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Hi All! I've owned a few s30's in the past and finally decided to build one. My car background is a lot of JDM cars including Supra's, AE86s, S13s, Skylines, a Stagea 260rs, etc. I have always loved the style of the s30 (don't we all), the aftermarket support for it and the random people who would stop me and tell me about their "Z" story. The story of this build started over a year ago when I purchased this 1978 Datsun 280z. The story behind the car (that I know of) was it is an American car that was brought to Washington and held at a speed shop awaiting restoration. Then was bought and stored in a heated warehouse for years in BC before i bought it. A little side story, I originally purchased a 1971 240z from the same person and they also had the 280z for sale but was well out of my price range. I would have loved to restore the 240z but unfortunately the amount of work it needed was well beyond my budget and experience just to get it to a useable condition. If you looked at it funny, rust would fall off the car. Mistakes we made. I was sold on what it could be but not what it will take to get there. almost a year later the 280z was still for sale, and the price was a little better. With some luck, i was able to convince the owner to trade back the 240z and cash for the 280z. Success!...Now, it seems the 280z was re-sprayed a British racing green but wasn't done the best and was flaking so i believe that's why it originally underwent the restoration in Washington. The car was just a rolling chassis, the front end had been primer epoxy'd and luckily had everything in boxes and labeled like "driver door guts", or "Rear hatch slam", which was nice to see. Now the goal of this project was to be a fun drivers, resto-mod car. It will be getting an RB26 from an r33 GTR, an RB25 transmission, DBW for the factory ITB's, Techno Toy Tuning full suspension, brakes, differential swap kit, running a Haltech S3 ECU and Wiring Specialties Harness, Poly fuel tank with an r32 skyline Radium hanger and Hellcat fuel pump. The bigger ticket items like turbo/manifold, radiator/fans, and then some smaller things are missing but most of the project is there now. I do plan of re-wiring the whole car considering I'm spending money in every other area. Now, just like anyone, I did set out with budget but considering since I last built a car, prices have gone up for parts which I stupidly didn't account for. Also a lot of, "well if i'm already doing this, then i might as well do that", and "since i have this off, i might as well get that." So the budget has been blown....but at least I'm happy! (maybe). BUT as it stands, the suspension and diff swap kit is in and the car is currently at the body shop getting the sunroof hole patched as well as some of the smaller trim holes plugged and a few small rust spots taken care of. Here are some pics throughout the build and as it stands. Any questions, advice or help for some "gotchas" will be welcome!

Great work so far! I’m sure this will be an awesome build. I suspect you will be running fender flares or a wide body kit seeing as your wheels are poking out a bit?

11-01-2025. 260Z work. I got the engine compartment sanded down after the glaze and then cleaned up the crossmember and rack with cleaning solution "g@s" and a toothbrush, and then steel wool, etc. Then I vacuumed out the cowl and primed it with rustoleum rust primerand top coated it with gloss black paint, then painted the engine bay with filler primer. Once dry I will use some spot putty I picked up on the areas that need it, hand sand it smooth and filler primer over that. Once it is good, then I will progress to color and then clear. Busy day! Pics:

