tonycharger72

Hey Mate, Is the diff in the 280zx off-centred and sloping? or is it centred in the tunnel and parrellel to the ground? How far back are you mounting your 1UZ? Are you mounting the engine directly to the rails? I grabbed an laser plum-bob (or laser tape line) from a mate, then I made a bracket so I could bolt it to the diff - once turned on the laser shot out a beam that was towards the passenger side of the car - from memory if you measure where the beam intersects with the radiator support panel the beam was off-centre about 40mm! So if you take a straight-line down your driveline you want the engine off-centre - NOT CENTERED!!! So if you look at the front of my engine its actually off-centre towards the passenger side by 40mm or so, Also, it appeared that the diff angle points up a touch, so the engine also slopes back a touch towards the back of the car! I don't know if this is the case with a 280zx - I have one sitting next to my current Zed but its stuffed full of RB30 so I don't know if the diff is centred or or not!!! I placed my engine about 110mm from the firewall - this was mainly because of limitations I had with how I installed the Subaru Rack - I stood it up (like the original way it is mounted in a Subaru) and sloped it back a touch, this allowed me greater clearance for my new and improved chassis rails and easy clearance for the engine mounts I wanted to make - but did limit how far I could go back with the engine as the alternator gets in the way if you bring the engine further back than 110mm off the fire-wall!!! However, there was other concerns with moving the engine further back - lots of fun trying to get to the starter motor if needed, the heater and A/C lines would have been awfully interesting - but the clutch would probably be impossible as well (however, don't know that one for sure as I have removed my clutch MS) and the shifter linkage lines right up with the original gearstick location of the Zed! I will grab some more pics of my Crossmember and engine bay shots - hopefully have something in the next couple of days, show you guys the mounts for the engine and how the rack was positioned and more details of where the motor is in the engine bay!

A local Australian company called "Castlemaine-Rod-Shop", http://www.rodshop.com.au/, that can supply you with a complete manual conversion (without the gearbox) using the W-Series Supra Boxes or the R154 for about $1700AUD - a W58 will cost about $500AUD and a R154 $1500-$1700AUD, so add that together with the engine cost and you don't get a lot of change out of $4-5k AUD - but still that isnt exactly breaking the bank, not compared with even purchasing a new 350 chev crate engine!!! These folk will whip you up a harness as well for about $900AUD or so, http://www.venomcobras.com/services.html#10 Just send them yours and tell him what gearbox your running and he will mail it back, labelled and ready to go!!! There is another guy called Sideshow who frequents Toymods.org for the wiring but don't have his contact information - he is supposed to be excellent as well!!! I will try and get some decent pics of the Crossmember and transmission tunnel and post them!!!

Hey guys, Thought I would share some pics of my 1UZ V8 install into my 1974 260z 2 Seater - I grabbed an engine and gearbox from a 1991 Toyota Soarer with the Rear Sump, I am running the auto gearbox and Subaru Power Steering Rack, Enjoy!!! 1UZ Installed, Another Pic of the 1UZ in place, Shot underneath the car, Old Soarer Auto Gearbox Crossmember, The New Gearbox Crossmember, Engine Mounts I purchased a few years ago, Another shot of the 1UZ installed! I will get some more pics of the new crossmember and steering rack mountings!

Remember a fellow who used to own an Jag garage locally, fixed and maintained lots of old jags for locals, said you could slap in Chev 350 pistons and Rods into the 5.3L Jag V12! The fellow said the engine turns into a 6.1 or 6.3L up from the 5.3L from the Factory. Don't know if that is actually a possible combination as the Jag has a 90mm bore and 70mm stroke, whereas the 350 chevy V8 has a 100mm bore and 88mm stroke - but guess it makes sense as you would have to bore out the Jag motor to use the Chevy pistons so displacement is increased, He said he ran it with individual TB's or Webbers (Can't remember which) on a custom manifold and it revved to 11,000rpm - said it was the most amazing thing he had ever heard!!! Jag 5.3L would be cheap and bang for buck, forged internals for a 350 chev would be extremely well priced as well, plus this company http://www.dellowauto.com.au/main.html can provide you with a bellhousing to mate a manual transmission behind it! Think a Jag V12 revving to 11,000rpm would make a pretty decent noise!!!

