Phantom

Remember that these kits were designed around unmodified (either intentionally or unintentionally) Z's. My 280Z has never been in any kind of a fender-bender and evidently had been driven gently before I got it so everything lined up and fit pretty well.

Likewise - welcome guys. Anything we can do to help out - just holler.

As a current owner of a 280Z and a 280ZX I find it hard to say one is better than the other. The one thing we can all agree on is that they are VERY different. The ZX is a much more refined touring vehicle. Power windows, power mirrors, cruise control, power steering, 4-wheel disc brakes, cushier seats, T-tops, overall quieter inside, better stock stereo - the list goes on. The Z has the classic first gen lines, is marginally lighter, has better road feel feedback with the manual steering, the seats are a bit more supportive during hard cornering, it's noiser inside so it adds to the feel of speed - and it's list goes on. If I'm in a good mood and want to challenge the world I hit the street in the 280Z28. If I'm feeling mellow I go cruise in the ZX. I've even considered sticking an automatic (Heresy!!) in it. Speaking of brakes - I did the Toyota 4x4 upgrade on the front of my Z and it is still not right. Got remfg. calipers from AutoZone and one drags all the time and wears out prematurely. They stop like a bandit but occaisionally will tend to dart one way or another. Definitley keeps me alert. That, however, is just my experience. I'm sure others have had absolutely no problems with theirs. At this point I'm looking at the JSK or Modern-motorsports upgrades both front and rear but, before I do that, I'm going to take the car to a Z mechanic I know that has a reputation for being able to make brakes sing an opera and let him tweak them and see how they do. Sometimes it pays to admit that it's worthwhile to pay a true expert to do the work rather than doing it myself.

I bought the full body seal kit from MSA. Don't have it all installed yet but so far there have been 0 problems.

Sport Z Magazine did quite a write-up on Scarab and the vehicles they produced. They actually have a legitimate position in Datsun history. The cars were well engineered and performed very well. They were a lot more than just a carbed V-8 set in a positon too far forward like most people seem to think. Check with Sport Z and see if you can get the back issue on it. If your car is a true Scarab production vehicle then you may want to restore it rather than modify it again. Scarab did sell a lot of kits for people to do their own conversions too so it might also be one of those and then I would say just do what you want but I'd considre ebaying the tranny to see if a Scarab owner might want it.

The sad part is that what Walmart is talking about is not atypical for a public facility. Our maufacturing plants have similar problems with people defecating on the floors, urinating in all kinds of places that aren't restrooms, etc. I've even heard of people standing on the toilet seats, squating above the toilet and then defecting on the toilet and its seat. This is the society we live in now.

I wouldn't recommend that. A lot of work for minimal gain when strengthening can be acomplished other ways with less complexity. Datsun cross member on the bottom is structurally strong enoughfor the V-8 but you will need to strengthen strut tower tops and unibody rails underneath.

The newer cars use a triple seal set-up on their doors and a more elaborate window seal to reduce wind noise. Not sure that is an option on Z's. You can also go into the door panels themselves and install sund deadened that will help. Talk wityh a local car upholstery shop. They should be able to give you some guidance.

The only real advantages of oval tubing are: 1) It can be bent in a tighter radius without crimping the tubing, and 2) It gives better ground clearance where it runs under the rear half shafts. Unless either of those two items are needed I would stick with round - much more common, easier to work with, and less expensive. I looked at oval because of running a 3 1/2" exhaust on the LS1 but am going to try to stick with round.

I'm running the T-56 which has a 2.68:1 1st gear with the 3.70:1 LSD R200. Unless I'm in a really big hurry I never use first. If you can get a T-5 with the 2.95:1 1st and the .68:1 5th I'd be looking hard at either the 3.36 or the 3.54. Do you want quiet at cruise or do you want to quarter mile the car? If you're looking for decent accelleration but more comfortable cruise I'd go with the 3.36.

The MSA Aero II kit parts wrap around and mount on the inner radius of the fender wells. Anything that extends the side of the fender out in the area of the aero kit will interfere with the aero kit mounting. I think more than just a little work will be required to blend the two.

I did same upgrade staying with the drums in the rear. Significant improvement in stopping power. If you have the time & money you might want to invest in an adjustable proportioning valve so you can play with the front/rear bias until it's where you like it. Not necessary, especially for daily driving, but something to think about.

Fuel Return Line: Many fuel injected cars use a fuel pressure regulator that "bypasses" fuel to maintain the proper downstream pressure. This "bypassed" fuel is sent back to the fuel tank via the "return" line. Now - My LS1 V-8 that is currently running about 365 HP is using the stock AN6 (3/8") fuel line. An AN8 (1/2") line would flow about 75% more fuel so it should be plenty big enough for your application, depending on the pressure rating of the fuel pump you select.

I ran a WRX down at Ennis a couple weeks ago. I ran my worst time of the night because I tried a 2nd gear start. We came off theline pretty even and from then on I just pulled away from him.