Time to update the build threat again. Things are moving slow at the moment but none the less progress is being made. I have contact with two local body shops in the area for the frame rail repair and to measure the body to see if it’s twisted in any way. One of the body shops is specialized is classic car repair and restauration but will probably be quite expensive but none the less a representative will come by to look at the car this week. The other body shop is a more generic one that also does a lot of classic BMW’s and has done some paint work for me in the past. There hourly rate is a lot cheaper, I know they deliver great work and I know they sometimes are willing to do cash work. To save money on the body shop hours I decided to bite the bullet and order a bunch of parts from Apex Engineered which should arrive somewhere next week. Deciding what to buy was quite difficult as the shipping rate varied a lot but in the End I got the shipping down to $284. I all I bought the frame rails, front fender braces, front and rear control arms, steering knuckles, front crossmember and the rear strut brace. As importing stuff from the US is pretty expensive I decided to place a bigger order then what I strictly needed to maximize the value for my money. As the car needed to get welded anyway I ordered the front fender braces as well to reinforce the front of the car as they weren’t that expensive and seemed to me as a worth wile upgrade. As for the control arms my main reasons for buying those was to delay any major body repairs. If my body turns out to be twisted repairing it would turn into a full on restauration project. I do plan on restoring and repainting the car some day but not now, so as a temporary solution the adjustable control arms allow me to tune the effects of a twisted body out a bit. At some point I would like to get the full Apex Engineered Retro Mod suspension so this will give me a great starting point to work from anyway. To save some more money at the body shop I will strip down the interior and remove the fuel lines myself before sending the car of for welding. But before doing that I still have a chance to fix some small stuff surrounding the engine. My backorder from Zservices in France finally came in together with a used Bosch AAR from a Porsche 944 as my original AAR turned out to be broken. So last week I took the valve cover off to adjust the valves and replace the gasket as it was leaking a lot of oil. Good thing I did as the valves where very out of spec. The adjusters where a pain to get loose but after that adjusting them was very easy. I put everything back together with some new NGK spark plug wires and started her back up. Even with near freezing conditions the car started right up and idled better then ever before. The engine still runs very rich at idle and I suspect it might be an injector issue but other then that the engine runs great and the emissions are within the limits so I will place that issue on hold for now. My plans for the coming weeks are to strip down the interior, remove the fuel lines, front fenders and doors. This will also give me the opportunity to clean and inspect those parts of the car for more hidden surprises. I will also repaint the fuel lines as they are full of undercoating and try to restore the dashboard as with any Z mine is cracked. As for the doors I want to rebuild the door hinges and maybe try and reupholster the door cards as mine are actually of a 2+2 and have a giant hole instead of a second door latch. I’m hoping to get the car back on the road after this so I can finally start to enjoy my 280z this spring. Video van WhatsApp op 2025-11-24 om 10.58.36_fab92d46.mp4

I don't know how you have the engine placed, but I would offset the engine about 1 inch toward the passenger side. The drive shaft angle is easier to minimize with the engine shifted in-line with the pinion. This also makes the weight distribution a little better when you are in the car.

Hey, the new Speedo looks great! I just installed a set of cheapo Amazon gauges in my dash and it was also a bunch of little, fiddly, time-consuming work. The supports on the back were the hardest parts. Great work!

Ya il be running fender flares but not with these wheels. because i went 5 lug, these were all i had to roll the car around, although they do look good hhaha ya the T3 stuff is amazing, it all fit without any issues so I was surprised with that. I had a L26 with a big cam, carbs and and exhaust and I loved it in my old 260z but this car came with nothing so it was an easy choice to go RB!

