rturbo 930

Looks good. Any idea how much weight you've added? Looks like it should be a bit stiffer though. What rear suspension are you going to use? Yeah, the site has slowed way down. I used to come home from high school, and there would be a whole page of new posts in non tech. I bet if I went and looked now, I'd see posts from 2016 still on the front page. It's sad to see. Many other forums are seeing the same lack of content though, some more than others. FB, Instagram, etc. have pretty much killed off forums.

I'd weld it too. Drill a hole at the end of the crack to stop it, and weld it up. If it becomes a recurring issue, get a new one.

Not bad. I'd agree that the buyer got his money's worth.

Even California cars can have rust. His location is a reason to be suspicious, but I wouldn't rule it out entirely. That said, I don't think I'd pay $4500 for a 280Z with any amount of rust. Or maybe I am out of touch with the market. FYI, My dad's 68 Charger has been driven in salt, and I don't believe it has ever left the area (NJ and MA), but it has very little rust, and has been in dry storage since about 1980-1985. If the car was taken care of, it may be in great shape, regardless of the fact it's a Chicago car. Find out how long this guy has owned it though. He may not have driven it during winter, but previous owners might have.

Clifton also had coilovers (smaller diameter springs) and 17" wheels, which allowed him to bring the wheel in closer to the strut, and therefore run a wider wheel. If I remember right, his wheels were 17x9. With regards to offset, he also had AZC's rear 5 lug conversion, which changes the offset by quite a bit since it bolts onto the original 4lug hub.

No reserve? If not, I'd be really worried right now! It's gotta be worth more than $5k.

With all the work you've already done, and also taking into consideration the cost of a new shell, any work it might need, and the effort to swap everything over, I think repairing or replacing the inner rocker would be your best bet to be honest. Nothing that hasn't been done before, which is of course why there is now a guy making them. The rocker is a major structural point, but if you brace up the car a bit, to my knowledge there's no reason you shouldn't be able to repair it. As these cars become rarer, and go up in value, this is what we're going to have to deal with, I think.

Well, I don't have a shell for you, but I remember you asking about inner rocker panels. How bad is the rust? Just curious.

He has a thread on his build in the RB forum. I don't remember exactly, but I think he's making over 400 to the wheels, so probably close to what you have. Why is it that you want to stay with 16s? Wheel style? Fatter sidewall? If it's the former, you can get 3pc Panasports in a 17" wheel. Z Car Garage *might* be able to sell them to you. They've used them on a few cars, and I think they have them sized to fit 255 tires under stock fenders, front and rear.

Not optimistic at all. See here: http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/122385-275s-in-240z-factory-well-mission-accomplished/ If you search here, you'll find a few others that have done it too. Clifton did it, with drag radials if I'm not mistaken. I think Bartman did it. It's a squeeze, but entirely doable. I don't know of anyone that did it with 16s though, and with 16s I think your problem will be tire selection. For 500hp, I'd be looking at a really sticky tire, and some chassis reinforcement. Maybe driveline upgrades too, if it hasn't been done. I bet it's fun though.

What suspension do you have? With coil overs and rolled fender lips, you should be able to squeeze a 275 under the stock fenders in the rear. You'll need to go to a 17" or 18" wheel though. How much power does it make? Some chassis reinforcement might be needed, although your subframe connectors will help with that. Those headers look pretty wild. I think we need a sound clip.

Not really sure what you're trying to say. I was only commenting on the color choice.

One more difference, if you didn't know - 73+ (I think) have door beams. BIG door beams. My E30, which was designed some 10 years later, has just a little tube in the door. So from a safety standpoint, you might want to keep the later doors if they're usable. In terms of weigh, it's about 10lbs more per door. Also, when I got my 240z, I noticed a big gap a the bottom rear of the door. Basically the door was sagging, and it had the stress crack you usually see at the front where the window frame attaches. So I swapped it out with another 240z door. Same thing. Same crack, too, if I remember right. Then I tried my 280z door. No issues. It fit perfectly. That big ass door beam helps the door keep it's shape, I think. Just some things to think about if you're swapping doors.

70-76 doors interchange. 77-78 doors are different, and won't fit, partly because of the latch.

Yep. Now thing about how much you're going to gain, and how likely to are to actually make use of it, especially on the street. I'm a bit biased towards the stock suspension - IMO the suspension has a lot to do with what makes the Z what it is (and that applies to any other car too) - but the stock style suspension is really not that bad, and I really don't think a suspension swap is worth it. Your call though.

No, his thread hasn't been updated in three years. Hoping he'll get back to it at some point.

Relevant content:

Okay, your planned build is a lot less tame than I was thinking. Still, I'd stay with the stock suspension over the S13. At a minimum, I'd do a lot of research on the benefits and drawbacks of the S30 suspension vs the S13 suspension to see what you would actually get out of it. I don't think a complete suspension swap is something to be taken lightly. With that in mind, I'd get front and rear control arms and call it good. The control arms have the benefit of being adjustable, the mustache bar and drop mounts, not so much, at least not that I'm aware of. You already have an R200, so unless you're upgrading, I don't see the point. Up to you though.

