Gareth

This may not be a huge contribution to the forum, but I think this 280ZX is DEAD sexy...

It's a nice thing to have something unique and be the first one to do a certain swap, but I'd stay away from the Honda engine. Even though it is an engineering marvel, it has almost no torque, as EMWYROHEN had already pointed out. A K20A stroked to 2,4 liters using the K24 crank could be a better solution (it's easy to get reliable 300HP with that combo), but then again, you'd have to fabricate a RWD tranny adapter. If I were you, I'd swap in the Nissan CA18DET engine - it's turbocharged from the factory (it has a T25 turbo), has a cast-iron block (stronger than both SR20 and F20C), it's 15kgs (35lbs?) lighter than the SR, and, as far as I know, nobody has done it before.

I have a full magazine article with the blue 8C, so if my painter's good, then I'll be able to recreate the color on my car. Thanks for notice. It's a bit lighter than the color I'm searching for (or so I think), but thanks anyway! Maybe I'll just take the color from the pictures and try experiment with it in Photoshop... I've read a bit about the 8C, and it seems that many unrelated models got the name, which stands for Otto Cilindri (eight cylinders) - the 8C Monza was powered by a straight 8 as two blocks of four joined in-line with two DOHC heads and a supercharger... Nice, especially for a 30s car.

What did I get for my Z? Frustration, only lots of frustration... Because the rollcage installation was getting longer and longer, and finally it went to the body shop. Phew.

I'd buy another one. If I were you, I'd think the same - why tear apart a perfectly good, rebuilt car, when you can have a beater, i.e. a perfect sleeper?

Hi guys, my Z is off to the paint shop (the rollcage installation took a lot of time), and I think I found a suitable color combo for it (it will be a vintage racer/rally car): I'm searching for a color similar to the light blue Alfa 8C on the right, and would like to combine it with ivory (or off-white) roundels on both doors and the hood, for the racing number location. Now to the questions: - Does anyone have a clue where can I source colors similar to these? - What kind of primer should I use for the period-correct, not-very-shiny look (I don't care about the rust protection, it's a racecar anyway)? Thanks in advance. Tony

My 280ZX engine (at least that's what the seller stated), on the other hand, is a N42/N42 combo. I've also seen a 79 (I think) ZX 2+2 with the N42 engine. It may be that Nissan used leftover parts for the European market, resulting in many mix-and-match combinations, as evidenced here. It's a pity that no-one has thoroughly documented the European Datsuns...

Better, but still not good...

The PS version doesn't look too good IMO. For me, the extended G-nose with a wider lip like in the last picture is perfectly fine, but then again, this is just me.

Thanks, I appreciate it!

Looks like this guy has played GTA for too long. http://www.smog.pl/wideo/9153/poscig_za_skradzionym_czolgiem/ The website's in Polish, but I hope the symbols are understandable. By the way, isn't the yellow car in 0:46 a Z?

I just fell on the floor... That was a great read! Reminds me of the "HOT ROD" story from last month.

LOL! It was almost the same at my place two years ago. There were literally MOUNTAINS of snow outside of the house. Of course, I was the one who had to shovel the snow out to make any passes from the door to the front gate. I hat do dig a few cubic metres of snow to get to the cars that were parked on the driveway, and then I had to move the snow that I dug from in front of the garage gate behind the neighbour's fence (poor him). Then I realised that only 2 cars out of 4 actually started, so I had to push the broken ones out to the street, take out the working ones from the garage, start the working ones and at least try to start the immovable ones. It worked, but after that the two previously immovable cars were stuck in snow... And I had to CRAWL under the cars to level and beat down the fresh, soft snow. It worked, and soon after that my sister got stuck in a pile of snow that I made up earlier... So I had to walk out, and dressed in my tracksuit only I had to crawl under the car again and put two pieces of wood under the wheels for it to drive out normally. When she got stuck again, I drove her car out of the friggin snow, left the car when the asphalt could be seen through the thin layer of snow, and walked home...

I'd be greatful if you could take a pic. Thanks for the help!

Looking great! How did you paint the valve cover so that the upper rectangular section (don't know how to explain it differently, sorry) and the "Nissan" word are not painted?

