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Actually, it appears you can still buy kits! https://www.dkhardware.com/asp-a-16-105-auto-keying-kit-product-4838272.html?srsltid=AfmBOopXhi66Ub5objUsVLlPIOtGXJCK2Tf8aZSSusaSLkTvPvIAvVgg https://www.locksco.com/buy/product/New-keying-kit-for-Datsun/CLENC8ae41abfed476c50acd2d7916a7fb627 If neither of those are in stock or don't ship, Star Road sells a kit with blank tumblers and a file. https://jdm-car-parts.com/products/key-cylinder-re-key-kit-for-datsun-240z-260z-280z-make-matching-key-on-your-own

Original locks can be rekeyed, but I know at least in the US, there are very few locksmiths that still stock the tumblers. If you're lucky you could maybe find an old school locksmith, or if you're very lucky you could find an old kit. If not, you can always file your own tumblers out of some brass sheet. Here's a write-up on the process of rekeying Datsun locks. https://ratsun.net/topic/47412-how-to-dissasemble-datsun-510-ignition-switch-and-rekey/

More parts came in today. Sniper 2 arrived, laid it all out, took some pics, and went ahead and used some thread sealant and put the pressure regulator together, and tried to take a pic of where it will be mounted. Psi gauge still in the mail. It will be "fun" making room for this HUGE sniper. There is a "hole" there, just have to get a couple cuts just right so everything fits. Took a few pics, first one is the "Master Kit" which is the fuel system, and it came with some NOS fittings.......then the entire deal and held it up on top of the intake and air cleaner....looks like I will be getting a thinner air filter to go in it, to clear the hood.

Cool but expensive. The chronograph is $3k USD.

Probably just fine. The polyurethane products were developed as a performance improvement. More precise steering, less wheel movement. The aftermarket will hype and sell whatever they can.

Hmm, well having the rubber and poly switched was pretty dumb of me. How much worse is it to have all rubber vs poly up front/ rubber on the back? This is a street only car

This has already been done a few years ago. Reach out to Jakub at Datsun Europe, he's running a zf8hp50 behind his sick turbo L and has a few adaptor plates left.

parts are pouring in.

ordered a 9" air cleaner and I decided I didn't want it chromed AND the sniper to be polished, so I took it to a local guy and had it blasted and powder coated gloss black to set off the sniper a bit. the bottom ring is only powdered where it can be seen, as it won't fit on the mouth of the sniper if the powder is on there...too thick. I think it will look ready good and contrast the polished stuff.

This thread is ancient so I'm just posting in case others come along in search of a solution. If you install the MSD 8920 as indicated by the OP and the tach only reads 200 rpm, here is what fixed it for me. At issue, reverse the wires to the tach. Connect B/W wire to red going to the 8920 and connect G/W to 12V switched. After this my tach was happy.

I used to run this: https://www.thezstore.com/product/6551/tension-rod-t-c-kit-70-8-87-240z-260z-280z-280zx-300zx It worked pretty well. I have since gone to rod ends and a clevis.

NO!!! Actually it seems well suited to a billet solution and I can't compete with billet solutions. The only reason I can play in this arena with my equipment is leveraging my pattern making abilities.

Hello everyone, I’ve been looking all over but haven’t really found the answer I’ve been looking for. I just bought my first Z (1977 280z 5 speed) and noticed I have two different keys and no spares. I suspect the door locks have been changed at some point. As you can imagine I would like to open everything with only one key. Does anybody know where to buy a full lock kit with matching keys? So that’s for the doors, hatch and ignition. Or can I rekey the original locks? I can’t seem to find matching locks online but I did find lock sets for Datsun 720, 510 and 280zx. Does anybody know if I can make one fit a 1977 280z?

Actually it's rubber in the back, poly in the front. The front bushing takes the force under braking on the Z's, under compression, and is the one that you don't want compressing too much, making the steering squishy. But the poly should not have split. It does take a lot of side forces as the rod moves up and down with the suspension. But usually it causes the rod end to fatigue and break off. Seems like you got a bad batch of polyurethane. Bad chemistry, or a knockoff.