Anyone running A/C as well?

"the rubber isolators have a nipple, quite like all newer nissan engines. It's a locator that slips into the locator hole on the mounting surface. it's not uncommon to drill a new one if you need to. it's been done on a couple of other weird swaps." Yeah pretty much what I said before mate, think even if you just grind them off you will be right !!! but drilling a new hole in your crossmember shouldnt present to many issues! "However I'm not too sure of the height that the engine would sit at, and an RB30 isn't a shorty, that's for sure!" Fits fine mate, sh#loads better than it did in the 260z - no lean front to back to clear the steering rack, with the 300zx Z200r rear RB sump (whatever it is called - the Factory Nissan one) its like it was designed for the 280zx - such a better fit than in my 260z!!! I will post some pics, but very good sump clearance on the crossmember as well!!!

Just curious - but anyone who has done the 1jz/2jz conversion had any issues keeping the engine cool? Just heard a few stories that the earlier 1jz non-vvti motor has some cooling issues once the stock engine fan is removed in favour of thermos, just interested to hear some first hand accounts of Zed folks who have done a JZ conversion and if anyone has had issues keeping the motor cool??? Interested to hear what sort of setups you are running as well, size of intercooler, A/C, thermos, what radiator...........etc.............etc

I will grab some pics of the engine mounts

VL and R31 engine mounts dont work in the S30 - tried this and had a fun few hours trying to stuff the engine into place - they didnt work out , The rubber insulators are going to be an issue to, with either S130 or S30 chassis - I have about 1/2 dozen RB30 engines so have lots of the rubber insulators, but they dont match up with the 280zx crossmember, need to grind off the guide pin on the bottom of the rubber insulator or drill a new hole in the crossmember to except it - difficult to explain, see a picture and will understand in a second!

Dont see why it wouldnt, the steering rack and intermediate shaft are mounted on the back of the crossmember, stock and high mount turbo manifolds should clear easily!!! Only issue I think you would run into is with the A/C Compressor on the RB20/25/26 engines as they are 38mm shorter than the RB30 motor, they mount the compressor half below the block, which will foul on your front sway-bar, this is not an issue with the RB30E/T block!!! I will take some pics and post them!!!

Did you know that you can take the RB engine mounts from a VL Commodore or R31 Skyline and bolt in any RB engine into a 280zx??? Stock gearbox crossmember can be used, but the stock 280zx tailshaft is slightly to long - but shifter location is pretty much spot on! The R31/VL engine mounts arent quite a perfect fit because their guide locater is in a different position than the stock 280zx rubber engine mount insulators, but easy fix by drilling some holes in the crossmember! However, basically bolts straight in!!!

Hey mate, I had an RB30E in my Zed, used the stock 1974 Radiator (smaller one) and 16" thermo fan (cheapy off EBAY) worked fine - then I slapped a turbo on the side and it boiled!!! Started with installing a better radiator (3.2L V6 4x4 Holden Rodeo Radiator) that helped, not fixed, Re-located the intercooler as far forward and as far out of the path of the radiator as possible (no difference), I changed the thermostat and water pump for genuine items, no help there, I removed the 16" EBAY thermo fan and purchased a SPAL 16" - this finally got the car under control - SORT OF!!! If I got stuck in heavy traffic, car would cook - the second I got the car about 15-20km's an hour the temp would fly down, Therefore issue was moving the water at low RPM's - Thermo was just not doing its job effectively!!! So there are two possible solutions, 1 - Install the stock engine fan and make a shroud - this should fix all 2 - After step 1 and it still wont cool (which it should) install an electric water pump, not cheap, but that will do it!!! RB's need that engine fan mate, for the good it did I may as well not have even had an Thermo Fan, engine only kept cool when I was able to push 15-20km's/hr or more of air through the Radiator - without the Stock Engine fan you will struggle to move enough air through the radiator to keep your engine cool!!!

