VinhZXT

Hi Staledale, A friend of mine was selling his Cobra couple months back but then he changed his mind. He is keeping it in my garage right now. It's just ashame these friends of mine are no where near where I am at. They don't know how take care and maintain the cars. If these cars fell into the right people it would worth a lot of money. I can't wait to build mine so I can show my friends this is how you do it. Anyway I still have my kit separate from the car. I am looking for someone willing to work with me to build a mold. I have a huge garage 5000+ sqft so I have plenty of space to build the mold and kit. It wouldn't be bad for me to build kits on a side. I think I do have some crazy ideas on body kits lol .. Philly is small especially downtown. How can you get lost in Philly? Just find Broad St and you are good lol.. Yes contact me when you come to Philly. I have a few different versions of these Cobra Coupe kits and I can definitely make some improvement if I ever hook up with someone to make a mold for it. In the mean time I hope I can keep track how many of these kits exists around the world. Yes my friend was that Asian guy that was discussed in that thread/link. His name is Sang and he used to own the nail salon here in Philly. Yes most of these kits were built on bad Zs except one. The blue with white stripes which my friend (Sang) owned. He used to keep this car in a garage. When he lost the garage he parked it outside in the streets. Bad bad bad.. Anyway that car had the stock L6 motor and at one point he had the supra motor mounted in it. Then he needed the money and sold the motor. Now the car just sitting there outside in open air. This is what I meant by they don't know how to take cares of things. Anyway the car now start to have rusts and pushing the fiberglass out and crack it. Sang also have the red 240Z convertible I posted on my web site also. Anyway one of these days I will take pictures of all these cars and post them on here.

Are you talking about something similar to the shave handle kit? If so why not just use a remote to pop the door open. Eliminate the handle and the push button altogether. I shaved the door handles on my ZX. If you need more info let me know. V.

Thanks guys. It's a real pain in the ass playing with fiberglass. When I was doing the body work the freakin gel coat breaks like an egg shell. I had to sand down the gel coat and fill up with filler. I paid 2500 for the body works and evertything needed to finish up the car. I am really impress with how the body works turn out. I just finish ordering the wheels for the car. I got the wheels from Centerline. it's the Ventura style, ols school 5 stars. Also the interior needs to be finished which I plan to finish this winter. V.

Hi all, The spyder is finally painted. I used my friend's shop to paint it. Still have lots of work left to get it where I want. Here are a few shots.. Have fun.. http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/721840/2 Vinh

Hi all, It's been along time since the last time I post here. I have a few 4 wires O2 sensor and I was wondering can I use this O2 sensor in my turbo 280ZX? Do I gain any thing by doing so? What is the advantage of using 4 wires O2 sensor vs. the conventional 1 wire? and how do I hook it up ? Another question I have is or can someone explain this: I have a 79 280ZX with the 82 280ZX turbo wiring harness ( the whole entire car wiring was changed out). If my car sits for a long while the fuel pump check valve stuck open. If I get a pair of plier and pinch the return line momentarily the check valve pops back in and then start holding pressure in the line. I have a pressure gauge hook up so I know. I also have the the vent line from the charcoal canister line open and the vent tube from the filler neck plugged. The car runs fine the way it is. It's just bother me that the pressure doesn't hold in the line. Thanks for any good explanation. Vinh This problem is on my spyderZX which was just got painted. it's is at http://members.cardomain.com/vinh280

ArizonaZcar has a wide body kit for a 280ZX.. check it out.. Good luck Vinh http://vvu.tripod.com

Hi , I just have something to add since I 've just had my car painted and it costed 1800 plus I had to remove everything on the car to make it easier for him to do the painting and preping. The owner was a friend of mine also. Ask your painter is he gonna take down your old paint. I am sure I will not. He will scuff it up alittle and paint right over the old paint. This is not good because you don't know what kind of paint was used 20 years ago. If you put new paint of top of that it will lift or crack in a year or so. I suggest you come up with the list of things you want to be done to the car and make sure he understands it and always check his progress regularly that way 1. He can't cut corner and 2. if you see something you don't like you can tell him to fix it right the way instead of waiting until afterward. 1500 is cheap if you do it the right way. it's not cheap if you just buy paint and shoot it. Good luck BTW pick a bright color because it doesn't matter how good that guy is there will be imperfection here and there and it will stands out if the color is dark. The color for my ZXR is metallic silver. he puts so much sparkles in there it can blind someone when it hits the sun. hehe Vinh http://vvu.tripod.com

