Roberto

Drool alright

Good luck with the business Paul.

You've been working at a cracking pace, Paul. I really like it. Have you considered chrome bumpers? (with rust and dents of course)

Thanks guys. I bled it this way, but never checked rod length. I now reckon it may be the booster also. I tried this technique ( http://www.newtonnet.co.uk/coupe/service/webtech/iindex.asp@id=12476 ) for testing it and i couldn't get the brake pedal to travel less or get firmer with several pumps. I will check it properly when it is not a 44 degree day. Off the car yes, but not apart. It still could be air in the MC and might need to bleed it better. Hey Enzo250GTO I have a vacuum gun thingy (mightyvac) and bled it with this aswell as pumping of the pedal. Thanks Tai, I haven't checked the reaction disc inside the booster, nor do I know how to or what one is. I will first determine if booster has failed. I did man-handle it a bit when i was removing rust and painting it. Hey Mick, i have checked the joins and found no leaks. I might go to rear discs anyways but not until i have the factory system functioning well. Just the look of drums these days makes small children run away.

I have been enjoying driving my zed this summer with the new engine and amazed at the fuel economy and drivability of this PMC powerplant. Definitely a well tuned engine. And the sound...... 2 "bugs" that have been doing my head in since reassembly are now down to only one. They are firstly, car pulls strongly to the left and secondly I cannot get a brake pedal since re-assembly of the engine bay. With regards to the pulling left: I checked my alignment front and rear and also got the MSA camber adjustable strut tops to equalize front camber as there was much more on the front left wheel. Still no difference. Ensured brakes weren't rubbing. Nothing. Switched front wheels and BINGO, car pulls to the right. A tyre must be "bad". This is a shame since these tyres are like new Falken 245 45 16 and not cheap in this size. I will swap them with either the same size or 225 50 16 and keep these as spares for the rear which are also Falken 245 45 16. Looking at them closely, i cannot understand what would be allowing this pulling though. They would be great for oval circuit racing Should I go with 245's or 225's for the front on the 9" wheels? Any recommendations on brand? Secondly, I cannot get a brake pedal!! It doesn't seem spongy, but only starts to brake when the pedal is to the floor. Brakes are stock except for braided SS hoses and were working so well prior to engine bay re fresh. I have tried bleeding the brake MC in car, adjust rear drums and re bleeding brakes, but no pedal. I have made sure the pedal under the dash is adjusted correctly too. The only thing i didn't do was bench bleed the MC, but bled it on the car as it has 2 bleeder nipples. Is it possible that bench bleeding was essential and that there is still air in the MC despite bleeding it on the car? I would have thought pedal spongy if so. Should I assume the rear drums suck and are hard to get adjusted right and I should buy Lurch's 280zx rear disc set up?

You can borrow mine. They are from MSA though, so there is a risk that Freddy's might be slightly different.

I would be interested in the roof.

Merry Christmas to you all........ Don't forget to buy your Z's a present too.

Hey Alex. Go to Supercheap. You can buy the whole arm end with the wiper rubber for around 20 bucks a pair that fits the Z.

I reckon the car is looking better already.

I wouldn't mind a looksy soon as well. You must be happy to have it finally moving despite those little bugs.

Wow. Great job. You must be excited!

Coming along nicely. Great colour.

I don't mind that colour. I am sure this will be another award winning resto..........

Ah, that's the 260z from gumtree. I was surprised that it hadn't sold immediately as it was very well priced. I was seriously considering buying it, but my next z will have to be a 240Z. Good luck with the build. Looking forward to it.

It will look great with cf zg flares. It also looked great before too. Can't go wrong![/img]

Beautiful car. Love the wheels too!

It would have sold already if it didn't have a sunroof!

Adam, I cannot tell you how happy I am with the PMC magnaflow exhaust. There is no drone / boom / resonance at all and not too loud, but a straight through system with proper mandrel bends so free flowing.

I can't believe no one has anything to add to this. :-\ I have just opened up a shop called " Roberto's DIY wheel alignment" (not really) and checked my settings. My toe settings on the front are pretty good (3mm total toe-in) although a bit too much toe-in on the rears (7mm total). I have the TTT control arms so I will get them to zero. I have heard that 2mm toe-in per wheel on the rear is better for cornering on race cars??, but I am not the best person to advise on this. Fronts like a bit of toe-in for straight line stability, but i have no idea for racing. Simon, if you aren't racing, just go for 2 to 5 mm total toe on the fronts and if you have adjustability on the rears, go zero. They are the factory specs and will give best tyre life.

Tonne of fun today. I look forward to more when you sort out the oil temps issue.

Hey Gareth. I would have used a steel heat shield, but the SW extractors come out from the block almost horizontally and are very very close to the second carby. Even with the ceramic coating on the extractors, carby 2 would get very hot, more so than the other two. The blanket is great as it is flexible and slips between the mikuni's and the extractors. I was able to get the blanket higher up than a steel heat shield and after driving, all 3 carby's are only warm and equal temperature so it's quite effective as a barrier. Apparently the blanket does not reduce the life of the extractors like header wrap too. I got the blanket from Summit as they did the best price.

Thanks Simon. When I get her on the track one day I will take some video. Mick and I are contemplating coming over for the Christmas BBQ, but it won't be happening in a zed. Too far. We will bring our smiles though. Is that enough? If I ever do take the zed to vic, it will be going straight to the z factory for sunroof removal. I better start saving

Bonnet secured, heat shield blanket installed, rego payed..... on the weekend I took the Z out for its first real spin........ Video footage is not available. This thing is BRUTAL. Nothing more to say, except thank you Peter.

Mine still leans to the right at the rear. All the analysis in the world might come up with a plausible reason (weight distribution, spring sag, chassis design, etc, etc), but the only decent solution is coil-overs. Ben, do you still do complete HSD coilover setups? Group discount?