nick-james

Thanks for all the responses. Lots of good info! I agree that our cars are so light, they can afford "some" loss of bottom end power. I called comp cams and they were very helpful in spec-ing me out a cam kit (w/ new springs). They said I'd gain about +70 hp with a fat midrange. I cant even imagine my car with that much extra fun lol.

My Ls1 is getting completely rebuilt due to having an oil consumption issue (worn rings). It's basically stock aside from intake, headers and a 2.5" exhaust. The engine builder wants to know what cam I want. I've contacted four places and I've yet to hear a response (supply chain issues?). I see Jegs and summit both have cams in stock if their websites are to be believed. The problem is, I can't read a cam spec to save my life so I'm looking for recommendations (and part numbers?). The car is just a nice weather street cruiser so I would prioritize a fat midrange above peaky high rpm power. I have stock valve springs too but I'm willing to swap them out as needed. Also its a t-56 manual trans. Thanks for any recommendations!

I built my car many years ago not knowing about suspension. I bought/pillaged a person's adjustable coilovers from their s30 project they failed to complete. I know nothing of the stats on the coilovers I bought other than it rides like a medieval ox cart lol. I'm assuming they went for some extreme track setup and its absolutely punishing on the street. Very bouncy and it seems (my guess) that the super stiff spring rates are overwhelming the damping of the strut. I've actually hit my head on the roof going over a train track. I'm wondering when my strut tower mounts are going to start cracking from metal fatigue lol. I'd like to change the entire setup out with different struts/coils/sway bars. My car is what I call a weekend warrior, daily driver street machine. I want a compliant ride with decent handling still. I'd like to hear some combinations and experiences that people have liked on their cars. I know that many people have had good luck with going with softer springs and increase thickness of the sway bars but I'm willing to hear thoughts on every setup. I do like the thought of adjustable dampers too. If this topic is an existing sticky, i missed it Stats on car: 76 280z LS1+T56 2550 lbs ( don't know the load distribution but probably close to the original car) Thanks in advance guys and gals!

People have done that before. You still have a massive area up front though. I would have also opted for the solid airdamn, not the one with duct holes. The "battle S30" also has an angled radiator. That 'battle s30' is sweet! I wanted to keep the side ducts for brake cooling. The overall goal for me is to 1) Reduce the gapping mouth on the front and only let air in for cooling and keep the hood vents to allow the most air out, hopefully reducing lift. I don't think I can hope for much downforce but I think I can at least get down close to neutral. Even with a choked down ducted cooling path, there is still plenty of cooling. Running sheet metal (or CF) from the radiator to the front spoiler also helps with support. I can imagine at over 100mph, there is a lot of force pushing on the spolier, if anything it gives me some peace of mind.

I'm trying to improve on the aerodynamics of my Z. I've deleted the size markers lights, antenna, side view mirrors (can get away without them in my area) and wipers (sunny day only car). I switched to a vented hood in the hopes of extracting some of that high pressure from the engine bay at speed. Now, my question is: Do people tie-in the MSA front spoiler to the radiator area? The Z's around my area just leave it open, which looks strange to me. It's my sense that it would be more effective to duct it to the radiator. Also, I would like to block off the sides of the duct too since that area of the front really doesn't add to the engine cooling so I see no need for it to pass through the front. I want to make the sheets out of carbon fiber. I mocked up some templates out of card board to see how it looks. Thoughts?

The stock t56 mount. It would be hard for me to believe that the distance between the frame rails has changed that much because of driving fatigue. One possible explaination might be that people have jacked up the cars on the rails and dented or bent the rail. Mine were sorta bent before I added the bullydog rails.

I had to shorten the JCI tranny mount by about a 1/4 inch. It "looks" like it might bend but that metal is THICK and is very rigid. I just cut the thing in two and rewelded (bevel cut). You can take the extra 1/4 inch out of one or the other side, it didn't seem to matter because there is a little "slop" in the tranny mount and it will still be pretty much centered.