However, if you reinforced the chassis rails, like welded some channel over the top of the existing chassis rail to give some protection I think that would give you piece of mind, but would certainly prefer some sort of guard, because my stock chassis rails are really thin!!!

I had a look under a 280zx over the weekend and compared it to my 1974 260z - the chassis rails on the 280zx hang down about 2-3" in comparison to about 10-20mm on my 260z - there is alot more cover for the fuel lines on the 280zx on the inside of the chassis rails compared to the 260z!!! Thats probably why Nissan ran the lines down the inside of the chassis rails in the later Z'ds, I gotta pull the engine any way, think I might just re-mount the lines back in the transmission tunnel,

I am really curious after reading the posts in this thread, How many people are running their fuel lines down the chassis rail instead of in the trans tunnel???

Hey guys, Was wondering if anyone can help point me in the right direction, I am looking at installing 10mm OD (3/8" approx) sized fuel lines in my 1974 260z, stock it has 5/16" OD lines, I am Running an RB30 engine with standard fuel rail (5/16") and a fuel cradle from an R31 Skyline, which one has 5/16" fittings and is mounted inside my tank, I have some bundy steel, but its very expensive - $9/m, and I also have alot of 10mm Alluminium tube (which comes in a straight line, very cool) and costs $8 for 6m and has a 1.25mm sidewall, very thick, very strong and its bigger!!! I have two questions that I need help with, 1 - I wouldnt mind getting the fuel lines out of the transmission tunnel, anyone done this and run the fuel lines down the chassis rails? looks like a very attractive idea as its alot easier to make the shape, but worried them being on the wrong end of a speedbump!!! 2 - Besides silver soldering on 10mm connectors to my fuel rail and fuel cradle, is there any other options the are available to me??? like a speedflow fitting or something along those lines? and if so, any info as to what I should be getting to make the 3/8" to 5/16" lines would be really helpful!!! All help is greatly appreciated ,

Thanks for that mate!!!

Nah, get what you mean, honestly I wouldnt have even bothered about it and just lipped the guards and kept my 17x8" - but there has been a recent change to local laws and track increases have been decreased from 37mm to 25mm and the advice I got was that they really crack down on it - guess you can always lay your hands on a 2nd set of wheels for such occasions, but because of my brakes you can just bolt of a set of steel rims from an R31 Skline , But........................still sorta interested in my original question , how do we increase the rear track, besides bolting in the rear subframe from a 240sx!!! I think it would be a really worthwhile conversion to think about, the fronts seems like a reasonably straight forward proposal by simly using a floating rotor and the Z31 hubs, get to a 41p offset, be very cool if such a simple conversion existed for the rears!!! The amount of 35-45p wheels that are available is huge in comparision to the lower Zed suitable offsets!!!

Hey guys, Was wondering about heater removal, My heater core is leaking and needs to be replaced, it is a heater/ac factory unit, My questions is - can I remove the entire assembly, without pulling the dash out first???

Well after exhaustive searching I found some off the shelf wheels!!! My Zed's clearance is going to be a little different from others because I am running floating rotors on the front, this gives an extra 8mm x 2 of track and I have 5-stud, http://www.bsawheels.com.au/users/ProductDetail.aspx?id=401 http://www.bsawheels.com.au/users/Product.aspx?lb=2&key=bsa-316 However, stock wheel offset is 15p, these are a 20p wheel, so with the 8mm floaters I have increased the track by 3mm x 2 - but they clear the strut, and sit nicely inside the guards, There are some other of the shelf options depending on what you have done to other components, If you dont run floaters, and have stock offset, Performance Wheels make a few 16x7" wheels in 11p and 12p offsets, if you do run floaters and have a 4 stud pattern they make a 17x7 Lotus wheels in a 20p offset, If you run floaters and use smaller OD coilovers, you can run a 17x7 with a 25p, a Speedy Sorocho 2 will fit then, Other than that, if you dont run floaters and use 5-stud pattern (5x114.3) there are quite alot of 16x7, 17x8 wheels with a 6p offset that will fit, pre-au Falcon stuff, and by fit, I mean keep the track within 25mm , 16x7" with 6p offset should clear your struts, but might clip the lip of your guards at the front, should be able to get away with no mods and an overall increase in track of 18mm, 17x8" with smaller OD coilovers will clear on the inside, but will certainly poke out past your guards - overall increase in track of 18mm, just have to lip your guards - also, when I run 17x8's with a 6p offset, at full lock my wheels hit the chassis rail, Both above options should foul on the rocker panels (think thats what it is called - bit of car below your front bumper bar) when you turn the wheels, I am running a big front air dam, which gives clearance,

