Zetsaz

You can get some new GSP Axles from Rock Auto for about $50 ea. Not really worth trying to find them used unless you get a better deal than that

New parts tease. Friend of a friend who's welding all the stainless for me is hoping we can get it all done the end of next week. Should give me enough time to make or order some intercooler brackets and finish up the cold side piping

EDIT: Double post

Then I'm sure you'll enjoy! Sequential fuel and spark aren't options on MS3 unless you get the MS3X board to go with it. That's why I suggested the upgrade to MS3 if you can. MS3X is a whole other step up EDIT: They are options, but I think it's still limited to 4cyl sequential fuel. Would need some modding for more. The notable (and useful) upgrades you get over MS2 are SD card logging, USB-serial (instead of having to use an old Serial cable), finer resolution on fuel tables, and more up to date support on the 3.57 boards through MS Extra.

If you like doing this sort of work, I will definitely say some of the learning is half the fun. That being said, there are a lot of cars out there sitting on jack stands for years because people don't anticipate just how involved it is, and how steep the initial learning curve is. If, alternatively, you like driving your car a lot and just want to get it moving and enjoy it, I might suggest buying one of the "plug and play" kits that you can now get from vendors like godzilla raceworks or ProTunerz. They'll get you up and going with a base tune probably within a weekend if you're working and read instructions carefully. I spent entirely too long accumulating parts and overthinking things, and if I could do things again, I would get the car running asap and slowly decide small things I NEED to upgrade. That being said, megasquirt is a massive upgrade, and well worth it if you really commit and get it going. My 2 year old paint job is already fairly imperfect from driving this thing down the pacific coast highway from Seattle to LA, and even driving through some dirt roads so I could drive it through the Chandelier Tree. Every step of the way the efficiency was better and fuel was burned more completely (you're not in open loop on the injectors at faster highway speeds), meaning I had almost no fumes along the drive. MS2 kits get the job done well, but I will warn you that most tuners I know of won't mess with them that much anymore because they're getting a bit dated. MS3 is only a small step up. If you go MS2, I would make sure you get an assembled kit.

"71c" transmission. Technically this one was out of a Silvia, but it's the same as the late s14 ones.

She's in! Need to bleed the clutch to check everything but it's all bolted up to the engine side and alternator is back on. Waiting on a new speedo cable, reverse switch, and shifter gasket before I fill it up. Afterward I'll get the new driveshaft in and double check everything Spent a decent chunk of time before it was rebuilt cleaning the bellhousing and tailhousing so they were painted and cleaned up a bit. It's looking nice with that new T3 crossmember even though it's not perfect. Currently on the way are a new intercooler and piping among a few other things. Edit - Also removed the clutch weights from the Centerforce clutch per a L series builder's recommendation. Supposedly makes it difficult to shift once you start getting up to about 6k rpm. I don't expect to get there often, but with my modest goals and the added rotational weight, it feels like the added clamping force isn't worth the tradeoff of some questionable shifting at high rpm

Small update: Didn't realize how burnt out I was when I pulled the trans and wanted to upgrade to turbo. Progress has been SLOW compared to the past couple years. Transmission is now finally off for a rebuild. Getting new bearings, synchros, seals, and a new 3rd gear. Have redline fluid ready to go for when I get it back. The only turbo upgrades I have left are the intercooler and charge piping. Will probably purchase this month so I can cruise again by the start of spring. I was recently offered a job at an international school in Mexico that i'm still debating, but there's a high likelihood I make a big push to enjoy this thing in the spring and tune it up to really make the most of it this summer before possibly moving to Guadalajara! More to come...

Pretty sure he ditched the VR38 not long after getting it running. I think he blew the engine and went LS. Check his instagram.

https://kfvintagejdm.com/product-category/datsun/?fbclid=IwAR2T8lFNnlM0_l6ywNaPiWWpnX3fLlONFA_vq1zqM3Z1f21CSq6Z0vUeZxk Here's a link to their datsun parts

Is that just a flat piece of aluminum? Seems pretty straightforward. Might go that direction. The one from Z car depot is raised right? Not sure how necessary that is, considering there's already a gap between the core and the mounting surface.

Did the 12" spal fans not fit the shroud? I've been wanting to use that shroud as an off the shelf option with some spal pullers.

Yeah, special characters break links, you have to be careful with thread titles. Should really make a sticky on the FAQ or on the rules page about that so people are aware, you're not the first to do it, and at least yours is a bit more obvious than some of the other weird ones that have broken and had to be remade in the past.

Universally, it seems like the reviews are "these parts are good quality... if you ever get them" I think the owner is Paulo? Pablo? The business has had questionable reviews at best and I wouldn't trust them anywhere near the same level as, say, Skillard or Apex. Some people spent the better part 6 months or more waiting on parts from RetroSpec. I wouldn't hold my breath. Your best bet is to try calling and threaten to have your credit or paypal refund the purchase if they don't follow through on your order soon.

