GreenState

$147 for a headlight wiring harness??!?! Are you f'n kiddin' me?! MSA does nothing but buy other peoples products and mark the retail price up 500+%. Here's the same if not better harness for $30: Black Dragon Auto - HD Headlight Harness

Frickin' love it.

The 280z doors have a side impact beam that the 240 doors do not and I think are a direct swap. If I'm wrong here, someone please correct me. Someone on here mentioned that 240 doors were only there to hold the paint in place.

That blue rotary is very nicely done. Props to that guy. I've heard rumors about this swap. It's cool, but that's a 500+ lb engine plus whatever the transmission weighs.... Fer sure the LARGEST motor you could put in there. Well, maybe someone could try to shoehorn one of these into a Z:

I don't even know where to begin with this. I wonder if everything is up to the quality of the plywood knob mount where the glove box should be eBay: APU Powered 280

FWIW, I used this battery last summer with no issues on my stock 240 as well as my WRX. It weighs about 15 lbs and is about $145 new. Odyssey PC680

Kameari Seat The headrest is optional. ZCC JDM Speed Seat Classic Car Seats.com also has some seats you might want to look at. This is the ST:

Ease of alignment and stance adjustment. I didn't want to have to play with spacers to get things how I wanted them. On the front I wanted to remove the binding of the bushings as well. On the rear, removing the outer bushings and shoe-horning the casting into the new poly bushings doesn't look like much fun either.

The wheels are being painted gloss black, including the inner lips. With some paint sealant and wax on them and they should look really deep. When I eventually paint the car, I'd like to go from the current 919 Yellow to the 112 "Yellow" or Chartreuse as my artist g/f describes it. My plan is to get the car all built how I want, engine and all, then strip the whole thing and do the paint right. In the meantime I don't have to worry about dinging it up a little while I'm working.