Danc to answer your question the non-turbo and turbo stub axles are not the same. I remember didn't have any problem taking the stub axle out of a turbo car from a junk yard. The big nuts were not peened to the shafts. However the non_turbo stub axles are different, the big nuts for the non_turbo car are peened to the stub axle's shaft. Did you get the companion flanges for the stub axles ? if so the turbo flanges should be round and not square. Vinh

Thumper, You do not need to get the CV half shafts. The ujoints shafts should slide into the LSD. All you need is to swap the front companion flange from your R200 onto the LSD and everything should bolt up. Good luck V. http://vvu.tripod.com

Yo2001, I check the manual and see the check valve is on the return side too and it can't be causing my problem. it has to be the pump or the damper. I put in another fuel pump and the pressure stays in the line now.. Will check it to see it starts a little faster overnight.. Vinh

Hey all, I have something for u guys. I just bought an 81 280ZXT from a junk yard for a new young Z enthusiast and it has 64K miles on it. It went thru many shops and they could get it to start and that's how it ended up in the junkyard. Anyway I towed it home and begin to check for fire, fuel and even did a compression check. Everything turn out good but still no start. I remove the air filter and stick a screw driver into the AFM and it starts up OK but idle rough. I let it warm up a bit and shut it off and restart it again and it starts fine. So I let it cool down and the next morning I tried again and no start. Put my new AFM from my running 280ZXT in and still no start ??? WTF is going on? I open up the AFM and release the tension on the flap and the car started. let it warm up a little and it gave good throttle response.. shut it off and try it again the next morning and it started up fine.. Still need to warm up before it gives good throttle response. As a conclusion I think you should check the AFM. good luck

Hi all, I have a problem and couldn't figure out what could cause this. My car is a 79ZX and the problem is right after I shut off the engine my fuel pressure in the line drops to 0 immediately. I know it doesn't do this with my other 280zx. On this car I install a newer fuel pump which I bought off the internet. My question is could it be the pump that doesn't come with some sort of check valves? and does the original fuel pump has one built in? Thanks for any help Vinh http://vvu.tripod.com

Reed, You got a good deal on the kit. I don't know who made my kit either. All I know is some guy from VA made it awhile back and he has passed away. I heard he'd made about 7 kits for the Zcar altogether but I am not sure that is true or not. The kit I got is complete also and I really didn't even check to see what is included. I paid 3500 for it. My friend has everything in his basement. I can see yours and mine is very different. The back of your kit looks just like the original Cobra but the front is a bit different. The front of your kit looks like an earlier cobras. My kit will use the original trunk lid and it won't look like the original Cobra. I definitely like your rear piece better. Anyway good luck with it. Vinh

Taku, How are you doing? I can't believe you didn't let me see the final product that we put together. I am sorry not contacting you right after getting back from Mississippi. I would love to see the final product so send me some pictures. Double check your intercooler hoses... if they pop loose you will get the same symptoms. Good luck Vinh

I had this same problem with my spyderZX. It turn out that the fuel feed line from the gas tank was half clogged. This is the line that connects to the fuel sending unit on top of the gas tank. I guess what happen is the car sits too long with little gas in the tank and it start build up in the line. Also there is a little filter-screen at the feed line and it too has a thin layer of film on it. I used a wire brush and gently clean it up and the car idles at 32 and at WOT it's 36. Hope that helps Vinh

Reed, Just curious how much did you pay for the kit. Vinh http://vvu.tripod.com

Zxjuice, Yes I remember exchanging the spoiler with you but I am sorry I can't rememer your name. What did you do with the whail tail? I am using your front spoiler on my SpyderZX now http://vvu.tripod.com/zxspyder/newpix/car5.jpg'>http://vvu.tripod.com/zxspyder/newpix/car5.jpg Note there is no gap between the spoiler and the hood.. . What was the reason why you didn't use the MSA front spoiler? I see you are using the F40 wing. May I suggest you modify it a little to make it look better. You can get rid of the antena, cover up the hole and extend the tips of the wing. It will look a lot better. here is a picture http://vvu.tripod.com/carpix/rrear.jpg'>http://vvu.tripod.com/carpix/rrear.jpg If you can extend it long enough it will hug the contour of the car better. That's just my opinion. Question for you: Where did you get the hood scoops? Are they plastic or fiber glass? Are they functional? I like your hood scoops from the front view but I am not sure how it will look from other angle because they are a little too big. I also like your rear running lights and the rear bumper. Very nice V. http://vvu.tripod.com

Ahhhhhh... those tail lights would look good on my rear roll pan .. http://vvu.tripod.com/carpix/rear.jpg good job V.