New purchases arrived this week as I make progress on the turbo bits among other things: -3" stainless exhaust tubing, flex coupler, two V band joints, and O2 bung -Picked up the bellhousing. Machining only cost me $80! Started degreasing and cleaning it slowly so I can paint it in aluminum paint like I did the rear housing. Debating whether or not I want to just get it rebuilt for peace of mind now or run it as-is until it starts to bother me. -Skillard front splitter, mostly already installed, but I have threaded holes where bolts broke... and then my bolt extractor also broke The main piece is fully functonal as-is (it doesn't normally attach to the radiator core support on a 240z, but is designed to be capable of that for the 280), but the smaller rear attachment that connects it to the engine crossmember is only connected there by one bolt right now. Will have to figure out how to get the broken bolt out. EDIT: I'm about ready to hack up the skillard front grill. While it's a very nice piece and a good change if you're removing the 280 style turn signals, not having the lower portion open when you need to get your hands in there is a huge pain in the ass AND you can't remove it without removing the front bumper. That combined with the flexing in the Skillard front bumper mounts on bumps due to their design (which rubbed off a not-insignificant bit of paint on my headlight buckets near the bumper) makes me want to go back to the older style conversion brackets I had and just cut off the bottom half of the grill for better accessability like original 240z grills had)

The cheapest solution is to modify something available (assuming you have the skills). For most "off the shelf" or bolt-in solution, you're not gonna get much cheaper than CX racing.

I have the same "ultimate internal wastegate" setup as you from ATP. What's that cover you have on your exhaust housing? I think I want to use something similar

Just get the vintage air unit. You'll be better off sourcing similar parts from them in a kit with way more documentation and help. Look through the recent pages of my "musician's therapist" thread if you want to see some pictures

Sorry, was quickly writing this and didn't notice the slip in terminology. Yes it's the shift rod opening and that's the instructions I gave the shop. I've edited the previous post so others don't read it and mess something up as a result of my little mental mistake.

Countershaft bearing opening needs to be opened up for the larger 240sx bearing, and some surface around it machined down to provide clearance for the gear which is a bit wider... longer (?) front to back than the datsun one. Top shift rod opening needs to be opened up a bit as well for the thicker shifter forks/rods And I think that's about it. It's really not about the time and more about the fact that most machine shops just don't seem to take on low volume stuff these days. Shouldn't take much once they get to it. If they don't get to it soon I may just ask for it back and find another shop. Wanted local to avoid paying shipping both ways to have Godzilla Raceworks do it.

Well... As expected, I've called on two separate occasions and both times the machine shop has told me they haven't gotten to it yet despite calling a day or two after they told me it'd be ready. It's "top of the list" right now and will be done "Monday or Tuesday" but I'm not counting on it haha. As soon as I get the bellhousing back and cleaned up the transmission is going in for an inspection and rebuild from a local shop I've trusted before with the transmission in my hardbody

Mild update: Finally making progress after the summer hiatus. The return to in person instruction at my job kept me busy at the tail end of summer into the start off fall, so the car has been sitting on Jack stands for a bit. Finally dropped the transmission and pulled off the bellhousing for the 240sx transmission upgrade. Local shop is taking care of the machining. Transmission crossmember and new driveshaft are both ready to go but I think I'll have the transmission inspected and possibly rebuilt just to save future headache. Some pictures to come when I get the bellhousing back next week and start putting things together

Yeah, the RB can go to 3.4 but MZR seems pretty keen on keeping NA for the purist perspective on past builds. I follow Peter McDonnell and he's also pointed out that it's probably easier to build a high HP L Series than an RB. Considering his builds, I wouldn't doubt it. There's always the chance they're sticking with the L series and using diesel blocks like Rebello has done. Was just curious!

@Derek out of curiousity, is one of your buyers MZR Roadsports in the UK? Was looking more at their 50th anniversary build since they recently did the full reveal of the first one they built. Went to their site and noticed their "Evolution" package comes with a DOHC head. Is that yours? I know the OS Giken head is an option for those high dollar builds, but I can't imagine them going with it when there's a better cost option around.

Info you need is on this handy chart in the link. It's available elsewhere I think but this was the first place I found it. Short answer - yes. Long answer - Even without a vin you can tell by some structural changes that are easily noticeable. Top seatbell mounting point changed after '75 just after the first year of the 280, earlier cars had it mounted to the B pillars, later cars had it mounted on the strut towers, the taillights changed to the later style for the 260z, the 240z had a shorter radiater and accompanying shorter (not as low to the ground) lower radiator support. later models had taller rear strut towers which are noticeably different. The late (77/78) 280z had a completely different rear deck that was sort of an elevated platform and used a space saver instead of full sized spare. Even within the 240z models, in 73 they moved to the bulkier bumper mounts that made the bumper stick out more instead of relatively flush like the earliest models. Hope that helps. If you post pics I'm sure most people here could tell unless there have been extensive exterior and interior mods. https://jdm-car-parts.com/blogs/news/vin-verification-of-us-datsun-240z-260z-280z-280zx