Here's what I did to convert an open R200 diff to LSD... I bought an LSD differential from a 240sx. The LSD will bolt into the S30 long nose housing EXCEPT the ring gear needs to be swapped since they are different ratios and you need to match the ring and pinion...so reuse the open diff ring gear. Like an idiot, I took out the LSD and open diff before unbolting the ring gear bolts. It's difficult to get any torque on the bolts if its out. I took it into a driveshaft shop since I don't know how to set backlash. The only hangup is one differential uses M10 bolts while the other uses M12 bolts so a spacer will have to be made...no big deal. Since the LSD differential won't work with the stock U joints, its a great opertunity to upgrade to the 280zxt axles. The 280zxt splined shafts are the same as the stock 240sx stub axles and plug right in.

For the folks that have put plenty of money and sweat equity in making their hybrid beasts, what insurance company do you have? I feel that with all the time and effort I've placed into mine (still not done), I would want more than a simple bluebook calculation of it's value if the worse were to happen and it was totaled out. Thanks in advance for the reply.

Man, I like how I don't post an update for a weeks or two and I'm on page 4 or 5 of the posts! It's nice to see the project area is that busy. Well I found out that the engine cranks over ok. It was purely an accident. I was finishing up the major wiring and testing some circuits for power when I pushed the ignition switch and...whacha know! She lives (sorta). I still need to finish my fuel routing. Here is my new fuel pump relay: 60 amp relay with inline fuse. It will be nice and hidden behind the plastic insert. It would be pretty easy to add a kill switch on the backside if I were inclined to. Believe it or not, those wires are all for the turn/light switches. It's a low priority right now but I might hook them up sooner just to get them out of the way. I really like this dash, its molded perfectly for aftermarket gauges. I'll probably use a different tach but this size (5"?) fits perfect. This is the transmission cross member. It was a pain in the ass to get in. I have aftermarket frame rails which overlay the existing rails so I first had to shorten the support so it would fit. The support is held in place by four bolts on each flange, each requiring drilling. It was no fun drilling through both sides of each frame rail twice. That's 4x4x2=32 5/8" holes laying on my side trying to drill straight. One wiring question I haven't resolved yet is the cooling fans. They are variable speed and controlled by the computer. The computer doen't draw the current but uses a series of relays to power the fans. Relays to me mean binary, either off or on. I'm not sure how they can ramp up and down with a couple of relays. I'll find the answer. ^Got my coilovers! Something has been bothering me. I had a conversation with some car guys that were telling me I absolutely needed to plumb my recirc line into the top vent of the fuel cell and not into the bottom (the sump has two -10 AN fittings). I wanted to plumb both the pump suction and recirc into these two connections off the sump until these dudes sought to steer me straight. They argued that by plumbing the recirc line into the bottom of the fuel cell it would cause "catasrophic pressure" which I took me mean that it would 'dead head' the pump. They argued that liquid is incompressible and you can't pump fluid into fluid. I didn't have the heart to tell them how wrong they are (ever fill a pond with a hose from the bottom?) The tank is atmospheric pressure and has a breather valve on the top so it will never build pressure. The fluid will simply displace some of the air. With the engine running, you will always be recircing less volume back to the tank than you will be taking out so I'm not sure what they were on about. I could argue that dumping the recirc line into the top of the tank is worse for the pump since it has to constantly overcome a static pressure head caused by the elevation change no matter what the fuel tank level is at. It's only a about a foot so the pump doens't really care. The pump will be running at around 58 psi which is about 130 feet of head (ok I used water properties but they should be similar for gas). Either way, the pump will be happy. These two guys were so confident in their ignorance that I doubted myself so I needed to prove the world of physics wasn't folding in on itself so I setup a quick model using some of software at work: My assumption: Walbro 255 lph => 1.12 gpm 1/2" ID hose no pressure drop from fitting (minor losses) pressure regulator set to 58 psig., fuel level in the tank is at elevation = 0.5 (half full) engine is using 0.6 gpm Here is the setup I want to run, the recirc line goes to the bottom of the sump Now here is it recirculated to the top of the tank (elevation = 1) Exactly the same as I had thought. Same discharge pressure on the pump. The only concern I might conceed is there is no siphon break but the pump acts as one anyways.

