slownrusty

Jon - Wow...good observation and point.. I assumed that the gold part goes under the strut tower as these camber plates came pre-assembled. If was to flip them over like you are suggesting it would give me even more tire clearance (a good thing). Yasin

Guys 280ZX Owners - Just a heads up that 17x9 -13mm offset RB and RB-R wheels will have fitment issues on the front especially if your car is lowered. I was disappointed to discover this and these wheels should have been more like 17x9 with a -19mm (not -13mm) offset for perfect S130 fitment. The spring perch will catch and rub on the inside of the tire or wheel (depending on how low your car is) and you have two options: 1) 1/4+" Spacers with longer wheel studs - I am less of a fan of this option unless you use the same spacers in the rear so keeping the wheel track ratio constant. -or- 2) Coilover with longer threaded collars, low profile spring top hats, and shorter stiffer springs and adjustable camber plates. My car has coilovers that I made in 2003 so went with option 2 - this was still a complete re-work of my entire coilover set-up (front and rear) mind you. And I sourced all my new parts and pieces from Gabriel Tyler over at Techno Toy Tuning. Gabe was great and super helpful as always (thanks Gabe!). At the same time I changed my front struts as one Illumina was looking "suspect". The key is to get the spring spring perch up and away from the inside of the tire or wheel as much as possible and maximize the clearance and still achieve your desired ride height. It took me over 2 weeks of messing around and playing with options, measuring, thinking, bit stressed frustrated, yadda yadda before it worked out and I am VERY pleased that after the adjustable camber plate install this afternoon I got the clearance and the ride height. The shorter profile Techno Toy Tuning adjustable camber plates yields an additional 3/4" of lowered ride height over the taller factory strut bearing and that was a key part of making the installation successful. Re-doing the coilovers with shorter 8" 200# springs, and a shorter profile top hat. My old coilover set-up in the back ground had 10" springs and a taller profile top hat. Quick test trial: Adjusted for the desired ride height and finally clearance and no rubbing conflicts! Shot of the camber plates: Back on the ground, looks a tad high but weight of the car not settled on the new suspension and I have about 1/4"-1/2" I can still lower the car if I so desire: Hope that helps all. Regards - Yasin

Hey Gang - Just checking back in with the new Camber plates I just installed on my '83 ZX Turbo. I purchased these beautiful camber plates from Gabriel Tyler over at Techno Toy Tuning (http://www.technotoytuning.com). The actual install is fairly quick and takes careful planning as you have to cut the factory strut tower sheet metal so that the actual bearing and adjusting bolts for the camber plates can all fit in the center hole. Gabe was extremely helpful and gave me some very good ideas on the neatest, cleanest way to cut the strut towers on the car plus I made a post on here a few days asking for feedback as well. In the end I decided to try something a little different but just effective. I made a template out of cardboard using the underside of the strut tower and then used this cardboard piece as my "trace" template on a piece of 1/4" thick aluminum I had lying around. The idea was to bolt the aluminum down using the factory strut tower holes and drill a pilot hole in the center of the aluminum and use that to create the pilot guide for a 3" hole saw (rather slotting the strut tower). Everything went smooth, no hiccups. Kinda scarry cutting the strut towers as once you start cutting you are commited! Tools required are a hand held angle grinder, drill and the usual sockets - so nothing extoic. I bought a $13 3" metal hole saw from Home Depot. The factory hole in the strut tower sheet metal is 1.25" and raised and needs to be increased in O.D to 3" for fitment of the Techno Toy Tuning camber plates. So...here are the pics: 1. Here is the start before any work begins and the front struts removed: 2. My cardboard template traced on the 1/4 aluminum flat stock amd the new Techno Toy Tuning camber plates waiting to be installed: 3. Aluminum plate drilled and cut to match the strut tower bolts and ready to be bolted down: 4. Bolted down, pilot hole made and 3" hole complete, hole saw in background on the drill and the 3" piece of metal removed: 5. Test fit, trim neatly for the adjusting bolts: 6. Heineken time: Hope this is helpful to ZX owners out there contemplating this install. Yasin

Many Thanks Starfish!

Mack - I did not realize that this car was a non turbo Auto. Looks pretty good the most concerning rust is the "C" pillar. What are your exact plans....full resto? What does the floor and frame look like? Yasin

Looking good Bleach, I echo everyone else's comments. I think some foglights in the cutouts or a big intercooler would be sweet Yasin

Ahhh got it...need to find who in my town might sell these! Thanks John. Yasin

Thanks for the all gang! I like the template idea and had already considered that - so we are on the same wavelength. John - What is a Christmas Tree carbide bit? I have never heard of such a beast, please edu-ma-cate me. Yasin

Hi Gang – I will be installing camber plates this weekend on my ZX and was wondering the neatest way to “slot” the strut tower on the car or at least make the center hole larger so that you can adjust the plates once installed. What is the best tool to use to cut the sheet metal that will look professional and leave a clean finish? What are your experiences? Many Thanks. Yasin

I bought a completed os Tokico blues AND Tokico front Illuminas for both my ZXs from this seller and the service was first class!! A++++ I even called him and he was very friendly. Great vendor and awesome prices. Yasin

