seanmac777

Quick question on this setup, so you welded the outer tip of mustang control arm to stock Datsun control arm? I have the old style T3 control arms already on my car, so do I need to cut and weld the mustang ball joint to them? Or can the mustang ball joint just be bolted onto the aftermarket control arm? I apologize if this seems like a dumb question, I started working on this car 10 years ago and then life happened and it hasn’t been touched since. Just now trying to get back into working on it again and trying to gather all of the info that I can before I do. And the car isn’t home with me at the moment so I can’t just run out and look at it to try to visualize it better. Thanks in advance.

I've been thinking a lot about using a vette as a donor car, but I want to build this as a Datsun, I don't want to just be another guy with a vette. I love the S30 chassis, and there really aren't any other ones around here. Is a Vette going to have the best options for me on a custom build like this? Or should I be mix-matching parts to get the best possible combination? (I'm really just thinking out loud right now.. I have a TON of research still left to do before I am for sure on what route I am going to take..) I looked at the pushrod idea, and thought it would be pretty cool to toy around with, I just don't know nearly enough about it to truly be able to optimize performance out of it. I'm not wanting to put something on there just because it looks cool, I want it to make my car handle the best that it possibly can.

I'm liking the input guys, keep it coming. As far as inspections go, I'm not worried about that at all. Once the car is licensed/registered, I've never heard of anybody having any other issues with the D.O.T. for a drivable car that doesn't have pieces hanging off of it. (here in Iowa.) Plus, it's not like I'm going to daily drive it. This one will rarely be on the road if ever.. I consider the body to be good meaning the sidepanels/hood/roof, etc... I realize the unibody of the car is pretty much unsafe without the floor in it.. but that is where the tube frame idea comes in. I don't see where this would be any difference than using a fiberglass body.. All of the rigidity, and all of the forces that the V8 power will put on the car would be tied directly to the frame, not the panels of the body. The way I picture this coming together would be a full running/drivable chassis and then the body would just drop over the top of it to make it look like a Datsun again. This may be a terrible analogy but kind of like an RC car, or maybe a monster truck... only difference is I would be using the steel body that I already have instead of using a fiberglass body. Now, I've been looking a frame designs and custom builds that are non-Datsun related all day trying to get ideas. And I'm thinking I can pretty much build it however I want, using whatever parts I want, just as long as the wheelbase/ height of the cage will fit inside of the steel body...does this seem like a fair analysis so far? What would you guys run for suspension if you could choose and why? Macpherson Strut setup? Double wishbone? Pushrod setup?

Rturbo, I have actually looked at that Z before alongwith a couple others. I had read a lot on GT240's widebody Z where he made a custom tube frame also. Also I remember reading into detail the tube chassis build with the VQ motor and s13 rear subframe. (Ardvaark i think was what they had named it.) Phantom, that is exactly what I am picturing. I looked at the bad dog frame rails, and had actually ordered replacement floor pans for it...but decided that wasn't my best bet to go so I sold off the floor pans to a fellow Z owner. The tube frame would be virtually limitless as far as what suspension/steering components I wanted to install, just as long as it fits inside of the 260 body. That replica body would be sweet for sure as well.

Engine bay pic Another Engine bay pic Close up showing the frame rail is rusting away from where it would have met the firewall interior, both floors are gone Passenger side floor/firewall Driver side Passenger side. (door does shut tightly and alignment all seems good on body)

Hey all, I've been on this forum for a couple of years and don't post a whole lot, just mainly read and research and read some more. I currently own two Z's. A 240 and a 260. Both cars are being built for performance, mostly Autocross/road course. My 240 is a rust free car I got from Arizona, and I already have most of my parts lined up to start building this car. (hopefully it will be done by 2016.) What I am looking for advice from you guys is the 260z. I bought this car from an old man here in Iowa who has had his car in storage for several years. The body on this car is damn near flawless for its age, only problem is.. The barn it was stored in had a squirrel infestation problem. That being said, although the exterior of the car is in great, rust free shape, the squirrels had packed acorns and nuts inside of this car and over the years it began to take it's toll. The floor of this Z is completely gone. Floors, frame rails under the floors, the whole passenger side firewall, and most of the passenger side frame rail in the engine compartment is GONE.!. The man's son had started trying to restore the car and gutted it. No interior/ no engine...it's just a bare shell with the suspension under it. Now I know a lot of guys on this forum are purists and don't like people just throwing V8's in the Z's...but I have personal reasons for why I want to LS swap this car. Due to these personal reasons, this car needs to be an animal on the track. (mainly Autocross.) A lot of people have seen the floors of this car and are telling me to just find another rust free Z to start this project, but the more I think about it, I think I have the perfect starting point for what I am thinking about doing. The body on this car is wayyyy too good to just throw away... so what about building a custom tube frame, a full rolling caged setup, and then just dropping the Z body down over the tube chassis? I know this includes a ton of work and a ton of research to get the geometry right. But I know my way around a car, I have been racing for several years now so I know a lot of the basics in setting up a car, and I weld for a living so building a frame that will hold up and be safe should not be a problem. Are there any unexpected problems that I am going to come across by attempting to do what I have just explained? I have seen a couple of tube frame builds but not enough to really give me a good idea of what I am getting into. The geometry and engineering part is what I am most worried about. I have a friend who is a Civil Engineer, who said he can draw up some dimensions for me in CAD....problem with that is that he isn't a mechanical engineer...and doesn't have the suspension knowledge to help as much as I would like.... I'm sure there are going to be a lot of flamers on here....and there is no need for that. Any advice that can be given will be greatly appreciated, and I don't mind constructive criticism. Thanks, Sean.