Thank you, this is exactly what I needed! We use milimetres here too, so no reason for apology...

http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=128122&highlight=LS9

Thank God that I found this topic, I was searching for that info for ages! I'm planning on buying the Arizona Wilwood brake kit, but I'm not sure about the wheel size. NZeder, do you know if the US Brake calipers are similar in size to Wilwoods, or perhaps a tad larger? I'd like to reduce the rotating mass as much as possible, and installing the 15" would help a bit...

I think the same, but I'd like to live on the other side of the Pond... The grass is always greener behind the fence, eh? Thanks for the correction. By the way, BlackBeaut - don't you think that the TVR Speed Six would be a wonderful engine for the Zed?

That's true, the M52B28 intake is a lot more restrictive than the M50B25 intake, because BMW needed to limit the 2,8's horsepower rating to 193 horsepower (the insurance companies gave lower premiums for cars with less than 194HP, and many Volvo, BMW, Mercedes, Saab and other engines had this identical HP rating). The M50B25 intake conversion is very effective, especially when combined with a chip or a ECU remap. I've seen some flowbench data of the M52 and the M50 intake, and the M50 flows around 50% better in the whole rev range. Unfortunately, the plastic M50 intake has some supporting bars mounted elswhere, and the fuel rail mounting needs to be modified. These mods should be good for about 230-240HP on the flywheel. With a good exhaust manifold and some further tuning, it shouldn't be difficult to extract 250HP reliable horses from a nearly stock M52B28. The best thing about the M52 and the M54 though is the availability of aftermarket supercharger systems, which push the alloy-block 2,8 and 3,0 engines well over 300HP, which is more than just enough (at least for me ). By the way, I checked some data about the Euro M3 3,0 transmissions: they were made by ZF, not Getrag, and they are the same unit as the tranny mounted in many E36 and E39 M50-powered cars, including the US M3. In case of a tranny failure, it shouldn't be difficult to source a used one. Mercedes engines are in fact just as well built (if not even better) than the BMW engines. I remember seeing a W124 E-class with a 3,0 inline six and a whopping Schwitzer truck-sourced turbo, pumping out 500HP at a comfortable 1bar boost pressure (16psi IIRC... With a stock block. About the V8s... Well, I don't have any knowledge about either, but it's well worth mentioning that Mercedes had some very nice alloy V8s with single overhead cams, sometimes with displacement of around 6 liters... A built Mercedes V8 could also be a killer engine.

I'm so glad you like it guys, thanks! In different engines mounted in different cars, pans can be either front or rear sump. The later M52 and M54 engines in the E46 are rear sump - today's BMW engines are mounted much further rearward than, say, 20 years ago. I'm not much into ECUs, but a friend of mine, who has a turbo E36 M3, told me that the later models of Autronic and Motec ECUs can control variable valve timing. They're very expensive though, and I don't know any alternatives.