WOW! http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31883

Mike - I recently turned down a job in Pittsburgh so was at the same cross roads. Good luck to you with all your new endeavours. My best, Yasin

Stevie - Joe has that '82 Turbo he is going to scrap..you should ask him. Do you remember Joe from my BBQ, he has that sweet Grand National, he is also a member on HybridZ. Yas

I just drove my ZX Turbo for long periods inexcess of 100mp/h on the Interstate just yesterday going to work and it was solid, car felt like a rock. My S30 felt sold up until 75 - 85mp/h. The ZX has superior brakes, suspension and better balance for sustained long high speed runs...it is the Jag XJS, BMW 6 series or Benz SEC of Japanese Cars. Regards, Yasin

Yup totally transformed bro! Glad you like. Car is awesome to drive and sounds very very menacing with the open 3.5" exhaust...evil grin. Thanks so much Gabe! Yup time to get back to the white car (no excuses), now that I have pretty much everything sorted in this car. I drive her 100 miles yesterday to work, and it was shear bliss. Nope pics are still up Phil. Yasin

The brackets are adjustable just need to bend them back to straighten them out. Yup the rears on these cars are notorious to look like a Jeep. Weigh more in gold! Muwwahhhaaa! The seats are much more comfortable than the stock units by car. I wish they had more lower back support and they need not be so side, but I guess they make them that way for the wide American torsos! I am 6ft tall and 165 lbs and fit will in them. I drove the car 90 miles this morning and the seats were good. The fabric quality is VERY nice and I hope it wears well (time will tell). For the price I was pleased. They were a Royal Pain in the Azz to fit though..gosh! Bleach yup, I know your cars is a solid silver and it is awesome! I left the center rear panel on the keep the nostalgia! Thanks!! 25.25" front and 25.5" rear (if I remember correctly). Yasin

Glad you like the plates and thanks for the comments guys! A subtle way to address the "why no love for the S130" thread..argh (shaking my head). Flat Black - Those are factory / dealer Nissan OEM Bosch foglights (notice they say "Nissan" on the covers). Not many cars were ordered this way, and a very rare option back then let alone to see now. Stevie - You know once that cast comes off, I'll be nipping at your heels to get working on your sweetie! Yasin

Guys - You may remember I bought this one owner '83 Grandpa ZX Turbo earlier this Spring with 51K on the clock. I have been making some tasteful improvements to it, to make it more fun to drive while "updating" the look of the car. Here goes: 1) Installed the 3.5" exhaust which was well talked about already on here. 2) Went to the Dyno a few times 3) Water Sanded the car with 2000grit, compounded and polished it - huge improvement to the paint's finish. The paint is literally like glass to touch. This took a solid 5hours. 4) Lowered the car about 2.5" with Suspension Techniques springs and Tokico Blues 5) 17" x 7" Wheels and Yokohma 245/45 tires 6) Installed some much more comfortable and modern seats that I bought off eBay (they are Evo Recaro knock offs). What a freaking pain in the ass to fit. It literally took me 20 hours to fit them properly (no joke) ...and several tries at different seat brackets. I finally wrapped it up yesterday evening, after messing with them for 2 weeks (breathe a sigh of relief). 7) And of course full tune up, new fluids. Installed a Walbro GSl 392 / 255 lph pump. Next up will be 60mm KA Throttle body, port the intake manifold, 2 extra psi of boost and poly urethane bushings and some suspension work (ball joints). So here are the pics.. First day of ownership: New seats: From: To: Suspension: Factory Ride Height...about 26.5" from the ground to wheel arch: On the dyno: The new "Brad Pitt" look: The best part is I have a very small amount of $$ invested in this car, mostly time. This is a great driving car, very very pleased with it so far. Yasin

Agreed!! A very beautiful car. Perfect non turbo ZXs are fetching up to $8K on eBay. This car has been on eBay and I forget how far the bidding went, the owner should re-list and set the reserve around $7,000 - $7,500. Its a sweetie for sure. Yasin

Having a hard time believing it has 19K? Yasin

Funniest thing I have read in a while Dave! Yasin

Thanks for the replies guys. John I think you nailed it. There is so much Synthetic bearing grease in there now , its almost oozing out. Its all back together and cross fingers that I do not have to go through this ordeal again. I set the castle at 20ft.lbs which is about right. Raff the bearings are Federal Mogul.

Alan you continue to impress me with how much history and facts you know..! WoW Yasin

Absolutely speechless..WoW!! Yasin

Hi Gang - Ths bearing is *only* 6 months old and I heard it howling come down the Interstate after I took everything apart I discovered this: The race is badly damaged and gouged (very sharp to touch) and caused the entire race to change color from shiny silver to the brown color in the process damaging the needle bearings. The other side was just starting to do this as well but not to the same epic fail. These were on the outer bearings, the inners were perfect. What would cause this? I made sure that the bearings and race were installed and pressed in perfectly true and square and had lots of grease in the hub. I am puzzled especially as the damage is localized to one area. Weird! Any precautions I should take with the new bearing and race? Yasin