I just got a new job and will be moving, so I haven't made a ton of progress. But before I pack up all the tools for the move, I worked on getting the new gauges in a better looking dash that will be installed with the new EZ wiring harness. I started with a dash pulled from the parts car. The gauges weren't fully working and the previous owner wired in a sound system and some other "upgrades" in a way I didn't like. So I gutted the dash of all the stock and aftermarket wiring from the previous owner. This car won't have a sound system and I have a new harness so I didn't need any of the old stuff. Next, I busted the new Amazon cheapo gauges and started mocking them up to see if they would fit in the stock dash. They were quite a bit different, so I had to rip the old gauges apart and combine their guts with the new gauges to get them mounted in the dash. I tore apart the old gauges. I removed the old gauge mechanism, but kept the small and larger housings. I'm not sure what they are actually called. I cut out small circles from some sheet metal that had with an i.d. for the new gauges to screw and tightened onto, but also an o.d. that would matches the inner housing on the old gauges. Then I screwed the inner housing into the larger one. I did this for both the Tach and Speedo. Next, I mounted the gauges into the dash. The old gauges were much larger and held in by screws and bolts. I mounted both as best I could with zip ties. I'll think about a better permanent mounting solution in the future. They are obviously smaller than the stock ones, but for less than $200, I'm happy with how they turned out. The smaller gauges were both easier and harder. I tore the old ones apart and threw away the gauge guts just like the big ones. However, there was an inner metal ring that was perfect to screw the new gauges onto after I trimmed them a tiny bit into a circular shape. It saved a lot of time, but the original gauges had like plastic rivet, type things holding it together. They were easy to drill out, but I had no way to easily reassemble with the new gauges. So, I glued them, clamped them, and let them sit for a couple days while I packed my house up. After I got everything glued up, I installed the gauges and they are obviously smaller than the stock ones. But I don't think they look that bad. For $160 and a couple evenings of modifications, I think they turned out really nice. I had to modify the old mounting system on two of the smaller gauges to keep them in place and had to use some bolts for the third because it's old gauge was set up differently. I got all five gauges in the dash and they turned out better than I expected. I have a set of the Speed Hunters adapters for their gauges, but the adapter set costs just as much as I paid for all these gauges. This kit also came with the sensors needed and a voltage meter that I won't be using because I have a voltage meter/ phone charger in the car right now that I really like. It was another cheapo Amazon purchase. I installed it on the hole for the old cigarette lighter in my current dash, and that's what I'll do again. There won't be any progress for a while, because I'm moving back to Ohio and starting house shopping so I won't have to move again any time soon. But the next thing on my list is making a plate to go on the hole where the climate controls and radio used to be and mounting a phone holder there. I have that in the car now and it's really useful. Then I'll be installing the new dash and EZ wiring harness. Assing I can do that, the gauges all work, the alternator puts out more than 13 volts, and the car still runs and drives that'll be the last major thing done to this car for a while. After that, I think I'm gonna get started on the "parts car project." Please let me know if you've seen any silly mistakes I've made or anything that would make my install easier or better. Thanks!

Impressive work! I have most of the T3 stuff and their brakes but I bought bit by bit over many years so I'm always a little bummed I never got to lay out all my suspension like you have. It's fun to see all the shiny new parts in one place RB was my dream too before I had a deal too good to pass up on my L28ET. Love to see it

Your work looks great. There isn't as much activity here anymore, but some of us are still watching closely. I really like the battery bracket. The more spread out the support is, the more secure you can make the battery without damaging it. I've always disliked the common OEM-style hold down bar.

11-20-2025. Well on the 260, interior, especially dash is a LONG way down the road, but all these black Friday deals going, and talking to speedhut they cut me a great deal, I went ahead and got the gauges I wanted for this car. They will go in my dash with a full cap, and the center section will be a blocked off plate and will house 2 gauges from speedhut along with some switches. At any rate, The gauges are going to be "Gulf Racing Blue", in modern script, and show black with orange lit numbers at night. I have some pics here but they don't show the "z" script I am having added to the faces. it is just the thin black outline of the original "Z" badge. Anyway, here is what they will look like, without the Z, there is a pic of the script at the end. These things are crazy expensive. I love that the speedo is GPS. Pics:

As listed in the post above I did order those parts. Shipping is indeed expensive but that’s not Apex’s fault, they use UPS and when you fill in your address you just get a direct calculation from UPS. I don’t know where you live in relation to Apex (Milwaukee Wisconsin) but I know that shipping across Europe can reach the same prices. As for me my shipping came down to $284,50 which is a lot but still respectable. Unfortunately I also need to pax an extra 4,5% import duty and 21% tax on top when my package arrives at customs. The kits don’t come pre assembled but they do have great product installation videos on their website which make installation basically a step by step tutorial. I don’t mind at all, installing car part is basically a very expensive version of adult Lego.

Today I picked up some sandblasting and powder coating from R&S Powdercoating here in Colorado Springs: And......you seem to always find hidden damage once everything is stripped off, huh?