My engineer told me of an argument he has been having with ACT rego where he has expressed that very same view point to no avail, However, there is light at the end of that tunnel, if they are factory made hub adapters I can use them, all I need to do is give Nissan a call and get them to whip me up some spacers - sure that is possible and at a good price , Would love to just keep my beloved 17x8" wheels and just lip the guards, but I think they are going to check it out and see that I have increased the track by 34mm,

I am in the ACT and they appear to be the odd man out, spoke to the Engineer and he said not allowed spacers of any kind!!! Not bolt on style, I need a 17x7, 5x114.3 with a 20p offset to fit inside my guards and clear my struts - also to keep track within 25mm difference, I have 17x8's, 16x7's and 15x7's but all have a 6p offset (pre-au), they all clear the strut, but poke out between 10-25mm past the guards, not overly worried about that part, but its the increase in track - there was recent changes to ACT laws, which reduced the track increase allowed from 37mm to 25mm and I think they are tight about it - so even if I try and tell porky pies I think they will really investigate, A 17x7 with 20p & 5x114.3pcd doesnt appear to exist, closet I can find is 25p, which rubs on the spring perch, So have the grand old option of not only getting new wheels but running thinner diameter coilovers - not impressed!!!

Sorry, I have found a few wheels that have about a 20p offset, but I have found millions of wheels that have a 40p offset!!! pretty much every wheel that fits Toyota, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Chrysler, Ford (sometimes) offer 5x114.3 in 40p - choices are everywhere!!! Just seeing if there is a simple, easy way to increase the rear track, like there is with the front, Fronts seem easy to get around, 15p offset to start with, add 18mm with Z31 hubs and then use Floaters, maybe 8mm - get you to a 40p offset - Then use a 40p wheel, which will give you the original track, But best case scenario is a 30p wheel on the back of the car - but it would look a touch odd, and still doesnt give you 40p, Are there longer hubs avialable that can be bolted into the rear strut housings? Can I add 10-15mm of metal to the outside of the hub? or is that going to stuff balance? Lengthening rear transverse links propably isnt going to get what I want unless I re-locate the mounting point of the Chapman struts, so that is probably out as an idea??? Oh - I cant use spacers either, this is to get the car over rego and even if engineered are still illegal for me!!!

Hey guys, Was wondering if anyone can help me, I want to increase my rear track by about an 1" (25mm), how can I do it? I could probably lengthen the rear transverse links, but without changing anything else that might not be ideal? Is the a 300zx type option available for this? as in you can slap Z31 hubs onto your zed and get an 18mmx2 increase in front track, The reason I ask is wheel choice, stock datto offset is 15p, add Z31 hubs and floaters and you get to 41p (or there and there abouts) - wheel choice for 5x114.3, 17x7, 40p wheels is extremely plentiful, My current wheel offset requires a 17x7, 20p - which dont appear to exist in 5x114.3 pcd,

I remember when I first did the conversion I was a bit strapped, so the new clutch I bought wasnt anything to fancy, just went down to a local parts store and bought a Heavy Duty clutch, which came with the PP - I had the option of a stock clutch and PP or the heavy duty one - thought the heavy duty was a better idea as its a bugger to change it when it burns out , My clutch works, but its just really heavy, so want to make it a bit easier on my left leg just because its my daily driver, Does Tilton make anything that will bolt into a Zed?