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HybridZ

'77 280z aka Project Tetanus (LS6 383, T56)


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First of all, hello! I'm a newb here but not to modding. I've lived on the norotors forum for the past few years after building a couple of LS swapped RX-7's. I still have my FC (Solid axle, 4-link, LS1, 88mm turbo, TH400) and I'm trying to sell it to fund this project.

 

Anyway, I came across a '77 280z that had been sitting for 20+ years. From what I can tell it was silver from the factory, then red, then silver again. Lots of piss poor bondo work and rust. Lots of rust. But, for the price I got it for, I can't complain. I've already started cutting the floor pans out.

I have a torn down LS6 that'll be worked into an 11.0:1 382 with a custom BTR cam and a T56 waiting once I get the body sorted. I've had good luck with MS3Pro on my RX-7 so I'll probably go with that on this one as well. 

 

***Will be updated as build progresses***

Parts/ build list so far:

 

Body/Chassis/Suspension:

New rockers, rear quarters, shaved rear bumper, new floor and trans tunnel, lower doors and front fenders patched

Silvermine Front and rear stage IV brake kits

SS braided lines

CX racing coilovers

New wheel bearings front and rear

ARP extended studs

Tubular frame rails (firewall back) and roll bar with additional supports throughout

Boxed in front frame rails

Energy Suspension full bushing kit

Wilwood Clutch and Brake MC

Wilwood brake adjuster 

T3 rear sway bar

T3 front drop links

T3 RLCA's

T3 TC rods

T3 Mustache bar

T3 drop mounts and wishbone

 

Engine/ driveline:

464rwp/ 448rwtq on E85

LS6 based 383 - K1 crank and lite weight rods, Wiseco pistons, ~11.8:1 compression

Wagner CNC Ported 799's (300+ CFM)

Del West Ti Valves

Texas Speed custom grind: 246/248 on 116+0 .615/.615

BTR Springs, pushrods and trunnion upgrades

1.875" custom SS 4-1 headers

Full 3" SS exhaust

OBX 52mm ITB's with some Jenvey components

ATI Damper

MS3Pro Evo - flex fuel sensor, tuned on pump E85

Walbro 450lph in tank pump

Snake eater 80#/hr injectors

Aeromotive FPR

AN fuel lines

F-Body Camaro fuel tank

Champion 3 row radiator

WHP 300M 39 spline stub axles and Z31T adapters

WHP Chromoly shortened Z31T axles

MFactory Helical LSD

Monster Stage 2 clutch/ flywheel

GTO T56 with f-body shifter setup

Tick Performance Shifter

 

Interior:

Weld in roll bar

Speedhut gauges

NRG wheel and quick release

NB Miata Dash and center console

Summit reclinable seats with sliders

Racequip 5 point harness

 

Wheels/ Exterior:

Rota RBR 7.5" Front/ 8.5" Rear

MSA front bumper and rear wing

Skillard side skirts, grill, front and rear diffusers

 

 

Edited by SH4DY
Added more parts
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On to the pictures:

The Z as she arrived in all her glory/ misery. I'm pretty sure the car was used for practice by a highschool body shop class

IMG 20170603 134229349

IMG 20170603 134222274

IMG 20170603 134211504

IMG 20170704 150404913

 
Who needs metal for a floor board?

IMG 20170708 133558456

IMG 20170708 133608350

 
and the rust... ohhh the rust:

IMG 20170708 165546835

IMG 20170708 165539991

IMG 20170708 165524566

IMG 20170704 163820447

IMG 20170704 134409194

IMG 20170704 134358135

 
After some cutting/ sanding and priming:

IMG 20170711 183358474

IMG 20170711 191057463

IMG 20170708 133628587

 

I'm also redoing the steering wheel. Took off the old gross rubber, attached some MDF and started shaping. It'll eventually be wrapped in carbon.

IMG 20170609 211103594

IMG 20170611 113814840

IMG 20170613 195957824

 

 

Lots and lots of hours to go with the media blaster and sander. 

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With the several layers of epoxy resin, and maybe a coat of clear, it should be pretty well contained

 

 

EDIT: I'm nixing this idea in favor of a something with a quick release. 

Edited by SH4DY
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I was able to get a little more done last weekend.

I cut out the horrible patch job on the outside of the drivers side frame rail, blasted, primed/painted and boxed in with 16 ga (I think? may have been thicker) sheet. I still need to do the small portion in front of the cross member mount. 

7 19 17B

7 19 17C

7 19 17D

7 19 17E

 
After spending a couple of hours fighting with all the spot welds trying to remove the brackets in the engine bay I gave up after seeing how weak/ think the metal was. It also became pretty clear how flimsy the shock tower support must be. So, I cut a healthy chunk of it out (pretty close to the perimeter spot welds) and added new sheet (22 ga) along with some 3/4" tube. Once I get around to the fixing/ replacing sections of the firewall I'll add bracing to the back of the towers to the firewall. 

7 19 17F

7 19 17G

7 19 17H

 
Also shaved the drip rail. Still very much a work in progress

7 19 17A

 

 

 

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  • 5 weeks later...