Jersey, You had it right. Without this valve your car won't idle and will not run. I learn it the hard way. In the process of cleaning up my engine compartment I removed this valve and the car wouldn't run. This valve serves 2 purposes. 1 is to allow just enough air into the intake when the throttle closes to keep the car idles. 2. like a BOV. when you build boost and the throttle closes, on the intake side will create some vacuum and sucks this valve open. Therefore venting the boost back into the intake.. Vinh Vu http://vvu.tripod.com/myz.html

Willy, The kit you are getting probably has the remote and a brain comes with it and that's why it costs more. I got my kit for $135 for 2 doors and it includes the 2 door poppers and 2 30lbs selenoids. But it's doesn't have the remote. I install an alarm in my car and this alarm has 6 outputs so that I can control the trunk, open doors and roll window up and down. In your case if you buy a kit with the remote you need to find out does it have extra outputs that you can use to control the trunk. The trunk selenoid you can get from a junkyard. The Maximas should have them. I would suggest you install an alarm. The biggest problem with this project is to find room inside the door for the selenoids and attach the cable to the latch. If I remember it correctly the 30 lbs. selenoid is about 2" round and 4" long. On my ZX I place it at the bottom of the door and it is cleared of the window arm. I forgot how I attach the rat tail to the latch but it wasn't that differcult. I should have taken some pictures.. Wiring is not a problem for me since I've been installing alarm and remote starter for people on my free time for over 10 years ) .. but it simple. Yes you will need 2 relays because the kits won't come with them. Anyway just email me if you have any questions. Vinh

Hey all, It's been along time since I check this site. My friend just bought another Cobra from a guy in VA. Among us we have 5 of them now. They are all need alot of work. On 4 of them that my friend (Sang) bought all have rusty chasis and the fiber glass is seprating from the body. This is why I bought un unfinish kit from him. I want to make sure I do it right the first time. My project is coming very slowly. SleekZ, Sorry I didn't send you more pictures because I have no opportunity plus everyone been busy with work. Next time I will try to take more pictures and put them up on my web site. Here are a couple pictures for you guys to see http://vvu.tripod.com/cobraz/cobra1.jpg'>http://vvu.tripod.com/cobraz/cobra1.jpg This is Sang's cobra http://vvu.tripod.com/carpix/cobra1.jpg'>http://vvu.tripod.com/carpix/cobra1.jpg This is Tin's Cobra http://vvu.tripod.com/cobraz/cobrakit1.jpg'>http://vvu.tripod.com/cobraz/cobrakit1.jpg hehe and this is mine hehehe.. Acutally my kit is still sitting inside my friend's garage. I 've just acquired an LS1 motor from a C5 Vett and need help getting it into my 78Z. Can someone give me a hand? hehe.. I am in ther process of finishing up the spyderZX that I bought from John Washington and that's why my Cobra project is slow.. Later Vinh http://vvu.tripod.com

On the Zcar.com forum someone had a template for these white face gauge for the ZX.. You can do a search on it.. good luck Vinh

Tony, I hope you have a lock on that I/C hehe.. Look like someone could just walk by and jank it right out and kept walking hehe.. Anyway I am in the process of doing the plumbing for my I/C on my 79 280ZXT and I already waste more than 2 days from just planning.

Yo2001, How "hi" is high? That's what I am talking about. What's the setting when it's venting or another word releasing pressure? Also is that setting adjustable on the valve?

Tim, Who weld the flange on for you? How much did it cost? If you did it yourself how difficult to get it sealed? Also are these things adjustable .. that is can you adjust it so that it only release pressure at a certain boost level? Thanks Vinh http://vvu.tripod.com