very noticeable . Sorry i dont have pics i dont even have the air damn anymore as it didnt do a very good job as a " snow plow " . had to get to work and got caught in 2 feeet of snow on the way home ended up with only a piece of the thing the rest was somewhere on the open road Jason

I agree get a cutoff wheel . when i bought my 78 280z some jerk welded the passanger side fender to the outer skin of the rocker pannel what fun that was when i tried to remove the fender . Seems the bolt holes in that aera were welded shut also go figure . Some people just werent meant to repair cars .

Ive read a article about solid front diff mounts and flexing mustache bar and saw some pics of someones trashed crossmember . Do they make solid mustache bar bushings ? Or do i need a whole new bar just a question i wanted to ask so far ive trashed the stock front diff mount even a new one lasted oh 1/2 mile and also a few trans mounts on a Th 350 trans now all solid and holding nicely Jason

Where can one get solid mustache bar mounts as i have a solid front diff mount my self with new eurthane mustache bushings .

Well ive read quite a few posts about pros and cons of R180's and such but my question is i got a R180 out of a 82 maybe 83 nissan pickup truck if that is the correct year i just remember it was a nissan truck . It was the front diff as it was 4 wheel drive . Ive read about diffs having a big K stamped onto them well mine has the big K stamped on it . i wanted the diff because of the 4.11 gears it had and for 40$ who could argue . Ive run it for 3 years now 1 year with a V8 320 ft lbs of torque to the tires . Is this diff the same as what was in my 78 280z to begin with ? Is it any better or any worse then a 78 diff ? I noticed with the stock diff and 3.54 gears that 1 tire would spin alot on hard launches . Now if the road is good its hard to break them loose and if a tire does break loose not 1 tire spins but both . I do know i had to get a solid diff mount as stock sucks . from all the info listed im going to upgrade my axls unless stock 78 axles are ok for the moment that is . Thanks Jason " So i asked a guy ' you really thought a Mits Evo was faster then my datsun in the 1/4 mile !!!!!!

Well the weiand 144 comes with a 7 lb boost pulley which i believe the crank pulley is 6 inches the snout pulley 3 inches . But i live at 6,100 ft above sea level "THIN AIR SUCKS" so it produced 4 lbs of boost according to the boost gauge . I now run a 2.5 inch snout pulley which is set for 10-12 lbs but up here its 8 lbs . I ordered a crate engine had it dynoed with no super charger and had 230 crank horses and 250 torque . Seeing as it had 290 horses when i ordered it not a bad loss for thin air . Rear wheel HP with 4 lbs of boost was 265 with 285 in torque . I havent dynoed with 8 lbs but was told its probably 290 horse at the tire 330 in torque . I just had a set of heads done up and bench flowed to match a blower cam shaft . Im still running the stock cam with like a 410 lift new cam has 510 lift . Id like to ask about the NOS set up ya have what brand is the fogger plate ? I have a bottle and solenoids just no plate lost it . And you say ya have a nos controller to regulate the spray ? Does it only let a certain amount of spray out of the jets ? ive thought of running a 100 shot but not sure im afraid of the big bang if ya know what i mean . Had a NOS backfire on another car wow what a sight that was blew my air filter about 7 ft straight up in the air Jason ------------------ AWWW poor evo got beat by a datsun