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The door fits perfectly in the opening, it's just the overlap of the two weatherstrips that is causing the issue

Adjust the door hinges per instructions in th FSM. Easy!

Looks like someone tried to cover up a bunch of body problems with under coat and paint that will take a lot of time/money to repair. Keep on looking for a better example. They are out there to be found.

Now that the year is finally winding down I'm actually able to spend more than 30min blocks at a time working on the car. Tonight I measured things up for the condenser hardlines and bent up some tig wire as templates. I also ran the AC softlines into the DS fresh air duct as the intercooler takes that up on the rad support. Basically it'll be a tucked AC setup. I could probably have most of the AC system invisible in the engine bay actually, if I was willing to exit the softlines into the fenderwell. I'm also contemplating fabricating a AC line bulkhead using the OE rad support holes like I did for the oil cooler. It'll add complexity and parts cost to the project but like the oil cool I think it'll be a cleaner solution. With the holidays I probably won't get any materials I order until the new year anyways so I guess I'll sleep on it and decide next week.

Relatively new to thinking about owning a car of this age but, currently live in Japan and have been looking for an older car that will eventually come back to the States with me (i wont have to pay to ship 1 vehicle but still needs to be 25 yo to avoid other things). I fell in love with the Fairlady Z at first sight. I went and looked at/drove one for the first time just this weekend. A 79' 5-speed MT with an L28 that is not original to the car so it has some very low mileage (14k Km). Runs great but has some other issues. it needs a lot of exhaust work as the muffler and most of the ducts are very rusted (I probably would just look to replace it all even though I could probably keep the exhaust manifold.) lots of smaller replacements (wiring, hoses, rubber odds and ends) questionable rust on the undercarriage with a questionable coating to cover it up which is my main concern and why I'm posting. I took quite a few pictures of what i saw and I'm trying to get an idea of how bad the rust may be, how much work it will be to fix up the rust, or if there is anything anyone can gleam from seeing these pictures that i might of missed (still new to this) I appreciate any help anyone can give Thanks all

EZ clip do seem slightly more space efficient, but it would be a waste to just not use the lines I already bought years ago. I think for sure I'll do some hardlines to route roughly where the original ones were and then not stress too much about the rest. I guess if the crimped lines ever give me trouble or for some reason need to be replaced I'll replace with the EZ clip lines for serviceability.

Any chance those scans/models are available?

I wrapped up the fuel system mounting in the engine bay and realized I was missing a couple of AN fittings so while those are on order, I moved back to the cooler packaging. While the AC drier can really be mounted anywhere, including the cabin I wanted to keep everything tight in front of the radiator support. After some further mockup and measurement I realize I'll need to hardline most of the condenser packaging, as the packing including the trinary switch is just too tight for soft lines. What I found interesting about AC hardlines is there are no handheld tools that I could find to produce AC oring flares. Everyone I called who produced hardlines mentions they have some large proprietary hydraulic machine. So this limits me to purchasing pre-flared lines in varying lengths, such as those from Vintage Air, to bend myself and/or section and tig weld back together as necessary.

I'm also going to Vintage Air hardlines to clear all of the cooler packaging, and running everything else tucked on the DS reduce bulk. Another option are the EZ Clip style lines and hoses from Eaton, Vintage Air, etc. I'm running those in the cabin and they're much smaller in diameter with much tighter bend radius than traditional AC softline. They can also be disassembled for service or re-clocking unlike the crimped soft lines.

Yeah, Mishimoto. He had a similar shroud already made for the Wizard cooling radiators which are a bit different. They actually have a dedicated 280z one which is taller than the early ones just like OEM. Waved design costs for me since I fronted the cost of the radiator for design which he's returning to refund me. I think all in this actually cost me the same as a cheap shroud like from zcardepot or others, but was custom designed and had the fans at same price I could get them from Summit.

I manage to find two pics that show Model Displays of Scale Motors at AutoBacs Store. Note -the prices of these motors are shown in Japanese Yen. To convert the price into US Dollars- just divide the Yen Amount by 150. The 150 is the Current exchange rate in Japan. One US Dollar is worth 150 Japanese Yen. These Motors have actual cranking movement driven by a small electric motor.

great build and thanks so much for taking the time to detail everything. Question, I’ve read through a couple of times but didn’t notice any mention of having to cut the firewall or clearance it at all. Am I right there? Curious if any firewall mods or tunnel mods were required in the end to make the engine and trans fit ? thanks so much!

Dang that is a nice piece of hardware! That is seriously so clean. Is that the Mishimoto radiator?