I was sitting in a grocery parking lot waiting for my mom years ago when this car pulled into the slot next to me. The woman on my side flung her door open so hard it rocked my car - with me in it! I stared open mouthed at her as she got out. If looks could kill I would have been ashes. Since it was obvious she felt it was her right to trash other folks cars too I just very calmly unlocked my door and opened it with enough force to rock her car. Unfortunately for her, my car was a '55 Plymouth 4-dr. that had wedge shaped chrome molding down the side and the point of the wedge on the edge of my door actually penetrated the side of her car. She stopped, looked, looked at me as I calmly stared at her, and then turned and walked away. What a scene. Many times I've wished I had that old Plymouth for just that reason.

Fuel injection system. If you are starting with a 280Z that was already FI you'll basically only need a new fuel pump & pressure regulator. If it's a 240 or 260 it gets more complicated. If you use the T56 you'll be having to either replace the Speedo or get a converter because the T56 is an electronic output only transmission and the Datsun is cable driven. If you use the 4L60E you can get a mechanical drive.

Jeromio - good buddy - take a chill pill - you weren't this rough on me when I was continuously calling you Jeronimo. Innocent mistake and harmless - like this is too. If a post seems inane to you just ignore and go on to others that offer more to you. There are lots of them on this forum. I've asked my fair share of "dumb" questions and folks have always been gracious. That's the reputation this forum has always had - does it still?

Stock out of the box the LS1 will provide more HP. It is also lighter than the original L28 so it contributes no additional loading to the front end of the car. The big negatives to the LS1 are that it just plain costs more than other engine options and there is little history on the conversion for the do-it-yourselfer. That said, if I had it to do over again - I'd still put in the LS1 - just for the look an peoples faces when they see it in there.

I need my heart restarted. My wife got up at 5:30 this morning (Saturday), saw a back issue of Sport Z Magazine that had arrived yesterday, and started to read it. This is the woman that loves me dearly and supports my Z habit but has absolutely no interest in the cars. TWO HOURS LATER she finaly set it down having read it cover to cover. She loves the sense of humor of the editorial staff, actually understood some of the technical stuff and memorized every detail of their description of the technology that went into the design of the 350Z Roadster. Now she wants one!! It's the big one - call the Paramedics!

OK - OK Even more pressure to put the Procharger on the 280Z28. But then I'd need a new rear end, another transmission,........ On second thought.. Really sweet ride!! And the best part is the gray hair. Don't have to be young to have fun!!

I bought my front and rear strut tower braces from them. Took about a month to finally get. Weren't in stock and had to make, then lost them in shipping. I had to call them all the time, never got called by them even though I repeatedly requested updates. Parts finally arrived the same day they finally called and said they thought they had found them - they hadn't. Good news is that they are well made and installation went smoothly.

Have AC in my 77 280Z with LS1. Using Datsun evaporator and condenser, GM drier & Japanese Compressor that fits my application. Refrigerant is "Freeze 12", an R-12 replacement that is environmentaly friendly. More efficient than R-134a

Lone Star 1 and I both have done the LS1 swap. He lives in the Mesquite area and I live in Arlington. Kit parts for the conversion can be purchased from John@johnscars.com (214) 426-4101. Cost is purely dependent on the parts you use and how much of the work you do yourself. All inclusive, I doubt if you can do it right for less than $7,000.

Been a while on the 280Z28. Posts in other areas cover some of this but will summarize here. Car has been steadily getting heavier. The rear strut tower brace has been added and I've also installed an Autopower SCCA 4-pt. roll bar. Both went in pretty easily and have nice fits. Car ran a 12.9@110 at the strip about 10 days ago on street tires and still with the restrictive 2.5" exhaust. No more track time until traction and exhaust problems fixed. I do have the launch technique down now. Still sorting out several other problems. Climate control system currently is just a blast furnace. Heat off the heater even with AC selected and heat pouring up through the shifter hole in the tunnel. The tunnel problem is an easy fix but the climate control is another story. Have a vibration in the front at speed now. Thought at first it was a loose T/C rod and I did find one loose but problem came back. I'll delve more deeply into that. Also have a new noise in the rear that occurs when I go over certain bumps. Sounds similar to having loose upper strut bolts but I've already confirmed that those are tight. I'll get the car up on a lift and really go through it. I just hope it's something a little loose and nothing broken. Car goes into paint jail on 11/15 to have some shoddy work redone. To their credit ,the body shop guys were really embarrassed to see what had happened with the front spoiler paint. LS1, T56 and R200 are working well together. No unusual noises there and the car just plain hauls. After my second round at Ennis I am now pretty convinced that the 3.70:1 ratio is probably the right one. 4th gear is good to 120 mph which means I should be able to run down into the 11's without having to do another shift. With some stickier tires the car should launch like a beast. I've got the 60' time down to 2.0 now and better tires will just bring it down from there. I won't get into ScottieGNZ times but it will be respectable.

Click here: http://zccw.org/Tech/Body/08-97AnalysisEarlyZChassis.html You will see that there are really only two chassis designs for the early Gen. 1 Z's. The change from one to the other occurred in mid-year of the 260Z production which is why some have the 240Z style bumper (chassis) and some have the 280Z crash bumper (280Z chassis).