I'd take the first response with a grain of salt, it seems he's got quite a bit of bias against the S13 suspension, and isn't aware that it has been swapped into an S30 quite a few times, and no, it does not sit at truck height. I'm no suspension expert, but IMO the S13 suspension swaps are overrated, and generally make the car look a little goofy, because of the added track width. You would have to flare the car, no way around it. Visually, it doesn't fit, since the wheel mounting surface is close to the outside of the stock fender lip (give or take - wider than stock, that's for sure). If you were building a track car, it wouldn't matter, but it doesn't sound like you are. Another thing you have to consider is if you swap the rear suspension, and keep the front suspension, only one half of your suspension is upgraded, and the difference in track width is going to be very obvious with stock front suspension, visually. The other thing is weight. I'm fairly certain that the S13 setup is quite a bit heavier than the S30 setup. Keep in mind, the S13 suspension includes the entire removable subframe, which the S30 doesn't have. However, even if you were okay with those issues, I think the nail in the coffin here is your lack of ability to weld, fabricate, and engineer. Even if you could weld, you would still be short on skill, since that's only one piece of the puzzle. As for handling improvements, I don't know, never driven either one unfortunately. But for a street car that you're not going to beat on, I'd say, 99%, not worth it, since you probably won't even make use of the benefits. Although you mentioned that you won't be doing drag racing or drifting, you didn't mention what you do intend to do with it. No mention of track or auto-x, is this strictly a street car? You may not even need the T3 setup. Speaking of, which parts are you referring to there? Just adjustable control arms, or the whole thing - control arms, struts, brakes, diff mounts, diff swap, etc? How much power are you planning on making? It sounds like the latter. I think you should sit down and write out your specific goals for what you want the car to be, and figure out what parts you need to get you there. No sense in buying parts you don't need. I think some people who are new to older cars automatically assume that just because it's an original part it needs upgrading, which isn't really true. By the way, how are you going to handle smog testing on a swap, since yours is a 78?

I can't believe that car went for $30k. I didn't really look at the listing in detail until now, and it's even more surprising. The brakes are basically stock except a front caliper upgrade and master cyl upgrade. The engine appears to be internally stock, with a reconditioned head w/ valve job, and it has ARP head bolts. Z31 ECU as well, not even a standalone EMS. It has a basic coilover setup, with Tokico shocks. Konig Rewinds, which are okay, and a 3.7 R200 with no mention of a limited slip. Sounds like it has the non-turbo trans, too, which will need to be upgraded if the buyer wants to make decent power. Oh, and it doesn't run right (apparently a little rich) and it has a small radiator leak. And it has a half dash cap. Sounds like a really basic build, with some admittedly very nice looking paint. IMO, buyer overpaid by quite a lot.

Honestly, I don't really see the point of putting a truck engine in a sports car. For the cost/effort of swapping, and (lack of) benefit of the swap, I'd just stick with the L.

I gotta ask though. 2700lbs? How did you manage to make an early 240z that heavy? I know the wheels and driveline and such weigh more, but it shouldn't be that much.

Go back to 2005 or so, and you can find early 911s selling for 10k or less for pretty decent examples. However, I don't think the 911 was ever as popular for engine swaps as the Z was, mostly due to the prestige of the 911 that the Z never had, and also the whole business with being rear engined, and having to find a way to install and plumb a radiator. But it's been done. V8 swaps, and some Subaru motors, both flat fours, and flat sixes. I think someone did a VR6, but I don't remember if it was ever finished. Swapping in larger/newer 911 motors seems common though, or at least it used to. Speaking of personal taste - I cannot wait until this stupid stance fad is over, and people stop drooling over all these terrible looking body kits that keep coming out, ie Rocket Bunny, etc. Carbon signal's kit is the only one that I've seen that looks even remotely decent. One downside to the popularity of the Z is that people seem to buy them, and then modify them without knowing anything about them, neither the history of the car, or what mods do well and which mods don't. The FuguZ is a perfect example of this.

Ooh, I'm jealous. What do the Volks weigh? I would expect 10lbs or so.

Why should it be at 911 prices? The 911 has always been a well built, high end sports car. The Z never was, and had comparatively high production numbers. Porsche is a sports car company, Nissan is an auto company that made a sports car. No one is every going to brag about owning a Nissan the way they would a Porsche. Even if it was on par with 911s, why would you want it to be so expensive? 911s are now pretty much out of reach for the most enthusiasts. Not all of them, but the more desirable ones. Go on Pelican and see how many no longer enjoy driving the car because of the increased value, or how many can no longer afford them. It's nice to see S30s getting out of reach of dumbass kids, but beyond that, I mostly see increasing prices as a bad thing.