I have a 280z that I recently finished building. On the tension rods I installed brand new bushings. Rubber on the front side and poly on the back, as I believe was recommended by several people here. Torqued the nut to 40ftlbs. I was just under the car for something else and noticed that the rear bushings on both sides are split very badly. This is after only about 10 miles of driving. Wondering how this could be. I will switch the rear bushings to rubber but still want to know how this could have happened. Comments welcome

Just got home with the car and finally took it a good run around the block as the registration is suspended at the moment. The seller told me it didn't pass inspection as the car was running rich. I did notice there was a wideband sensor and a crank angle sensor installed but not connected to anything. Maybe it was used to tune the engine? The car isn't perfect but I did get it for a pretty good price. The bodywork isn't all straight, I suspect it had some damage to the rear at some point in time. The hood latch cable has popped out of place so the hood won't open anymore (why did I close it all the way). The passenger door isn't lined up properly, it only closes with force and the bottom rear part of the door sticks out a bit. And the car sweats some oil (pretty much everywhere). But all in all I'm happy at the moment as it has new wheels and tires (got the original wheels with almost new tires with the car) and it drives pretty good even though it's running rich. Clutch and brakes work very good and even all the electrical works. I did notice some nice goodies too. The car has some kind of aftermarket suspension I think and a brand new wooden steering wheel with NRG adapter. It is indeed a 5 speed and has the R200 rear end. I'll look some more into the forum and will probably start a build series documenting the car as I have no documentation what so ever.

Who said anything about stock??? Its turbo'd but the the overdrive in the auto is .686 and a 3.7 rear end. It goes 80mph at 3k with the ac blowing cold and will stay cool even in 100 deg heat. But thanks. I think im gonna just have to buy one to try

I'm sure I'm far too late, but taking a magnet with to check for structural bondo is a good thing to do. You never know what someone has hidden behind paint.

Welcome to the forum, and congratulations on your new purchase. She looks like a beauty...the late-model 280 with a 5 speed is a desirable combination for a street car that gets driven often. While not as functional as the usual heavy 5mph bumpers, the thin bumpers are much nicer looking IMHO. I'd be interested to know what differential the car has (an R200 would be nice, but certainly not necessary). Unless you're planning to upgrade the front brakes and get a larger master cylinder (and track the car), rear disc brakes are really not necessary. The stock aluminum drum brakes on the rear are more than adequate for any street driving...and even the occasional auto-x or time trial event. There are several good discussions here on how to maximize performance from the stock rear drums. Lots of good forums and groups on social media for the S30; but another forum I like is ClassicZCars.com, especially for information on original restorations. Good luck with your planned mods & upgrades, and please keep the updates coming!! 👍

Hello everyone! I'm new to this forum and today I'll be picking up my very first Z. It's a silver 1977 280z coupe with a 5 speed manual gearbox. Any recommendations of what I should be looking for? I bought the car site unseen at an auction. Yeah I know, not the greatest idea but I got a good deal on the car. I do know from a dealer I saw the car at a while back that the frame rails might have some rust spots but the seller listed the car as "free from rust and structural damage". Luckily the seller won't get his money until we bother agree the car is as advertised so I can still low-ball the shit out of hem. (The seller was bragging to the dealer how he would make a massive payday trough the auctions the dealer told me. But guess what, he lost money on it) My plans for the car are to just get it road worthy for now and then upgrading it over time. I was thinking about rear disk brakes, ITB's with new engine management and some carbon fiber body parts like the hood, fender flares, spoiler and aero bumper. After the cosmetic upgrades I'll be painting the car Nissan Midnight Blue as I just love the color. And yes the car is loosely inspired by the anime Wangan Midnight I saw when I was a kid. Call me a week but it was my first interaction with the S30 chassis and I loved them ever since.

Share.

I got mega burned by Apex on the rear track attack. Was one of the first buyers of it and back then it didn't even have enough parts to even bolt it to the car. The design of the rear kit is just for looks. Much feedback was given to them in how to improve it, but it was widely ignored. Shame because the cradle design is a good base to start off of.

On my C&R (Jeirco knockoff) I have a two-piece shifter similar to the original Datsun version or a T-5 shifter where only the handle needs to be removed. The C&R has all the linkage on top, so you have more side clearance, but it is exactly the same three-rod shift fork linkage as the Jerico. Bummer the clutch plate is still catching on the flywheel bolts.

extra parts for the EFI conversion:

Final reference pictures of the rerouted SS -8 and -10 fuel hardline bracketry around the Escort member. I left enough room to run twin -12 but the main choke point is around the massive CD trans. Also for those that asked about the FPG in-tank surge tank bracketry I haven't forgotten have just been busy. The design was finalized along with a custom level sender arrangement and the prototype went for manufacturing a week or two ago so I'll provide more details when I get back to it.