Zetsaz

Yeah, it's a bit of a bummer doing some of the visible metal work on the original car and then deciding it's not gonna be worth it for me, but I figured I'd cut my losses. At the absolute worst I'm maybe $1k plus my time into the shell I've decided isn't worth it. It's really not terrible considering most of that I can pay myself back in the experience and knowledge I've gained, plus the original parts that were in the car that I'll be swapping over. I've been pretty frugal and found a lot of deals where I could to make this thing work, and most of the bigger money I've spent on it has been on stuff I can very easily swapped over to another shell. Hard to go wrong when you start with a $300 car with a running engine! To be honest this was sort of the original plan. Buy this for how complete the interior/running gear was, swap over to another shell. Somewhere along the way I decided it could be saved, and to be honest it can! Just not by me. I'd have to invest a fair amount in tools that I'd only use maybe a handful of times after this project, my own time and mistakes, or about $8k in metal work from a shop to get it to my standards. I'm much farther ahead buying a really nice empty shell.

"Yeah boooiiiiii" haha. Some nice work on this!

California Datsun is an absolute disaster. Also, N42 head was used on early model 280z. Standard head on the L26 was an E88.

Visually and hinge-wise, the 260 and early 280 (75/76, NOT 77/78) will bolt right up to a 240z and vice versa. The main difference is going to be the inside. They used different panels and armrests as well as a different style door panel clip. Doors are pretty tough to line up properly and most people seem to have issues getting a comfortable latch going. Remember that the tolerances on these cars are nothing like modern cars and swapping doors will likely require you to do some work to get them to line up the same. Also, these cars originally came with door hinge shims which seem to help. https://www.zeddsaver.com/products/datsun-z-door-hinge-shims Honestly, it probably wouldn't be terribly difficult to make them or just use generic panel alignment shims instead, but having something that's close to OEM spec always saves you trouble.

Post is taken down. For me personally, piecing together an NA-T build was actually cheaper since I wanted to upgrade most things. If you're planning on putting major work into it, it's always cheaper to just find the few OEM pieces you need separately. If you're looking for a cheap-ish swap for a reasonable boost in power, then a donor car is definitely the better choice (though it was a better choice when ZX donors were $300).

It's lightly primed just with some rattle can stuff for the time being. I'm currently debating whether or not I even want to proceed with more rust work. After the sandblast and doing a lot more work underneath, there's even more rot than I suspected. The outside of the car is passable now that it's even with the primer, but at this point there's just so much work or money involved just to get the shell to meet my standards that I'm looking into sourcing a better shell instead. I already have something potentially lined up that is going to be more cost effective for me and turn out better in the long run, and in the meantime I'll actually get to go out and enjoy this thing for a bit without worrying about rust for a while. Current plan is to just focus on anything that can be swapped over to a different shell, which is actually what most of my money has gone into anyway, so I'm not at a big loss right now no matter what I choose to do.

I'll agree with this. I hadn't seen much but recently I've been seeing more LS/JZ swaps in those cars.

Just ran into these recently https://www.ebay.com/itm/75-76-Datsun-280Z-fuel-tank-/351809882491

Learn from my own mistake too and don't get them tested at AutoZone. Maybe it was a faulty test, but I had them test my alternator on an old daily multiple times and it tested good. After going insane checking every single cable I could find for continuity to make sure there wasn't a short, and replacing my old battery, I knew logically that it could only be the battery. Replaced it and sure enough.... it was a bad alternator.

Hope this goes to a great owner. I used your write-up on the F body tank to use one in my own car even without an LS and it works great.

I'll be nice before someone tears you to shreds for not searching for anything or this goes immediately to the tool shed.

If every picture I've ever seen of the CX mounts is any indication I would definitely do this. Personally, If I was doing the jz swap I'd go insane if the engine wasn't centered in the bay. Also this. Chassis work takes waaaaaayyy longer than you expect. If you decide to start the swap you'll basically have two non-functioning cars for a long time. If I had the SC I'd personally be using it as a daily and upgrading that stuff to swap over down the road.

That's it haha. Personally not a fan, but it can be done well, and probably more aerodynamic than some other options, and DEFINITELY better aero than stock.

Were you replying to that air dam question? Same thread broke on me. Couldn't reply to thread or PM the member with an answer.

Will third Ares at RS speed. Haven't worked with him personally, but if you've seen his work around you'd be very impressed. I still have an old magazine from years ago where his RB swapped 240z was the cover car. Still a huge inspiration to this day.

I'm not seeing a price anywhere. How much does the kit cost?

Very nice color. 115 Blue? Or the popular Daytona blue?

Ohhhh, I see. Unfortunately I can't respond to the topics to post pictures. It's displaying for me but I have a chrome extension fixing it. Photobucket's new pricing model screwed over a lot of people, especially those like use who relied on it for how-tos and write-ups. This is a temporary workaround. The original post should definitely still be edited for the future when this inevitably stops working or photobucket becomes another internet relic. https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/photobucket-hotlink-fix/kegnjbncdcliihbemealioapbifiaedg?hl=en

You might be looking through the wrong one. There are lots of pictures of available on this thread just below it.

I can download them and post them but it'll take several edits and lots of reading to make sure they're properly sorted. I think I'll upload them all under a response for now so they're at least available.

I've been trying to follow the 20-80 rule lately with my car, especially when it comes to metal work. You see lots of full restorations that dig into every spot to make sure every inch of rust is taken car of, even smaller areas. That's either REALLY high dollar restoration or a decade's worth of work for busy people. For 20% the effort or cost you get 80% results. Restoration/power costs both tend to be an exponential curve and the point of diminishing returns is different for everyone. I'm aiming for 40-50% the effort of those insane restorations and hoping for a solid B+ level car the next several years. It won't be particularly fast, it won't be a show car, some rust will still be present and hidden, but the frame will be a bit stiffer, it'll have more power than stock, the paint will be presentable with some minor imperfections, and most importantly, it won't be in the garage until I'm in deeper than I can get out of and never enjoy it.

I saw that same car pop up on craigslist. It seems like a great base, at least your floors aren't rotted through. On a car that straight I wouldn't go digging too far. I made the same mistake on mine and now I'm in too deep and know it'll never be perfect so I'm accepting that fact that it's not going to be a restoration and just focusing on major problem areas and making it presentable and fun to drive.

It's not so much that, it's that until now your only options were really BC, which are as close as you get to a bolt in solution, but they're still just middle of the road. Or you go with T3 bolt in setup, which is nice as a bolt in option but is still basically just a prefabbed ground control kit, or you spend all the time building your own which has been the most cost effective for someone wanting anything higher quality. If these are a true bolt in solution and they ride better than most of these other options from such a good manufacturer, they're still worth the extra money, it's just nice information to have.

Anyone have any experience on KW quality for other cars that they can speak of? Would be a great bolt in alternative to the current monopoly by T3. BC is a great option but still requires cutting and welding.

91 isn't as bad as you think, at least not at sea level. Remember that elevation plays a roll in air density, higher elevations generally have higher octane gas available. I know that I can get higher octane gas on the east side of Washington than I can on the west side of the mountains, and it's pretty much the same performance because of different air density. Tony D showed you that crazy triple carb turbo engine, but remember these days you can get that much more easily and reliably. Old school guys run carbs, but even Tony will tell you that fuel injection is objectively better in every way to what a lot of those guys worked with, water/meth injection probably won't be necessary just at 300. Check out this Datsun Europe build, same block you're working with