With the engine bay painted, it was time to put the motor and tranny in. I'm really, really glad I got an engine leveler for the job since we had fresh paint on the firewall and I was more than a little nervous about banging the tranny against it. I used JCI engine and tranny mounts and they worked perfectly despite terrible instructions. It really hit me when I stood back and just thought "my datsun has a v8 now!" One of the nice surprises is how little wiring is showing. The only part of the engine harness that will show is about a 4" section between the motor and the firewall (I mounted the ECM inside the passenger compartment). All of the wiring for the front of the car (horns, fans, headlights, turn signals) runs under the quarter panels so there won't be any wires at all in the engine bay. I'm really trying to resist buying useless parts like AN fittings for the coolant lines and things like that. Oh well, half the fun is brainstorming about "what-ifs".

Here's some new pics: Before: After: Waiting on some headers before we put the engine in. Oh and I got my coil overs welded onto the a-arms, but I don't have any pics of those.

One thing I'll mention when using the bully dog frame rails with the JCI engine mounting kit: I had to cut about 3/16" out of the tranny brace to fit between the rails. Even then it was tight. There is enough play in the bolt holes that you can still just cut one side of it and have the mount still sit in the center. I'm basically at the same stage you are with the build. I'm learning a lot about the LS motors. It's amazing what a decent exhaust can do!

^that is a front airdam to a civic. Its ricer-ish and i wish it wasnt in the shop haha. Dont worry, im not putting that on my car.

5/3/12-we started priming the engine bay. To get the really hard to see imperfections, it helps a lot to have a uniform surface. I know its just primer but it got me excited to see part of the car one color even if its gray. If you remember when i got it, the corner had been rusted through. We patched a 1'x1' square section into the firewall. You could never tell it wasnt factory. My friend has some impressive body working skills from what ive seen so far. We left the frame rails in POR15 because the **** is awesome and i like contrast.

4/29/2012- Anthony is continuing with the body work. The most labor intensive area is the engine bay...lots of little spot welds and brackets to grind smooth and cover. The battery area was completely rusted though so we had to weld in a new patch panel and then fill in the remainder with "kitty hair" (gross looking stuff btw) and filler. It's super smooth and almost ready for primer. I went to pick up the engine. I had some question if my little truck could haul it or if the engine would make it ride on the bump stops the whole way home. To my surprise, the thing is a feather. I had a fridge that sunk the bed down more. Here she is! Low miles out of a 2002 camaro SS, ls6 intake and zo6 clutch. I've already taken off the A/C compressor and the power steering pump. I still have to take off the EGR emmissions stuff. There are only about 5 wires + fuel line to get this thing running. Here's the mounting brackets for the LS motor: This is the driver's side. I forgot to snap a pic of the passenger side so just use your imagination. Here is how the new transmission cross member is suppose to sit The problem is that the span is designed for the stock frame rails. I have after market ones that are larger so the mount is too long. Its an easy fix though. This is me just messin around. It's sitting on wood and not in the correct location at all but there is a lot of room! I suppose a guy could even stick a turbo in there if he wanted to! :awesomedance:

Make some progress on the little things. My friend was nice enough to let me have his cool aluminum battery box. It should fit great tucked into the rear quarter panel. After some thought, I think I'll go with a full size optima. I like how small some of the new batteries are but I've heard that you really have to be carefull with the braile's and other small batterys because they can run down fast if you have your radio or lights on for an extended time. Being that this is going to be a semi-DD street car, I wanted some insurance. I've got the main positive wire routed up through the frame along with the positive for the stereo. I went over to aspen sound (in Boise Idaho) for some advice. Nice guys but they are really expensive. I wanted to convert the factory cubby compartments to 6x9 speaker boxes. They happen to be the perfect size. The speaker cover is just for mocking up. I needed a template for cutting the hole. The vertical wall right in front of the speakers will be a perfect location for two amps. I don't think I'll be running a subwoofer simply because I don't have the room and 2 6x9's can still thump good enough for a white boy. I'm starting to re-assemble the interior so I can wire the gauges/stereo/lights/switches etc. The only thing on the wiring harness that was holding me up was the GM turn signal switch. Every switch I found felt cheap and nasty. I thought it would be cool to stick with nissan and use a modern 350'z switch. It's better/crisper than anything GM can make and it looks cool. I need to take a dremel and slim down the bracket (it looks bigger in the picture). Overall, the bracket I made is about the same size as the stock lever's. I can slide it up and down the shaft or in and out to my preference. I will have to make a new molding piece to cover the steering column since I won't have a key ignition or the factory switch*. *That shiny knob sticking out of the cigarette lighter hole is going to be the starter switch. I don't like the look of it yet but it does work! It controls everything a key does, off/acc/on/start. I have some aluminum billets around that I could take to the machine shop and make me something really cool for the switch. I get caught up in little **** like this and spend all damn day on it lol. Here's something I've been debating... The fuel cell looks **** flush with the floor IMO. When I have the upholsterer do her magic, I was going to have the carpet hemmed maybe an inch or two over the fuel cell so the cell would be exposed and part of the carpet. The problem is, its a big fuel cell (15 gal). When it's flush with the floor, it sticks down past the rear of the car. Part of me thinks it might look cool to have the exposed polished fuel cell but this car won't have much ground clearance and the rear overhang is pretty prominent in these cars. I think it may raise it up just a little. It would be awful to scrap the tank. It won't be flush with the floor anymore but it would still look alright. It would be easier to fill too. Next on my plate is: Gauges (Delphi) Dash cap Finish body work/start guide coating Mufflers/exhaust system Find a q45 rear diff Fuel pump, filter, route fuel lines to engine bay T-56 master clutch cylinder 280zx brake booster Sometime down the road I guess I should start looking for an engine too.

I put my 76 280z on one and it worked fine. Ofcourse, it was just the stripped down unibody. Putting a whole care on it would make me nervous.

I have a 76 280z thats undergoing an engine swap. I used an aftermarket wiring harness that has provisions for gm plugs (ignition, alternator and column assembly). I went to the junkyard and discovered that all of the gm turn signal/headlight switchs (the stalk on the left side of the steering wheel) were complete junk. Every single switch had tons of play and just felt like stirring a stick in gravel...nothing i wanted to put in my project car. The more i thought about it, i suspect that most turn signal/headlight switches are basically all the same (i think). Im fairly proficient in wiring and soldering. Im wondering if i can use the switch off of a 350z. The switch in my 350z has a better feel than anything made by gm and i think it looks better too. Is there anything special about the switch that would prevent me from just soldering the wires to the gm harness? I doubt there is any electronics in it. The relays for the hazzards and turn signals are seperate so i think its just an assembly of dummy contacts. Am i thinking about this right? It would be sooooo much nicer to use a modern z's control than a crappy old gm part.

No, its just bolted to the firewall and not the dash. I dont think it would really matter as everything ahould line up together. The more i think about it, there has to be something jammed between the firewall and the flange.

There is one small detail that for the life of me can't figure out! And it a pretty dumb one: I bolted up my steering column to the firewall with the normal 4 bolt flange attachment. It's pretty hard to screw that part up, there really is only two ways to bolt the steering column up. Obviously the shaft is at an angle to the flange plate and you want that to protrude up towards the roof and not down towards the floor as shown: (I feel dumb even explaining this by the way)...why is my steering wheel so low then? It can't be right but the flange is bolted tight to the fire wall. Maybe something got caught between the firewall and the flange? It's so simple I don't really have an explaination. I'll look at it closer this weekend and report back lol!