Thank you., JHM . Appreciate the offer. But if you had any kind of sloshing out on the street, then no, it won't work for the track. With a full tank and 40 tread wear tires up to temp at a place like Streets of Willow, every left turn with the car's physics fully loaded right sends a cascade of fuel out of the cap, down the fender, and gets me black flagged off. Darom -- I think that's the cap that's now out of stock. Unless you have a source for it we don't know about?

@tube80z - so I have done what you suggested here: I put lips on the battery tray to keep the battery from shifting at the bottom: The battery hold down "plate" has a couple of jog bends to capture the angled bracket that the tank mounts to. I just need to secure this plate I made (what I was referring to with the red outline above) to the main plate to finish this up.

Got out there this morning to gather some stuff to take to the powder coaters. It was also a good time to clean up the front suspension bits so I can put the front end back together. It was a dirt/oil glob on both sides, so with cleaner (g@s) and a toothbrush, a rag, a screwdriver, and a wire wheel attachment in my drill I got everything cleaned up enough to put together in my effort to get this hulk to the body shop for some block sanding and a coat of blue and clear, color sanded and buffed.

More from Sema Show- Fully Modified Toyota Truck with Tilt Front End nject Fuel Injected V8 motor to power it. Interior of this Race truck Rear Suspension for this OFF ROAD RACE TRUCK Eating Lunch at a Food Truck outside. Mc Donalds Extra Value Meals like Cheese Burgers Deluxe Costs $35 on the Strip. All the Strip Hotels charge for Parking. Even if you did not ask for a Room with a View. you may be charged for it and you don't find out till you are checking out. Even though I enjoy going to Las Vegas for the Sema Show, the cost of going is not worth it to me. So this maybe the Last Time that I go the Vegas! Even the hotel that I stayed at-Harrah's was empty. This pics show a Robot Vacuuming a Hall Way. Even McDonald"s on the Strip was empty. Eating Lunch at one of the numerous Food Trucks outside of the Main Convention Buildings A Razor Crazy Fully Modified with a Disc Brake with Taxi Cab Performance Casters and 48Vt Electric Motor. I still don't know what the Front Cooler is for. My guess would be the Cooler is for cooling the Electric Motor. Nismo Race Car on a Lift at their booth. Ford Gt with a Coyote Motor in it. HKS Booth with their Turbos, intercoolers and many other accessories. A Cute Mini Bike with a VW Fender Covering it. 240z with many Carbon Fiber Parts all over it. As you can see, the attendance is definitely down. this pic was taken in the Front Entrance of the Main HALL. Normally, there would be Wall to Wall People. Outside View Prismatic Powders-Wall of their wide selection of Powder coatings. Make you own Mid Engine 67-68 Ford Mustang You cut out the Mid Section of your Mustang forn the Firewall to to Rear Tail Light Panel then insert his new frame into the space. The Finished Product should look like this pic. I stiill working posting pics that for some reason are not posting.

It seems there isn't much activity on this forum vs. about 10 years ago. I guess not as many of these cars are still being modified now. Anyway, an update on some progress. The pool hose I am using here is just for mock up purposes. It has the right ID to fit tightly on the fittings. I just heat up the the hose (a plastic/vinyl material of some sort) and then slide on the fitting. I believe this is helping to establish the actual hose lengths I need as well as "clocking" or indexing the fittings to the hose. Additionally, though I did not plan it this way originally, I came up with a great design for securing the battery to the tray... and made this upper battery mount bracket in such a way as to tie in to the bracket that I made to mount the oil tank in the car. The upper bracket I made today not only clamps the battery in place, but also ties into the oil tank bracket and the engine compartment panel, triangulating everything. This design makes the mounting for the tank very rigid. I still have a bit to figure out with regard to mounting the forward most part of the bracket that I made today to go on top of the battery. I think I may cut a plate like this red outline and rivet it to the upper battery bracket. This panel will sit atop of the angle piece that presently holds the breather tank in position. Then the two bolts (within the red outline representing the new panel) will join all three layers. The result here is that the triangulation appears to substantially strengthen the tank bracket. I won't have issues with the weight of the oil in the tank causing the brackets to bend/fatigue.