As requested by Braap, I'm submitting some info about the BMW engines as a possible alternative for Hybrid Z projects. This article only thoroughly describes the basic characteristics of the BMW six cylinders. For more details, I'd recommend browsing the Swedish websites – they are sometimes available in English, and the amount of knowledge available there is ASTONISHING. These guys did almost everything BMW-related that you could imagine... 1. Why BMW? This is the most obvious question that comes to mind when thinking of an alternative to your tired L-gata engine. The BMW engines were usually designed in a very sophisticated way, and they were always up-to-date with the latest achievments in car technology. Although the inline sixes that I'm going to describe below are not the cheapest and most cost effective alternatives for your average L-gata, there are several reasons why you should swap in a Bimmer engine: Not many people have attempted this before. BMW engines have very few bugs to start with, which is a rarity among other potential swaps. Most BMW engines have big potential for making power, even when they have a lot from the factory (think M engines). Once tuned and maintaned properly, any BMW engine will last forever. 2. OK, so I chose to get a BMW engine. Which one should I get? The vast range of BMW engines may be confusing at first, but as it happens with every reasonable car manufacturer, it is only a matter of time before you can easily find out what exactly you want. The basic engines are designated with the letter „M”. M20 series – Small 6 cylinders, displacement ranging from 2 to 2,7 liters, SOHC. It's a good engine in stock form, and many garage tuners choose it as their base for homemade turbo projects. It can make good HP numbers if tuned correctly, but currently it's being phased out by the newer M50 motors. M30 series – Big displacement (up to 3,5 liter) 6 cylinders with a SOHC head. The M30 has much more competition history than the M20, and it formed the base for many future street performance and racing engines. With up to 3,5 liters of displacement, it is a cheap alternative for the later engines, but it's considerably heavier than the M20 and the newer M50 engines. Even so, many drifters swap M30 engines into lightweight E30 3-series bodies, and slide them with much success – it's only a matter of a well thought-out setup and a good driver to make the car handle well. Unfortunately, it will probably share the fate of the M20, and will be soon phased out by the newer engines. It's a good base for a modified NA project and for street turbocharging – because of its strong build, the M30 endures much strain when pressurized (there are many high-powered M30s in Europe). M50 series – Newer generation, mid-sized 6 cylinder with two chain driven overhead cams, displacement ranging from 2 to 2,5 liters. This engine is steadily becoming more and more popular among BMW tuners and enthusiasts, as it's cheap, easy to maintain, tough as nails (the later aluminum-block M52 and M54 engines are not as strong) and not much more difficult to turbocharge than the earlier M20s and M30s. For up to 400 or 500 flywheel HP, this is probably the best choice that you can make (it can achieve this kind of power with a GT30-sized turbo, forged pistons, a metal HG and good head studs). Very good in terms of cost-to-effect ratio. The diamonds in the BMW crown are the „S-code” engines that power the legendary ///M GmbH cars. S50B30 and S52B32 – These engines are found in the European E36 M3. They offer power ratings from 280 up to 320 flywheel HP, which is very much for a stock NA engine. There are not many possibilities to tune it the naturally aspirated way – apart from a standalone ECU, radical cams and high compression pistons there's not much left to improve from the factory. It's a different story whn boosting. There are many aftermarket supercharger kits available, but turbo is slowly becoming more and more popular among M3 users. With a big wallet and a good shop, it is possible to build a scary fast M3. The factory block is very tough, and the crankshaft is absolutely bulletproof (it is proven to be good for power levels of over 1000HP). After changing the pistons and rods, dropping the compression ratio, getting rid of the VANOS variable cam timing system and designing a custom metal intake plenum (the stock plastic unit isn't strong enough for any kind of boost), this engine is the European 2JZ-GTE in terms of power making. It combines the advantages of two best Japanese engines – it has displacement as big (or even bigger) as the 2JZ (which translates to faster turbo spoolup), and has the response of the RB26 (because it was built as a NA engine with ITBs, COP ignition etc.). Additionally, the 6-speed Getrag transmission found in the later 3,2 liter model is bombproof – as far as I know, is similar to the V160 found in the Twin Turbo Supra. Please note that most of the RWD BMWs have Getrag-engineered transmissions – the fact that one particular tranny was made by Getrag doesn't mean that it's bulletproof. The 3 liter S50 shares the 5 speed ZF transmission with the lower range 323i, 325i and 328i (I think) models, but it's still tough enough to cope with as much as 600HP. The S50 and S52 are a good upgrade over the M50 engine. I'd say that for power levels between 300 and 800HP, the S50 is the best choice. Warning: The S50B30US engines found in the USDM E36 M3s are NOT the same engines as the S50B30s from Europe. The US S50 is only a hotted-up version of the good old M50. Not the similarity of US S50 and M50 valve covers. M88/3 – Sold in the E28 M5 and E34 M6 (M635CSi in Europe), the M88/3 is a younger brother of the M88/1 engine found in the street M1, which, in turn, is based on the older