More welding for the drip rail: Trying to make this car as solid as possible with minimal bondo. Huge pain in the ass.

IMG 20170810 202604527

 

Added some angle iron to help strengthen the front frame rails:

IMG 20170730 150049422

 

After boxing in the lower portion of the rails I added a tubular piece to replace the factory frame rails. It is attached to the rear subframe.

IMG 20170730 132214067

IMG 20170730 130947468

 
Mocking up the motor and the new subframe for the LS swap.

IMG 20170818 142749299

IMG 20170818 142759933

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IMG 20170818 142814785

IMG 20170818 174825157

IMG 20170818 174835700

 
I had some extra paint in the gun and wanted to see what it would look like on the car:

IMG 20170818 171547512

Rustoleum Satin black mixed @ 15% with Acetone. Single coat. I like it. I think it'll compliment the carbon fiber well.
 
Now that I have the motor in I can figure out the transmission mount and then start building the floors and tunnel. 

 

 

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Started boxing in the former battery tray area:

large.IMG_20170905_171148684.jpg.f14a68883072a826ec8135f863d4f558.jpglarge.IMG_20170905_171117864.jpg.3f3021c7ed3580819929547e090db350.jpg

Trans is in! Going to have to redo the majority of the trans tunnel.

large.IMG_20170826_153032959.jpg.ee901ba8ff42bfd7c0bed7a232f8a0f7.jpg

 

Next step is to get a bead roller and start on the floors and finish the firewall.

I think I might wind up going SLA ford 8.8": I started pricing out 5 lug conversions, brakes, suspension, LSD, axles, etc and its pretty cost prohibitive to keep the IRS. Pretty sure with a good 4 link and watts setup I can get this thing to handle pretty well... at least for any auto-x or back road driving I may do. 

Edited by SH4DY
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  • 1 month later...

I decided to cut out those two rods. The one was right on the panel and it was was already trapping trash and was going to make smoothing the area a shore. I'll be adding a another down bar but it'll be a single curved 1.5" dia tube.

large.IMG_20171009_203719169.jpg.12fa5466cfa02271a5b9319bea018017.jpg

Made some progress (?) on stripping, blocking, priming the body. Still a long way to go. Hope to have it primed by the end of the weekend. Then on to the floor pans and trans tunnel...

large.IMG_20171009_203732441.jpg.8dccd254824fc1fb3fe57f925743d163.jpglarge.IMG_20171011_201958567.jpg.ae798301c044fe2389bb57c2b4bfaf9e.jpglarge.IMG_20171011_201929787.jpg.3e88648b0f17dc74f49b7caebb0d7226.jpg

 

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So, after allll that work I decided it was best to just take it all back to the metal and start from scratch. The car has had at least 3 paint jobs and all those layers added up. It wound up being more trouble than it was worth trying to smooth out that mess or find a  "good" layer. I'm glad I did though - it's going to make life much easier in the long run.

large.IMG_20171015_124236611.jpg.e94ed53ffdfc12cc2762492ce4f0192b.jpglarge.IMG_20171015_155929414.jpg.b59621e04a1855e6164ba23a2bffe378.jpg.

Painted the underside of the hood. There was some trash that got in the gun so the spray pattern wasn't great but I'm hoping I can clear it up with a little wet sanding.

large.IMG_20171015_155944460.jpg.ad3908d600b222a5c092e35aaea832e8.jpg

 

Finally started working on patching the firewall. Still a lot of grinding to go but she's coming along. It's good to not have that gaping hole anymore. 

large.IMG_20171015_155954805.jpg.72cca60e120b9cbc6d699f3dd11f5c48.jpglarge.IMG_20171015_160010633.jpg.9674f5ef9b4c5b12409406181fa7ad04.jpg

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  • 3 weeks later...

Started working on the roll bar. It's a "Jegster" kit that I'm making fit more to my liking.

large.IMG_20171103_174512453.jpg.7c8e17d5db5526c118e4335f0f78a9ca.jpg

I tacked it in place to the car and welded in most of the bars then removed so I would weld all the way around the top. The bottom of the "X" will be installed once it goes back in car.

large.IMG_20171105_173721221.jpg.5bcf3dd62cc7e584c3d8ba453f0f8c3e.jpg

Did a little porting on the 241 heads:

large.IMG_20171030_204738169.jpg.66520ee347c2ebfa93578b892a5cc809.jpglarge.IMG_20171101_214001755.jpg.98acc413323b04a69690f563075066b6.jpg

I also found this mess after I decided to take the entire car back down to the metal:

large.IMG_20171029_163339368.jpg.d7da344ca46b11aa57fac584b28902fe.jpg

It looks like it had a panel replacement at some point with metal that was run over repeatedly on a gravel road. Solid 1/2" of bondo covering it. The body line break was all bondo. I've ordered new quarters and rockers. I think it'll be much easier to replace the panels than try and fix them at this point. Once the panels are in I need to order seats to figure out brackets and then then the floor pans/ tunnel can get finished. 

I'm planning on starting on the headers soon. It's going to be a tri-y and 180* design combined. Should be interesting. 

