DrJ

I'm installing mine tomorrow, I'll post some pics, it looks like it fits decently but will need a little finessing.

mods plz delete.

I used a gas pedal from an early 90's stanza and the wire as well for a few dollars at the junkyard. works like a charm with my ka24de, i'll have to get some pics for you.

Yep, KA24DE for now. I am hoping eventually to upgrade to ca18det, but for now the ka was cheap and available, the ca will be pretty much plug and play though with wiring and engine cradle already in place and far cheaper than the sr20det. I originally had dreams of an LS2, but I think I'll just hold off until I can afford a vette to get that crazy. hehe. At any rate, I have the s13 SE wheels in my garage right now but I haven't had a chance to test fit them yet. I know the offsets are quite a bit different, but it's worth a shot I guess. thanks for all the advice though, keep it coming.

I haven't done a whole lot with the z over the winter, but with the weather being nicer I took the Z out for a couple of drives today, and managed to fix a few things as well. I took some pics and when I was looking at them I realized I need to get some wheels to replace the black rusty ones that are on there now. My friend happens to have some 240sx wheels for pretty cheap, they are 15's with the same lug pattern but I'm not sure about the offset. Has anyone tried this before? I did a quick photoshop and I like how it looks. This will be a temporary fix anyway until I can scrape together more cash for some new wheels and sticky rubber. Also keep in mind I am installing king springs, which should lower it about 1.5" with some tokico hp's. Also, the front is higher thant he the rear because there is a ka24de from a 240 sx in there, I'm hoping it evens out with the new springs. Check out the pic here...

The install was not too difficult, there is certainly plenty of room in that bay with the ka24de, I don't see clearance being an issue with the turbo and the master cylinder, although it may get your brake fluid rather warm. We did notch the motor mounts, it may not be entirely necessary, but we had some rubbing so we notched it back so that there wouldn't be any concerns of binding. My plan for the moment is to leave the ka pretty much stock besides the header, downpipe and custom exhaust. I plan to eventually put in a ca18det, but the ka was very cheap and my stock motor had a blown head gasket and auto, so it was the best option at the time.

Well, of course all hasn't gone according to plan, we were having some small electical issues, but we've worked them out and got it started last night. Not too much longer now until it's back on the road under it's own power. I'll get more pictures and more details very soon and I'll be adding the pictures to the gallery from my last post. James

I'm currently swapping a ka24de from a 92 240sx into my 76 280z, I have been taking some photos, and have more which I haven't uploaded yet which can be viewed here... http://www.midwestpd.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=437&g2_navId=x24dbf99d I ended up using the sr20 cradle mount, I talked to alex over at vildini and was very happy with the crafstmanship and fitament. As far as wiring, I have completely stripped the car so we basically started over with a painless 7 circuit fuse block and a couple extra fuse blocks for headlights, ignition, etc. you can thin out the 240 harness quite a bit by removing everything you don't need. We also used a 240sx cluster so that was basically plug and play after splicing from the bay harnes. Using the vildini cradle and the l28 mounts we got the engine about 1" off the firewall and notched the edge of the driver's side mount to make sure there was no interference with the column. With the cradle I am still able to use the stock oil pan w/o clearance issues. Bear in mind you'll need a radiator less than 26" wide with outlets on the passenger side. We started with an auto, but put in a 5 speed, there is already a plate to take off the firewall, where you can mount the clutch master cylinder, and you can use the 240sx one, but you will need to drill new holes. the clutch lines line up pretty well from the sx as well. You will need to fabricate a tranny mount, and you will need to get a custom drive shaft made, mine ended up being only 23". Also, we replaced the throttle levers with a cable and pedal from an old stanza. Well, that should give you a start at least, I'll get some more pics posted very soon and if all goes according to plan it'll be back on the road by this weekend. James

Sorry for the confusion, my fingers were happy when I was typing. The KA I have is the NA dohc. And the L28 that's in the car has a blow head gasket... doh. So, I was just going to put the KA in for the time being to save some headaches, plus my l28 is an auto which I can't tolerate. So, I will most likely do this swap until I get the funds for something more fun. I'm just tired of seeing the Z sitting out front not moving for months. Thanks for the help you guys are a wealth of good information.

Hey, I don't believe this has been done before, (I did search) but I got Bruce Almighty from netflix today so I figured I'd throw a few captures up on here of his Z, although he does crash it and it transforms into a Saleen S7, which is sweet too, anyway, here they are. And somehow this becomes...... this. And just for fun, here's when he makes Jennifer Aniston's breats larger.... delicious.

AK-Z, have you cleared up the pan issue yet? I will probably end up putting in a KA24det for now, until I can afford an ls1 or something stupd fast. At any rate, just wondering how far along you are now and if you figured out something for the oil pan. Thanks, James

Thanks for the feedback, I was hoping someone has a miracle cure for a case of the white smoke, but I guess I'll be towing it to the shop. Hopefully she'll be on the road again soon, under her own power.

I bought my 76 280z about a month or two ago. Proceeded to replace the front calipers, change the oil and filter, and get all the pine needles out of the engine bay and interior. So, I took a few joy rides, everything ran great and I was lovin life in my Z. Now, only a handful of miles later I can't even get it to run long enough to warm up. It started by staggering when I stepped on the gas moderately, bogging and a nice cloud of black smoke. Now when I start it, it seems like it is definitely missing, and the black smoke has turned to white smoke, then sputters and dies I have checked each wire for spark, disconnected, lubed up and reconnected each injector, fixed holes in intake hose(with duct tape, but still), replaced spark plugs, the wires seem to already be new, tried removing cold start valve, disassembled and inspected AFM, and still... same result Am I missing something obvious or am I just in denial of the fact that it's probalby a head gasket. Really, I only want to be able to drive it about 10 miles to my shop where I have a ka24de dohc waiting for it, sure it's 20 less hp, but it's a 5spd (can't handle the 3spd auto much longer), it runs, and it's about 20 years newer. Thanks for reading my long post, and please offer me some advice to at least limp it to the stable.

beautiful, that was going to be my next question. Now I just have to decide if I can put up with driving auto until I get an RB and tranny to drop in, or if I should swap tranny, driveshaft, pedals, and diff now.