"new" to board, bunch of questions! long read... t

[Guest RustedDevelopment]

hi, i am a relatively new member to the board. i've mostly done some lurking around and now i'm finally signed up. i've had a couple z's before, but they never really did much but sit out since they were too badly rusted to even bother restoring. well i finally picked up a decent one the other day and the tranny locked up on the drive home (about an hour in of a 3 hr drive, had to tow it back). the previous owner didnt put any fluid in. he was kind enough to refund the money needed to tow it back, but i was short a transmission. well, anyway, its currently in the transmission shop which i now regret because it will probably cost me more to rebuild than to get a used, right? i didnt even think about that at the time. well, anyway, if you guys could take a quick glance and tell me what you think it would be greatly appreciated. here is what i know about it so far, please clear up any confusion since i am a "noob" in some sense:

 

A) passenger side frame rail and floor is rusted.. rail is rotted through but driver side is fine. (have pics, will upload soon)

dual carbs with K&N's.. are these any good or should i get bigger air filters?

C) header is rusted, surface is very rough (pitting?) can i salvage by sandblasting and using POR 20?

D) same with exhaust, but i am scrapping this and getting a custom 2.5"

E) owner claims the engine revved very fast, thought it might have a lightened flywheel. i was unable to determine but i took pics (will upload soon)

F) the head is an E88.. which didnt come on '78 280's. owner said head might be shaved a small amount. (i'm thinking if this was a swap, then its definately possible. lightened flywheel is possible too, right?)

G) its got a performance sway bar up front.. not sure about the rear

H) when the car was on the lift and i spun the right rear tire forward, the left rear tire spun backward. mechanic said its because i have a limited slip, is this true?

I) since the tranny is being rebuilt, can i put in some shorter gears while i'm at it? if so, how much extra do you think this would cost?

 

Thats about all i really know about it. I got this car at what I think to be quite a catch. $700 after the refund! the motor is solid, the frame is still very rigid, and its got a few extra goodies i didnt even expect to come with the car. what do you think?!

 

If anyone in houston wants to check it out, hopefully i'll be able to bring it to the next zcar club meeting next month!

 

here is a link to the pictures

http://www.hpphoto.com/servlet/com.hp.HPGuestLoginusername=jkoh1&password=67593148

[mobythevan]

A) The frame rail and floor pan rust is typical. It is a pain to have to work on rust repairs. You should be able to patch some new sheet metal in if you have a welder.

 

H)Typically when you spin one tire and the other side goes in the opposite direction it is just a plain old open diff you've got. Typically a clutch type limited slip will have both tires spin in the same direction. But the only way to know for sure is pull the diff cover and look inside.

[Mikelly]

YOu can buy the frame rail/ floor pan repair kit and have it welded in, or have them replaced with fabricated materials. I'd not let that go for long. If the car is running, and the trans doesnt' cost you too much, sounds like you got a decent deal.. Those K&N filters are fine... Buy the cleaner/ oiler kit and make sure they are cleaned well... The pitting on the exhaust is pretty common with most of the headers sold... They are cheap, so i'd buy one and have it jet hot coated.

 

Welcome to the addiction!

Mike 8)

[Guest RustedDevelopment]

thank you for the replies. i'll most likely get the POR 15 floor pan repair kit and have a new frame rail welded in unless i can get another floor pan welded for cheap too. thanks again!

[Drax240z]

dual carbs with K&N's.. are these any good or should i get bigger air filters?

 

Those should be fine.

 

C) header is rusted, surface is very rough (pitting?) can i salvage by sandblasting and using POR 20?

 

It's worth a shot! I've also had decent luck with VHT 1500* paint.

 

D) same with exhaust, but i am scrapping this and getting a custom 2.5"

 

2.5" works really well on a Z with a header and a cam. Put on a turbo muffler and you should be good to go.

 

E) owner claims the engine revved very fast, thought it might have a lightened flywheel. i was unable to determine but i took pics (will upload soon)

 

Fast compared to what?

 

F) the head is an E88.. which didnt come on '78 280's. owner said head might be shaved a small amount. (i'm thinking if this was a swap, then its definately possible. lightened flywheel is possible too, right?)

 

Hmm, strange. The E88 had smaller valves than the stock N42. Likely it decreased performance from the stock head. Who knows what the engine is though. I'd guess there probably isn't a lightened flywheel though, if someone is going performance decreasing mods.

 

H) when the car was on the lift and i spun the right rear tire forward, the left rear tire spun backward. mechanic said its because i have a limited slip, is this true?

 

That indicates there isn't a clutch/viscous limited slip installed. Some of the planetary styles of LSD will look like an open diff though. None of the early Z's came with LSD's stock. Very, very, very few will have a planetary style LSD installed. I'd wager dollars to donuts you have an open diff.

 

I) since the tranny is being rebuilt, can i put in some shorter gears while i'm at it? if so, how much extra do you think this would cost?

 

Not easily. Tranny rebuild usually include new bearings (~$80 or so for all of them) and new synchros. (~$250 for all of them) Don't forget to add labour. Oh yeah, run a quality synthetic fluid after you get all this done too!

 

Welcome to the site!