Phantom

Yeah Mike - I'll let you off the hook this time.

I agree. This car has a lot of questionable characteristics. It probably has more like 120,000 miles on it than 20,000. Heck - I've got serial #1779 that needs a total restoration and you could have it for $800. It originally was a pale blue with a black interior. FWIW - Haggertys says my Series 1 in average condition is worth about $14K. Not sure who would pay that but that's what they say.

Converted early model 260Z 2+2 I assume?

You might ask around about Larry Sanders. He has a shop in SE Fort Worth, I know he did work on my car and on my son's. He's been building custom rods for 25 years or so and can pretty much do anything.

Why not just go with the proven kits? Is it pricing? How much difference is there? The JCI kit is in cars all over the world and is pretty well issue free now. Is the extra worry and potential hassle worth saving a couple bucks? I've had my JCI components in my car for over 10 years now and have not had a single issue with any of their components - and I have them all except the rear transmission mount.

Yes, Freeze 12 is an R12 equivalent but more environmentally friendly. It also allows retaining all the stock Z AC components. Just ensure the new compressor is designed to use that refrigerant. Mines been running for 10 years now with no problems.

Any idea what he charges if the customer is willing to mount them in the lenses? That saves labor, shipping costs, and time.

Wow - and that's just the rear lights. It doesn't include the front turn signals or marker lights. Guess it's time to do a little more research and see what I can do myself before committing to a grand in lighting.

I have the LS1 and am using the stock sending unit and gage. At around 2,000 RPM the oil pressure is mid gauge. At idle or cruising in 6th at 60 it's at about 1/4 gauge. I'm not having any issues with my motor and it's been this way for years. I had to replace my sending unit last year as it went south on me and I had to be turning about 2,500 RPM to get a good reading and it went to 0 when I was at idle.

Another option would be the fans 7 shroud off a 1998-2002 GM F-body (Camaro/Firebird) The shroud fits the stock Z radiator with just a little trimming and you end up with two fans that do a great job. The nice thing is if one quits working the remaining one will keep your engine cool. I have first hand experience there when I had some relays fail.

The car looks like it has an MSA ground effects kit on it that came out in the mid-90's

Heck - why don't you just take it to Johns Cars, 800 Jaguar Lane, in Dallas? John Radevich is the one who developed the LS1 conversion components on my '77 280Z. His folks do outstanding work and he knows what he is doing. I've seen other people take their V-8 Z's to him after some other mechanic had screwed them up. He does OEM level work. Great shop. Steve at Rising Sun is a fountain of knowledge on Z cars and really knows the stock ones. He wasn't too receptive to the idea of a V8 in one when I did mine back in 2004. From the post above it looks like he still feels the same way. Jerry at All Z Car was a long-time friend when I still lived in Arlington. Again - super source for all things Z but not experienced with the LS1.

Running LS1 with AC in my 1977 280Z. Putt a new AC compressor in and a few new hoses but kept all the other stock Datsun components. Running "Freeze 12" refrigerant and the car stays cool in 100 degree weather - if it hasn't been sitting in the sun soaking heat all day.

Here's the 280Z28. IMG_4214.MOV

Getting ready to head out to a car show. IMG_4214.MOV

Lots of options. My long nose R200 doesn't have a front mount. It is bolted to the tails haft of the T56 through a pair of channel iron that act in a manner similar to the torque tube the Corvette uses. I'm not familiar with the front mount characteristics of the short nose R200 but that may be another option as far as a mount goes. In the meantime I'd just go back in with new hardware and torque to spec.

In the front with the tires and wheels you're planning to run and the best place is to be anywhere from 0 to +10 on your offset. With the 8.5" wheels and the 245/50's in the rear you face a dilemma. You can get the tires to fit with about a +10 offset on the wheels but then the wheel will quite possibly hit the sock suspension. Coilovers would probably allow you to clear OK. Do you already have the wheels? If so, I would mount them up and check clearances with them as they are now. Then you can take measurements and determine exactly what you'll need for spacers to make the wheels fit. At that point you can take additional measurements and see what tire will fit. Front is no problem as I've run 225/50-16's on 7" wide wheels with 0 offset for 17 years now. Back is the area you'll have to be very careful if you're trying to avoid any body modifications.

FWIW - I have over 101,000 miles of carefully computed fuel economy calculations for my 1977 280Z with the L28 engine. Each time I filled up I would fill the tank until I could see fuel in the opening just below the cap. I then recorded my total mileage and the miles on the tripometer that I reset each time I filled up. Fuel used was entered to the nearest tenth of a gallon and economy was then calculated to the nearest tenth of an MPG. My driving was a combination of in-town and interstate in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Initially the car had the stock 4-spd with a 3.54:1 differential. The first year (about 12,000 miles) the car got anywhere from 17.6 to 25.0 MPG. The 23.9 was achieved on a road trip that was nearly all interstate at 70-75 MPH. The second year it averaged 18.0 to 20.6 MPG over about 11,000 miles. . The third year it averaged 17.9 to 21.5 MPG over about 6,000 miles. The fourth year it averaged 17.1-21.4 MPG over about 7,000 miles. The fifth year it averaged 17.4-20.5 MPG over about 10,000 miles. The sixth year it had a drivetrain change in mid year when I installed an '82ZX 5-sod and the 3:90:1 differential. The first part of that year it averaged 16.1 - 20.1 MPG over about 4,000 miles. The second half of the year it averaged 17.0 - 20.4 over about 5,000 miles. The seventh year it averaged 18.3 - 24.5 MPG over about 11,000 miles. The eighth year it averaged 16.8 - 21.1 over about 10,000 miles. The ninth year it averaged 17.5 - 22.9 MPG over about 10,000 miles. By then engine had right at 200,000 miles on it The tenth year the car averaged 16.5 - 22.8 MPG over about 9,000 miles and that was the year that I installed the LS1 with the T56 and the 3.70:1 R200 LSD The eleventh year with the LS1 the car averaged 16.3 - 26.3 MPG over about 11,000 miles. Mostly it was in the 18-19 MPG range. Pretty much the same as the L28. So there you go. 9 1/2 years and 100,000 miles of mileage data on an L28.

Sorry - just can't resist - Told You So! You need an epoxy that adheres to glass and can handle 200 degrees.