Hi All,

My name is Samantha and I just found this group searching for some parts for my 1978 280z 2+2. I love this car. It is jointly owned with my dad who bought it back in 1980 or so. I am currently working on it to get it back in extremely nice interior riding condition. My dad had it overhauled about 15 years ago so the hard stuff has been done, now it's all the picky little details. Friends of mine and myself in Rochester NY have been trying to piece the insides back together after cleaning it out for a while. Who ever had it first did some pretty awful damage trying to put in new speakers, so this must have been done right after it was purchased. For the record, a drill bit is not the way to cut out a hole. Other than that I am a web programmer and mechanical engineer and look forward to getting it back home to CT to stay some time soon. Might be acquiring a parts car 77 2+2 soon, so see where that leads. In my spare time I'm an NCAA Ice Hockey official as well as the amateur and high school groups as well. Look forward to seeing if anyone has any ideas about what I'm doing when I finally post some pictures. This looks like a great group and excited to use the wide base of knowledge that seems to be in this group.

Thanks!
Samantha

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1978 280z 2+2

Welcome aboard, Samantha! (May we call you Sam?) It's great to own a Z which holds personal meaning to you. You will probably hear your Dad's comments each time you drive it! (Why not invite your Dad to join us, too? If he owned that Z for 20 yrs, it's in his blood by now). The CTZCC is open to Z lovers, regardless if they own one at the moment or not. We have Father/Son teams; we'd love to add a Father/Daughter team!

This is a great group in here. We have such a wide variety of members, it's staggering. Some of us have recently bought our first Z, others of us have owned two or more doZen of them. Others are career Z mechanics or racers, and some of us simply love the Zs and have no clue what we're doing under the hood. That mix makes this Club a great community to learn from, and many (many) tight friendships have formed in here over the past few years.

Another great aspect of the CT Z Car Club is the generosity of our members. If we have spare partz and others need them, most of us go out of our way to make sure they get onto the needy Z. The Club has owned a couple Partz Carz (a 240Z and a 300ZX) and we've helped more than 36 Zs find needed partz (so far). Your 2+2 is unique in some respects. Not all the partz of a standard coupe will fit yours. But we have several 2+2 owners in the Club who might be tripping over spare partz in their garage, and have just been waiting for you to come along.

We have monthly meetings (I outlined this in the Welcome letter I sent you today), and the May meeting is next Wednesday at Executive Nissan in North Haven. We get there *about* 7PM, share some piZZa, hang around the parking lot talking about each other's Zs, then hold a meeting from *about* 8PM until *about* 9PM. After about 20 minutes with this crowd, you'll feel you've known them all your life. It really feels like a big, goofy family. We had 7 new-joins attend our April meeting, and we expect several newbies at this one, too. Attendance usually averages about 35-45 members, which is a fun turn-out. I promise (promise) if you come to next Wednesday's meeting, you'll meet someone who has valuable info (or partz!) for your Z. (Help me out with that promise, everybody! ).

You mentioned Rochester. I hope you are/were somehow connected with (our member) John Taddonio's Z Car Club of Rochester. That's a great bunch of Z nutz out there, and we try our best to mingle with them as often as possible.

Hoping to meet you in person next Wednesday, or as soon after that as you can manage. Dress casual ~ no ties allowed! Drive whatever you have ~ just don't park any Dodge Neons beside our Zs!

Hey everybody ~ say hello to our newest Z sister, Samantha!

Frank

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1970 240Z

Welcome Samantha!

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Keith Hultmark
2009 370Z Touring - Sold (5 years owned)
1993 300ZX - Sold (5 years owned)
1976 Porsche 912E. #163 of 2200 - SOLD (3 years owned)
2018 BMW 330i GT xdrive daily driver
2004 BMW Z4 3.0i ….it is a Z

Welcome to the awesome CTZCC!!

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Mike Tubiak
1978 Datsun 280Z - HLS30-438694

Hi Sam,
Frank said everything that I was going to say so all that's left is "Welcome"! I gaurantee that you'll love it here!

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Ross Williams
1978 280Z Black Pearl Edition 38k Original Miles

Hi, Sam, Kathy and Rick here. We are practically your next door
neighbors, maybe 5 or 10 miles away. So please don't hesitate to
call or email any time you might want to ask a question, ask for some
help, or just hang out and rap with a couple of Z freaks. 484-7850.
Another resource you might want to tap into is ZHome.com, run by our
distinguished member Carl Beck, one of the foremost historians of Z
Cars in the world.