I've been having fun putting together the wiring harness. I completed the rear section of the car (reverse, parking, turn signals etc). Everything is soldered and shrink wrapped. The wiring kit I used has some amazing think gauge wires for just powering tail lights, I'm impressed. I like the look and feel of LED lights, especially since they don't really have a downside to speak of. I've been looking at these: http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/index.cgi?action=DispPage&Page2Disp=%2Ftail-brake-turn.html They sell drop in replacements for the stock bulb! I've heard good reviews so I may have to give it a shot. The harness I bought uses the stock GM plugs for the steering column stuff (ignition, turn signals etc.) and alternator. This would seem like a good thing until I tried to go to Jalopy Jungle and look around for a decent quality, nice feeling lever. Every turn signal stalk, every wiper stalk I came across felt like some F!@#$-up fisher price bull!@#$ piece of garbage. GM should be embarrassed. The play in every single one was awful...I couldn’t feel good about putting that in my car. I think there was more play in the GM turn signal indicator than the entire sweep on the one on my 350z, uh it’s just gross. I know the hot rod guys make aftermarket levers and assemblies that are replacements for the GM ones so I might have to track one of those down. I'm starting to get the dash area back together (still needs a dash cap): Despite being 36 years old, the fit up of the parts is amazing. Every piece still snaps and bolt together like a new car would (try that with an American car from 1976). Nothing feels tinny or fragile. I cleaned the HVAC parts, re-greased the motor and the cable actuators, cleaned and re-felted the duct parts and soldered the motor into the new harness. I had planned to reuse the stock gauges but the new gauges really are light years ahead of the stock ones in terms of well...everything. I wasn't a fan of the dim green light either. I'm thinking about getting these: I like the stepper motor function with the ceremonial opening and the blacked out look when they are off. I think they will look great in the stock gauge pods. I'm still open to opinions though. Oh I wired the front the car too but it’s completely tucked and hidden so there isn't really much to take a picture off. That’s it for now.

I love the 4g! I put one in a mightymax truck and its my daily driver. I can only imagine how much room you will have under that hood.

I ordered a 15 gallon fuel cell. It's a pretty nice unit. Installed flush with the floor. The way it sits, its not track legal because there is no barrier between the fuel tank and the interior. Meh, I don't really mind. It looks cool and I don't really plan on taking it to the drag strip. The stock wiring is a complete disaster. Little critters had been crewing on it and its just overly complicated. I ordered a 20 circut, micro fused wiring harness from EZ-wire. It's a nice kit and it comes with the gm connection for alternator, ignition and steering column assembly. This kit also solved the poor wiring to the headlights too. Just a small update. I've mostly been hibernating in the winter.

I think I've decided on a color: metallic merlot red. We sprayed a patch panel and it looks nice but im still waiting to see what it looks like in the sun...when we get any. Also got a christmas gift, leather momo competition wheel. Such a nice wheel! Anthony has been buzy cutting out the driver's side rear quarter panel and replacing it with a new one. He will post some pics later. While he's been doing body work, I've been busy going through the wiring harness. I plotted out a full color diagram of the harness to guide me but I ran into some issues: The little criters that called my car home for many years managed to chew up a lot of the wires and plugs. Why on earth they are compelled to chew on plastic and metal, I have no idea. Despite that, I got it mostly layed out on the ground and running off a trickle charger. It was a messy operation and I had to use plenty of gator clips for all the body grounds but I got the lights to work. I had the realiztion that for what I need, the amount of wires that the stock harness has is way overkill for its new use. Circuts like the auto-antenna, A/C, engine wires, seat belt switch and door buzzer can all go away. So even if the harness wasn't being chewed on by criters, its still a 35 year old outdated design (glass fuses?). I made up my mind that it would be so much simpler and more fun to just start from scratch and order a universal 12 circut harness. Wiring would be cake and it would be far more reliable and easier to track down any electrical gremlins that might come up. I like the 12 circut paneless kits. Anyother suggestions? Oh, also ordered a fuel cell. Should be here by next weekend.