Got a lot of the rear track attack kit put together today. It went together pretty well, their videos are very helpful. Only minor issue was these lock washers being too big, just ground them down a bit.

Yep that is there forever home. I can cover them if needed, but this is an around town hotrod only. no wipers, my version of a cooler AC Cobra.

You don't really need the brake line differential pressure warning switch. It does function as a decent junction block. You are also likely to want an adjustable proportioning valve instead of the stock unit unless you plan to run stock brakes.

Thanks. I ordered a can, I’ll see where I can squeeze some in. Also Apex rear suspension got here today, going to get to started on that this weekend. 🤗

Did you grab the engine and see if it moves? That's all I was suggesting. Trust (your ideas). But verify (that they work). “Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world. ” ― Archimedes

well, the factory motor mount for the L series six is a solid design with a rubber pad on the bottom. I have poly bushings where the engine mounts attach to the arms coming from the crossmember. The arms are made of 3/16" steel, very thick and heavy and professionally welded. In short they won't break, and they won't bend. Twisting forces, I guess that could be an issue down the road, but if it is present, then regardless of what style is used it would be present. the style used is one that is currently used by a ton of guys running LS powered cars. If you can grab this engine at the top and pull on it, and bend those 3/16" steel plates you have balls of cast iron. In fact I would be seriously willing to wager $1,000 that you could not do so. You could take these out, put one of them on its side and stand on it and it wouldn't bend. I will allow that something could go wrong.....I'll address it when it does. I appreciate the points to ponder though. Cheers.

It's hard to tell from the pictures, but it looks like you could lower the engine quite a bit if you used a remote oil filter.

4200 parts being finished at Ortiz Metal Polishing

After many nights thinking about it, the current Black Friday sale and optimizing my order for the most value for my money I finally decided to pull the trigger. Maybe it’s because of the size and weight of the total order but the calculation of the shipping was a bit weird. As the parts will need to be shipped to the Netherlands I knew the shipping would be expensive but my shipping came down to almost $600!! By combining some stuff I got the shipping to drop down to $280,- while still giving me the stuff I wanted and basically a free rear strut brace. Here is a list of all the stuff I got: - Front fender brace - Frame rails - Rear strut brace - Front control arms - Steering knuckles - Front crossmember - Upper steering rack clamps - Rear control arms While weighting my options Apex dropped there Retro Mod line of suspension which allows you to keep the stock R180 or R200 long nose differential, axles and spindles. I really wanted to get the new rear suspension and subframe but found it to be too expensive for me at this time. By dropping the rear subframe I got to order the front crossmember, control arms and steering knuckle and still be a lot cheaper off. Weirdly ordering all the front suspension bits separately was almost $300,- cheaper than buying the Retro Mod front suspension kit. Seeing as I don’t need the tie rods (and the steering rack, you need to buy that separately) I’m even cheaper off. I’m hoping to get the frame rails and fender brace fitted over the winter and have the car ready before next spring.

My god, seeing that engine finally inside the car truly gives some perspective just how massive that engine is. The L series looks small in comparison!