Progress is slow but it's progress...

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  • 4 weeks later...

Passenger side header after coating. I'll be using slip fit connections for the 180* merge under the car into the collectors. Thinking about going with reverse megaphones. I'm making sure all merges are properly fitted - the outer plate is just a cover to help prevent any stress cracks. 

header 2.jpg

 

Drivers side before coating. It's a tight fit the the brake MC but I'm not using a booster which helps.

 

header 1.jpg

 

Passenger side installed:

header 3.jpg

New rocker mocked up:

rocker.jpg

Rust bullet applied to the replacement quarter and rocker for the drivers side:

rust bullet.jpg

 

Inner rocker being reworked. Close to being able to get the floor pans in. 

inner rocker 2.jpg

 

I've got lots of early X-mas presents showing up: Silver Mine front and rear brake kits, bushings, coilovers, and seam sealer, epoxy and high fill polyester primer. 

Edited by SH4DY
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  • 3 weeks later...

Drivers side header before coating. Still need to add the crossover piece and tabs to lock in the slip fit connectors.

IMG_20171203_144351132.thumb.jpg.93a1dd1944133decd31120c746b2e33a.jpg

 

Reverse cone collectors. Pretty pumped about these.

IMG_20171210_155330095.thumb.jpg.7f8e7ce88e72edbc46f8b38ade4774d1.jpg

 

First attempt at making dimple dies. Very DIY setup: a big bolt in a vice, an old bearing and race and a big ass wrench. I'm going to be adding them to the roll bar around the "X". Need to get a smaller bearing/ race for smaller areas.

IMG_20171220_225612149.thumb.jpg.e2093dc8abddffb2d59e9a7e247ceca3.jpg

 

More rust, rust rust:

IMG_20171217_184456617.thumb.jpg.c34d1a6c60867dbf8c7a09c28f8e58a3.jpgIMG_20171220_223826688.thumb.jpg.a33defca185edf401e28eadf4e5e918d.jpg

 

 

I finally moved the car into the garage. It's getting cold here. 

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Got the roll bar in and started stitch welding the existing panels that were in good shape and adding more metal for rigidity. I'll be adding some gussets to the "X" and adding additional bars. Also, starting working on the floor pans with some DIY metal forming. Crazy how much stiffer the sheet is with the formed areas. I also had to make more room on the top of the trans tunnel for the bell housing. 

This weekend I hope to finish up the roll bar and get both rockers finished then I can start on the floor pans and rear quarters. 

On to the pictures:

IMG_20171230_160541188.thumb.jpg.ca370fb491570612678e667efa0f6aa3.jpg

IMG_20180112_240231521.thumb.jpg.1dbdf231956fae9948be91e3ba157c12.jpg

IMG_20180113_174408171.thumb.jpg.355f40983db1496b688462953bad39ce.jpg

IMG_20171230_111039286.thumb.jpg.9086f0a564dc5c25d7c71ac84b138718.jpg

IMG_20180112_240146893.jpg

Edited by SH4DY
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  • 7 months later...

It's been a while since I've posted anything but not because of a lack of progress:

Floor and tunnel are done. I took everything back to base metal and epoxy primed:

IMG_20180605_164013420.jpg

IMG_20180605_173428980.jpg

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IMG_20180708_240926085.jpg.

IMG_20180806_182118002.jpg

 

Some added reinforcement:

IMG_20180711_214838421.jpg

 

TTT Goodies

IMG_20180728_182329830.jpg

 

WHP Chromoly 39 Spline stub axles and Z31T CV conversion. New wheel bearings all around

IMG_20180729_142800372.jpg

 

 

MFactory LSD is in the mail (Thanks to user exlifesaver)

Block is back from the machine shop and I've started the short block assembly. Still need to finish working the heads before I take them to get valve job done. 

Still have a ton of body work to go before I can prime but she's coming along. 

Little teaser shot of the ITB's

IMG_20180513_183332226.jpg

Edited by SH4DY
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  • 5 months later...

Some updates. Progress has been slow in the winter months but its still coming along. 

MFactory LSD:

 IMG_20180910_212136956.thumb.jpg.7e19fa4884dc168badd7e5ac06e56434.jpg

F Body fuel tank installed:

IMG_20180918_203301787.thumb.jpg.8577c30a26a1f308cd6a0f3a41918404.jpg

Engine bay is done:

20181204_204302.thumb.jpg.136e34eacde59c7e365e3e872c908334.jpg

Motor is together: K1 lightweight rods, Wiseco pistons, Wagner CNC'ed 799's w/ Ti Valves (should flow 320+ CFM):

IMG_20180823_204842084.thumb.jpg.8732afd8465c27d52eb31b6b2c35a1a9.jpg

IMG_20181026_211917184.thumb.jpg.fdcf03d9d4b3c45100115b4b5c2df16d.jpg

IMG_20181019_194453286.thumb.jpg.e888b6a91b2123e052f8542935b737c0.jpg

IMG_20181019_194200069.thumb.jpg.4830d49ce1926aa8fbb990706ddd9948.jpg

 

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  • 3 months later...

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