12-21-2024 TURBO PROJECT UPDATE: So I changed the plan. I bought a used generator and a handheld arc welder and will attempt to weld in the panels to fix the strut tower area. I used 16 ga. steel, which yes, is thick, and that means it is hard to massage and bend around. I took some measurements and cut out the first piece, then had to find places to put it while I beat on it with a ball peen hammer. then it was just back and forth trying up there, then more work, back and forth. I got it almost where I wanted it, but I found that, it seems to work much better for me to screw and bolt it in, to "pull" it up tight in some spots and then use my cheater pipe, a long, big screwdriver and the hammer and keep forming it where I wanted it. The pic below shows the 2 pieces of 16 gauge in the strut tower area, then I had some real thin sheet metal that I used to cover up the turbo behind the shock tower. It is also tek screwed on, at least for now. It took a bit more fabbing, but I was able to get the carburetor on and pulled out into the open spot. Unfortunately, the big K&N filter won't be used. If you want it/need it, let me know. I took two close up where you can see the new sheet metal from inside the engine compartment. This, of course, will be all cleaned up and painted when done. Being a REAL beginner with the welder, I am having a real hard time with it....I will have to watch more videos to get it to work better. I am set at 20 amps, the lowest setting, and the rod likes to stick when I try to start welding. Irritating, but as I have found with everything else on this car.....I end up having to do EVERYTHING myself. Pics follow, cheers!

thanks - I’ve never done business with them but I sent them a message

The new shroud Fran at Galgo designed and made for me is done and shipped yesterday. Might not get it by Christmas but it'll hopefully arrive by next weekend at the latest. Since the brakes likely won't ship while I'm home for my break, I'm gonna focus on wiring this up and maybe finally fixing the rear main seal leak. I have new trans fluid ready to go and meant to inspect the throw out bearing among other things, so it may be time. If I'm diligent in the planning I might be able to get it done in a single day. Other than that I'm still hung up on how much I want to use hard lines for the AC. I think at a minimum I want one for a tight bend off the condenser. The original had lines coming off both sides, the new one only has them on one side. I don't want to route a thick hose across the entire length of the radiator core support - just seems like unnecessary bulk.

Hijack away Cary! I like the Howe Racing as i knew it would work with the balljoint I wanted to use, and it had the correct thread for an inboard heim joint. I had to modify it enough at this point, I think next time I'll have some fully custom ones bent up, and use a spherical bearing on the inboard side.

Get the plate. You don't want anything that's spinning like that exposed to the elements. They're cheap even new. Stainless same cost as new OEM https://zcardepot.com/products/transmission-to-engine-plate-new-stainless-240z-260z-280z?variant=48797059187000

You can find cheap options on eBay by searching for "used IMCA lower control arm." These straight arms can take various balljoint combos and use a rod-end mounting or a bushing. That will get you options like this https://www.ebay.com/itm/156253492635?_skw=used+imca+front+lower+contrl+arm&itmmeta=01JFH1PRRQS4VARS84HE8VBR09&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAABAHoV3kP08IDx%2BKZ9MfhVJKmlnKptmEq49QXHuYUVK0t%2FVqtBOgHRzDCm%2BhuINAAj7rXduUHGplWvDm0w32o9rUYodX6FM68bik%2FtkVdR1OEgMQ4I6PEadB120ZYc9zeSyv94OLc3GuJyjb6aYDdKVZxcAMN9rjS5T4ibk%2FjJBDnCv3n%2FZTMwwRG4otjIm1OadN3F8Hka5QshaeMFiCF5qnoASz4Twy1WWKQTodhNhuPEYc28a4ZzlZ8AqqHhHRyyLV34MiKRX9jF82K8A48bmtIK3tFolRCJaAaOOv6BNOSwfDE8qOE5oa9QaEviKS4QtPVw4DgxBXjo4Dm4bOU3SGk%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR7aM26H8ZA. Two types of TC links are used. One has a stud and uses a solid rod end for connection. The other uses a clevis that connects the TC link. For research, you can get a few used examples off eBay for $20 to $30 or get the manufacturer's catalog for options. Sorry for the hijack. Cary

Any update?

Yes please share how you made that! Very interested in that setup! I initially planned on swapping my front crossmember/setup to an r32 gtr cross-member so I can give it AWD (I've swapped an RB25 in) but if your setup gives me more travel/width (need to research bit to confirm either way) then it would make sense to go that route and do a custom setup for the AWD.

If you are near a SCCA/NASA group that runs the "Track Night in America" or whatever the NASA equivalent is, I HIGHLY recommend it! Much more laid back, and geared towards beginners. If you apply mechanical sympathy to your car you'll be in great shape. Big braking zones are the hardest thing with these cars initially, so just go out, take it slow, and enjoy hearing that straight 6 roar! Thanks man! There are a handful of builds on here that have been going on long before I started and are still far from done. I have a newfound respect for the patience those folks have. For the Howe Racing arms, they are extremely not for the Z platform. haha. They are for the Trans Am cars (tube chassis) but they manage to utilize a similar lower arm configuration. I had to add some additional brackets to mount the tension rod in the right spot, remove some "stock" brackets, and design a sway bar attachment point (still not 100% happy with that one). Was hoping I had a photo, but no such luck! I'll do a photo dump here shortly!

Last night I mostly re-laid out everything on the firewall, close enough to finish fabricating the rest of the lines at least. Sort of tempted to start welding up the unused holes in the engine bay and shave things a bit, but I know that will turn into a major project so saving it for when I repaint the entire car someday. It'll also be interesting to see how the bulkhead heater fittings I put in for the vintage air will look with the OE hoses, but won't get that full view until the engine is back in.

12-19-2024. Dash center plate painted up.

Hi, I just recently purchased a 72 240z with no transmission, I have sourced a working 4 speed, and got a 240mm flywheel, and clutch kit, slave and master from 78 280z 2+2 (no one seems to sell a stock replacement small flywheel). I don’t have an engine block plate, the one that goes between the block and transmission. Do I need that to run the car? Or is it just more of a dust shield?