SEMA SHOW-Complete Early Model 240z and All Aluminum Body Panel 240z This After Show will give you details about the latest news of Early Model 240z Body Panels. The First will a Complete Assembled Sheet Metal 240Z manufactured in China. Jiansu Juncheng Vehicle Industry Company makes Toyota La Madzand Cruiser 40,60 and 70 series,Land Rover 90/110 series, Ford Bronco1966-1977 Nissan 70-74 240Z, Volswagen T1, MadzaRX-3,and ToyotaAE86. Individual Body Parts(Doors, Hood, Fenders, Grilles,etc besides complete Body Assemblies. Right Front View 240z Interior View 240z Engine Compartment Pic 240z Front Wheel Well 240Z Right Inside Door × 240Z Interior Compartment Front Core support Interior Compartment Seat Mounts Toyota A86 Interior Compartment These pics taken of their brochures. This is a page from their catalog. It shows the individual 240Z Body parts which are available. My opinion is they should try to sell the body parts that other than what is presently available. Parts like inner body panels, whole floor pans, inner fuel compartment, etc should be sold. Parts that are commonly needed to fix corrosion prone areas. After all, they already made the panel molds. Also, I have another comment about their body parts. Their Firewall does not have a Vehicle identification Number stamped on it. Without a manufacturer identification number, vehicle registration maybe difficult in most states 240z individual body panels Their Price List shows the Full Assembled 240Z costs $1500 arrived at Port of Los Angeles. Let me tell you my Automotive Background -I was a ASE Certified Automotive Mechanic and also ASE Certified Automotive Collision Repairman and Painter before I give you my opinion about these Chinese Body Parts. I gave this 240Z a good inspection and asked a lot of questions concerning the manufacturing of these parts. Their Sales Team was not very informed about the actual process of manufacturing of the body parts. So I had to go with what I could see and feel for this opinion. The parts seen to fit together ok but without a Frame Measuring Gauge( Tram Gauge I could not determine the Frame Squareness and Length. The biggest problem with these parts is their Corrosion Control Methods were lacking. They should be at least be coated Epoxy Primer before welding the car together. Nissan factory cars are completely immersed in tank of primer. This method insures primer covers even boxed sections of the vehicle. This a pic of the Storage Compartment behind both seats in the car. No Primer-Corrosion already on surface Maybe the Manufacturer was rushing to get the 240z into the Sema Show or maybe this is normal. This company was still looking for someone to distribute their parts in North America so we have wait and see. For more information- email this address Next-All Aluminum Panel 240Z manufactured in Japan

I'm sure that you've considered it and I don't know what you would do to cure it if it is a problem but those engine mounts are very long lever arms. What happens if you grab the top of the engine and pull it side to side? Probably best to test it now than to wait. Even the mass of the engine in a turn will place a lot of force on them. Just something that grabs the eye from the pictures. Unusual engine mounting. Edit - fore and aft also. Much lifting force on the rear mount under braking. Fatiguing of the front crossmember engine mounting points might be a problem. It wasn't designed for that type of twisting force. And you've moved the elastic portion up to the engine at the top of the lever arm. The attachment to the crossmember is all metal. Hate to be a Debby Downer but you have access now to work on it, rather than later.

Hey everyone, I’m working on converting my 1976 L28E into an L28ET and could use some guidance from those who’ve done it before. The engine is already torn down, and my goal is to build it back up as a turbo motor from the ground up. I’m planning to run around 8psi of boost—nothing crazy, just a solid street setup. I’ve searched through the forums and found bits and pieces, but I’m hoping someone can help me with a more complete list of what I’ll need. Specifically: What internal components should I upgrade or swap (e.g., pistons, head gasket, oil pump)? Which turbo setup works best for this kind of build? What ECU or fuel management options are reliable and relatively straightforward? Any tips on sourcing parts—junkyard compatibility, aftermarket suppliers, or trusted vendors? I’m not looking to cut corners, but I also want to be smart and cost efficient about sourcing parts. If you’ve done this swap or have solid info, I’d really appreciate your input. Thanks in advance!

THANKS! Well, that is my intent. as it is hollow, I will fit a spacer inside for the grade 8 bolt to go through on both sides, so 4 total. I may have to get inventive as far as a strut tower brace, the 4200 doesn't leave room for that!I I am planning on making a thick aluminum plate that goes across the top of the entire radiator support and have it polished for looks.