After being on here for quite some time, I figured I should start my build thread so I can document what I'm doing and hopefully get some help along the way. So, a little about myself. As of this writing, I'm currently 30 and living in northern Vermont. I spend most of my year working on mountain bikes at my shop in Stowe, VT, called iRide. We specialize in high-end mountain bikes, Santa Cruz is our primary line and the business is run by myself and another guy who both love to ride bikes. When I'm not wrenching on bikes or riding them, I like to spend time in my garage working on cars. Until last year the object of my affection had been my '04 WRX with an STi turbo upgrade and supporting mods. I'm the original owner of the car and will own it as long as I'm around. It handles great but the engine is in need of some love. The next step for the car is probably a 2.2 stroker kit, but for some reason, instead of doing that I went out and bought a Datsun... Don't get me wrong, I love my Subaru. But I wanted something more........raw. Authentic, maybe. Sometimes driving the WRX feels like you're cheating. Not that matting the gas, watching the boost gauge spike to 18 and feeling everything hookup isn't a hell of a lot of fun. It is. That's why I'm keeping it, but I kept thinking I about something that would challenge me, something RWD, something light, coupe not convertible, something that I could tear completely apart and rebuild from the ground up how I wanted and better than how it was. Then I remembered something. I remembered the first time I saw a Z. I was 16. I grew up in rural Maine and was into 4x4 trucks and V8 domestic muscle cars. The 'import scene' at my high school consisted of two kids who owned VWs. That summer my friend's uncle hauled his non running Z up from Massachusetts and parked it in a field at their family's camp. Z cars are practically non-existant in Maine, not many made it there in the 70s and most of the one's that did were destroyed by New England weather decades ago. The car was crap brown with the D-slot mag wheels and its condition was fair at best. I'd never seen a car like it and was smitten by the long hood and slanted windshield. Sliding into the super low, laid back drivers seat and grabbing the fake wood steering wheel and shift knob I feel in love with the car. I came back later with a battery to try to see if I could get the car to start. It didn't fire, but it cranked over and lit up the interior lights from the 70's. I'm pretty sure it was a '72 because of the lights by the stick shift I still remember clearly. I told my friend I wanted to buy it, but it disappeared and I never saw it again. I started to research on the Z cars. I found this site and I began to learn what was possible. I found what I was looking for. I set out in the fall of 2010 to find a rust-free (as can be) 240, running, unmolested, and somewhere that I could reasonably go and get it. This took some time. I ended up finding one in New Jersey that had been a California car and spent its last eight years in NJ, only driven on sunny weekends in the summer and kept garaged otherwise. It had 64k miles on the original engine with newish (10 yr old) SU carbs. It had been repainted before he got it and he had a book of receipts for several thousand in work that was done on the car when it was in Cali. The interior was in good shape with the exception of the cracked dash (surprise) that had a cover on it. The frame rails, rockers and floor boards were solid. I didn't love the yellow, but the car fit the bill and I sent the guy a check to hold it. The next challenge was the weather, as it snowed almost daily last winter. During January a 48 hour window of sunshine was forecasted and I made the trip. My girlfriend was kind enough to ride with me for the 16 hours of driving, I made sure to take her to a really nice dinner in NJ when we arrived. The next morning, I met the guy at 7:30 am at his house, the Z was sitting outside running with a healthy engine sound. The first time I saw my Z in person: After signing the paperwork it was off to Uhaul get it loaded on a trailer and back home before the snow started to fall. Somewhere on the NY turnpike: After a long drive on the interstate followed by a long drive on twisty roads the Z sat in the garage. My dog checking to see if she fits in the new ride. It was like getting a bike for Christmas; all I could do is stare at it and wait for the snow to melt. I got to drive it for 15 minutes in stoplight Jersey traffic never getting above 35 mph before putting it away for 3 months. In April the roads were clear enough to take it out. I put a bit over 1000 glorious miles on the car this summer and fall, none of them interstate. I wanted to get one unmodified and running so I had a idea of what I was starting with. I decided not to do anything to the car for the first summer and just drive it how it was. The only things I did to the car were install a front air dam and remove the bumpers. The 40 year old spent bushings and shocks far past their prime made for an interesting ride with tons of body roll and suspension changing geometry mid-corner, but the engine pulled like a champ and all four of the gears are solid. The Datsun became my choice on days I knew (hoped) that it wouldn't rain. I loved driving it and drove it until November when the alternator died on me and I jumpstarted it to get home. This was the last day it was on the road in November '11, you can see the snow starting to fall: My first priority for this car was to address the suspension and steering departments and I figured I'd do the disc brake conversion while I was at it with everything apart. Next winter I'll work on the engine. Then I'll worry about paint. The first thing I ordered up was a full set of Ground Control camber plates. Pricy little units, but very well made. Set of four Roller bearings on the top mount. The directions however SUCK and reference off the middle of some holes or the edges of others to the .01". I ended up making several templates in Sketchup and test cutting wood before I cut into the car. The measurements they give