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You have packed a lot into your intro. There's some good advice below to consider in the posts to your question. But I have to ask you what is it about the 280 you love? I don't mean that coyly or as some flippant remark. What is it you really like? I'll give you why I like the Zs. I grew up around them when they were new, my uncle was a general manager of a Datsun dealership so we got to try out the new cars. We raced with my uncle at autocross and hillclimbs (I was a kid so I just went along). Back then the Z cars were fast and sounded awesome (I have the hearing loss to prove it), and were amazing at cutting through the corners both stock and modified. Our local racing club had about 10 people driving stock to all-out racing versions. 50 years pass and a lot of that coolness has mostly worn off except for the look of a lowered S30 with an airdam and rear spoiler. I have to admit the sound of a modified Z makes me happy when I hear it. But this site exists to help people get the most out of them. And the reality of that is as cool as the L28 engine is you're looking at spending a lot of money and you'll have an engine that makes 200 to 250 HP. Sure you can get more but then all the other parts that connect to that engine are starting to get pushed past their limits given the age. While I don't disagree with any of the posts below you should still read about a lot of the mods and why they were done. You'll find that in many cases they were driven by it costing too much, parts NLA, etcetera. A bit of advice from me. Never by an engine, transmission, or rear end unless you plan to use it within a few months. Even if you plan to use it that's not the same as ready to bolt in. If you want a street car with a certain coolness and triple Weber carbs, then build it. But when you spend 10K on an engine and find it's somewhat finicky to drive but cool all the same. But for less, you could have 350 HP V6 in the DI Chevy LV3. It won't sound the same as the L-motor but it's lighter, a lot newer, and will get excellent mileage, It will start anywhere if it's hot or cold by the sea or at altitude. This site has a ton of info on how to do the same for the suspension and how to get a cheaper rear diff, especially if you want an LSD. I could write a lot more but this is probably too long as it is. Welcome to Z ownership. Cary

Happy Easter to you all, Steering rack was moved to the left 5mm to make more room for the primary tubes, new extension made to the right side. Most of the primary tubes are now welded, stainless is a pain as they tend to bend in their own way....😐. Some reinforcements are made around the hatches in the fender. As battery is moved to the rear i'm using this place for expansion bowl and fuse box for the engine plus coils. on the left side there will be clutch master cylinder and coils and maybe washer fluid bowl.

I would start by specifically not redoing literally everything. Videos online make people think this is like legos and things can get put together quickly. There are almost always hangups. Other than the engine rebuild, I would recommend seeing which stock parts absolutely need replacing and start with just that. Get the engine finished and drive as much as you can and see what sticks out that might actually be worth upgrading to you. There's nothing worse than tearing a car down then not getting to drive for several years because you can't keep up with everything you took off. Unless you have the budget to just dump at everything T3 sells and brand new interior parts all at once, it's just not worth trying to rebuild everything all at once.

Yes, with the carbs you can get rid of the ECU and EFI parts. The complete EFI harness can be removed. The guys that know on the site (from the past) say that the exhaust system is restrictive and opening it up helps a lot (see John C posts from the past) , and that if you decide to use a performance cam go big (see JMortensen posts from the past). The typical "Stage" 1 or 2 cams don't add much, apparently. So, the simple and effective way to add some power is with a better exhaust system and a big cam. Cams are more expensive than they seem because you need to buy lash pads and rocker arms along with the cam. The collection of parts costs can add up. But it's a pretty simple operation to get it done. Many people like the lighter flywheel. It takes more finesse on the clutch pedal but they say it's worth it. Fidanza is a good choice. For street driving an LSD doesn't add much. You might wait on it and see if you have traction problems. There is a ton on the site from the old-timers, around the 2000 to 2015 time range. Things have slowed a lot on the site as people have moved on. But their contributions are still here. Many of the guys were racers and/or engineers/mechanics/machinists and spent a lot of time and money on their projects. Today's car hobbyists really only know turbos and EFI since that's what they were raised on. Good luck.

My shirts arrived today, with the wait - huge thanks to Ryan for tackling this big job that benefits all of us and HybridZ! It was difficult to choose amongst all of the colors but very happy with my choices!