Been a while, Oppo

"bhardoin" (bhardoin)
02/23/2016 at 22:07 • Filed to: None

Here’s the Z in death valley over the weekend:

DISCUSSION (38)

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > bhardoin
02/23/2016 at 22:15

Looks really good

RallyWrench > bhardoin
02/23/2016 at 22:19

Man, that is a great looking car.

aberson Bresident of the FullyAssed Committe > bhardoin
02/23/2016 at 22:22

A dark green Z car

My life is complete

AM3R shamefully returns > bhardoin
02/23/2016 at 22:33

Man that car is perfect. Got any more pics? There's a guy near me with a 280z in the same color.. He won't sell it to me even though he doesn't drive it. Drives me crazy! I want it so bad.

Brian Silvestro > bhardoin
02/23/2016 at 22:35

good oppo

Flavien Vidal > bhardoin
02/23/2016 at 22:43

Arghhhh... I really have to find one ASAP... I’ve been wanting to own one for WAY too long

bhardoin > AM3R shamefully returns
02/23/2016 at 22:50

It’s definitely not perfect, but I love it. It’s my only car, but as I’m in college I mostly just take it on weekend trips and whatnot. I highly recommend you keep working on the guy near you, Zs are fantastic to own and drive.

Kinja'd!!!

PheeNoIVI > bhardoin
02/23/2016 at 22:55

Love your car. Wish I had a 240 or 280. My dad had a 280zx new. Wish he kept it long enough for me to take off his hands.

bhardoin > Flavien Vidal
02/23/2016 at 22:57

Do it. I still think they’re the best value sports car project on the market.

AM3R shamefully returns > bhardoin
02/23/2016 at 22:58

Is it really as cheap to maintain/easy to work on as everyone says? If so, I’m gonna relentlessly go after it. I NEED an S30!

Blondude > bhardoin
02/23/2016 at 22:59

Mmmmmm sidewalls

Hey Julie > bhardoin
02/23/2016 at 23:31

Yo what is the name/brand of those wheels I think I have the same ones

BoulderZ > bhardoin
02/23/2016 at 23:47

Nice looking car on what looks like it was a fun drive! Thanks for the inspiration. Going out to the garage to put the battery tender on mine now. I’m not sure it needs a charge, but I want to be sure it’s ready to go. We have a lot of very early spring-like weather this year. The sand and deicer seem to be off the roads and the forecast looks friendly for the next 10 days at least.

bhardoin > AM3R shamefully returns
02/24/2016 at 00:01

I’ve had mine for 3 years, and over that time I’ve only put 12000 miles on it (college). The guy I bought it from had restored it, but not replaced a lot of old parts.

I’ve replaced:

brake booster - $170

An alternator - $150ish

Cap and rotor - $25

Rebuilt carbs (the right but expensive way) - $140ish

Driveshaft (had to get a custom length one, because my car has a 5 speed swapped in) - 300 bucks.

The engine bay is enormous - I don’t even lift the car when I change the oil because I can just bend over and reach the drain plug from the top. I check the spark plugs before every long drive, because it only takes 20 seconds to pull them out. Stock drivetrain parts are dirt cheap because everyone rips out the stock motors and replaces them with V8s and RBs. That death valley drive was 700 miles in a day, including some washboard dirt roads, windy mountain roads, and a lot of cruising at 90 on rural highways, and the car took it like it was nothing. And somehow it makes about 20 mpg no matter how I drive.

bhardoin > BoulderZ
02/24/2016 at 00:07

Mmm. How’s your Z like the altitude in Colorado? Mine hates when I take it even a few thousand feet up.

bhardoin > Hey Julie
02/24/2016 at 00:09

Best I can figure, they’re “appliance meshes.”

I could only guess that from google seaching, but I can tell you that they’re 14x7s, and they’re actually really light. I put the tires on that myself, and the bare wheels probably only weighed 12 or 13 pounds a piece.

bhardoin > Blondude
02/24/2016 at 00:12

As awesome as they look, I’m really torn about them. It is honestly ridiculous to feel the time it takes the sidewalls to deflect when running back roads hard. On the other hand, they’re absolutely epic on dirt roads. Future decisions.

bhardoin > aberson Bresident of the FullyAssed Committe
02/24/2016 at 00:13

Glad I could help. haha

bhardoin > PheeNoIVI
02/24/2016 at 00:15

My dad apparently had an XKE in college. He said he sold it becuase he got sick of multi-gallon oil changes all the time. But whenever we see one on the street I die a little inside.

BoulderZ > bhardoin
02/24/2016 at 00:20

Well, I’m kind of cheating on that. Mine’s a ‘78, and the stock Bosch EFI works very well at altitude, even over the passes here. The carbureted ones generally work well here, once they’ve been re-tuned for a mile high baseline. The earlier carbs apparently are better about it than the later ones, so I’m told. I know one carb’d Lancia owner from Denver that actually stops to swap carb jets when he gets up to about 6500 feet for longer mountain drives (apparently fairly quick on his car).

bhardoin > BoulderZ
02/24/2016 at 00:23

I’ll never understand how some people prefer carbs. I’ll lean them out if I have to do a lot of driving over 2k feet, and it only takes a couple minutes to tighten the adjustment screws on the bottom. But still, EFI is just way way better.

My bird IS the word > bhardoin
02/24/2016 at 00:24

Death valley is looking .... more lively than usual. lol

BoulderZ > bhardoin
02/24/2016 at 00:31

I actually got so tired of carbs that, rather than rebuild the carb on my ‘89 Toyota truck for a second time (got about 10 years out of the first rebuild), I converted to SDS EFI with a turbo. Works a lot better now, unsurprisingly. I guess for some it’s just one of those preferences that seems quirky compared to the broader population. I own two cars, the newest of which is from 1989, and both are manual, so I’m certainly not going to throw any stones. I enjoy the view from my glass house. :)

bhardoin > My bird IS the word
02/24/2016 at 00:38

It was amazing. Flowers everywhere on the valley floor. Apparently it’s a good season for them because of all the steady rain through the winter.

CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist) > bhardoin
02/24/2016 at 00:52

Just curious, how old are your tires?

My bird IS the word > bhardoin
02/24/2016 at 00:53

I wonder how rare of an occurance that is. I’ve never been out west but I have still never seen a picture like that. looks incredible.

bhardoin > My bird IS the word
02/24/2016 at 11:01

The valley does flower pretty much every year in spring, usually not like this. There was talk of this being a “superbloom,” which is a 10 year-ish occurrence. I’m not sure how this ranks compares to other superblooms, but it was pretty unbelievable.

bhardoin > CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist)
02/24/2016 at 11:05

Those are actually only 2 years old, even though they’re a design from the late 80s. They have appalling sidewall deflection and they’re not particularly good in the rain, but they grip ok and were the only decent tire I could find for a 14x7 wheel.

I worked in a tire shop when I put them on, and had seen enough blowouts to know to replace the 18 year old Sumitomos that were on it when I bought it. haha

Hey Julie > bhardoin
02/24/2016 at 13:56

Thanks a bunch they came on my 280zx and I had no idea what they were called

bhardoin > Hey Julie
02/24/2016 at 15:15

No problem. I really like how they look, but I can’t find any good tire choices for them. Good luck to ya on that front.