Today I cleaned up the motor mounts and alternator bracket and gave them a coat of paint. I also drilled out the holes in the motor mount pads on the crossmember and painted the visible spots. Lastly the wheels came in....16x8 in the front, 16X9 -15 in the rear. Tires are 205/55R16 and 225/50R16. have to slot a couple holes ont he alternator bracket still and a couple holes on the motor mounts needs some time with a burr bit but almost ready to drop the engine into the Z.

11-04-2025. I did a little bit of spot putty work this morning, have a few spots a couple thick coats of filler primer then went ahead and painted the engine compartment and cleared it. Yep, the work isn't very good.......I did what I could. PICS.

Unfortunately I live in the Netherlands so I will probably never be able to attend SEMA and there aren’t a lot of S30 Z’s running around here let alone modified with Apex Engineered hardware. I do plan to change that over time as the suspension kits look really good not to mention the perfect timing of new Retro Mod line which retains the original differential setup. The wife isn’t happy with me spending money on the car but I really want my 280z back on the road this spring. I’ll wait till black Friday to see if there are any good deals and then contact for an order for at least the frame rails and rear suspension.

I'm currently running 15x10 wheels with a 5.25" backspace on all four corners. I use 23.0x10.5-15 Avon Slicks or Hoosier 275/35-15 tires on all four corners. I run a 1/4" spacer on the front and it just barely clears my coilovers. No spacer on rear, and I have at least a 1/2 clearance to the strut. I have a modified version of the SubtleZ body on my car which provides an extra 1.5 of clearance at all four corners. Below are some pictures with the 15x10s and SubtleZ kit.

thanks. God willing I will continue to. I got very lucky, buying a car looked over due to the rough paint, but clean....rails, doors everything clean no rust. 2 spots int he floors and a couple other spots, that's it. Still love my 240Z best, but this is a nice home for my ATLAS engine.

Went to town with a wire wheel and got the complete underside cleaned and painted today. Ready to start working on the rear suspension, hopefully it arrives soon. Can you tell where my phone was sitting, 😅 Didn’t take some pics but here’s a vid of before and after I posted.

Yes. That's the set up I have now. But as I'm hearing from different folks in my Datsun world since I posted this, replacing the inlet/ring to something else is extremely pricey.

Well... its been almost a decade... better get restarted... Started messing with a new front turn signal. Cutting up airdam brake ducts and integrating a turn signal from a late 90's integra. I flipped the turn signal to better match the contours at the bottom of the airdam. What else is done or in the works... New interior - dash, center console, door panels, seat, carpet, gauges, sound deadening Vintage air HVAC control panel upgrade Coolant and heater hose upgrades Hydrualic hood hinge setup Silvermine Power steering Apex rear strut bar Subframe connectors Passenger seat - corbeau fx1 pro Vinyl wrapped hood Sanded/polished exterior light lens Exhaust work.... again and still Mfactory lsd T3 front sturt bar T3 harness bar Honda wiper upgrade LED headlights Skillard front lip More posts to come soon.

After reading the Arrington CCV Bible it looks like I actually want a dual catch can setup, with both the crank and valve cover returning through a filters catch can to the intake plenum, or somewhere before the throttle plate. This eliminates foul air modes at WOT and in either direction will still function. The PCV valve itself can be a choke point specifically at WOT due to increased blow by. The difficult part is that I have dual SU carbs that have no "plenum" and are essentially open to atmospheric.

I had not been on in a few years and just signed in for the first time today and saw this. I don’t know if you’re still in the group. Unfortunately not, I’m active duty military and shortly after I started I got sent overseas. I just recently got back stateside and will be starting again soon. I don’t have this Z anymore so I’ll be using my 260z.

Progress pics on the valve cover and 2 pics of the intake. getting ready to go to the polisher! all the welds on the valvecover will be sanded smooth.

