Zetsaz

Yeah, I'm aware the motor/trans are usually only half the cost, but that's still cheaper than the LS1, and I do love me some Nissan straight-6. As far as fuel delivery is concerned I've already taken care of a good chunk by swapping in that F-body fuel tank. Internal sump pump, racetronix high pressure fuel pump. I already have to change most of the fuel delivery anyway as a result of that decision. \ I don't think I'm necessarily chasing the cheapest options, but I didn't know I could get an RB25 for around $2k these days. I know McKinney makes just about everything you could need for the swap these days. It would probably be around $3k on top of the motor/trans if I was only using their options. I wouldn't run a huge turbo since I'm going for fun while maintaining a fair amount of reliability and practicality. The engine would really be an almost stock RB25. The biggest appeal is exactly what you said.... still nissan, still L6, and waaaay newer. As far as power is concerned I'm going for right around 250-300. My oldest brother who's helping me with a lot of the more technical aspects (since he's actually studied auto-mechanics and would know his way around engine rebuilds/wire harnesses more than I do), has a V6 swapped MR2 making just over 200. Very streetable but still really fun. I'm hoping to beat him just by a bit I had honestly never considered this. At that point wouldn't it just be easier(cheaper?) to buy an L28ET from a newer zx model? I'm not sure how reliability would stack up on my stock engine. If I'm going to have to get into internals, at that point I'd much rather just leave the L28 as it is and throw money into collecting all the parts I need for a swap down the road. I appreciate the feedback guys! These are exactly the sort of questions I want to be thinking about while I'm away for the car. The next steps in the build (probably for the next year or so), are still just going to be patching the floors, installing the frame rails, finishing the rust on the doors, probably por-15 inside on the floors, then sound deadening and the carpet I cut, and then some undercoating even if just some basic bedliner for under the floors and wheel wells. Then it's taking off the old paint and repainting it on top of upgrading the brakes just a bit, replacing the hard lines while I'm getting at the framerails, and some mild suspension upgrades intended mostly for street use. Basically just making it more comfortable and usable and ready for whatever I throw at it in the future. The RB25/L28ET are definitely fun ideas to be talking about, but they're not for at least another year

Impressive find for pretty much anywhere in Idaho! When I'm back in Utah in the summers and both our cars are running we should definitely go for a cruise!

I bought them from a few sources: http://www.blackdragonauto.com/ http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/CTGY/classic02o04b The rails, which haven't been installed yet because the floors need to be repaired were purchased from http://baddogparts.com/ The rails from Bad Dog look extremely sturdy and well made and they're supposed to weld over the originals. If I remember correctly, both MSA and Black Dragon source their repair panels from Tabco, so it doesn't make too much of a difference where you get them from. The rocker panels and doglegs didn't need to much work to fit properly and weld in, but they're not perfect from the start. Still fairly easy though well... the modifying was just some trimming and drilling holes for the plug welding. The rear lower quarters were a really tough fit actually. I ended up cutting off the corners on both of them because it made the fitment almost impossible and just making little ovals to cover the holes from the old bumper shocks. Quality of on all of them is fine for pretty much any application. You have to remember though that none of these are perfect fits the way they arrive at the door. They always need a little bit of coercing and even slight cutting to make them fit your application. I spent probably 4 or 5 hours making them fit what I needed. That time doesn't account for cutting metal off the car then the welding done. They still need a lot of cleaning up to be presentable and ready for paint, but damn if it doesn't already look so much better than before.

Okay... ignore that LS comment altogether. I may be going RB25. Apparently they can be had with transmission and harness and pretty much everything but mounting stuff for $2k. That's cheaper than I can get just an engine for the LS1

Aha... that's the real question. And one I'm hoping to answer soon. I know highway fuel economy on a stock LS would probably be better, but I really don't know which one would be the more practical option. I've never messed with turbos before, and as much as people say you can get the L28ET for dirt cheap, I rarely see any for sale. Closest one to me was way out in Reno last I was browsing craigslist or the forums here. I really kinda just want something that I can have some fun with while maintaining at least some practically since I want to actually drive it regularly.

Oh! Other question. My 280z has the 4 speed trans in it. I've been browsing around but it hasn't been really clear to me how much work it would be to swap in a 5-speed from a later model or from a ZX.

Thanks for the tips! Down the road I'm thinking L28ET (because I love the L6 engines) or just a pretty stock/rebuilt LS1. The car will probably never see more than 300-350whp. and that's only if I decide to go LS1. I'm glad you pointed me to the brake/fuel lines... I'll have to remove those anyway when I install the bad-dog frame rails. I appreciate it! Yeah, it needs a fair bit of work, but now that I've been browsing around for parts I keep seeing cars that are only barely useful as parts cars go for $500-800! Plus, I think a lot of the work I've done has been useful. Some of it is needed even on Zs in the $1500-$3000 range from what I've seen, so I'm fairly satisfied. At the very worst I've learned A TON about how things really work and I've saved another from the scrapyard. Which is where this one was going when I decided to buy it off the guy.