you aren't quite right and I had to make some adjustments to get it all to work out. Once I had the template made, it was easy going. Making the templates and getting them right took some time. Here is how I ended up putting the plates in. Bolt the drill template to the car using a tophat. Drill the two 1/8" pilot holes for the holesaw cuts. One is a pain because it's on a slope on the bump on the tower. Be careful or you'll break your drill bit, don't drill though with the template in place just use it to locate the holes. Once they're started try to come in at an angle and once you're through rotate the drill to vertical. This is the hardest hole as there is very little material left to hold the pilot bit. If I did this again I'd probably start the cuts through the lip with a cutoff wheel before going to the hole saw. The hole on the outside is optional, but it removes a lot of material quickly. I then enlarged the holes to 1/4" to match the pilot bit on the hole saw. Be careful when cutting with the hole saw, come in from and angle or you'll risk snapping the bit if it grabs on the lip wrong. Yep, did that. Hole saws started, lip cut away. Finish the cuts and cut off what's left of the lip sticking up. Bolt the drill template back onto the tower and check the alignment. If you hold the template against the side of the holes near the fender it will be pretty close to start. Adjust as need be and tighten the nuts and locate all the holes with the 1/8" bit, remove the template and drill the holes with the 1/8" bit. Enlarge four of the holes to 5/16 and the others to 7/16. Using the camber plate hardware from the top, lock the cut template into place over the holes and use and awl to scribe a cut line around the holes. I colored it in with black marker to show the cut zone in the photo. I used a cordless jigsaw, air cutoff wheel, die grinder, and a few files to cut out and finish the cuts. The jigsaw is the fastest and you can do all the cuts on the rear with it, in the front the fenders get in the way on the outside cuts. Made sure to deburr your holes and you will probably have to reshape your plates and washers (banana shaped things) to fit up in the tower cleanly, more so in the front. Camber plate installed. To go along with the GC camber plates I called McKinney Motorsports and got Mack's 240z Megan Racing kit. Installed on the GC plate. Megan vs GC. Parts and pieces. GC top setup. Easy part, remove suspension from car. My beater work bench came in really handy here with it's giant vice. Beautiful maple workbenches are awesome, but build one out of pine and you abuse it and smile. Hard part, remove spindle pins from rear LCAs. The first one came out far too easily. Which made me dread other one instantly as I knew I wasn't going to be THAT lucky. I wasn't. I ended up using most of a can of PB blaster, a 6 lb sledge, and a 12" punch I inherited from my grandfather that he used on bulldozers and such. I think I used some profanity I learned from him as well to aid in the removal. Guess which one gave me trouble: Getting down to the important parts. To chop the tubes evenly at 45 mm I went to the local hardware store and had them cut a scrap piece of cast iron 2" ID pipe at 45mm. It slips on the rears perfectly, it needs a notch on the front to sit even on the casting. Sawzall action. The adapter tubes fit on the rear perfectly, but the notch on the front isn't quite big enough and it sits cockeyed on there. Grab a half round file and the die grinder. Before and after. Sittin' pretty. Whole assembly before paint. I had my friend who welds for a living do the welding for me and I smoothed out the welds a touch with a blending wheel. I punched out all the bearings and sent all the castings to the powder coater to have them blasted and coated. While waiting on the parts, I moved onto pulling the diff and engine. Quick and easy diff removal. My girlfriend noted that the diff on the jack looked a bit like Ganesh, I'd have to agree. Homer dressed up as Ganesh: Sweet mustache bar bushing. My dog loves to chew on this, it's her new favorite toy. Getting ready to pull the engine. Remember to disconnect the shift lever...it makes it much easier. On a piece of plywood with casters bolted to the bottom. It's great for moving the thing around while it's out of the car. Crossmember and steering rack removed. Empty bay. An engine mount far past its prime. I removed the engine mounts and steering rack and sent the crossmemeber to the powder coater. Car as of January '12: As I've been taking the car apart, the parts to put it back together are starting to fill up my garage shelves. I was greeted by a stack of Rota boxes when I came home one day. The UPS guy made sure not to put them in the snow. Thank you Mr. Bong! (Great name, BTW) Rota RB-R, 17 x 9.5 all around. After I took these photos I put the wheel back in the box and sent them to the powder coater to have be blasted and repainted. They should look slick when they get back. Gabe and Gia at Techno Toy Tuning have been great to deal with and I was able to get my LCA/TC kit from them all painted black to match before they shipped it. You guys rock! Front. Rear. Brakes from Dave at AZC. The rear brackets are for the AZC parking brake calipers that supposedly will exist sometime this year. I'm one the list for a set of those when they're ready. Wilwood 1" Master. I ordered the 10" 280 booster by mistake and had to send it back for the 8". Bunch of bushings. R180 STi 3.9 differential waiting on axles from John. Suspension Techniques sway bars from Beta Motorsports Some inexpensive lug nuts I got on eBay to start with. They'll fit my g/f's Subaru too when/if I get nicer ones. Well, that's where I'm at as of today. I'm on hold waiting for parts. Still to come: - Get the castings and other parts back from paint and press in new bearings, seals and wheel studs. - Side axles from John C - Install the brakes - Get the wheels mounted and balanced - Put the engine back in the car - Put the drivetrain back in the car - Install new suspension parts - Cut flares My goal is to have the car back on the road by the end of April.