Today I got the motor mounts all done. I used my idea of holding a spare crossmember with spacers under the engine to make the mounts. 3 inches clears the steering rack with a hair of space. I used LS mounts I found on ebay for 32 bucks, and had to chop them up a bit to make them so they would weld over 1.4" steel plate that was cut and drilled to fit the 4200 block. The metal spans that it came with were too short, so I used a length of 3/16 steel bar and cut and drilled them. Then using the bolt, one at a time I pushed them up to the plate and used a sharpie to draw the angle then removed them and cut them down. You have to remember to mark everything so when apart, you don't get pieces mixed up, as the sides are not identical. After that, I boxed up my core transmission and then cleaned up a bit and headed to the other garage for 260 work. I ground off remaining brackets and other pieces that still needed to be removed in the engine compartment, then used a DA sander to get it all sanded down. The old paint etc....well 80 grit wouldn't even phase it, so I had to use 60 grit. I was able to get everything sanded down except for the corners and tight spaces. I have an elliptical sander I bought that I will use next to get all the corners sanded out with 150 grit, then go over what I finished today to let that 150 grit smooth out any sanding marks. After that, I will then slick all the panels with Dolphin glaze, and sand the entire deal in 220 grit. Then 3-4 coats of sandable filler primer to fill in any imperfections, then color, then 2-3 coats of clear. A lot of work, very dirty, but progress was made. Pics:

The frame rails are nothing special except folded metal. You could make a pattern from heavy card stock and have them created locally and save a lot of money. Those would fit your car exactly. That will save you the tarrifs and the shipping. 1,5 mm thick rails should be more than enough. The other option is to split structural square tube and if you can't find a sheet metal shop. That will probably be more expensive, but is an option. The fender brace is a very simple item you could save money having made locally too. I helped a friend with a street car project and rather than weld items to the unibody and increase the potential for rust we opted to use some of the structural adhesives that new cars get built with. It's been on the car for 15 years and seems to be holding up well. Hope this helps, Cary

This week, I feel like I didn't get nearly as much done is I wanted. I went to a local shop and got an alignment done. I built some low profile ramps to make jacking up the car easier, and it is 100% better. I also gave the car a wash because it was filthy from sitting in the garage for so long. I also drilled out the rusted bolts from the skid plate. I removed the skid plate a couple years ago to fix an oil leak. All the bolts were rusted, so I cut the heads off the bolts just to get the skid plate off. I regret that now, because it was a pain in the butt to drill out all the bolts. Now, I need to go back and tap the holes for some new hardware. I also found some more rust. Both sides of the frame rails where the sway bar attach are pretty bad. I don't remember them being this bad when I first did rust repair. I upgraded to a beefier sway bar about 1,000 miles ago. I also have driven the car pretty hard through corners and turn since upgrading the suspension. I wonder if the new bar and hard driving could have brought some rust I missed to the fore front. I'm not an amazing welder, but I'm also not awful. If I was doing this correctly, I should have removed the sway bar to get more access, but I feel like it's good enough for my standards. I also started soaking the exhaust bolts/nuts in PB blaster because that has to come off next so I can fix the leak. The goal this week is to: finish the exhaust, install the skid plate, more rust repair, and adjust the front suspension to sit better (it is a little high for me right now.)

It is just insane how many hours I have put into mounting the hatch. The simple things always take the longest. And I already had brackets fasteners from previous install. Had to fab up my own support strut setup. And I am still fine adjusting the entire thing so someone can remove and install quickly.

I am planning to fully restore the body, repaint and preform upgrades but I was hoping to al least enjoy the car a few seasons and to take it at a slower pace. If it is in any way possible I would like to keep the car for as long as I can. The S30 Z’s have and always will be THE dream car for me and now I’ve driven it for a bit the bug has only bit me harder. I would love to just throw a bunch of money at the car as I do have some reserves but those are supposed to help me at least the next 50 years. For a bit of background, I’m only 25 and my right leg got crush in a motorcycle accident about 3 years ago. I’m doing good now and am walking on both legs again but the question is for how long that will be the case.

My custom made 3d printed aero hood latches are mounted.

I have 205/55/15 7.5" in front and 225/50/15 8.75" in rear.