Zetsaz

http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/49037-help-what-suspension-modifications-should-i-do/ This post will probably be the most helpful. It's exactly what I used when deciding what to buy/upgrade first.

Preset will probably work if you have a stock tank. I forgot what the ohm readings were on the original tank and what the presets on mine were. Easiest way if you want to do manual calibration would be to pull the sending unit while it's still connected to the harness and set it at empty and full while it's out of the tank. That's what I did with my f-body tank. EDIT: Your sending unit shouldn't be too hard to pull out. If I remember correctly you can easily access it if you remove the rear passenger wheel and check the front side of the tank.

Routed the new harness through the body. Not long enough to reach right were the original one is, so I ended up routing it behind the passenger seat then under the console to the gauge pod. Here's a few pics of how I left it before coming back to Washington. After seeing one of Dave's autometer gauges here in town, I'm actually really happy I went with the Speedhut. Quality feels much better I think they look nicer overall. This also got me connected to some 240z style turn signals which is really the look I wanted on the front end of the car. I'm really heavily leaning towards the fiberglass type 1 air dam. I like this front end look. But I'm slightly concerned about damaging the fiberglass since it's not flexible. Might just wait until later to make an air dam decision.

http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/classic02a01b/50-1420 Might be this one. Hard to tell with some of MSA's pictures.

I was planning on flipping the original clock bezel, with some slight trimming to get the fit I wanted, but it actually won't slide into the back half of the housing if you flip it. I ended up cutting a ring from the same cardboard the gauge was shipped in and fitting it between the lock ring and the adapter to create a friction fit into the back of the housing and just placing the front half back on. Down the road when I'm replacing other gauges I might make a new ring for the friction fit. This is working well for now, but the friction fit isn't nearly as tight as I'd like because I went overboard and cut the cardboard down a bit too much. The wires on the new gauge are routed through the same hole the original backlight would have been in. I just removed the light then the green dome. Cut into the metal just a bit with some tin snips so the wires wouldn't be bending so much and so the wider connector for the new harness would actually fit through. Extremely easy. Tried to match the original font and coloring as close as I could, so I went with black back, white tics, and a white needle. Needle will light up red however. Just liked it a bit more. Sensor contacts for the sending unit in the fbody tank also arrived and work incredibly well. Much beefier and durable looking than the originals. Part is GM64 Fuel Sensor Contacts for those curious.

The CD009 with adapter plate looks like an okay alternative. I've considered an LS1 swap, but honestly the cost of the T56 cost has probably been the biggest reason I haven't worried too much about any engine swap yet.

Gauge wiring is all done. Burned my pinky on some soldering (still stings). Routed the speedhut harness along the stock harness, will double check length later. It's about ready to go with one exception... the sensor contacts on my gm sending unit were screwed up, tried fixing it and only made things worse. From what I've read, it's not uncommon for the contacts to fail, so I might as well fix that while I'm finishing up the fuel gauge. Will update later with a short video on how I fit the 2-5/8" gauge into the stock pod to look mostly original.

Alright... so I'm trying to wire this Speedhut gauge and it's giving me a serious headache. EDIT: Problems resolved. For those curious I used the write-up by BLOZ UP here: http://www.nearwood.net/280z-speedhut-gauge-conversion/#more-336 The biggest help was this. This is specifically for a '77 but the wiring in my '76 is similar. I haven't soldered the black and white sender cables to the original connector yet, but the rest for lighting is working and soldered. The sender harness is really long, so I might just run it directly back to the sending unit, especially since I have that F-Body tank and sender. Might as well eliminate any extra unnecessary connections from stuff I've removed. Currently figuring out how I'm gonna mount this thing to look mostly stock.

Yeah, dumping in the L28ET seems to be my best option right now. Sometimes I don't know if I just wanna drive around with the L28 though. It's in good shape and it runs nicely. I'm indecisive on buying the turbo motor and just letting it sit for a while while I focus on rust, paint, suspension and pretty much everything else and save the power stuff until later.

Seeing budget swaps like this always makes me indecisive. I sometimes I want to just keep my L28, other times I want to buy this L28ET that's in town, then I wanna go big and do an RB25, or just an NA 2JZ.... Decisions are hard haha. Really comes down to power for cost. I'm not looking for much more than maybe 200whp. The car will be pretty much entirely street and really just for fun and some cruising.

That's awesome! Pretty cool swap. I'm sure it's loads of fun, especially on that slim budget. EDIT: Just saw that post I missed... must be more tired than I thought. My bad.

This thing is looking awesome! What's the cost on it so far? Only asking because the very title says "budget swap" haha

I'm going for stock seats. Had them reupholstered last spring when my dad was in Mexico. Driver side is a little bit worse. That's really the only side I might consider a whole panel for. Passenger side would just need a patch over a thumb size hole in the front, and a larger patch by the rear seat rail. Both rails will be either removed for the bad dog rails, or just have the rot cut out then hammered a bit back into shape so the bad dog rails can fit over them like they were designed for.

Frame rails have been sitting around my garage since last September. I'm around the 19th-2nd. PM me anytime either of you are free. I'm also still debating just patching the floors or making my own pans, but I have no experience with that so it makes me kinda nervous. I'll let both of you take a look and give me your opinions when I'm around.

By the way, if you have that rotisserie, I would totally want to use that haha. Would make undercoating and rails muuuuch easier. Plus I'm not experienced in that sort of thing. It'd be cool just to actually talk to someone in person who's done work like that before. I have lots to learn

Looks like I'm sold on some POR15 haha. Thanks for the feedback. I will DEFINITELY be taking you up on this. Especially when I'm trying to fix that fender. The other patches are definitely workable, but I feel like this one could be very noticeable if it doesn't turn out just right. That and I gotta stop buy and check out your project as well. I'm back in town on the 19th, I can drop by your place sometime the week after and show you what those rails are like.

Bought my airdam and a passenger fender repair panel yesterday. Will be getting home the 19th and hopefully finish up as much metal work as possible, so this summer I can focus on paint and cleaning things up so I can actually drive this thing. Still indecisive on using POR15 or some sort of undercoat for under the floorboards once the bad dog frame rails are on and for the wheel wells. More updates to come in a couple weeks

Short Asian guys + custom seat mounts + lower than stock seats? Definitely looks strange haha

Thanks! All of Bryan's picture links are still broken on that thread for me. Is it the same for you all?

Yeah, I saw his posts. Found his original youtube channel too, but I can't seem to find any of the original threads now. Just the one about how the dohc head is still running well, but the picture links are broken.

Serious? I must have missed it. Better go back through 30 pages of the thread haha. I was browsing something totally different and stumbled upon it so I was curious. Thanks!

I didn't want to detract from Derek's massive thread but I was curious if there was any information around on this video: http://tominis.info/watch/hDCfZUIMom8/dohc-twin-cam-l28-datsun-z-car.html Seems he mated 3 different KA24DE heads to make this happen. Video is marked for 8 years ago, so I'm wondering if the guy was on here before or if anyone knows any other info on this thing. Looks interesting to say the least, but I haven't found anything else on it.

And thanks for throwing anything that isn't helpful into the tool shed. (Yes, even anything I've posted haha)

Super overpriced. Ridiculous. https://www.flickr.com/photos/tcroooks/22813376466 Doesn't look too bad from some angles though.

Subbed for progress. I've always been curious about doing an N/A 2JZ swap like this car. http://www.speedhunters.com/2014/05/s30-2jz-airbags-new-way-z/