M49 engine (3 liter, DOHC, mechanically-injected straight six) from the E9 3,0CSL. As all ///M inline sixes, it utilises a cars-iron block with dry sleeves, aluminum alloy heads with twin overhead camshafts (which are driven by a single row chain) and a high performance fuel injection system, in this case a mechanical Kugelfischer unit with six individual throttle bodies (butterfly type). The block is the same as in the M30 (it has the same oil sump system and the same bomb-proof crankshaft), and because of that the M88/3 can be fitted with the weaker gearboxes from the regular M30s in place of the original Getrag five speed. The heads flow very well, but there is still much room for improvement. Frankly speaking, this engine may be a bit difficult to maintain because of its mechanical fuel injection. It's a whole different case with the later S38 engine, which was an evolution of the M88/3 design. S38B35 – This is the refreshed M88/3 engine, fitted with twin timing chains (the so-called Duplex system), Bosch ML-Jetronic electronic fuel injection with ITBs, lowered compression ratio and catalytic converters for both the US and European market, hence the lower power output than the M88/3. Even though it has less power, it's a much better base to work on simply because of the electronic fuel injection, which is easier to maintain than the Kugelfischer unit, and still offers much room for improvement. In stock and close-to-stock form, the M88/3 and S38's 3,5 liter variant produce around 280 to 300 flywheel horsepower, depending on the level of tune. With heavier modifications, however, they are able to produce in excess of 350 NA HP, which would already be a respectable figure for a street Z car. For turbo applications, the later 3,6 liter variant should be better (read the paragraph below for details). S38B36 and B38 – The 3,6 and 3,8 liter variants of the S38 are its final (and best) incarnations. Modernized with a more modern fuel injection system, bigger displacement and coil-on-plug ignition in place of the standard M30-derived distributor, these are the ultimate BMW inline six power-makers (remember that the fastest BMW in the world, V.S. Motor's E36 from Norway, is powered by the 3,6 liter variant and does 7s in the quarter mile). It's the same story as with the S50, S52 and S54 engines – with enough knowledge, skills, money and custom fabrication, these babies are capable of producing upwards of 1000HP – reliably! The biggest difference between the 3,6 and 3,8 liter variants is the cylinder wall thickness, which is smaller in the 3,8 because of the larger bore (this makes the 3,6 block more appropriate for heavily boosted applications). Please note that S38 motors have „3,5” cast in the block, which was inherited after the M30. The fact that the block looks exactly like an M30 unit doesn't always mean that it was changed. Frankly speaking, apart from the lubrication system failure, I can't think of a single situation in which a S38 block could fail (except for a driver's mistake). It's a different story with the transmissions – the Getrag 250 tranny is said to be weaker than the later V160 found in the 3,2 liter M3. Unfortunately, the V160 bolt pattern doesn't match the M30 block, so the only solution for that would be either a custom bellhousing or a tranny adapter. The S38 is the number one choice for professional drag racers or other people who need huge horsepower numbers while staying realiable. Being cheaper than the S50 and S52, it could also be a good alternative for power hungry NA engine enthusiasts, who are bored with their L-gata's performance. I'm unsure whether the amount of needed fabrication and expenses would justify the end result, but it's only your choice how to build your car... 3. Is it worth the money? That's a difficult question. It's very relative, depending upon what you want from the car. I'm quite sure that the amount of work needed to get a BMW-engined Z to go would be similar to other inline six swaps, such as the RB26 and the 2JZ. I'm not a BMW specialist by any means, but I think that these engines could become a very nice alternative to the high-tech Japanese powerplants, provided you have enough force of will to buy one and swap it in. 4. What is the best alternative? Having researched numerous alternatives for the L-gata engine, I think that the best competitor of the BMW engines is the 2JZ, both NA and turbo. The NA 2JZ is cheap to get, abundant, easy to find in your local junkyard, and is known to the last bolt by Internet-based Toyota gearheads, who ate their teeth while attempting to get the best out of the JZ engine. The BMW engines, on the other hand, are much better known in Europe, and after seeing many turbo BMW projects during the last year, I'm convinced that a BMW-powered Z could be as wicked as Z-Gad's, stony's, 1-fast-z's and, last but not least, mull's projects. Even with my enthusiasm for BMW engines, I'm convinced that a BMW swap would only be affordable in Europe, where spare parts are not scarce, and the prices are just more realistic. On the other hand, you US guys have the LSx engines, which are probably the most versatile and the best in terms of cost-to-effect powerplants in the WORLD. I'm sorry that this post being so long, but I hope I fulfilled Braap's expectations. Long live HybridZ.org! P.S. - I'm sorry if there are any grammatical or spelling mistakes, point them out if you can!

Nope, I never got a chance to put my hands on a dubbed or subtitle version. I'd be glad to watch it. I've seen some Z-related torrent files somewhere around the Web, but most of them are old, unused and abandoned.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mo0WeyGFSDA Did you mean this one?

I watched the it a few months ago, it's worth nothing...