This is one of my fantasy engine choices for the Z: Hartley V8 Engines 75° odd fire V8 2.8 LITER, 170 cu. in. displacement (3.0 liter optional) 84mm Bore X 63mm Stroke (67 stroke optional) 4 cams, 32 valves via internal silent chain 530mm wide x 485mm long x 530mm high 400HP @ 10,000 rpm with stock street cams (higher spec. is available) 245 ft-lbs torque @ 7500 rpm 200 lbs engine weight Billet nitrided steel 180° crank 4340 H-beam con-rods with ARP bolts Billet 6061-T6 aluminum crankcase Dry sump 0il system with 4 stage pump All this for a mere $30,000.

Any pictures of this setup?

I took a few pictures when I did my mustache bar bushings, scroll down to Post #3 I tried fire; it's noxious, messy, slow and overall not much fun. This is coming from someone who likes playing with fire. I really recommend using hole saws to remove as much rubber as possible before taking the torch to it. It will go MUCH faster and you won't destroy the brain cells you need to put your car back together. You're just drilling rubber, you can use a cheap saw set from Harbor Freight without a problem and deeper saws make it easier.

So, in a moment of bad judgement, I added this product to my MSA order: Stock Replacement Aluminum Radiator & Dual Fan Package, 70-8/74 240Z-260Z for $429. Seemed too good to be true... It showed up and it's a POS Champion brand economy radiator that looks like a child made it in poor light with inappropriate tools. Probably works, but it's not going in my car. Had I known it was a Champion, I wouldn't have ordered it. You can find the next step up from this on eBay for $229. So I sent it back, but I'm out almost $100 in UPS charges. Hopefully this saves somebody else the mistake I made.

Yes, I'm aware that this thread is six years old, but people are still removing these bushings. Combining the two methods above allowed me to do this rather easily with minimal smoke. Well, there was lots of smoke when I first just went at it with a torch. I don't recommend this, even though I did it outside with a breeze, the smoke is noxious and instantly gives you a headache. I doubt it's good for you. Anyway, here it goes: You will need: 1 1/2" Hole Saw (Deeper is better, not needed if you have a really deep 1 3/4" bit) 1 3/4" Hole Saw (Deeper is better) Electric Drill Propane/MAPP Torch Round wire brush ($3 well spent) Vice (Not necessary, but very helpful) Step 1: Clamp bar in vice near the end you're working on. Step 2: Using the 1 1/2" Hole saw drill out the metal sleeve from both sides. It will come out as a chunk. Remove it from the bit and switch to the 1 3/4" bit. Step 3: Drill out as much of the remaining bushing as you can with the 1 3/4" bit. You'll be left with this: Step 4: GO OUTSIDE!!!! Put the bar somewhere that you won't catch more stuff on fire and blast the remaining rubber bushings with the torch until they're cherry red. Let the bar cool and bring it back to the vice. It will now look like this: Step 5: Chuck the little wire wheel into an electric drill, don't punish your cordless drill with this job. The burnt rubber will easily brush cleanly away from the metal, put a trash can under where you're working for easy clean up. Ta da!

'Ah-ha!' moment right here. I'll stop stressing that I got a bunk diff. Thank you all for the feedback.

Ok, glad to know this is normal, thank you. It measures 1/32" of play on the yoke. Most boring video ever:

So I just received a R180 out of a STI with a CLSD, 3.90 gears and supposedly about 25,000 miles on it. The diff. was newish looking upon visual inspection from the outside. I noticed when I got it on the bench that there is a little bit of play when I rotate the drive flange back and forth. Not much, but it's there. It's not present in the R180 I took out. I've never had one of these units before, is this normal? Is it because of the clutch type LSD? Do I have a problem? I can post a video if need be and I have not opened up the back. Thanks for the wisdom in advance.

...you own a copy of 'Wangan Midnight: The Movie' because it's about a S30.

A guide like this would help get the holes straight: Lockhart Phillips Metric Bolt Drill Jig It's $23 or you could make your own if you're got a drill press and a tap set. If you made a individual one you could easily spin it onto each stud and drill it on the car.

CA junkyards are like treasure troves, come to Vermont if you want to see junk.

Where did you get these wheels? The spec sheet for the RPF1 doesn't have any negative offset options. Do you have pictures? I'd love to see what they look like. I will get the brakes before the wheels, I want to be sure before I drop the coin on some pricey wheels.

So in looking at the AZC Five Lug Brake conversion and it seems to change offset of the stock hubs a bit. I think I remember somebody saying it moved the front out 1/2" and I've never heard anything about the rear. I couldn't seem to find any info on this by searching. Am I wrong? If so, sweet. If I'm correct, does anybody have numbers? Thanks for the help, I'm trying not to screw up my wheel order.

I'm with the Wilwood master, might as well run their master as well as the calipers. I'd rather have a new-new one than a reman.

I'm not always a fan of polished lip rims on cars, I usually hate 4 out of of 5, but THESE LOOK BITCHIN! Link to car with specs.