2JZGE you say? Here's some inspiration for you. http://www.speedhunters.com/2014/05/s30-2jz-airbags-new-way-z/ Also, this thread is probably going to be very useful for you. http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/60894-1jz-2jz-installation-instructions-for-dummies2-weeks-drive-it/

Absolutely! I'm excited to (hopefully) be able to ship parts back home and feel like christmas when I get back. Which reminds me, if anyone has tips on components to upgrade that would be helpful down the road regardless of engine swap I'd be happy to have some input. I've been reading through the forums and so far the big things I want to focus on once the car is moving semi-reliably are the suspension and brakes.

Looks neat! I might look into it down the road once my car's moving comfortably.

Here's the last picture I took before putting it back in my garage. Not really put back together but tons of progress was made in the last year. The engine feels pretty good, huge portions of the metal have been fixed, seats reupholstered, nice fbody fuel tank properly installed, internal racetronix fuel pump running beautifully, carpet kit cut, door interior all there except the driver door panel not being installed. Excited to get back at the end of the school year (I'm teaching Music at a high school here in Washington)

Sad/happy news: I've accepted a job in Mount Vernon, Washington and won't be able to work on the car for a while as it's back in Utah. The good news is I'll finally be making money and sending parts back home for when I get back. I'm hoping to do floors and rails then sandblast or at least rattle can the car all black when I get back. If there's anyone in the Skagit/Seattle area that knows of any meets going on I'd be happy to go check stuff out and learn from people with more experience! Already found a lot full of old Datsun 620s here in MV. There won't be many build updates for a while, but when I get back and really work in the summer I'll have boxes of parts waiting for me. It'll feel like Christmas!

The stock throttle body is bigger than the AFM. Might just work. I'll check measurements later tonight.

Eh... I'll just measure it If you've happen to know though, it'd be nice. I never quite trust myself on purchasing stuff unless it's built for it or I've tried it in person

Awesome, thanks! Do you know if it would work well with a stock throttle body from a '76? Or is the 240sx throttle body too different in size?

Where did you get that AFM boot? I've been looking for something to replace my stock one with, since it's all torn up.

This is so good....

Couple more randoms of the full rockers in the middle of alignment, some rust, a couple of welding shots, and the passenger door rust I'll have to patch.

Pictures as promised. Wasn't done with a regular mig, no gas, so the welds still need some more grinding down and cleaning up, but I sprayed it with a thin coat of black primer for now while I get a chance to clean them up more down the road when I'm actually prepping for paint. Note I have way more pictures of rust but for the sake of comparisons and seeing a few in between shots this is all I'll upload. Cut up Passenger side Driver side

Rocker panels and other bits have been done for almost two weeks now, just haven't had a chance to upload pictures. I'll have them uploaded sometime tonight once I've sorted through them for before/after deals. Still have some more bits to weld including some floor patching and the frame rails, plus the holes from the old bumpers in the back but for now it's really coming along and starting to take shape. It's far from any sort of ground up restoration but a lot of major issues will be taken care of. The passenger door aligns quite well and closes, but the driver side door (unfortunately) closes just as poorly as before and I haven't quite figured out why. It's no different from before swapping the rockers, so I know it's not that, but it's still bugging me that it's harder to close and almost needs to be slammed to shut completely.

Looks like plug welds are gonna be the way to go. Haven't been able to find anyone with a spot welder, and even the cheapest Harbor Freight ones are like $170. And I was really hoping not to have to drill or cut any of my shiny new panels :/ Updates to come with pics: Both rocker panels are fitted and ready for welding right now. Just need to fit the passenger dogleg. Once that's done I'll be working on the rear lower quarters.

Rockers are completely removed. And I definitely haven't been driving it, it's on jack stands and will stay there until the rockers and rocker ends are welded on

Latin American dad. Working on his own to support family from the time he was a teenager when his dad passed away. It's not like it's a surprise, but it's definitely frustrating a lot of the time haha. I need to look into getting a spot welder or borrowing one then. If not, I may weld it up whichever way we do it for now and spot weld it a bit down the road before painting. It's not like I'm driving it much and it definitely doesn't have enough power to start affecting the frame. I could be totally wrong of course. I know the rockers are structural, but I assume anything that has them welded pretty firmly to the rest of the car will work well enough for now on a car that makes maybe 120hp as is, and is barely going to be driven until another several months or even a year down the road.

Second question: Is there a legitimate reason NOT to just weld a long seam along the edges where the new rocker meets the old metal? The reason I ask if my father is the most infuriatingly stubborn man and he seems to think that would be better than spot welding it.

Awesome, thanks for the response!