Since we have ONLY one club meeting per month, may I also suggest
the cruise-in behind Walgreen's in North Haven, every Monday night.
Right at the junction of Rtes 5 and 22. We usually have from 2-10
members to show up, even if only for a few minutes, to demonstrate
that the Z Car is equally cruise-worthy as a street rod or custom car.
You never know who might pop in: Kathy and I, and our cars, would
still be extending our then-30-year hibernation if we had stayed home
that night two Augusts ago.

Kathy and I are ESPECIALLY elated that you should join: I have been
grousing forever about the proportion of women to men being so
DISPROPORTIONATE. With the women being on the LOWER side of the
equation. (I'm not a kid anymore, but I still notice things like that.)
So already, as a brand-new Club member, you have helped to address
what is probably the only shortcoming in the Club.

BTW, Frank did his usual terrific job of welcoming to and sharing about
the Club. But I have to call him on a couple of things: First, this is
indeed a great group of people, even though there are a few hard-
headed, rigid, obdurate, opinionated old goats like me in it. Second,
as he addressed the demographics of the Club, he didn't mention that
some of us are older than dirt (God had to create an earth to put us
on), thus we had to wait impatiently for some 28 years for the Z to be
designed, introduced, and imported so we could buy ours.

I wouldn't necessarily say that this is the BEST Z Club in the world,
but it is definitely in the top two!!!!!

All Z Best,................................Kathy & Rick

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All Z Best,.......Kathy & Rick

1969 Z.CAR (#00013 10/69) 8/30/76
1969 ITSA.Z (#00171 11/69) 8/24/73
1970 OLD.Z (#06289 6/70) original owner
1971 510 2dr since 12/31/75
1969 1600 rdstr (our 160-Z)
1971 (#19851 1/71) sold
1975 75.Z (#01343 1/75)

Hi All,

Thank you so much for the welcomes! I am really looking forward to my return to CT in 2 weeks from NY. I will not be able to make the meeting this week, but I will be sure to make the one in June. I'm attaching a few pictures of my 280z here since it will be a while, hopefully end of summer or so, before it returns from Rochester. Here's a list of things that I'm(we're) working on fixing/doing/finding.

To do list:
.Seat tear
.Speaker holes
.vinyl dog legs (I think that's what they're called)
.Find a new antenna or fix the one I have
.center console
.speakers
.head unit
.rug work
.vacuum tubing replacement
.brakes squealing

That's what I can think of right now. I saw that you like in progress pictures, so here are some of the interior apart before getting it back together.

Look forward to meeting you all and seeing if any of you have any ideas on insider secrets to fixing some of this stuff.

Which reminds me, anyone know anything about how to keep the brakes from squealing like a stuck pig?

Thanks again!
Sam

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1978 280z 2+2

Hi Sam ~ did you move your 2+2 to CT yet? We're hoping to view it and zee who has ideas about that Grand Canyon somebody carved into your deck area.

Also, about the brakes; Some brands of brake manufacturers install squealing devices into their new brakes, which make irritating noises when the brakes reach a certain level of wear. It tells you it's time to replace the brake pads (front) or shoes (rear) to remain safe. You can still drive the car awhile longer, if you can tolerate the noise . Pulling off the wheels and calipers (front) lets you measure the thickness of the brake pads to zee how much longer you can use them. As long as you're going that far, you might as well change them anyway (which will eliminate the squeal). You can do this yrslf if you have a 4" C-clamp to re-compress the brake pistons with, after you install the new pads.

We can give you better details than that if you need them, or supervise you as you do it yrslf, or do it for you and show you how to DIY next time. Any automotive shop can change front disc brakes for you.

And depending on how long the car has sat unused (or how many miles it has been since last fluid change) it could be a good idea to drain/replace/bleed the brake fluid, too.

Frank

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1970 240Z

Welcome Sam. I have alot of Z parts here in RI. I did have a 280 2+2 parts car, I think I have 1 or 2 door panels to it and might have a seat bottom, and ect.... Do you know of the ZCCR? Since you are there, some one in that club might have parts you can bring back. Very nice looking Z btw. Also anything mechanical......I or a handful of others on this site can help out....you joined the right club.

Sam ~ see EvilZ's 2+2 partZ car!


http://forums.ctzcc.com/viewtopic.php?p=40368#40368


Frank

Or if you are still there........I have the center console and rear panels sittin here for you if interested.