General Chat
Q:
Last weekend my wife's Grandmother past away and they scheduled the funeral for Thursday. Tuesday I stripped all the cooling lines and fuel lines out of the 81ZX and replaced them all with new lines and installed a new stereo so the wife could play her CDs (it had the stock radio in it, but it had issues I had grown accustomed to, she wouldn't like it). Double checked vacuum lines and did an oil change in preperation for the 1400 mile journey.
All was good as we started our trip on Wednesday, and the car performed flawlessly from Eastern, NC to the western tip of Virginia. We stopped for gas and snacks and when we jumped back on the interstate I glanced down at the volt gauge just in time to catch it drop from 14v to about 12v. Of course we all know what this means, alternator time. I tried everything I could to keep from wearing the car down too quickly as a new alt is a special order item anywhere you go. As a good Z owner I brought along my $600 Craftsman set just incase. Well the car almost made it to Canton, OH before it finally had enough. I made the mistake of hitting my turn signal to change lanes and sucked the last of the juice out of the battery. We were stuck 40 miles from our destination so we call up my wife's sister and they picked us up, called AAA and had the car towed to their house. While waiting for everyone to arrive I pulled the alt, and found a local Advance to order the new alt from. Thankfully they were able to get it the next morning and made the order for me without deposit. We attended the funeral on Thursday then picked up the new part ($58.88 for those interested, I thought it was cheap) then made our way back to the house and my waiting ZX. The install only took 30 minutes and the car cranked right up (battery was charging the night before) and voltage was perfect. From there out we had no issues. It was actually a nice uneventful drive home at 80mph for 700 miles. We averaged about 27 MPG mostly because of the mountains and the A/C which froze us out several times. I had one scare when the car wouldn't restart after getting gas. I held the pedal to keep it going and get the temp to drop enough for the car to stay running. This is where an electric fan upgrade and modding the injector cooler to keep going after the car is turned off would come in handy. Anyhow, just thought I'd give credit to the 25 year old ZX and let everyone know that they are still long haul worthy when well maintained. The trip was comfortable and I couldn't see doing it in any other car.
______________________________________________________________________________
77 280Z - TEC3 Engine Management, Coil Packs, 3.1 Stroker, 550CC injectors, tripple throttle body FI intake, MSA Stage II Cam, etc...etc...
79 Fairlady - Rusty
81 280ZX - DD
A:
With gas, ins, repairs etc going up steadily AAA is the best n cheapest toll available ( personally i got the RV upgrade, lots of extra benefits plus a long range of free towing) ZX's are great for long trips
Have you shared the left lane today?
A:
I need to get AAA. Good story. Like they say, anyone can drive a new car.
19[TT]91
My TT beauty is gone.
2[00]2 Honda 954RR
Suzuki 1200 S; sportscar eater
19[I4]94 Integra GSR Sedan
Long live the Z...
aka SAHTT
A:
Way to improvise! I've made a few 700 mile trips in my 85 N/A. Never did break down or have any troubles!
-Stu85na
* KN air filter w/resonator removed, Maxima Alternator swap
A:
i just made a 200 mile trip in my 240z..no problems.. thats good, barly any trouble for you in your z, must have been a fun drive =)
73' 240z: F54 4.2L, OS Giken LY DOHC Crossflow head, 17:3comp.ratio, N33, Tripple SU's, T10 Hybrid Draw-Through TT @ 47pds, Roots&Centrifugal Type supercharger, 3-2-1 headers, Centerforce 4 clutch, 6oz flywheel, R300 differential, Super-Hicas
A:
The drive was great. I can't see taking a trip in any other car again. The ZX is comfortable, sporty and cruises at any speed without issues.
______________________________________________________________________________
77 280Z - TEC3 Engine Management, Coil Packs, 3.1 Stroker, 550CC injectors, tripple throttle body FI intake, MSA Stage II Cam, etc...etc...
79 Fairlady - Rusty
81 280ZX - DD
A:
I put over 20,000 miles on my 260 in a single year which included finding out which fuel lines and coolant lines weren't good (read: you should replace them all on a 30+yo car). My 240's maiden voyage was 1500 miles to my parents house then 600 more back to mine. The only problem I encountered was a dropping resistor coming loose and shorting on the last 100 miles. These cars are built to DRIVE! Enjoy it man and go for a longer one next time!!! Glad ya made it safe and enjoyed it as well!
mnelson_260z
73 240zT w/ t3/t4e @ 13psi, MSnS, 450cc DSMs on pallnet rail, NPR IC, roll cage, more....
74.5 260z w/ AZZcar brakes up front, Tokico springs/struts, 99k orig miles, more...
Post Edited (Sep 25, 3:01pm)
A:
Running a ZX or any EFI vehicle down on the juice like that is a GREAT way to SMOKE the ECU!
The amperages the small components have to pass rises to smoking levels when you get much below 10VDC...
I know of three ZXT's that killed their ECU's like that!
YOu got VERY lucky!
People Are Idiots, Just look around here and you will see!
Tony D: "Knowledgeable but Caustic"... rationull
My brother from another mother calls himself "Willie D"
A:
ZXs arent the best performers compared to the first gens, but man they are comfortable... On long trips my friend always finds it easy to Pass out in the passenger seat.
-1981 280zx
-89 Jeep Cherokee
F-54 - N-47 - 9.8:1 comp - 6-3-1 header -Schneider (470 lift, 280 dur.) - full 2 1/4 exhaust- Pallnet fuel rail - 6 puck ceramic clutch
A:
excellent thread.
I live for the long roadtrips.
If all were equal, none would be strong.
Ballistic,Ruler of Interstates
Stage XX+ 1993 Z32 NA
"SoulTaker"
A:
I've driven 600 miles up and down California from the Bay Area to past east past San Diego in my 87na about 24+ times the past four years, can't imagine doing the drive in any other car (one time I did via Highway 1, took 12 hours but it was a great drive).
A:
I made a 1300 mile round to Florida years ago in my 240Z in the summertime with NO A/C. Nothing like smelling like sweat and exhaust fumes!! haha
I find the 240Z to be a good long distance road car once I set the shocks to #1 and lower the rear tire air pressure to 26 lbs.
Later,Norm
-----------------------------------------
12.804 @ 107.26 mph on crappy street tires with Dual SU Powered 2.9L Stroker!
ZCAR.COM member since Aug 1998
A:
Yeah I've made a couple trips flying at night in my last 280 from Indiana to Atlanta. Kept the old girl at 80 about the whole way down, got really fun on I-65 through Ken/Tenn on the mountain roads winding up, down and all around. I would just dive into the turns and hang on and just pour on the throttle and the radio cranked!
Dave
12/70 240Z, L-28, flat-tops, N-42 head, N-33 intake, MSA 10-2002 cam, ZX ignition, early 5-speed, R-180,4:11 gears, 903 Blue paint.